KR19980084162A - Activated carbon regeneration device for washing machine and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an activated carbon regeneration device of a washing machine and a method thereof. The present invention relates to a washing machine having an activated carbon for removing organic substances and a surfactant contained in the rinsing water, wherein the contaminated rinsing water is reused. Backwashing means for backwashing organic matter present in the activated carbon, first measuring means for measuring a surfactant concentration of the filtered water passing through the activated carbon, and COD of the washing water backwashed the activated carbon by the backwashing means Control means for determining whether to backwash and reuse the activated carbon according to the second measuring means for measuring, the surfactant concentration of the filtered water measured by the first measuring means, and the COD of the washing water measured by the second measuring means. Consists of hot water, backwashing and regenerating the organic matter present in the activated carbon can extend the life of the activated carbon. .

Description

Activated carbon regeneration device for washing machine and method

The present invention relates to a washing machine equipped with a rinsing water treatment apparatus for filtering and reusing rinsing water, and more particularly, to an activated carbon regenerating apparatus and a method for regenerating activated carbon, which is one of the components of the rinsing water treatment apparatus, using hot water. .

In general, the washing process of the washing machine is largely composed of a washing stroke for washing the laundry, a rinsing stroke for rinsing the laundry, and a dehydrating stroke for dehydrating the laundry.

In addition, when the washing stroke, rinsing stroke and dehydration stroke are subdivided into stages again, the washing stroke is again made up of the water supply function, the washing function, the draining function and the intermittent dehydration function, and the rinsing stroke is the stop function, the water supply function, the rinsing function, and the drainage function. It consists of a function and a filtration function, and the dehydration stroke consists of a dehydration function and a stop function.

Conventional washing machine to wash according to the washing process as described above, as shown in Figure 1, the inside of the main body 1 to form an appearance through a plurality of tension bars not shown to prevent vibration during washing and dehydration through a constant The washing tank 5 suspended at a height to store the washing water, a dehydration tank 7 installed in the washing tank 5 to wash and dewater the loaded laundry, and washing water stored in the dewatering tank 7 A pulsator 9 installed in the dehydration tank 7 to wash and dehydrate the laundry, and a lower surface of the washing tank 5 to rotate the pulsator 9 and the dehydration tank 7 so as to rotate the pulsator 9. The washing motor 11 to be driven and the driving force of the washing motor 11 are received through the belt 13 to be installed on the bottom surface of the washing tank 5 to drive the dehydrogenation 7 and the pulsator 9. Washing water in the power transmission device (15) and the washing tank (5) Water supply means 17 installed on the upper portion of the main body 1 to supply water, and a drain valve 19 installed on the lower surface of the washing tank 5 to discharge contaminated washing water through the drain hose 21 during washing and rinsing. And a rinsing water treatment device 23 installed on the inner lower surface of the main body 1 so as to filter the rinsing water in the washing tank 5 contaminated at the time of rinsing and resupply the washing tank 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rinsing water treatment apparatus 23 includes a pump 25 for pressurizing the rinsing water in the washing tank 5 contaminated during rinsing to a predetermined pressure, and a rinsing pressurized by the pump 25. Microfiltration membrane 27 (hereinafter referred to as a micro filter) for removing various suspended substances and turbidity contained in the rinsing water when the water is passed, and surfactants and various organic substances contained in the rinsing water passing through the micro filter 27 It consists of activated carbon 29 to remove the material, one side of the rinse water treatment device 23, the rinse water drain pipe 31 for discharging the contaminated rinsing water in the washing tank (5) to the rinse water treatment device (23). Is provided, and on the other side of the rinsing water treatment apparatus 23, a filtration water supply pipe 33 for supplying rinsing water filtered by the micro filter 27 and activated carbon 29 into the washing tank 5 is provided. The rinse water drain pipe 31 is The rinsing water valve 35 is opened and closed to discharge the contaminated rinsing water in the washing tank 5 through the rinsing water drain pipe 31.

