JPH05228469A - Water purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To carry out thermal cleaning and regeneration of active carbon completely by preventing unevenness of thermal cleaning and regeneration of the active carbon. CONSTITUTION:A heating heater 10 is installed in a filtration container and, at the same time, a microcomputer 58 to control the heating heater 10, a heater driving circuit 60, a temperature detector 11, and an oscillating means 58a is installed to heat the inside of the filtration container for a set period at a prescribed time. Consequently, the cleaning interval of the active carbon, the temperature of hot water, the period of the heat treatment of the active carbon, etc., are kept constant, so that ideal pattern of thermal cleaning and regeneration is carried out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water purifier capable of reusing a filter medium such as activated carbon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a water purifier is used for a certain period of time, a cartridge containing activated carbon or the like is replaced. This is because the adsorption capacity of activated carbon deteriorates due to long-term use, and the ratio of impurities and the like mixed in the filtered water increases. However, since replacement of the cartridge is very expensive, a water purifier has been developed in which the activated carbon is washed and regenerated with hot water and the replacement of the cartridge is unnecessary. The water purifier will be described below.

FIG. 17 is a side sectional view showing a conventional water purifier. In FIG. 17, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body, and activated carbon 2 is housed inside the main body 1. Activated carbon 2 is a permeable member 3, 4
It is designed so that it does not leak outside. Reference numeral 5 is a water discharge pipe provided in the upper portion of the main body 1, and 6 is an inflow pipe provided in the lower portion of the main body 1.

The operation of the water purifier constructed as above will be described below. First, the case of producing filtered water will be described.

First, the inflow pipe 6 is connected to a faucet, and tap water is passed through the activated carbon 2 to remove impurities such as trihalomethane (hereinafter abbreviated as impurities) in the tap water. Filtered water can be obtained.

Next, the case of cleaning the activated carbon will be described. The water discharge pipe 5 is connected to a hot water generator, the hot water is passed through the activated carbon 2 to remove impurities and the like from the activated carbon 2, and the hot water containing the impurities is discharged from the inflow pipe 6.

The reason why the activated carbon must be washed will be described below. As described above, activated carbon adsorbs impurities and the like in tap water, but if it is used for a long period of time, its adsorbing ability will decrease and impurities and the like in tap water cannot be removed. Therefore, as described above, the adsorption capacity is regenerated by hot washing the activated carbon with hot water.

[0008]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, the water purifier must be directly connected to the hot water generator or the like every time the activated carbon is washed, which is very inconvenient. Further, since the user cleans the activated carbon, there are variations in the cleaning interval of the activated carbon, the temperature of the hot water, and the time for passing the hot water through the activated carbon, so that the thermal cleaning regeneration of the activated carbon also varies. There is also a problem that the filtered water contains a large amount of impurities in some cases because the heat washing regeneration is incomplete.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a water purifier in which thermal cleaning and regeneration of activated carbon do not vary, thermal cleaning and regeneration are always complete, and filtered water does not contain impurities and the like. It is an object.

[0010]

In order to achieve this object, a heating means is provided in the filter medium container and a control means for controlling the heating means is provided, and when the predetermined time is reached, the inside of the filter medium container is heated for a predetermined time. I decided to do it.

[0011]

With this configuration, the cleaning interval of activated carbon, the temperature of hot water, the time for heat treatment of activated carbon, etc. can be made constant.

