JP3453688B2 - Filtration unit - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filtration unit which is replaceably incorporated in a general-purpose housing of internal filtration type.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been used a water purifying apparatus for filtering a fluid, in which a filtration unit is replaceably incorporated in a general-purpose housing of an internal filtration system as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional explanatory view of the water purifying apparatus 100. In the housing head portion 101 located above the water purifier 100, the fluid before filtration is stored in the housing case 104.
Inlet 102 for inflowing into the interior of the chamber and outlet 10 for outflowing the fluid filtered by the filtration module 111.
3 is provided.

The unfiltered fluid that has flowed into the housing case 104 along the flow path indicated by the arrow A101 flows inward from the outer peripheral surface of the filtration module 111 by the arrow A1.
02 (plural), the filter medium 111a is infiltrated.
Through the flow path indicated by arrow A103 from the outflow end portion 111b of the filtration module 111 to flow out from the outflow port 103.

In this conventional example, the housing case fixed shaft 1
06 penetrates through the housing case 104 and is fixed to the screw fastening portion 101a of the housing head portion 101, and the bearing surface of the turning knob 105 causes the housing case 104 and the head portion 10
1 and are fixed. Further, 107 is a drain, 10
8 and 109 are air vent plugs.

Here, the filtration module 111 uses a material such as a hollow fiber membrane, a non-woven fabric, or a twisted yarn as a filtering material, thereby making it possible to remove membrane-impermeable substances such as fine particles and bacteria.

The water purifier 100 having such a structure is relatively large and suitable for filtering a large amount of fluid.
In addition, housings and filtration modules that have uniform dimensional specifications in length and diameter are generally used, and it is possible to replace only the filtration module according to the fluid to be filtered and the application, which is convenient for users. Was planned.

[0008]

By the way, in the above water purifier 100, for example, a filter module 111 using a hollow fiber membrane as a filter material can remove membrane-impermeable substances such as fine particles and bacteria. However, it was a single-function water purifier that could not remove the membrane-permeable substances such as residual chlorine and off-flavor.

Therefore, in order to remove these membrane-permeable substances, it is necessary to connect a water purifier having another function.

FIG. 4 shows another water purification device 200 connected upstream of the water purification device 100 for this purpose.
This water purification device 200 is the water purification device 100 described above.
For example, activated carbon is used for the constituent elements corresponding to the filtering material 111a of the filtering module 111.

By combining two or more water purifiers having different functions in this way, it becomes possible to remove the above-mentioned membrane impermeable substance and membrane permeable substance.

However, in the structure in which two or more water purifiers are combined, a plurality of water purifiers are required, the structure is complicated and the user's economic burden increases, and the life management of the plurality of water purifiers is increased. Was required, which deteriorated the maintainability.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a filtering unit having a plurality of functions that can be loaded into a conventionally used water purifier. By providing, it is to reduce the financial burden on the user and improve the maintainability.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a cylindrical shape having an inflow path for guiding a fluid to a filtration unit and an outflow path for outflowing a fluid passing through the filtration unit. A filtration unit that is replaceably loaded inside a housing, wherein the filtration unit is formed by vertically connecting a tubular adsorbent portion having substantially the same diameter and a membrane module portion and integrating them. The adsorbent portion includes an outer ring peripheral wall having a large number of liquid flow passage holes, an annular adsorbent layer that adsorbs a membrane permeable substance contained in a fluid flowing in through the outer ring peripheral wall, and the adsorbent layer. The membrane module unit includes a flow passage that guides the fluid that has passed along the inner ring portion of the adsorbent layer, and an outflow connection end that guides the fluid flowing in the flow passage to the membrane module unit of the next stage. Between the inner and outer circumferential walls of the hole and the inner and outer circumferential walls A membrane module, an inflow connection end connected to the outflow connection end of the adsorbent section, and an outlet on the opposite side of the inflow connection end for guiding the fluid passing through the membrane module to the outflow passage of the housing. It is characterized by having.

However, activated carbon is used for the adsorbent layer,
It is also preferable that the membrane module is a hollow fiber membrane module, and the open end surface of the hollow fiber membrane module is disposed on the outflow end side of the membrane module part.

[0016]

In the present invention configured as described above, the adsorbent portion and the membrane module portion are vertically connected by fitting the outflow connection end and the inflow connection end, respectively, and are integrated by a plurality of units. A filtration unit that exerts a function can be configured.

By loading this filtration unit into the housing, the fluid before filtration, which has flowed in from the inflow passage of the housing, flows from the outer circumferential wall having the numerous liquid flow passage holes of the adsorbent portion to the annular adsorbent. Membrane-permeable substances are adsorbed through the layer. After that, it passes through the flow path guided along the inner ring part of the adsorbent layer and is guided to the membrane module part through the outflow connection end.

The fluid that has flowed into the membrane module section passes through the membrane module to remove membrane-impermeable substances such as fine particles and bacteria, and then flows out from the outflow port to the outflow passage of the housing.

