JP7189612B2 - water purifier - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a circulation-type water purifier using a reverse osmosis membrane, and more particularly to a water purifier having a simple configuration that facilitates maintenance such as replacement of a water supply tank.

Conventional water purifiers draw up raw water from a water supply tank with a pressure pump and pass it through a filter to generate purified water, while the concentrated water produced by the purification action of a reverse osmosis membrane is returned to the water supply tank and reused as raw water. . In a water purifying device with this configuration, a raw water supply pipe for sucking up raw water and a concentrated water return pipe for returning concentrated water to the water supply tank were generally inserted from the top cover of the water supply tank. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

However, since the raw water supply pipe extends to near the bottom of the water supply tank, it was necessary to remove the top cover and pull out the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water return pipe from the water supply tank when replacing the raw water in the water supply tank. For this reason, replacement work is troublesome, and structurally, it is necessary to provide a sufficient space above the water supply tank for attaching and detaching the pipe.

Conventionally, the concentration of impurities in the raw water in the water tank is measured, and when the concentration of impurities exceeds a certain value, the pressure pump is stopped and an alarm is output to indicate that the raw water in the water tank needs to be replaced. rice field. For this reason, a cost is required for providing an impurity concentration sensor and the like.

JP 2018-65584 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a water purifying apparatus that facilitates maintenance such as replacement of water in a water supply tank and that does not require a concentration sensor or the like and has a simple configuration. aim.

In order to achieve the above object, in the water purifier of the present disclosure,
A water supply tank for storing raw water, a raw water supply pipe for supplying raw water from the water supply tank to a pressurizing pump through a connector,
a purification filter unit including a reverse osmosis membrane that removes impurities from raw water fed from the pressure pump to produce purified water;
a concentrated water return pipe for returning the concentrated water generated by the purification action of the reverse osmosis membrane to the water supply tank via the water flow adjustment unit;
a purified water tank that stores the purified water; a purified water extraction unit that extracts purified water from the purified water tank;
A water purification device comprising
The water supply tank has a water supply port on the top and a connector part connected to the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water return pipe on the side or bottom of the bottom,
The connector section comprises a first connector to be attached to the water supply tank, and a second connector detachably fitted to the first connector and connected to the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water return pipe. The connecting portions of the first and second connectors concentrically fluidly communicate the raw water of the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water of the concentrated water return pipe, and the first connector is fitted with the second connector. It is characterized by comprising a valve mechanism that allows raw water to flow when the second connector is disconnected and prohibits raw water to flow when the second connector is disconnected.

In particular, in the first connector, the inner side of the concentrically formed fluid communication portion is assigned to flow raw water, and the outer side is assigned to flow of concentrated water. It is preferable to prohibit the flow of raw water at the time of separation because the structure is simple. Of course, valve mechanisms may be provided in both the outer and inner fluid communication portions to prohibit the flow of both raw water and concentrated water when the second connector is separated. The structure in which the first connector and the second connector are rotatively fitted around the concentric fluid communication part as the central axis allows the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water return pipe coming from different directions in the water purifier to be connected to the water supply tank respectively. It can be connected and disconnected simultaneously with the tube and conveniently.

In the water purifier of the present disclosure, when the water tank is attached or detached, the valve inside the connector is operated to automatically close the valve, thereby minimizing water dripping when the water tank is moved.
Further, one of the two pipes protruding into the water supply tank of the first connector of the water purifier according to the present disclosure is a pipe that fluidly communicates with the raw water supply pipe, and projects substantially horizontally into the water supply tank. and a pipe in fluid communication with said concentrate return pipe, the other pipe extending upwardly of said water tank and having an outlet at a position higher than said water intake. characterized by

In particular, the position of the water intake is preferably determined according to the permissible impurity concentration of the raw water. For water purifiers, the source of raw water (general tap water, river, etc.) is often determined for each installation location. According to the present disclosure, it is possible to manage the impurity concentration in the raw water when the raw water is reused by the amount of water when the water supply tank is full and the amount of water at the time of raw water replacement determined by the height of the water intake. A sensor can be omitted.

Preferably, the position of the water intake can be adjusted. Depending on where the water purifier is installed, when the raw water quality is good, the water intake can be set at a low position, and when the raw water quality is poor, the water intake can be set at a high position, making it easier to control the concentration of impurities. Accurate and easy, and at the same time maintain the quality of purified water.

The adjustment of the position of the water intake can be realized by making it possible to connect a plurality of pipes, or by making the pipes expandable and contractible, such as a bellows, so that the height of the upwardly extending pipes can be adjusted.
Alternatively, instead of adjusting the position of the water intake, a scale may be provided on the surface of the water supply tank to indicate the amount (height) of water to be put into the water supply tank depending on the quality of the water. For example, in the case of tap water, the concentration of impurities in the raw water can be controlled by replenishing water up to the high scale, and keeping the low scale position in places with poor water quality such as rivers.

