JP2002205065A - Water softener preventing hardness leakage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the hardness leakage caused by that the water having high hardness which stays in a resin tower is sent. SOLUTION: This water softener system is provided with a water softener which removes a hardness component from raw water by passing the raw water through the resin tower 1 packed with ion exchange resin, a raw water piping 7 which is connected with the water softener and supplies the raw water to the water softener, a treated water piping 8 which is connected with the water softener and takes out treated water, a drain piping 5 which is connected with the way in the treated water piping, a drain control valve 4 which controls the drain from the drain piping and a control device 6 which controls an operation of the water softener and the opening and closing of the drain control valve. Therein, a hardness measuring instrument 3 which measures the hardness of the treated water is disposed, the control device 6 measures the hardness of the treated water after the regeneration of the ion exchange resin and opens the drain control valve 4 when a measurement value of the hardness exceeds the prescribed value, the water in the resin tower is discharged and, thereby, the hardness leakage is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water softener for preventing leakage of hardness.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a water softener in which raw water is passed through a resin tower packed with an ion exchange resin, and hardness components composed of calcium ions and magnesium ions in the raw water are removed by ion exchange to collect soft water. It is necessary to regenerate the ion exchange resin of the water softener every time a certain amount of water is collected. The regeneration step is a backwashing step in which water is flowed in the opposite direction to water collection to loosen the ion exchange resin, a drug passing step in which salt water is passed through the ion exchange resin layer, an extrusion step in which salt water is pushed out from the ion exchange resin layer,
It consists of a washing step of washing away the remaining salt. Since complicated operations such as changing the direction of water flow are required for each process, a dedicated control valve is installed in the water softener, and for regeneration, the valve opening / closing pattern and process time are determined for each process.
The control valve switches the flow of water every time a predetermined time elapses, and performs water flow according to each process.

[0003] Since water cannot be collected during regeneration, water softeners are installed in parallel when soft water is always required, and water is collected while the other is being used. Regenerate the water softener, and if only one is installed, regenerate it during the time when soft water is not used, such as at midnight. When the regeneration is completed, the water softener is kept on standby until the time for water sampling comes. However, it is too late if it is found after the start of water sampling that the hardness is leaked due to insufficient regeneration. Therefore, it has been proposed to measure the hardness of treated water immediately after regeneration as described in JP-A-10-272370, and to output an abnormal output if the hardness exceeds a predetermined value.

[0004] The cause of high treated water hardness after regeneration is as follows.
In addition to the case where the regeneration itself described in JP-A-10-272370 is not performed, salt water remains in the resin layer due to insufficient washing, which is the final step of the regeneration, depending on the remaining salt. Hardness may temporarily increase. In this case, the hardness leak can be eliminated by performing only the cleaning process.However, due to the nature of the control valve, the cleaning process alone cannot be performed, and the cause has not been identified. Was taking.

[0005] In addition, a low hardness was measured before entering the standby mode, but a high hardness was measured at the start of water sampling after the standby mode. This phenomenon is caused by a color throw if the water stoppage time is long over several days. Therefore, as described in JP-A-8-229551, the water level in the soft water tank is taken out as an electric signal, and in the water softener that controls the water flow control valve according to the water level, the time when the water level is higher than the predetermined water level is measured. It has been proposed to calculate the water stoppage time, and to drain the water when the water stop time exceeds a predetermined time. But in this case,
It was necessary to take out the water level in the soft water tank as an electric signal, and it could not be used in a water softener that controlled water flow by a ball tap.

Further, even when the water stoppage time has not reached the above-mentioned time, the hardness value may be high at the time of starting water sampling. Even if water is drained based on this, it is not possible to prevent hardness leakage.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to prevent the occurrence of hardness leakage due to high-hardness water accumulated in a resin tower.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water softener for removing a hardness component from raw water by passing raw water through a resin tower packed with an ion exchange resin. Raw water piping for supplying raw water to the vessel, treated water piping connected to the water softener to take out treated water from the water softener, drainage piping connected in the middle of the treated water piping, drainage control valve for controlling drainage from drainage piping, soft water In a water softener system with a control device that controls the operation of the water heater and the opening and closing of the drainage control valve,
A hardness measuring device for measuring the hardness of the treated water is provided, and the control device measures the hardness of the treated water after the regeneration of the ion exchange resin, and when the measured value of the hardness exceeds a predetermined value, activates the drainage control valve. Opening and discharging water in the resin tower prevents leakage of hardness.

