KR101584815B1 - A water purifier having the ion generator - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a water purifier provided with an ion generating device for suppressing bacterial growth inside a water tank.

The present invention relates to a filtration device for filtration, which comprises a body forming a skeleton and provided with a predetermined space therein, a filter part provided in the body and connected to the raw water conveying pipe, for removing foreign matter contained in the supplied raw water, The ion generating device includes an ion generating device provided at one side of the water reservoir and communicating with the water reservoir to store the water inside the water reservoir, Air is sucked in, and air is sucked into the air to generate ion clusters and then supplied to the water tank.

According to the present invention as described above, bacterial growth inside the water storage tank can be prevented.

Water purifier, water tank, filter, ion generator, anion, cation

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a water purifier having an ion generating device,

The present invention relates to a water purifier provided with an ion generating device.

Generally, a water purifier is a device that removes impurities by filtering water by physical and chemical methods. It removes the impurities contained in the raw water through a filter, stores the purified water in the water reservoir, and by cooling or heating it, It is configured so that water can be selected and taken out.

However, since water can be deteriorated due to bacterial growth if water is not extracted and stored for a long period of time in the water tank, various devices and methods for solving the problems have been studied.

An object of the present invention is to provide a water purifier capable of suppressing bacteria in a water reservoir by supplying ion clusters together with air circulated while circulating air inside the water reservoir through the ion generator at one side of the water reservoir will be.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a water purifier that allows the ion generating device to be provided with clean air that has passed through an air purification filter and introduced into a water storage tank to generate ion clusters.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a water purifier for allowing the ion generating device to operate in accordance with the water level sensing information in the water reservoir.

The present invention relates to a filtration device for filtration, which comprises a body forming a skeleton and provided with a predetermined space therein, a filter part provided in the body and connected to the raw water conveying pipe, for removing foreign matter contained in the supplied raw water, The ion generating device includes an ion generating device provided at one side of the water reservoir and communicating with the water reservoir to store the water inside the water reservoir, Air is sucked in, and air is sucked into the ion clusters, and then the ions are re-supplied to the reservoir.

In the present invention, the outside air is introduced into the water storage tank through the air purification filter, and the air introduced into the water storage tank is again supplied to the ion generating device to be converted into ionized air.

The ionized air converted by the ion generating device is again supplied to the inside of the water reservoir to sterilize the inside of the water reservoir, thereby preventing bacterial growth inside the water reservoir.

In addition, by supplying the ionized air re-supplied by the ion generating device into purified water contained in the water reservoir, anion can be abundantly contained in the purified water.

In addition, according to the present invention, the ionized air generated by the ion generating device can be discharged to the outside of the main body through a separate ionizing air discharge pipe by a user operation, so that the function of the anion generating device in the water purifier can be performed simultaneously .

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the spirit of the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown and that those skilled in the art, upon reading and understanding the spirit of the invention, may easily suggest other embodiments within the scope of the same concept.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a water purifier according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which a top cover is removed in FIG.

Referring to these drawings, the water purifier 1 according to the present invention has an outer appearance formed by a main body 10 forming a skeleton, a case 100 mounted on the main body 10, and a plurality of covers.

4), a water tank (see FIG. 4), a hot water tank (see FIG. 4) and a cold water tank 640 (see FIG. 4) ), And is formed such that one side thereof is opened at a certain portion for easy management of the filter unit 500 (see FIG. 4).

That is, the filter cover 20 is selectively mounted on one opening of the opened main body 10, and the replacement of the filter after the removal of the filter cover 20 can be facilitated.

A case 100 is formed on the front side of the main body 10 to form a part of the front and side surfaces, and a top cover 30 is mounted on the top side to form an upper surface.

The case 100 is provided with an operation unit 200 capable of inputting a control command as well as a state of use of the water purifier and is provided at the lower side of the operation unit 200 with a take- 300).

