JP2000279955A - Water softening device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent regeneration liquid from being uselessly consumed by making control in a way to make a regeneration switching means to non-regeneration, when a water pass detection means detects switching to water passing, in the case that a water switching means is switched to a water passing side during regeneration. SOLUTION: A water softening device is constituted of a resin cylinder 1 filled with ion exchange resin for softening raw water, a raw water tank 2 for storing the raw water, and a salt water tank 3 for storing saturated salt water for regenerating the ion exchange resin. A raw water line 5 is connected to the lower part of the resin cylinder 1, and a manual base valve 6, a water pressure detection means 12, a first switching flow path of a water pass switching valve 7 and a flow detection means 13, are interposed in the midway. A softened water line 8 reaching a shower, etc., is connected to the upper part of the resin cylinder 1, and a water purifying means 9 filled with activated carbon and a back flow stop valve 10 are interposed in the midway of it. At a regeneration time of the resin cylinder 1, the water pass switching valve 7 is switched to a water passing side, and in the case that the flow detection means 13 detects water passing, the regeneration switching means 32 is made to non-regeneration, thus the regeneration liquid is prevented from being consumed unwillingly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a water softener.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Water softeners using ion-exchange resin for softening raw water are widely used for industrial and domestic purposes. For example, Japanese Patent No. 2649826 proposes a domestic softener having a small and simple structure. Have been. In this water softener, the switching between the flow of raw water as soft water and the regeneration of regenerating the ion exchange resin with the regenerating liquid was performed by automatic valve switching. Then, when the water supply is selected during the regeneration, the water supply is started after the predetermined regeneration step is completed without immediately switching to the water supply.

[0003] However, when the water supply is manually switched, the water supply can be switched during regeneration.
In such a case, there is a possibility that the regenerating solution is wasted while the regeneration is interrupted.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to prevent the inconvenience caused by switching to water supply during regeneration.

[0005]

The present invention comprises a water treatment means containing a treatment agent for softening raw water and a regenerating solution supply means for supplying a regenerating solution for the treatment agent, wherein the raw water is supplied to the water treatment means. A water softener for performing switching between water flowing in and flowing out soft water and regeneration in which the regenerating solution flows into the water treatment means and regenerating waste water flows out, wherein regeneration switching for switching between regeneration and non-regeneration is performed. Means, a water flow switching means which is operated independently of the regeneration switching means to switch between the water flow and non-water flow, and a water flow detection for detecting that the water flow switching means is switched to the water flow side. Means for outputting a reproduction signal to switch the regeneration switching means to regeneration, and to control the regeneration switching means to non-regeneration when the water flow detecting means detects switching to the water flow side during the regeneration. And a water softener having:

[0006]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention can be implemented suitably in the water softener installed in the bathroom of a general household. In this water softener, as a prerequisite configuration, a water treatment unit containing a treatment agent for softening raw water and a regenerating solution supply unit for supplying a regenerating solution of the treatment agent are provided, and the raw water is supplied to the water treatment unit. The flow is switched between flowing water, which flows in and flows out soft water, and regeneration, in which the regenerating solution flows into the water treatment means and regenerated wastewater flows out. As the water treatment means containing the treatment agent, for example, a resin cylinder filled with an ion exchange resin is used. As the regenerating liquid supply means, for example, a salt water tank that stores salt water as a regenerating liquid is used.

Further, as a configuration related to a characteristic portion of the present invention, a regeneration switching means for switching between the regeneration and non-regeneration and an operation independently of the regeneration switching means for switching between the water passage and the non-water passage. Water-flow switching means, water-flow detection means for detecting that the water-flow switching means has been switched to the water-flow side, and outputs a regeneration signal to switch the regeneration switching means to the regeneration and during the regeneration. Control means for switching to the non-regeneration when the water flow detecting means detects the switching to the water flowing side.

