KR100639798B1 - Recycling apparatus for water softener - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a regenerator for a softener, which can perform a regeneration operation of an ion exchange resin in a softener simply and quickly and improves the regeneration effect thereof.

The present invention is a refilling agent filling tank disposed outside the column and filled with a regenerant in powder or granules; A raw water supply valve for regeneration that is installed in the middle of the raw water inflow pipe connected to the regeneration agent filling tank from an external water source, and regulates the raw water supply to the regeneration agent filling tank; A water softening valve installed in the middle of the soft water flow passage communicating with the column inlet side of the water softener from one side of the raw water inlet pipe, and controlling the supply of raw water to the column; A regeneration liquid supply valve installed in the middle of the regeneration liquid supply passage communicating with the regeneration agent filling tank from the regeneration agent filling tank, and supplying the regeneration liquid dissolved in the regeneration agent filling tank into the column; A rinse valve installed on the rinse flow passage communicating between the raw water inflow pipe and the regeneration liquid supply passage to supply raw water for rinse into the column; A drain valve installed during the discharge pipe connected from the outlet of the column to drain the regenerated and rinsed raw water; It includes a microcomputer to sequentially control the opening and closing of each valve having a play button for switching the play mode.

Water softener, Play, Play button, Microcomputer, Valve

Description

Recycling apparatus for water softeners

1 is a conceptual diagram showing a regeneration device for a water softener according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a conceptual diagram showing an alternative embodiment to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a conceptual diagram showing a regenerator for a water softener according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a conceptual diagram showing an alternative embodiment to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Brief description of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

5: water softener 10: column

15: refilling tank 20: euro conversion mechanism

31: training oil passage 32: raw water supply passage for regeneration

33: regeneration liquid supply passage 34: rinse passage

35: raw water flow path 41: soft water valve

42: raw water supply valve for regeneration 43: regeneration liquid supply valve

44: rinse valve 45: drain valve

50: micom

The present invention relates to a regenerator for a softener, and more particularly, to a regenerator for a softener, which can easily and quickly perform a regeneration operation of an ion exchange resin in a softener and improves its regeneration effect.

As is widely known, water softeners react raw water such as tap water, natural water, etc. with ion exchange resins, and hard water components such as calcium ions (Ca ²⁺ ) and magnesium ions (Mg ²⁺ ) in raw water are contained in the ion exchange resin. ^It is a device that makes raw water soft water by removing it by substitution with ions

When the water softener is used for a long time, the Na ⁺ of the ion exchange resin is reduced, and the ion exchange resin loses its capacity because hard water components such as Mg ²⁺ and Ca ²⁺ are bonded to the ion exchange resin. Accordingly, the ion exchange resin should be replaced periodically.

In view of this, a regeneration agent containing Na ⁺ ions such as salt (NaCl) or caustic soda (NaOH) or the like is added to the ion exchange resin which has lost its capacity so that the ion exchange resin binds to the Na ⁺ ions again. A water softener that can be recycled and used without replacing the exchange resin has been proposed.

On the other hand, the conventional water softener regeneration method has a manual regeneration method in which the regeneration agent is injected into the water softener body and then shaken to mix well with the ion exchange resin.

This conventional water softener regeneration method has been very cumbersome because the user has to dissolve the regenerant by raw water pressure after the user injects powder or granular salt or potassium chloride into the softener. there was.

In addition, in the conventional water softener regeneration method, the amount of regenerant dissolved is not constant according to the amount of raw water, and the regeneration efficiency is not constant because the amount of regenerant dissolved at the beginning and end of regeneration is not constant. As a result, the regeneration efficiency was lowered.

In addition, the conventional water softener regeneration method has a disadvantage in that the regeneration efficiency is lowered as the consumer artificially adjusts the amount of incoming water or discharges it to a natural state.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages, to make the regeneration process of the water softener more easily and easily, and more efficient use management function by appropriately controlling the amount of supply and discharge of raw water and regeneration solution In addition, it is possible to achieve a regeneration device for water softeners that can maximize the regeneration efficiency of the ion exchange resin by preventing the phenomenon that a large amount of regeneration agent is dissolved at the beginning of regeneration and the concentration of the regeneration agent decreases over time. Its purpose is to.