The operation unit 200 includes a plurality of selection buttons. That is, the operation unit 200 includes an anion generation button 220 for operating the ion generating device 800, which will be described in detail below, as well as a user selecting hot water and cold water, taking out water continuously, and the like.

In addition, a plurality of images and light emitting means are provided near the selection button to notify corresponding information such as confirmation of selection information, temperature of purified water, and replacement time of a filter.

The take-out means 300 is configured to separate water from the take-out unit 400 when the user presses it, and is divided into a hot water lever 320 and a cold water lever 340. A hot water outlet 420 is provided on the upper side of the hot water lever 320 and a cold water outlet 440 is provided on the upper side of the cold water lever 340 to supply water of a temperature selected by the user .

The case 100 may further include a water receiving unit 140 for receiving water supplied through the take-out unit 400 and a water receiving cover 160 mounted on the water receiving unit 140 at the lower end of the case 100 The water receptacle 140 may be selectively separated to allow the user to empty the water contained therein.

On the other hand, an air inflow part 32 is provided at one side of the top cover 30 so that outside air can be introduced into the top cover 30. Here, the air inlet 32 may further include a filter member for filtering dust and foreign substances contained in the outside air.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the top cover 30 is removed, the reservoir cover 610 that covers the upper side of the reservoir 600 is exposed to the outside.

The water tank cover 610 can be selectively detached / mounted by holding a handle 612 formed on the upper surface of the water tank cover 610. The outer air flowing through the air inlet 32 is formed on the upper surface of the water tank cover 610, An air purifying filter 660 is further provided so that a portion thereof is cut so that it can be introduced into the water storage tank 600 (see FIG. 4) and external dust or foreign matter is prevented from flowing into the water storage tank 600 (see FIG. 4).

4) is sucked into the upper surface of the main body 10 to generate ionized air and re-supplies the generated ionized air to the inside of the water storage tank 600 (see FIG. 4) Apparatus 800 is further provided.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a structure of an ion generating device which is a main constituent of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a view schematically showing a water pipe and a control structure of a water purifier according to the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the ion generating device 800 includes a housing 810 forming an outer appearance, an ion cluster generator 820 provided inside the housing 810 to generate ionized air, And a discharge duct 860 for transferring the generated ionized air to the water storage tank 860 and an air transfer pipe 830 serving as a suction path of air for generating ionized air, A transfer pipe 870 is included.

In detail, the housing 810 is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape to have a predetermined space therein, and may be fixed to the upper surface of the main body 10 using a fastening member such as a screw.

A suction port 812 having a predetermined size is formed on a surface of the housing 810 in contact with the main body 10 so that the air introduced into the water storage tank 600 can be introduced into the housing 810, A portion of the body 10 corresponding to the inlet 812 is cut out.

The air inlet pipe 830 is connected to the suction port 812 to guide the air inside the water reservoir 600 into the housing 810.

In detail, the air transfer pipe 830 is fixed to the upper part of the water reservoir 600 in the main body 10 so as to be connected to the inside thereof, and the other side is connected to communicate with the suction port 812. Here, it is preferable that the connecting portion of the air transfer pipe 830 on the side of the water storage tank 600 is connected to a position higher than the full water level of the water storage tank 600.

The ion cluster generator 820 generates ionized air using the air in the water reservoir 600 flowing through the connection structure as described above. The ion cluster generator 820 includes a high voltage generating part and a surface ion generating part And a container in which the high voltage generating unit and the ion generating unit are accommodated.

That is, when a high voltage generating unit is accommodated in the container, and an ion generating unit is provided above the high voltage generating unit and power is applied to the high voltage generating unit, a discharge is generated by activated carbon fibers of the ion generating unit, do.

Here, the ion generating part may be formed of activated carbon fiber, and the activated carbon fiber may be coated with noble metal nanoparticles of any one of gold, silver platinum, copper, aluminum, chromium, tungsten, and molybdenum.

