JP7133868B2 - Cartridge for water purifier - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a water purifier cartridge that is used in a kitchen, washroom, bathroom, or the like, and is replaceably housed in a water purifier that removes impurities from tap water (raw water).

2. Description of the Related Art Some water purifiers installed at the tip of water supply equipment in households or the like contain replaceable water purifier cartridges having a purification material for removing impurities from raw water.
The water purifier has a raw water flow path for discharging raw water as it is and a purified water flow path for discharging purified water obtained by filtering the raw water with a water purifier cartridge. There is a water purifier provided downstream of the cartridge (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-17342

In such a water purifier, when switching from raw water discharge to purified water discharge, the raw water flow path is momentarily closed, generating a water hammer or high water pressure, which is transmitted to the upstream side, and the purification material of the water purifier cartridge is removed. It could get damaged.
In addition, since the replacement cycle of the water purifier cartridge is often several months, the attachment part between the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge may stick while they are in contact for a long time. In some cases, the dexterity cartridge became difficult to remove or was damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a water purifier cartridge that can prevent damage to the purification material due to water hammer or high water pressure that occurs when switching from raw water discharge to purified water discharge. The challenge is to
Another object of the present invention is to provide a water purifier cartridge that can prevent the mounting portions of the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge from sticking together.

In the present invention, means for solving the above problems are as follows.
A first invention is a cartridge for a water purifier exchangeably housed in a water purifier housing, comprising a purification material for removing impurities from water, and raw water permeating the purification material in the water purifier. and a purified water flow path through which the raw water passes through the purification material and flows downstream, and in the water purifier, the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path It is characterized by having a buffer portion arranged upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge and downstream of the purification material and blocking water hammer from the flow path switching valve to the purification material. do.

A second aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the raw water flow path, the downstream side surface of the buffer portion has a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier. do.

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the water purifier cartridge has a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier even at a position corresponding to the upstream end when arranged in the accommodating portion. .

A fourth aspect of the invention is characterized in that, in the water purification channel, the upstream surface of the buffer portion has a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier. do.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a cartridge for a water purifier exchangeably housed in a water purifier housing, comprising a purification material for purifying water, wherein raw water does not permeate the purification material in the water purifier. In addition to forming a raw water flow path flowing downstream and a purified water flow path in which raw water permeates the purification material and flows downstream, in the water purifier, discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path It has a buffer portion arranged upstream of the flow path switching valve to be selected, and the downstream surface of the buffer portion faces the raw water flow path and the upstream surface faces the purified water flow path. It is characterized by

According to the first invention, a cartridge for a water purifier that is exchangeably stored in a water purifier storage portion has a purification material for removing impurities from water, and raw water is contained in the water purifier. and a purified water flow path through which the raw water passes through the purification material and flows downstream, and in the water purifier, the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path By having a buffer part arranged upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge from and downstream of the purification material and blocking water hammer from the flow path switching valve to the purification material , water hammer or high water pressure can be absorbed by the buffer portion, and damage to the purification material and other members can be prevented.

According to the second invention, in the raw water flow path, the downstream side surface of the buffer portion has a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier. , water hammer and the like can be absorbed more efficiently, and sticking of the mounting portion between the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge can be prevented.

According to the third invention, the position corresponding to the upstream end when arranged in the accommodating portion also has a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier. Each time the water purifier is switched from the raw water discharge to the purified water discharge, the water hammer or the like is absorbed by this vertical plane, and the water purifier cartridge swings in the mounting direction. can.

According to the fourth invention, in the water purification channel, the upstream surface of the buffer portion has a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier. , Every time the discharge of raw water is switched to the discharge of purified water, the water passing through the purified water flow path collides with this vertical plane, causing the water purifier cartridge to swing in the mounting direction. can be prevented.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the downstream surface of the buffer faces the raw water flow path, and the upstream surface faces the purified water flow path. Since the water purifier cartridge swings in the pull-out direction due to the water hammer absorbed by the buffer portion, it is possible to prevent the attachment portion between the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge from sticking. Further, since the water purifier cartridge then swings in the mounting direction, it is possible to prevent the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge from sticking to each other.

