JP2020040028A - Water softener - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a water softener which performs washing operation of washing an organic matter eluted from an ion exchange resin in a non water passage state at prescribed time everyday.SOLUTION: A water softer 1 that passes treated water through an ion exchange resin 9 and performs water softening treatment includes an ion exchange resin filling tank 2 filled with an ion exchange resin 9 and a salt water tank 4 for storing salt water 14 for regenerating the ion exchange resin 9, and includes a control part 13 that switches water softening operation of passing the treated water through the ion exchange resin 9 in the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 and softening the treated water, washing operation of washing inside of the ion exchange resin filling tank 2, regeneration operation of passing salt water 14 in the salt water tank 4 through the ion exchange resin 9 in the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 and regenerating the ion exchange resin 9, and water supply operation of supplying water to the inside of the salt water tank 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a water softener for performing water softening treatment by allowing water to be treated to flow through an ion exchange resin filled tank filled with an ion exchange resin.

  The water softener using ion-exchange resin, when the water to be treated that has accumulated in the ion-exchange resin filling tank for a long time without water flow continues, the water to be treated in the ion-exchange resin filling tank transfers organic matter from the ion-exchange resin to the water. Are eluted, and the water to be treated is colored by these organic substances. Therefore, there has been proposed a water softener that automatically performs a cleaning operation in the ion exchange resin filling tank when water is not passed through the ion exchange resin filling tank (hereinafter, referred to as a non-water passing state) for a certain period of time. (Patent Document 1)

JP 2001-246376 A

  However, the water softener proposed in Patent Literature 1 performs the cleaning operation after the non-water passing state continues for a certain period of time. Therefore, the time period during which the cleaning operation is started depends on the time when the non-water passing state starts. It will be different. For example, the washing operation may be started in the evening time when water is frequently passed. If water is supplied during the washing operation, the water to be treated that has entered from the raw water inlet pipe will flow out to the soft water outlet pipe as it is.

(1) A water softener of the present invention that solves the above-mentioned problems is a water softener that performs water softening treatment by allowing water to be treated to flow through an ion exchange resin,
An ion exchange resin filling tank filled with ion exchange resin,
A salt water tank for storing salt water for regenerating the ion exchange resin,
A water softening operation in which water to be treated is passed through the ion exchange resin in the ion exchange resin filling tank to soften the water, a washing operation in which the inside of the ion exchange resin filling tank is washed, and the salt water in the salt water tank are removed. A regenerating operation for regenerating the ion exchange resin by passing water through the ion exchange resin in the ion exchange resin filling tank, and a control unit for switching a water supply operation for supplying water to the inside of the salt water tank,
The control unit controls the cleaning operation to be performed at a predetermined time.

  (2) In the water softener of the present invention, it is preferable that the predetermined time is between 0 am and 6 am

  (3) In the water softener of the present invention, the predetermined time may be the same time every day.

  The water softener of the present invention can be set so that the washing operation of the ion exchange resin filling tank is performed at a predetermined time every day. Therefore, if water is supplied during the washing operation, the water to be treated flowing from the raw water inlet pipe flows out to the soft water outlet pipe. Failure can be prevented.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the water softener of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of water during the water softening operation in the water softener of FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a flow of water during a backwash operation in the water softener of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of water during a regeneration operation in the water softener of FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a flow of water during a normal cleaning operation in the water softener of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a flow of water during a water supply operation in the water softener of FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the execution timing of the cleaning regeneration water supply operation and the cleaning operation in the first embodiment.

[Structure of water softener]
An embodiment of the water softener of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Please refer to FIG. The water softener 1 includes an ion-exchange resin filling tank 2 containing an ion-exchange resin 9, a control valve 3 for switching a flow direction of raw water or the like on the upper surface of the ion-exchange resin filling tank 2, a control unit 13 for controlling the control valve 3, And a salt water tank 4 for storing salt water 14 for regenerating the ion exchange resin. A raw water inlet pipe 5 for supplying raw water, a soft water outlet pipe 6 for supplying soft water, and a drain outlet pipe 7 are respectively connected to the control valve 3. The salt water tank 4 and the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 are connected to each other by a salt water pipe 12 via a control valve 3.

