JP2000301138A - Water purifier with cooling function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water purifier with a cooling function, being small but excellent in coolability. SOLUTION: A water purifier is provided with a cooling part 4 to cool raw water or purified water by an electronic refrigeration means 14, and with a water purification part 7 to purify the raw water, and the cooling part 4 accommodates a heat conductor 13 made of a porous or rugged metallic body connected to the electronic refrigeration means 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water purifier having a cooling function for obtaining tasty purified water cooled from raw water such as tap water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional water purifiers include:
A type that incorporates a filter cartridge having an adsorbent such as activated carbon or a filtration membrane such as a hollow fiber membrane and removes a smell of mold, mold, germs, red rust, and the like contained in tap water has become widespread. However, many water purifiers provided for household use do not have a cooling function.When drinking purified cold water, put the purified water in another container and cool it in a refrigerator, or add ice water to the purified water. The method of putting in and cooling is used.

[0003] Examples of water purifiers provided with a cooling function include commercial water coolers for restaurants and the like. As the commercial water cooler, there is a water cooler having a mechanism for storing tap water and cooling it with a device such as a compressor and a condenser, and a water purifier. However, the commercial water cooler described above has a large water supply capacity, but requires a container for storing a certain amount of raw water when cooling a certain amount of raw water. In addition, a compressor such as a compressor is used as a general cooling method in order to obtain a cooling capacity required to cool the volume of raw water within a predetermined time. For this reason, the casing becomes large, and it is difficult to install it in a general home.

As a small water purifier with a cooling function, a water purifier for general households provided with an electronic cooling means is disclosed in
118637 and the like. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing an example of a water purifier with a cooling function for ordinary households. The water purifier 41 includes a raw water supply pipe 43 connected to a water tap (not shown) or the like in a housing 42 indicated by a two-dot chain line.
A cooling unit 44 for storing and cooling the raw water supplied from
A water purification unit 47 that purifies the cooling water supplied from the cooling unit 44 through the water supply pipe 45 and discharges purified water to the water discharge pipe 46.
A control unit 48 for controlling the cooling of the raw water in the cooling unit 44; an operation for turning on / off the power of the water purifier 41;
8, an operation display unit 49 for displaying the operation status, and temperature detectors 50 and 51 for measuring the temperature of the raw water inside the raw water supply pipe 43 and the cooling unit 44 are schematically configured.

The cooling section 44 includes a metal cooling container 52 for storing raw water, a Peltier element 53 (electronic cooling means) provided with a cooling surface in close contact with the cooling container 52, and a heating surface of the Peltier element 53. A radiator 54 that is provided close to the side and emits heat generated from the heating surface, and a blower 5 that exhausts air taken in from the outside via the radiator 54.
5 and a drain pipe 56 for discharging raw water in the cooling vessel 52 to the outside of the water purifier 41. Further, the water purification section 47 includes a water purification container 57, an activated carbon 58 filled in a lower half space inside the water purification container 57, a plurality of hollow fiber membranes bent in a U shape, and both ends of the hollow fiber membranes. The hollow fiber membrane element 60 fixed to the upper approximately half space inside the water purification container 46 by the fixing member 59 while maintaining the open state of the open end so that the open end communicates with the water discharge pipe 46. It is configured.

In the water purifier 41, the raw water supplied to the cooling unit 44 is cooled by a cooling container 52 cooled by a Peltier element 53. The raw water cooled by the cooling unit 44 is pressurized by raw water supplied from a water tap through the raw water supply pipe 43 and supplied to the water purification unit 47, where residual chlorine in the raw water, various bacteria, etc. After the water is removed, the water is taken out as drinking water from the water outlet at the tip of the water discharge pipe 46 as purified water.

[0007]

The water purifier 41 with a cooling function is designed in consideration of the fact that the housing 42 is miniaturized by providing electronic cooling means and can be easily installed in a general household. However, the electronic cooling means is inferior in cooling capacity as compared with a cooling mechanism using a compressor such as a compressor, and it is difficult to obtain a sufficient cooling capacity by using the electronic cooling means. Therefore, there is a problem that much time is required for cooling a certain amount of raw water, and the usability of the user is impaired.

