JPH0631889U - Water purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide an inexpensive water purifier that is directly attached to a faucet, is compact in at least a radial direction, and is suitable for disposable use. [Constitution] The water purifier 1 comprises a synthetic resin casing 2 that defines a water passage having substantially the same diameter as a faucet of a water supply, and the casing 2 includes an upper partition wall 8c (or 6
It is composed of at least two members including a member having f) and a member having the lower partition wall 10d. The casing 2 accommodates a filter 4 made of copper fiber and other suitable filter material between the upper and lower partition walls, and is directly attached to the tap of the water supply through an adapter.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a water purifier for purifying tap water, and more particularly to a water purifier of a type directly attached to a faucet.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Various water purifiers have been developed and are commercially available for the purification of tap water at home. Depending on the type of filter, there are known water purifiers that use activated carbon, hollow fibers, etc.These filters are made into cartridges, for example, the cartridges must be replaced every few months. is there. In addition, depending on the method of attachment to the faucet, it is roughly classified into a type that is directly attached to the faucet and a type that is attached via a hose.

[0003]

[Technical issues to be solved by the device]

 A water purifier of a type that is directly attached to a faucet will be described. The casing is generally of a type that greatly expands in the radial direction in order to accommodate a cartridge filter. If the water purifier attached to the faucet is bulky in this way, the work space in the washroom will be narrowed. For example, when washing a large pot, you have to be careful not to hit the water purifier. Also, because only the cartridge is replaced and the main body is used continuously for the life of the product, there is also the problem that the main body may be scratched or soiled, making it unattractive.

The inventor of the present invention has found that copper fibers obtained by processing copper into a very thin thread form an excellent effect as a filter even with a small amount, and the filter effect of this copper wire is maximized. We have conducted research to develop a compact, inexpensive, and disposable water purifier that can be used. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a water purifier which has excellent water purifying ability, is small and inexpensive, and is suitable for disposable use.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve such a technical problem, according to the present invention, a mounting opening for a faucet and a mounting opening provided below the mounting opening, having a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the faucet, extending in the vertical direction, and A casing made of synthetic resin having a water passage communicating with a discharge port opening toward the water passage, and a large number of water passages provided in the casing at intervals in the vertical direction to form a filter accommodating space in the water passage. The upper and lower partition walls are provided with holes, and the filter is housed in a space sandwiched between the upper partition wall and the lower partition wall and includes at least a copper wire.

In a preferred embodiment, the casing includes an upper coupler having an attachment opening for the faucet, a connector housed in the upper coupler and screwed to the upper coupler, and the discharge opening. A lower coupler, the lower coupler having an upper portion projecting outward in the radial direction and a discharge port at the lower end of which has a relatively small diameter, and the lower end of the upper portion extending in the radial direction. A lateral wall portion is formed, and the connector is provided at its lower end with a flange that extends radially outward and contacts the lower end surface of the upper coupler, and the lower surface of the flange and the lateral wall of the lower coupler are provided. The upper partition wall is formed on the upper end portion of the connector, and the lower partition wall is formed on the lower end portion of the lower coupler.

As another preferable aspect, the casing includes an upper coupler including an attachment port for the faucet and the upper partition wall, and a lower coupler including the discharge port and the lower partition wall. The lower coupler has an upper portion projecting outward in the radial direction, a discharge port at the lower end of which has a relatively small diameter, and a first screw portion on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the upper coupler. A second screw portion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the upper portion of the lower coupler, and the upper coupler and the lower coupler are coupled by screwing of the first and second screw portions. It is as a configuration.

[0008]

[Action]

 According to the present invention, since the water passage in the casing has almost the same diameter as the diameter of the faucet, the radial size of the water purifier is much smaller than the conventional one, and the entire water purifier can be miniaturized. . In addition, since the casing of the water purifier is made of a resin molded product, it is inexpensive and can be provided as a sufficiently economical water purifier even if it is replaced by a disposable method, for example, every several months. Furthermore, since copper fibers are used as the filter, the effect of removing residual chlorine by copper ions is particularly excellent. In addition, since the upper and lower partition walls are placed upstream and downstream of the filter, the flow velocity of the water flow is slightly reduced, and tap water stays in the filter storage space appropriately and is reliably contacted with the filter for filtration. R.

