JPH11128965A - Filter apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To advance the time when it can be used as a filter medium using microorganisms. SOLUTION: This apparatus is a filter apparatus with which water can be filtered by circulating water through a filter tank 28. The apparatus has a filter apparatus main body 22, a water feeding part 33 for feeding water to be filtered fed into the apparatus, a filter tank 28 which is arranged on a flow path in the apparatus main body and wherein at least a filter medium 28b using aerobic microorganisms is stored, a circulation pump 38 communicated with the filter tank and connected to a drainage part 40 and an air pump 52 for feeding air to the filter medium using microorganisms. As growth and activation of the microorganisms can be performed by feeding air into the filter medium 28b using the microorganisms during filtration treatment, time when it can be used as a filter medium using microorganisms can be advanced more than before.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a filtering device which can be used for filtering water in an aquarium containing aquarium fish and the like. Specifically, in filtering water in a water tank using microbial filtration, air is forcibly sent into a filter medium using this microorganism to activate the propagation of aerobic microorganisms. The rising time suitable for the use of the device can be shortened.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a filtration device for filtering water in an aquarium containing aquarium fish such as tropical fish, the filtration capacity is large,
An external filtration device whose maintenance is easy is known. This filter is often used as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, a water tank 14 having a predetermined size and storing a predetermined amount of water is placed on a table 12, and a water absorption pipe in which a strainer 16 is attached is mounted in the water tank 14. A (water supply pipe) 17 is placed, and water (dirty water) absorbed from the water supply pipe 17 is sent to a filtration device 20 and filtered, and the filtered water (fresh water) passes through a water supply pipe (drainage pipe) 18. It is returned into the water tank 14.

[0004] As described above, dirty water is filtered by circulating water through the filtering device 20. The tip of a water supply pipe 18 arranged below the water surface is formed as a shower pipe 19 so that fresh water can be distributed evenly in the water tank 14.

The filter device 20 shown in FIG. 1 circulates water by applying the principle of siphon, so that the filter device 20 is disposed below the water tank 14 as shown in the figure.

As is well known, the filtration method of the filtration device 20 is as follows.
In many cases, physical filtration, in which dirt is filtered by a filter, and microbial filtration, in which aerobic microorganisms such as ammonia dissolved in water are used to decompose into nitrate and filter, are used in combination. A large amount of water can be filtered by using such a filtering method in combination.

[0007]

By the way, the filter medium portion of the above-mentioned filter device 20 is configured so as to be shielded from the outside air, but the microorganisms that propagate in the filter medium used for microorganism filtration are bacteria and the like. Aerobic microorganisms. Therefore, in the conventional filtration device 20, microorganisms propagate only by oxygen dissolved in the water in the water tank 14. In addition, microorganisms are activated using the oxygen.

[0008] The oxygen dissolved in the water tank 14 is consumed by the appreciation fish in the water tank 14 and the remaining oxygen sent to the filtration device 20 is consumed by microorganisms. The supply amount tends to be short.

In order to solve such a problem, a water tank 14 is required.
It is also conceivable to devise fine bubbles by using an air pump or the like to blow out the bubbles so that sufficient oxygen is dissolved in the water in the water tank 14. However, in this case, since the spraying means, which is the air supply means, must be disposed in the water tank 14, the appearance is impaired. In addition, even if this dispersing means is used, sufficient oxygen cannot be dissolved when it is sucked into the filtration device 20 at present.

[0010] Because of this, sufficient oxygen cannot be dissolved in the water in the water tank 14, and the activation of microorganisms is weak.
It takes a considerable amount of time for microorganisms to grow enough to filter water. According to the experiment of the applicant, it takes about one month in the case of using a water tank of a normal size (volume). Therefore, conventionally, an alternative filter material (adsorption filter material such as activated carbon) that adsorbs ammonia is required until the microorganisms are sufficiently grown. If activated carbon or the like is used, it needs to be replaced frequently, so the replacement operation is troublesome and the maintenance cost is considerable.

In view of the above, the present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem. In a filtration apparatus utilizing microbial filtration, the growth of aerobic microorganisms is facilitated, and the period of use of the filter medium using microorganisms is reduced. The present invention proposes a filtration device capable of greatly reducing the filtration time.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in a filtration device according to the present invention, water is filtered by circulating water through a filtration tank. A water absorbing portion that absorbs water, and a filtration tank containing a filter medium using at least an aerobic microorganism,
A circulation pump, which is provided in communication with the filtration tank and has a drainage section connected thereto, has an air supply section for sending air to a filter medium using the microorganisms, and the microorganisms are removed during filtration. The invention is characterized in that the growth and activation of microorganisms are performed by sending the air into the used filter medium.