A first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the regeneration device for a softener comprising a column having an inlet and an outlet, the ion exchange resin packed therein;

A regenerant filling tank disposed outside the column and filled with a regenerant in powder or granules;

A raw water supply valve installed in the middle of the raw water inflow pipe connected to the regeneration agent filling tank from an external water source, intermittent supply of raw water to the regeneration agent filling tank, and regulating the flow rate of the supplied raw water;

A water softening valve installed in the middle of the soft water flow passage communicating from one side of the raw water inlet pipe to the column inlet side of the water softener, intermittent supply of raw water into the column, and adjusting a flow rate of the raw water supplied thereto;

The regeneration liquid supply passage communicating with the regeneration agent filling tank to the water softener flow path is installed in the middle, and supplies regeneration liquid dissolved in the regeneration agent filling tank to the inside of the column, and controls the flow rate of the supplied regeneration liquid. A valve;

A rinse valve installed on the rinse flow passage communicating between the raw water inflow pipe and the regeneration liquid supply passage to supply raw water for rinse into the column;

A drain valve installed during the discharge pipe connected from the outlet of the column to drain the regenerated and rinsed raw water;

It includes a microcomputer to sequentially control the opening and closing of each valve having a play button for switching the play mode.

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a regeneration device for a water softener having a water inlet and an outlet, and including a column filled therein with an ion exchange resin;

A regenerant filling tank disposed outside the column and filled with a regenerant in powder or granules;

A flow path changing mechanism installed at an end of the raw water inflow pipe connected to the lower portion of the regeneration agent filling tank from an external water source and having first and second outlet ports;

Regeneration raw water supply passage communicating with the regeneration agent filling tank from the first exit port of the flow path changing mechanism, intermittently intercepting the raw water supply to the regeneration agent filling tank, and regulating the flow rate of the supplied raw water. A valve;

A water softening valve branched from one side of the raw water supply flow path for regeneration and connected to the column inlet side of the water softener, intermittent to control the raw water supply into the column, and regulating the flow rate of the raw water;

The regeneration liquid supply passage communicated with the water softening valve downstream of the softening flow passage from the refilling filling tank is installed on the way, and the regeneration liquid dissolved in the refilling filling tank is supplied into the column, and the flow rate of the supplied regeneration liquid is supplied. Regenerative liquid supply valve for adjusting;

A rinse valve installed on the rinse flow passage communicating between the regeneration raw water supply passage and the regeneration liquid supply passage to supply raw water for rinse into the column;

A drain valve installed during the discharge pipe connected from the outlet of the column to drain the regenerated and rinsed raw water;

It includes a microcomputer to control the opening and closing of each valve sequentially by having a play button for switching the play mode;

The raw water flow passage is directly communicated with one side of the discharge pipe communicated with the outlet port side of the column from the second outlet port of the flow path changing mechanism, and a discharge port is provided at the end of the discharge pipe.

Preferably, the regeneration raw water supply valve, the rinsing valve and the drain valve have a diameter of 0.5 to 9 mm in an inner flow path thereof.

Preferably, the soft water valve and the regeneration liquid supply valve have a diameter of an inner flow passage in a range of 3 to 15 mm.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 2 show a regeneration device for a softener according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the regeneration device for water softener according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a regeneration agent filling tank 15 disposed outside the column 10 of the water softener 5, and regeneration from an external water source (not shown) Regeneration raw water supply valve 42 installed in the middle of the raw water inlet pipe 16 communicated to the filling tank 15 side, branched from one side of the raw water inlet pipe 16 is communicated to the inlet side of the column 10 The regeneration liquid supply valve 43 provided in the middle of the regeneration liquid supply passage 33 communicated with the water softening valve 41 provided in the middle of the soft water passage 31 and the regeneration agent filling tank 15 to one side of the soft water passage 31. And a rinse valve 44 which is installed in the middle of the rinse flow passage 34 communicated between the raw water inflow pipe 16 and the regeneration liquid supply passage 33 to supply the raw water for rinse into the column, and the column 10. The opening and closing and opening degree of the drain valve 45 and the above-described valves 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 provided in the outlet side pipe of This includes the microcomputer 50.

