KR101621104B1 - Integration flowmeter and softener having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An integrated flow meter and a water pressure regenerative water softener provided with the integrated flowmeter are provided. The disclosed integrated flowmeter includes a gear assembly disposed in a soft water outlet flow path of a water softener and having an impeller having a rotating blade and a first magnetic force member coupled to the rotating blade, a second magnetic force member corresponding to the first magnetic force member, And an indicator for receiving a rotational force from the gear assembly, wherein the second magnetic force body receives rotational force from the first magnetic force body in a non-contact manner.
The present invention can prevent the leakage of water to the outside of the pipeline by integrating the flow rate of the soft water in a non-contact manner by using a plurality of magnetic force bodies respectively connected to the impeller disposed on the channel for soft water and the indicator for the regeneration point do.

Description

Integrated flowmeter and softener having the same -

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an integrated flow meter and a water pressure regenerative water softener provided with the integrated flow meter. More particularly, the present invention relates to an integrated flow meter and a water pressure regenerative water softener provided with the impeller and a plurality of magnetic force elements interlocked with the impeller, And a hydraulic regenerative water softener provided with the integrated flowmeter.

Currently, a water softener installed at a home or office has a basic function of chemically converting water-soluble ions contained in tap water into soft water.

In general, tap water (hard water) contains a large amount of chlorine components used in the purification process, and also contains various heavy metals (ions) such as iron, zinc, lead and mercury which are harmful to human body due to old pipes and water pollution . Although such tap water is not fatal to the human body, if it is used as it is when washing the skin, the metal ion contained in the water and the fatty acid of the soap are combined with each other to produce a metallic foreign substance. Such metallic foreign substances come into contact with the skin, It causes skin diseases or promotes aging of the skin.

In order to prevent this, a water softener was developed which exchanges hardness components Ca2 + and Mg2 + with Na + in the ionic resin by passing tap water through a strongly acidic cation exchange resin of Na + type and is mainly used for cleaning have.

The water softener has a principle of softening Ca2 + and Mg2 + contained in hard water by Na + substitution. For this purpose, the water tank contains a resin tank containing an ion exchange resin of a special polymer compound containing Na + as an essential component. And an ion exchange resin regenerating material such as salt (NaCl) which generates Na + in case or a regenerator in which a regenerant is incorporated.

That is, in the water softener, soft water is continuously passed through the resin tank in contact with the ion exchange resin in a state where a large amount of fine ion exchange resin is stored in the resin tank, thereby producing soft water. The Na + component is reduced by the continuous contact with the hard water, and the NaCl component regenerated water is flowed from the regeneration tank to the resin tank in order to preserve it.

Conventional water softeners generally include a resin tank containing ionic resin which converts raw water supplied from the outside into soft water and a regeneration tank filled with salt for regenerating the regenerated water to restore the ionic resin when the performance of the ionic resin deteriorates do.

The resin tank and the regenerator are connected to the water supply port, the shower means, the water tank outlet, and the like through a connection pipe such as a pipe and a channel switching valve module.

The flow path switching valve module is formed with a flow path, a flow path, and a flow path groove therein so that raw water, soft water, and regenerated water can be sent to each part of the water softener system. That is, the raw water supplied from the outside is supplied to the resin tank and the regenerator, and the flow path is formed so that the softened water can be discharged to the outside by passing the ion water of the resin tank.

After the soft water is produced by using the resin tank for a certain period of time, it is necessary that the regeneration operation is carried out through the process of continuously supplying the raw water to the regenerator for a predetermined period of time during the regeneration process. In the past, after the water softener was installed without the accurate calculation of the training water use time, the regeneration was carried out at regular intervals every predetermined period. This is because not only the calculation of the accurate water quantity is not performed but also the problem of environmental pollution caused by the abuse of the regenerant It is necessary to improve it in terms of causing it.

On the other hand, an attempt has been made to calculate the total amount of the discharged water by installing a separate flow meter on the channel through which the soft water is discharged, and to measure the regeneration time based on the total amount. There is no waterproofing and problems are encountered during the driving process.