In the present invention, water to be filtered is supplied to the filter medium using microorganisms, and air is supplied. Aerobic microorganisms proliferate (proliferate) and are activated by oxygen contained in the supplied air. The fertility of microorganisms is stronger when air is actively pumped than when air is not blown. Therefore, the time until the amount of microorganisms becomes suitable for filtration can be significantly reduced.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment in which one embodiment of a filtering device according to the present invention is applied as a filtering means of an aquarium for breeding ornamental fish and the like will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a filter device 20 according to the present invention. The filter device 20 includes a device main body 22 and a lid 24 for closing an upper opening of the device main body 22. It consists of. The device main body 22 is a bottomed cylindrical body having a predetermined length as shown in the figure, and the openable and closable lid portion 24 having the fitting flange 25 is provided so that filtered water inside the device main body does not leak. It is sealed (liquid tight) by an O-ring 26 and a packing material 27.

A filter tank 28 is accommodated in the apparatus main body 22. The filtration tank 28 has a cylindrical body 29 having a predetermined inner diameter. When the cylindrical body 29 is attached, a predetermined gap is provided between the filtration tank 28 and the bottom of the apparatus main body 22 so that the filtered water can freely flow therethrough. Therefore, the lower end of the cylindrical body 29 has a carry portion 3
0 is provided.

A filter medium is accommodated in the filter tank 28.
In this example, the filtration process is performed using physical filtration in addition to microbial filtration, and thus has a three-layer structure. The lowermost filter medium 28a is a filter medium for performing physical filtration. The filter medium (A) is filled so as to have a predetermined thickness for filtering feces and dust, and the filter medium 28b thereon is used for filtering microorganisms. Aerobic microorganisms such as bacteria are used as filter media for performing the filtration,
A filter medium (B) for propagating the microorganism is filled so as to have a predetermined thickness. The uppermost filter medium 28c is a filter medium for performing a final filtration process for stabilizing water quality, and is a filter medium (C) such as activated carbon or peat having good adsorptivity.
Are similarly filled.

The upper portion of the cylindrical body 29 has a small diameter portion, and the end portion has a through-hole flange 3 formed on the inner surface of the lid portion 24.
2 is engaged so as not to leak water.

The lid 24, which can be opened and closed, is provided with a cylindrical exhaust chamber 34 projecting outward at the center thereof. The exhaust chamber 34 is provided for exhausting air staying in the apparatus main body 22 and the filtration tank 28. The details will be described later. Connect the water supply pipe 17 to the side,
A water supply section 33 for guiding filtered water into the inside of the apparatus main body is formed. The water supply unit 33 is a conduit, and has an integral structure with the lid unit 24.

A circulation pump 38 is attached and fixed to the right end of the exhaust chamber 34 via a conduit 36. In this example, a circulating pump 38 is provided inside the lid 24 so as to enter the inside of the apparatus main body 22. Circulation pump 3
8 can use a centrifugal pump or the like, and is selected so that the conduit is located on the water supply side and the drain 40 is located on the drain side. The drainage section 40 is formed of a conduit, and the drainage pipe 18 shown in FIG.

The exhaust chamber 34 is a headed cylindrical body, and the inside thereof communicates with the flange 32 having a through hole. A V-shaped float arm 44 is pivotally supported at a fulcrum 42 provided substantially in the center of the cylindrical body 35, and a float (floating portion) 46 is attached to one end thereof. An exhaust valve (valve) 48 is attached to the other end of the float arm 44, and the exhaust valve 48 opens and closes in conjunction with the vertical movement of the float 46.

A water leakage prevention valve 50 is provided at a part of a vent 49 communicating with the exhaust valve 48.
In this example, the opening and closing are controlled by the plunger 51. By energizing the plunger 51, the valve 5
Since 0 is open, the water leakage prevention valve 50 functions as a normally closed valve. In the event of an abnormality such as the filter device main body 22 falling down, the water leakage prevention valve 50 is controlled so as to close.

The filter medium 28 is provided inside the exhaust chamber 34 near the head thereof.
An air supply unit 52 for supplying air to the air supply unit b is provided. The air supply section 52 is an air pump, which is attached and fixed to a mounting case 53 provided inside the tubular body 35. Therefore, an air intake (intake port) 5 is provided at the upper end of the cylindrical body 35 constituting the exhaust chamber 34.
4, and an exhaust port 55 is provided in a part of the side surface of the cylindrical body 35, and one end of an air supply pipe 56 is fitted and fixed thereto.

The other end (tip) of the air supply pipe 56 is guided so as to face the bottom empty space 58 of the tubular body 29 for the filtration tank.
The air rises through the filter media 28a to 28c. In this example, the distal end of the air supply unit 56 is configured as an ejection pipe (ejection pipe) 60, and its planar configuration can be spirally configured as shown in FIG.

