JPH0780451A - Activated carbon regeneration type water purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a user from using water deteriorated in quality by mistake when the boiling sterilization or regeneration of activated carbon is not properly performed because of the abnormality such as disconnection of an electric heater in an activated carbon regeneration type water purifier. CONSTITUTION:When the temp. of an activated carbon container is not raised, for example, to 801 even if, for example, 30min is elapsed from the start of the supply of a current to an electric heater 158, it is diagnosed that abnormality is generated in the electric heater 158 and an error is displayed on a display panel 190 or an alarm buzzer is operated to inform abnormality to a user.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Object of the Invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water purifier, and more particularly to an activated carbon regenerating type water purifier adapted to perform boiling sterilization and regeneration of activated carbon by heating activated carbon as needed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When tap water is brought into contact with activated carbon, a chlorine gas odor component (remaining chlorine in the form of hypochlorite ion or hypochlorous acid) dissolved in tap water or an organic chlorine compound (trihalomethane) harmful to the human body is obtained. Etc.) and mildew odorants (2-methylisoborneol and diosmin) are adsorbed on activated carbon to remove them from tap water.

Since activated carbon also adsorbs and removes residual chlorine having a bactericidal action, when the water purifier is not used, bacteria and bacteria grow on the activated carbon, which is not hygienic. In addition, the pores of activated carbon are filled with the adsorbed substance with use, and the adsorption performance of activated carbon deteriorates, so expensive activated carbon cartridges must be replaced regularly, which increases the running cost of the water purifier. .

For the growth of bacteria, conventional water purifiers
This problem is solved by arranging a filter such as a hollow fiber membrane filter in the latter stage of the activated carbon and removing the bacteria grown in the activated carbon portion by filtration. However, since the hollow fiber membrane filter is clogged with the use of the water purifier and the flow rate is reduced, frequent replacement is required and the cost is increased.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-23817 proposes a water purifier equipped with an electric heater so that activated carbon can be sterilized and regenerated by heating. When the heater is energized, the water in the water purifier is heated and boils, and the activated carbon is sterilized by boiling. At the same time, the substance adsorbed on the activated carbon is desorbed by the action of steam and heat, and the activated carbon is regenerated. Therefore, the activated carbon regenerating type water purifier has an advantage that the purifying ability of the activated carbon can be maintained for a long period of time and the running cost associated with the replacement of the expensive activated carbon cartridge can be reduced. In an activated carbon regenerating type water purifier, it is convenient to periodically energize the heater with a timer at midnight every day.

[0006]

However, the hollow fiber membrane filter for filtering bacteria is vulnerable to heat and is easily deteriorated by hot water or steam generated when activated carbon is heated.
In the activated carbon regenerating type water purifier, a hollow fiber membrane filter for bacterial filtration cannot be arranged in the latter stage of the activated carbon.
Therefore, in the activated carbon regeneration type water purifier, if the activated carbon is not sufficiently sterilized by boiling due to an abnormality such as a disconnection of the electric heater, the proliferated bacteria may flow out.
In addition, if the activated carbon is not completely regenerated, not only can carcinogenic substances such as trihalomethane and odorous substances not be adsorbed and removed, but in some cases these adsorbed substances may elute and There is even the fear that it will be higher than the original concentration in the water. It is not preferable to use such water by mistake.

The object of the present invention is to provide a user with the water flowing out from the water purifier when the boiling water sterilization or regeneration of the activated carbon is not properly performed in the activated carbon regeneration type water purifier due to an abnormality such as a break of an electric heater. Is to prevent accidental use.

[0008]

[Constitution of the invention]

Means and Actions for Solving the Problems In one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention relates to an activated carbon regeneration type water purifier adapted to boil and regenerate activated carbon by optionally heating an activated carbon container with an electric heater. It is characterized in that means for detecting the disconnection of the electric heater and notifying the user is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in an activated carbon regenerating type water purifier, temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the activated carbon container, and time measuring means for measuring the time from the start of energization of an electric heater, It is characterized in that display means for displaying an abnormality of the electric heater and control means for monitoring the outputs of the temperature detecting means and the time measuring means and driving the display means are provided. When the temperature of the activated carbon container is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature (for example, 80 ° C.) even after a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) has passed after the start of energization of the electric heater, the control means may cause a disconnection of the electric heater. It is diagnosed that there is an abnormality, the abnormality of the electric heater is displayed on the display means, and the user is alerted.