The water drip prevention effect can be enhanced by making the outer side of the connector portion of the water tank higher than the inner side of the tank by a predetermined angle. The angle at this time can be [opening diameter of pipe/horizontal length of pipe].

Further, the water purifier according to the present disclosure includes a high-pressure switch that is interposed between the purification filter unit and the water flow adjustment unit and that outputs a detection signal when a certain pressure is detected;
Arithmetic processing means for inputting the states of the manual switch and the high pressure switch to control the drainage control valve and the pressurizing pump;
with
The water intake of the pressurizing pump is installed below the water intake in the water supply tank,
The arithmetic processing means is
It is characterized in that, based on the detection signal, the operation of the pressurizing pump is stopped, and the arrival of the time to replace the raw water in the water supply tank is notified.

The arithmetic processing means of the water purifier according to the present disclosure detects that the pressure in the concentrated water return pipe is below a certain value from the detection signal of the high pressure switch during water purification, and if this continues for a certain period of time, the raw water in the water supply tank is replaced. It judges that the timing has been reached and outputs an alarm.

Specifically, when the amount of water in the water tank reaches the low water level, the "tank low water level lamp" on the operation panel flashes and a buzzer sounds to warn the user, and the raw water in the water tank is replaced. encourage According to the present disclosure, by automatically stopping the operation of the pressurization pump when the raw water level in the water supply tank is low, it prevents the pressurization pump from spinning due to air inflow and reduces the load on the electrical system, resulting in failures and accidents. can reduce the cause of

In addition, the water flow adjustment unit of the water purifier according to the present disclosure includes a drainage adjustment valve for adjusting the flow rate in the pipe, and is connected in parallel with the drainage adjustment valve and whether the drainage adjustment valve is bypassed by opening and closing the valve. It consists of a drainage control valve that controls whether
Equipped with a tank switch that notifies the completion of water supply by manually operating after setting the water tank,
The arithmetic processing means is
When power is turned on or a change in the state of the tank switch is detected, the pressure pump is operated with the drainage control valve open for a predetermined time to flush and clean the reverse osmosis membrane, and then the drainage control valve. is closed to perform the water purification process, and the flushing cleaning process is performed at regular intervals.

According to the present disclosure, the reverse osmosis membrane filter (R.O. membrane filter) is flushed and cleaned by opening the control valve of the concentrated water that flows back to the water supply tank at regular intervals, and the impurity removal capability of the reverse osmosis membrane filter is maintained. can be prolonged.

At this time, there is provided a latch circuit which is set when it is determined that the operation processing means has come to be replaced, is reset by detecting the operation of the manual switch, and is not reset when the power is turned off. It is preferable to turn on or off the pressure pump. Thereby, the arithmetic processing means can read the state of the latch circuit when the power is turned on, and appropriately detect whether or not the raw water in the water tank needs to be replaced.

Further, the water purifier according to the present disclosure includes a high water level sensor that detects that the water purification tank is full, and a low water level sensor that detects that the water level has decreased to a certain level,
The arithmetic processing means is
When the high water level sensor detects that the purified water tank is full, the pressurizing pump is stopped. After that, when the low water level sensor detects a decrease in the amount of water in the purified water tank, pressurization is performed. run the pump,
The water level detected by the high water level sensor and the water level detected by the low water level sensor are such that the amount of water stored in the purified water tank, which corresponds to the difference between the two water levels, is within the execution interval of the flushing cleaning process executed by the arithmetic processing means. is set to be larger than the amount of purified water that can be produced.

As a result, frequent repetition of flushing cleaning can be prevented, and flushing cleaning and water purification can be performed at appropriate timings.

In addition, in order to prevent contamination such as various bacteria around the faucet when supplying purified water from the water purifier according to the present disclosure, high-temperature water always flows in including cold water lines when hot water is used, and is characterized by a function of heat sterilization.

As described above, in the water purifier of the present invention, maintenance such as replacement of water in the water supply tank is easy, and a water purifier with a simple configuration can be realized without a concentration sensor or the like.

1 is a block diagram of a water purifier according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the principle of the connector of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram according to an embodiment of FIG. 2; FIG. 2 is a view of the insertion surface of the connector of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the configuration of locking means of the connector of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the operation of locking means of the connector of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an extension tube inserted into the connector of FIG. 1; FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the operation of locking means according to another embodiment of the connector of FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a cold water/hot water outlet in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure when the control circuit of FIG. 1 is powered on; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of the control circuit of FIG. 1 when replacing a water supply tank; 4 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure at power-on according to another embodiment of the control circuit of FIG. 1; FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a procedure for resetting an Empty flag in FIG. 12; FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure when replacing a water tank according to another embodiment of the control circuit of FIG. 1; FIG.

