JP7496642B2 - Water purifier cartridges - Google Patents

Description

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

2. Description of the Related Art Water purifiers that are attached to the end of water supply equipment in homes and the like include those that accommodate replaceable water purifier cartridges having a purifying material that removes impurities from raw water.
There is also a water purifier that has a raw water flow path that discharges raw water as is, and a purified water flow path that discharges purified water obtained by filtering the raw water through a water purifier cartridge, and a flow path switching valve that switches between discharging raw water and discharging purified water is provided downstream of the water purifier cartridge (Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-17342 A

In such water purifiers, when switching from discharging raw water to discharging purified water, the raw water flow path is momentarily closed, causing water hammer or high water pressure to be transmitted upstream and damaging the purification material in the water purifier cartridge.
In addition, since the replacement cycle for water purifier cartridges is often several months, the attachment parts between the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge can become stuck when they are in contact for a long period of time, making it difficult to remove the water purifier cartridge when replacing it, or it can become damaged.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its objective is to provide a cartridge for a water purifier that can prevent damage to the purification material due to water hammer or high water pressure that occurs when switching from discharging raw water to discharging purified water.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a water purifier cartridge capable of preventing adhesion of the attachment portion between the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge.

In the present invention, the above problems are solved by the following means.
The first invention is a water purifier cartridge that is replaceably stored in a storage section of the water purifier, and has a purification material that removes impurities from water, and within the water purifier, a raw water flow path in which raw water flows downstream without passing through the purification material, and a purified water flow path in which raw water passes through the purification material and flows downstream, are formed, and the water purifier is characterized in that it has a buffer section that is positioned upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path, and is positioned downstream of the purification material and blocks water hammer from the flow path switching valve to the purification material.

The second invention is characterized in that in the raw water flow path, the downstream surface of the buffer section has a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the water purifier cartridge is attached to the water purifier.

The third invention is characterized in that the cartridge has a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the cartridge is attached to the water purifier, even at the position that corresponds to the upstream end when the cartridge is placed in the storage section.

The fourth invention is characterized in that in the purified water flow path, the upstream surface of the buffer section has a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the water purifier cartridge is attached to the water purifier.

The fifth invention is a water purifier cartridge that is replaceably housed in a housing of a water purifier, and has a purification material that purifies water. In the water purifier, a raw water flow path in which raw water flows downstream without passing through the purification material and a purified water flow path in which raw water flows downstream by passing through the purification material are formed, and the water purifier has a buffer section that is arranged upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path, and the downstream surface of the buffer section faces the raw water flow path and the upstream surface faces the purified water flow path.

According to the first invention, a water purifier cartridge is replaceably housed in a housing of a water purifier, and has a purification material that removes impurities from water. In the water purifier, a raw water flow path in which raw water flows downstream without passing through the purification material and a purified water flow path in which raw water flows downstream by passing through the purification material are formed. In the water purifier, a buffer section is arranged upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path, and is arranged downstream of the purification material and blocks water hammer from the flow path switching valve to the purification material. This allows the buffer section to absorb water hammer or high water pressure, preventing damage to the purification material and other components.

According to the second invention, in the raw water flow path, the downstream surface of the buffer section has a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the water purifier cartridge is attached to the water purifier, so that water hammer and the like can be absorbed more efficiently and the attachment parts of the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge can be prevented from sticking.

According to the third invention, the upstream end of the water purifier cartridge when placed in the storage section has a plane that is nearly perpendicular to the direction in which the water purifier cartridge is attached to the water purifier. This perpendicular plane absorbs water hammer and other forces every time the water purifier cartridge switches from discharging raw water to discharging purified water, and the water purifier cartridge swings in the attachment direction, preventing the attachment parts of the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge from sticking together.

According to the fourth invention, in the purified water flow path, the upstream surface of the buffer section has a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the water purifier cartridge is attached to the water purifier. Therefore, every time the discharge of raw water is switched to that of purified water, the water passing through the purified water flow path collides with this perpendicular plane, causing the water purifier cartridge to swing in the attachment direction, thereby preventing the attachment parts of the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge from sticking together.

According to the fifth invention, the downstream surface of the buffer section faces the raw water flow path, and the upstream surface faces the purified water flow path, so that the buffer section absorbs water hammer and the like every time the raw water discharge is switched to the purified water discharge, causing the water purifier cartridge to swing in the pull-out direction, preventing the attachment parts of the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge from sticking together. In addition, the water purifier cartridge then swings in the attachment direction, preventing the attachment parts of the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge from sticking together.

1 is a side view of a water purifier housing a water purifier cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the water purifier taken along line Z-Z in FIG. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a water purifier cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view seen from the downstream side, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view seen from the upstream side. 3 is a table showing the change 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 the change in water pressure when switching from purified water discharge to raw water discharge at points A to D in FIG. 2.

