JP4616163B2 - Water purification cartridge - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a water purification cartridge that purifies tap water (raw water) and flows it out as purified water.

  The tap water contains components that cause turbidity such as fine sand and red rust, and components that cause odors such as odors of wood and mold caused by chlorine for sterilization. It has also been reported that trihalomethane having carcinogenicity is produced in tap water by the reaction between chlorine and organic substances contained in tap water.

Therefore, conventionally, water purification cartridges are widely used in which tap water (raw water) is introduced inside, passed through a filter medium, and purified water flows out.
Conventionally, various types of water purification cartridges have been proposed. For example, the following Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3 disclose this type of water purification cartridge.

  As a kind of this kind of water purification cartridge, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 3, a water purification cartridge having the following form, that is, a filling medium inside a bottomed cylindrical case is filled with a granular filter medium, and the raw water flow The raw water flowing in from the inlet is introduced into the inside of the filter medium from the axially open end side of the filter medium, and then the inside of the filter medium is circulated and moved in the axial direction. It is known that after flowing into the water collecting cylinder from the peripheral wall portion of the provided water collecting cylinder and collecting the water, the water is discharged from the purified water outlet to the outside.

  By the way, in the case of this type of water purification cartridge, the raw water that has flowed into the filter medium from the axially open end side of the filter medium flows into the water collecting cylinder without being circulated through the entire filter medium. Therefore, there is a problem in that the entire filter medium is not fully utilized, and therefore the inherent purification ability is not fully exhibited.

In particular, when the water purification cartridge is a horizontal type installed with the axial direction oriented sideways, the raw water that has flowed into the filter medium flows in the axial direction with priority given to the lower part of the filter medium due to the action of gravity, and the purification ability is not fully exhibited. The problem is inherent.
Therefore, in Patent Document 3, a diverting means is provided to divert the flow of raw water passing through the filter medium into an inner laminar flow and an outer laminar flow.

  The present invention has been made for the purpose of effectively increasing the purification capacity of the water purification cartridge by distributing the raw water flowing in by means other than this throughout the entire filter medium.

JP-A-8-71541 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-19691 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-121937

  That is, the present invention is based on the above circumstances, and the purified water cartridge having a high purification capacity for collecting the collected raw water uniformly throughout the entire filter medium and collecting the collected raw water as purified water from the purified water outlet. It was made for the purpose of providing.

Thus, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the particulate filter medium is filled into the filling space of the bottomed cylindrical case, and the raw water flowing in from the raw water inlet is supplied to the filter medium from the open end side in the axial direction of the filter medium. The peripheral wall portion of the water-permeable and filter medium-impermeable water collecting cylinder provided at the center portion on the bottom side in the axial direction of the filling space after flowing into the inside of the filter medium and subsequently moving in the axial direction. In the water purification cartridge adapted to flow into the water collection cylinder and collect water, and then flow out to the outside from the water purification outlet, the filter medium is disposed at a position closer to the open end in the axial direction than the water collection cylinder. A partition member is embedded therein, and the filter medium layer is partitioned into a first filter medium layer on the upstream side in the axial direction and a second filter medium layer on the downstream side, and the partition member has its own outer peripheral portion and the inner surface of the case. And a second filter from the first filter medium layer side between them. A flow path to the layer side is formed, and the water that circulates and moves through the first filter medium layer is circulated to the outer peripheral side by the partition member, and then passes through the second filter medium layer and passes through the inside of the water collecting cylinder. together be such so as to flow into an annular wherein the further axial position upstream of the partition member is provided the permeability of the gap forming member, are continuous in the flow path between their gap forming member and the partition member A gap is formed .

Effects and effects of the invention

  As described above, according to the present invention, the partition member is embedded in the filter medium at a position closer to the open end side in the axial direction than the water collecting cylinder, and the filter medium layer is connected to the first filter medium layer on the upstream side in the axial direction and the downstream side. And a flow path from the first filter medium layer side to the second filter medium layer side is formed between the partition member and the inner surface of the case to circulate and move the first filter medium layer. The raw water is applied to the partition member and the flow of the raw water is forced to go around to the outer peripheral side, and then flows into the second filter medium layer and passes through it, and flows into the water collecting cylinder. is there.

According to the present invention, the raw water that has flowed in and distributed through the first filter medium layer, and the raw water that has reached the partition member is forced to change its flow direction to the outer periphery side by the action of the partition member. The two filter media layers flow into the inside from the outer peripheral side and then flow into the central water collecting cylinder.
And the raw | natural water which overflowed the partition member in that case flows in into the 2nd filter-medium layer from an outer peripheral side, and reaches | attains a water collection cylinder after circulating and moving the whole 2nd filter-medium layer uniformly.
As a result, the first filter medium layer and the entire second filter medium layer are effectively utilized as a purification material for the raw water, and the purification capability of the water purification cartridge is fully exhibited.