According to the invention of claim 2, in the water softener, the hardness in the treated water is measured after a lapse of a delay time for equalizing the water quality in the resin tower after the regeneration is completed, and a hardness leak occurs. That is detected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the raw water is supplied to a resin tower packed with an ion exchange resin to remove hardness components from the raw water, and the raw water is connected to the water softener to supply the raw water to the water softener. A treated water pipe connected to the raw water pipe and water softener to take out treated water from the water softener, a drainage pipe connected in the middle of the treated water pipe, a drainage control valve for controlling drainage from the drainage pipe,
In a water softener system with a control device that controls the operation of the water softener and the opening and closing of the drainage control valve, the control device is connected to the control unit every time the water reaches a certain amount, upstream of the drainage pipe connection of the treated water pipe. A pulse transmission type flow meter that outputs a water flow signal is installed in advance, and the control device sets the drainage control valve when the water transmission signal transmission interval in the pulse transmission type flow meter is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. Opening and discharging water in the resin tower prevents leakage of hardness.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the cleaning in the regeneration is insufficient, the control device automatically removes the water in the resin tower when detecting that the measured value of the hardness exceeds a predetermined value. The discharge has the same effect as the washing, and the salt water remaining in the resin tower can be discharged, thereby preventing the occurrence of a hardness leak at the time of water sampling. According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reliably detect a cleaning failure even when the cleaning water is biased in the cleaning process. According to the third aspect of the invention, even in a water softener whose water flow is controlled by a ball tap or the like, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of hardness leakage due to a long-term stoppage.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a flow in a water softener embodying the present invention. The water softener body includes a resin tower 1 filled with an ion exchange resin and a control valve 9 for controlling water flow to the resin tower 1. The control valve 9 is connected to a raw water pipe 7 for supplying raw water into the resin tower and a treated water pipe 8 for taking out treated water processed in the resin tower. The water softener is provided with a hardness measuring device 3 and the hardness measuring device 3 measures the hardness of the treated water.

The other end of the treated water pipe 8 is connected to a treated water tank 10.
And a pulse transmission type flow meter 2, a three-way solenoid valve 4, a ball tap 11
Is provided. A drain pipe 5 is connected to the three-way solenoid valve 4, and the three-way solenoid valve 4 functions as a drain control valve. A control device 6 is provided for performing control such as regeneration, and the control device 6 is connected to the hardness measuring device 3, the control valve 9, the pulse transmission type flow meter 2, and the three-way solenoid valve 4. Control device 6
Detects the regeneration time from the hardness measured by the hardness measurement device 3, issues a regeneration instruction to the control valve 9, and also controls drainage by operating the three-way solenoid valve 4.

When the water level in the treated water tank 10 decreases due to the use of soft water, soft water is sampled. Treated water tank 10
When the water level in the inside falls, the ball tap 11 opens, and the treated water taken out of the resin tower 1 is sent to the treated water tank 10 through the treated water pipe 8. Raw water from the raw water pipe 7 enters the resin tower 1 according to the flow of water into the treated water tank 10, and is subjected to softening treatment by ion exchange. The pulse transmission type flow meter 2 outputs a water flow signal every time a certain amount of water flows, and outputs a water flow signal during sampling.

Next, description will be made based on the flowchart of FIG. The water sampling is performed by controlling the water flow by moving the ball tap 11 up and down according to the water level of the treated water tank 10, and the control device 6 does not control the water sampling and the standby. When the water level in the treated water tank 10 is lowered by using the soft water and the treated water is sent from the resin tower to the treated water tank 10 by opening the ball tap 11, the pulse transmission type flow meter is provided every time a certain amount of water flows. 2 outputs a water flow signal to the control device 6. The control device 6 determines the presence or absence of water sampling by taking in the water flow signal from the pulse transmission type flow meter 2.

In step S01, the presence or absence of water sampling is determined. If the water flow signal from the pulse transmission type flow meter 2 has not arrived, the water sampling stop time is counted in step S02. In step S03, the count of the water sampling stop time is compared with a predetermined value (for example, a long-term interval such as three days). If the water sampling stop time is shorter than the predetermined value, the process returns to step S01, and the water sampling stop time is determined. If the value exceeds the predetermined value, drainage is performed in step S04. The drainage is performed by the control device 6 sending a command to the three-way solenoid valve 4 to open the drainage pipe 5 side. When the three-way solenoid valve 4 opens the drainage pipe 5 side, the water in the resin tower 1 is drained through the drainage pipe 5. When the drainage is performed, new raw water corresponding to the drainage enters the resin tower 1 and the water in the resin tower 1 is replaced.

Since the pulse transmission type flow meter 2 is installed in the treated water pipe 8 between the control valve 9 and the three-way solenoid valve 4, the pulse transmission type flow meter 2 outputs a water flow signal during drainage, The control device 6 can calculate the amount of drainage from the flow signal. When the amount of drainage reaches a predetermined amount for replacing the water in the resin tower 1, the control device 6 switches the three-way solenoid valve 4 to the treated water tank 10 side to terminate drainage, and step S0
At 5, the water stop time is reset and the process returns to step S01. Even if a color throw has occurred due to a long-term stoppage, by replacing the water in the resin tower, it is possible to prevent water with high hardness from being sent to the treated water tank.

If a water flow signal from the pulse transmission type flow meter 2 arrives when drainage is not being performed, it can be determined that water is being collected. In S06, if the sampling stop time has been counted, the sampling stop time is reset. At the time of water sampling, the hardness is measured by the hardness measuring device 3 in step S07, and in step S08, it is determined whether or not the measured hardness is higher than a value that requires regeneration. If the hardness is lower than the predetermined value, the process returns to step S01, and if the hardness is higher than the predetermined value, the reproduction is performed in step S09. If the start of regeneration is a system where two water softeners are installed in parallel, the regeneration is started immediately after switching the water softener to be sampled, and if the water softener is installed alone,
Playback starts after a preset time.

