JPH1015564A - Water activation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply adjust the concn. of mineral components in mineral water corresponding to taste. SOLUTION: This water activation device 11 is constituted so that water passing control valves 14, 15 are provided to three water passages 131, 132, 133 meeting with each other on the downstream side thereof and water activating materials 161, 162, 163 mutually different in mineral content are charged in the respective water passages 131, 132, 133 in a replaceable manner. The content of a mineral component can be freely adjusted by controlling the opening and closing of the water passing control valves 161-163 provided to the water passages 131-133 and the concn. of the mineral component can be arbitrarily selected so as to be matched with individual taste or the concn. of the mineral component can be properly used corresponding to the use of mineral water.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water activating device in which the concentration of mineral components in mineral water can be easily adjusted as desired.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Tap water draws water discharged from a reservoir near a water source into a river into a water purification plant in a middle basin, where it is once sterilized, and sent out to individual household taps through a water pipe. It is. For this reason, algae breeding in water sources and reservoirs cause mold odor, and precipitates such as iron, manganese or ammonia that precipitate in the reservoir degrade water quality, and organic substances and chemical substances downstream of the reservoir Mixed with factory wastewater, domestic wastewater or irrigation water
At present, it cannot be said that there is no contamination by drugs. In addition, chlorine used for disinfection at a water purification plant not only causes chlorine odor but also deeply participates in the production of trihalomethane, a carcinogen. To make matters worse, when water reaches the faucet, clean water at the water source also reaches the faucet. It is not an exaggeration to say that contamination has progressed until it is feared that there is a risk of harm to the human body.

[0003] As such pollution of tap water has been taken up as a social problem, the desire for clean and delicious water has been increasing, and a large number of household water purifiers having a water purification function have come to be marketed. Conventional water activating device 1 shown in FIG.
Is a container 2 having a water inlet 2a connected to a water tap.
Is filled with a water purification cartridge 3 and a water inlet 2a.
The water injected from the container 2 is purified by the water purification cartridge 3 and supplied from the water supply port 2b at the lower part of the container 2. Activated carbon 3a that removes the smell of chlorine
Contains mineral-containing material 3b such as shell fossils,
Mineral components can be eluted into purified water to produce activated mineral water. Mineral water contains mineral nutrients required for human physiological functions, such as calcium, magnesium and sodium, and water in which minerals are appropriately dissolved is said to have a soft and round taste.

[0004]

In general, clean water from which the odor of khaki, red rust and the like have been removed is not as odorless as distilled water, but it is tasteless and odorless. Often not. One condition of water that is said to be "delicious" is that a certain amount of minerals elute in purified water, and some of the eluted minerals can be known to some extent by feeling over the tongue or throat. is there. However, mineral water, which is perceived as having a soft and round taste, varies widely depending on the sensitivity of the taster, and there is no absolute standard. For this reason, it is ideal that the concentration of the mineral component contained in the mineral water can be adjusted according to personal preferences,
The conventional water activating device 1 can only obtain a substantially constant concentration of mineral water, and since the mineral component concentration decreases with the elapse of the use period, it is difficult to obtain an ideal concentration of mineral water that matches individual tastes. And other issues. In addition, personal preferences are quite diverse, and people who want to change the concentration of mineral components by using mineral water can be used for drinking water such as coffee and tea, and for cooking vegetables and meat. Even if you want to change the concentration of mineral components in the conventional water heater, there is no other way but to increase the mineral concentration by passing the activated mineral water through the water heater again, and the mineral water with the desired concentration However, there is a problem that it is difficult to easily produce the same by passing water once.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an activator in which the concentration of a mineral component eluted in water can be easily switched as desired. Is what you do.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plurality of water passages which merge on the downstream side, a water passage control valve provided in each of the water passages, It is characterized by having exchangeable filled active water materials having different mineral contents from each other.

Further, the present invention provides a container for supplying water injected from a water inlet to the outside through a water supply port, a partition for dividing the inside of the container into a plurality of parallel water passages, and each of the water passages. A water flow control valve provided at at least one of an inlet and an outlet of the water supply, an active water material having a different mineral content mutually exchangeably filled in each of the plurality of water passages, and selectively opening and closing the water flow control valve And control means for controlling.

