KR20110059397A - Water dispensor with detecting means for filter replacement - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A water supplying apparatus equipped with a filter replacing sensor is provided to initialize the apparatus without a separate initializing process by detaching and attaching a filter. CONSTITUTION: A filtering part filters water. A storing tank stores filtered water through the filtering part. A water taking part takes water from the storing tank. A filter installing part(23) installs the filtering part. A counter stores information related to the used period or used degree of a filter(21). The filtering installing part includes an initializing unit in contact with the filtering part. If the filtering part is separated from the initializing unit, the initializing unit initializes the counter.

Description

WATER DISPENSOR WITH DETECTING MEANS FOR FILTER REPLACEMENT}

The present invention relates to a water supply device having a filter replacement detecting means, and more particularly, to a water supply device having a means for automatically initializing the filter replacement state when the filter for purifying the water to be supplied is replaced.

The water supply device provided in the water purifier or the refrigerator is a device for supplying the water stored in the reservoir when the user is operated, and is provided with a function for purifying the water instead of simply supplying the stored water. There are many.

Specifically, a water supply device having such a water purification function includes a filter unit for filtering contaminants from raw water containing pollutants, a water tank unit for storing purified water past the filter unit, and a water tank unit stored in the water tank unit. It can be divided into a blowout part for extracting purified water. In this case, as the use time increases, the foreign matter contained in the raw water accumulates as the use time increases, so that it is difficult to obtain an optimum water purification performance unless it is replaced at an appropriate time.

Therefore, the conventional water supply equipment has a function of notifying the user of the replacement time when the filter reaches the end of its life. In general, a built-in flow meter is used to measure the total amount of water filtered through the filter, and the total amount of water. If this predetermined criterion is exceeded, it is determined that the filter has reached the end of its life and is notified to the user through visual or audio means.

Therefore, in order to ensure normal operation after replacing the expired filter, it is necessary to initialize the water supply counter included in the water supply device. To this end, a reset button is provided inside the water supply device, and when the filter replacement is completed, the work engineer or the user presses the reset button to reset the water supply counter.

However, in case of missing the pressing of the reset button due to carelessness or replacement of the reset button due to inadvertent operation during the replacement work, it is determined that the filter is not replaced even though the filter is not replaced because the reset is not performed. have.

The present invention has been made to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art as described above, it is a technical problem to provide a water supply apparatus that can be initialized only by detaching the filter without performing a separate initialization operation.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the filter unit for filtering the water to be supplied; A reservoir for storing the water filtered through the filter unit; A extraction unit for taking out the water stored in the reservoir; A filter mounting unit to which the filter unit is mounted; And a counter for storing information on the period of use or the degree of use of the filter, wherein the filter mounting unit includes an initialization unit contacting the filter unit while the filter unit is mounted, and the initialization unit includes the filter. A water supply is provided for initializing the counter when the additional portion is separated from the initialization means.

The aspect of the present invention is provided with an initialization means that is pressed or contacted by the filter unit in the removal process of the filter unit, through which the counter is configured to be initialized without a separate operation, thereby preventing the water supply device from malfunctioning And filter replacement is more convenient.

Here, the initialization means may be configured to include a push switch protruding from the filter mounting portion, wherein the push switch protrudes when the filter portion is detached and is pressed when the filter portion is mounted to reset the counter. Check it.

The initialization means may include a terminal unit provided in the filter mounting unit and a conductive member provided in the filter unit, and the conductive member may be configured to contact the terminal unit when the filter unit is mounted in the filter mounting unit. The terminal portion is energized when the conductive member contacts the terminal portion to initialize the counter.

Here, the terminal portion includes a pair of electrodes formed to protrude from the filter mounting portion, and the conductive member includes a metallic plate mounted on the filter portion, such that the metallic plate is electrically connected to the two electrodes. can do.

On the other hand, the filter mounting portion is provided with a hook portion in contact with the conductive member, the locking portion may be configured to physically deform the conductive member when separating the filter portion from the filter mounting portion. By physically deforming the conductive member, the initialization means may not be operated even when the filter unit is remounted, thereby preventing reuse of the end-of-life filter.

Here, the locking portion may cause the conductive member to break, and the locking portion may deform the conductive member so as not to come into contact with the terminal portion when the filter portion is remounted in the filter mounting portion.