When the spiral ejection pipe 60 is used, its maximum diameter is selected to be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindrical body 29. The reason why the spiral shape having the predetermined diameter is formed is to allow air to be uniformly fed from the center to the entire outer periphery of the filter media 28a to 28c, particularly the filter media 28b.

A large number of ejection ports 62 are provided on the surface of the ejection pipe 60 to eject fine air bubbles. In the drawing, jet ports 62 are formed at regular intervals on the upper surface of the tube surface and on the side surface of the tube surface. To explain an example of the specification, when an aluminum pipe is used as the air supply pipe 56, its diameter, that is, the outer diameter of the ejection pipe 60 is 10 m.
mφ, orifice diameter 0.3 ~ 0.5mm, orifice interval 1
About 2 mm.

In the above-described exhaust chamber tubular body 35,
In this example, an inclination sensor 66 is attached to the lower side of the air pump 52, and when the entire apparatus is inclined by a predetermined angle θ or more,
The plunger 51 is configured to be controlled by the sensor output so that the water leakage valve 50 is closed.

The mounting position of the pump 38 with respect to the exhaust chamber 34 is lower than the exhaust chamber 34 by L so that the pump 38 has a predetermined step (head) as shown in FIG. This is to prevent air ejected from the pipe 60 from entering the pump 38.
This is because once the air enters the pump 38, cavitation occurs and the suction efficiency is reduced. Therefore, the value of the step L is set in consideration of the flow rate of the filtered water.

Now, the filter device 20 constructed as described above will be described.
The operation during the filtration process will be described with reference to FIGS.
For convenience of explanation, FIGS. 3 to 5 show only a part of the filtration device 20.

In order to filter the water in the water tank 14, priming of the main body 22 of the filtration device 20 is performed by a known method. Before priming, the float 46 is lowered as shown in FIG. 3 and the exhaust valve 48 is open.

By priming, the main body 22 is filled with water (filtration water) in the water tank 14. The filtered water penetrates through the bottom empty chamber 58 to the inside of the filtration tank 28 and rises, so that the water level rises to the float chamber 34a. As a result, the float 46 generates buoyancy due to the filtered water, and moves the float arm 44 to close the exhaust valve 48.

Next, the drive power switch (not shown) of the filtration device 20 is turned on. The power switch is also used as a power switch for the solenoid type plunger 51, the pump 38, and the air pump 52. Therefore, first, the plunger 51 is energized and the water leakage prevention valve 50 is opened, so that the air inside the main body is exhausted. At the same time, the pump 38 is started to start circulation of the filtered water. Further, since the air pump 52 is started, the supplied air passes through the ejection pipe 60, whereby the air is ejected, and the ejection into the filtration tank 28 is started. The jetted air rises while passing through the filter media 28a, 28b, 28c. Since the filter medium 28b is a filter medium that propagates microorganisms, particularly aerobic microorganisms (bacteria in this example), oxygen is supplied to the aerobic microorganisms by passing through the filter medium 28b.

As a result, the growth (proliferation) of the microorganisms is promoted and the activation of the microorganisms is enhanced. Therefore, the time required for breeding a sufficient amount of microorganisms to filter water and obtaining an optimum environment as microorganisms is greatly increased. Can be shortened. According to the experiment, sufficient propagation of microorganisms was confirmed in 1/3 to 1/4 of the conventional time.

The air passing through the filter media 28a to 28c accumulates in the float chamber 34a. Float chamber 34a and pump 38
Are communicated via a conduit 36. Since the pump 38 is operating, the filtered water in the float chamber 34a is supplied.
It is returned into the water tank 14 via the drain pipe 18.

When air accumulates in the float chamber 34a and the water level falls, the float 46 also falls by its own weight, and the exhaust valve 48 opens. Thus, the air accumulated in the float chamber 34a is exhausted to the outside. When the air is exhausted, the water level of the float chamber 34a starts to rise again as shown in FIG.
The float 46 generates buoyancy by the filtered water that has risen again, and closes the exhaust valve 48. Such an operation is repeatedly performed, and the filtration water circulates, and the filtration process is performed by the circulation.

In the unlikely event that a clogging or the like that hinders the flow of filtered water occurs inside or outside the main body 22, the filtrate 46 does not leak out of the main body due to the function of the float 46.

When the filtering device 20 falls down due to an external force during operation, the following safe operation is performed. When the apparatus main body 22 falls down, this state is instantaneously detected by the inclination sensor 66, and the above-mentioned power switch is turned off by the detection signal. As a result, the power supply to the solenoid type plunger 51 is stopped, and the water leakage prevention valve 50 is closed by the restoring force of a compression coil spring (not shown) built in the plunger 51 as shown in FIG. Therefore, even if the exhaust valve 48 is opened and the filtered water passes as shown in FIG. 5, the filtered water does not flow out by the water leakage prevention valve 50.