Further, the active water material includes a mineral-containing material that elutes a mineral component into water, and a filter material that permits the passage of the mineral component and blocks the passage of harmful components such as germs contained in the water. And the filter medium is a hollow fiber membrane.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the water activating device of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of the water heater shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram for controlling opening and closing of a water flow control valve of the water activation device shown in FIG. 1.

A water activating device 11 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a partition 13 for three parallel flows of water inside a transparent plastic container 12 for supplying water injected from a water inlet 12a to the outside through a water inlet 12b. Waterways 131, 132, 133
It is divided and formed. In each of the water passages 131 to 133, a pair of water passage control valves 14, 15 that are interlocked with each other at the inflow port and the outflow port are arranged as shown in FIG. In addition, the water passages 131 to 133 are exchangeably filled with active water materials 161 to 163 having different mineral contents from each other. The water flow control valves 14 and 15 are configured by electromagnetic switching valves whose valves are switched in accordance with the excitation and demagnetization of the solenoid, and the solenoids of the water flow control valves 14 and 15 that make a pair for each of the water passages 131 to 133 are shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, it is connected to an AC commercial power supply via a three-contact changeover switch 17. Therefore, by operating the changeover switch 17, the specific water passages 131 to
Only a pair of energization control valves 14 and 15 in 133 can be energized from an AC commercial power supply, and the valves are fully opened with energization of the solenoid.

The mineral-containing material contained in the active water materials 161, 162, 163 is a composite of antibacterial activated carbon, barley stone, shell fossil, and zeolite ceramic. Antibacterial activated carbon has a chlorine odor (residual chlorine) contained in tap water.
To remove impurities such as organic substances such as trihalomethane. Also, barley stone dissolves a moderate amount of mineral components and works to create active water rich in oxygen. In addition, shell fossils have a function of eluting a particularly large amount of calcium. Furthermore, zeolite ceramics are effective in removing harmful metals by adsorption. In the case of the present embodiment, the active water material 16 filled in each of the first water passage 131, the second water passage 132, and the third water passage 133.
The amount of 1,162,163 is, for example, 5: 7: 9 by volume ratio.
Is set to

Here, when it is desired to drink high-concentration mineral water containing a relatively large amount of minerals, the third water passage 13
3, only the pair of flow control valves 14 and 15 are fully opened.
Each water flow control valve 14 of the water flow path 131 and the second water flow path 132,
15 are fully closed. As a result, the water injected from the water tap to the water inlet 12a of the container 12 is
Water is supplied to the outside of the container 12 from the water supply port 12b through only the third water passage 133 in the inside 2. Minerals contained in the active water material 163 in the third water passage 133 are separated from the other water passages 131,
Mineral components contained in the active water materials 161 and 162 in 132 are larger than the mineral components, and the maximum concentration of mineral components is eluted into water. As a result, the water supplied from the water supply port 12b becomes high-concentration mineral water containing a large amount of minerals.

On the other hand, when it is desired to drink medium-concentration mineral water containing minerals at a medium concentration, only the pair of water flow control valves 14 and 15 in the second water passage 132 is fully opened, and The water flow control valves 161 and 163 of the water channel 131 and the third water channel 133 are both fully closed. This allows
Water injected into the water inlet 12a of the container 12 from a water tap or the like passes through only the second water passage 132 in the container 12 and is supplied to the outside of the container 12 from the water supply port 12b, thereby obtaining mineral water having a medium concentration. Can be When the user wants to drink low-concentration mineral water containing a small amount of minerals, only the pair of water flow control valves 14 and 15 in the first water channel 131 needs to be fully opened, whereby the water supply port 12b can be opened. A low-concentration mineral water containing a small amount of mineral is obtained.