In addition, the latching portion is elastically supported to be slidable into the filter mounting portion, and when the filter portion is mounted therein is accommodated inside the filter mounting portion and maintains the protruding state when the filter portion is separated to deform the conductive member. It may be. That is, when the filter is mounted, the conductive member is not caught by the catching part, but when the filter is separated, the conductive member is caught by the catching part and the conductive member is broken or deformed.

Here, the engaging portion may be formed with an inclined surface in contact with the filter portion in the process of mounting the filter portion, it is possible for the locking portion to be more easily slide into the filter mounting portion by contact with the filter portion due to the inclined surface.

According to another aspect of the invention, the filter unit for filtering the water to be supplied; A filter mounting unit to which the filter unit is mounted; And a counter for storing information on the period of use or the degree of use of the filter, wherein the filter mounting unit includes an initialization unit contacting the filter unit while the filter unit is mounted, and the initialization unit includes the filter. A water supply device is provided for initializing the counter while in contact with a portion.

In this aspect, when the filter is mounted, the initialization means initializes the counter while being contacted by the filter unit, and then starts storing information on the amount of water or the usage time.

Here, the initialization means may include a terminal unit provided in the filter mounting unit and a conductive member provided in the filter unit, and when the filter unit is mounted in the filter mounting unit, the conductive member may be configured to contact the terminal unit.

Here, the terminal portion may include a pair of electrodes formed to protrude from the filter mounting portion, and the conductive member may be configured to include a metallic plate mounted to the filter portion.

The filter mounting part may further include a locking part contacting the conductive member, and the locking part may be configured to physically deform the conductive member when the filter mounting part is separated from the filter part.

In addition, the locking portion is elastically supported to be slidable into the filter mounting portion, and when the filter portion is mounted, it is accommodated inside the filter mounting portion and maintains the protruding state when the filter portion is separated to deform the conductive member. It can be configured to.

The locking portion may be configured to break the conductive member.

According to aspects of the present invention having the configuration described above, since the counter is initialized only by detaching and removing the filter without a separate operation in the filter replacement process, the filter replacement process may be facilitated, and the malfunction of the device may be minimized. to provide.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment of a water supply device according to the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing a water purifier provided with an embodiment of a water supply device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a left side view schematically showing the internal structure of the water purifier shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a water purifier shown in FIG. Right side view schematically showing the internal structure of the. Here, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the water purifier, and of course, the filter unit may be applied to any water supply device capable of supplying filtered water through the water, for example, a dispenser of a refrigerator.

1 to 3, the water purifier 10 is provided in a case 13 forming an external appearance, and includes a filter unit for filtering water supplied from an external water source, and storing water filtered by the filter unit. It includes a water tank unit and a take-out unit for selectively supplying the water stored in the tank unit when the user's request.

Here, the case 13 is generally provided in the shape of a cube, but the shape of the water purifier according to the present embodiment is not limited thereto. In addition, the front surface of the case 13 is provided with an operation button 51 for operating the operation of the water purifier 10 and a display unit 53 for displaying the state of the water purifier 10. The operation button 51 includes a button for selecting a kind of water to be supplied (for example, cold water or hot water), a power button, and the like.

In addition, a control unit 110 is installed on one side of the case 13 to control its operation through internal components and signal transmission of the water purifier 10. The control unit 110 includes a printed circuit board on which a control circuit and storage means for storing various information are mounted, and the storage means stores information on the total amount of water supplied through the filter unit, and thereby the filter. It is possible to perform a function as a counter for checking whether or not the lifetime of the negative has arrived. Here, the counter does not necessarily check the life of the filter unit based on the total amount of water supply, but may check the life based on the total operating time of the water supply through the filter unit, or may use all of them to confirm the life.

Here, the filter unit is a device for purifying water introduced from a water source such as tap water or a reservoir (hereinafter referred to as raw water) with purified water.

Specifically, the filter unit may include a filter head 27 having at least one filter 21 and a filter mounting unit 23 to which the filter 21 is fastened and fixed. In this case, a flow path may be formed in the filter head 27 to guide the raw water to the filter 21 and guide the purified water discharged from the filter 21 to the water tank unit.

Here, when a plurality of filters 21 are provided, the flow path 25 may be provided to connect the plurality of filters 21 in series between the water source and the water tank unit.

Alternatively, the filter unit may be provided as a pipe connecting the at least one filter 21 and the inlet of the filter 21 to the water source and the outlet of the filter 21 to the water tank. to be.