  The ion exchange resin filling tank 2 is a bottomed cylindrical container in which a predetermined amount of ion exchange resin 9 is filled. The raw water supplied from the raw water inlet pipe 5 becomes the water to be treated and flows into the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 via the control valve 3 and the upper filter 10. Then, the water to be treated passes through the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 and is subjected to water softening treatment to become soft water. The soft water enters the water collecting pipe 8 from the lower filter 11, passes through the water collecting pipe 8, and flows out of the soft water outlet pipe 6 via the control valve 3.

  The upper filter 10 has a filter function that allows the water to be treated to pass without leaking the ion exchange resin 9. Therefore, the size of the opening formed in the upper filter 10 is smaller than the particle size of the ion exchange resin 9. Further, in order to reduce the pressure loss during water flow, it is preferable that the aperture ratio of the upper filter 10 is as large as the strength allows. Similarly, it is preferable that the aperture ratio of the lower filter 11 be as large as the strength allows.

  The control unit 13 includes a control board including a microcomputer that controls each unit of the water softener. The control unit 13 includes a timer A as a time measuring means for determining whether to start a regeneration operation or a cleaning operation of the ion exchange resin 9 described later, and a counter for counting the accumulated water flow to the ion exchange resin filling tank 2. And a counter for counting the total amount of water flowing into the ion exchange resin filling tank 2.

[Operation of water softener]
Next, the operation of the water softener 1 configured as described above will be described. The water softener 1 performs various operations such as a reverse cleaning operation, a regeneration operation, a normal cleaning operation, and a water supply operation, in addition to a water softening operation for supplying soft water. Under the control of the control unit 13 provided in the water softener 1, the regeneration operation and the backwashing operation of the ion exchange resin 9 are automatically performed at an appropriate time. In the present application, the reverse cleaning operation and the normal cleaning operation are collectively referred to as a cleaning operation.

[Water softening operation]
The water softening operation will be described with reference to FIG. The water softening operation is a process of softening raw water, which is water to be treated. The water to be treated supplied from the raw water inlet pipe 5 flows into the upper filter 10 through the control valve 3 and flows downward from the upper filter 10 through the ion exchange resin filling tank 2. Then, the water to be treated, which is hard water, is made soft by the action of the ion exchange resin 9. Thereafter, the soft water flows into the lower filter 11 and flows out through the water collecting pipe 8 to the soft water outlet pipe 6 via the control valve 3.

[Backwashing operation]
The back washing operation will be described with reference to FIG. The reverse washing operation is a process of discharging water adhering to the ion exchange resin 9 by passing water through the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 in a direction opposite to that of the water softening operation. The control valve 13 is switched by the control unit 13 so that raw water from the raw water inlet pipe 5 flows into the lower filter 11 through the water collecting pipe 8 through the control valve 3. Then, the raw water flows from the lower side to the upper side in the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 and flows into the upper filter 10. Finally, the raw water containing the foreign matter is discharged from the drain outlet pipe 7 through the control valve 3.

[Regenerative operation]
The regeneration operation will be described with reference to FIG. The regeneration operation is a step of flowing salt water through the ion exchange resin 9 in the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 to perform a regeneration treatment of the ion exchange resin 9. The control valve 13 is switched by the control unit 13 so that the salt water 14 in the salt tank 4 flows through the salt water pipe 12 and flows into the upper filter 10 through the control valve 3. Then, the salt water flows downward from the upper filter 10 through the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 to regenerate the ion exchange resin 9. The salt water used for the regeneration treatment of the ion exchange resin 9 flows into the lower filter 11, and is discharged from the drain outlet pipe 7 through the water collecting pipe 8 via the control valve 3.

[Regular cleaning operation]
The normal cleaning operation will be described with reference to FIG. The normal cleaning operation is a process in which water is passed through the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 in the same direction as the water softening operation to wash and discharge salt water and the like remaining in the piping. The control valve 13 is switched by the control unit 13 so that the raw water from the raw water inlet pipe 5 flows into the upper filter 10 via the control valve 3. Then, the raw water flows downward in the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 from the upper filter 10, flows into the lower filter 11, and is discharged from the drain outlet pipe 7 through the water collecting pipe 8 via the control valve 3.