When activated carbon is used for the adsorbent layer and the membrane module is a hollow fiber membrane module, a fluid passing through the adsorbent layer adsorbs membrane-permeable substances such as residual chlorine and off-flavor. In addition, the fluid passes through the hollow fiber membrane module, so that membrane impermeable substances such as fine particles and bacteria are removed.

[0020]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A filtration unit according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a view showing a cross section of a filtration unit 10 according to the present invention. Filtration unit 10
Is exchangeably loaded inside a housing similar to that described in the prior art shown by the chain double-dashed line in the figure, and functions as, for example, the water purification device 1 for tap water.

In order to guarantee the filtering performance, such a water purifying apparatus 1 measures the total flow rate of the tap water passing through it and the ion concentration of the filtered fluid at predetermined time intervals, and measures the ion concentration of the filtered fluid.
If the degree of deterioration of the filtering function is grasped and it is judged that the filtration unit should be replaced, only the internal filtration unit 10 is replaced and used.

First, regarding the housing, the housing head 2 has an inflow path 3 and an outflow path 4, and a housing case 5 into which the filtration unit 10 is loaded is mounted below the housing head 2. In this embodiment, the housing head 2 and the housing case 4 are integrated by the fixed shaft 6 penetrating the housing case 5, and the fluid is guided into the housing case 5 through the flow path of the arrow A1 flowing from the inflow path 3. After passing through the filtration unit 10, it is discharged from the outflow passage 4 along the flow passage indicated by the arrow A2. Also,
The housing may be provided with a drain or an air vent as described in the prior art.

Next, the structure of the filtration unit 10 will be described. The filtration unit 10 is loaded into the housing case 5, has an outer diameter (generally cylindrical) slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the housing case 5, and has a predetermined length so that the length can be accommodated in the housing case 5. Has been decided. Further, in this embodiment, the filtration unit 10 has a cylindrical shape so as not to interfere with it because the fixed shaft 5 penetrates through the central portion of the shaft for fixing the housing case 5 and the filtration unit 10. This filtration unit 10 has 2
It has two functions, and the adsorbent section 20 and the membrane module section 30 are vertically connected and integrated nearer to the housing head 2.

The adsorbent portion 20 serves as an outer peripheral wall 22 having a large number of liquid flow passage holes 21, and an annular adsorbent layer for adsorbing a membrane permeable substance contained in a fluid introduced through the outer peripheral wall. Activated carbon layer 23, a flow path 24 that guides the fluid that has passed through the activated carbon layer 23 along the inner ring portion of the activated carbon layer 23, and an outflow connection end that guides the fluid flowing in the flow path 24 to the next-stage membrane module section 30. 25 are provided. With this configuration, the inflow area of the fluid is increased, and the fluid that has passed through the activated carbon layer 23 smoothly flows out through the flow path 24, so that the pressure loss can be reduced.

Numeral 26 is an end cap for preventing fluid from leaking from the opposite side of the outflow connection end 25. A seal 27 is provided on the bottom surface of the end cap 26 to prevent the fluid from flowing out to the inner diameter side by coming into contact with the inner bottom of the housing case 5.

The membrane module section 30 is provided with inner and outer annular peripheral walls 31 and 32, and a hollow fiber membrane 33 bent in a U shape as a membrane module is arranged between the inner and outer annular peripheral walls. The hollow fiber membrane 33 has a sealing end portion 34 formed on the housing head 2 side, and the fluid that has passed through the fiber membrane flows out from the opening end surface 35. This fluid is head cap 37
From the outflow port 37a of the housing head 2 to the outflow passage 4 of the housing head 2. 38 is a seal between the head cap 37 and the housing head 2.

Further, 36 is the outflow connection end 2 of the adsorbent portion 20.
5, which is an inflow connection end connected to No. 5, allows a fluid to flow into the inside of the membrane module unit 30 through the opening 36a.

In this embodiment constructed as described above, the adsorbent portion 20 and the membrane module portion 30 are connected vertically by fitting the outflow connection end 25 and the inflow connection end 36, respectively, and are integrated. The filtration unit 10 having a plurality of functions can be configured. When fitting the outflow connection end 25 and the inflow connection end 36, it is possible to improve the sealing performance by using an O-ring, and the adsorbent part 20 and the membrane module part 30 can be detachably attached. By connecting and making each independent, it is possible to easily achieve versatility by combination, and it is also possible to replace only one when the function deteriorates. Of course, it does not prevent the connection ends 25 and 36 from being integrated by adhesion or ultrasonic welding.

Next, the operation of the filtration unit 10 will be described along with the flow of fluid. First, the fluid before filtration passes from the inflow port 3 through the gap between the head cap 37 and the upper part of the housing case 5 according to the flow path of arrow A1. It flows into the housing case 5. The inflowing fluid moves through the gap between the inner wall of the housing case 5 and the filtration unit 10 as shown by an arrow A2, passes through the activated carbon layer 23 from the liquid flow path hole 21a at an arrow A3, and has a membrane permeability such as residual chlorine or an offensive taste. The substance is adsorbed. The fluid flowing out from the activated carbon layer 23 passes through a flow path 24 guided along the inner ring portion of the activated carbon layer 23 at an arrow A4, and then an arrow A5.
And enters the membrane module section 30 via the connection ends 25 and 36.