[0008] The water flow switching means switches the flow path of raw water and soft water to the water treatment means to at least water flow and water flow stop (water stoppage). The switching means is constituted by a manual valve or an electric valve which is switched by operating a switch, and may be operated independently of the regeneration switching means. In the case of simply switching between water passage and water stoppage, a two-way valve (on-off valve) is used, and the raw water is supplied for use by bypassing the water passage, water stoppage and water treatment means. When switching is performed by switching between the bypass and the bypass, a three-way valve (a combination of two-way valves may be used) is used. Therefore, the non-permeated water refers to a state in which water is not passed (soft water is not used), and refers to, for example, a water stop state and a raw water bypass state.

[0009] The regeneration switching means is for switching the flow path of the regeneration liquid and the regeneration drain to the regeneration liquid supply means between regeneration and non-regeneration. The non-regeneration refers to a state in which the regenerating solution is not supplied to the water treatment unit. The regeneration switching unit is automatically switched from non-regeneration to regeneration by a regeneration signal generated from the control unit when a regeneration start condition such as a regeneration time of the water treatment unit is satisfied. It is composed of an electrically driven valve. The control means may be configured so that the user can forcibly output a reproduction signal even when the reproduction time has not arrived.

The water flow detection means detects when the water flow switching means is manually switched to the water flow side.
The control unit switches the regeneration switching unit to non-regeneration by inputting a signal indicating that there is water passage by the water passage detection unit during the regeneration. By this switching, the regeneration is interrupted, and the outflow of the regeneration liquid is stopped. The control means can perform a reproduction failure process together with the reproduction interruption. The reproduction failure processing includes a reproduction trial again. This replay attempt means that the replay time is reset to an interval shorter than the normal replay cycle, for example, a time zone such as midnight the next day, and replay is attempted. As the water passage detecting means, it is preferable to use a flow detecting means such as a flow switch for detecting the presence / absence of the flow of water, and to provide it on the raw water inflow side of the water treating means. By doing so, it is possible to detect the presence of the flow at an early stage. Further, a micro switch for detecting opening and closing of a valve can be used as the water flow detecting means.

[0011] The control means may include no water passage as a regeneration start condition so that even if a preset regeneration time has arrived, if it is determined that there is water passage, the regeneration is not started.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 are schematic explanatory views showing an embodiment of a water softener according to the present invention, and show different operation states. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of a control circuit of the embodiment, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are flowcharts showing a control procedure of the embodiment.

In FIG. 1, a resin tube 1 as a water treatment means filled with an ion exchange resin (not shown) as a treatment agent for softening raw water, and a raw water tank 2 for storing raw water
And a salt water tank 3 for storing saturated salt water for regenerating the ion exchange resin are provided in parallel. The salt water tank 3 has a function of dissolving salt in raw water to generate saturated salt water. In order for the raw water and the saturated salt water to flow to the resin cylinder 1 by gravity in the parallel installation state, the overflow part 4 of the raw water tank 2 is provided above the upper end of the packed bed of the ion exchange resin of the resin cylinder 1. I have. A raw water line 5 is provided below the resin tube 1.
In the raw water line 5, a first switching flow path (not shown) of a manual main valve 6 and a manual water switching valve 7 as water switching means is interposed. The main valve 6 is a bathroom mixer tap which is usually provided in the bathroom in advance, and the water softener of this embodiment is connected to the main valve 6.

A soft water line 8 is connected to the upper part of the resin tube 1. The soft water line 8 is provided with a water purification means 9 filled with activated carbon, and a first check valve 10 for preventing flow toward the resin cylinder 1. On the soft water outflow side of the soft water line 8, a stop cock for turning water on and off is not provided, and the tip is largely open via a shower head. The raw water line 5 is connected to the soft water line 8 downstream of the first check valve 10 via a raw water bypass line 11 and a second switching flow path (not shown) of the water flow switching valve 7. . The water flow switching valve 7 has a three-way switching function (a function of selectively switching between the first switching flow path and the second switching flow path) and a water stopping function of shutting off the flow of the two switching flow paths. I have it. Hereinafter, the water passage position in which the first switching flow path is selected, the raw water bypass position in which the second switching flow path is selected, and the state in which the flow of both the switching flow paths is shut off. It is called water stop position.