Therefore, in the present invention, while being small,
An object of the present invention is to provide a water purifier with a cooling function having excellent cooling capacity.

[0009]

That is, a water purifier with a cooling function of the present invention comprises a cooling unit for cooling raw water or purified water by electronic cooling means, and a water purifying unit for purifying raw water.
The cooling unit houses a heat conductor made of a porous or uneven metal body connected to the electronic cooling means.

It is preferable that the cooling section is provided with a circulating means or a stirring means for stirring the raw water or the purified water. Further, the water purifier with a cooling function of the present invention preferably includes a heating unit for heating the heat conductor, and a drainage unit for discharging raw water or purified water in the cooling unit. Moreover, it is preferable that the water purification unit is provided downstream of the cooling unit.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of a water purifier with a cooling function (hereinafter, referred to as a water purifier) of the present invention.
The water purifier 1 stores a raw water supplied from a raw water supply pipe 3 connected to a water faucet (not shown) or the like in a housing 2 indicated by a two-dot chain line, and a cooling unit 4 for cooling the raw water. , This cooling section 4
A water purifier 7 for purifying the cooling water supplied from the water supply pipe 5 through the water supply pipe 5 and discharging purified water to a water discharge pipe 6, a controller 8 for controlling cooling of raw water in the cooling section 4, and a power supply for the water purifier 1. And an operation display unit 9 for displaying an operation such as turning on / off of the water and an operation state of the control unit 8, and temperature detectors 10 and 11 for measuring the temperature of the raw water in the raw water supply pipe 3 and the cooling unit 4. You.

The cooling section 4 has a metal cooling vessel 12 for storing raw water, and a part of the outer wall is exposed outside the cooling vessel 12 so that the outer wall is in close contact with the inner wall of the cooling vessel. Column-shaped porous metal body 13 (heat conductor) installed as described above, and the cooling surface is formed by cooling vessel 12 and porous metal body 1.
Peltier element 14 provided in close contact with the outer wall surface of 3
(Electronic cooling means), a radiator 15 provided in close contact with the heating surface side of the Peltier element 14 to emit heat generated from the heating surface, and exhaust air taken in from outside via the radiator 15. And a drain pipe 17 (drain means) for discharging raw water in the cooling vessel 12 to the outside of the water purifier 1.

The water purification section 7 includes a water purification container 18,
Activated carbon 19 and a plurality of hollow fiber membranes that are filled in the lower half space inside the water purification container 18 are bent into a U shape so that the open ends of both ends of the hollow fiber membrane communicate with the water discharge pipe 6. And a hollow fiber membrane element 21 which is fixed to a space of about the upper half inside the water purification container 18 by a fixing member 20 while maintaining the open state of the opening end.

FIG. 2 shows a porous metal body 1 according to this embodiment.
FIG. The porous metal body 13 has a cylindrical block shape having a hollow portion 22 at the center, and is formed by concentrically laminating an inner layer 23 having an average pore diameter of 40 μm and an outer layer 24 having an average pore diameter of 100 μm. Further, the bottom surface side of the hollow portion 22 is sealed with the lid 25, and only the upper surface side is open. Here, the outer layer 24 allows the raw water supplied from the raw water supply pipe 3 to pass through the holes in a turbulent state to efficiently perform heat transfer.
By providing a hole diameter ratio with 4, the flow path resistance is controlled, and the activation of turbulence is further promoted.

The inner layer 23 and the outer layer 24 constituting the porous metal body 13 are, specifically, a laminated sintered body in which a stainless steel mesh is laminated and integrated, and function as a heat conductor. Note that the heat conductor made of a porous or uneven metal body in the present invention is not limited to those shown in the drawings as long as it has a large surface area compared to the volume and can flow raw water. Other examples of porous or uneven metal bodies include metal fiber knits, metal fiber nonwovens, laminates of these, laminates of ultrathin tubes, laminates of corrugated plates ,
Foams and the like. Further, the type of metal is not limited to stainless steel, and for example, copper, aluminum, or the like can be used.