Further, according to a preferable aspect, since water is stopped between the connector and the lower coupler by the adhesive, it is not necessary to separately prepare a sealing material, and therefore the number of parts can be reduced. .

Further, according to another preferred embodiment, the space for containing the filter medium is directly formed by the upper coupler and the lower coupler, so that the space for containing the filter medium is smaller than that in the case where it is formed by the connector. It is possible to expand, and the purification capacity of tap water can be improved with a larger amount of filter media.

[0011]

【Example】

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First Embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 14) This embodiment is intended to prevent the member for housing the filter from being easily separated once assembled. 1 and 2, a water purifier 1 has a casing 2 and a filter 4 that is housed in the casing 2 to purify tap water. The casing 2 has three elements, namely, an upper coupler 6 and a connector 8. And the lower coupler 10.

The upper coupler 6 is basically a member for connecting the water purifying portion of the water purifier to the faucet. Therefore, at least the portion that engages with the faucet is preferably made of metal so as to have sufficient strength, and the other portions can be made of resin for cost reduction. In this embodiment, since the upper coupler 6 constitutes the outer casing of the water purifier, the basic structure of the upper coupler 6 is plated and colored in consideration of the economical efficiency and the aesthetic appearance of the water purifier. It is formed as an excellent ABS resin molded product. That is, the molding die of the upper coupler 6 is provided with a large diameter portion 6a (see FIG. 5) at the upper open end thereof, and the brass ring 12 shown in FIG. 6 is placed on the large diameter portion 6a. Then, the upper coupler 6 in which the ring 12 is integrated is formed by injection molding of ABS resin. In order to prevent the ring 12 from peeling off from the resin after resin molding, a fine knitted groove 12a is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the ring 12 and a part of the resin is allowed to enter the groove 12a. The bond between 12 and the resin is strengthened. A thread 12b is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the brass ring 12, and the thread 12b is screwed into a thread groove formed in a general foam end plug faucet 30 (Fig. 1) to make the water purifier It will be mounted.

The upper coupler 6 has an inner peripheral surface 6b extending in the vertical direction, and the diameter of the inner peripheral surface 6b is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the faucet 30. A thread groove 6c is formed on the lower end portion of the inner peripheral surface 6b, that is, the inner peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the upper coupler 6, and the connector 8 is assembled by using the screw groove 6c as described later. It has become.

The connector 8 basically cooperates with a lower coupler described later to define a filter storage chamber in the water passage, and is a resin molded product from the viewpoint of cost reduction and rust prevention. Preferably. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the connector 8 as a whole has a cylindrical shape that extends in the upward and downward directions, and the outer diameter dimension thereof is substantially the same as the inner diameter of the upper coupler 6, and It is designed to be inserted into. A flange 8a is provided at the lower end of the connector 8 so as to project radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the connector 8, and the flange 8a is provided adjacent to the flange 8a in the upper region thereof so as to be screwed with the screw groove 6c. Screw thread 8b is formed. That is, the connector 8 is inserted into the upper coupler 6 from the lower end opening thereof, and the second screw thread 8b is screwed into the screw groove 6c, whereby the connector 8 and the upper coupler 6 are integrated. It The length of the connector 8 from the upper end opening to the flange 8a is substantially the same as the length of the upper coupler 6, and the inner wall of the connector 8 substantially forms a water passage in the upper coupler 6. To be done. An upper partition wall 8c for partitioning vertically is formed at the upper end of the connector 8, and the upper partition wall 8c is provided with a plurality of water passage holes 8d. On the other hand, the lower end portion of the connector 8 is provided with a plurality of legs 8e extending downward from the flange 8a, and the legs 8e are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. More specifically, eight legs 8e are provided at intervals of 45 degrees. Claws 8f protruding outward in the radial direction are provided at the tips of the legs 8e, respectively, and the connectors 8 and the lower coupler 10 are integrated by utilizing the claws 8f.