A first embodiment of a water purifier according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 1, a water purifier 1 according to this embodiment includes a water supply tank 2 that stores raw water such as tap water or natural water. This water supply tank 2 is connected to a raw water supply pipe 21 and a concentrated water return pipe 22 via a connector 3 . The raw water supply pipe 21 is connected to a pressure pump 4 that pushes the raw water into the circulation system. The pressurizing pump 4 returns the concentrated water produced by the purifying action of the RO membrane to the water supply tank 2 through the connecting pipe 23 and the purification filter section 5 including the RO membrane filter 52 that removes impurities in the raw water to produce purified water. a cooling tank 9 for storing purified water purified by the purification filter unit 5; and a connection pipe 27 for supplying the purified water from the purification filter unit 5 to the cooling tank 9.

A cooling device (not shown) is attached to the lower part of the cooling tank 9, and the stored water can be cooled to a certain temperature to be cold water. The cooling temperature can be set arbitrarily. Two connecting pipes 28 and 29 are attached to the cooling tank 9 so as to communicate with the inside of the cooling tank 9 . One end of the connecting pipe 28 is higher than the water intake position of the connecting pipe 29 of the cooling tank 9 and configured to take in purified water from a position where the cooling device is not attached, and the other end is extended to the upper part of the heating tank 10. ing. The heating tank 10 is heated by a heater (not shown) to heat the purified water supplied from the cooling tank 9 through the connecting pipe 28 to warm the water. A drain pipe 32 is arranged on the bottom surface of the heating tank 10, and the drain pipe 32 can be discharged from a hot water discharge port 14 having an on-off valve.

A connecting pipe 30 is connected to the heating tank 10 , and one end of the connecting pipe 30 is connected to the hot water electromagnetic valve 11 . The other end of the hot water electromagnetic valve 11 is connected to the cold water/hot water outlet 13 by a connecting pipe 31 . On the other hand, the bottom of the cooling tank 9 is connected to a cold water electromagnetic valve 12 through a connecting pipe 29, and the cold water/hot water outlet 13 is arranged directly below the cold water electromagnetic valve 12. As shown in FIG.

The purification filter unit 5 includes an RO membrane filter 52, and two activated carbon tanks, a pre-filter 51 and a post-filter 53, arranged in front of and behind the filter. The pre-filter 51 and the RO membrane filter 52 are connected by a connecting pipe 33 . The post-filter 53 and the RO membrane filter 52 are connected by a connecting pipe 34 . A plurality of pre-filters 51 and post-filters 53 may be provided as necessary. A connecting pipe 23 from the pressurizing pump 4 is connected to the raw water inlet of the pre-filter 51 at the foremost stage.

Raw water sent from the pressurizing pump 4 driven and controlled by a drive signal S4 from the control circuit 40, which will be described later, passes through the pre-filter 51 through the connecting pipe 23, and the chlorine ions contained in the raw water are removed by the adsorption action of the activated carbon. Adsorbs and removes harmful substances such as organic compounds. The raw water pretreated with activated carbon flows into the water inlet of the RO membrane filter 52 .

The RO membrane filter 52 is a cylindrical container containing an RO membrane, and the container is provided with a water supply port, a purified water outlet, and a concentrated water outlet. The purified water outlet discharges pure water obtained by highly removing impurities from the supplied water, and the concentrated water outlet discharges concentrated water produced by reverse osmosis.

A purified water outlet of the RO membrane filter 52 is connected to the post filter 53 via the connecting pipe 34 . A concentrated water discharge port of the RO membrane filter 52 is connected to one end of the high pressure switch 6 via a connecting pipe 24 . The other end of the high-pressure switch is connected in parallel with the drain control valve 7 and the drain control valve 8 via a T-tube 15 . The other ends of the drainage adjustment valve 7 and the drainage control valve 8 are connected to the concentrated water return pipe 22 through the T-shaped pipe 16 . When the water supply tank 2 is attached, the raw water supply pipe 35 and the concentrated water return pipe 36 inside the water supply tank 2 are connected via the connector 3 to the raw water supply pipe 21 and the concentrated water return pipe 22 outside the water supply tank, respectively. do. The raw water supply pipe 35 is configured to supply water from a low position within the water supply tank 2 , and the concentrated water return pipe 36 is configured to discharge water to a high position within the water supply tank 2 . The water intake of the raw water supply pipe 35 is preferably formed horizontally upward. As a result, when the water level in the water supply tank drops to the height of the water intake of the raw water supply pipe 35, it is possible to avoid supplying raw water mixed with air to the pressurizing pump 4 side for a long period of time.