The porous metal body 13 has a large number of holes so that the contact area with the raw water in the cooling vessel 12 is increased. By connecting such a porous metal body 13 to a Peltier element 14 and functioning as a heat exchanger having a large heat transfer area, raw water passing through the pores of the porous metal body 13 in a turbulent state can be used as a porous material. Heat transfer to the metal body 13 can be performed efficiently. As a result, raw water can be cooled efficiently and in a short time.

The cooling vessel 12 is preferably made of a heat conductor such as stainless steel, copper, aluminum and the like. Further, the cooling container 1 excluding the Peltier element 14 mounting portion
A heat insulating material (not shown) is provided on the outer wall surface of the second to prevent heat from entering from outside.

The Peltier element 14 functions as electronic cooling means and is preferably used because it is small and has no noise. As the electronic cooling means, a Peltier element and a heat storage material (cooling agent) can be used together. The radiator 15 is not particularly limited as long as it radiates heat generated from the heat generating surface of the Peltier element 14. As the radiator 15, for example, a radiation fin or the like is used. The blower 16 is not particularly limited as long as it blows air taken in from the outside together with heat released from the radiator 15 to the outside. Blower 16
For example, an axial fan or the like is used. Further, it is possible to change to another heat radiating means according to the air volume and the static pressure.

The activated carbon 19 removes residual chlorine, trihalomethane, chlorine odor, moldy odor and the like in raw water. As the activated carbon 19, powdered fiber obtained by carbonizing a woody material, a coconut shell, or the like, and activating granular or powdered activated carbon, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber or the like activated as necessary, and activating as needed. Activated carbon and the like.

The hollow fiber membrane element 21 removes various bacteria, red rust and the like in the raw water. As the hollow fiber membrane used for the hollow fiber membrane element 21, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyolefin such as poly-4-methylpentene, polysulfone, polytetrafluoroethylene, a material such as polyvinylidene fluoride melt drawing method,
A hydrophobic porous hollow fiber membrane obtained by forming a membrane by a wet method or the like is exemplified. The pore diameter, porosity, film thickness, outer diameter and the like of the hollow fiber membrane are not particularly limited. For example, the outer diameter is 20 to 2000 μm, the pore diameter is 0.01 to 1 μm, and the porosity is 20. ９０90%, and the film thickness is in the range of 5３００300 μm. In addition, the temperature of the purified cold water used is lower by about 5 to 20 ° C. than the normal temperature water. Therefore, the filter medium resistance of the hollow fiber membrane is preferably set in accordance with the viscosity of the cold water. If the filter medium resistance of the hollow fiber membrane is set according to the viscosity of cold water, water can be injected at an appropriate flow rate.

The water purification section of the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, as long as it can purify the supplied raw water. Examples of the water purification section include those using only activated carbon as a purifying material and those using only hollow fiber membrane elements as a purifying material. Also,
In addition to activated carbon and hollow fiber membrane elements, ceramics, synthetic fiber nonwoven fabric, and the like can be used as the purifying material.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the water purifier of this embodiment. A commercial AC power supply is led to the control unit 8, the power supply is stepped down, converted into a DC voltage by an AC / DC conversion circuit, and supplied with power. This control unit 8
Peltier element 14 provided in water purifier 1, blower 16,
It is electrically connected to the temperature detector 10, the temperature detector 11, the operation display unit 9, the solenoid valve, and the like.
Based on the temperature data from the controller and the input data from the operation display unit 9, the control amount of the voltage value applied to the Peltier element 14 required to bring the water in the cooling container 12 to the set water temperature is subjected to PID calculation processing. Based on the calculation result, the voltage value and voltage polarity applied to the Peltier element 14,
It controls the start, stop, etc. of the operation.