[Water supply operation]
The water supply operation will be described with reference to FIG. The water supply operation is a process for generating the salt water 14 before the regeneration operation of the ion exchange resin 9. The control valve 13 is switched by the control unit 13, and the raw water from the raw water inlet pipe 5 is passed through the control valve 3 to the salt water pipe 12, and supplied to the salt water tank 4 by a predetermined amount.

  A procedure for actually operating the water softener of the present invention will be described. The following description shows preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and other embodiments can be implemented within the scope of the present invention.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the execution timing of various operations in the water softener 1. Immediately after electricity is supplied to the control unit 13 of the water softener 1, the control unit 13 counts the timer A that monitors the elapsed time after the completion of the cleaning water supply operation, and integrates the flow rate after the completion of the cleaning water supply operation. The counting of the integrated amount counter for monitoring the value is started (step S1).

  In the present embodiment, the time at which the regeneration operation or the cleaning operation is started is set as the set time. In the present embodiment, the regeneration operation and the cleaning operation are set to be performed between 0:00 am and 6:00 am, which is relatively infrequently used, preferably at 3:00 am. The control unit 13 determines whether the current time is a set time (step S2). When the current time reaches the set time (the determination in step S2 is “YES”), the process proceeds to step S3. In FIG. 7, the set time is set to 3:00 am

  Note that the set time in step S2 can be appropriately changed according to the frequency of use of the water softener and the like. For example, if the frequency of use at 3:00 am is high due to night work or the like, the regeneration operation or the cleaning operation can be performed at 3:00 pm.

  If the frequency of use differs for each day of the week, the set time can be changed for each day of the week. For example, it can be set to 4:00 am on Monday, 5:00 am on Tuesday, and so on.

  The timer A and the integrated amount counter determine the timing at which the regeneration operation of the ion exchange resin 9 is performed. In the present embodiment, the regeneration operation is set to be performed every 9 days or every 1.9 tons of accumulated water flow. The control unit 13 first determines whether or not the count value of the timer A is less than 9 days (Step S3). If the count of timer A is less than 9 days ("YES" in step S3), it is then determined whether the count value of the accumulated water flow is less than 1.9 tons (step S4).

  The set integration amount in step S4 can be appropriately changed according to the hardness of the water to be treated. For example, when the hardness of the to-be-treated faucet is high, the amount of treatment of the to-be-treated faucet is small, so that the regeneration operation can be set to be performed at short intervals such as every 1.5 tons.

  When the count of the timer A reaches 9 days or more (the determination in step S3 is “NO”), the control unit 13 switches the flow path of the control valve 3 and performs the regeneration operation of the ion exchange resin 9 (step S6). In the present embodiment, the reverse cleaning operation is first performed before the regeneration operation, and the normal cleaning operation and the water supply operation are performed in this order after the regeneration operation. A series of operations in which the reverse cleaning operation, the regeneration operation, the normal cleaning operation, and the water supply operation are performed in this order are referred to as a cleaning regeneration water supply operation. Then, when the washing and regeneration water supply operation of the ion exchange resin 9 is completed, the control unit 13 resets the count of the timer A and the count of the integrated amount counter (Step S7). The timer A and the accumulated amount counter start counting again (step S1), and the elapsed time after the regeneration operation of the ion exchange resin 9 and the accumulated water flow amount are measured.

  Further, even if the count of the timer A is less than 9 days (the determination in step S3 is “YES”), the control unit 13 determines that the accumulated water flow is 1.9 tons or more (the determination in step S4 is “NO”). In the same manner as described above, the flow path of the control valve 3 is switched to perform the washing / regenerating water supply operation of the ion exchange resin 9 (step S6).

  On the other hand, the elapsed days are less than 9 days (judgment in step S3 is "YES"), the accumulated water flow is less than 1.9 tons (judgment in step S4 is "YES"), and the water is passed through the water softener 1. When there is no water, the water to be treated in the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 is in a state of staying in the ion exchange resin filling tank 2. If this state continues for a long time, the water to be treated will be colored by organic substances leached from the ion exchange resin 9 and the like, and it is necessary to clean the inside of the ion exchange resin filling tank 2. Therefore, in the water softener 1 of the present embodiment, even if the elapsed days are less than 9 days (the determination in step S3 is “YES”), and the accumulated water flow is less than 1.9 tons (the determination in step S4 is “YES”). )), At the set time, the washing operation (reverse washing operation and normal washing operation) in the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 is performed. By performing the cleaning operation for a predetermined time, the foreign substances adhering to the ion exchange resin 9 are removed, and raw water in an amount necessary to discharge the salt water remaining in the pipe is supplied to the ion exchange resin filling tank 2.