Here, activated carbon can be suitably used as the granular filter medium.
The above partition member Ru can leave without a water-impermeable.
By making the partition member impermeable to water in this way, the raw water flowing through the partition member from the first filter medium layer side and flowing into the second filter medium layer side is eliminated, and the raw water reaching the partition member It is possible to efficiently circulate the entire flow to the outer peripheral side.

Further, according to the present invention , a water-permeable gap forming member is provided at a position further upstream in the axial direction of the partition member, and an annular gap is formed between the gap forming member and the partition member. If the raw water flows in the axial direction through the first filter medium layer in spite of the provision of the partition member, not only the outer peripheral portion but also the entire first filter medium layer can be easily and smoothly distributed and moved. When the raw water flows through the first filter medium layer, the raw water is purified with high efficiency.

  Furthermore, the raw water that has passed through the first filter medium layer in the axial direction flows into the annular gap, so that the direction of the flow is forcibly changed to the outer peripheral side by the action of the partition member and the presence of the annular gap. Effects are obtained.

The present invention, purification cartridge Ru der Of particular large effect when applied to the case is of the lateral postfix expression that is installed in the axial direction sideways.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings together with a reference example .
In FIG. 1, 1 is a sink installed in the kitchen, 2 is a cabinet, 3 is a sink, 10 is a counter, and 11 is an automatic faucet installed on the sink 1 and having a purified water discharge function.
The automatic faucet 11 includes a base body 12 provided in a form standing from the counter 10 and a water discharge pipe 14 extending from the body 12.
Here, the water discharge pipe 14 is rotatable by a predetermined angle with respect to the main body 12.

The main body 12 is provided with a single lever 16 at a position eccentric to the right side of the water discharge pipe 14 in a front view as viewed from the user. Here, the single lever 16 adjusts the flow rate and temperature of the discharged water.
Specifically, the temperature of the water discharge is adjusted by rotating the single lever 16 in the horizontal direction in the drawing, and the flow rate is adjusted by rotating the single lever 16 up and down.

As shown in FIG. 1, the water discharge pipe 14 has a substantially U-shaped gooseneck shape, and has a shape curved downward from a substantially intermediate portion in the tube axis direction to the distal end portion.
As shown in the figure, the water discharge pipe 14 has a water discharge port 18 at the tip, a water discharge head 22 that can be pulled out together with the flexible hose 20, and a water discharge head holder that holds the water discharge head 22 in the storage position. And a water discharge pipe main body 24 having the function as described above.

The main body portion 12 is connected to the upper ends of the water supply passage 26 and the hot water supply passage 28, and water and hot water are supplied to the main body portion 12 through the water supply passage 26 and the hot water supply passage 28.
A mixing valve (not shown) is incorporated in the main body 12, and an outflow path 32 extends from the mixing valve. Through the outflow path 32, temperature control water (by mixing the single lever 16, In some cases, the temperature control water in which water and hot water are mixed at a predetermined ratio may consist of only water or hot water (hereinafter referred to as raw water).

The hose 20 has an outflow path 32 formed inside thereof. A raw water valve (electromagnetic valve) 34 for opening and closing the outlet passage 32 is provided on the outflow passage 32. Here, the operation of the raw water valve 34 is controlled by a controller (not shown).
Further, a water purification path 38 branches out from the water supply path 26 and extends, and the tip of the water purification path 38 is connected to the outflow path 32 at the downstream portion of the raw water valve 34.

A water purification cartridge 40 (in this embodiment, the whole water purifier is configured as the water purification cartridge 40) and a water purification valve (electromagnetic valve) 42 for opening and closing the water purification path 38 are provided on the water purification path 38. The operation of the water purification valve 42 is also controlled by a controller.
In addition, 46 is a water stop cock.

As shown in FIG. 1, the raw water sensor 60 and the water purification sensor 58 are provided on the upper surface of the distal end portion of the water discharge pipe 14, specifically, on the upper surface of the uppermost portion of the substantially intermediate portion in the tube axis direction of the water discharge pipe 14. Are arranged side by side in the pipe axis direction.
Here, the raw water sensor 60 is an alternate sensor that alternately discharges raw water (temperature-controlled water) from the water outlet 18 and stops the water every time the inserted hand is detected.