In the conventional flow rate measuring method as described above, it is difficult to integrate the accurate water flow rate for the purpose of grasping the regeneration point, and consequently, the product reliability of the water softener itself is deteriorated.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a method of controlling the flow rate of water by integrating the flow rate of soft water in a non-contact manner using a plurality of magnetic force members respectively connected to an impeller disposed on a channel for soft water supply and an indicator And to provide a water pressure regenerative water softener provided with the integrated flowmeter.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an integrated flow meter comprising: an impeller disposed in a soft water outflow channel of a water softener, the impeller having a rotary blade and a first magnetic force coupled to the rotary blade; And a second magnetic force body that is spaced apart from the first magnetic force body and receives a rotational force from the first magnetic force body, do.

The integrated flowmeter includes a hollow valve-shaped valve body in which the impeller is accommodated, the hollow valve-shaped valve body communicating with the soft water outflow channel, a cover disposed above the valve body and receiving the gear assembly, And a blocking panel for isolating the impeller from the gear assembly.

The gear assembly includes a driving gear fixed to the second magnetic force body and at least one driven gear rotating in engagement with the driving gear, and the indicator can be decelerated and rotated by a combination of the driving gear and the driven gear.

A rotation preventing jaw is protruded on the lid, and the rotation preventing jaw can rotate the indicator within a predetermined reference angle range.

The gear assembly may include a reset button for resetting the position of the indicator, and the reset button may be driven by a multi-step pressing method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a water softener comprising a timer switching valve for adjusting a flow direction of raw water supplied from a water inlet, a filter switching valve connected to the timer switching valve, A regeneration tank connected to the timer switching valve and a regeneration tank flow path, a resin tank portion supplied with raw water rectified from the filter portion, and the accumulation flowmeter, wherein the resin tank portion includes a plurality of resin tanks .

The resin tank distributing passage may be distributed to the plurality of resin tanks, and the regenerated water in the regenerating tank or the raw water rectified in the filter portion may be input to the resin tank distributing passage.

The integrated flowmeter of the present invention and the hydraulic regenerative water softener provided with the integrated flowmeter of the present invention described above can use the plurality of magnetic force bodies respectively connected to the impeller disposed on the channel for training and the indicator for the regeneration point, So as to prevent leakage of water to the outside of the pipeline.

In the present invention, the gear portion in the integrated flowmeter and the water line are completely sealed, thereby preventing the rotation failure that may occur in the process of entering the softened water into the integrated flowmeter, thereby increasing the durability.

1 is a perspective view of a water softener equipped with an integrated flowmeter according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the integrated flowmeter according to the present invention,
3 is an exploded perspective view of the integrated flowmeter, and
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig.

These and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an integrated flow meter and a water regenerative water softener having the same according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the integrated flow meter according to the present invention, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the integrating flow meter, and Fig. 4 is a cross- Fig.

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

The overall configuration of the water softener 1000

1, the water softener 1000 includes a timer switching valve 200 for converting a flow path for soft water, raw water, and regenerated water, a filter unit 300 for rectifying the supplied raw water, A resin tank 500 for storing the ionic water and producing soft water, and a cumulative flow meter 600 for calculating the flow rate of the soft water discharged.

First, we look at the flow of the whole enemy, the training, and the reproduction.

The flow direction of the raw water flowing from the water inlet 10 through the original import feeding path 110 is determined by the timer switching valve 200. When the valve mode is set to the raw water mode using the valve shaft 290 of the timer switching valve 200, the supplied raw water is directly discharged through the outflow channel 620. In the raw water mode, the user can use untreated water as it is.

On the other hand, when the valve shaft 290 is set to the training mode, the supplied raw water moves to the filter unit 300 through the filter unit intake flow path 310. The raw water having a rectifying action in the filter unit 300 is transferred to the resin tank unit 500 having a plurality of columns through the resin tank distributing channel 520 to perform the softening operation. Thereafter, the softened water is discharged through the resin tank outflow channel 530, the soft water outflow channel 610, the cumulative flow meter 600, and the outflow channel 620.