The operation display section 9 is composed of an input device, a display device, and the like. The operation display portion 9 includes a power supply operation input, a cooling / heating switching operation input of the Peltier element 14 described later,
The setting of the set temperature of the raw water, the display of the temperature inside the cooling vessel 12, the operation display of the abnormality of the water purifier, and the like are performed. here,
The input device refers to an input device such as a display touch panel, a switch panel, and a keyboard, and the display device refers to a CRT or a liquid crystal display device.

A voltage polarity switch 8 ′ for switching the voltage polarity applied to the Peltier device 14 may be provided between the control unit 8 and the Peltier device 14. By providing this voltage polarity switcher 8 ', the Peltier element 14 can be used as a heating means.

Next, a method for producing purified water using the water purifier 1 of this embodiment will be described. First, by switching a switching valve (not shown) attached to a water tap to the water purifier 1 side, raw water passes through the raw water supply pipe 3 and is cooled by the cooling unit 4.
Supplied to The raw water supplied to the cooling unit 4 is stored in the cooling container 12 and is cooled by the porous metal body 13 cooled by the Peltier element 14 and the cooling container 12. Here, the raw water in the cooling vessel 12 is almost uniformly cooled by natural convection. The raw water cooled by the cooling unit 4 is pressurized by raw water supplied from a water tap through the raw water supply pipe 3 and supplied to the water purification unit 7, where the residual chlorine in the raw water, various bacteria, etc. After removing
It is taken out as drinking water from the water outlet of the water discharge pipe 6 as purified water.

Here, the raw water supply pipe 3 and the cooling vessel 12
The voltage polarity and voltage value to be applied to the Peltier device 14 calculated by the control unit 8 based on the signals from the temperature detectors 10 and 11 for sensing the internal water temperature are converted from the Peltier device 14 by the control unit 8 as analog continuous signals. , The raw water in the cooling vessel 12 is cooled to the set water temperature, and is cooled to the set temperature after reaching the set temperature. In addition, while the Peltier device 12 is performing the cooling operation and the cool keeping operation, the blower 16 is operated to exhaust the waste heat from the radiator 15 to the outside. The state of the cooling operation and the state of the cooling operation after the completion thereof are displayed on the operation display unit 9. The raw water cooled by the cooling unit 4 is
After the Peltier element 14 shifts to the cool operation, water can be injected from the water discharge pipe 6.

If the cooling operation is continued without discharging the raw water in the cooling container 12 for a long period of time, it is considered that the raw water stays for a long period and germs are generated. Therefore,
In the present embodiment, the control unit 8 calculates the residence time of the raw water in the cooling vessel 12, and when the retention time exceeds a predetermined time, an electromagnetic valve (not shown) provided in the middle of the flow path of the drain pipe 7. Activate to drain the stagnant water from the drain pipe 7. By draining the raw water that has stayed in the cooling container 12 for a long time, safe and delicious cold water can always be provided.

In this embodiment, the cooling container 12
The raw water inside is cooled by the Peltier element 14,
The controller 8 controls a voltage polarity switch 8 ′ provided between the controller 8 and the Peltier device 14, and
By switching the voltage polarity applied to 4, the raw water may be heated within a temperature range in which water can be passed through the water purification section 7. By purifying the raw water heated in the cooling vessel 12 by the Peltier element 14 in the water purification section 7 as described above, heated purified water can also be obtained.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing another embodiment of a water purifier with a cooling function according to the present invention.
The same reference numerals are given to the same components as those of the water purifier.
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the water purifier of the present embodiment. The water purifier 30 includes a cooling unit 4 that cools raw water supplied from a raw water supply pipe 3 communicating with a water tap (not shown) or the like in a housing 2 indicated by a two-dot chain line, and a cooling unit. 4
A circulating line 31 (circulating means) for circulating raw water, a purifying section 7 for purifying cooling water supplied from the cooling section 4 through the water supply pipe 5 and discharging purified water to a water discharge pipe 6;
Control unit 8 for controlling the cooling of raw water and the like, and water purifier 1
An operation display section 9 for displaying the operation such as turning on / off of the power supply and an operation state in the control section 8; a temperature detector 10 for measuring the temperature inside the raw water supply pipe 3; It has a schematic configuration including temperature detectors 11a and 11b for measuring the temperature of the light source.