Specifically, when the hand is held over the raw water sensor 60, the raw water sensor 60 detects the hand in a non-contact manner, discharges the raw water from the spout 18 based on the detection, and then the raw water sensor 60 removes the hand. The raw water continues to be discharged even if the water is drawn.
Then, when the raw water sensor 60 is operated again by extending the hand, that is, when the raw water sensor 60 detects the hand, the discharge of the raw water from the spout 18 is stopped.
The water purification sensor 58 also alternately discharges purified water from the water outlet 18 and stops water discharge (stops water) every time a hand is detected (every human body is detected).
In this embodiment, the raw water sensor 60 is disposed on the front side and the lower side near the user, and the water purification sensor 58 is disposed on the far side and the upper side farther than the raw water sensor 60.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 41 denotes a metal bracket that holds the water purification cartridge 40 inside the cabinet 2 and fixes it to the inner surface of the side wall 43 of the cabinet 2.
Here, the bracket 41 holds the water purification cartridge 40 sideways and frontward and rearward, and is located at a front position close to the opening on the front surface of the cabinet 2 and at a predetermined height from the bottom 54 of the cabinet 2. 43 is fixed to the inner surface.

Each of the hoses 38A and 38B forms a part of the water purification path 38 therein. Specifically, the hose 38A guides the inflow path for allowing the raw water to flow into the purified water cartridge 40 in the purified water path 38, and the hose 38B guides the purified water after being purified by the purified water cartridge 40 to the spout 18 side. It forms an outlet for purified water.
As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of hoses 38 </ b> A and 38 </ b> B are fixed to the inner surface of the side wall portion 43 of the cabinet by a fixing portion 52.

In the present embodiment, the entire water purifier is configured as a replaceable water purification cartridge 40 as described above, and granular activated carbon described later as a filtering material that purifies through raw water is accommodated therein.
FIG. 2 (reference example) shows the internal structure of the water purification cartridge 40.
In the figure, 61 is a cylindrical case having an opening at one end in the axial direction (left end in the figure), and the opening is closed by a lid 64.
Here, the lid 64 is screwed to the case 61.

The lid 64 is provided with a raw water inlet 48A and a purified water outlet 48B, and a flexible hose 38A for introducing the raw water into the purified water cartridge 40 is detachably connected to the raw water inlet 48A via a joint 50. Has been.
Further, a flexible hose 38B that guides outflow of purified water from the purified water cartridge 40 is detachably connected to the purified water outlet 48B via a joint 50.

A filling space 66 is formed inside the case 61, and is filled with granular activated carbon 88 as a filter medium.
The raw water flowing in from the raw water inlet 48A flows into the activated carbon 88 from the open end side (left end side in the figure) in the axial direction with respect to the activated carbon 88 and circulates inside the activated carbon 88 in the axial direction (right direction in the figure). It can be moved.
A porous ceramic filter 74 having a cylindrical shape is concentric with the case 61 as a water collecting cylinder at the central portion of the bottom side in the axial direction of the filling space 66, that is, the central portion of the right half in the drawing. It is arranged.
Here, an antibacterial agent is held on the ceramic filter 74, and the growth of bacteria is suppressed by the action of the antibacterial agent.
The ceramic filter 74 allows only water to pass through the porous structure and makes the activated carbon 88 impermeable.

A layer of diatomaceous earth 76 is laminated on the outer peripheral surface of the ceramic filter 74.
Here, the layer of diatomaceous earth 76 serves to remove finer turbid components that cannot be removed by the activated carbon 88 or the ceramic filter 74.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 70 denotes a water guide pipe for circulating and guiding purified water. The water guide pipe 70 is in a state in which a flange portion 72 formed at one end thereof is brought into contact with the end face of the ceramic filter 74, and the interior thereof is ceramic filter 74. It is assembled to communicate with the interior space.
The other end of the water conduit 70 is inserted into an insertion port 78 that leads to the purified water outlet 48B of the lid 64, and the purified water (filtered water) in the ceramic filter 74 passes through the interior of the water conduit 70 and passes through the purified water flow. It flows out from the outlet 48B.

Inside the case 61, a spacer member 80 having a cylindrical shape is disposed along the inner surface of the case 61 in a substantially right half in the drawing.
The spacer member 80 is for forming an annular space as the raw water flow path 87 along the inner surface of the case 61, and has large-diameter portions 84 at both ends in the axial direction. It is assembled to the inner surface of the case 61 in a watertight manner through an O-ring 82 attached to the case.
Here, the pair of large diameter portions 84 at both ends are integrally connected by a frame portion 86.