[0012]

1 is a perspective view showing a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 7 is a main body case, 8 is a filter medium container provided in the main body case 7 and made of a heat-resistant and pressure-resistant material, and activated carbon 9 is stored in the filter medium container 8. .. The activated carbon 9 is covered with a water-permeable member (for example, a fine mesh) as in the conventional case. Reference numeral 10 is a heater provided on the inner bottom of the filter medium container 8 for heating the filter medium container 8, 11 is a temperature detector having a thermistor for detecting the temperature of the filter medium container 8, and the temperature detector 11 is the filter medium container 8
Touches the outer part of. Reference numeral 12 denotes a unit having a switching valve. The unit 12 is connected to a flowing water pipe 13 for guiding external water into the apparatus and a water pipe 14 for discharging filtered water. Further, a water pipe 1 is provided between the unit portion 12 and the filter medium container 8.
5 and 16 are provided, and a water pipe 18 is also provided between the water valve 18 and the horizontal valve portion 17. The horizontal valve portion 17 has a cylindrical shape, and the central portion of the side surface is connected to the upper surface of the filter medium container 8. A drain pipe 19 is connected to the horizontal valve portion 17 at the end face opposite to the side to which the water pipe 18 is connected so as to discharge hot water obtained by cleaning the activated carbon 9 to the outside. Horizontal valve part 17
A valve portion 20 is housed in the inside, and is biased toward the water pipe 18 by a spring 21. Reference numerals 22, 23, and 24 are holes that are provided inside the unit portion 12 and that have a projecting portion on the peripheral edge. The hole 22 is connected to the water pipe 18, and the hole 23
Is connected to the water pipe 15, and the hole 24 is connected to the water pipe 14. A switching valve 25 is rotatably held inside the unit portion 12. The switching valve 25 has grooves 26, 27, and 28 formed in the side surface along the circumferential direction. The grooves 26 and 28 are formed at the same position along the circumferential direction, but only the groove 27 is formed at a different position. Reference numeral 29 is a groove provided on the entire circumference of the side surface of the switching valve 25. Reference numerals 30, 31, and 32 are balls held in the grooves 26, 27, and 28, respectively.
Each of 0, 31, and 32 is made of a material such as stainless steel or resin that does not easily rust. The ball 30 opens and closes the hole 22, and the ball 31 opens and closes the hole 23.
The ball 32 opens and closes the hole 24. Reference numeral 33 denotes an annular packing attached to the groove 29. The packing 33 divides the internal space of the unit portion 12 into a space provided with the holes 22 and 23 and a space provided with the hole 24. At this time, the above-mentioned water flow pipe 13 is connected to the space where the holes 22 and 23 are provided. A motor 34 rotates the switching valve 23. The mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the motor 34 to the switching valve 25 will be described below. The rotation shaft of the motor 34 is provided with a worm gear 35, the rotation of the worm gear 35 is transmitted to the gear 36, and the rotation of the gear 36 is coaxial with the gear 36 and has a small diameter (not shown). Is transmitted to the gear 37 via. Since the gear 37 is joined to the end surface of the switching valve 25 via the shaft,
The switching valve 25 also rotates as the gear 37 rotates. Three
Reference numeral 8 denotes a cam attached to the end surface of the switching valve 25 opposite to the side where the gear 37 is attached via a shaft.
8 is provided with a convex portion. Reference numeral 39 is a switch section composed of a photo interrupter, and 40 and 41 are switch sections composed of microswitches. Reference numeral 42 denotes a control unit that accommodates components such as a microcomputer that controls the motor 35 and the heater 10, and the control unit 42 is provided below the unit unit 12 via a heat insulating member 43. Reference numeral 44 is a power supply unit provided in the control unit 42.

With respect to the water purifier having the above-described structure, the flow of water at the time of cleaning water and cleaning the activated carbon 9 will be described below.

First, the water stop state will be described. As shown in FIG. 2A, the holes 22, 23, 2 provided in the unit section 12 are shown.
Since the balls 4 are blocked by the balls 30, 31, and 32, respectively, even if the pressurized water reaches the unit portion 12 from the water flow pipe 13, the water flow does not occur. See also FIG.
As shown in (b), the convex portion of the cam 38 is located in the groove provided in the switch portion 39.