The water softener 5 to which the regeneration device of the present invention is applied is generally used. As shown, an ion exchange resin is formed inside the column 10 having the inlet 11 and the outlet 12. It is charged.

The regenerant filling tank 15 is disposed outside the column 10 of the water softener, and is filled with a regenerant in the form of powder or granules such as powdered salt or potassium chloride.

The level control sensor 15a is provided inside the refill agent filling tank 15.

The regeneration raw water supply valve 42 is installed in the middle of the raw water inflow pipe 16 communicated from the external water source (not shown) to the antibiotic refilling tank 15, and the regeneration raw water supply valve 42 is It is configured not only to control the supply of raw water to the filling tank 15 but also to adjust the flow rate of the raw water flowing into the regenerant filling tank 15. The raw water flowing into the refilling agent filling tank 15 is dissolved in an appropriate concentration to form a regenerating liquid, which is a column (through a regeneration solution supply passage 33 and a soft water passage 31 described later). 10) flows into.

The regeneration raw water supply valve 42 may be applied to the on-off valve of the type to control the flow of the fluid and easy to adjust the flow rate.

The soft water valve 41 is provided in the middle of the soft water flow passage 31 which is branched from an upstream side of the raw water supply valve 42 for regeneration of the raw water inflow pipe 16 and communicates with the inlet 11 of the column 10. The soft water valve 41 is configured not only to control the supply of raw water into the column 10 but also to regulate the flow rate of the raw water flowing into the column 10.

The soft water valve 41 may be applicable to the on-off valve of the type to control the flow of the fluid and easy to adjust the flow rate.

The regeneration liquid supply valve 43 is provided in the middle of the regeneration liquid supply passage 33 which communicates with the regeneration agent filling tank 15 downstream of the water softening valve 41 of the water softening passage 31. 43 is configured to supply the regeneration liquid in the regenerant filling tank 15 to the column 10, and to adjust the flow rate of the supplied regeneration liquid.

The regeneration solution supply valve 43 may be applied to the on-off valve of the type to control the flow of the fluid and easy flow rate control.

The rinse valve 44 is branched from one side of the raw water inlet pipe 16 (more specifically, corresponding to a downstream side of the branch of the soft water flow passage 31) to communicate with one side of the regeneration liquid supply passage 33. It is installed in the middle of the rinse flow path 34, the regeneration liquid supplied from the regenerant filling tank 15 is diluted, and the raw water for rinsing is supplied into the column 10 where the regeneration process is completed, and the regeneration in the column 10 is completed. It is configured to rinse the ion exchange resin.

Here, the raw water for rinsing is introduced into the column 10 together with the regeneration liquid from the regenerant filling tank 15 to perform a regeneration function or directly into the column 10 without passing through the regenerant filling tank 15. The raw water used for rinsing the ion exchange resin which has flowed in and completed the regeneration in the column 10 is collectively referred to.

The drain valve 45 is installed in the middle of the water discharge pipe 12a communicating with the water outlet 12 of the column 10 and configured to drain the regenerated and rinsed raw water to the outside.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 1, one side of the water discharge pipe 12a (corresponding to the upstream side of the drain valve 45) branched discharge pipe 19a for discharging the softened raw water, this discharge pipe The discharge port 19 is provided in the end part of 19a.

Alternatively, the discharge pipe 19a is communicated to the second outlet 13 side formed separately below the column 10 of the water softener 5, as shown in FIG. It may be possible to separate and discharge the raw water used for the rinse.