The overall washing control operation of the conventional washing machine configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when a user inputs laundry into the dehydration tank 7 and inputs the desired washing conditions (type of washing, washing time, water supply selection, etc.) by the driving operation unit 102, and then turns on the operation button, in step S1 The amount of laundry put into the dehydration tank 7 is sensed to set the washing level according to the amount of laundry.

Subsequently, in step S2, the washing water of hot or cold water is supplied into the washing tank 5 together with the detergent dissolved through the detergent dissolving machine 18 through the water supply means 17, and the washing water supplied into the washing tank 5 is set. When the water supply is completed by the water level, in step S3 the rotational force is transmitted to the power transmission device 15 through the belt 13 by the drive of the washing motor 11, the washing motor 11 is transmitted to the power transmission device 15. The pulsator 9 is reversed left and right by the rotational force of) to form a stream of water in the wash water.

The water flow formed along the left and right inversion of the pulsator 9 is applied to the wash water to separate the adsorbed laundry or foreign matters to wash.

When washing is performed by driving the washing motor 11, in step S4, contaminated water in the washing tank 5 is discharged to the outside through the drain hose 21 according to the opening of the drain valve 19, and then washing. The motor 11 is driven to perform an intermittent dewatering process of intermittently dewatering laundry.

Subsequently, in step S5, when the washing water (rinsing water) is supplied into the washing tank 5 through the water supply means 17 to perform a rinsing stroke, the washing water supplied into the washing tank 5 is completed by the set washing water level. In step S6, the pulsator 9 is inverted from side to side in accordance with the driving of the washing motor 11 to form a stream of water in the wash water to perform rinsing.

When the rinsing is performed once according to the driving of the washing motor 11, the contaminated rinsing water in the washing tank 5 is discharged through the rinsing drain pipe 31 according to the opening of the rinsing water valve 35, and the rinsing is discharged. The water is boosted to a predetermined pressure by the pump 25 and passes through the microfilter 27.

The rinsing water introduced into the micro filter 27 removes various suspended substances or turbidity contained in the rinsing water while passing through a plurality of filter membranes formed in the micro filter 27, and the rinsing water passing through the micro filter 27. After passing through activated carbon 29 again, various organic substances from surfactants or laundry, which are the main components of the detergent, are removed, and the filtered rinsing water is re-supplied in the washing tank 5 through the filtered water supply pipe 33, twice, three times, etc. The rinse stroke is reused as a rinse water for performing a rinse as many times as the designated number of rinses.

At this time, in step S7, it is determined whether the rinsing progress time t has passed the set rinsing time T, and when the rinsing progress time t has not passed the set rinsing time T (when NO), When the flow returns to S6 and the operation of step S6 or less is repeatedly performed, and the rinsing progress time t has passed the set rinsing time T (YES), the flow advances to step S8 in accordance with the opening of the drain valve 19. The rinsing water in the washing tank 5 is discharged to the outside through the drain hose 21, and the laundry is dewatered by the centrifugal force generated while the dehydrating tank 7 rotates at a high speed in one direction as the washing motor 11 is driven. Complete the entire laundry administration.

Thus, in the washing machine having a rinse water treatment device 23 for filtering and recycling rinsing water, which is a domestic waste water, activated carbon when the rinsing water is not filtered properly due to the accumulation of organic matter inside the activated carbon 29, which plays an important role in chemical property determination. After replacing or removing (29), there is a hassle to reconnect after regeneration by high temperature, high pressure treatment method, the user can not determine the regeneration time of the activated carbon 29 can not expect the optimal washing effect There was this.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, it is possible to extend the life of the activated carbon by backwashing and regenerating the organic matter present in the activated carbon using hot water used for washing, by frequent replacement It is to provide an activated carbon regeneration device and a method for a washing machine that can eliminate inconvenience in use.