When the regeneration mode is set using the valve shaft 290, the supplied raw water is transferred to the regeneration tank 400 through the regeneration tank inlet flow path 410. The regenerated water generated in the regenerator 400 is divided into a plurality of columns on the resin tank part 500 through the resin tank distributing passage 520 and regenerated in the resin tank part 500, The flow path 610, and the outflow channel 620, as shown in Fig.

The timer switch valve 200 supplies the raw water from the water inlet 10 to the original import feeding path 110 and supplies the raw water to either the filter unit 300, the regenerator 400, or the outflow channel 620 I will. The timer switching valve 200 allows the supply of raw water for regeneration to be accurately performed for a predetermined time by using a timer function.

The filter unit 300 can communicate with the timer switching valve 200 through the filter-unit intake flow path 310, and functions to primarily filter foreign matter in the supplied raw water. The material accommodated for the function of the filter unit 300 is not limited unless it is harmful to the human body, and various methods such as activated carbon, reverse osmosis, hollow fiber membrane, and ionization may be used as the rectification method.

The regenerator 400 may be supplied with a flow rate of 150 ml / min, which is a constant flow rate of the raw water flowing through the regeneration passage flow path 410 in accordance with the predetermined reference amount. In the case where the regeneration mode is started, the regeneration unit 400 itself can set the reference inflow amount and check the amount of raw water flowing when the regeneration unit 400 operates. In the meantime, according to the present invention, when water is left in the regenerator 400 after the regeneration is completed, the water is automatically discharged, thereby preventing an accidental risk that may occur due to a high internal pressure in the regenerator 400 .

The resin tank portion 500 is made up of a plurality of columns, and softening occurs in each column. As described above, it is easy to adjust the softened water to a desired temperature by a plurality of divided inner structures.

The integrated flowmeter 600 is a device that measures the amount of discharged water through the resin tank unit 500 and measures the regeneration time, and it is possible to visually confirm the reproduction time point directly through the indicator 666 exposed to the outside . The integrated flow meter 600 senses the flow rate through the rotation of the impeller (not shown) disposed on the soft water outflow channel 610 and receives the flow rate through the non-contact type material to detect the accumulated oil amount for the soft water without any external power .

Configuration of the integrated flow meter 600

Detailed configuration of the integrated flow meter 600 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4. FIG. The integrated flowmeter 600 includes a valve body 630 arranged to communicate on the soft water outlet flow path 610, an impeller 640 housed in the valve body 630, a blocking panel 640 coupled to the upper end of the valve body 630, A gear assembly 660 positioned above the blocking panel 650 and a cover 670 coupled to the blocking panel 650 to receive the gear assembly 660 therein. The blocking panel 650 is disposed between the valve body 630 and the lid 670 and prevents the inflow of the soft water in the valve body 630 into the gear assembly 660.

The valve body 630 has a hollow container shape and a fastening groove 632 is formed at an upper end thereof. The impeller 640 is accommodated in the valve body 630 so that the impeller 640 is rotationally driven. Therefore, a sufficient clearance must be provided so as not to interfere with driving of the impeller 640. The fastening groove 632 is disposed to correspond to the through hole 652 formed on the blocking panel 650. A separate fastening member (not shown) is coupled through the fastening groove 632 and the through hole 652 so that the blocking panel 650 is firmly coupled to the valve body 630.