Hereinafter, a water purifier and a cartridge for a water purifier 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 that is connected to a water supply facility via a hose or the like and has a discharge port at its tip.
This water purifier 1 has a straight outlet 2a and a shower outlet 2b as outlets, and is provided with a discharge changeover valve for switching between straight discharge from the straight outlet 2a and shower discharge from the shower outlet 2b.
In addition, although a shower head type water purifier is described in this embodiment, the contents of the present invention are not limited to this and may be used in water purifiers of other shapes.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the water purifier 1 has a connection port 3 at its base end for introducing tap water (raw water) from a hose or the like.
A flow path is provided inside the water purifier 1, which communicates from the connection port 3 to the discharge ports 2a, 2b, and a roughly cylindrical container portion 5 for accommodating a water purifier cartridge 4 is formed in this flow path.
The water purifier 1 is connected by a screw to a head 6 having outlets 2a, 2b and a grip 7 that allows a user to hold it with one hand, and when the purification performance of the water purifier cartridge 4 deteriorates or the cartridge breaks down, the head 6 and the grip 7 can be disassembled to replace the cartridge 4 with a new one.

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

As shown in FIG. 3 , the upstream cap 9 has a disk portion 9 a that closes the upstream end of the activated carbon 8 .
As shown in Figure 2, when the disc portion 9a is accommodated in the accommodation portion 5, it abuts against the rib 5a erected at the upstream end of the accommodation portion 5 and is positioned in the pipe direction, so that the water inlet from the connection port 3 to the accommodation portion 5 is not blocked.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the downstream cap 10 covers the downstream end of the activated carbon 8 and has a substantially covered cylindrical connecting tube portion 10a standing on the downstream side.
The connecting tube portion 10a is fitted into a cylindrical cartridge receiver 11 provided in the head portion 6 of the water purifier 1, and fixes the water purifier cartridge 4 in place within the storage portion 5. The downstream end face of the connecting tube portion 10a is closed by a disk-shaped buffer portion 10d.
The downstream cap 10 is formed with a water flow passage that communicates with the internal flow passage 12 of the activated carbon 8, and its outlet 10e is formed on the circumferential surface of the connecting tubular portion 10a.
O-rings 13, 13 are fitted onto the outer peripheral surface of the connecting tubular portion 10a, one on the upstream side and one on the downstream side of the outlet 10e, so that the connecting tubular portion 10a is fixed to the cartridge receiver 11 in a watertight manner.

Water (purified water) that flows into the internal flow path 12 from the outer periphery of the activated carbon 8 is supplied to the cartridge receiver 11, passes through the inside of the head 6, and is selectively discharged from the straight water outlet 2a or the shower outlet 2b. In the flow path inside the downstream cap 10, nonwoven fabric 10b for removing fine powder and the like that flows out from the activated carbon 8, and bactericidal ceramic 10c for preventing the proliferation of bacteria in the stagnant water are arranged. The downstream cap 10 is formed by assembling two parts so that it can accommodate the nonwoven fabric 10b and the bactericidal ceramic 10c.
In this specification, a member having a function of removing impurities from water or killing germs, such as the activated carbon 8 or the bactericidal ceramic 10c, is called a purifying material.

As shown in Figure 2, a purified water receiving port 11a is formed on the peripheral surface of the cartridge receiver 11 at a position that coincides with the outlet 10e when the water purifier cartridge 4 is attached, and a raw water receiving port 11b is formed at a position downstream of the buffer section 10d when the water purifier cartridge 4 is attached.
The purified water receiving port 11 a communicates with a purified water shutoff valve 15 in the head 6 , and the raw water receiving port 11 b communicates with a raw water shutoff valve 16 in the head 6 .

By housing the water purifier cartridge 4, a raw water flow path is formed within the water purifier 1 in which raw water introduced from the connection port 3 passes through the outer peripheral flow path 14 formed between the outer peripheral surface of the activated carbon 8 and the inner wall of the storage section 5 without passing through the activated carbon 8, flows into the cartridge receiver 11 from the raw water receiving port 11b, and flows through the raw water shut-off valve to the discharge ports 2a, 2b.
In addition, within the water purifier 1, a purified water flow path is formed in which raw water introduced from the connection port 3 flows from the outer peripheral flow path 14 through the activated carbon 8, flows into the internal flow path 12, flows out from the outlet 10a of the downstream cap 10 to the purified water receiving port 11b, and flows through the purified water shut-off valve to the discharge ports 2a and 2b.
The head portion 6 is provided with a flow path switching valve which selectively closes either the raw water cutoff valve 16 or the purified water cutoff valve 15 and opens the other by operating a push button 6a.