In still another aspect, the present invention is, in an activated carbon regenerating type water purifier, a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of an activated carbon container, and a time measuring means for measuring a time from the start of energization of an electric heater. An alarm means for notifying an abnormality of the electric heater, a water flow detecting means for detecting water flow to the water purifier, an output of the temperature detecting means, the time measuring means, and the water flow detecting means to activate the alarm means. A control means is provided. If the temperature of the activated carbon container does not rise even after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of energization of the electric heater, the control means diagnoses that the electric heater has an abnormality such as a disconnection. It is convenient to heat the activated carbon to sterilize and regenerate it at midnight when no water purifier is used, but it is not always effective to activate the alarm device at midnight when the abnormality of the electric heater is discovered. It is not desirable, or it may unnecessarily upset the user. Therefore, in this aspect, when the abnormality of the electric heater is diagnosed, an alarm is issued when the user passes water through the water purifier to use the water purifier.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the water purifier of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the mode of use of the water purifier of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The water purifier 10 can be used by being mounted on a kitchen counter 14 provided with a sink 12, for example. In that case, a faucet adapter 20 having a built-in switching valve mechanism is attached to the spout 18 of any existing faucet (single lever type hot and cold water mixing tap in the illustrated usage example) 16 and this adapter 20 is supplied with tap water. The hose 22 and the purified water discharge hose 24 can be connected to the water purifier 10. When the handle 26 of the adapter 20 is turned to a predetermined position, the clean water from the faucet 16 is sent to the water purifier 10 by the clean water supply hose 22, and the water purified by the water purifier is sent to the adapter 20 from the purified water discharge hose 24. And is discharged from the outlet 28. The purified water from which harmful substances such as residual chlorine and trihalomethane and odorants are removed can be used as drinking water or for cooking. Handle 26
Is turned to another position, the untreated clean water (or hot-water mixture) from the faucet 16 does not go through the water purifier and the adapter 2
As it is discharged from the outlet 28 of 0, it can be used for washing vegetables and dishes. In the illustrated usage example, the single lever type hot and cold water mixing tap 16 has a hot water supply pipe 1
Hot water from a water heater (not shown) is supplied via 6A,
The clean water is supplied from a water supply pipe 16B connected to a water pipe (not shown).

2 to 5, the water purifier 10 has a plastic housing 30 and a cap 32 snap-fitted to the housing 30. A bottom plate 36 is fixed by screws 38 to, for example, six downwardly extending legs 34 formed integrally with the housing 30, and the bottom plate 36 is screwed to the bottom plate 36, for example, 4
The load of the water purifier 10 is supported by the individual rubber legs 40.

Broadly stated, in the illustrated embodiment,
This water purifier 10 is a filtration stage 4 for removing particle components such as red rust and microorganisms floating in tap water by a filtering action.
2 and an adsorption stage 44 for removing harmful or undesired substances such as residual chlorine, trihalomethane, and odorous substances dissolved in tap water by the adsorption action of activated carbon fiber. The activated carbon in the adsorption stage 44 is heated. It is heated at any time by an electric heater as a means, sterilized by boiling, and regenerated. The filtration stage 42 is for reducing the load of the particulate component on the activated carbon of the adsorption stage 44, and is not essential for achieving the object of the present invention and can be omitted.