Concentrated water in which impurities have been concentrated through the RO membrane filter 52 is returned to the water supply tank 2, discharged from the concentrated water return pipe 36, and subjected to reprocessing. That is, the concentrated water returned to the water supply tank 2 becomes raw water, is taken in from the intake port of the raw water supply pipe 35, and is sent to the purification filter unit 5 again by the pressure pump 4, thereby forming a circulation type water purification system. there is

(Configuration of control circuit 40)
The control circuit 40 includes input means for inputting and processing signals from the outside, arithmetic processing means for arithmetically processing the input signals, output means for outputting arithmetic results, and storage means (not shown) for storing data. .

Signals processed by the input means include the state of a tank switch that is manually turned off and on when the water tank is replaced, the pressure detection state of the high pressure switch 6, and the like. The arithmetic processing means mainly executes power-on processing and water tank replacement processing. The output means outputs an alarm signal for notifying the arrival of water supply replacement timing, a drain control valve open/close signal, and a pressurizing pump drive signal, which are results of execution of the above processes.

The control circuit 40 includes a microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as "CPU") 40a as arithmetic processing means, and arithmetically processes the input signal. This processing procedure will be described later.

(Processing of the drainage control valve 8 arranged in parallel with the drainage adjustment valve 7)
Normally, when purified water is produced, the drainage control valve 8 is closed, and the water is purified by applying pressure to the RO membrane filter while controlling the flow rate with the drainage adjustment valve 7 built into the pipe. However, if the cooling tank 9 continues to be full and there is almost no movement of circulating water, the concentrated water will stay inside the RO membrane filter due to the action of positive permeation, which will be a factor in reducing the water purification efficiency.

Therefore, the control circuit 40 outputs an opening command S3 to the drainage control valve 8 at regular time intervals (for example, every 30 minutes). The RO membrane is flushed and cleaned by increasing the flow rate in an open state.

As a result, the concentrated water remaining inside can be drained out of the RO membrane filter, and the RO membrane filter can be cleaned to prevent a reduction in the removal rate.

(Clean water provision processing)
Purified water generated by the RO membrane filter 52 flows into the purified water inlet of the post filter 53 . The purified water introduced into the post-filter 53 passes through a filter (activated carbon tank) to remove trace amounts of residual substances contained in the raw water, and is discharged to the cooling tank through the connecting pipe 27 connected to the purified water outlet of the post-filter 53. 9 is discharged.

The purified water supply unit 9a is configured to be able to supply purified water in the cooling tank 9 or the heating tank 10 as cold water or hot water through a faucet (cold water/hot water outlet) 13 . The drain end of the connecting pipe 27 is attached to the top lid of the cooling tank 9, and purified water is stored inside the cooling tank 9 from the drain port. A UV lamp (ultraviolet germicidal lamp) 91 and a float switch (liquid level sensor) 92 are attached to the upper lid of the cooling tank 9 toward the inside of the tank. The UV lamp 91 is controlled to be turned on/off according to a control command from the control circuit 40 .

The float switch 92 detects whether or not a predetermined amount of purified water is stored by contacting the contained purified water liquid level. That is, the float switch 92 is detecting means for detecting that a predetermined amount of purified water is stored, and detects the upper and lower limits of the liquid level by means of the float that moves up and down according to the rise and fall of the liquid level. . When the float switch 92 detects the upper limit position H and the lower limit position L of the liquid level, it outputs detection signals S2a and S2b, respectively. When the control circuit 40 first receives the detection signal S2a of the upper limit position H, it stops the pressurizing pump 4 to stop the supply of purified water to the cooling tank 9 . After that, upon receiving the detection signal S2b of the lower limit position L, the control circuit 40 transmits the drive signal S4 to the pressurization pump 4 to drive it and restart the production of purified water. Thus, by intermittently driving the pressurizing pump 4 in conjunction with monitoring the amount of purified water by the float switch 92, the amount of purified water is controlled so that the purified water in the cooling tank 9 is kept at a constant water level.

(Structure of connector 3 of water supply tank 2)
Next, the basic principle of the connector 3 attached to the water supply tank 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the basic principle, and the details of the fitting structure and the like are omitted. Further, in the connector 3, only the portion forming the pipe wall is hatched, and the moving portion such as the valve is not hatched.

The connector 3 is composed of a connector 3a directly attached to the water supply tank 2 and a connector 3b fitted to the connector 3a. Connected to the connector 3b are a raw water supply pipe 21 leading to the pressurizing pump and a concentrated water return pipe 22 provided from the water flow adjusting section 7a.

In this connector 3b, the connecting portion with the connector 3a is formed with concentric water flow paths. there is On the other hand, the connecting portion of the connector 3a also has a water flow path formed concentrically in the same manner as the connector 3b. It is When the connectors 3a and 3b configured in this way are fitted and connected, the raw water can be circulated on the center side (61a, 61b) of the concentric tubes, and the concentrated water can be circulated on the outer side (62a, 62b). .