The impeller 640 includes a first fixed shaft 641 fixed to the valve body 630 across the soft water outflow channel 610 and a first fixed shaft 641 surrounding the first fixed shaft 641, A first magnetic force body 643 connected to the upper portion of the rotary vane 642 and interlocked with the rotation of the rotary vane 642, And a first bearing 644 disposed between the rotary vane 642 and the rotary vane 642. The upper fixing end 641a of the first fixing shaft 641 is inserted and fixed to the lower portion of the intermediate blocking portion 651 formed in the blocking panel 650. [ The rotary vane 642 is rotationally driven by the soft water flowing in the soft water outflow channel 610. The first bearing 644 enables rotation of the rotary vane 642 about the first fixed shaft 641. [

The gear assembly 660 includes a second fixed shaft 661, a rotating rod 662 formed to surround the second fixed shaft 661, and a second rotating shaft 662 connected to the lower portion of the rotating rod 662, A second bearing 664 disposed between the second fixed shaft 661 and the rotating rod 662, a driving gear 665 coupled to the rotating rod 662 and interlocked with the rotating shaft 662, One or more driven gears 668 for receiving power from the driving gear 665 and an indicator 666 for receiving the rotational force from the driving gear 665 and the driven gear 668 and an indicator 666 And a reset button 667 for initializing the reset button 667.

The second magnetic force member 663 of the gear assembly 660 is symmetrically disposed with respect to the first magnetic force member 643 of the impeller 640 with respect to the intermediate blocking member 651 formed on the blocking panel 650. [ The second magnetic force member 663 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the first magnetic force member 643. The magnetic force members 643 and 663 rotate in a noncontact manner by the intermediate blocking portion 651. [ In the present invention, the magnetic force members 643 and 663 may be arranged as a two pole 1900 Gauss ND magnet. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and any kind of object having magnetic properties can be applied.

The driving principle of the gear assembly 660 is as follows. The second magnetic force member 663 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the first magnetic force member 643 of the impeller 640. The rotation shaft 662 and the drive gear 665 are driven at the same rotational speed in accordance with the rotation of the second magnetic force member 663. The driven gear 668, which is in turn engaged with the driving gear 665, rotates the indicator 666 by adjusting the rotational speed at a reduction ratio corresponding to the number of teeth of each gear. Reference numeral 669 in Fig. 3 shows a power transmission direction from the drive gear 665 to the indicator 666 through the driven gear 668. [ In the present invention, when the rotation driving indicator 666 using the driving gear 665 and the driven gear 668 rotates by 270 degrees, 1300 L of soft water flows through the first discharge passage 610 .

The cover 670 is formed with a cover hole 674 corresponding to the protrusion hole 654 formed in the shield panel 650. A separate fastening member (not shown) is coupled through the protrusion hole 654 and the lid hole 674 so that the lid 670 is firmly coupled to the blocking panel 650.

An arc-shaped rotation stop pin 672 protrudes from the rotation center 666a of the indicator 666 at the upper end of the cover 670. In the present invention, the rotation angle of the indicator 666 set in advance for reproduction can be set as the reference angle. The rotation preventing jaw 672 makes an angle of about 90 ° with respect to the rotation center 666a so that the indicator 666 rotates within a reference angle range of about 270 °. That is, the indicator 666 starts to rotate from one end of the rotation preventing jaw 672 until it reaches the other end, and after that, rotation by the rotation preventing jaw 672 is prevented by the rotation preventing jaw 672 .

The reset button 667 causes the indicator 666 to move to the initial position regardless of the current position of the indicator 666. The reset button 667 enhances the push feeling of the user when the reset button 667 is pressed through the two-step contact push structure.

Driving the integrated flow meter 600

Hereinafter, the operation of the integrated flow meter 600 in the water softener 1000 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.

When the water softener 1000 is used for the first time or when the reproducing operation is completed, the user presses the reset button 667 to set the indicator 666 to the initial position. The soft water flowing from the water inlet 10 through the original imported feeding path 110, the timer switching valve 200, the filter unit 300, the resin tank unit 500 and the soft water outflow channel 610 is supplied to the accumulation flow meter 600, The flow rate is cumulatively calculated and supplied to the user through the outflow channel 620 and the outlet 20.