Here, the discharge port 19 installed at the end of the discharge pipe 19a may be used for various purposes, such as a kitchen counter, a bath tub, a body shower, a pool tub, a bathroom booth, and the like.

The microcomputer 50 is electrically connected to the soft water valve 41, the raw water supply valve 42 for regeneration, the regeneration liquid supply valve 43, the rinse valve 44, and the drain valve 45 described above. On one side thereof, a playback button 51 is provided to switch the playback mode, and when the user turns on the playback button 51, the playback process described later is automatically performed.

On the other hand, the regeneration raw water supply valve 42 it will be desirable to limit the diameter of the inner flow path in the range of 0.5 ~ 9mm to prevent the regeneration of the regenerant instantaneously due to the rapid inflow of raw water.

In addition, in the case of the rinse valve 44, when the amount of raw water for rinsing is excessive, the concentration of the regeneration solution may be lowered to reduce the regeneration efficiency. When the rinse water is excessively introduced into the internal flow passage, the regeneration solution is supplied. Since it may interfere with the supply of the regeneration liquid through the valve 43, it would be desirable to limit the diameter of the inner flow path in the range of 0.5 ~ 9mm.

In addition, in the case of the drain valve 45, when the diameter of the inner flow passage is increased, the diluted regeneration liquid in which the raw water and the regeneration liquid are mixed may react with the ion exchange resin in the column 10. Since the time can be reduced, it would be desirable to limit the diameter of the internal flow path in the range of 0.5 to 9 mm to prevent this.

Corresponding to the internal flow path diameters of the regeneration raw water supply valve, the rinse valve, and the drain valves 42, 44, and 45, the soft water valve and the regeneration liquid supply valves 41, 43 have a diameter of 3.0 to About 15.0 mm would be preferred.

The regeneration process of this invention comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated in detail as follows.

First, when the user turns on the regeneration button 51, the microcomputer 50 closes the soft water valve 41 and then opens the regeneration water supply valve 42.

When the regeneration raw water supply valve 42 is opened, the raw water flows into the regenerant filling tank 15, and the regenerant in powder or granule form in the regenerant filling tank 15 is dissolved and regenerated at an appropriate concentration by the raw water. It becomes liquid.

Next, when it is detected that the raw water flowing into the regenerant filling tank 15 is full by the water level control sensor 15a in the regenerant filling tank 15, the raw water supply valve 42 for regeneration by the microcomputer 50 is The regeneration liquid supply valve / rinse valve and the drain valves 43, 44, and 45 are opened.

At this time, after a predetermined time elapses after the regeneration liquid supply valve 43 is opened, the rinse valve 44 and the drain valve 45 are opened.

Due to the opening of the regeneration liquid supply valve 43, the regeneration liquid in the regenerant filling tank 15 falls to the natural load and flows into the regeneration liquid supply passage 33, and at the same time, the opening of the rinse valve 44 is performed. As a result, a slight negative pressure is generated on the downstream side of the regeneration liquid supply valve 43, so that the regeneration liquid is more smoothly supplied to the soft water flow passage 31, and the raw water for rinsing is opened by opening the rinse valve 44. The rinse flow path 34 flows into the regeneration solution supply passage 33 to dilute the regeneration solution from the refill agent filling tank 15.

The regeneration solution is introduced into the column 10 of the water softener 5 by the opening operation of the regeneration solution supply valve and the rinse valves 43 and 44 to regenerate the ion exchange resin.

The regeneration liquid used for this regeneration is again discharged to the outside through the drain valve 45 and the water discharge pipe 12a, the regeneration liquid supply valve 43 is closed after a predetermined time has elapsed, the regeneration process is completed. .

On the other hand, the rinse raw water is continuously supplied to the column 10 through the rinse valve 44, which is still open, to rinse various foreign substances remaining in the ion exchange resin in the column 10.