Further, a container cover having a slit is formed on the ion generating part, so that the ion generating passage can be formed while fixing the ion generating part on the upper side.

In the housing 810, a blowing fan 840 for blowing the ionized air generated by the ion cluster generator 820 in one direction, and an ionized air conveyed by the blowing fan 840, The discharge duct 860 guides the discharge duct 860 so that the discharge duct 860 can be discharged.

3, the blowing fan 840 may be provided between the ion cluster generator 820 and the discharge duct 860 and may be provided between the inlet 812 and the ion cluster generator 820 .

The ionized air discharged through the discharge duct 860 is supplied again to the inside of the water storage tank 600 through the ionized air transfer pipe 870.

The connecting portion of the ionizing air transfer pipe 870 on the side of the water storage tank 600 is formed below the height of the water storage tank 600 so that the ionized air supplied through the ionizing air transfer pipe 870 flows into the water storage tank 600 And the sterilized water can be sterilized.

On the other hand, the water storage tank 600 is provided with water level sensing means 700 for preventing water overflow and water level sensing.

The water level sensing means 700 includes a water level sensor 720 composed of a plurality of level sensors for sensing the water level in the water level tank 600 in a plurality of stages and a water level sensor 720 rising like a water level of the water level tank 600, And a float switch 740 for mechanically shutting off the raw water flowing through the water line 910.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a water pipe and a control structure of a water purifier according to the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, the water pipe of the water purifier 1 according to the present invention is provided with a raw water conveying pipe 910 connected to a water source for supplying raw water.

The raw water conveyance pipe 910 is provided with a filter unit 500 for performing a plurality of filtering processes to filter the foreign substances contained in the raw water, And is transferred to the water storage tank 600 through the transfer pipe 920 and accommodated.

The filter unit 500 includes a sediment filter 520 for filtering off debris and contaminants contained in raw water, a free carbon filter 540 for filtering residual chlorine and volatile organic compounds, A membrane filter 560 for removing microorganisms and the like, and a post-carbon filter 580 for removing bacteria and odors remaining in the filtered water through the membrane filter 560.

The membrane filter 560 filters the water flowing through the reverse osmosis membrane. Water passing through the micropores formed in the reverse osmosis membrane is transferred to the post-carbon filter 580, and the water that has not passed through the reverse osmosis membrane passes through the membrane filter And is discharged to the outside through a domestic water discharge pipe 562 connected to the domestic water discharge pipe 560.

The drain water discharge pipe 562 may further include a drain resistor 564 for adjusting the amount of domestic water drained.

Between the sediment filter 520 and the free carbon filter 540, a solenoid valve 930 for selectively limiting the supply of raw water and a flow rate of water supplied to the free carbon filter 540 are detected, A flow sensor 940 for checking the flow rate of the fluid.

On the other hand, the solenoid valve 930 is selectively opened and closed by the water level sensing means 700. In detail, when the full water level is sensed by the water level sensor 720, which is one component of the water level sensing means 700, the water level sensing sensor 720 delivers the full water level sensing signal to the controller 50.

The controller 50 blocks the solenoid valve 930 to prevent the supply of the raw water to prevent the water level in the water tank 600 from rising.

When the rise of the water level is interrupted as described above, the control unit 50 operates the ion generating device 800 to circulate the air in the water storage tank 600 so that the sterilization process can be performed.

Here, the operation of the ion generating device 800 may be performed together with the shielding of the solenoid valve 930 as described above. If necessary, the controller 50 may maintain a predetermined waiting time using a timer, The control circuit may be designed to operate after the time is completed, and may be operated using the anion generation button 220 described above.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a path through which air in the water storage tank is circulated by the ion generating device constituting the essential part of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the control process of the ion generating device according to the present invention .

Referring to these figures, when power is supplied to the water purifier 1 according to the present invention and the solenoid valve 930 is opened, the raw water is supplied to the filter unit 500 through the raw water conveying pipe 910, The purified water is received in the water tank 600, and the water level in the water tank 600 rises.