It is a side view of the water purifier which accommodated the cartridge for water purifiers concerning embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line ZZ in FIG. 1 showing the same water purifier. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the cartridge for water purifiers concerning embodiment of this invention, (a) is the perspective view seen from the downstream, (b) is the perspective view seen from the upstream. 3 is a table showing changes in water pressure when switching from raw water discharge to purified water discharge at points A to D in FIG. 2; 3 is a table showing changes in water pressure when switching from clean water discharge to raw water discharge at points A to D in FIG. 2;

Hereinafter, a water purifier and a water purifier cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the water purifier 1 is a shower head type water purifier connected to water supply equipment via a hose or the like and having a discharge port formed at the tip.
This water purifier 1 has a straight discharge port 2a and a shower discharge port 2b as discharge ports, and is provided with a discharge switching valve for switching between straight discharge from the straight discharge port 2a and shower discharge from the shower discharge port 2b. .
In addition, although a shower head type water purifier is described in this embodiment, the content of the present invention is not limited to this, and may be used for water purifiers of other shapes.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the proximal end of the water purifier 1 is formed with a connection port 3 for introducing tap water (raw water) from a hose or the like.
Inside the water purifier 1, there is provided a channel communicating from the connection port 3 to the discharge ports 2a and 2b. ing.
In the water purifier 1, a head 6 having discharge ports 2a and 2b and a grip 7 that can be held by a user with one hand are screwed together. In such a case, the cartridge 4 can be replaced with a new water purifier cartridge 4 by disassembling the head 6 and the grip portion 7 .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the water purifier cartridge 4 includes an activated carbon 8 solidified into a cylindrical shape, an upstream cap 9 attached to the upstream side of the activated carbon 8, and an upstream side cap 9 attached to the downstream side of the activated carbon 8. and a downstream cap 10 .
When the raw water passes through the activated carbon 8 , chemical components dissolved in the raw water and fine floating solid substances are adsorbed or filtered by the activated carbon 8 .
The outer peripheral surface of the activated carbon 8 may be covered with a nonwoven fabric or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upstream cap 9 has a disk portion 9a that closes the upstream end of the activated carbon 8. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the disk portion 9a is accommodated in the accommodation portion 5, it abuts against the ribs 5a provided upright at the upstream end of the accommodation portion 5 and is positioned in the pipe direction. It does not block the entrance of water to 5.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the downstream cap 10 covers the downstream end of the activated carbon 8 and has a substantially cylindrical connecting tube portion 10a with a lid standing on the downstream side.
The connection tube portion 10 a is fitted into a tubular cartridge receiver 11 provided on the head portion 6 of the water purifier 1 to positionally fix the water purifier cartridge 4 in the housing portion 5 . The downstream end face of the connecting tube portion 10a is closed by a disk-shaped cushioning portion 10d.
A water channel communicating with the internal channel 12 of the activated carbon 8 is formed in the downstream cap 10, and an outlet 10e thereof is formed on the peripheral surface of the connecting tube portion 10a.
Since O-rings 13, 13 are fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the connecting cylinder part 10a one each on the upstream side and the downstream side of the outlet 10e, the connecting cylinder part 10a is watertightly fixed to the cartridge receiver 11. .