The connector 3a has a check valve 63a on the center side, and when the connector 3b is connected, the check valve spring 64a is pushed by the projection 63b of the connector 3b as shown in FIG. 2(b). , the packing 65a is separated from the opening of the pipe 61a, and as a result the check valve 63a is opened. When the connector 3b is removed, the check valve spring 64a is extended by its restoring force as shown in FIG. 2(a), and the packing 65a closes the opening of the pipe 61a. As a result, the check valve 63a is closed to prevent raw water from flowing out of the water supply tank 2 to the outside.

In FIG. 2, the concentrated water side does not have a valve and is always in a state of being able to flow. When the water supply tank is replaced, the pressurizing pump is normally stopped, so there is almost no outflow of concentrated water. However, it is of course possible to provide a check valve at the inlet from the concentrated water return pipe 22 to the outer pipe 62b.

FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the connector 3 according to this embodiment. FIG. 3(a) shows the flow of raw water when the connector is fitted, and FIG. 3(b) shows the flow of concentrated water when the connector is fitted. FIG. 3(c) shows the main parts that make up the check valve.

Next, the structure of the connectors 3a and 3b will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a view of connectors 3a and 3b according to one embodiment, viewed from the insertion surface. When the connectors 3a and 3b are attached to the water supply tank 2, an extension tube 37 is provided on the drain port side of the concentrated water return pipe 36 toward the upper side of the water supply tank as shown in FIG. is not illustrated.

The joints of the connectors 3a and 3b have a concentric double tube structure separated by outer tube walls 69a and 69b and inner tube walls 68a and 68b, respectively. The outer tube wall 69a of the connector 3b fits inside the outer tube wall 69b of the connector 3b, and the inner tube wall 68a of the connector 3a fits inside the inner tube wall 68b of the connector 3b. Raw water flows through pipes 61a and 61b formed inside inner pipe walls 68a and 68b, and concentrated water flows through pipes 62a and 62b formed between inner pipe walls 68a and 68b and outer pipe walls 69a and 69b. flow through. The connector 3b has a projection 63b on the inside of the inner pipe wall 68b. By pushing the head of the check valve 63a of the connector 3a with this projection 63b, the packing 65a is separated from the opening and the check valve 63a is opened. .

Next, locking means for fitting and fixing the connectors 3a and 3b will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5(c), the connector 3a is attached to the water tank 2 by sandwiching the outer wall of the water tank 2 between a connector body 71a inserted through the outer wall of the water tank 2 and fixing means 72a. be done. This connector 3a is provided with two locking means 80a at symmetrical positions with respect to the central axis. The lock means 80a is formed in a convex shape on the outer surface of the outer tube wall 69a, and includes an inclined slide portion 81a having a constant slope with respect to the insertion surface, and a parallel slide portion 82a having a surface substantially parallel to the insertion surface. I have.

5(a) and 5(b) show the locking means 80b of the connector 3b. The locking means 80b is formed in a convex shape on the inner surface of the outer tube wall 69b of the connector 3b at a position corresponding to the locking means 80a. A parallel slide portion 82b having parallel surfaces is provided.

Next, the operation of the locking means 80a, 80b when the connectors 3a, 3b are attached and detached will be described. The connection and disconnection of the connector is performed with the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water return pipe attached to the connector 3b. are omitted.

When attaching the connector 3b, the user inserts the connector 3b into the connector 3a and rotates it to the right in this embodiment. Then, the inclined slide portion 81b of the lock means 80b and the inclined slide portion 81a of the lock means 80a come into contact with each other, and the inclined slide portion 81b slides on the inclined slide portion 81a. The state in the middle of sliding is shown in FIG. 6(a). As a result, the connector 3b is inserted more deeply into the connector 3a.

At the stage when the connector 3b is inserted into the connector 3a by the user, i.e. before the sliding of the inclined slide portion 81b, the tubes 61a, 61b and the tubes 62a, 62b are brought into fluid communication with each other, and during the sliding of the inclined slide portion 81b The height of the projection 63b can be determined so that the check valve 63a opens. When the insertion surface of the connector 3b comes into contact with the fixing means 72a of the connector 3a, the sliding by the inclined slides 81a and 81b is shifted to the parallel slides 82a and 82b.

As shown in FIG. 5(b), the locking means 80b of the connector 3b has a surface inclined at a certain angle with respect to the insertion surface from the parallel slide portion 82b toward the back side (opposite side to the insertion surface). A slide portion 83b is provided, and the tilted slide portion 81a of the connector 3a eventually comes into contact with the tilted slide portion 83b of the connector 3b by rotating in the right direction (mounting direction). This allows the user to perceive that the connector 3b has been properly attached.