More specifically, the filtration stage 42 comprises a plurality of screws 4
6 has a reverse cup-shaped filter case 50 liquid-tightly fixed to the horizontal wall 48 of the housing 30. In this filter case 50, a conventional hollow fiber membrane filter module 52 is positioned by a cap 54. There is. A radial distribution passage 56 is ensured between the housing horizontal wall 48 and the cap 54, which passage 56 communicates with a downwardly extending inlet pipe 58 integrally formed with the housing horizontal wall 48. A hose joint 60 to which the clean water supply hose 22 is connected is fixed to the inlet pipe 58, and clean water coming from the clean water supply hose 22 flows into the distribution passage 56. Inlet pipe 58
A check valve 62 of a conventional type is arranged in the above so as to prevent back flow of clean water from the hollow fiber membrane filter module 52 to the clean water supply hose 22. Radial distribution passage 5
The clean water that has flowed into the inside of the filter 6 passes through the gap between the star-shaped projections 64 formed on the outer periphery of the cap 54, and then passes through the filter case 50.
It flows into the annular distribution passage 66 between the inner circumference and the outer circumference of the hollow fiber membrane filter module 52, enters the module 52 through the opening 68 of the hollow fiber membrane filter module 52,
It is filtered by a hollow fiber membrane filter. The filtered tap water flows out from the outlet 70 formed in the cap 54. The hollow fiber membrane filter module 52 preferably has a membrane area of about 2 m ² so that it can be used under normal water conditions for about 7 years without replacement. Instead of the hollow fiber membrane filter module 52, other types of filters may be used.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, the horizontal wall 48 of the housing 30 includes a gutter-shaped passage forming member 7.
2 is fixed in a liquid-tight manner, and cooperates with the horizontal wall 48 to form a clean water passage 74. A drain plug 76 is screwed into the passage forming member 72, and the passage 74 can be drained by removing the hitting plug 76 when the water purifier 10 is transported. The water passage 74 is the housing 3
0 is connected to a clean water supply riser 78 which is formed integrally with the clean water supply unit 0, and clean water filtered by the filtration stage 42 is sent to the adsorption stage 44 at the subsequent stage via this riser 78. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, this clean water supply riser 78 is offset to one side with respect to the vertical center plane of the water purifier 10 and is also integrally formed with the housing 30 on the other side. 80 is arranged. The purified water discharge riser 80 is for sending purified water purified by the adsorption action of the adsorption stage 44 to the purified water discharge hose 24 as described later, and a hose joint 82 is connected to the riser 80. A clean water discharge hose 24 is attached to the.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the adsorption stage 14
Has an activated carbon container 84 in the form of an activated carbon cartridge filled with activated carbon fibers. This activated carbon cartridge 84
Consists of a metal can 86 made of stainless steel plate. The metal can 86 includes a bottomed cylindrical body 88 formed by deep-drawing a stainless steel plate and an annular lid 90 made of a stainless steel plate, both of which are liquid-tightly wound along a peripheral edge 92. To improve the corrosion resistance of the metal can 86, a body 88 and a lid 90 are used.
The inner surface of the is coated with Teflon ^™ . Lid 9
A plurality of arc-shaped upper water inlet openings 94 are formed by punching at 0, and water sent from the filtration stage 42 via the riser 78 flows into the cartridge 84. A stainless steel porous cylinder 96 is arranged in the center of the cartridge 84, and activated carbon fibers 98 are molded around the cylinder 96 using a binder. Instead of binder molding, a non-woven fabric of activated carbon fibers 98 may be wound around and bound appropriately. Further, granular activated carbon or spherical activated carbon may be used instead of the activated carbon fiber. An annular distribution passage 100 communicating with the clean water inlet 94 is formed between the activated carbon fiber layer 98 and the body 88, and clean water flowing into the cartridge 84 from the clean water inlet 94 is directed to the perforated cylinder 96. So as to pass through the activated carbon fiber layer 98 inward in the radial direction. When passing through the activated carbon fiber layer 98, chlorine, trihalomethane and odorants dissolved in water are adsorbed by the activated carbon fiber and removed. The purified water purified by the activated carbon fiber 98 is collected in the porous cylinder 96 and sent to the outlet 102 of the cartridge 84. In order to prevent a flow short path from occurring between the annular distribution passage 100 and the perforated cylinder 96, an annular V groove type embossed portion 104 is provided on the body 88 and the lid 90 of the metal can 86 after the activated carbon fiber is filled. It is preferable that the embossed portions 104 are pressed into the upper and lower end surfaces of the activated carbon fiber layer.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, the activated carbon cartridge 84 is supported by the washer 108 on the horizontal wall 106 of the housing 30 and is closed by the manifold assembly 110. The manifold assembly 110 is divided into an upper member 112 and a lower member 114, which are liquid-tightly fixed to each other. The lower member 114 is fluid-tightly fitted to and supported by the upper ends of the risers 78 and 80. The manifold assembly 110 is secured to the housing 30 by co-fastening the upper member 112 and the lower member 114 to the horizontal wall 106 of the housing 30 using, for example, seven screws 116 (FIG. 4).