Water (purified water) flowing from the outer periphery of activated carbon 8 into internal channel 12 is supplied to cartridge receiver 11, passes through head 6, and is selectively discharged from straight spout 2a or shower spout 2b. In the flow channel in the downstream cap 10, a non-woven fabric 10b for removing fine powder flowing out of the activated carbon 8 and a sterilizing ceramic 10c for preventing bacteria from growing in the stagnant water are arranged. The downstream cap 10 is formed by assembling two parts so as to accommodate the nonwoven fabric 10b and the sterilizing ceramic 10c.
In this specification, a member such as the activated carbon 8 and the sterilizing ceramic 10c that has a function of removing impurities from water or sterilizing various germs is called a purifying material.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the peripheral surface of the cartridge receiver 11, a purified water receiving port 11a is formed at a position coinciding with the outlet 10e when the water purifier cartridge 4 is attached. A raw water receiving port 11b is formed at a position downstream of the portion 10d.
The purified water receiving port 11 a communicates with the purified water cutoff valve 15 of the head 6 , and the raw water receiving port 11b communicates with the raw water cutoff valve 16 of the head 6 .

By accommodating the water purifier cartridge 4, the raw water introduced from the connection port 3 is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the activated carbon 8 and the inner wall of the accommodating portion 5 in the water purifier 1 without permeating the activated carbon 8. A raw water flow path is formed in which the raw water passes through the outer peripheral side flow path 14, flows into the cartridge receiver 11 from the raw water receiving port 11b, and flows to the discharge ports 2a and 2b via the raw water cutoff valve.
Further, in the water purifier 1, the raw water introduced from the connection port 3 permeates the activated carbon 8 from the outer channel 14, flows into the internal channel 12, and enters the purified water receiving port from the outlet 10a of the downstream cap 10. A purified water flow path is formed, which flows out to 11b and flows to outlets 2a and 2b via a purified water cutoff valve.
The head 6 is provided with a channel switching valve for selectively closing one of the raw water shutoff valve 16 and the purified water shutoff valve 15 by operating a push button 6a and opening the other.

When the water purifier cartridge 4 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 5 of the water purifier 1, the surface on the upstream side of the buffer portion 10d and the Both downstream faces are vertical planes.
Further, when the water purifier cartridge 4 is accommodated in the water purifier cartridge 4 in the accommodating portion 5 of the water purifier 1, the disk portion 9a is also a plane perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge 4. As shown in FIG.

In this water purifier, when the raw water discharge in which the raw water flow path is open is switched to the purified water discharge in which the purified water flow path is open, the raw water cutoff valve 16 is momentarily closed, thereby generating water hammer or high water pressure. and propagate upstream.
FIG. 4 shows the results of measuring the water pressure during discharge of raw water and the water pressure that increased when the discharge of raw water was switched to the discharge of purified water at points A to D in FIG. Point A is near the entrance of the housing portion 5 upstream from the disk portion 9a, point B is the raw water flow path downstream of the purification material, point C is the raw water flow path downstream of point B and immediately upstream of the raw water cutoff valve, point D is The purified water flow path was set immediately upstream of the purified water cutoff valve.

When the water pressure at the time of raw water discharge is relatively low (0.05 MPa at point A), medium (0.09 MPa at point A), or relatively high (0.14 MPa at point A), It was found that when the discharge of raw water was switched to the discharge of purified water, the water pressure abruptly increased at point C and propagated from point C to point A without attenuation. This increase in water pressure reached twice the initial water pressure supplied to the water purifier 1 when raw water was discharged, that is, the water pressure at point A when raw water was discharged.
There was no significant change in water pressure at point D, which is the purified water channel near the purified water cutoff valve.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the buffer portion 10d blocks the water hammer from the raw water cutoff valve 16 to the sterilizing ceramic 10c, so that the internal sterilizing ceramic 10c can be prevented from being damaged.
Moreover, the path from the raw water cutoff valve 16 through the inside of the downstream cap 10 to reach the internal flow path 12 of the activated carbon 8 is blocked by the buffer portion 10d. The cylindrical activated carbon 8 has a higher density on the inner peripheral side than on the outer peripheral side, is strong against the force from the outer peripheral side, and is relatively fragile against the force from the inner peripheral side in many cases. It is possible to prevent the activated carbon 8 from being damaged by the impact from the inner peripheral side.
By providing such a buffer portion 10d, it becomes possible to incorporate a member with low durability as an internal component of the water purifier cartridge 4 or as a purification material.
In addition, the buffer portion 10d closes the downstream end face of the downstream cap 10 and prevents linear foreign matter (not shown) from the outside from reaching the sterilizing ceramic 10c and the activated carbon 8 through the outlet 10e on the peripheral surface. Due to the formation, even if the water purifier cartridge 4 is dropped or hit by a sharp foreign object during handling, the sharp foreign object, for example, sticks almost parallel to the longitudinal direction of the water purifier cartridge and reaches the internal flow path 12. Since it is possible to avoid a situation such as penetration, it is possible to prevent the inside of the sterilizing ceramic 10c and the activated carbon 8 from being damaged.