The rotary vane 642 of the impeller 640 located inside the soft water outflow channel 610 rotates in accordance with the flow of the soft water. The first magnetic force body 643 disposed below the intermediate blocking portion 651 of the blocking panel 650 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the rotary vane 642. The second magnetic force member 663 symmetrically disposed with the first magnetic force member 643 and the intermediate blocking member 651 interposed therebetween is rotated without contacting the first magnetic force member 643. That is, the drive proceeds on the gear assembly 660 in a state where inflow of the soft water is blocked. The rotation of the second magnetic force body 663 is connected to the rotation of the indicator 666 via the rotation rod 662, the drive gear 665 and the driven gear 668.

The indicator 666 starts rotating in a clockwise direction from one side of the rotation preventing jaw 672 and rotationally drives an angle of about 270 degrees until reaching the other side of the rotation preventing jaw 672. [ In the case of the 270 ° above, it represents the maximum amount of water used in the water softener 1000 and can be utilized as a measure for maximizing the performance of the resin tank 500.

If the indicator 666 does not reach the other side of the rotation preventing jaw 672, the user can arbitrarily reproduce. In this case, the indicator 666 may be used to initialize and use the indicator 666 have.

As described above, the integrated flowmeter of the present invention integrates the flow rate of the soft water in a non-contact manner by using a plurality of magnetic force bodies respectively connected to the impeller disposed on the channel for soft water and the indicator for the regeneration point, Thereby preventing the leakage of water.

The present invention ensures complete sealing of the gear assembly in the integrated flowmeter from the conduit through which the soft water flows, thereby preventing rotation failure that may occur in the process of entering soft water into the integrated flowmeter, resulting in increased durability.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims. And equivalents should also be considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

10: Water bulb 20: Outlet
110: One source of imported milk
200: Timer switch valve
300: filter unit 310:
400: regenerator 410: regenerator inlet water flow rate
500: Resin tank part 520: Resin tank distributing flow path
530: resin tank outflow channel
600: Integrated flow meter
610: Training water outflow Euro 620: Outflow channel
630: Valve body 640: Impeller
641: first fixed shaft 642: rotary blade
643: first magnetic force body 644: first bearing
650: blocking panel 651: intermediate blocking portion
660: gear assembly 661: second fixed shaft
662: rotation shaft 663: second magnetic force body
664: second bearing 665: drive gear
666: indicator 666a: center of rotation
667: reset button 668: driven gear
670: lid 672:

Claims (7)

An impeller disposed in the soft water outflow channel of the water softener and having a rotating blade and a first magnetic force coupled to the rotating blade;
A gear assembly having a second magnetic force body corresponding to the first magnetic force body, the gear being housed in the cover; And
An indicator receiving rotational force from the gear assembly;
Lt; / RTI >
The second magnetic force body is spaced apart from the first magnetic force body and receives a rotational force,
Wherein a rotation preventing jaw is protruded on the lid, and the rotation preventing jaw causes the indicator to rotate within a predetermined reference angle range.
The method according to claim 1,
A valve body in the form of a hollow container in which the impeller is received and communicated with the soft water outflow channel; And
A blocking panel disposed between the valve body and the lid, the blocking panel isolating the impeller from the gear assembly;
Further comprising a flow meter.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the gear assembly includes a driving gear fixed to the second magnetic force body and at least one driven gear rotating in engagement with the driving gear,
Wherein the indicator is decelerated and rotated by a combination of the drive gear and the driven gear.
delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the gear assembly includes a reset button to initialize the position of the indicator, and wherein the reset button is driven in a multi-step depression mode.
A timer switching valve for controlling the flow direction of the raw water supplied from the water inlet;
A filter unit connected to the timer switching valve and the filter unit through a flow path;
A regeneration tank connected to the timer changeover valve and a regeneration water supply flow path;
A resin tank portion receiving raw water rectified from the filter portion; And
The integrated flowmeter of any one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 5;
/ RTI >
Wherein the resin tank portion is constituted by a plurality of resin tanks.
The method according to claim 6,
The resin tank distributing passage is disposed at the upper end of the resin tank portion and the regenerated water in the rectifying raw water in the filter portion or the regenerated water in the regenerating tank can be input to the plurality of resin tanks Features a water pressure regenerative water softener.

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