JP2008178876A - Water purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water purifier whose handling convenience is improved by facilitating a flow path switching operation. <P>SOLUTION: This water purifier housing a filtering medium, comprises a filtration container 37 with a purified water outflow port 47 and a switching valve 24 which switches the discharge of purified water obtained by purifying/filtering raw water through the filtering medium to the discharge of the raw water not passing through the filtering medium or vice versa. In addition, the filtration container 37 is arranged in a freely removable manner to the switching valve 24 and the switching valve 24 has a columnar rotator 26 arranged in a freely rotatable manner. Further, inside the rotator 26, a water passage for filtration 32 for introducing the raw water into the filtration container 37, is arranged along a rotary shaft of the rotator 26. Thus the switching operation of the switching valve 24 can be carried out by the rotation of the filtration container 37. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a water purifier for filtering water to be treated containing organic matter, red rust and the like with a filter body, and more specifically, can switch a raw water discharge / purified water discharge by operating a filter container containing the filter body. It relates to the water purifier.

In recent years, as a water purifier that purifies and filters tap water with a filter body using a filter membrane such as a hollow fiber membrane or an adsorbent such as activated carbon, it has been rapidly The demand is expanding.
Such a water purifier performs water purification treatment through the filter body in order to use tap water as drinking water.For example, when water purification is not required, such as when used for dishwashing, tap water is not passed through the filter body. A switching valve for selectively switching the flow path is provided so that the raw water can be discharged as it is.
As a form of the water purifier, there are mainly a stationary water purifier and a faucet direct connection type water purifier. In the stationary water purifier, the switching valve and the filter are separated, and the switching valve is attached to the faucet, and the filter connected with the hose is placed on the sink and used. Yes. The faucet direct-coupled water purifier has a structure in which the switching valve and the filter are integrated, and the integrated water purifier main body is directly attached to the faucet of the water supply.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of a conventional switching valve. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 1 denotes a valve body, and 2 denotes a water channel formed perpendicularly to the center of the valve body 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a cylindrical portion which is provided so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis while being pressed against the water channel 2 by the packing 4, and has a water channel formed therein and a plurality of outer peripheral portions thereof. The openings 5, 6, and 12 are formed at positions that are asymmetric with respect to the axis. Reference numeral 7 is a cock for rotating the cylindrical portion 3, 8 is a rotating ring for mounting the valve body 1 to the faucet, and 9 is a straight formed at the center of the lower portion of the valve body 1 and communicating with the opening 5. The outlet 10 is a shower outlet formed in the lower part of the valve body 1 in the vicinity of the straight outlet and communicating with the opening 6. A screw portion 11 for screwing an annular shower cap (not shown) is formed at the lower end of the valve body 1.
Further, a filtration outlet that communicates with the opening 12 is formed on the side wall of the valve body 1, and this filtration outlet communicates with a filtration container containing a filter body directly or via a water supply hose. ing.

In this switching valve, when the cylindrical portion 3 is rotated in a predetermined direction around a horizontal axis by the cock 7 and the opening 5 of the cylindrical portion 3 is communicated with the straight outlet 9, the outlet flows out of the faucet. The raw water to be discharged flows downward from the straight outlet 9 through the water channel 2, the water channel in the tube portion 3 and the opening 5.
Further, when the cylindrical portion 3 is further rotated in a predetermined direction by the cock 7 and the opening 6 of the cylindrical portion 3 is communicated with the outlet 10 for shower, the raw water flowing out from the faucet is supplied to the water channel 2, the cylindrical portion. 3 flows out from the shower outlet 10 via the water channel 3 and the opening 6 and flows out in a shower from a shower cap (not shown).
Similarly, when the cock 7 is rotated in a predetermined direction so that the opening 12 of the cylindrical portion 3 communicates with a filtration outlet (not shown), the raw water flowing out from the faucet is supplied to the water channel 2 and the cylindrical portion 3. It is supplied to the filtration container from the outlet for filtration via the inner water channel and the opening 12, and is subjected to water purification treatment there.

In the conventional water purifier having the above-described structure, the flow path switching by the switching valve is performed by operating the cock, but the cock is made in a relatively small shape, and soap is attached to the fingers. If you are wearing or wearing rubber gloves, there is a problem that it is difficult to operate the cock.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a water purifier that can be easily operated for channel switching and has improved usability.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the water purifier according to claim 1 of the present invention contains a filter body, and has a filter container having a purified water outlet, purified water filtered by the filter body, and purified water discharged from the filter body and the filter body. Consisting of a switching valve that switches between discharging raw water that does not go through
The filtration container is provided detachably with respect to the switching valve,
The switching valve is provided with a cylindrical rotating body so as to be rotatable,
Inside the rotary body, a filtration water channel for introducing raw water into the filtration container is provided along the rotation axis of the rotary body,
The switching operation of the switching valve is performed by turning the filtration container.