In order to achieve the above object, an activated carbon regeneration device of a washing machine according to the present invention includes a activated carbon for removing a surfactant and organic substances contained in rinsing water, and reuses contaminated rinsing water in a washing machine, passing hot water through the activated carbon. Backwashing means for backwashing organic matter present in the activated carbon, first measuring means for measuring the concentration of surfactant in the filtered water passing through the activated carbon, and COD of the wash water backwashed the activated carbon by the backwashing means. Control to determine whether to backwash and reuse the activated carbon according to a second measurement means for measuring the concentration, and a surfactant concentration of the filtered water measured by the first measurement means and a COD of the wash water measured by the second measurement means. It is characterized by consisting of means.

In addition, the activated carbon regeneration method of the washing machine according to the present invention, in the rinsing water treatment method of the washing machine to remove the surfactant and organic substances contained in the rinsing water with activated carbon to reuse the contaminated rinsing water, the filtered water passing through the activated carbon A first measurement step for measuring the concentration of the surfactant and a backwash determination step for determining the backwashing time of the activated carbon according to the rinsing water treatment time if the surfactant concentration of the filtrate measured in the first measurement step is equal to or more than a predetermined ppm; And a second measurement for measuring the COD of the washing water in which the activated carbon is backwashed when the backwashing time is determined in the backwashing determination step by passing hot water through the activated carbon to backwash organic substances present in the activated carbon. If the COD of the washing water measured in the step and the second measuring step is more than a predetermined ppm, it is determined whether to reuse the activated carbon according to the backwashing time. Which it is characterized by being a re-determination step.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional washing machine;

2 is a block diagram of a conventional washing machine rinsing water treatment apparatus;

3 is a flowchart showing a rinsing water treatment control operation procedure of a conventional washing machine;

Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the washing machine with a backwashing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,

5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the backwashing means applied to the present invention;

6 is a block diagram showing a filtration path of the rinsing water and a backwashing path of the activated carbon according to the present invention;

7 is a circuit block diagram of an activated carbon regeneration device of a washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a flowchart showing an activated carbon regeneration operation procedure of the washing machine according to the present invention;

9 is a table showing the amount of surfactant removed per unit activated carbon according to the number of backwashes,

Figure 10 is a table showing the number of times of use of activated carbon according to the number of backwash during low water washing.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawings *

5: washing tank 23: rinse water treatment device

25: pump 27: micro filter

29: activated carbon 35: rinse water valve

40: back washing means 42: hot water valve

44: hot water inlet pipe 46: check valve

48: washing water valve 50: washing water drain pipe

100: power supply means 102: control means

104: rinsing water valve driving means 106: pump driving means

108: hot water valve driving means 110: washing water valve driving means

112: first measuring means 114: second measuring means

116: display means

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

The basic configuration of the washing machine according to the present invention is the same as the conventional configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the rinsing water treatment control operation of the washing machine is the same as the conventional flowchart shown in FIG.

As shown in Fig. 4, activated carbon 29, which is one of the components of the rinsing water treatment apparatus 23, is disposed at one side of the rinsing treatment apparatus 23 for filtering and reusing rinsing water in the contaminated washing tank 5 during rinsing. The back washing means 40 is installed to wash the organic substances present in the activated carbon 29 by passing hot water therein.

As shown in FIG. 5, the backwashing means 40 includes a hot water valve 42 installed at one side of the water supply means 17 to supply hot water supplied from the tap water, and an opening of the hot water valve 42. The hot water inlet pipe 44 for introducing hot water of 50 ± 0.2 ° C. to the activated carbon 29 and the hot water introduced through the hot water inlet pipe 44 are organic substances present in the activated carbon 29. In order to discharge the washing water through the drain hose 21 according to the opening of the check valve 46 and the washing water valve 48 and the check valve 46 and the washing water valve 48 which are opened and closed to be discharged after washing. It consists of a wash water drain pipe 50 installed on one side of the drain hose (21).