Next, the purified water state is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (a) (b).
Will be explained. From the water stopped state, the motor 34 is driven to rotate the switching valve 25 so that the convex portion of the cam 38 approaches the switch portion 41. Then, when the convex portion of the cam 38 pushes the switch portion 41, the motor 34 stops, and the switching valve 25 stands still with the convex portion of the cam 38 pushing the switch portion 41. Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the balls 30 and 32 move from above the holes 22 and 24, respectively, to open the holes 22 and 24, respectively. The water pressurized as described above passes through the running water pipe 13 and the unit portion 1
2, the water flows from the hole 22 into the water pipe 18 and further into the horizontal valve portion 17 by opening the hole 22. The water flowing into the horizontal valve portion 17 moves the valve portion 20 horizontally against the elastic force of the spring 21. As described above, since the water pipe connected to the upper surface of the filter medium container 18 is provided near the center of the side portion of the horizontal valve portion 20, the horizontal valve portion 17 is provided.
When the water flowing into the filter section 20 moves the valve section 20 by a predetermined amount, the water flows into the filter medium container 18. The water flowing into the filter medium container 18 is purified by activated carbon,
Via the water pipe 16 provided at the bottom of the unit 12
Flows again to. At this time, since the packing 33 is provided, the water flowing into the unit portion 12 from the flowing water pipe 13 and the water flowing into the unit portion 12 from the filter medium container 8 are not mixed. The purified water that has flowed into the unit portion 12 is discharged to the outside through the hole 24 and the water pipe 14. When ending the water purification state, a predetermined operation is performed to drive the motor 34 and rotate the switching valve 25 so that the convex portion of the cam 38 approaches the switch portion 39. When the convex portion of the cam 38 acts on the switch portion 39, the motor 3
No. 4 stops rotating and enters a water-stop state as shown in FIG.

Next, the purification state of activated carbon will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6A and 6B. First, in a water-stopped state, the heater 10 is energized to heat the inside of the filter medium container 8 to remove impurities and the like adsorbed on the activated carbon. Then, the temperature inside the filter medium container 8 is set to a predetermined temperature (about 65 ° C. in the present embodiment, but if the temperature is such that impurities and the like can be removed from the activated carbon, what
It may be performed) for a predetermined time (about 30 to 60 minutes in the present embodiment, but this needs to be appropriately selected depending on the volume of activated carbon, etc.), and after heating, the motor 3
4 is driven to rotate the switching valve 25 in the direction in which the convex portion of the cam 38 approaches the switch portion 40. And cam 3
When the convex portion of 8 pushes the switch portion 40, the motor 34 stops, and the switching valve 25 stands still with the convex portion of the cam 38 pushing the switch portion 40. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the ball 31 moves from above the hole 23 to open the hole 23. Since the pressurized water reaches the unit portion 12 via the flowing water pipe 13, the water flows into the filter medium container 8 from the hole 22 through the water pipe 15 by opening the hole 23. Then, the hot water (water containing impurities and the like) after washing the activated carbon is driven to the upper surface of the filter medium container 8 by the water flowing from the water pipe 15, and is drained from the water pipe 18 through the horizontal valve portion 17. .. After pouring water into the filter medium container 8 from the water pipe 15 for a predetermined time, a predetermined operation is performed to drive the motor 34 and rotate the switching valve 25 in the direction in which the convex portion of the cam 38 approaches the switch portion 39. When the convex portion of the cam 38 acts on the switch portion 39, the motor 34
Stops rotating and enters a water-stopped state as shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing the water purifier of this embodiment. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 45 is a water purifier main body, 46 is a display portion for displaying the time, heat cleaning, etc., and 47 is a main body 4
The details of the operation unit 47 are shown in FIG.
Shown in. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the operation unit. 8 in FIG.
8 is an operation button for setting the current time, 49 is a main body 45
An operation button for setting the water to the water stop state and advancing the time when setting the time, 50 is an operation button for setting the body 45 to the purified water state and advancing the time when setting the time, 51
Is an operation button for manually washing the activated carbon and shifting the digits such as "hour" and "minute", and 52 is an operation button for setting the washing of the activated carbon at a specific time.
When setting the current time, the operation button 48 is pressed to enter the current time setting mode, the operation button 49 and the operation button 50 are used to set a predetermined “hour”, and then the operation button 51 is used to shift the digit. Operation button 49
And a predetermined "minute" is set by the operation button 50.
Further, when setting the time of the activated carbon cleaning, the operation button 52 is pressed to enter the activated carbon cleaning time setting mode, and a predetermined time is set using the operation buttons 49, 50 and 51 in the same manner as the current time setting. 53 is a plug connected to the power source in the main body 45, 54 is a tube whose one end is connected to the above-mentioned running water pipe (not shown), and 55 is a connecting member attached to the water tap 56. Tube 54
The other end of is connected. The connecting member 55 has a lever 57.
Is provided, and it is possible to select whether tap water is sent to the main body 45 or discharged as raw water from the connecting member 55 by switching the lever 57.

