KR100605126B1 - Water Conditioners - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water softener for softening constant raw water, such as tap water, by using an ion exchange action of an ion exchange resin. Specifically, a softening device for hot water and a softening device for cold water are provided in one case. Built-in configuration, each softening device, the pressure control unit for constantly adjusting the pressure of the water supplied for use in softening; A water purifying part having a detachable filter to supply water to the drainage part after filtering / purifying water supplied from the pressure adjusting part; A drain part comprising a drain valve for selectively supplying purified water supplied from the purified water part to one of an ion exchange part and a regeneration part depending on whether to perform a softening process or a regeneration process; An ion exchange unit for exchanging / removing divalent cations contained in water supplied from the drainage unit by providing a cation exchange resin; And a regeneration unit for storing the purified salt and circulating the water supplied from the drainage unit to the ion exchange unit by desalination of the water supplied from the drainage unit.

Description

Water Softener {Water Conditioners}             

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the water softener of the present invention;

2 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the water softener of the present invention;

3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the water softener of the present invention.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a water purification part of the water softener of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: pressure regulator 110: pressure reducing valve

200: water purification unit 210: filter

300: drain 310: 3-way valve

320: mode switching lever 400: ion exchange unit

410: ion exchange resin 500: regeneration unit

510: recycling bin

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a water softener for softening constant raw water, such as tap water, by using an ion exchange action of an ion exchange resin. It is about.

Water can be divided into hard water (hard water) and soft water (single water) according to the composition of the components contained therein, among which hard water is a metal ion, in particular Ca ²⁺ , Mg ²⁺ , Fe ²⁺ , Mn ²⁺ , It refers to water containing a lot of divalent metal ions such as Sr ²⁺ , and soft water refers to water containing such a small amount of metal ions, and expresses its strength using hardness as a unit.

The degree to which water is strong, that is, hardness is expressed in mg / l or ppm by reducing the amount of divalent metal ions in water to the corresponding amount of calcium carbonate (CaCO ₃ ). Depending on the calcium hardness and magnesium hardness, it is usually used, but the total hardness is represented by adding the amount of calcium and magnesium divalent ions.

Generally, when the hardness is 0-75mg / l, soft water is called soft water, and when it is 76-150mg / l, it is moderately hard water, and when it is 151-300mg / l, hard water, 301mg / l When it is l, it is called hard hard water, and it is called softening that removes bivalent metal ions of medium hard water, hard water or hard water into soft water, and it is softening device. Is the water softener.

The softening of the water by removing the divalent metal ions contained in the water is because the hard water causes a number of unfavorable effects when using water, such as increasing the amount of soap used when washing or discoloring white laundry and clothing life This results in a phenomenon such as condensation of soap and detergent deposits on clothing, and scales are formed in piping when hot water boilers are used for a long time. This is because when the back is washed, the taste may be deteriorated, and the taste of coffee or green tea may be reduced, and in some cases, the human body may cause kidney stones, arthritis, constipation, and the like.

In addition, washing or bathing with hard water causes insoluble substances combined with soap to remain on the skin, resulting in unclean skin, stiff hair, and poor makeup. In recent years, people's economic power and living standards are high. It is said that this disadvantage is the biggest cause of water softeners being used a lot.

Water softeners that remove these shortcomings of hard water by removing divalent metal ions in water use the ion exchange action of Cation Exchange Resin, which has a high specific surface area. Porosity Material mainly having sulfonic acid group (-SO ₃ H) or carboxyl group (-COOH) as functional group on the surface of bead type styrene or acryl resin with a diameter of 0.3-0.6mm Used.

When the salt of monovalent cation is added to the functional group of such cation exchange resin, -SO _{3 ^-} X ⁺ or -COO ^- X ⁺ is produced. NaCl is used as a salt and sulfonic acid group is used as a functional group, and Ca is used as a divalent metal ion. ^{Taking 2+} ions as an example, the functional group thus generated exchanges divalent metal ions in water through a chemical reaction as follows.