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 4. Referring to FIGS. 8 and 4, an elongated bulge 118 is formed in the upper member 112 of the manifold assembly 110. The water supply passage 120 is formed in cooperation with the lower member 114. As can be seen from FIG. 8, this passage 1
The one 20 communicates with the riser 78 on the one hand and the inlet port 122 formed on the lower member 114 on the other hand. The inlet port 122 opens into a space 124 formed between the lower member 114 and the lid 90 of the cartridge 84. Therefore, the clean water filtered by the hollow fiber membrane filter module 52 of the filtration stage 42 is passed through the passage 74, the riser 78, the passage 120, and the port 1.
22, the space 124, and the metal can 86 flow into the annular distribution passage 100 through the upper water inlet 94.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, another bulge 126 is formed on the upper member 112 of the manifold assembly 110. A temperature-sensitive switching valve 128 is incorporated in the bulging portion 126, and thus the bulging portion 126 also serves as a housing of the temperature-sensitive switching valve 128. The bulging portion 126 also cooperates with the lower member 114 of the manifold assembly 110 to obtain the purified water discharge passage 1
30 is formed, and the purified water discharge passage 130 communicates with the riser 80.

The temperature sensitive switching valve 128 has a temperature sensitive element 132 as shown in FIG. The temperature sensing element 132 is of a conventional type and includes a body 133 containing a heat-expandable wax (not shown), two valve heads 134 and 136, three sliding guides 138, and a spindle 140. The main body 1 has the spindle 140 as the ambient temperature rises.
It is designed to gradually project from 33. As shown in FIG. 2, the temperature sensitive element 132 is fitted into the stepped bore of the bulging portion 126 via the return spring 142 acting on the spring receiver, and the spindle 140 thereof is screwed to the bulging portion 126. It is brought into contact with the cap 144. Therefore, the main body 1
The assembly of 33 and the two valve heads 134 and 136 is urged to the right in FIG. 2 by the return spring 142 at a low temperature, but as the temperature of the spindle 140 protrudes from the main body 133, this assembly is Is displaced to the left in FIG. Instead of the temperature-sensitive switching valve 128 using the heat-expandable wax, a temperature-sensitive switching valve using a shape memory alloy may be used.

An inlet port 146 aligned with the outlet 102 of the activated carbon cartridge 84 is formed in the upper member 112 of the manifold assembly 110 so that the temperature sensitive element 132 comes into contact with the fluid flowing out from the activated carbon cartridge 84. There is. When the fluid temperature is 50 ° C. or lower, the temperature sensitive switching valve 128 has the first valve head 1 as shown in FIG.
The valve seat 148 is closed by 34 and the second valve head 1
36 opens the valve seat 150, and when the fluid temperature exceeds 50 ° C., the valve seat 148 is opened and the valve seat 150 is closed due to the protrusion of the spindle 140. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the temperature sensitive switching valve 12
The cap 144 of FIG. 8 has a hot steam discharge pipe 152 formed at a position laterally offset from the spindle 140. The hot steam discharge pipe 152 has a valve seat 148.
(Fig. 2). As shown in FIG. 4, one end of a drain hose 154 can be connected to the hot water vapor discharge pipe 152. The drain hose 154 passes through an opening 156 in the horizontal wall of the housing 30 and then riser 80.
Along the bottom, the other end may extend to the sink 12 as shown in FIG.