When the water purifier cartridge 4 is accommodated in the accommodation section 5 of the water purifier 1, both the upstream and downstream surfaces of the buffer section 10d are planes perpendicular to the installation direction of the water purifier cartridge 4, i.e., the extension direction of the cartridge receiver 11 and the connecting tube section 10a.
When the water purifier cartridge 4 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 5 of the water purifier 1, the disk portion 9a also forms a plane perpendicular to the attachment direction of the water purifier cartridge 4.

In this water purifier, when switching from raw water discharge with the raw water flow path open to purified water discharge with the purified water flow path open, the raw water shut-off valve 16 is momentarily closed, causing a water hammer or high water pressure which propagates upstream.
Figure 4 shows the results of measuring the water pressure when discharging raw water and the water pressure increase when switching from discharging raw water to discharging purified water at points A to D in Figure 2. Point A is located near the inlet of the storage section 5 upstream of the disk section 9a, point B is located in the raw water flow path downstream of the purification material, point C is located downstream of point B and immediately upstream of the raw water shutoff valve, and point D is located in the purified water flow path immediately upstream of the purified water shutoff valve.

It was found that when switching from raw water discharge to purified water discharge, the water pressure rises suddenly at point C and propagates without attenuation from point C to point A, regardless of whether 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) when raw water discharge is switched to purified water discharge. This rise in water pressure reached twice the initial water pressure supplied to the water purifier 1 when raw water was discharged, i.e., the water pressure at point A when raw water was discharged.
There was no significant change in water pressure at point D, which is in the clean water flow path near the clean water shutoff 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 sterilizing ceramic 10c inside can be prevented from being damaged.
In addition, the path of the water hammer from the raw water shutoff 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 section 10d. The cylindrical activated carbon 8 has a higher density on the inner periphery than on the outer periphery, and is often strong against forces from the outer periphery but relatively weak against forces from the inner periphery. However, the buffer section 10d can prevent the water hammer from damaging the activated carbon 8 from the inner periphery.
By providing such a buffer portion 10d, it becomes possible to incorporate a less durable material as an internal part or purification material of the cartridge 4 for a water purifier.
In addition, the downstream end face of the downstream cap 10 is closed by the buffer portion 10d, and is formed so that linear foreign objects (not shown) from the outside cannot reach the bactericidal ceramic 10c and the activated carbon 8 through the peripheral outlet 10e. Therefore, even if the water purifier cartridge 4 is dropped or hit by a sharp foreign object when being handled, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a sharp foreign object penetrates the water purifier cartridge approximately parallel to the longitudinal direction and penetrates through to the internal flow path 12, thereby preventing damage to the inside of the bactericidal ceramic 10c or the activated carbon 8.

In addition, each time the discharge of raw water is switched to the discharge of purified water, the buffer section 10d absorbs water hammer, etc., causing the water purifier cartridge to swing in the direction of removal, thereby preventing the O-ring, which is the attachment part between the water purifier and the water purifier cartridge, from becoming stuck.
Furthermore, when a water hammer or the like propagates upstream from the raw water receiving inlet 11b through the raw water flow path, the moment it reaches upstream of the upstream cap 9, the pressure upstream of the upstream cap 9 becomes higher than the pressure downstream, so that the disc portion 9a is pressed from upstream, causing the water purifier cartridge 4 to swing in the mounting direction, preventing the O-ring 13, which is the mounting part between the water purifier 1 and the water purifier cartridge 4, from sticking.
Also, immediately after that, the purified water shut-off valve is opened and water flows through the purified water flow path, causing the water that flows into the storage section 5 to collide with the disc section 9a of the upstream cap 9, and the water that has passed through the purification material and flowed into the downstream cap 10 to collide with the upstream surface of the buffer section 10d, causing the water purifier cartridge 4 to swing in the mounting direction, thereby preventing the O-ring 13, which is the mounting part between the water purifier 1 and the water purifier cartridge 4, from sticking.

In this way, by providing the buffer portion 10d and the disc portion 9a, damage to the activated carbon 8 and the bactericidal ceramic 10c due to water hammer, etc. can be prevented, and the attachment portions of the water purifier 1 and the water purifier cartridge 4 can be prevented from sticking by utilizing water hammer, etc.
In addition, since the buffer portion 10d and the disc portion 9a have a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge 4, water hammer and the like can be absorbed more efficiently, preventing the mounting portions of the water purifier 1 and the water purifier cartridge 4 from sticking.
In addition, because the water purifier cartridge 4 swings in the pulling-out direction and then swings in the installation direction due to water hammer or the water flow in the water purification flow path, the movements due to each swing are offset, thereby preventing the water purifier cartridge 4 from falling off the cartridge holder 11.
By providing a buffer section 10d on the downstream cap 10 having the connecting tube section 10a and O-ring 13, which are the attachment parts for the water purifier 1, impacts such as water hammer can be more effectively converted into oscillation of the water purifier cartridge 4, preventing the attachment parts between the water purifier 1 and the water purifier cartridge 4 from sticking.