The fluid that has entered the membrane module portion 30 passes through the hollow fiber membrane 33 to remove membrane-impermeable substances such as fine particles and bacteria, and flows from the opening end face 35 to the outlet 37a according to the flow path of arrow A6, It flows out from the outlet 4 according to the flow path of arrow A7.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, the filtered fluid is discharged from both ends of the water purifier 40.

The housing case 41 of the water purification device 40 is
It has a cylindrical shape with both ends open, and each end is sealed by housing heads 42 and 43. The housing head 42 has an inflow path 44 and an outflow path 45a.
The housing portion 41 side of the outflow passage 45a has a cylindrical portion 46a fitted into the inner diameter portion of the filtration unit 50. The cylindrical portion 46a is provided with a hole 49 for allowing a filtered fluid to flow from the filtration unit 50 at a predetermined position.

Further, the housing head 43 is provided with the outflow passage 4
Although only 5b and the cylindrical portion 46b are provided, it may have the same shape as the housing head 42.

Numerals 47a and 47b are flange portions which, together with the seals 48a and 48b, determine the axial position of the filtration unit 50 and prevent fluid leakage.

Since the filtration unit 50 is loaded inside the housing case 41 as described above, the outer diameter shape is set to be slightly smaller than that of the housing case 41, and the cylindrical portions 46a and 46b are formed. The inner diameter part 51 to which it fits is provided.

Further, the outlet 52 is located at a position facing the hole 49 of the inner diameter portion 51 in order to allow the filtered fluid to flow into the cylindrical portion 46a.

In this embodiment, the filtered fluid passes through the inner diameter portion 51 and flows out from the outflow passages 45a and 45b at both ends.

The other structure and operation are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, and therefore, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, one filtering unit is constructed by combining two filtering members having different functions, but by connecting two or more filtering members, more versatile filtering is performed. It is also possible to do so.

[0041]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention has the above-mentioned structure and action, and provides a filtration unit which can be loaded into a general-purpose housing of an internal filtration system and which exhibits a plurality of filtration functions by an adsorbent section and a membrane module section. To be done. Therefore, conventionally, two or more general-purpose housings are prepared, and the economical burden due to loading a single-function filtering member having a different function into each of them is reduced, and the maintainability is improved.

Since this filtration unit connects and integrates the adsorbent section and the membrane module section, the connection section can be freely disassembled, and the filtration members inside the filtration unit should be independent for each function. It is also possible to achieve diversity by combination, and when the function is deteriorated, it is possible to selectively replace it.

By adopting activated carbon for the adsorbent layer and using the hollow fiber membrane module as the membrane module, the fluid passing through the adsorbent layer adsorbs the membrane permeable substances such as residual chlorine and off-flavor. As the fluid passes through the hollow fiber membrane module, membrane impermeable substances such as fine particles and bacteria are removed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a first embodiment of a filtration unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a second embodiment of the filtration unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a water purifier using a conventional internal filtration general-purpose housing.

FIG. 4 is a view in which a conventional general-purpose housing is combined.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 water purification device 2 housing head 3 inflow path 4 Outflow path 5 housing case 6 fixed axis 10 Filtration unit 20 Adsorbent part 21 Liquid channel hole 22 Outer ring peripheral wall 23 Activated carbon layer (adsorbent layer) 24 channels 25 Outflow connection end 26 End Cap 27 seals 30 Membrane module 31 Inner Circumferential Wall 32 outer peripheral wall 33 Hollow fiber membrane 34 Sealed end 35 Open end face 36 Inflow connection end 37 head cap 37a Outlet 38 seals

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C02F 1/28 C02F 1/30-1/32 C02F 1/44 B01D 63/00-63/16

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A filtration unit exchangeably loaded in a cylindrical housing having an inflow passage for guiding a fluid to a filtration unit and an outflow passage for outflowing a fluid passing through the filtration unit, wherein: The filtration unit is one in which a cylindrical adsorbent portion having substantially the same diameter and a membrane module portion are vertically connected and integrated, and the adsorbent portion is an outer ring peripheral wall having a large number of liquid flow passage holes, A ring-shaped adsorbent layer that adsorbs a membrane-permeable substance contained in a fluid that flows in through the outer peripheral wall, and a channel that guides the fluid that has passed through the adsorbent layer along the inner ring portion of the adsorbent layer. And an outflow connection end that guides the fluid flowing in the flow path to the next-stage membrane module portion, wherein the membrane module portion is provided between the inner and outer annular peripheral walls having no holes and the inner and outer annular peripheral walls. Connected to the outflow connection end of the adsorbent section and the membrane module A filtration unit, comprising: an inflow connection end that is provided with an inflow connection end; and an outflow port that guides the fluid that has passed through the membrane module to an outflow passage of the housing, on the opposite side of the inflow connection end. 2. The activated carbon is used for the adsorbent layer, the membrane module is a hollow fiber membrane module, and the open end surface of the hollow fiber membrane module is disposed on the outflow end side of the membrane module part. The filtration unit according to claim 1, which is characterized.