On the other hand, when removing the connector 3b, the user rotates the connector 3b to the left. As a result, the parallel slide portion 82b of the connector 3b slides on the parallel slide portion 82a of the connector 3a. Further counterclockwise rotation causes the corner portion 83a of the lock means 80a of the connector 3a to abut against the inclined slide portion 83b of the opposing (adjacent) lock means 80b of the connector 3b, and then slide along the inclined slide portion 83. As a result, the connector 3b is gradually separated from the connector 3a, and the user can easily remove the connector 3b.

As described above, if the height of the protrusion 63b is determined so that the check valve 63a opens while the inclined slide portions 81a and 81b slide, the check valve 63a can be opened when the connector is removed. After closing, tubes 61a, 61b and tubes 62a, 62b are separated respectively.

In the above description, the tilted slide portion 81b of the connector 3b does not need to be set at a constant tilt angle, and it is sufficient if it has a convex portion that can slide on the tilted slide portion 81a.

(Other examples)
In the above description, the parallel slide portions 82a and 82b are substantially parallel to the insertion surface. However, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the parallel slide portion 82a of the connector 3a is inclined by a certain angle γ with respect to the insertion surface, and the parallel slide portion 82b of the connector 3b in contact with this is also inclined by the same angle. can be As a result, when the sliding by the inclined slide portions 81a and 81b shifts to the parallel slide portions 82a and 82b, a locking force can be generated by the elastic restoring force of the material (for example, plastic) of the connectors 3a and 3b. can. That is, when the slanted slide portions 81a and 81b are slid during mounting of the connector, the insertion surface of the connector 3b comes into contact with the fixing means 72a of the connector 3a. 81b is still on the inclined slide 81a. In this state, when the connector 3b is further rotated to the right, the inclined slide portion 81b passes through the inclined slide portion 81a and moves toward the parallel slide portion 82a due to the elastic deformation of the connectors 3a and 3b. Then, as shown in FIG. 8(c), the parallel slide portions 82a and 82b are locked in close contact with each other due to the elastic restoring force of the connectors 3a and 3b.

(Concentrated water concentration control method)
The concentration of the concentrated water can be achieved, for example, by varying the height of an extension tube attached to the concentrated water return pipe 36 . When the user removes the connector 3b and fills the water supply tank with raw water, if the raw water is filled higher than the discharge port of the extension tube, the raw water passes through the concentration return pipe 36 and is discharged out of the connector 3a. The amount of raw water filled in the tank is determined by the height of the extension tube. On the other hand, since the intake port of the raw water supply pipe is closed by a check valve, the raw water is not discharged to the outside through the raw water supply pipe. Therefore, if the intake port of the raw water supply pipe is set at a constant height, the concentration of the return water can be controlled by adjusting the length of the extension tube.
A height-adjustable second extension tube may be attached to the intake port of the raw water supply pipe to control the concentration of the concentrated water.

(Structure near the cold/hot water outlet)
Next, the structure of the faucet portion of the water purifier according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in this figure, the faucet portion of the water purifier has a structure in which water flows out vertically from the faucet. This prevents cold water from stagnation near the faucet inside the pipe. On the other hand, hot water is made to flow out from the lateral direction to the faucet. As a result, the vicinity of the faucet is thermally sterilized by the hot water, and the hot water remaining in the horizontal pipe itself is also thermally sterilized, so that a sanitary condition can always be maintained.

(Operation of control circuit)
Next, the operation of the control circuit (arithmetic processing means, hereinafter referred to as "CPU") 40 of the water purifier according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG.

1. Operation when power is turned on (see Fig. 10)
When the power is turned on, a microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as CPU) 40a of the control circuit 40 executes power-on processing. In the power-on process, it is determined whether or not the tank switch to be turned on/off manually is on (S101). The LED indicating (hereinafter referred to as "Empty LED") blinks (S102).

On the other hand, when the tank switch is on ("Yes" in S101), an open command is output to the drain control valve 8 and a drive command is output to the pressure pump 4 (S103). As a result, the drain control valve 8 is opened. Since the water intake port of the pressure pump 4 is installed at a position lower than the connector 3, the raw water in the water supply tank 2 flows to the pressure pump 4 by gravity. The raw water pushed out by the pressurizing pump 4 is returned to the water supply tank 2 through the connecting pipe 23 , the purification filter portion 5 , the drainage control valve 8 and the concentrated water return pipe 22 . Thereby, the flushing cleaning of the RO membrane filter 52 is performed. At this time, purified water is not produced through the RO membrane filter 52 .