According to the water purifier of the present invention, when the flow path is switched, it is only necessary to operate a filtration container having a shape larger than that of a conventional cock, so that the operation is easy. Therefore, switching is easy even when soap is attached to fingers or when wearing rubber gloves, and it is possible to operate not only with fingers but also with a part of the arm. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a conventional cock, so that compactness can be measured, and the number of parts constituting the water purifier is reduced, leading to cost reduction.
In addition, since the filtration container is detachably attached to the switching valve, the filtration container can be easily replaced with a new one when the filtration performance of the filter body deteriorates due to long-term use.

The present invention will be described in detail below. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the water purifier of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view. In this water purifier, a filtration container 37 is attached to the switching valve 24 so as to be detachable and turnable while sliding.
A water channel 25 is formed in the vertical center in the upper center of the switching valve 24. A faucet is attached to the upper portion of the switching valve 24 so as to circulate with the water channel 25. For this purpose, a faucet seal packing 23, a faucet attachment adapter 21, and a rotating ring 22 are provided. A raw water outlet 29 is provided at the lower center of the switching valve 24, and a shower cap 30 is screwed to the lower end. Further, an enlarged diameter portion 24a is formed on the side of the switching valve 24, and an end portion of the enlarged diameter portion 24a is opened.

A cylindrical rotating body 26 is provided in the switching valve 24 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. An opening 27a communicating with the water channel 25, an opening 27b communicating with the raw water outlet 29 in a state where the water channel 25 and the opening 27a communicate with each other, and a water channel 25 and the opening 27a communicating with the side surface of the rotating body 26. An opening 28a for filtration that communicates with the water channel 25 in a state where it is not formed is formed. Further, a filtration outlet 28b is formed at one end of the rotary body 26, and a filtration water channel 32 is provided in the rotary body 26 to allow the filtration opening 28a and the filtration outlet 28b to communicate with each other. The end of the rotator 26 where the filtration water channel 32 is formed is coaxially arranged in the enlarged diameter portion 24 a of the switching valve 24.
A plurality of engaging grooves 26 a are formed along the longitudinal direction of the rotating body 26 on the outer peripheral surface of the end of the rotating body 26 disposed in the enlarged diameter portion 24 a.

On the other hand, the filtration container 37 is provided with a filtration membrane layer 44 that is fixed by a fixing member 45 at the inner central portion thereof and is accommodated in a cylindrical partition wall. An adsorbent layer 41 is disposed. A purified water outlet 47 is provided at the bottom of the filtration container 37, and an inlet 38 is opened at the lower side of the filtration container 37. A cylindrical guide 36 protruding from the side surface of the filtration container 37 is provided on the side surface of the filtration container 37 and around the inlet 38. On the periphery of the edge of the guide 36, two protrusions 36a projecting outward are provided at the upper and lower portions when the longitudinal direction of the filtration container 37 is the vertical direction.
On the inner peripheral surface of the guide 36, a protrusion 36b that engages with the engaging groove 26a on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 26 is provided.

The filtration container 37 is attached to the switching valve 24 in a state where the guide 36 is inserted into the enlarged diameter portion 24a of the switching valve 24 so as to be detachable and slidable.
An annular guide pressing plate 35 as shown in FIG. 3 is attached to the inside of the opening of the enlarged diameter portion 24a. The guide pressing plate 35 has a through hole 48, and the through hole 48 is formed in the same shape as the outer shape of the end face of the guide 36. In the through hole 48, key grooves 48 a through which the protrusions 36 a provided at the edge of the guide 36 are inserted are provided on both the left and right sides. In addition, a disc-shaped presser plate 33 having a through-hole having the same diameter as the outer diameter of the rotating body 26 at the center is fixed on the periphery of the rotating body 26 in the enlarged diameter portion 24a. Further, a leaf spring plate 34 as shown in FIG. 4 is mounted on the rotating body 26 adjacent to the presser plate 33. A plurality of leaf spring protrusions 49 as shown in FIG. 5 are provided on the surface of the leaf spring plate 34 in contact with the presser plate 33.