The mineral concentration of the mineral water can be arbitrarily selected according to personal preference, and can be properly used depending on the use of the mineral water. For example, in the case of a favorite beverage such as coffee or tea, if the mineral content is too large, a subtle change in taste is likely to occur. Therefore, it is preferable to use medium-concentration mineral water or low-concentration mineral water in which the mineral content is suppressed. On the other hand, in meat dishes and vegetable dishes that use a lot of seasonings such as salt, sugar, or soy sauce or hidden taste, even if the mineral content is slightly higher, the taste is altered by the mineral content. There is little fear, so in such cases it is advisable to use concentrated mineral water.

As described above, according to the water activating device 11, the water circulating control valves 14 and 15 are provided in the three water channels 131, 132 and 133 which merge on the downstream side, and the activating materials 161 having different mineral contents from each other. , 162, 163 to each water channel 13
1, 132, 133 are exchangeably filled, so that the valve openings of the water flow control valves 14, 15 provided in the water passages 131, 132, 133 are controlled to open and close.
It is possible to freely adjust the content of the mineral component contained in the mineral water, and the concentration of the mineral component can be arbitrarily selected in accordance with personal preference.

In the above embodiment, the active water materials 161 to 161 are used.
As the example 163, a water-containing material containing a mineral-containing material that elutes a mineral component in water was used.
As described above, in addition to the mineral-containing materials 161 to 163, use of active water materials 261 to 263 in combination with filter materials 211 to 213 that allow the passage of minerals and prevent the passage of harmful components such as various bacteria contained in water are used. Can also. Each of the illustrated filter media 211 to 213 is formed of a hollow fiber membrane used as a filter by bundling, for example, threads having ultra-fine holes of about 0.15 μm. The hollow fiber membrane is a high-tech material used for artificial dialysis, etc., which removes various bacteria, red rust or impurities and even a slight odor that could not be removed by the activated carbon filter due to the ultra-fine pores, while the mineral component dissolved in water Can be passed. For this reason, the filter media 211 to 2134
The "deliciousness" of mineral water is not impaired by using.

In the above embodiment, the first water passage 13
1 is filled with the mineral-containing material 161.
The active water material 262 filled in the second water passage 132 is a composite material of the mineral-containing material 162 and the filter material 212 at a volume ratio of 5: 5. . Further, the activated water material 263 filled in the third water passage 133 is a composite of the mineral-containing material 163 and the filter material 213 at a volume ratio of 7: 3. Further, here, the water flow control valve 14 disposed on the inflow side of the water passages 131 to 133 is abolished, and only the water flow control valve 15 disposed on the outflow side is used. The devaluation is being planned. The water flow control valve 15 can be switched between two stages of fully open and fully closed. Therefore, when high concentration mineral water is desired, the water flow control valve 15 of the third water passage 133 is fully opened, If you want a second waterway 132
If the user wants further low-concentration mineral water, the water flow control valve 15 of the first water channel 131 is fully opened.

The water activating device 21 includes water passages 131-131.
If all of the water flow control valves 15 disposed on the outlet side of 133 are set in the fully closed state, the water can be stored in the container 12 in a state of being stored. For this reason, if the water activating device 21 is refrigerated in a refrigerator or the like with each of the water passages 131 to 133 in the container 12 filled with water, and is changed into refreshing cold water over the throat, the mineral water is full of refreshing and rich minerals. You can taste water. In the present embodiment, the water passages 131 to 1
33 abolish the water flow control valve 15 on the outlet side,
To 133, the water flow can be controlled only by the water flow control valve 14 disposed on the inflow side.

In the above embodiment, the first through third
Of the rectangular parallelepiped container 12 in which the water passages 131 to 133 are divided and arranged in parallel in a horizontal row, the container may have another shape, for example, as in the case of the water heater 31 shown in FIG. Alternatively, the first to third water passages 311 to 313 may use a cylindrical container 32 formed in a fan shape that divides the circumference into three equal parts. Further, in any of the embodiments, the number of water passages formed in the container is not limited to three, and may be, for example, two or four or more.