The check valve 46 is selectively opened and closed according to the pressure of the washing water introduced into the activated carbon 29, and the washing water valve 48 is introduced into the activated carbon 29 when the activated carbon 29 is washed. Control the discharge of the wash water.

On the other hand, activated carbon 29 applied to an embodiment of the present invention is a cylindrical shape of 12cm in diameter, 40cm in height.

A circuit block diagram for washing the activated carbon 29 of the rinsing water treatment apparatus 23 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in Fig. 7, the power supply means 100 supplies a commercial AC voltage supplied from an AC power supply terminal (not shown) to a predetermined DC voltage required for the operation of the washing machine (MICOM drive voltage of DC 5V, relay drive voltage of DC 24V). The control means 102 is a microcomputer for initializing the washing machine and controlling the overall operation of the washing machine by applying a DC voltage output from the power supply means 100.

The rinsing water valve driving means 104 controls the rinsing water valve 35 according to the control of the control means 102 to discharge the rinsing water in the contaminated washing tank 5 to the rinsing water treatment device 23 when rinsing. In addition, the pump driving means 106 receives the control signal output from the control means 102 to filter the rinsing water in the washing tank 5 contaminated at the time of rinsing and drives the pump 25.

In addition, the hot water valve driving means 108 is a hot water valve 42 in accordance with the control of the control means 102 so that the hot water of 50 ± 0.2 ℃ supplied from the tap water to wash the organic matter present in the activated carbon 29 Drive control, and the washing water valve driving means 110 according to the control of the control means 102 to discharge the washing water having washed the activated carbon 29 to the outside in accordance with the opening of the hot water valve (42) Drive control.

In addition, the first measuring means 112 is linear alkylbenzene sulfonate of the filtered water passing through the activated carbon 29 during the rinsing water treatment according to the opening of the rinsing water valve 35 and the driving of the pump 25. Alkylbenzene Sulfonate (hereinafter, referred to as a surfactant) concentration is measured, and the second measuring means 114 performs activated carbon (when backwashing the activated carbon 29 according to the opening of the hot water valve 42 and the washing water valve 48). 29. The chemical oxygen demand (hereinafter referred to as COD) of the wash water passed through 29) is measured.

In addition, in the drawing, the display means 116 not only displays the operating state of the washing machine under the control of the control means 102, but also indicates whether the activated carbon 29 is reused.

Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the activated carbon regeneration device and method of the washing machine configured as described above will be described.

8 is a flowchart showing the activated carbon regeneration operation procedure of the washing machine according to the present invention, in which S denotes a step (STEP).

First, when rinsing is performed according to the driving of the washing motor 11, in step S11 to clear the use time (H) to counter the time for determining whether or not the activated carbon 29 can be washed and reused (0) In step S12, the control means 102 outputs a control signal to the rinsing water valve driving means 104 and the pump driving means 106 to filter and reuse the rinsing water in the contaminated washing tank 5.

Therefore, the rinsing water valve driving means 104 supplies the power voltage applied to the rinsing water valve 35 under the control of the control means 102 to open the rinsing water valve 35, and the pump driving means 106. ) Supplies the power voltage applied to the pump 25 under the control of the control means 102 to drive the pump 25.

When the pump 25 is driven, contaminated rinsing water in the washing tank 5 is discharged through the rinsing water drain pipe 31 according to the opening of the rinsing water valve 35, and the discharged rinse water is discharged by the pump 25. The pressure is increased to a predetermined pressure and passes through the micro filter 27.

The rinsing water introduced into the micro filter 27 removes various suspended substances or turbidity contained in the rinsing water while passing through a plurality of filter membranes formed in the micro filter 27, and the rinsing water passing through the micro filter 27. The rinsing water treatment operation in which the filtered rinsing water is re-supplied in the washing tank 5 through the filtration water supply pipe 33 by removing the surfactant or various organic substances from the laundry as the main component of the detergent is passed through the activated carbon 29 again. It is performed along the direction of the solid arrow of 6.