The circulation line 31 has one end branched from the raw water supply pipe 3 and the other end connected to the water supply pipe 5, and a water flow pump 32 is provided in the middle of the flow path. further,
An electromagnetic valve 33 is provided in the circulation line 31 on the upstream side of the water flow pump 32, and a flow path switching valve 34 is provided in a connection portion between the circulation line 31 and the water supply pipe 5.
An electromagnetic valve 35 is provided in the raw water supply pipe 3 on the downstream side from the branch point of the above. In the present embodiment, the water pump 32
However, instead of the water flow pump 32, it is also possible to use means for pressurizing raw water in the water source on the raw water inflow side.

Next, a method for producing purified water using the water purifier 30 of this embodiment will be described. Water purifier 30 of this embodiment
In this case, purified water can be produced in the same manner as in the first embodiment. First, a switching valve (not shown) attached to a water tap is switched to the water purifier 1 side, and the electromagnetic valve 35 is opened, whereby raw water is supplied to the cooling unit 4 through the raw water supply pipe 3. At this time, the solenoid valve 33 on the circulation line 31 side
Is closed. After the supply of raw water is completed, close the water tap. The raw water supplied to the cooling unit 4 is cooled by the porous metal body 13 cooled by the Peltier element 14 and the cooling container 12.

Here, in the cooling vessel 12, a temperature difference occurs between the raw water in the upper part of the cooling vessel 12 and the raw water in the lower part, that is, the temperature difference detected by the temperature detectors 11a and 11b exceeds a set value. When this occurs, the control unit 8
The supply of raw water is stopped, the electromagnetic valve 33 is opened, the flow path switching valve 34 is switched to the circulation line 31 side, and the water flow pump 32 is driven. The raw water in the cooling vessel is taken out from the raw water supply pipe 3 side of the cooling unit 4 by the water flow pump 32 and flows through the circulation line 31 from the lower side to the upper side.
Then, the water is returned to the cooling unit 4 from the water pipe 5 side. In this way, by circulating and stirring the raw water in the cooling container 12, the water temperature can be made uniform. In addition, the raw water can be efficiently cooled by actively flowing the raw water into the pores of the porous metal body 13, and the cooling time of the raw water can be reduced.

After the solenoid valve 33 is closed and the flow path switching valve 34 is switched to the water purification section 7 side, the cooling section 4
The raw water cooled in the above is pressurized by raw water supplied through a raw water supply pipe 3 from a water tap and supplied to a water purification unit 7, where after removing residual chlorine, various germs and the like in the raw water, It is taken out as drinking water from the water outlet of the water discharge pipe 6 as purified water.

The control unit 8 calculates the time during which water is injected from the tip through the water discharge pipe 6, and when this time exceeds a predetermined time, or a pressure detecting means (not shown) in the middle of the flow path.
The control unit 8 calculates the pressure loss of the water flow passing through the porous metal body 13 based on a signal from a flow rate detection unit (not shown) or the like, and controls when a significant clogging phenomenon is detected in the porous metal body 13. Closing the solenoid valve 35 by the part 8;
Open the solenoid valve 33 and connect the flow path switching valve 34 to the circulation line 3
Switching to the first side, an electromagnetic valve (not shown) provided in the middle of the flow path of the drain pipe 17 is opened, and the water flow pump 32 is driven.
At the same time, raw water is supplied from a water tap, and the raw water flows through the raw water supply pipe 3, the circulation line 31, and the cooling unit 4 in this order, and coarse dust deposited in the pores of the porous metal body 13 of the cooling unit 4 by the raw water. And the like are discharged from the drain pipe 17 together with the raw water.