Again, the rinsing process is completed as the rinsing valve 44 and the drain valve 45 are closed after a certain time has elapsed.

Then, when the user turns off the regeneration button 51 of the microcomputer 50, the soft water valve 41 is opened by the microcomputer 50, thereby being supplied through the raw water inlet pipe 16 Raw water is introduced into the column 10 of the water softener 5 to be softened, and the softened raw water is discharged through the discharge port 19 of the water softener 5.

3 and 4 are views showing a water softener regeneration device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The regeneration device for water softener according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a regeneration agent filling tank (15) disposed outside the column (10) of the water softener (5), and a flow path conversion mechanism provided at an end of the raw water inlet pipe (16). 20, a regeneration raw water supply valve 42 provided in the regeneration raw water supply passage 32 communicating with the regeneration agent filling tank 15 from the first outlet port 22 of the flow path conversion mechanism 20, and the regeneration The water softening valve 41 branched from one side of the water feed valve 42 and provided in the soft water flow passage 31 communicated with the inlet side of the column 10, and the soft water flow passage from the regenerant filling tank 15 ( The rinse flow passage 34 communicated between the regeneration liquid supply valve 43 installed in the regeneration liquid supply passage 33 connected to one side of the 31, and the regeneration water supply passage 32 and the regeneration liquid supply passage 33. A rinse valve 44 for supplying raw water for rinse into the column, a drain valve 45 provided at the outlet side pipe of the column 10, and each of the above-described valves ( And a microcomputer 50 for controlling the opening and closing of 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45.

The flow path conversion mechanism 20 is installed at the end of the raw water inlet pipe 16, the inlet port 21 through which the end of the raw water inlet pipe 16 communicates, and the first and second outlet ports for discharging the raw water in two directions. Has (22, 23).

The outlet ports 22 and 23 are composed of a first outlet port 22 used in the regeneration and water softening process, and a second outlet port 23 directly communicating with the discharge port 19 side of the water softener 5.

On the other hand, the flow path conversion mechanism 20 is applied to the two-way switching valves of various forms such that the inlet port 21 selectively communicates with the first and second outlet ports 22, 23 by a manual operation of the user. It will be possible.

The regeneration raw water supply passage 32 communicates with the first outlet port 22 of the flow path conversion mechanism 20, and the regeneration raw water supply passage 32 is connected to the regeneration agent filling tank 15. The regeneration raw water supply valve 42 is provided in the middle of the regeneration raw water supply passage 32, and the water softening flow passage 31 branches upstream of the regeneration raw water supply valve 42 of the regeneration raw water supply passage 32. In communication with the inlet 11 of the column 10.

The raw water flow passage 35 communicates with the second outlet port 23 of the flow path conversion mechanism 20, and the end of the raw water flow passage 35 communicates with the outlet ports 12, 13 of the column 10. It communicates with the discharge piping 19a. When the inlet port 21 of the flow path changing mechanism 20 is switched to the second outlet port 23 by the raw water flow path 35, the raw water flows through the raw water flow path 35 without going through the above-described softening and regeneration process. Through the discharge port 19 of the water softener (5) through.

In addition, since the rest of the configuration and operation relationship of the present embodiment is the same as the first embodiment of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

According to the present invention as described above, the opening degree of each valve (41, 42, 43, 44, 45) and the valves (41, 42, 43, 44) by the microcomputer can be measured by the amount of inflow and discharge of raw water and regeneration liquid in the regeneration process. , 45) can be controlled by the diameter of the internal flow path has the advantage of giving the user a more convenient and efficient use management function.

In addition, the present invention has the advantage of maximizing the regeneration efficiency by minimizing the variation in the concentration of the regeneration solution according to the dissolution time of the regenerant.

In addition, the present invention can be installed in parallel to the countertop, washbasin, bathtub, body shower, pool bath, bathroom booth, etc. in addition to the water softener can further extend the range of use, thereby achieving a more comfortable and comfortable kitchen and bathroom culture can do.