Also, every time the water purifier discharge is switched from the raw water discharge to the purified water discharge, the buffer portion 10d absorbs water hammer or the like, and the water purifier cartridge swings in the pull-out direction. Such sticking can be prevented.
Furthermore, when water hammer or the like propagates upstream through the raw water flow path from the raw water receiving inlet 11b, the moment it reaches the upstream side of the upstream cap 9, the upstream side of the upstream side cap 9 becomes higher pressure than the downstream side, so the disk portion 9a is pressed from upstream, the water purifier cartridge 4 swings in the mounting direction, and the fixing of the O-ring 13 or the like, which is the mounting portion between the water purifier 1 and the water purifier cartridge 4, can be prevented.
Immediately after that, the purified water cutoff valve is opened and water flows through the purified water channel, so that the water flowing into the housing portion 5 collides with the disk portion 9a of the upstream cap 9 and passes through the purification material. Water flowing into the downstream cap 10 collides with the upstream surface of the buffer portion 10d, and the water purifier cartridge 4 swings in the mounting direction. 13 and the like can be prevented from sticking.

By providing the buffer portion 10d and the disk portion 9a in this way, it is possible to prevent damage to the activated carbon 8 and the sterilizing ceramic 10c due to water hammer and the like, and use the water hammer and the like to It is possible to prevent the attachment portion of the dexterity cartridge 4 from sticking.
In addition, since the buffer portion 10d and the disk portion 9a have a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge 4, water hammer and the like can be absorbed more efficiently, and the water purifier 1 and the water purifier It is possible to prevent the attachment portion of the cartridge 4 from sticking.
Further, since the water purifier cartridge 4 swings in the drawing direction and then in the installation direction due to water hammer or the like or the water flow in the water purification channel, the movements due to the respective swings are offset, and the water purifier cartridge 4 moves to the cartridge receiver 11 . can be prevented from falling out.
By providing the buffering portion 10d in the downstream cap 10 having the connection cylindrical portion 10a and the O-ring 13, which is the portion to be attached to the water purifier 1, the water purifier cartridge 4 is more effectively shaken by the impact such as water hammer. , it is possible to prevent the water purifier 1 and the water purifier cartridge 4 from sticking to each other.

In addition, in this embodiment, the upstream surface and the downstream surface of the buffer portion 10d are planes completely perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge 4, but they do not necessarily have to be complete planes. However, there is no problem with other shapes that can more efficiently absorb the water hammer or the like, or that can effectively convert the impact such as the water hammer into swinging motion of the water purifier cartridge 4 . For example, the upstream and downstream surfaces of the buffer portion 10d may be hemispherical, crater-shaped, conical, inverted conical, trapezoidal, or other shapes.

In addition, in the purified water flow path, the flow path resistance becomes larger than that of the raw water flow path due to permeation of the purification material, etc., and the water pressure in the vicinity of the purified water cutoff valve is small. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when the clean water discharge was switched to the raw water discharge, a large increase in water pressure did not occur except at point D.
Also, the increase in the water pressure at point D was below the water pressure at point A when purified water was discharged.