As shown in FIG. 3, the frame portion 86 of the spacer member 80 has a lattice shape, and an opening between the lattices is provided with a mesh 85 that allows water to pass but does not allow granular activated carbon 88 to pass. The activated carbon 88 filled inside the member 80 is prevented from flowing out from the opening.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the frame portion 86 has a smaller diameter than the large-diameter portions 84 at both ends, and the annular space, that is, the annular flow path 87 in the outer peripheral portion is provided between the inner surface of the case 61. Forming.

A non-woven fabric 92 is annularly provided at the end of the case 61 on the opening side (the left end in the figure), and an eye plate 94 as a non-woven fabric retainer plate is attached.
Here, the nonwoven fabric 92 spreads the raw water flowing in from the raw water inlet 48A evenly in the radial direction before flowing into the activated carbon 88, and removes coarse turbid components in the raw water prior to the flow of the raw water into the activated carbon 88. To work.
The eye plate 94 is made of a mesh and serves as a presser against the nonwoven fabric 92 to prevent the granular activated carbon 88 from flowing out through the opening of the case 61.

The eye plate 94 is made of resin (here, ABS resin).
Similarly, the case 61 and the large diameter portion 84 and the frame portion 86 of the spacer member 80 are formed of resin (ABS resin in this case).
Note that the mesh in the eye plate 94 and the mesh 85 in the spacer member 80 are formed of a polyester material in this example .

A non-permeable disc-shaped partition plate (partition member) 90 is provided in the axially intermediate position inside the case 61 so as to abut against the shaft end surface of the ceramic filter 74 via the flange portion 72. A partition plate 90 is embedded in the activated carbon 88.
The activated carbon 88 filled in the case 61 is partitioned by the partition plate 90 into a first activated carbon layer 88A on the left side and a second activated carbon layer 88B on the right side in the drawing.
In this example , the partition plate 90 is also formed of resin (here, ABS resin).

The partition plate 90 has an outer diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the case 61 and the inner diameter of the spacer member 80, and the raw water that has flowed and moved in the axial direction through the first activated carbon layer 88 </ b> A between the inner surface of the case 61. Is formed in the annular flow path 91 that overflows to the second activated carbon layer 88B side.
A central hole 98 is formed in the central portion, and the central hole 98 is fitted to the outer surface of the water conduit 70.

In addition, the partition plate 90 may form a gap between the outer peripheral surface of the spacer member 80 and the inner peripheral surface of the spacer member 80, or from the large-diameter portion 84 at the left end in the figure with respect to the inner surface of the spacer member 80. It may be fitted to the inner surface of the spacer member 80 with almost no gap at the right position.
Even in this case, the annular flow passage 91 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the partition plate 90 by the opening of the frame portion 86 in the spacer member 80.

In this example , the raw water flowing into the water purification cartridge 40 is circulated and purified as follows.
First, the raw water flowing in from the raw water inlet 48A spreads in the circumferential direction when passing through the eye plate 94 and the nonwoven fabric 92, and then the raw water flows in from the left end side in the axial direction with respect to the first activated carbon layer 88A. One activated carbon layer 88A is circulated and moved in the right direction in the figure, and the first activated carbon layer 88A is circulated and moved uniformly over the entire cross section in the direction perpendicular to the axis.

When the flow reaches the partition plate 90, the flow of the raw water is forcibly changed to the outer peripheral side by the action as a baffle plate of the partition plate 90 and the flow path changing action. After flowing through the partition plate 90 through the annular flow passage 91 formed between the inner surface of the case 61 and flowing in the axial direction through the flow passage 87 formed between the spacer member 80 and the inner surface of the case 61, After flowing into the second activated carbon layer 88B from the outer peripheral side from the flow path 87 and flowing inward in the second activated carbon layer 88B in the radial direction, the ceramic filter 74 passes through the diatomaceous earth 76 layer in the center. It flows into the inside from the peripheral wall part of.
The purified water collected in the ceramic filter 74 flows through the water conduit 70 and flows out from the purified water outlet 48B.

In the case where the partition plate 90 is not provided according to this example , particularly when the water purification cartridge 40 is installed horizontally, the raw water flowing in from the raw water inlet 48A is mainly directed to the lower side of the first activated carbon layer 88A in the right direction in the figure. Circulates and flows into the ceramic filter 74 at the center from the second activated carbon layer 88B, and the upper portion of the first activated carbon layer 88 and the second activated carbon layer 88B is not effectively used as a filter medium. .