In the raw water line 5, a water pressure detecting means 12 for detecting the presence or absence of the raw water source pressure by detecting whether or not the source pressure of the raw water is higher than a predetermined value is provided on the upstream side of the water flow switching valve 7. And a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of flow of raw water in the direction of the resin cylinder 1 in the course of the raw water line 5 from the flow switching valve 7 to the resin cylinder 1. A flow detecting means 13 as water detecting means is provided.

The saturated regenerating solution flow line 14 through which the saturated brine in the salt water tank 3 flows down by gravity and the raw water in which the raw water in the raw water tank 2 flows down by gravity are provided below the raw water tank 2 and the salt water tank 3, respectively. Downflow line 15 is connected. The flow-down lines 14 and 15 join on the way, and are connected to the soft water line 8 above the resin cylinder 1 via a regenerating liquid flow-down line 16. A first makeup water line 17 for supplying raw water to the raw water tank 2 is connected to the raw water tank 2, and between the raw water tank 2 and the salt water tank 3, raw water from the raw water tank 2 is supplied to the raw water tank 2. 3 is connected to a second makeup water line 18 for supplying water.
A regeneration drain line 19 for discharging the regeneration drain from the resin cylinder 1 is connected to the resin cylinder 1. The overflow section 4 of the raw water tank 2 and the regeneration drain line 1
9 is connected by an overflow line 21.

The saturated salt water falling line 14 is provided with a second check valve 22 and a salt water valve 23 for preventing the flow in the direction of the salt water tank 3, and the raw water falling line 15 is provided with a flow in the direction of the raw water tank 2. A first check valve 24 and a raw water valve 25 are provided to prevent the flow of water. The first make-up water line 17 is provided with a first flow rate adjusting means 26 comprising an orifice or the like and a first make-up water valve 27. The line 18 is provided with a fourth check valve 28 and a second makeup water valve 29 for preventing the flow in the direction of the raw water tank 2. The regeneration drainage line 19 is connected to a drainage valve 30 and a second flow rate adjusting means 31 including an orifice.

In the above configuration, the second flow rate adjusting means 31 is omitted, and instead, the regeneration drain line 19 is replaced.
At the other end (the end on the side not connected to the resin cylinder 1) is raised above the resin cylinder 1, and is again raised via an atmosphere opening part (not shown) provided at the upper part of the resin cylinder 1. It can be configured to lower. Further, by providing flow rate adjusting means (not shown) such as an orifice in each of the saturated regenerating liquid flowing line 14 and the raw water flowing line 15, mixing of saturated brine and raw water can be performed smoothly.

The salt water valve 23, the raw water valve 25, the first makeup water valve 27, the second makeup water valve 29, and the drain valve 30 are constituted as one switching valve mechanism 32. This switching valve mechanism 32
Includes a function as regeneration switching means for switching between regeneration and non-regeneration, and includes at least an open / closed state at the time of passing water shown in FIG. 1 (all valves are closed, that is, the salt water valve 23 is closed, the raw water valve 25 is closed,
The first make-up water valve 27 is closed, the second make-up water valve 29 is closed, and the drain valve 30 is closed).
Closed, raw water valve 25 closed, first make-up water valve 27 opened, second make-up water valve 29 opened, drainage valve 30 closed), open / closed state during regeneration shown in FIG. 3 (all valves open, ie, salt water valve) 23 open, raw water valve 25 open, first make-up water valve 27 open, second make-up water valve 29 open and drain valve 30 open), opening and closing state during washing shown in FIG. 4 (salt water valve 23 closed, raw water valve 25 open) , The first makeup water valve 27 is opened, the second makeup water valve 29 is opened, and the drain valve 30 is opened).

The switching valve mechanism 32 is disclosed in
No. 297150, which has the same structure as the switching valve mechanism, and corresponds to each of the salt water valve 23, the raw water valve 25, the first makeup water valve 27, the second makeup water valve 29, and the drain valve 30. Then, respectively, a valve seat, a valve body for opening and closing the valve seat, an operating rod connected to the valve body, spring means for urging the operating rod in a normally closing direction, and a cam body for driving the operating rod ( (Both are not shown). Further, the switching valve mechanism 32 includes a rotating shaft 33 for connecting the cam body, position detecting means 34 for detecting a rotating position of the rotating shaft 33, and a drive motor 35 for rotating the rotating shaft.