In addition, in this embodiment, the upstream and downstream surfaces of the buffer section 10d are planes that are completely perpendicular to the installation direction of the water purifier cartridge 4, but they do not necessarily need to be completely flat, and other shapes that can more efficiently absorb water hammer and the like or effectively convert the impact of water hammer and the like into oscillation of the water purifier cartridge 4 are also acceptable. For example, the upstream and downstream surfaces of the buffer section 10d may be hemispherical, crater-shaped, conical, inverted conical, trapezoidal, or other shapes.

In addition, the flow resistance in the purified water flow path is larger than that in the raw water flow path due to permeation through the purification material, etc., and the water pressure near the purified water cutoff valve is smaller. Therefore, as shown in Figure 5, when switching from purified water discharge to raw water discharge, there was no large increase in water pressure except at point D.
In addition, the increase in water pressure at point D was also lower than the water pressure at point A when purified water was being discharged.

The following notes are part of the invention described in this application.
[Appendix 1]
A water purifier cartridge that is replaceably accommodated in a housing of a water purifier,
A purification material for purifying water is provided.
In the water purifier, a raw water flow path in which raw water flows downstream without permeating the purification material and a purified water flow path in which raw water flows downstream after permeating the purification material are formed,
In the water purifier, the water supply pipe is 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 cartridge for a water purifier, comprising a buffer section disposed downstream of the purification material and blocking water hammer from the flow path switching valve to the purification material.
[Appendix 2]
A water purifier cartridge as described in Appendix 1, characterized in that in the raw water flow path, the downstream surface of the buffer section has a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the water purifier cartridge is attached to the water purifier.
[Appendix 3]
A water purifier cartridge as described in Appendix 2, characterized in that when placed in the storage section, the cartridge has a flat surface that is approximately perpendicular to the mounting direction of the water purifier cartridge to the water purifier, at a position that corresponds to the upstream end.
[Appendix 4]
A water purifier cartridge as described in Appendix 2, characterized in that in the purified water flow path, the upstream surface of the buffer section has a plane that is approximately perpendicular to the direction in which the water purifier cartridge is attached to the water purifier.
[Appendix 5]
A water purifier cartridge that is replaceably accommodated in a housing of a water purifier,
A purification material for purifying water is provided.
In the water purifier, a raw water flow path in which raw water flows downstream without permeating the purification material and a purified water flow path in which raw water flows downstream after permeating the purification material are formed,
In the above water purifier, a cartridge for a water purifier is characterized in that it has a buffer section arranged upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path, and the downstream surface of this buffer section faces the raw water flow path and the upstream surface faces the purified water flow path.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Water purifier 2a (Straight) outlet 2b (Shower) outlet 3 Connection port 4 Water purifier cartridge 5 Storage section 5a Rib 6 Head 6a Push button 7 Grip section 8 Activated carbon 9 Upstream cap 9a Disc section 10 Downstream cap 10a Connection tube section 10b Nonwoven fabric 10c Sterilizing ceramic 10d Buffer section 10e Outlet 11 Cartridge receiver 11a Purified water receiving port 11b Raw water receiving port 12 Internal flow path 13 O-ring 14 Outer periphery flow path 15 Purified water shutoff valve 16 Raw water shutoff valve

Claims (2)

A water purifier cartridge that is replaceably accommodated in a housing of a water purifier,
A purification material for purifying water is provided.
In the water purifier, a raw water flow path in which raw water flows downstream without permeating the purification material and a purified water flow path in which raw water flows downstream after permeating the purification material are formed,
In the water purifier, the water supply pipe is 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 buffer section is disposed downstream of the purification material,
a connecting tube portion that is fitted into a cartridge receiver of the water purifier, whereby the connecting tube portion is fixed to the cartridge receiver in a watertight manner;
A downstream end face of the connecting tube portion is closed by the buffer portion, and an outlet is formed on a circumferential surface of the connecting tube portion,
The cartridge for a water purifier is formed so as to prevent linear foreign matter from the outside from reaching the purification material through the outlet. A water purifier cartridge that is replaceably accommodated in a housing of a water purifier,
A purification material for purifying water is provided.
In the water purifier, a raw water flow path in which raw water flows downstream without permeating the purification material and a purified water flow path in which raw water flows downstream after permeating the purification material are formed,
In the water purifier, a buffer section is disposed upstream of a flow path switching valve that selects discharge from the raw water flow path or the purified water flow path,
a connecting tube portion that is fitted into a cartridge receiver of the water purifier, whereby the connecting tube portion is fixed to the cartridge receiver in a watertight manner;
A downstream end face of the connecting tube portion is closed by the buffer portion, and an outlet is formed on a circumferential surface of the connecting tube portion,
The cartridge for a water purifier is formed so that linear foreign matter from the outside does not reach the purification material through the outlet.

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