^{_{2 (R-SO 3 - Na}} +) + Ca 2+ → (R-SO 3 -) 2 Ca 2+ + 2Na +

This ion exchange action is due to the high binding ability of the functional groups in the order of Ca ²⁺ > Mg ²⁺ > Na ⁺ . Thus, the water exchanged through the ion exchange resin affects the hardness instead of Ca ²⁺ or Mg ²⁺ . It will contain monovalent Na ⁺ which does not reach.

On the other hand, by performing such an ion exchange action several times, a phenomenon in which an ion exchange resin filled with a divalent metal ion having a predetermined ratio or more is no longer able to function as an ion exchange resin occurs.

In this case, the functional group of the ion exchange resin must be converted back to the state of R-SO ₃ ^- Na ^{+ so that a} new ion exchange can be performed again. Thus, to restore the ion exchange capacity of the ion exchange resin filled with divalent metal ions. The transition back to the R-SO ₃ ^- Na ⁺ state is called regeneration.

In general, such regeneration is performed once every 15 to 20 days by the user to prepare a saline solution of a suitable concentration, for example, NaCl-containing saline, and then wash the ion exchange resin using the brine to perform a chemical reaction as follows. Through the conversion of the functional groups back into the R-SO ₃ ^- Na ⁺ state.

^{_{(R-SO 3 -) 2}} Ca 2+ + 2NaCl → 2 (R-SO 3 - Na +) + CaCl 2

Such regeneration-related matters can often be found in the technology on patent / utility model, for example, in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 324963, as described above, ion exchange is not a method of regenerating functional groups using brine. It has been disclosed for a water softener configured to periodically replace the resin in a pack of a certain form.

In addition, the Republic of Korea Utility Model Registration No. 299836, by forming a hole on one side of the water softener cap, inserting a purified salt inlet tube for salt water exchange through this hole and constitutes a control valve for controlling the amount of purified salt introduced into the ion exchange Attempts have been made to attempt to perform resin regeneration.

In addition, Korean Patent Publication No. 1998-77112 discloses an attempt to regenerate an ion exchange resin by preparing a washing brine and sucking the brine using a pump, and registered a utility model of the Republic of Korea. No. 259133 also discloses a salt shaker configured to be connected to the water softener body using a hose.

However, the prior arts up to now including such patent / utility model technologies are inconvenient to separate the water softener cap or the ion exchange resin cap during regeneration, and in some cases separate separation for separation. There was a case in which a tool was required, and the user had to perform the regeneration manually, and thus had a disadvantage in that he could miss the regeneration cycle without careful attention.

In addition, in the case of using the method of exchanging the ion exchange resin pack itself as in the case of the Utility Model Registration No. 324963, the water softener maintenance cost increases excessively, and a valve and a connection pipe connected to the ion exchange resin container are generated. In the case of using the lamp, only the part requiring the user to disassemble the water softener was removed, but the inconvenience of having to input the brine and performing the regeneration work by checking the correct regeneration cycle still remained. In the case of equipment, there was a disadvantage in that the risk of failure, such as short, was increased.

In addition, in the case of the prior art provided with some regeneration bins or containers are provided in the form mainly mounted inside the water softener device, there was a problem that is inconvenient in the separation of the regeneration bin itself and the regeneration brine filling, The filter that needs to be replaced or washed together during the replacement is still installed inside the water softener to make replacement / cleaning inconvenient, or the salt used for regeneration does not pass through the filter. There was also a problem of concern.

In addition, most soft water softeners have been made of polypropylene (Polyprophylene: PP) material, which is relatively inexpensive and has good moldability. However, PP has such advantages, while water is easily broken due to the pressure of water circulating in long-term use. There was a problem that occurred.

 The present invention is to overcome the problems of the prior art, the purpose is to remove the water softener cap or ion exchange resin cap, or the inconvenience of requiring a separate separation tool for separation without the need to prepare the brine each time In addition, there is no inconvenience of having to put in the brine, and there is no fear of missing a regeneration cycle for a long time, and there is no burden of failure by not using electricity to the regeneration device, and it is installed inside the water softener device. It is also easy to separate and recharge the regeneration tank itself by not taking the water, and the brine used for regeneration is configured to be used after being purified after passing through the filter, and at the same time, the filter is also configured for easy replacement / cleaning. PP that is relatively inexpensive and has good moldability by being equipped with pressure regulator to adjust uniformly It is to provide a water softener, which can be constructed using materials.