The lower coupler 10 basically functions in cooperation with the connector and 8 to define a filter storage chamber and to discharge purified water that has passed through the filter chamber. Since the lower coupler 10 constitutes the outer casing of the water purifier, like the upper coupler 6, it is formed as a molded product using plating and ABS resin excellent in coloring. The lower coupler 10 has a large-diameter upper portion 10a that projects radially outward, and a relatively small-diameter lower portion 10b is provided with a discharge port 10c that opens downward at the lower end thereof. . A lower partition wall 10d is provided on the lower portion 10b adjacent to and above the discharge port 10c, and the lower partition wall 10d is provided with a plurality of water passage holes 10e.

As shown in FIG. 13, the sidewall of the lower coupler 10 is formed with a lateral wall portion 10f extending radially between the upper portion 10a and the lower portion 10b, more specifically, at the lower end portion of the upper portion 10a. Has been done. The lateral wall portion 10f is provided with eight engaging holes 10g penetrating in the vertical direction on the inner peripheral portion thereof in correspondence with the legs 8e of the connector 8. The opening area of each engagement hole 10g is set to be slightly smaller than the cross-sectional area of the position of the claw 8d of the leg 8e, and when the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 are coupled, the claw 8d is elastically deformed radially inward. The leg 8e is press-fitted while being shaped, and the engaging hole 10g is sealed by the leg 8e in a state in which the claw 8d completely protrudes from the lower surface of the lateral wall portion 10f and engages with the lower surface of the lateral wall portion 10f. There is. Therefore, the thickness of the lateral wall portion 10f corresponds to the length of the leg 8e of the connector 8 excluding the claw 8d, that is, the length from the lower surface of the flange 8a to the upper surface of the claw 8d. Further, a step portion 10h is formed at the upper end of 10b, and when the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 are coupled, the lower end of the leg 8e abuts on the step portion 10h and the leg of the engaging hole 10g. The sealing by 8e is further strengthened. Therefore, when the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 are coupled, the side wall portions of both are sealed, and the filter storage chamber defined by the upper partition wall 8c and the lower partition wall 10d is defined.

It should be noted that providing the deep groove 10i opening downward on the outer peripheral wall of the upper portion 10a is advantageous in terms of economy and prevention of deformation of the molded product during molding.

The filter 4 is mainly composed of about 2.5 g to about 3 g of fine copper fiber, but in some cases, other suitable filter material, for example, ceramic mix, which is a kind of porous material, is used. 4a or activated carbon may be added. Further, both the upper mesh 14 and the lower mesh 16 are made of stainless steel, and a 100 mesh type that does not allow copper fibers to easily pass therethrough is adopted.

When the outer seal material 18 and the inner seal material 20 made of highly elastic rubber or resin are added along the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the leg 8e, the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 are sandwiched. It is possible to further enhance the sealing performance of the joint portion with. Alternatively, the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 may be bonded with an adhesive. In the case of joining with an adhesive, if the connector 8 is also molded with the same ABS resin as the lower coupler 10, the joining is easy.

When assembling the water purifier 1 having the above configuration, first, the upper mesh 14 and then the copper fibers are loaded into the connector 8 from the lower end side in that order. When the inner sealing material 20 is used, the inner sealing material 20 is loaded into the connector 8 next to the copper fiber. On the other hand, the lower mesh 16 is placed on the lower partition wall 10d of the lower coupler 10. When the filter material other than the copper fiber is filled, the lower mesh 16 is filled with the filter material such as ceramics, and when the outer seal material 18 is used, it is placed on the lateral wall portion 10f. . In this state, the leg 8e of the connector 8 is pressed into the engagement hole 10g of the lower coupler 10. At this time, the leg 8e is elastically deformed, and the claw 8d is elastically restored after being press-fitted, so that the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 can be integrated with each other by a so-called one-touch operation. The connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 are not easily separated. The coupling of the upper coupler 6 with the connector 8 may be performed before or after the coupling of the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10. In this way, the integrated water purifier 1 is put on the market in this state.