The following notes are part of the invention described in this application.
[Appendix 1]
A water purifier cartridge that is exchangeably housed in a water purifier housing,
It has a purification material that purifies water,
In the water purifier, a raw water channel through which raw water flows downstream without passing through the purification material, and a purified water channel through which raw water passes through the purification material and flows downstream are formed,
In the water purifier, arranged upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path, and
A cartridge for a water purifier, comprising: a buffer portion arranged downstream of the purification material and blocking a water hammer from the flow path switching valve to the purification material.
[Appendix 2]
The purified water according to appendix 1, wherein in the raw water flow path, the downstream side surface of the buffer portion has a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier. dexterity cartridge.
[Appendix 3]
For a water purifier according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein a position corresponding to an upstream end when arranged in the accommodating portion also has a plane substantially perpendicular to a mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier. cartridge.
[Appendix 4]
Water purifier according to appendix 2, wherein in the water purifier channel, an upstream surface of the buffer portion has a plane substantially perpendicular to a mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier. dexterity cartridge.
[Appendix 5]
A water purifier cartridge that is exchangeably housed in a water purifier housing,
It has a purification material that purifies water,
In the water purifier, a raw water channel through which raw water flows downstream without passing through the purification material, and a purified water channel through which raw water passes through the purification material and flows downstream,
The water purifier has a buffer portion disposed upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path, and a downstream surface of the buffer portion faces the raw water flow path. A cartridge for a water purifier, characterized in that the surface on the upstream side faces the purified water channel.

1 water purifier 2a (straight) discharge port 2b (shower) discharge port 3 connection port 4 water purifier cartridge 5 housing portion 5a rib 6 head 6a push button 7 grip portion 8 activated carbon 9 upstream cap 9a disk portion 10 downstream cap 10a connecting tube portion 10b nonwoven fabric 10c sterilizing ceramic 10d buffer portion 10e outlet 11 cartridge receiver 11a purified water receiving port 11b raw water receiving port 12 internal channel 13 O-ring 14 outer peripheral side channel 15 purified water cutoff valve 16 raw water cutoff valve

Claims (2)

A water purifier cartridge that is exchangeably housed in a water purifier housing,
It has a purification material that purifies water,
In the water purifier, a raw water channel through which raw water flows downstream without passing through the purification material, and a purified water channel through which raw water passes through the purification material and flows downstream are formed,
A connecting cylinder portion is fitted inside the cartridge receptacle of the water purifier, whereby the connecting cylinder portion is watertightly fixed to the cartridge receptacle,
In the water purifier, it is disposed upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path, is disposed downstream of the purification material, and switches from raw water discharge to purified water discharge. Each time it has a buffer that blocks water hammer or absorbs water hammer or high water pressure,
Attached to the water purifier in a predetermined mounting direction when housed in the housing of the water purifier,
In the raw water flow path, the downstream surface of the buffer portion is the following (a ) or (c), and the downstream surface blocks water hammer or absorbs water hammer or high water pressure. Cartridge for water purifier.
(a) a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier;
( c) Hemispherical, Cratered, Conical, Inverted Conical or Trapezoidal A water purifier cartridge that is exchangeably housed in a water purifier housing,
It has a purification material that purifies water,
In the water purifier, a raw water channel through which raw water flows downstream without passing through the purification material, and a purified water channel through which raw water passes through the purification material and flows downstream are formed,
The water purifier has a buffer portion disposed upstream of the flow path switching valve for selecting discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path, and the upstream surface of the buffer portion faces the purified water flow path. and
Attached to the water purifier in a predetermined mounting direction when housed in the housing of the water purifier,
In the water purification channel, the upstream surface of the buffer portion is the following (a ) or (c), and the upstream surface blocks water hammer or absorbs water hammer or high water pressure. Cartridge for water purifier.
(a) a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier;
( c) Hemispherical, Cratered, Conical, Inverted Conical or Trapezoidal

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