The present invention for this purpose is that the softening device for hot water and the softening device for cold water are configured in one case (not shown), and each softening device has a constant pressure of water supplied for use in softening. Pressure adjusting unit 100 for adjusting; A water purifying part 200 having a detachable filter 210 to supply water to the drainage part 300 after filtering / purifying water supplied from the pressure adjusting part 100; Drainage consisting of a drain valve 310 for selectively supplying the purified water supplied from the water purification unit to any one of the ion exchange unit 400 and the regeneration unit 500 according to whether to perform a softening process or a regeneration process Part 300; An ion exchange part 400 having a cation exchange resin 410 to exchange / remove the divalent cations contained in the water supplied from the drainage part 300; And a regeneration unit 500 including a regeneration unit 500 for storing purified salt and circulating the water supplied from the drainage unit 300 to the ion exchange unit 400. It consists of

The present invention relates to a water softener for softening constant raw water such as tap water by using an ion exchange action of an ion exchange resin, and specifically, by providing a detachable regeneration vessel for salt water regeneration for ion exchange resin regeneration. The maintenance and management of the water softener is easy and convenient, and relates to a water softener configured to be easy to maintain and manage by also having a detachable filter for purifying hot and cold water used for generating soft water.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not intended to be limited thereto.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the water softener of the present invention, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the water softener of the present invention, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the water softener of the present invention, Figure 4 is a water softener of the present invention It is sectional drawing which shows the integer part of.

As shown in Fig. 1, the water softener of the present invention is constructed by incorporating a softening device for hot water and a softening device for cold water into one case (not shown), and each softening device is used for water softening. It is provided with a pressure control unit 100, a removable filter 210 to adjust the pressure of the water to be constant, water purification unit 200 for filtering / purifying the water supplied from the pressure control unit 100 and then supply to the drainage unit 300 ), A drain valve 310 for selectively supplying purified water supplied from the purified water unit to one of the ion exchange unit 400 and the regeneration unit 500 according to whether to perform a softening process or a regeneration process. Removable regeneration unit for storing / removing the ion exchange unit 400 for exchanging / removing the divalent cations contained in the water supplied from the drainage unit 300 by providing a drainage unit 300 and a cation exchange resin 410 With barrel 510 By brine and then screen the water supplied from the drain part 300 is a reproduction unit 500 for circulating the ion exchange unit 400.

Hereinafter, the specific components of the water softener of the present invention configured as described above with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 will be described in detail.

In the present invention, the pressure control unit 100 is composed of a pressure reducing valve 110 that can be used for softening by uniformly adjusting the pressure of hot water or cold water to be supplied.

In this way, the pressure regulator 110 is provided to adjust the pressure uniformly in order to prevent a water softener made of PP (polyprophylene) material from being damaged by high pressure water and leaking. The present invention is provided with a pressure reducing valve 110 as described above to uniformly adjust the pressure of the water used for softening and to supply it to the subsequent softening process, it is relatively inexpensive and good moldability of the PP material is damaged or leaked It can be said that it can be used to make water softener safely without risk.

In the present invention, the water purification unit 200, as shown in Figure 4, is composed of a separate cartridge that is not integrated with the ion exchange unit 400 and the regeneration unit 500, the water purification unit 200 filter 210 is By being detachably mounted to the cartridge, it is configured to allow the user to easily separate and operate only the filter 210 without a special technology or a separate tool when a user wants to wash or replace the filter 210 arbitrarily after a long time of use. .

In the present invention, the drain 300 is a three-way valve 310 that can switch the circulation path of the water in two ways by the user's selection, and the user softens the operation mode of the water softener by operating the valve 310 It consists of a mode switching lever 320 to switch to any one of the mode or playback mode.