In FIG. 6, the control means 36 comprises a microcomputer or the like, and inputs the output signals of the water pressure detecting means 12, the flow detecting means 13, the position detecting means 34 and the operating device 37, and FIG. The drive motor 35 and the display means 38 of the switching valve mechanism 32 are controlled by a control procedure partially shown. The drive motor 35 is driven and controlled by the control means 36, and the switching valve mechanism 32 is opened and closed at the time of water supply (water supply state), opened and closed at the time of makeup water (water supply state), and opened and closed at the time of regeneration. (Regeneration state) and the open / close state during water washing (water washing state).

Next, a control method of the water softener in the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, a detailed description of the operation of the drive motor 35 controlled by the control means 36 and the open / close states of the respective valves constituting the switching valve mechanism 32 will be omitted. In the following drawings, each of the water-flow switching valve 7 and each of the switching valve mechanisms 32 is shown in a closed state when blacked out, and is shown in an open state when not filled out.

First, the water passing step will be described with reference to FIG. The user of the water softener switches the water flow switching valve 7 to the water flowing position with the main valve 6 opened. Normally, when a washing step described later is completed, the switching valve mechanism 32 is controlled to a water-flowing state. For this reason, the raw water flows into the resin cylinder 1 through the main valve 6, the water pressure detecting means 12, the water flow switching valve 7, and the flow detecting means 13 of the raw water line 5. Here, after being softened, the water purifying means 9 of the water softening line 7 and the first check valve 1
0, flows out through the shower head.

Next, the reproducing process will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8. FIG. In this embodiment, the regeneration step includes a make-up water step of FIG. 2 as a pre-regeneration step for checking the original pressure, and a water washing step of FIG. 4 as a post-regeneration step.

First, steps S1 and S1 in FIGS.
In 2 (hereinafter, SN means step SN), it is determined whether or not the reproduction start condition is satisfied. As the regeneration start condition, a regeneration time arrival condition as to whether or not a set regeneration time has arrived, a detection condition with an original pressure for detecting that the pressure detected by the water pressure detection means 12 is equal to or more than a set value, There is a condition for detecting no water flow by the flow detecting means 13. In S1, the condition for the arrival of the regeneration time is determined, and in S2, the condition with the original pressure and the condition without the water flow are determined.

If NO is determined in S1, the water passage process is continued. In S1, the arrival of the reproduction time is determined as YES,
And both conditions are satisfied in S2 and it is determined as YES.
That is, it is determined that the regeneration start condition has been satisfied when all of the three conditions, that is, the regeneration time arrival condition, the presence of the original pressure, and the absence of water flow, are satisfied.
, A provisional regeneration signal is output, and the process proceeds to the replenishment water process in S3. If NO is determined in S2, the process does not shift to the replenishing water process of the pre-regeneration process even if the regeneration time has arrived,
The process proceeds to a reproduction time resetting step of S13 described later. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience caused by starting the regeneration with the main valve 6 closed and the inconvenience caused by the initiation of the regeneration while passing water.

The inconvenience of starting regeneration with the main valve 6 closed will be described. If the regeneration is started while the main valve 6 is closed, a predetermined amount of saturated brine in the raw water tank 2 and the salt water tank 3 flows down in an appropriate amount at the initial stage of the regeneration, and a predetermined regeneration is performed. Disappears, and only the saturated brine flows down, and the saturated brine bottoms out in a short time. As a result, the salt water cannot be supplied to the resin tube 1 for a predetermined time, the ion exchange resin cannot be sufficiently regenerated, and the saturated salt water is wasted. However,
In the present embodiment, regeneration is not started when the main valve 6 is closed, so that such inconvenience can be avoided.