Referring again to FIG. 7, an electric heater 158 is arranged at the bottom of the can body 88 of the activated carbon cartridge 84, and when the heater is energized, the activated carbon cartridge 84 is heated from the bottom. ing. As the heater 158, a mica heater in which nichrome wire is sandwiched by mica foil or a sheath heater can be used. In order to improve the heat transfer from the heater 158 to the can body 88, it is preferable to sandwich an aluminum plate 160 having good thermal conductivity between the heater 158 and the bottom of the can body 88. Heater 158 and aluminum heat transfer plate 16
0 is fastened to the can body 88 together with the aluminum heat dissipation plate 166 by the bolt 162 and the nut 164 welded to the can body 88.

As can be seen from FIG. 7, the central portion 168 of the can body 88 has a raised bottom, and the central raised bottom portion 168 is in contact with a thermistor 170 for detecting its temperature in a heat transfer relationship. The thermistor 170 is supported by a thermistor holder 174 supported by a heat dissipation plate 166 via a coil spring 172, and has a central raised bottom portion 16
8 is in elastic contact. Aluminum heat sink 166
Further, the thermal fuse 176 is held by the clip in a heat transfer relationship.

Referring again to FIG. 2, a circuit board 178 is screwed to the back of the cap 32 of the water purifier 10, and the control circuit 180 is fixed to this circuit board. In order to protect the control circuit 180 from the heat of the heater 158,
A heat shield plate 182 is attached to the cap 32. AC power is supplied from the power cord 184 to the control circuit 180. As shown in FIG. 2, the circuit board 178 is operated and
A display panel 186 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 10, the thermistor 170
Is output to the control circuit 180 by the lead wire 188, and the control circuit 180 can be connected to the liquid crystal display panel 190 of the operation / display panel 186 and the switches 192 and 194. In the illustrated embodiment, the control circuit 180
Comprises a programmed microprocessor 196,
This microprocessor 196 is a solid state
The energization of the heater 158 is controlled via a relay (SSR) 198. The AC output of the power supply circuit 200 is supplied to the electric heater 158 via the SSR 198 and the thermal fuse 176.

The microprocessor 196 can be programmed to automatically energize the heater 158 every day at a preset predetermined time (preferably at midnight). By pressing the reproduction time setting switch 192, this time can be incremented, for example, on an hourly basis. Also, the heater 158 can be programmed to be energized when the user presses the manual regeneration switch 194. The microprocessor 196 monitors the temperature of the central raised bottom portion 168 of the cartridge 84 by monitoring the output of the thermistor 170 after the start of energization of the heater 158.

Next, the operation of the water purifier 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 11 as well. When the purified water is supplied, the handle 26 of the adapter 20 is attached to the water purifier 1.
When the faucet 16 is opened by turning it to the 0 side, the clean water is filtered by the hollow fiber membrane module 52 of the filtration stage 42 and then sent to the adsorption stage 44 to be adsorbed and purified by the activated carbon fiber 98, as described above. The purified water collected in the porous cylinder 96 flows out from the outlet 102 of the activated carbon cartridge 84. As described above, the temperature-sensing switching valve 128 is set so as to connect the outlet 102 to the purified water discharge passage 130 when the temperature of the fluid flowing out from the outlet 102 is 50 ° C. or lower, so that the temperature-sensitive switching valve 128 is collected in the perforated cylinder 96. The purified water is sent from the purified water discharge passage 130 to the purified water discharge hose 24 via the riser 80, discharged from the outlet 28 of the adapter 20, and used for drinking or the like.

The activated carbon is automatically regenerated when the set time arrives (S301), and is also regenerated each time the user depresses the manual regeneration switch 194 (S302). When the set time arrives or the manual regeneration switch 194 is pressed, the microprocessor 196 switches to the SS
The R198 is excited to start energizing the heater 158 (S303). At the same time, the microprocessor 196 counts the output of the clock oscillation circuit in the control unit 180 to start measuring the time from the start of reproduction (S3).
At the same time, the liquid crystal display panel 190 displays a use prohibition display such as "reproducing" or "preparing" (S30).
5) Prevent the user from accidentally using the water purifier.