After continuing the flushing cleaning for a certain period of time (for example, 30 seconds) (S104), the CPU 40a outputs a closing command to the drainage control valve 8 (S105). As a result, the drain control valve 8 is closed, and a constant pressure is applied to the RO membrane filter 52 by the drain adjusting valve 7 . As a result, purified water is generated through the RO membrane filter 52 , further purified by the post filter 52 , and stored in the cooling tank 9 through the connecting pipe 27 .

The CPU 40a constantly monitors the state of the detection signal S1 of the high pressure switch 6 during generation of purified water (S106), and if the high pressure state is not detected for a certain period of time (for example, 5 minutes) (S110), the water tank 2 is empty. It is determined that the water level has reached the low level, the Empty LED indicating that it is time to replace the raw water is flashed, and an alarm is output (S111). Then, a stop command is output to the pressure pump 4 (S112). The algorithm for judging whether the water supply tank 2 is empty is that if the high pressure state is not continuously detected for a second shorter time than the first preset time, it is empty (raw water replacement time). It is preferable to determine that there is When judging whether or not the water supply tank is empty by the high pressure switch, raw water mixed with air is taken in from the raw water supply pipe 35 until it becomes empty. If a high-pressure switch is used that switches to low pressure (off) when the pressure is lower than that, the detection result may become unstable when the water tank approaches empty. It is possible to determine whether the tank is empty and to minimize water remaining in the concentrated water return pipe 22 to reduce water dripping from the concentrated water return pipe 22 when replacing the water supply tank. In this embodiment, if the high pressure state is not detected for 10 seconds or more within 5 minutes, it is determined that the water supply tank is empty (raw water replacement time) (S106, S107, S110).

2. Operation when replacing water in the water tank (see Fig. 11)
As described above, when the water tank becomes empty, the CPU 40a blinks the Empty LED and sounds a buzzer or the like to output an alarm. When the user learns from this notification that it is time to replace the water in the water tank, he disconnects the connector of the water tank. When the concentrated water in the water tank is discarded and new raw water is filled up to the marked full position in the water tank, the connector of the water tank is connected and the tank switch is turned off and on.

When the CPU 40a detects that the tank switch is turned off or on ("Yes" in S201), the CPU 40a turns off the Empty LED (S203). to run. The flushing cleaning process and the clean water/water supply tank empty determination process are the same as the above-described power-on process, so description thereof will be omitted.

3. Other Embodiments FIGS. 12 to 14 show other embodiments of the power-on processing and the water exchange processing of the water supply tank. In this embodiment, an Empty flag that is set when it is time to replace the water in the water supply tank and is reset after replacement is stored in the memory of the CPU 40a as internal data, and an event occurs when the tank switch is turned on. provided an interrupt routine to reset the Empty flag.

10 and 11 will be mainly described below.
In the power-on process shown in FIG. 12, when the tank switch is turned on in the water tank set determination process (S101), the Empty flag is turned off. Also, if it is determined that there is no water (the replacement time has come) in step S110, the Empty flag is turned on (S110a). Then, before the pressurizing pump is turned off and the process ends, the water tank replacement processing means is activated (S113).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13, the Empty flag reset routine turns off the Empty flag when activated by the occurrence of an event from off to on of the tank switch.
The process for replacing the water in the water supply tank is a routine that is started periodically after being started during the power-on process. In FIG. 14, when the water supply tank water replacement processing routine is started, it is determined whether or not the Empty flag is off (S201a), and if not off, the Empty LED continues blinking (S202). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the activation interval of the water supply tank water replacement processing routine is a time interval at which the user can sufficiently recognize an alarm (for example, a buzzer sound), so the alarm should be turned off. However, the alarm may be turned off when the process routine for water replacement of the water supply tank is activated a certain number of times or when the Empty flag is turned off. Also, if it is judged that there is no water (the replacement time has come) in step S211, the Empty flag is turned on (S211a).

In this embodiment, an Empty flag is provided, and the detection of the change from off to on of the tank switch is executed in a routine independent from the water exchange process of the water supply tank. In the process of replacing the water in the water tank, it is determined whether or not the water in the water tank has been replaced based on the state of this Empty flag. It is possible to operate stably even when it is stopped.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water return pipe coming from different directions are converted into concentric double pipes, and a connector structure that can be attached and detached by relative rotation is formed. Since the raw water supply pipe is provided with a check valve, water dripping at the time of replacing the water supply tank can be reduced, and the complexity of the replacement work can be alleviated.

In addition, since the raw water replacement timing can be controlled based on the height of the raw water intake in the water supply tank and the amount of water when the tank is full, the cost can be reduced by eliminating the need for a concentration sensor.

Furthermore, by lowering the height of the water supply port of the pressure pump than the raw water intake port, the raw water is naturally supplied to the pressure pump, so the pressure pump does not require a suction capacity and a discharge capacity. Therefore, it is possible to save labor in selecting a pressurizing pump, and it is possible to adopt an inexpensive pressurizing pump.