If the user thinks that the ion exchange capacity of the ion exchange unit 400 is lowered and the softening efficiency is lowered after using the water softener for a certain period of time, or according to the use cycle described in the manual included in the initial water softener purchase, the mode change is performed at an appropriate time. By switching the lever 320 to the regeneration mode, the ion exchange unit 400 can be regenerated in a state capable of softening.

In the present invention, the cation exchange resin 410 used in the ion exchange unit 400 is a porous bead type styrene-based or acrylic resin having a large specific surface area of 0.3-0.6 mm in diameter. cation-exchange functional groups at the surface, that is ionized with negative charge is used in a substance that has a functional group capable of capturing the positive ions in the water, as such a resin is a sulfonic acid group (-SO ₃ H) or carboxyl group (-COOH) cation As long as it has a functional group which can exchange | exchange, it can be used.

When the brine of the monovalent cation is added to the functional group of the cation exchange resin at the first use of the softener of the present invention, -SO _{3 ^-} X ⁺ or -COO ^- X ⁺ is produced. For example, a functional group for ion exchange is prepared by the following reaction.

R-SO ₃ ^- H ⁺ + Na ⁺ → R-SO ₃ ^- Na ⁺ + H ⁺

In the present invention, the regeneration unit 500 is provided with a removable regeneration container 510, the regeneration unit 500 is also not integrated with the ion exchange unit 400 and the water purification unit 200, as in the case of the water purification unit 200 It is composed of a separate cartridge, the regeneration unit 500, the regeneration container 510 is configured to be removable / mounted on the cartridge, so that after a long time user to replenish, clean or replace the refining salt in the regeneration container 510 When it is configured to be able to easily separate and work only the recycling container 510 without a special technology or a separate tool.

Hereinafter, the operation process according to the softening mode and the regeneration mode of the water softener of the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, in the softening mode, the hot water or cold water supplied through the pressure regulator 100, the pressure reducing valve 110, the water pressure is uniformly adjusted to a pressure of 3kgf / cm ² or less and then supplied to the water purification unit 200. do.

The water supplied to the purified water unit 200 is filtered / purified while passing through the filter 210, purified to the drinking water level, and then supplied to the drain unit 300.

At this time, when it is necessary to wash or replace the filter 210 by using the water softener for a long time, the water purification unit 200 of the water softener of the present invention is a separate cartridge not integrated with the ion exchange unit 400 and the regeneration unit 500. Since the filter unit 200 is configured to be detachable mounting / detachable to this cartridge, the user can open the case without a special technology or separate tools and easy to remove only the filter 210 after washing or replacement work Will be able to perform

The water supplied to the drainage part 300 is supplied to the cation exchange resin 410 of the ion exchange part 400 through the 3-way valve 310 adjusted to the softening mode by the user.

As described above, the cation exchange resin 410 has an anionic functional group generated by addition of brine, taking NaCl as a salt, a sulfonic acid group as a functional group, and Ca ²⁺ ions as a divalent metal ion. Water is softened by exchanging divalent metal ions in water through a chemical reaction as follows.

^{_{2 (R-SO 3 - Na}} +) + Ca 2+ → (R-SO 3 -) 2 Ca 2+ + 2Na +

The water exchanged through the ion exchange resin is thus soft water containing monovalent Na ⁺ that does not affect the hardness instead of Ca ²⁺ or Mg ²⁺ , and is used for drinking water, bathing water, or washing water.

Next, the operation process according to the regeneration mode of the water softener of the present invention is as follows.

First, the hot water or cold water supplied is supplied to the water purifying part 200 while the water pressure is uniformly adjusted to a pressure of ³ kgf / cm ² or less while passing through the pressure adjusting part 100 and the pressure reducing valve 110.

The water supplied to the purified water unit 200 is filtered / purified while passing through the filter 210, purified to the drinking water level, and then supplied to the drain unit 300.