The water purifier 1 having the above-described configuration operates as follows. When the tap is released, tap water passes through the upper coupler 6 and the water passage in the connector 8, is guided to the filter storage chamber via the upper partition wall 8c and the upper mesh 14 of the connector 8, and is filtered by the filter 4. Then, it flows out from the discharge hole 10c through the lower mesh 16 and the lower partition wall 10d, and is used. The tap water passing through the inside of the water purifier 1 has its flow velocity slightly weakened by the upper partition wall 8c and the upper mesh 14, and the lower mesh 16 and the lower partition wall 10d add some resistance to the water flow. It becomes easier to stay in the storage room to an appropriate degree. Therefore, the tap water can be surely brought into contact with the filter 4, and the filtering effect can be enhanced.

Depending on the shape and size of the faucet, the water purifier 1 may not be directly attached. In preparation for such a case, various adapters may be prepared. That is, in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, reference numerals 22 and 24 are adapters used when the upper coupler 6 cannot be directly attached to the faucet. The adapter 22 is made of rubber and is for a non-threaded faucet, and it is desirable to prepare a plurality of adapters having different diameters according to the diameter of the faucet. Further, the adapter 24 is for foam end plugs having different diameters, the screw thread 24a formed on the upper inner circumference is screwed into the foam end plug faucet, and the screw thread 24b formed on the lower outer circumference is the water purifier 1. The upper coupler 6 (screw 12a) is screwed.

Second Embodiment (FIGS. 15 to 17) This embodiment, like the first embodiment, is intended to prevent the member for accommodating the filter from being easily separated once assembled. . The same elements as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals to omit the description thereof, and only the portions different from the first embodiment will be described below. The connector 8 is not provided with the legs 8e, and the lower end of the connector 8 ends with the flange 8a (see FIG. 16). Correspondingly to this, the lateral wall portion 10f of the lower coupler 10 is not provided with the engaging hole 10g, and its upper surface is a flat surface extending in the radial direction and in the circumferential direction, so that the engaging hole 10g is formed against the flange 8a. It is said to be the joint surface. That is, similar to the first embodiment, after the upper coupler 6 and the connector 8 are integrated, or before the upper coupler 6 is integrated, an adhesive (for example, a toxicity The adhesive is applied to the connector 8 and the connector 8 is superposed on the lateral wall portion 10f of the lower coupler 10, so that the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 are integrated.

According to the present embodiment, since water is stopped between the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 by the adhesive, the outer seal material 18 and the inner seal material 20 are prepared as in the first embodiment. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced. Further, since the connector 8 and the lower coupler 10 have a simple structure, the mold for molding them can be simplified.

Third Embodiment (FIGS. 18 and 19) This embodiment is intended to reduce the number of constituent parts of the water purifier. The upper coupler 6 itself is provided with an upper partition wall 6f and the connector 8 is omitted. ing. That is, an upper partition wall 6f having a water passage hole 6e is provided on the upper portion of the upper coupler 6 adjacent to the ring 12, and a male screw 6d is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion. On the other hand, a female screw 10k is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the upper portion 10a of the lower coupler 10, and the upper coupler 6 is directly coupled to and integrated with the lower coupler 10 by screwing the male screw 6d and the female screw 10k. . The filter material composed of the copper wire 4 and the ceramic grains 4a is accommodated in the portion from the upper partition wall 6f of the water passage to the lower partition wall 10d.

It should be noted that a seal material 8 may be provided at the joint between the upper coupler 6 and the lower coupler 10 in order to prevent water leakage. Further, as shown in FIG. 18, the lower mesh 16 may be doubled in order to prevent the filtering material 4a from flowing out or increase the effect of damping the flow velocity. Further, in order to prevent water leakage between the adapter 24 and the upper coupler 6, it is preferable to interpose a sealing material 28. In the present embodiment, since the locations where the sealing materials 8 and 28 are arranged have the same diameter, it is sufficient to prepare only one type of sealing material.