Then, with the projection 36a of the guide 36 of the filtration container 37 aligned with the key groove 48a of the guide presser plate 35, the end of the guide 36 is inserted into the enlarged diameter portion 24a by pushing the guide 36 in the horizontal direction. Is done. At this time, the leaf spring plate 34 is pressed toward the holding plate 33 by the end face of the guide 36, and the leaf spring protrusion 49 is forcibly elastically deformed. Thus, the filtration container 37 can be attached to the switching valve 24 by rotating the filtration container 37 by 90 degrees in a plane parallel to the surface of the guide presser plate 35 in a state where the leaf spring protrusion 49 is biased.
Thus, with the filtration container 37 attached to the switching valve 24, the protrusion 36b on the inner peripheral surface of the guide 36 and the engagement groove 26a on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 26 are locked. Therefore, when the filtration container 37 is further rotated while sliding in the same direction as that of the attachment, the rotary body 26 is rotated about the horizontal axis as the rotation of the filtration container 37. ing.

Such a water purifier is used by directly connecting the upper part of the switching valve 24 to a tap (not shown) of a water supply. First, with the faucet inserted into the faucet mounting adapter 21, the front end surface of the faucet is brought into coaxial contact with the packing 23, and in this state, the rotating ring 22 is rotated in the circumferential direction and fastened. A water purifier can be attached to the faucet. Further, when the rotating ring 22 is rotated in the direction opposite to that at the time of fastening, the water purifier can be easily removed from the faucet.
Fig.6 (a) is the side view which showed the water purifier at the time of clean water discharging. As shown in FIG. 6A, the filtration container 37 is discharged from the faucet in a state where the longitudinal direction of the filtration container 37 is vertical and the purified water outlet 47 formed on the bottom surface of the filtration container 37 faces downward. The tap water (raw water) is introduced into the switching valve 24 from the water channel 25, and is sent from the filtration opening 28 a of the rotating body 26 communicating with the water channel 25 to the inlet 38 of the filtration container 37 through the filtration water channel 32. . The raw water that has flowed into the filtration container 37 passes through the sintered filter 40 from the raw water chamber 39, where coarse dust and the like are removed. The water that has passed through the sintered filter 40 passes through the adsorbent layer 41, so that the odor of lime, mold, and the like are adsorbed and removed. Then, the water passes through the partition plate 42 and flows into the partition chamber 43, and then passes through the filtration membrane layer 44 to remove fine particles, iron rust, bacteria, and the like, and the purified water is collected in the purified water collection chamber 46. . And purified water is discharged from the purified water outlet 47 formed in the bottom face of the filtration container 37.

On the other hand, when the raw water is discharged, as shown in FIG. 6B, the filtration container 37 is slid in a plane parallel to the radial direction of the rotator 26 with the horizontal axis of the rotator 26 as the rotation axis. The filter container 37 is tilted so that the longitudinal direction of the filtration container 37 is at an arbitrary angle (for example, 45 degrees) with respect to the vertical axis of the switching valve 24. As the filtration container 37 rotates, the rotating body 26 of the switching valve 24 rotates about its horizontal axis, the opening 27a and the water channel 25 communicate with each other, and the opening 27b and the raw water outlet 29 are connected. It becomes a state of communication. When the rotating body 26 is rotated as described above, the filtration opening 28 a is sealed with a sealing material (not shown) in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body 26, so that raw water does not flow into the filtering water channel 32. It has become.
The raw water discharged from the faucet in this state is introduced into the switching valve 24 from the water channel 25, passes through the rotating body 26 from the opening 27a communicating with the water channel 25, and opens to the opening 27b and the raw water outlet that communicates therewith. 29 and discharged from the shower outlet hole 31 of the shower cap 30 in a shower shape.

In this embodiment, the raw water flows out from the shower outflow hole 31, and the explanation of the straight outlet is omitted, but the configuration of FIG. 1 is further shown in FIG. Needless to say, a straight outlet and a flow path switching mechanism for feeding raw water to the straight outlet can be added.
Moreover, the switching mechanism in the water purifier of this invention is not restricted to the said Example. For example, although not illustrated, a switching mechanism that switches the flow path by rotating the filter container 37 in the circumferential direction around the vertical axis of the switching valve 24 may be used.

In the water purifier of the present embodiment, the raw water discharge and the purified water discharge can be easily switched by taking the filtration container 37 and tilting it by 45 degrees. Therefore, conventionally, a cock for switching the flow path has been provided outside the switching valve, but it is not necessary to provide this, and it is possible to reduce the number of components of the water purifier, reduce the cost, and achieve compactness. .
Here, when two or more flow paths are switched by rotating the filtration container 37, the rotation of the filtration container 37 is performed within a range of 30 to 80 degrees for one switching. desirable.