The regeneration step includes a backwashing step in which water is flowed in the opposite direction to water collection to loosen the ion exchange resin, a drug passing step in which the salt water is passed through the ion exchange resin, an extrusion step in which the salt water is pushed out, and a washing out of the remaining salt water. Is performed. Regeneration is finished at the end of the washing step, and the flow of water to the resin tower 1 is stopped. However, the water flow in the resin layer during the washing step is not always uniform, and in a portion deviated from the washing water flow. Insufficient cleaning may not be performed. In this case, if a hardness measurement for reconfirmation is performed after the washing, a low hardness value is detected because the hardness is measured with water that has passed through the portion of the resin that has been sufficiently washed. However, when the passage of water is stopped, the salt remaining in the resin portion that has not been sufficiently washed diffuses in the resin tower, and a high hardness is detected when the hardness is measured thereafter. For this reason, in Step S10, a delay of a predetermined time from the end of regeneration to the time when there is no deviation in the water quality in the resin tower is performed, and the hardness measurement is performed in Step S11 after the delay time. Since the delay in step S10 is only required to make the water quality in the resin tower uniform, only a few minutes is sufficient, and the effect is not changed even if it is longer. By performing the delay, when the cleaning is insufficient, the defective cleaning can be reliably detected.

In step S12, if the hardness value measured in step S11 is lower than a predetermined value, the process returns to step S01,
If it is higher than the predetermined value, drainage is performed in step S13. Drainage is performed by the control device 6 sending a command to the three-way solenoid valve 4 to open the drainage pipe 5 side, and the water remaining in the resin tower is discharged by replacing the water in the resin tower. . The amount of drainage is obtained from the flow signal of the pulse transmission type flow meter 2, and a predetermined amount of drainage is performed. The amount of drainage may be such that water in the resin tower is replaced, and may be set smaller than in the washing step during regeneration. When the drainage is completed, a delay of a predetermined time is performed in step S14 for the same reason as described above, and the hardness is measured again in step S15. In step S16, if the hardness measurement result is lower than the predetermined value, the process returns to step S01. If the hardness measurement result is higher than the predetermined value, abnormality notification is performed in step S17.

When the resin is washed by draining water after the completion of the regeneration step, but the hardness is still high, there is a high possibility that the regeneration itself has not been performed. Therefore, here, even if the drainage is repeated, it is wasteful of the water, and the abnormality notification is performed without repeating the drainage further. If an abnormality is notified at an early stage, it is possible to take measures before water is required. If the amount of drainage at one time is reduced, the abnormality notification may be performed after the drainage and the hardness measurement are repeated a plurality of times. In this case, the washing may be completed with less drainage.

In the present invention, since the presence or absence of water flow is detected by the pulse transmission type flow meter 2, a water level detecting device for detecting the water level in the treated water tank as an electric signal is not required. The present invention can also be applied to a water softener controlling water. Further, the pulse transmission type flow meter 2 can also be used for measuring the amount of drainage, and by measuring the amount of drainage, it is possible to discharge an accurate amount of water without excess or deficiency.

[0023]

According to the present invention, when the cleaning at the time of regeneration is insufficient, the resin can be automatically cleaned by automatically draining the water, and the cleaning is insufficient. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of hardness leakage due to the presence. Further, even in the case of a water softener that controls water flow by a ball tap or the like, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of hardness leakage when the water flow stop time is lengthened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 resin tower 2 pulse transmission type flow meter 3 hardness measuring device 4 three-way solenoid valve 5 drainage pipe 6 control unit 7 raw water pipe 8 treated water pipe 9 control valve 10 treated water tank 11 ball tap

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A water softener that removes hardness components from raw water by passing raw water through a resin tower packed with ion exchange resin.
Raw water piping connected to the water softener and supplying raw water to the water softener, treated water piping connected to the water softener to take out treated water from the water softener, drainage piping connected in the middle of the treated water piping, drainage from drainage piping Water control system that controls the operation of the water softener and the opening and closing of the drainage control valve in a water softener system. The hardness of the treated water is measured after the exchange resin is regenerated, and when the measured value of the hardness exceeds a predetermined value, the drainage control valve is opened to prevent water leakage in the resin tower by discharging water in the resin tower. Water softener. 2. The water softener according to claim 1, wherein the hardness in the treated water is measured after a delay time for equalizing the water quality in the resin tower has elapsed after the regeneration is completed. A water softener for preventing leakage of hardness. 3. A water softener for removing hardness components from raw water by passing raw water through a resin tower packed with ion exchange resin.
Raw water piping connected to the water softener and supplying raw water to the water softener, treated water piping connected to the water softener to take out treated water from the water softener, drainage piping connected in the middle of the treated water piping, drainage from drainage piping Water control system that controls the operation of the water softener and the opening and closing of the drainage control valve in the water softener system. A pulse transmission type flow meter that outputs a water flow signal to the control device every time the flow reaches the control device is installed. A water softener for preventing leakage of hardness, wherein the drainage control valve is opened to discharge water in the resin tower.