  In the first embodiment, since the operation is performed as described above, when the set time is reached every day (the determination in step S2 is “YES”), the process proceeds to step S5 or step S6, and the reverse cleaning operation and the normal cleaning operation, that is, the cleaning operation is performed. Will be

<Measurement of water quality>
The quality of the stagnant water in the ion-exchange resin-filled tank 2 was measured in order to confirm whether washing operation every 24 hours was sufficient. The items of water quality to be measured were turbidity, chromaticity, and chemical oxygen demand. Turbidity and chromaticity were measured using WATER ANALYZER WA6000 manufactured by Nippon Tonoiro Kogyo Co., Ltd. Chemical oxygen demand (hereinafter referred to as COD) was measured by titration of the value of CODMn according to JIS K 0102-17 titration method.

  The raw water was RO water having a pH of 7.5 ± 0.5, the ion exchange resin filling tank 2 was filled with RO water, and the salt water tank 4 was filled with salt water 14. Next, the washing / regeneration water supply operation in the first embodiment was defined as one cycle, and two cycles were performed. Thereafter, 2 L of RO water was flowed from the raw water inlet pipe 2 into the ion exchange resin filling tank 2, and water coming out of the soft water outlet pipe 6 was sampled. This water was used as the immersion liquid raw water, and the quality of the immersion liquid raw water was measured.

  The standards for the amounts of increase in chromaticity, turbidity, and CODMn differ from country to country. For example, the amount of increase in chromaticity is 5.0 degrees or less, the amount of increase in turbidity is 0.5 degrees or less, In some countries, the increase in CODMn is based on 2.0 mg / L or less.

(Experiment 1)
The washing / regeneration water supply operation was performed for two cycles, and left for 24 hours. Twenty-four hours later, 2 L of RO water was flowed from the raw water inlet pipe 2 to the ion-exchange resin filling tank 2 and then came out of the soft water outlet pipe 6 in order to collect the water retained in the ion-exchange resin filling tank 2. Water was sampled. The water quality of this water was measured, and the chromaticity, turbidity, and increase in CODMn were measured by comparing the water quality after 24 hours with the quality of the immersion liquid raw water. The increase in chromaticity, turbidity, and CODMn were all very small values. Table 1 summarizes the increase in chromaticity, turbidity, and CODMn. The above criteria were met.

(Experiment 2)
Except for leaving for 72 hours, the chromaticity, turbidity, and increase in CODMn were measured in the same manner as in Experiment 1. The increase in chromaticity, turbidity, and CODMn all exceeded the results after 24 hours. Table 1 summarizes the increase in chromaticity, turbidity, and CODMn. Did not meet the above criteria.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water softener 2 Ion exchange resin filling tank 3 Control valve 4 Salt water tank 5 Raw water inlet pipe 6 Soft water outlet pipe 7 Drain outlet pipe 8 Water collecting pipe 9 Ion exchange resin 10 Upper filter 11 Lower filter 12 Salt water pipe 13 Control part 14 Salt water

Claims (3)

A water softener for performing water softening treatment by allowing water to be treated to pass through an ion exchange resin,
An ion exchange resin filling tank filled with ion exchange resin,
A salt water tank for storing salt water for regenerating the ion exchange resin,
A water softening operation in which water to be treated is passed through the ion exchange resin in the ion exchange resin filling tank to soften the water, a cleaning operation to wash the inside of the ion exchange resin filling tank, and the salt water in the salt water tank. A regeneration unit for causing the ion exchange resin in the ion exchange resin filling tank to pass through the ion exchange resin to regenerate the ion exchange resin, and a control unit for switching a water supply operation for supplying water to the inside of the salt water tank,
A water softener, wherein the control unit controls the cleaning operation to be performed at a predetermined time.   The water softener according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is between midnight and 6:00 am.   3. The water softener according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is the same every day.

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