Further, the filtration container 37 is detachably attached to the switching valve 24, and the filter container 37 is replaced when the filter body comprising the sintered filter 40, the adsorbent layer 41 and the filtration membrane layer 44 in the filtration container 37 is replaced. It can be exchanged as an exchange unit.
When attaching the filtration container 37 to the switching valve 24, the guide 36 is pushed in the horizontal direction with the projection 36 a of the guide 36 of the filtration container 37 aligned with the key groove 48 a of the guide pressing plate 35, and the filtration container 37 is It is rotated 90 degrees in the direction parallel to the surface of the guide presser plate 35. The leaf spring protrusion 49 of the leaf spring plate 34 that contacts the filtration container 37 in the attached state functions to prevent the filtration container 37 from rotating and fall off. When the filtration container 37 is removed from the switching valve 24, the guide 36 is pushed in the horizontal direction and the leaf spring projection 49 is forcibly elastically deformed. The protrusion 36a of the guide 36 may be removed from the key groove 48a of the guide pressing plate 35 by rotating.

Alternatively, the filter container 37 is not replaced, and only the filter body in the filter container 37 is formed in a cartridge type, and this cartridge can be used as a replacement unit. In this case, for example, the filtration container 37 may be composed of a main body and a detachable lid, and the lid may be opened and the cartridge inside the filtration container 37 may be replaced.
The filtration container 37 can be attached to the switching valve 24 using various well-known methods such as a joint method, a coupler method, a bayonet method, a screw fixing method, a keyhole method, etc. Can do.
Further, in this embodiment, the guide 36 of the filtration container 37 and the rotating body 26 of the switching valve 24 are locked by the protrusion 36b and the engagement groove 26a. Any method can be used as long as it is a locking means in which the filtration container 37 and the rotating body 26 rotate in conjunction with each other.

Moreover, in the said Example, although the sintered filter 40, the adsorption agent layer 41, and the filtration membrane layer 44 are used as a filter body of a water purifier, the water purifier of this invention is not restricted to this.
The sintered filter 40 is used for filtering and removing coarse dust, iron rust, and the like in the raw water. In addition to this, an appropriate filter medium such as a nonwoven fabric, a metal or plastic net can be used.
Further, the adsorbent layer 41 is for removing raw water odor, mold odor, organic substances, metal ions and the like of raw water passing through the adsorbent layer 41. Examples of such adsorbent include granular activated carbon, powdered activated carbon, and fibrous activated carbon. Activated carbon, ion exchange resin, calcium sulfite, or a mixture or combination of the adsorbents can be used.
As the filtration membrane layer 44, those having various known structures can be used as long as they have a filtration membrane such as a flat membrane and a hollow fiber membrane. The filtration membrane is preferably one that can prevent passage of bacteria and the like and has a permeability of 1 liter / m ² · min or more at a water pressure of 1 kg / cm ² . Examples of the filter membrane include various materials such as cellulose, polyolefin, polysulfone, and polyvinyl alcohol.
Moreover, as a filter body, what consists only of an adsorbent layer, what combined an adsorbent layer and a filtration membrane layer, what consists only of a filtration membrane layer, what combined said filter medium with another filter medium, etc. can be used. it can.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, The switching valve which has various switching mechanisms is used, The switching operation of this switching valve can be performed by the action | operation of a filtration container, The water purifier of this invention is used. It is possible to configure.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows one Example of the water purifier of this invention. It is a bottom view of the water purifier of FIG. It is a top view which shows the guide press plate used for the water purifier of FIG. It is a top view which shows the leaf | plate spring board used for the water purifier of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the leaf | plate spring board of FIG. It is a side view which shows the use condition of the water purifier of FIG. 1, (a) shows the time of clean water discharging, (b) shows the time of raw water discharging, respectively. It is the partially cutaway perspective view which showed the example of the switching valve used for the conventional water purifier.

Explanation of symbols

24 Switching valve 29 Raw water outlet 37 Filtration container 47 Purified water outlet

Claims (4)

A filtration container containing a filter body and having a purified water outlet;
It consists of a switching valve that switches between the discharged water of the purified water filtered by the filter body and the discharged water of the raw water not passing through the filter body,
The filtration container is provided detachably with respect to the switching valve,
The switching valve is provided with a cylindrical rotating body so as to be rotatable,
Inside the rotary body, a filtration water channel for introducing raw water into the filtration container is provided along the rotation axis of the rotary body,
A water purifier characterized in that the switching operation of the switching valve is performed by turning the filtration container.   The water purifier according to claim 1, wherein the columnar rotating body is arranged inside the switching valve.   3. The water purifier according to claim 1, wherein the filtration container rotates in a plane parallel to a radial direction of the rotator with a horizontal axis of the rotator provided horizontally as a rotation axis.   In the switching valve, when discharging purified water, the direction from the upper end to the lower end of the filtration container is made to coincide with the substantially vertical direction, and when discharging raw water, the direction from the upper end to the lower end of the filtration container is made substantially vertical. The water purifier as described in any one of Claims 1-3 inclined with respect to a direction.

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