In addition, by monitoring the pressure of the high-pressure switch, it detects that the raw water in the water tank has reached a low level, stops the pressure pump, and outputs an alarm, making it easy for the user to change the raw water. can be known to

Furthermore, flushing is performed not only during water purification, but also when the power is turned on, when the water supply tank is replaced, and when water purification is restarted when the water level in the cold water tank drops. can be filled with water before water purification treatment can be carried out.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the above description, the tank switch is a switch that is manually turned on and off, but a switch (such as a pressure-sensitive switch) that automatically turns off and on when the tank switch is removed or attached may be used. . The Empty flag can be managed by software, but it may be managed by the output of a latch circuit that is set when it is time to replace the water tank and is reset by a change in the tank switch.

1 Water purification device 2 Water supply tanks 3, 3a, 3b Connector 4 Pressure pump 5 Purification filter unit 6 High pressure switch 7 Drainage adjustment valve 7a Flow adjustment unit 8 Drainage control valve 9 Cooling tank 9a Purified water supply unit 10 Heating tank 11 Hot water electromagnetic valve 12 Cold water electromagnetic valve 13 Cold water/hot water outlet 14 Hot water outlet 15, 16 T-shaped pipe 21 Raw water supply pipe 22 Concentrated water return pipe 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34 Connecting pipe 35 Raw water supply pipe 36 Concentrated water return pipe 40 Control circuit 51 Pre-filter 52 Reverse osmosis membrane filter 52 Post-filter 63a Check valve 64a Check valve spring 91 UV lamp 92 Float switch

Claims (5)

A water supply tank for storing raw water, a raw water supply pipe for supplying raw water from the water supply tank to a pressurizing pump through a connector,
a purification filter unit including a reverse osmosis membrane that removes impurities from raw water fed from the pressure pump to produce purified water;
a concentrated water return pipe for returning the concentrated water generated by the purification action of the reverse osmosis membrane to the water supply tank via the water flow adjustment unit;
a purified water tank that stores the purified water; a purified water extraction unit that extracts purified water from the purified water tank;
A water purification device comprising
The water supply tank has a water supply port on the top and a connector part connected to the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water return pipe on the side or bottom of the bottom,
The connector section comprises a first connector to be attached to the water supply tank, and a second connector detachably fitted to the first connector and connected to the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water return pipe. The connection portions of the first and second connectors concentrically fluidly communicate the raw water of the raw water supply pipe and the concentrated water of the concentrated water return pipe, respectively, and the first connector is connected to the second connector. A water purifier comprising a valve mechanism that allows raw water to flow when the second connector is disconnected, and prohibits raw water from flowing when the second connector is disconnected. Of the two pipes projecting into the water tank of the first connector, one is a pipe in fluid communication with the raw water supply pipe and has a water intake for taking in the raw water in the water tank, and the other is the pipe. 2. The water purification system of claim 1, wherein a conduit in fluid communication with a concentrate return conduit extends upwardly of said water tank and has an outlet at a position higher than said water intake. a high-pressure switch that is interposed between the purification filter unit and the water flow adjustment unit and that outputs a detection signal when a constant pressure is detected;
Arithmetic processing means for inputting the states of the manual switch and the high pressure switch to control the drainage control valve and the pressurizing pump;
with
The water intake of the pressurizing pump is installed below the water intake in the water supply tank,
The arithmetic processing means is
3. The water purifier according to claim 1, wherein the arrival of the time to replace the raw water in the water supply tank is notified based on the detection signal. The water flow adjustment unit comprises a drainage adjustment valve for adjusting the flow rate in the pipe, and a drainage control valve connected in parallel with the drainage adjustment valve for controlling whether or not the drainage adjustment valve is bypassed by opening and closing the valve. ,
Equipped with a tank switch to notify the completion of water supply after setting the water tank,
The arithmetic processing means is
When power is turned on or when a change in the state of the tank switch is detected, the pressure pump is operated with the drainage control valve open for a predetermined period of time to flush and clean the reverse osmosis membrane;
4. The water purifier according to claim 3, wherein after that, the water purifying process is performed by closing the drain control valve, and the flushing cleaning process is performed at regular intervals. A high water level sensor that detects that the water purification tank is full and a low water level sensor that detects that the water level has decreased to a certain level,
The arithmetic processing means is
When the high water level sensor detects that the purified water tank is full, the pressurizing pump is stopped. After that, when the low water level sensor detects a decrease in the amount of water in the purified water tank, pressurization is performed. run the pump,
The water level detected by the high water level sensor and the water level detected by the low water level sensor are within the execution interval of the flushing cleaning process executed by the arithmetic processing means. 5. The water purifier according to claim 4, which is set to be larger than the amount of purified water that can be produced.

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