A method of controlling the water purifier configured as described above will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the water purifier of this embodiment.

In FIG. 9, 10 is a heater and 11
Is a temperature detector, 46 is a display unit, 47 is an operation unit, 39, 4
Switch units 0 and 41 are the same as those shown in FIG. Reference numeral 58 is a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as “microcomputer”) provided in the control unit 42.
The microcomputer 58 has an oscillating means 58 for generating a clock signal.
a is provided. A motor drive circuit 59 drives the motor 34 and is controlled by the microcomputer 58.
Is a heater drive circuit that drives the heater 10 and is controlled by the microcomputer 58 and the temperature detector 11.
The heater driving circuit 60 includes the microcomputer 58 and the temperature detector 1.
The reason for controlling by both of 1 is that if the microcomputer 58 runs away while the heating heater 10 is generating heat, the heating is still continued even if the temperature inside the filter medium container 8 reaches a predetermined temperature or higher. As a result, the device may be damaged due to heat, so that the heater driving circuit 60 is also controlled by the temperature detector 11. That is, the temperature detector 11
When the temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature, the operation of the heater driving circuit 60 is stopped separately from the microcomputer 58 to prevent abnormal heating in the filter medium container 8.

The operation of the control system configured as follows will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the device is powered on, the microcomputer 58 first determines the current position of the switching valve 25 from the outputs from the switch units 39, 40 and 41.
After that, the device returns to the power failure recovery state, and the time portion of the display unit 46 starts to light. Then, as described above, the button of the operation unit 47 is pressed to set the current time. When the setting is completed, if the switching valve 25 is not in the water-stopped state, the microcomputer 58 sends a signal to the motor drive circuit 59 to drive the motor 34, and the switching valve 25 is in the water-stopped state as shown in FIG. Rotate to position. Further, when the heating of the filter medium container 8 and the drainage of hot water in the filter medium container are set to one cycle, this is set to one to several cycles (in the case of this embodiment, N
Times). Further, the heat retention time of the filter medium container 8 at this time is also set in advance. Such processing is performed before the operation of STEP (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 1 starts. When the operation starts in S1, first, the key scan of the button of the operation unit 47 is performed in S2. In S2, the processing as shown in FIG. 11 is performed. First, ON / OFF of the motor 34 is controlled in S3, and the display unit 46 is controlled in S4. Then stop water at S5
The buttons of the operation unit 47 such as water purification / heat cleaning / heat cleaning time setting are scanned for determination. After that, in S6, the switching valve 2
The current position of 5 is scanned by the outputs of the switch units 39, 40 and 41. When the key scan process of S2 is completed, the mode switching of S7 is performed next. The mode switching is performed as shown in FIG. First, in S8, it is determined whether or not the button of the operation unit 47 has been pressed. That is, it is determined whether or not there is a button pressed when the button of the operation unit 47 is scanned in S5. When any button is pressed, it is determined in S9 whether or not the pressed button is the water stop operation button 49. If the pressed button is the water stop operation button 49, the water stop mode is set in S10, and the process returns to S7. If the pressed button is not the water stop operation button, the process proceeds to S11 to determine whether the pressed button is the water purification operation button 50. If the button pressed here is the water purification operation button 50, the flow proceeds to S12, sets the water purification mode, and returns to S7. If the pressed button is not the water purification operation button 50, the process proceeds to S13, and it is determined whether the pressed button is the manual thermal cleaning operation button 51. If the pressed button is the manual heat cleaning operation button 51, the process proceeds to S14, where the heat cleaning mode and the heat retention mode are set, and the process returns to S7. If the pressed button is not the manual heat cleaning operation button 51, the process proceeds to S15, and it is determined whether the pressed button is the heat cleaning time setting operation button 52. If the button pressed here is the operation button 52 for setting the heat cleaning time, the process proceeds to S16, and it is determined whether or not the current mode is the heat cleaning mode. If in heat cleaning mode, proceed to S17,
Set the water stop mode and return to S7. If the heat cleaning mode is not set in S16, the process proceeds to S18, the heat cleaning time setting mode is set, and the process returns to S7. If the button pressed in S15 is not the operation button 52 for setting the heat cleaning time, the process returns to S7. If the button of the operation unit 47 is not pressed in S8, the process proceeds to S19, and it is determined whether or not the heat cleaning set time has come.