At this time, when it is necessary to wash or replace the filter 210 by using the water softener for a long time, the water purification unit 200 of the water softener of the present invention is a separate cartridge not integrated with the ion exchange unit 400 and the regeneration unit 500. Since the filter unit 200 is configured to be detachable mounting / detachable to this cartridge, the user can open the case without a special technology or separate tools and easy to remove only the filter 210 after washing or replacement work Will be able to perform

Next, the water supplied to the drainage part 300 is supplied to the regeneration part 510 of the regeneration part 500 through the 3-way valve 310 adjusted to the regeneration mode by the user.

The water supplied to the regeneration tank 510 is desalted by dissolving the purified salt and then supplied to the cation exchange resin 410 of the ion exchange unit 400.

In this case, the regeneration operation is performed when the softener is used for a long time and the functionalization of the ion exchange resin 410 is saturated with a divalent cation, so that the softening efficiency is deteriorated. Taking a group as an example and explaining Ca ²⁺ ion as a divalent metal ion, when brine is supplied in this way, regeneration is performed by converting a functional group back to the R-SO ₃ ^- Na ⁺ state through the following chemical reaction. .

^{_{(R-SO 3 -) 2}} Ca 2+ + 2NaCl → 2 (R-SO 3 - Na +) + CaCl 2

The cation exchange resin 410 in which the functional group is recovered through the regeneration process is used again in the softening process, thereby producing soft water.

As the present invention is completed as described above, the softening device for hot water and the softening device for cold water are configured in one case, and each softening device constantly adjusts the pressure of water supplied for use in softening. Pressure control unit; A water purifying part having a detachable filter to supply water to the drainage part after filtering / purifying water supplied from the pressure adjusting part; A drain part comprising a drain valve for selectively supplying purified water supplied from the purified water part to one of an ion exchange part and a regeneration part depending on whether to perform a softening process or a regeneration process; An ion exchange unit for exchanging / removing divalent cations contained in water supplied from the drainage unit by providing a cation exchange resin; And a detachable regeneration tank for storing the purified salt, thereby providing a water softener comprising a regeneration unit for circulating the water supplied from the drainage unit to the ion exchange unit.

As the present invention is completed, there is no inconvenience in that the water softener cap or the ion exchange resin cap needs to be separated or a separate separation tool is required for the separation, and there is no inconvenience in preparing the brine and inputting the prepared brine every time. In addition, there is no fear of missing a regeneration cycle for a long time, there is no burden of failure by not using electricity to the regeneration device, and it is also easy to separate and recharge the regeneration container itself by not taking the form mounted inside the water softener device. In addition, the brine used for regeneration is configured to be used after being purified after passing through the filter, and the filter is also configured for easy replacement / cleaning, and it is relatively inexpensive because a pressure regulator is provided to uniformly adjust the pressure of circulated water. Water softener, which is constructed to be made of PP material with good moldability. It will be able to a.

Claims (5)

In a water softener in which a soft water softening device for hot water and a soft water softening device for cold water are built in one case (not shown), Each softening device, the pressure control unit 100 is provided with a pressure reducing valve 110 for uniformly adjusting the pressure of the water to be used for softening to a pressure of 3kgf / cm ² or less; Water purification unit 200 for filtering / purifying the water supplied from the pressure regulator 100 in a removable filter 210 that is mounted / detached to a separate cartridge that is not integrated into the ion exchange unit 400 and the regeneration unit 500 ; There is provided a 3-way valve 310 for switching the water path to selectively supply the purified water supplied from the purified water unit 200 to any one of the ion exchange unit 400 and the regeneration unit 500, the valve 310 A drain unit 300 having a mode switching lever 320 for switching between the softening mode and the regeneration mode according to whether to operate the water softener operation mode or the regeneration process by manipulating ()); An ion exchange unit (400) provided with a cation exchange resin (410) for exchanging / removing divalent cations contained in water supplied from the drainage unit (300); And Regeneration of the water supplied from the drainage unit 300 after salting and then circulating to the ion exchange unit 400 is mounted / detached in a separate cartridge that is not integrated with the ion exchange unit 400 and the water purification unit 200 Water softener, characterized in that consisting of the regeneration unit 500 for storing the purified salt in the barrel (510). delete delete delete delete

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