[0020]

As described above, according to the water activator of the present invention, a water flow control valve is provided in a plurality of water passages that merge on the downstream side, and active water materials having different mineral contents are supplied to each of the water passages. Since each of them is exchangeable, it is possible to freely adjust the mineral content by opening and closing the water flow control valve provided in each water flow channel, thereby adjusting to the personal preference. In addition to being able to select the mineral component concentration arbitrarily, it can be used properly depending on the use of mineral water.For example, in the case of a favorite beverage such as coffee or tea, medium-concentration mineral water or low-concentration mineral water in which the mineral content is suppressed Uses high-concentration mineral water for meat and vegetable dishes, and uses drinking water and mineral water-concentrated active water to bring out the taste of dishes to improve health and nutrition. Excellent effects equal bets are possible.

The present invention also provides a container for supplying water injected from a water inlet to the outside through a water supply port, a partition for dividing the inside of the container into a plurality of parallel water passages, and each of the water passages. A water flow control valve provided at at least one of an inlet and an outlet of the water supply, an active water material having a different mineral content mutually exchangeably filled in each of the plurality of water passages, and selectively opening and closing the water flow control valve Control means for controlling the water supply material in the specific water passage through a water control valve selectively connected to the water inlet at the tip of the container and connected to a faucet and controlled by the control means. By supplying water that has passed through to the cup etc. from the water supply port and serving for drinking, you can make mineral water of your favorite concentration whenever you want to drink and drink it,
Furthermore, if a water flow control valve is provided on the outlet side of the water channel, refrigerate it with a refrigerator or the like while filling each water channel in the container with water, and change to fresh cold water over the throat. By drinking it, you will be able to enjoy a refreshing and rich mineral water.

Further, the active water material is allowed to pass through a mineral-containing material that elutes a mineral component into water and a mineral component,
By constructing a filter medium that blocks the passage of harmful components such as germs contained in water, not only is it possible to simply produce mineral water, but the filter media can also remove harmful components such as germs and red rust. This has the effect that the contained clean water can be used for drinking.

Further, by using a hollow fiber membrane as a filter medium, for example, a hollow paper membrane which is a filter formed by bundling yarns having ultra-fine pores of about 0.15 μm, and various bacteria which cannot be removed with an activated carbon filter And red rust or impurities and even a slight smell can be removed satisfactorily. On the other hand, the hollow paper membrane allows minerals dissolved in water to pass therethrough, so it is given by the minerals. It does not impair the "deliciousness" and produces effects such as producing clean and rich mineral water.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing one embodiment of a water activating device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram for controlling opening and closing of a water flow control valve of the water activation device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another embodiment of the water activating device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing still another embodiment of the water activating device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a conventional water activating device.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 21, 31 Activator 12, 32 Vessel 12a Water inlet 12b Water inlet 13 Partition wall 131, 132, 133, 311, 312, 313 Water passage 14, 15 Water control valve 161, 162, 163, 261, 262, 263 Active water material 17 Selector switch 211, 212, 213 Filter media

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Agency reference number FI Technical display location C02F 1/68 530 C02F 1/68 530B 540 540A 540D 540G A47J 31/60 A47J 31/60 C02F 1 / 44 C02F 1/44 H (72) Inventor Takashi Motomura 1-4-4 Shiromi, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka NEC Home Electronics Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of water passages merging on the downstream side, a water passage control valve provided in each of the water passages, and an active water material different in mineral content from each of the water passages, which are exchangeably filled in the respective water passages. An activator characterized by comprising: 2. A container for supplying water injected from a water inlet to the outside through a water inlet, a partition dividing the inside of the container into a plurality of water passages parallel to each other, and an inlet of each of the water passages. A water flow control valve provided in at least one of the outlets, an active water material which is exchangeably filled in each of the plurality of water passages and has a different mineral content, and a control means for selectively opening and closing the water flow control valve A water activating device comprising: 3. The active water material includes a mineral-containing material that elutes a mineral component in water, and a filter material that allows the mineral component to pass therethrough and blocks the passage of harmful components such as various bacteria contained in the water. The water activating device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that: 4. The water activating device according to claim 3, wherein the filter medium is a hollow fiber membrane.