At the heat cleaning set time, the heat cleaning mode of S14 is set, and the process returns to S7. If the heat cleaning set time is not reached in S19, the process returns to S7. When the process of S7 is completed, the process proceeds to S20, and it is determined whether or not the water stop mode is set. If not, the process proceeds to the process of FIG. In S21, it is determined whether the mode is set to the water purification mode. If the water purification mode is set, the process proceeds to S22. If the heater 10 is in the heating state, the microcomputer 58 causes the heater drive circuit 6 to operate.
A signal is sent to 0 to stop energizing the heater 10. Next, in S23, it is determined whether or not the switching valve 25 is at the water purification position (that is, whether or not the switching valve 25 is located at the position shown in FIG. 3).
The microcomputer 58 makes a determination by looking at the outputs from 0 and 41. At this time, if the switching valve 25 has not reached the clean water position,
In S24, the microcomputer sends a signal to the motor drive circuit 59 to drive the motor 34, move the switching valve 25 to the water purification position, and then return between S1 and S2. If the switching valve 25 is at the water purification position in S23, the microcomputer 58 sends a signal to the motor drive circuit 59 in S25 to stop the drive of the motor 34, and then returns between S1 and S2. If the mode is not set to the water purification mode in S21, the process proceeds to the process of FIG. In S26, it is determined whether or not the mode is set to the heat cleaning mode, and if it is not set to the heat cleaning mode, the process proceeds to S27. In S27, it is determined whether or not the mode is set in the heat cleaning time setting mode. If the mode is set in the heat cleaning time setting mode, the process proceeds to S28, and the time for heat cleaning by the operation button of the operation unit 47 is set as described above. Set. Then, after that, the process returns between S1 and S2.
If the heat cleaning time setting mode is not set in S27, the process returns to between S1 and S2. If the heat cleaning mode is set in S26, the process proceeds to S29, and if the heater 10 is not energized, the microcomputer 58 causes the heater drive circuit 6 to operate.
A signal is sent to 0, and the heater 10 is energized to heat the inside of the filter medium container 8. Next, in S30, it is determined whether or not the heat retention mode is set, and if it is set, the process proceeds to the process shown in FIG. At S31, it is determined whether the switching valve 25 is at the water shut-off position as shown in FIG.
The microcomputer judges based on the outputs of 40 and 41, and if it is at the water stop position, the process proceeds to S32. In S32, the microcomputer 58
Sends a signal to the motor drive circuit 59 to drive the motor 34 and rotate the switching valve 25. Then S1
And return between S2. If the position of the switching valve 25 is the water stop position in S31, the process proceeds to S33. If the motor 34 is driven in S33, the microcomputer 58 outputs a signal to the motor drive circuit 59 to stop the drive of the motor 34. .. Then, in S34, the energization time of the heater 10, that is, the heat retention time of the filter medium container 8 is counted. Then S35
The heat retention time set in advance is compared with the heat retention time counted in S34, and if the time is over, S3
6. If not, return to between S1 and S2. S
At 36, the heat retention time is set again, after which the heat retention mode is switched to the drainage mode at S37, and the process returns between S1 and S2. If the heat retention mode is not set in S30,
In step S38, the microcomputer 58 determines whether the switching valve 25 is in the drain position as shown in FIG.
Judgment based on the output from 9, 40, 41, switching valve 2
If 5 is not the drainage position, proceed to S39. S39
Then, the microcomputer 58 outputs a signal to the motor drive circuit 59 to drive the motor 34 and move the switching valve 25 to the drainage position. Next, in S40, the time for draining the water in the filter medium container 8, that is, the drainage time is set to a predetermined time, and then the process returns to between S1 and S2. If the switching valve 25 is at the drainage position in S38, the process proceeds to S41. S
If the motor 34 is being driven at 41, the microcomputer 58 sends a signal to the motor drive circuit 59 to stop the driving of the motor 34. After that, the process proceeds to S42, the preset number of cycles is compared with the current number of cycles, and when the present cycle reaches the preset number of cycles, the process proceeds to S43,
Reset the current cycle count to 0. Then, in S44, the thermal cleaning mode is switched to the water stop mode, the cleaning interruption mode is set, and then the process returns to between S1 and S2.
If the current cycle number is less than the preset cycle number in S42, the process proceeds to S45 to count the current drainage time. Then, in S46, the drainage time set in S40 is compared with the current drainage time. If the time is not over, the process returns to between S1 and S2, and if not, the process proceeds to S47. In S47, the drainage mode is switched to the heat retention mode, the cycle number is further incremented by 1 in S48, and the process returns between S1 and S2.