Next, a description will be given of the inconvenience caused by the start of reproduction during the passage of water. If the switching valve mechanism 32 is switched to the regeneration state in the water-flowing state, there is a disadvantage that part of the raw water in the raw water line 5 flows out through the drainage line 19. Further, the saturated salt water in the salt water tank 3 flows out to the soft water line 8 through the saturated regenerating solution flowing line 14 and the regenerating solution flowing line 16, and the salt water is mixed into the soft water and the salt water is wastefully consumed. Occurs. However, when the passage of water is detected, the switching valve mechanism 32 is maintained in the non-regenerating state of passage of water in S11, so that such inconvenience can be prevented.

Note that the reproduction time is set at a specific time, such as at midnight of a day, after a condition of whether a water flow time reaches a predetermined time or a predetermined amount of water flow is satisfied. It is automatically set by the means 36.

In the step of resetting the reproduction time in S13, the set reproduction time is reset to the reproduction time zone of the next day. When the reset playback time comes, S
In 1 and S2, the reproduction start condition is determined again,
When the condition is satisfied, the regeneration process is performed again. Thus,
Since the regeneration is performed within a short period of time without a long time from the initially set regeneration time, it is possible to improve the disadvantage that the regeneration of the ion exchange resin is not performed for a long period of time and the performance of the ion exchange resin is reduced.

In the make-up water step of S3, the switching valve mechanism 32 is switched to the make-up water state (see FIG. 2). When the switching valve mechanism 32 is switched to the makeup water state, a makeup water step is performed. That is, the raw water flows into the raw water tank 2 through the first makeup water line 17 at a constant flow rate by the constant flow rate control action of the flow rate adjusting means 26.
Then, when the water level of the raw water tank 2 rises and reaches the overflow section 4, the raw water overflows through the overflow line 21. Then, the raw water in the raw water tank 2 is supplied to the salt water tank 3 through the second makeup water line 18 using a head pressure difference.

During the continuation of the make-up water step, S4
And S5 are determined. In S4, it is determined whether both the presence of the original pressure of the raw water and the absence of the water flow are satisfied. S
If the answer is 4 is YES, the process moves to S5, and it is determined whether or not a set time T1 (for example, several seconds) required for checking the original pressure has elapsed. If YES is determined in S4 within the set time in S5, the control means 36 transmits the reproduced signal to the switching valve mechanism 32.
Output to Then, the process proceeds to S6,
The regeneration step shown in FIG. 3 (the regeneration main step for actually performing the regeneration processing for the pre-reproduction step and the post-reproduction step) is performed for a set time T2. Note that the reproduced signal in S2 is referred to as a provisional reproduced signal in the sense that it is a signal for subsequent steps to the pre-reproduction process, and the reproduced signal in S5 is referred to as a main reproduced signal in the sense of a signal for the main reproduction process.

On the other hand, if NO is determined in S4 during the continuation of the make-up water process, the process proceeds to the process of resetting the reproduction time in S13, and if NO is determined in S5, the process returns to S4.
By repeating S4-S5-S4 in the make-up water process, as described below, a reliable determination of the presence of the original pressure is performed, and the inconvenience due to the regeneration with the main valve 6 closed and the regeneration during the passage of water are started. This is configured to prevent inconvenience caused by the above.

That is, when the main valve 6 is closed, the presence of the main pressure may be detected by the pressure of the water sealed between the main valve 6 and the water flow switching valve 7. . However, since the switching valve mechanism 32 is switched to the make-up water state shown in FIG. 2, the water sealed between the main valve 6 and the water flow switching valve 7 passes through the first make-up water line 17 to the raw water. Outflow to tank 2. As a result, the water pressure drops, and the water pressure detecting means 12 detects that there is no original pressure.
As a result, there is no main pressure due to the main valve 6 being closed,
It is determined in S4. Then, without switching to the regeneration step of S6, the switching valve mechanism 32 is switched to the non-regeneration water flow step in S12 through the step of resetting the regeneration time in S13. This water passing step is as described above. For this reason, similarly to the description in S2, it is possible to prevent inconvenience due to regeneration in a state where the main valve 6 is closed.

If the presence of water flow is detected within the set time of S5, NO is determined in S4, and the process does not shift to the regeneration process of S6, but goes through the process of resetting the regeneration time of S13 to S1.
In 2, the switching valve mechanism 32 is switched to the non-regeneration water-flow state. As a result, similarly to the description in S2, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience due to the start of the reproduction while the water is flowing.