At this time, in step S13, the surfactant concentration of the filtered water passing through the activated carbon 29 is measured by the first measuring means 112 every two hours to check the filtration capacity of the activated carbon 29 and outputs it to the control means 102. .

Accordingly, in step S14, it is determined whether the measured surfactant concentration of the filtered water is 10 ppm or more preset in the control means 102. When the surfactant concentration is not 10 ppm or more (NO), the process returns to step S12. The rinse water treatment operation is normally performed.

As a result of the determination in step S14, when the surfactant concentration is 10 ppm or more (YES), the process proceeds to step S15 to determine whether the countered use time H is 10 hours or more, and the use time H is 10 hours or more. In the case of YES, the activated carbon 29 is determined to be reused by backwashing. In step S16, the control means 102 starts the backwashing system while clearing the backwashing operation time M in step S16. The control signal is output to the hot water valve driving means 108 and the washing water valve driving means 110 so as to be used.

Therefore, the hot water valve driving means 108 supplies a power supply voltage applied to the hot water valve 42 under the control of the control means 102 to open the hot water valve 42, and in the washing water valve driving means 110, The washing water valve 48 is opened by supplying a power voltage applied to the washing water valve 48 under the control of the control means 102.

When the hot water valve 42 is opened, hot water (50 ± 0.2 ° C.) supplied from the tap water flows into the activated carbon 29 through the hot water inlet pipe 44 to wash organic matter present in the activated carbon 29. The washing water having washed the activated carbon 29 is discharged through the washing water drainage pipe 50 in the opening operation of the check valve 46 and the washing water valve 48, and the washing water discharged through the washing water drainage pipe 50 is the washing water drainage pipe ( The backwashing operation of the activated carbon 29 discharged to the outside through the drain hose 21 connected to 50 is performed along the dotted arrow direction of FIG. 6.

At this time, in step S18 to check the washing efficiency of the activated carbon 29, the COD of the washing water passing through the activated carbon 29 every 5 minutes of backwash operation time (M) by the second measuring means 114 to measure the control means ( Output to 102).

Accordingly, in step S19, it is determined whether the measured COD of the washing water is 3 ppm or more preset in the control means 102, and when the COD is not 3 ppm or more (NO), it is determined that the backwash of the activated carbon 29 is completed. In step S22, the process returns to step S12 to reuse the activated carbon 29 for rinsing water filtration while clearing the use time H. Then, the operation of step S12 or less is repeated.

As a result of the determination in step S19, when the COD is 3 ppm or more (YES), the flow advances to step S20 to determine whether the backwash operation time M has elapsed 30 minutes, and the backwash operation time M is set to 30 minutes. If it has not elapsed (NO), the flow returns to the above step S17, and the back washing system is continuously performed, and the operations below the step S17 are repeatedly performed.

As a result of the discrimination in step S20, when the backwash operation time M has elapsed 30 minutes (YES), it is determined that the activated carbon 29 is difficult to recover its function by backwashing, and the control means proceeds to step S21. 102 flashes the regeneration lamp (not shown) through the display means 116 to terminate the operation while indicating that the activated carbon 29 cannot be reused.

On the other hand, if the use time H is not more than 10 hours (NO), the determination result in step S15 determines that the activated carbon 29 has reached the end of its life, and the display means 116 is moved to step S21. The operation is terminated while indicating that reuse of the activated carbon 29 is impossible.

As described above, the amount of the surfactants removed per unit of per unit charcoal up to the time point at which the surfactant concentration is 10 mg / L of filtered water according to the operating frequency of the backwashing system using hot water used for washing is shown in FIG. 9. same.

Then, the results of calculating the life extension of the activated carbon 29 by back washing under the actual washing conditions based on the basic experimental data are as follows.