If the water stop mode is set in S20, the process proceeds to S49. If the heater 10 is energized in S49, the microcomputer 58 outputs a signal to the heater driving circuit 60 to stop energizing the heater 10. Then, the process proceeds to S50, it is determined whether the heat cleaning mode is set, and if it is set, the process of FIG. 16 is performed. S5
1, the microcomputer 58 determines whether the switching valve 25 is in the drainage position as shown in FIG.
Judging from the outputs from 0 and 41, if the switching valve 25 is not in the drainage position, the process proceeds to S52. In S52, the microcomputer 58 outputs a signal to the motor drive circuit 59 to drive the motor 34, rotate the switching valve 25, and then return between S1 and S2. If the switching valve 25 is in the drainage position in S51, the process proceeds to S53 and the motor 34
If the microcomputer is driven, the microcomputer 58 drives the motor drive circuit 59.
To stop the driving of the motor 34. Next, in S54, the drainage time is counted, the drainage time set in S55 is compared with the current drainage time, and if the time is over, the process proceeds to S56 to cancel the cleaning interruption mode, and S1 and S
Return to 2 and if S55 is not over, S
Return between 1 and S2. If the cleaning interruption mode is not set in S50, the process proceeds to S57, where it is determined whether the switching valve 25 is at the water stop position. If not, the process proceeds to S58 and if the motor 34 is not driven, the microcomputer 58 drives the motor. A signal is output to the drive circuit 59 to drive the motor 34, move the switching valve 25 to the water shut-off position shown in FIG. 1, and return between S1 and S2. If the switching valve 25 is in the water stop position in S57, the process proceeds to S59, and if the motor 34 is driven, the microcomputer 58 outputs a signal to the motor drive circuit 59 to stop the drive of the motor 34, and then S1.
And return between S2.