If, for example, 30 minutes have elapsed from the start of regeneration (S306), the temperature of the bottom part 168 of the activated carbon container detected by the thermistor 170 is, for example, 80 ° C. or lower (S307), heating is not performed properly. And judge
An error display such as "heating error" or "heater failure" is displayed on the liquid crystal display panel 190 (S312), and the power supply to the heater 158 is stopped (S313). This error display allows the user to know the abnormality of the heater and arrange repair.

On the other hand, if the temperature detected by the thermistor 170 30 minutes after the start of regeneration is 80 ° C. or higher (S30
7) It is determined that there is no abnormality in the heater, and the heating regeneration operation is continued. As the energization is continued, the bottom of the activated carbon cartridge 84 is heated, the water staying in the activated carbon cartridge 84 becomes hot water, and eventually it starts to boil. Since the check valve 62 is provided at the inlet of the hollow fiber membrane filter module 52, the hot water and steam generated in the activated carbon cartridge 84 do not flow back to the hollow fiber membrane filter module 52, and the activated carbon The temperature rises from the outlet 102 of the cartridge 84 toward the temperature-sensitive switching valve 128 and contacts the temperature-sensitive element 132. When the temperature sensing element 132 is heated to 50 ° C. or higher, the valve heads 134 and 136 move to the left in FIG. 2 to automatically close the purified water discharge passage 130, and the cartridge outlet 102 and the inlet port 146.
Is connected to the hot-steam discharge pipe 152, the hot water and steam generated in the activated carbon cartridge 84 are discharged to the sink 12 through the drain hose 154. As the water staying in the activated carbon cartridge 84 is boiled, the activated carbon fiber 98 is sterilized by boiling, and chlorine adsorbed on the activated carbon fiber and trihalomethane having a boiling point lower than that of water act as hot water and steam. Is easily desorbed and the activated carbon fiber is regenerated.

The heater 158 is energized by the thermistor 1
The temperature of the central raised bottom portion 168 of the cartridge 84 detected by 70 continues until it exceeds 120 ° C. (S3
08). Central raised bottom 168 of activated carbon cartridge 84
If the temperature exceeds 120 ° C., it is considered that the accumulated water in the cartridge 84 has almost evaporated, and the control circuit 180 ends the energization of the heater 158 (S309). When the cartridge 84 is cooled by heat dissipation and the ambient temperature of the temperature-sensitive switching valve 128 becomes 50 ° C. or lower, the temperature-sensitive switching valve 128
Automatically connects the outlet 102 of the cartridge 84 to the purified water discharge passage 130 and prepares for use. Cartridge 84
When it is detected that the temperature of the bottom portion 168 has dropped to 40 ° C. by the output of the thermistor 170 (S310), the microprocessor 196 displays “ready” or “READY” on the liquid crystal display panel 190. Then, (S311), the user is informed that the water purifier is in a usable state.

Another embodiment of the water purifier will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 12 and the flowchart of FIG. The difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 is that when an abnormality of the heater is detected, the alarm device is activated when water is passed through the water purifier. To explain only the difference, in order to detect water flow, a pressure switch 202 is provided in the water flow path near the check valve 62, and its output is input to the microprocessor 196. A flow sensor may be used instead of the pressure switch 202. A warning device 206 such as a buzzer is connected to the control circuit 180, and is operated via the output driver 204. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 13, if the temperature of the activated carbon container bottom 168 detected by the thermistor 170 is 80 ° C. or lower at 30 minutes after the start of energization of the heater (S406) (S40
7) Then, after setting the heater failure flag indicating the abnormality of the heater to "1" (S415), the power supply to the heater 158 is stopped (S416).

When not in the regeneration mode, the microprocessor 196 monitors the output of the pressure switch 202 to check whether water is being supplied to the water purifier (S412). When water flow is detected, the heater failure flag is checked (S413), and if the flag is "1" indicating the heater abnormality, the alarm device 206 is activated (S414) to call the user's attention. In this case, an error is displayed together with the operation of the alarm device 206 (S41
7) may be performed. Alternatively, the error display may be performed in advance when the heater abnormality is diagnosed (S418).