According to this embodiment, since the connector 8 is not required as a component of the water purifier 1, it is possible to further reduce the number of components. In addition, since the upper coupler 6 directly forms a storage space for the filter medium 4, this filter medium storage space can be expanded, and the use of a larger amount of the filter medium allows the purification capacity of tap water to be increased. Can be further improved.

[0028]

【The invention's effect】

 As described above, according to the present invention, since the water passage formed inside the water purifier has substantially the same diameter as the tap water tap over its entire length, It is possible to provide a compact water purifier that is extremely easy to use without being bulky in the radial direction. In addition, since copper wire is used as a filter built into the water purifier, it is excellent in removing residual chlorine by copper ions. Furthermore, since the casing of the water purifier is made of a resin molded product, it can be provided to customers at low cost, and the economical burden is small even if it is a disposable system that is replaced every six months or one year, for example. .

[0029]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a water purifier attached to a foam stopper.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the water purifier according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a sectional view of the rubber adapter taken along line III-III shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the synthetic resin adapter taken along line IV-IV shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of an upper coupler.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a ring installed on the upper end of the upper coupler.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the connector as viewed from diagonally above.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the connector as viewed obliquely from below.

9 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the connector taken along line IX-IX shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the connector.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a lower coupler.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a lower coupler.

13 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the lower coupler taken along line XIII-XIII shown in FIG.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a joint between a connector and a lower coupler.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the water purifier of the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a connector used in the water purifier of the second embodiment as seen from diagonally below.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing an enlarged connecting portion between the connector and the lower coupler in the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view of the water purifier of the third embodiment.

19 is a sectional view taken along line x19-x19 shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Water purifier 2 Casing 4 Filter 6 Upper coupler 6c Screw part 6d Male screw 8 Connector 8a Flange 8b Screw part 8c Upper partition wall 8d Water passage hole 10 Lower coupler 10a Lower coupler upper part 10b Lower coupler lower part 10k Screw part 10c Discharge port 10d Lower partition wall 10e Water passage hole

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A mounting port for a faucet, and a water passage provided below the mounting port, extending in the up-down direction and having a diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the faucet, and connecting to a discharge port opening downward. A casing made of synthetic resin, and upper and lower partition walls provided with a plurality of water passage holes provided in the casing at intervals in the vertical direction and forming a filter accommodating space in the water passage. A water purifier, which is housed in a space sandwiched between a wall and a lower partition wall and includes a filter including at least a copper wire. 2. The casing comprises an upper coupler having an attachment opening for the faucet, a connector housed in the upper coupler and screwed to the upper coupler, and a lower coupler having the discharge opening. The lower coupler has an upper portion protruding outward in the radial direction and a discharge port at the lower end of which has a relatively small diameter, and a lateral wall portion extending in the radial direction is formed at the lower end of the upper portion. The connector is provided at its lower end with a flange that extends radially outward and contacts the lower end surface of the upper coupler, and the lower surface of the flange and the lateral wall portion of the lower coupler are bonded by an adhesive. The water purifier according to claim 1, which is joined, wherein the upper partition wall is formed at an upper end portion of the connector, and the lower partition wall is formed at a lower end portion of the lower coupler. 3. The casing has an upper coupler having an attachment opening for the faucet and the upper partition wall, and a lower coupler having the discharge opening and the lower partition wall, the lower coupler comprising: An upper portion protruding outward in the radial direction and a discharge port at the lower end of which is relatively small in diameter, and a first screw portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end portion of the upper coupler, A second screw portion is formed on the inner surface of the upper portion, and the upper coupler and the lower coupler are connected to each other by the first and second
The water purifier according to claim 1, wherein the water purifiers are coupled by screwing the threaded portions.