For example, when using detergent three times the recommended amount in low water (54L) laundry, the initial rinse water has a surfactant concentration of 64 mg / L, the amount of surfactant to be removed is 54 L × 64 mg / L = 3348 mg, diameter 12 cm, When the cylindrical activated carbon 29 having a height of 40 cm is used, the weight is 2300 g.

At this time, the amount P of surfactants that can be removed by activated carbon 29 in each stage is (the amount of surfactant removed per unit of activated carbon) x 2300 g, and the number of possible rinses is about by which activated carbon 29 in each stage can be removed. Amount of surfactant (P) ÷ The amount of surfactant to be removed in one rinse.

Accordingly, when the low water level 54L is washed, the number of times of use of the activated carbon 29 which is extended due to backwashing when using cylindrical activated carbon 29 having a height of 12cm and 40cm is shown in FIG. Although the filtration efficiency is reduced, it can be seen that using the hot water of 50 ± 2 ° C., the life of the activated carbon 29 can be doubled by two back washing operations when the back washing system is operated.

According to the activated carbon recycling apparatus and method of the washing machine according to the present invention as described above, by passing the hot water of 50 ± 2 ℃ used for washing through the activated carbon backwash the organic matter present in the activated carbon, the life of the activated carbon It can be extended, and there is an effect that can eliminate the inconvenience in use by frequent replacement.

Claims (5)

In the washing machine having the activated carbon to remove the organic matter and the surfactant contained in the rinsing water to reuse the contaminated rinsing water, Backwashing means for backwashing the organic matter present in the activated carbon by passing hot water through the activated carbon; First measuring means for measuring the concentration of surfactant in the filtered water passing through the activated carbon; Second measuring means for measuring the COD of the wash water in which the activated carbon is backwashed by the backwashing means; A control means for determining whether the activated carbon is backwashed and reused according to the surfactant concentration of the filtered water measured by the first measuring means and the COD of the washing water measured by the second measuring means. Activated carbon regeneration device. The method of claim 1, The backwashing means includes a hot water valve that opens and closes to supply hot water used for washing, a hot water inflow pipe for introducing hot water supplied according to the opening of the hot water valve to the activated carbon, and hot water introduced through the hot water inflow pipe. Activated carbon of the washing machine comprising a washing water valve for opening and closing operation to be discharged after washing the organic matter present in the activated carbon, and a washing water drainage pipe for discharging the washing water to wash the activated carbon in accordance with the opening of the washing water valve Playback device. In the rinsing water treatment method of the washing machine to remove the surfactant and organic substances contained in the rinsing water with activated carbon to reuse the contaminated rinsing water, A first measurement step of measuring the surfactant concentration of the filtered water passing through the activated carbon; A backwashing step of backwashing the activated carbon according to the rinsing water treatment time when the surfactant concentration of the filtered water measured in the first measuring step is equal to or more than a predetermined ppm; A backwashing step of backwashing the organic matter present in the activated carbon by passing hot water through the activated carbon when it is determined that the backwashing time is determined in the backwashing determination step; A second measurement step of measuring COD of the wash water in which the activated carbon is backwashed; If the COD of the wash water measured in the second measurement step is more than a predetermined ppm activated carbon regeneration method of the washing machine characterized in that it comprises a re-use discrimination step for determining whether or not to reuse the activated carbon according to the backwash time. The method of claim 3, The backwashing determining step is characterized in that if the surfactant concentration of the filtered water is 10 ± 2ppm or more, and the rinsing water treatment time is 10 ± 2 hours or more, the activated carbon is determined to be a backwashing time that can be reused by backwashing. Activated Carbon Regeneration Method. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The reuse determination step of the activated carbon regeneration method of the washing machine, characterized in that the COD of the washing water is more than 3 ± 1ppm, and the backwash time is 30 ± 10 minutes, the life of the activated carbon is determined to be impossible to reuse.