As described above, by providing the steps S3, S4 and S5, it is possible to reliably determine whether or not there is a raw water source pressure. It is positioned as a reconfirmation process.

The regeneration step will be described below. S6
At this time, the switching valve mechanism 32 is switched to the regeneration state shown in FIG. As a result, the saturated salt water in the salt water tank 3 becomes
The saturated regeneration liquid flowing down line 14 flows down. At the same time, the raw water in the raw water tank 2 flows down the raw water flow-down line 15, so that the saturated brine and the raw water mix at the junction of the two lines 14 and 15 to become a brine of a predetermined concentration. Then, the salt water flows down from the upper portion of the resin cylinder 1 to regenerate the ion exchange resin. The salt water after regeneration, that is, the regeneration effluent, flows down the regeneration effluent line 19 and is mixed with the raw water flowing down the overflow line 21 at the junction of the two lines 19, 21 as described above. As a result, the regenerated effluent is discharged out of the system in a state where the concentration of chloride in the effluent is reduced.

During the regeneration step, a constant flow of raw water is always supplied to the raw water tank 2, and the raw water in the raw water tank 2 is supplied to the raw water tank 2 through the second makeup water line 18 by utilizing a head pressure difference. To the salt water tank 3.

The regeneration step of S6 is controlled by the step of preventing defective reproduction of S7 and the time control step of S8. S7
Is itself the same as in S4, and a description thereof will be omitted.
This step S7 prevents the inconvenience caused by closing the main valve 6 during regeneration and the inconvenience caused by entering water during regeneration. In S8, it is determined whether or not the set time T2 has elapsed, and when the elapsed time is determined, the reproduction is terminated.

The operation when the main valve 6 is closed during the regeneration will be described. When the main valve 6 is closed, NO in S7
Is determined, and the inconvenience caused by closing the main valve 6 during regeneration is prevented. This inconvenience prevention operation is the same as that described in S4, and thus the description is omitted.

Next, the operation when water is supplied during regeneration will be described. Since the water flow switching valve 7 is set to manual switching, the user needs the water flow switching valve 7 during the regeneration step.
It can be switched to the water flow position. When this switching is performed, the reproduction is interrupted. Therefore, the control means 36 determines that the reproduction is defective, and performs the next defective reproduction processing. That is, assuming that the water flow switching valve 7 is at the water flow position, the control means 3
No. 6 determines NO in S7 based on the flow presence signal of the flow detection means 13, and shifts to the water passing step of S12 via S13.

When switching to water supply during regeneration, the switching valve mechanism 32 performs water supply in the regeneration state.
As described in FIG. 4, the same inconvenience occurs as in the case where the reproduction is started during the passage of water. However, in this embodiment, such inconvenience can be prevented. Further, by performing the processing in S13, it is possible to improve the disadvantage that the capacity of the ion exchange resin is reduced due to the fact that the regeneration is not performed for a long time.

When the regeneration step is completed, the flow shifts to the washing step of S9. This washing step will be described with reference to FIG.
The control means 36 switches the switching valve mechanism 32 to the washing state shown in FIG. As a result, only the raw water in the raw water tank 2 flows down from the upper part of the resin tube 1 via the raw water flowing down line 15 and the regenerating liquid flowing down line 16 to push out the salt remaining in the ion exchange resin. Wash with water. On the other hand, the overflow of the raw water from the raw water tank 2 is continued from the regeneration step. Therefore, the raw water after the washing, that is, the wastewater, is mixed with the raw water flowing down the overflow line 21 and then discharged out of the system through the regeneration drainage line 19.

During this washing step, the washing is controlled by the washing failure detecting step of S10 and the time control step of S111. The determination itself in S10 is the same as the determinations in S4 and S7, and a description thereof will be omitted. In step S10, there is no original pressure by the water pressure detecting means 12, or the flow detecting means 1
When it is determined that there is a flow in step 3, the washing process is deemed to be poor, and the process shifts to the water passing process in S12. In this case, since the set reproduction has been completed, the reproduction time resetting step of S13 is not performed. Then, when it is determined in S11 that the set time T3 has elapsed, the water passage process in S12 is performed.