In the present embodiment, by performing the above-described configuration and control, the activated carbon 9 can be automatically washed, and the activated carbon 9 can be reliably washed, that is, impurities adhering to the surface and pores of the activated carbon can be surely removed. Since it can be removed by filtration, impurities will not be mixed in the filtered water.

In this embodiment, activated carbon was used as the filter medium, but any filter medium capable of removing impurities and the like with hot water may be used. For example, an ion exchange resin can be applied. Further, the heater 10 is provided on the inner bottom portion of the filter medium container 8 in order to improve the heating efficiency, but it may be anywhere inside the filter medium container 8. Further, the heater 10 may be brought into contact with the outside of the filter medium container 8 or may be provided at a position apart from the filter medium container 8 to heat the filter medium container 8. Further, although the temperature detector 11 is provided outside the filter medium container, it may be provided inside.

[0026]

According to the present invention, activated carbon is provided by providing a heating means in the filter medium container and a control means for controlling the heating means so that the filter medium container is heated at a predetermined time for a predetermined time. Since the cleaning interval, temperature of hot water, heat treatment time of activated carbon, etc. can be made constant, there is no variation in regeneration due to thermal cleaning of activated carbon, so that thermal cleaning regeneration is always complete and impurities such as filtered water are not included. Can be

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a partially enlarged sectional view of a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a partially enlarged view of a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a partially enlarged sectional view of a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4B is a partially enlarged view of a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 (a) is a partially enlarged sectional view of a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention. (B) A partially enlarged view of a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing a water purifier in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing an operating portion of a water purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a water purifier in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the water purifier in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the water purifier in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the water purifier in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the water purifier in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the water purifier in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the water purifier in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the water purifier in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view showing a conventional water purifier.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Main body case 8 Filter medium container 9 Activated carbon 10 Heating heater 11 Temperature detector 12 Unit 13 Flow pipe 14 Water pipe 15 Water pipe 16 Water pipe 17 Horizontal valve part 18 Water pipe 19 Drain pipe 20 Valve part 21 Spring 22 hole 23 hole 24 hole 25 Switching valve 26 Grooves 27 Grooves 28 Grooves 29 Grooves 30 Balls 31 Balls 32 Balls 33 Balls 33 Packings 34 Motors 35 Worm Gears 36 Gears 37 Gears 38 Cams 39 Switch Units 40 Switch Units 41 Switch Units 42 Control Units 43 Thermal Insulation Members 44 Power Supply Units 58 Microcomputer 59 Motor Drive Circuits 60 heater drive circuit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Yu Nishikawa 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A filter medium, and a filter medium container containing the filter medium,
A heating means for heating the inside of the filter medium container, an inflow pipe through which water flows into the filter medium container, a water pipe from which water flows out of the filter medium container, and a control means for controlling the heating means are provided at a predetermined time. Then, the control means outputs a signal to the heating means to heat the inside of the filter medium container for a predetermined time. 2. A filter medium, and a filter medium container for storing the filter medium,
A heating means for heating the inside of the filter medium container, a water pipe connected to the filter medium container, for discharging water from the filter medium container, a water pipe for guiding water from the outside to the filter medium container, and connected to the water pipe, A switching valve for supplying or not supplying water to the filter medium container, a driving means for driving the switching valve, and a control means for controlling the heating means and the driving means are provided, and when a predetermined time is reached. When the switching valve is supplying water to the filter medium container, the control means outputs a signal to the drive means to position the switching valve in a state where water is not supplied to the filter medium container, The control means sends a signal to the heating means to heat the inside of the filter medium container for a predetermined time, and then the control means outputs a signal to the drive means to cause the switching valve to supply water to the filter medium container. Water purifier, wherein a is positioned that state.