However, according to the present example as described above, the flow of the raw water that has reached the partition plate 90 is forcibly changed to the outer peripheral side by the action of the partition plate 90, and overflows the partition plate 90 to pass through the second activated carbon layer. By flowing into the inside of 88B from the outer peripheral side, the inside of the first activated carbon layer 88A and the second activated carbon layer 88B are circulated and moved uniformly.
Thereby, the whole including the upper part of the first activated carbon layer 88A and the second activated carbon layer 88B is effectively utilized as a purification material for raw water, and the purification capability of the water purification cartridge 40 is fully exhibited.

  Further, since the partition plate 90 is impermeable to water, the flow of raw water that passes through the partition plate 90 from the first activated carbon layer 88A side and flows into the second activated carbon layer 88B side is eliminated, and the partition plate 90 is reached. The entire flow of raw water can be efficiently circulated to the outer peripheral side.

FIG. 4 shows another reference example .
In this example, the spacer member 80 of the example shown in FIG. 2 is eliminated, and the activated carbon 88 is filled in the flow path formed between the spacer member 80 and the inner surface of the case 61.
Also in this example , an annular channel 91 is formed between the outer periphery of the partition plate 90 and the inner surface of the case 61.
In FIG. 4, the other points are basically the same as those shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the integrated flow rate and the total trihalomethane removal rate for the horizontal water purification cartridge 40 in the configuration of the example of FIG.
As apparent from this, in this example in which the partition plate 90 is provided, trihalomethane can be removed with high efficiency at any integrated flow rate as compared with the comparative example without the partition plate 90.

Figure 6 shows an implementation form of the present invention.
In this example, in contrast to the example shown in FIG. 2, a water-permeable disc-shaped gap forming member 96 made of a nonwoven fabric, a mesh, or the like is provided at a position further upstream in the axial direction of the partition plate 90. An annular gap S is formed between the forming member 96 and the partition plate 90.

  In this way, even though the partition plate 90 is provided, when the raw water flows in the first activated carbon layer 88A in the axial direction, the gaps forming member 96 and the annular gap S cause the first activated carbon layer 88A to function. The raw water is more easily and smoothly distributed and moved throughout the entire cross section, and the raw water is purified more efficiently.

  In addition, the raw water that has passed through the first activated carbon layer 88A in the axial direction flows into the annular gap S, so that the flow direction can be changed to the outer peripheral side by the action of the partition plate 90 with less resistance.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference examples, this is merely an example, and the present invention departs from the spirit of the present invention, such as using a filter medium other than activated carbon separately from or together with activated carbon. It can be configured in variously modified forms within a range that does not.

It is a figure which shows the water purification cartridge of one Embodiment of this invention with an automatic water tap etc. FIG. It is the figure which showed the internal structure of the water purification cartridge of a reference example . It is a perspective view showing a disassembled purification cartridge of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other reference example . Is a graph showing together with comparative examples variation of trihalomethane removal rate in the shown to water purification cartridge in FIG. Is a diagram illustrating an internal structure of a water purification cartridge implementation form of the present invention.

40 Water purification cartridge 48A Raw water inlet 43B Purified water outlet 61 Case 66 Filling space 74 Ceramic filter (collecting cylinder)
88 Activated carbon (filter material)
88A First activated carbon layer 88B Second activated carbon layer 90 Partition plate (partition member)
96 Gap forming member S Annular gap

Claims (1)

The filling space inside the bottomed cylindrical case is filled with granular filter medium, and the raw water flowing in from the raw water inlet is flowed into the filter medium from the open end side in the axial direction of the filter medium, and then the filter medium After the inside is circulated and moved in the axial direction, the inside of the water collecting cylinder is caused to flow from the peripheral wall portion of the water-permeable and filter medium-impermeable water collecting cylinder provided at the center of the bottom side in the axial direction of the filling space. After collecting water, in the water purification cartridge adapted to flow out from the water purification outlet, a partition member is embedded in the filter medium at a position closer to the open end in the axial direction than the water collection cylinder, and the filter medium The first filter medium layer on the upstream side in the axial direction and the second filter medium layer on the downstream side in the axial direction, and the partition member forms a space between the outer peripheral part of the partition member and the inner surface of the case. Forming a flow path from the first filter medium layer side to the second filter medium layer side between them, On the water that has circulated move said first filter layer was wrap on the outer peripheral side by the partition member, together to such as to flow through said second filter layer inside the collector water bottle body,
A water-permeable gap forming member is provided at a further upstream position in the axial direction of the partition member, and an annular gap continuous with the flow path is formed between the gap forming member and the partition member. Water purification cartridge.

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