Next, the raw water bypass step will be described with reference to FIG. When the water switching valve 7 is switched to the raw water bypass position, the raw water flows through the raw water line 5, the water switching valve 7,
The water flows out of the shower head via the raw water bypass line 11 and the soft water line 8. The raw water flowing into the soft water line 8 does not flow backward in the direction of the resin cylinder 1 by the first check valve 10. At the time of the raw water bypass step, the switching of the switching valve mechanism 32 may be in any state.
The raw water bypass can be performed while continuing either the washing step or the makeup water step.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but includes the following embodiments. (1) An embodiment in which the water flow switching valve 7 is not a three-way valve but a two-way valve, that is, an on-off water flow. In this case, the raw water bypass step cannot be performed. (2) The switching valve mechanism 32 only needs to have a function of switching control of the inflow of the regenerating liquid into the resin cylinder 1 and the outflow from the resin cylinder 1 as a minimum function. For example, the first makeup water valve 27 of the first makeup water line 17 is connected to the raw water tank 2.
This can be omitted if the replenishing water is supplied by another automatic replenishing water mechanism that controls the level of the raw water tank 2 to be constant. (3) An embodiment in which the flow detecting means 13 is omitted and a micro switch for detecting the open / close state (water passing position) of the water passing switching valve 7 is used as the water passing detecting means. (4) An embodiment in which the flow detecting means 12 is provided on the outflow side of the resin cylinder 1. (5) An embodiment in which the original pressure detection by the water pressure detecting means 12 is not performed, and the makeup water step is omitted as the pre-regeneration step. (6) An embodiment in which the raw water tank 2 and the salt water tank 3 are provided above the resin tube 1. (7) An embodiment in which manual reproduction means for performing reproduction at an arbitrary time other than the reproduction time is provided. In this case, a makeup water process is provided before the regeneration process, and the regeneration process is performed on condition that the original pressure of the raw water is present and no water is passed.

[0047]

According to the present invention configured as described above,
If the water flow switching means is switched to water flow during regeneration, the switch to water flow is detected by the water flow detection means, and the regeneration switching means is not regenerated, thereby preventing wasteful consumption of the regenerated liquid. large.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing an embodiment of a water softener according to the present invention, showing a water passing step.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing an embodiment of a water softener according to the present invention, showing a makeup water step.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view showing an embodiment of the water softener according to the present invention, showing a regeneration step.

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view showing an embodiment of a water softener according to the present invention, showing a water washing step.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view showing an embodiment of a water softener according to the present invention, showing a raw water bypass step.

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a control circuit of the embodiment of the water softener according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a part of a control procedure of a control unit of the embodiment of the water softener according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a part of the control procedure of the control means of the embodiment of the water softener according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 resin cylinder (water treatment means) 2 raw water tank 3 salt water tank (regenerating liquid supply means) 5 raw water line 7 water flow switching valve (water switching means) 8 soft water line 12 flow detecting means (water detecting means) 32 switching valve Mechanism (regeneration switching means) 36 Control means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Yoshiyuki Fukuoka 7th Horie-cho, Matsuyama-shi, Ehime Miura Kogyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4D025 AA02 BA07 BB12 BB19 CA01 CA06 CA10 DA03

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A water treatment means containing a treatment agent for softening raw water, and a regenerating solution supply means for supplying a regenerating solution of the treatment agent, wherein a flow of the raw water flowing into the water treatment means and flowing out of the soft water is provided. A water softener for switching between water and regeneration for flowing the regenerating liquid into the water treatment means and draining regenerated wastewater, the regeneration switching means for switching between regeneration and non-regeneration, and the regeneration switching means. A water-flow switching means that is operated independently to switch between the water-flow and non-water-flow, a water-flow detection means that detects that the water-flow switching means is switched to the water-flow side, and outputs a regeneration signal. Control means for switching the regeneration switching means to regeneration, and switching the regeneration switching means to non-regeneration when the water flow detecting means detects switching to the water flowing side during the regeneration. Water softener.