During the backwashing of the porous metal body 13, the Peltier device 14 is operated by the voltage polarity switch 8 '.
The polarity of the voltage applied to the Peltier element 14 is switched, the voltage value is controlled by the control unit 8, the surface of the Peltier element 14 that contacts the porous metal body 13 and the cooling vessel 12 is switched to the heating surface, and the porous metal body 13 is heated. Is preferred. As described above, by making the Peltier element 14 function as a heating means and heating the porous metal body 13, clogging can be easily removed, and the cleaning efficiency of the porous metal body 13 can be improved. .

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the configuration and the like may be changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is possible to For example, the cooling unit 4 may be provided downstream of the water purification unit 7 so that the purified water purified by the water purification unit 7 is cooled by the cooling unit 4. However, when the purified water is cooled and stored, the residual chlorine concentration in the stored water becomes low, and there is a possibility that various bacteria may propagate. Therefore, it is preferable that the cooling unit 4 is installed on the upstream side of the water purification unit 7 as in the present embodiment.

The water purifier 1 and the water purifier 30 of this embodiment are
By bringing the Peltier element 14 as the electronic cooling means and the porous metal body 13 into close contact, the Peltier element 14 and the porous metal body 13 function as a heat exchanger having a large heat transfer area, and the raw water in the cooling vessel 12 is removed. The raw water is efficiently cooled in a short time by passing the pores of the porous metal body 13 in a turbulent state.

Further, since the water purifier 30 of this embodiment is provided with the circulation line 31 as circulation means, the cooling vessel 12
The raw water inside can be stirred, and the raw water can be efficiently and uniformly cooled in a shorter time. further,
The water purifier 30 of the present embodiment controls the voltage polarity and the voltage value applied to the Peltier element 14 so that the Peltier element 14 can function as a heating unit and the porous metal body 13 can be heated and cleaned. High heat exchangeability can be maintained for a long period of time with the configuration and without decomposition cleaning.

[0039]

As described above, the water purifier with a cooling function of the present invention includes a cooling unit for cooling raw water or purified water by electronic cooling means, and a water purification unit for purifying raw water.
Since the cooling section contains a heat conductor made of a porous or uneven metal body connected to the electronic cooling means, the raw water or purified water in the cooling section can be efficiently cooled in a short time. The size of the water purifier body can be reduced.

Further, when a circulating means or a stirring means for stirring the raw water or purified water is provided in the cooling section, the raw water or purified water in the cooling section can be cooled more efficiently and uniformly in a shorter time. Further, when the water purifier with a cooling function of the present invention includes heating means for heating the heat conductor, and drainage means for discharging raw water or purified water in the cooling unit, the heat conductor is heated and washed. And a high heat exchange property can be maintained for a long period of time. In addition, when the water purification section is provided downstream of the cooling section, safe and delicious water free from contamination by germs and the like can be supplied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an example of a water purifier with a cooling function of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a porous metal body used as a heat conductor in the water purifier with a cooling function of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the water purifier with a cooling function of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing another example of the water purifier with a cooling function of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the water purifier with a cooling function of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing an example of a conventional water purifier with a cooling function.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water purifier 4 Cooling part 7 Water purifying part 13 Porous metal body (heat conductor) 14 Peltier element (electronic cooling means, heating means) 17 Drain pipe (drain means) 30 Water purifier 31 Circulation line (circulation means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3L045 AA02 AA04 BA01 CA01 DA04 EA03 LA09 LA18 MA01 4D006 GA02 HA01 HA91 KB12 PA01 PB06 PC51 PC52 4D024 AA02 AB02 BA02 BA14 CA11

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cooling section for cooling raw water or purified water by electronic cooling means, and a water purification section for purifying raw water, wherein the cooling section has a porosity or unevenness connected to the electronic cooling means. A water purifier with a cooling function, wherein a heat conductor made of a metal body is housed. 2. The water purifier with a cooling function according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit is provided with a circulating unit or a stirring unit for stirring raw water or purified water. 3. The purified water with a cooling function according to claim 1, further comprising a heating unit for heating the heat conductor, and a drain unit for discharging raw water or purified water in the cooling unit. vessel. 4. The water purifier with a cooling function according to claim 1, wherein the water purifier is provided downstream of the cooling unit.