When the anion generating button 220 is turned on by the user when the water level of the water storage tank 600 is below the high water level, the ion generating device 800 operates to allow the air inside the water storage tank 600 to flow into the housing 810 and is converted into ionized air, and the converted air is supplied into the water storage tank 600 through the ionized air transfer pipe 870 to sterilize the inside of the water storage tank 600.

Here, the control unit 50 sets the operation time of the ion generating device 800 when the negative ion generating button 220 is turned on, so that the ion generating device is operated for a predetermined time and then stopped automatically can do.

On the other hand, when the water level of the water storage tank 600 is higher than a full water level, a full water level is sensed through the water level sensing means 700 and the solenoid valve 930 is shut off and the supply of raw water is interrupted.

At the same time, the control unit 50 may transmit an operation signal to the ion generator 800 to supply the ionized air to the inside of the water storage tank 600. Alternatively, the timer may be provided with a timer, 800 and then controls the ion generating device 800 to operate after completion of the set time.

The air circulation and sterilization process of the water tank 600 continues until the power supply of the water purifier 1 is cut off.

7 is a view showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a view showing a feeding path of the divorced air generated by the ion generating apparatus shown in FIG. 7, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control process of the ion generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG.

As shown in these drawings, in another embodiment of the present invention, the discharging paths of the ionized air generated by the ion generating device 800 are separated into two parts in a state in which most of the configurations are the same as those of the above embodiment.

7, the negative ion emitting portion 190 is formed on one side of the case 100 provided on the front side of the main body 10 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

The anion emitting portion 190 may be formed on the upper surface or the side surface of the case 100 so as not to hinder the overall appearance of the case 100. In this embodiment, The negative ion emitting portion 190 is formed.

The operation unit 200 provided in the case 100 is further provided with an anion ejection button 240 together with an anion generation button 220.

The anion emitting unit 190 formed as described above is connected to the ionizing air discharge pipe 890 branched from the ionizing air conveying pipe 870 of the above embodiment to generate ionized air generated in the ion generating apparatus 800 So that it can be discharged to the outside space.

A damper 892 is provided between the ionizing air transfer pipe 870 and the ionizing air discharge pipe 890 so that air can be selectively flowed toward the water storage tank 600 or the anion emitting unit 190. do.

That is, when the damper 892 shields the ionizing air conveying pipe 870, the ionizing air is discharged to the outside through the negative ion discharging unit 190 through the ionizing air discharging pipe 890, The ionized air is recycled to the water storage tank 600 when the ionized air discharge pipe 890 is shielded.

When the water level of the water tank 600 is less than a full water level, the damper 892 operated as described above is turned on / off of the anion discharge button 240 in a state that the negative ion generating button 220 is on (Off).

That is, when the anion discharge button 240 is turned off, the damper 892 shuts off the ionizing air discharge pipe, and the ionized air is supplied only to the inside of the water storage tank 600 The position is moved.

On the other hand, when the anion discharging button 240 is turned on, the ionizing air conveying pipe 870 is shielded by the damper 892 so that the ionizing air is only discharged to the outside through the anion emitting unit 190 .

When the water level of the water tank 600 becomes a high water level, the supply of the raw water to the inside of the water tank 600 is blocked. Therefore, the water contained in the water tank 600 is taken out through the water tank 300 If it does not exist, it will remain in the water level.

Therefore, in such a case, bacterial growth may occur. Therefore, when the damper 892 shields the ionizing air discharge pipe 890 and the ionization generating apparatus 800 is operated, the ionized air is only supplied to the inside of the water storage tank 600 Thereby forming a flow path of the ionized air so as to be supplied.

The air circulation and sterilization process of the water storage tank 600 and the series of processes of discharging the anion out of the main body 10 as described above are automatically stopped after being operated for the set time in the control unit 50, And continues until the power supply of the water purifier 1 is cut off.