In this embodiment, the alarm device 206 is activated not when the heater abnormality is detected, but when the water is passed through the water purifier. It is convenient to regenerate the activated carbon by heating at midnight without using a water purifier, but issuing a warning at midnight causes unnecessary noise. In this embodiment, since an alarm is issued when the user passes water through the water purifier, this water purifier is convenient.

Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various design changes can be made. For example, the pressure switch 202 for detecting water flow can be replaced with a flow sensor. Further, in the illustrated embodiment, the microprocessor 196 is used for the control circuit 180, but the control circuit may be configured as a hard wire connection circuit by using a timer device or a thermostat having the same function. Also, the hollow fiber membrane filter module 52 can be omitted. Further, in the description of the embodiment, it is described that the heater abnormality is diagnosed when the temperature of the activated carbon container is 80 ° C. or less after 30 minutes have passed from the start of energization to the heater. However, the heating rate of the activated carbon container 84 depends on its volume and volume. Since it varies depending on the heat capacity and the output of the heater, the timer setting time and the temperature condition for diagnosing the abnormality of the heater can be appropriately changed.

[0036]

As described above, in the water purifier of the present invention, the abnormality of the electric heater is notified to the user. Therefore, when boiling sterilization or regeneration of activated carbon is not properly performed,
It is possible to prevent the user from accidentally using water containing bacteria or water with deteriorated water quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a usage example in which the water purifier of the present invention is installed in a kitchen.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the water purifier shown in FIG.
2 is a cross section taken along line II-II of FIG. 1 and is depicted such that the radial dimension of the hollow fiber membrane module and the activated carbon cartridge are faithful.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the water purifier shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the water purifier shown in FIG. 1, showing a place where a cap is removed.

5 is a bottom view of the water purifier shown in FIG. 1, showing a bottom plate and an activated carbon cartridge removed.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the activated carbon cartridge of the water purifier shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the activated carbon cartridge of the water purifier shown in FIG.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a temperature sensitive element assembly of a switching valve.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a control circuit.

11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control circuit of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the control circuit.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control circuit of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: Water purifier 84: Activated carbon cartridge 158: Electric heater 170: Temperature detection means 180: Control means 190: Display means 202: Water flow detection means 206: Alarm means

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Takayuki Otani, 2-1-1 Nakajima, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture Totoki Equipment Co., Ltd. (72) Akemi Kuroda 2-1-1, Nakajima, Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka No. 1 Totoki Equipment Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An activated carbon containing activated carbon contained in an activated carbon container, purified by bringing the activated carbon into contact with the purified water, and optionally heating the activated carbon container with an electric heater to regenerate the activated carbon by boiling. An activated carbon regenerating water purifier, characterized in that the regenerating water purifier is provided with means for detecting a disconnection of the electric heater and notifying the user. 2. An activated carbon containing activated carbon contained in an activated carbon container, purified by bringing the activated carbon into contact with the purified water, and optionally heating the activated carbon container with an electric heater to regenerate the activated carbon by boiling. In a regenerative water purifier, temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the activated carbon container, time measuring means for measuring the time from the start of energization to the electric heater, and display means for displaying an abnormality of the electric heater,
A control means for monitoring the output of the temperature detection means and the time measurement means and driving the display means is provided, and the control means is such that the temperature of the activated carbon container after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of energization of the electric heater is below a predetermined temperature. The activated carbon regenerated water purifier is characterized in that the display means displays an abnormality of the electric heater. 3. An activated carbon containing activated carbon contained in an activated carbon container, purified by bringing the activated carbon into contact with the purified water, and optionally heating the activated carbon container with an electric heater to regenerate the activated carbon by boiling. In a regenerative water purifier, temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the activated carbon container, time measuring means for measuring the time from the start of energization to the electric heater, and alarm means for notifying an abnormality of the electric heater, A water flow detecting means for detecting water flow to the water purifier, and a control means for activating the alarm means by monitoring the temperature detecting means, the time measuring means, and the output of the water flow detecting means are provided. If the temperature of the activated carbon container after the lapse of a predetermined time from the start of energizing the electric heater is below the predetermined temperature, the alarm means is activated when the water flow to the water purifier is detected. Activated carbon regeneration type water purifier, wherein a.