Since the water leakage prevention valve 50 works in the direction in which the water pressure increases as the water pressure increases, the filtered water does not leak from the vent hole 49. Moreover, the apparatus main body 22 and the lid 24
Also, since the water leakage prevention means is provided between them, there is no possibility that the filtered water leaks into the room even if the filtration device 20 is tilted.

Since the drive power to the pump 38 and the air pump 52 is also turned off at the same time, the circulation of the filtered water is immediately stopped. Therefore, all of the filtration devices 20 operate on the safe side.

When the filter device 20 is returned to the normal position, the circulation control circuit (not shown) is reset based on the detection output of the inclination sensor 66. Therefore, when the power is turned on again, the operation returns to the normal operation.

As described above, in the present invention, a sufficient amount of oxygen capable of growing and activating the aerobic microorganisms can be supplied to the filter medium using the microorganisms. Can be significantly reduced.

The surplus oxygen not used by the microorganisms is dissolved in the filtered water as it is and returned to the water tank 14.
The habitat environment is improved for the fish that live in the area.

Further, since air is blown out in the filter device main body 22 and then passes through the filter medium using microorganisms,
Air can evenly pass through the filter medium using microorganisms. This makes it possible to eliminate an anaerobic environment that is likely to be partially generated in the filter medium, expand the breeding area of the aerobic microorganisms to the entire filter medium, and sufficiently exhibit the filter medium performance.

The filtration control circuit can be configured so that the ejection in the apparatus main body can be temporarily interrupted. For example, in a water tank laid out for viewing aquatic plants, carbon dioxide is forcibly dissolved, and when air is blown into the tank, the dissolved carbon dioxide melts out of the water together with the air. Therefore, when applying the filtering device according to the present invention to such a water tank, it is effective to operate the jet stop mode. To stop the ejection, simply stop the operation of the air pump.

The filter according to the present invention has an exhaust valve 4
Since the device 8 is attached, the start-up failure of the device due to the imperfect priming which tends to occur in the conventional device can be completely eliminated. This is because the conventional apparatus has no means for bleeding air, so that if the priming is stopped before the pump 38, the air in the pump 38 cannot be bleed. This makes it impossible to pump water using the siphon principle.

In the present invention, since the exhaust valve 48 is provided, the air in the apparatus main body 22 can be completely exhausted to the position of the inside of the conduit 36, so that the apparatus does not start up poorly.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, sufficient oxygen that aerobic microorganisms can proliferate and activate can be supplied to the filter medium using microorganisms, so that the filter medium using microorganisms can be used as a filter medium. The time can be significantly reduced compared to the past. Therefore, the period during which a substitute for the filter medium is used can be greatly reduced, and the maintenance cost thereof can be greatly reduced.

Therefore, the present invention is extremely suitable for application to a filtration device for an aquarium for breeding appreciation fish and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part showing one embodiment of a filtration device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a jetting means.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part showing a use state of the filtration device (part 1).

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a main part showing a use state of the filtration device (part 2).

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part similar to FIG. 3, showing an operation state when the filtration device falls down.

FIG. 6 is a use state diagram showing a relationship between a water tank and a filtration device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 Water Tank 20 Filtration Device 22 Device Main Body 24 Lid 28 Filtration Tank 28a-28c Filter Material 34 Exhaust Chamber 38 Pump 46 Float 48 Exhaust Valve 50 Water Leak Prevention Valve 52 Air Supply Unit (Air Pump) 60 Jet Pipe

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A filter device for filtering water by circulating water through a filtration tank, wherein a water absorbing part for absorbing water to be filtered and a filter medium using at least aerobic microorganisms are accommodated. A filtration tank, a circulation pump provided in communication with the filtration tank and connected to a drainage unit, and an air supply unit for supplying air to the filter medium using the microorganisms. A filtration device characterized in that the microorganism is proliferated and activated by sending the air into a filter medium using the microorganism. 2. The filter tank is multi-layered, one of which is
2. The filtration device according to claim 1, wherein the layer is a filter medium using the microorganism. 3. The filtering device according to claim 1, wherein a tip portion of the air supply unit is disposed so as to face the filter medium using the microorganism. 4. An exhaust unit disposed between the filtration tank and the circulation pump for exhausting air that has passed through the filtration tank, wherein the exhaust unit includes water that has passed through the filtration tank. A floating portion that moves up and down according to the water level; and an exhaust valve that opens and closes an exhaust port as the floating portion moves up and down. When the water level is lower than a predetermined level, the exhaust valve is opened to exhaust the air. 2. The filter according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust valve is closed to stop the exhaust of the air when the water level becomes higher than a predetermined level. 5. The valve according to claim 4, wherein, in the closed state of the exhaust valve, when a predetermined amount or more of air accumulates in the exhaust section, the valve opens as the water level decreases. Filtration equipment.