1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a water purifier according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the top cover is removed in FIG. 1; FIG.

3 is a view showing a structure of an ion generating device which is a main component of the present invention.

4 is a schematic view of a water piping and control structure of a water purifier according to the present invention;

5 is a view showing a path through which the air in the water storage tank is circulated by the ion generating device which is a main component of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart showing a control process of the ion generating device according to the present invention.

7 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a view showing a feeding path of the divorced air generated by the ion generating device shown in Fig.

9 is a flowchart showing a control process of the ion generating device according to the embodiment shown in FIG.

Description of the Related Art [0002]

1 ... water purifier 10 ...... body

20 ...... Filter cover 30 ...... Top cover

32 ...... Air inlet part 50 ...... Control part

100 ..... case 190 ..... negative ion emitting part

200 ..... Control panel 220 ..... Negative ion generation button

300 ..... takeout means 400 ..... takeout portion

500 ..... filter part 600 ..... water tank

660 ..... air purifying filter 700 ..... level detecting means

720 ..... Level sensor 740 ..... Float switch

800 ..... Ion generator 810 ..... Housing

812 ..... inlet 820 ..... ion cluster generator

830 ..... air conduit 840 ..... blowing fan

860 ..... discharge duct 870 ..... ionized air conveying pipe

890 ..... ionizing air discharge pipe 892 ..... damper

Claims (8)

A body forming a skeleton and provided with a predetermined space therein; A filter unit provided in the main body and connected to the raw water conveying pipe to remove foreign matter contained in the supplied raw water; A water storage tank in which the filtered water is received by the filter unit and air purified through the air filter is introduced into the water storage tank; An ion generating device connected to the water storage tank for converting the air supplied from the water storage tank into ionized air by generating ions; And And an ionized air conveying pipe for re-supplying the ionized air into the water storage tank by connecting the ion generating device and the water storage tank, And supplying ionized air to the purified water in the water tank to sterilize the purified water, and when the water level in the water tank is less than a full water level, ionized air is supplied to the water tank interior space, And the inner space can be sterilized. The water treatment system according to claim 1, The water purifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a water level sensing means for sensing the water level, wherein the ion generating device is selectively operated according to the water level sensing information of the water level sensing means. The ion generating device according to claim 1, A housing fixed to one side of the main body, A suction port formed at one side of the housing to allow the air inside the water reservoir to be introduced into the housing through an air transfer pipe, An ion cluster generator provided inside the housing and including a high voltage generating part and a planar negative ion generating part made of activated carbon fiber; A blowing fan provided inside the housing for forcing air flow inside the housing, A discharge duct for guiding the ionized air conveyed by the blowing fan to be discharged from the inside of the housing, And an ionizing air transfer pipe connecting the discharge duct and the water storage tank to guide the ionized air to be supplied into the water storage tank. The method of claim 3, And the discharge duct is connected at a position higher than the full water level of the water reservoir. The method of claim 3, Wherein the connection portion of the air transfer pipe on the water storage tank is connected to a position higher than the full water level of the water storage tank, Wherein the connection portion of the ionizing air transfer pipe on the water storage tank side is connected to the water storage tank at a level lower than the full water level of the water storage tank. The method according to claim 1, A case having a control unit capable of controlling input by a user while forming a part of an external appearance is mounted on the front side of the main body, and the operation unit further includes an anion generating button for allowing the ion generating apparatus to be operated by user's selection water purifier. 4. The ion generating device according to claim 3, An ionized air discharge tube for guiding the generated ionized air to be discharged to the outside of the main body, A water tank side damper which shields the ionized air transfer pipe when the ionized air generated through the ionized air discharge pipe is discharged to the outside of the main body; And a discharge side damper for shielding the ionizing air discharge pipe when the generated ionized air is supplied again to the water storage tank. 8. The method of claim 7, And an anion emitting unit connected to the ionizing air discharge pipe and discharging the ionized air generated in the ion generating apparatus to an external space.

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