As described above, the present invention enables a simpler and easier regeneration process of the water softener, and achieves a more efficient use management function by appropriately controlling the amount of supply and discharge of raw water and regeneration solution, and also regeneration. It is possible to maximize the regeneration efficiency of the ion exchange resin by dissolving a large amount of regenerant in the beginning and preventing the concentration of the regenerant decreases with time.                     

In the above, the present invention has been illustrated and described with respect to certain preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art may vary without departing from the spirit of the technical idea of the present invention described in the claims below. It may be changed.

Claims (4)

A regeneration device for a water softener having a water inlet and an outlet, and including a column filled therein with an ion exchange resin; A regenerant filling tank disposed outside the column and filled with a regenerant in powder or granules; A raw water supply valve installed in the middle of the raw water inflow pipe connected to the regeneration agent filling tank from an external water source, intermittent supply of raw water to the regeneration agent filling tank, and regulating the flow rate of the supplied raw water; A water softening valve installed in the middle of the soft water flow passage connected to the column inlet side of the water softener from one side of the raw water inlet pipe, to control the supply of raw water to the column and to adjust the flow rate of the raw water supplied thereto; The regeneration solution which is installed in the middle of the regeneration solution supply passage communicating with the regeneration agent filling tank from the refilling agent filling tank, supplies regeneration solution dissolved in the regenerant filling tank to the inside of the column, and regulates the flow rate of the regenerating solution supplied thereto. A supply valve; A rinse valve installed on the rinse flow passage communicating between the raw water inlet pipe and the regeneration liquid supply passage to supply raw water for rinse into the column; A drain valve installed during the discharge pipe connected from the outlet of the column to drain the regenerated and rinsed raw water; A microcomputer for controlling the opening and closing of each valve sequentially by having a play button for switching a play mode; A discharge pipe is connected to the outlet port side of the column, and a discharge port is provided at an end of the discharge pipe. A regeneration device for a water softener having a water inlet and an outlet, and including a column filled therein with an ion exchange resin; A regenerant filling tank disposed outside the column and filled with a regenerant in powder or granules; A flow path changing mechanism installed at an end portion of the raw water inflow pipe communicating from the external water source to the lower portion of the refilling filling tank and having first and second outlet ports; Regeneration raw water which is installed in the middle of the regeneration water supply flow path communicating with the regeneration agent filling tank from the first outlet port of the flow path changing mechanism, intercepts the raw water supply to the regeneration agent filling tank, and regulates the flow rate of the supplied raw water. A supply valve; A water softening valve branched from one side of the raw water supply flow passage for regeneration and connected to the column inlet side of the water softener, intermittent to control the raw water supply into the column, and regulating the flow rate of the raw water; A regeneration liquid supply flow passage communicating with the water softening valve downstream of the water softening flow passage from the regenerant filling tank is provided in the middle, and supplies regeneration liquid dissolved in the regenerant filling tank into the column, and the flow rate of the regenerating liquid supplied therefrom. A regenerative liquid supply valve for regulating it; A rinse valve installed on the rinse flow passage communicating between the regeneration raw water supply passage and the regeneration liquid supply passage to supply raw water for rinse into the column; A drain valve installed during the discharge pipe connected from the outlet of the column to drain the regenerated and rinsed raw water; It includes a microcomputer to control the opening and closing of each valve sequentially by having a play button for switching the play mode; And a discharge port is connected directly to one side of the discharge pipe communicating with the raw water flow path from the second outlet port of the flow path changing mechanism at the outlet port side of the column, and a discharge port is provided at the end of the discharge pipe. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The regeneration raw water supply valve, the rinse valve and the drain valve is characterized in that the diameter of the inner passage is in the range of 0.5 ~ 9mm. The method of claim 3, The softening valve and the regeneration liquid supply valve is a regeneration device for a softener, characterized in that the diameter of the inner passage is in the range of 3 ~ 15mm.

Images