The filter 21 may include a sediment filter, a pre-carbon filter, a reverse omosis membrane filter, a post-carbon filter, and a hollow fiber membrane. The filter may be composed of an ultra filtration filter, a nano-filtration filter, and the like.

The sediment filter is applied to the non-woven fabric to filter foreign matter and suspended matter contained in the raw water. The precarbon filter is applied with surfactant carbon to filter chlorine components, odors, etc. contained in raw water. The reverse osmosis membrane filter filters fine particles on the order of 0.001 μm. The post carbon filter has a relatively good adsorption force than the activated carbon of the precarbon filter to remove pigments and odors. The hollow fiber membrane filter is applied to the hollow membrane in the middle to filter bacteria contained in the raw water.

On the other hand, the pipe connecting the water source and the filter unit, the pre-filter 26 to remove the contaminants that can be supplied to the filter unit to reduce the efficiency of the filter 21 in advance and whether the raw water supply to the filter unit A raw water supply valve 24 for controlling and a flow rate sensing unit 22 for measuring the flow rate of the raw water supplied to the filter unit to determine whether the life of the filter unit has arrived.

Here, the raw water supply valve 24 may be provided as a gate valve (cock valve), cock valve (cock valve) and the like that is opened and closed manually, or may be provided as a solenoid valve (solenoid valve) that is automatically opened and closed.

The water tank unit includes a storage tank 31 in which a space for storing purified water purified by the filter unit is formed. In addition, the storage tank 31 is provided with a float valve 34 for blocking the supply of purified water by buoyancy when the stored purified water reaches a predetermined amount. In addition, the water tank unit further includes a cold water tank 33 and a hot water tank 35 provided in communication with the storage tank 31 in addition to the storage tank 31.

The cold water tank 33 is installed integrally with or coupled to the storage tank 31 at the lower portion of the storage tank 31 so as to communicate with each other, and partitions two spaces, but supplies purified water stored in the storage tank 31. A partition plate 32 having a purified water supply hole 32a is provided.

The hot water tank 35 is provided separately from the storage tank 31 and provided in communication with the storage tank 31 to receive purified water through a purified water supply pipe 36 extending from the partition plate 32. Is installed. In addition, the purified water supply pipe 36 is provided with a hot water amount control valve 36a for controlling the amount of purified water supplied to the hot water tank 35. As a result, the amount of cold water stored in the cold water tank 33 is controlled by the hot water amount control valve 36a of the amount of hot water stored in the float valve 34 and the hot water tank 35 of the float valve 34. .

A heat exchanger 33b (for example, an evaporator) is wound around the outer circumference of the cold water tank 33, and a heater for heating the purified water is wrapped around the outer circumference of the hot water tank 35. 35b is installed. In addition, an example in which the heat exchanger 33b and the heater 35b are installed in the cold water tank 33 and the hot water tank 35 may be considered to improve the heat exchange rate.

On the other hand, the cold water tank 33 and the hot water tank 35 is provided with temperature sensors 33a, 35a for sensing the temperature of the cold water and hot water stored therein, respectively, the operation of the heat exchanger 33b and the heater 35b Is controlled based on the temperature sensed by the temperature sensors 33a and 35a.

The reason why the hot water tank 35 is provided separately from the storage tank 31 and the cold water tank 33 is that the heat generated by the heater 35b causes the cold water tank 33 or the storage tank 31 to be separated. In order to affect the cooling efficiency of the cold water tank 33, or to prevent the growth of contaminants in the purified water stored in the storage tank 31.

In particular, the partition plate partitioning the space to prevent heat exchange by convection between the storage tank 31 and the cold water tank 33 and the hot water tank 35 in order to prevent the cooling efficiency of the cold water tank (33) ( 32) is further provided.

The outlet portion is connected to the cold water tank 33 and the hot water tank 35, respectively, the cold water pipe 33c and the hot water pipe 35c extending to be exposed to the front of the case 13, the cold water pipe 33c And on / off valves 43 and 45 for opening and closing the hot water pipe 35c, respectively, and a lever unit 37 for generating an operation signal of the on / off valves 43 and 45.

Here, the opening and closing valves 43 and 45 may be implemented as a valve which is mechanically operated, such as a cock, or a solenoid valve that is opened and closed by receiving an electrical input.

4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a coupling structure of the filter mounting part 23 and the filter 21. Referring to FIG. 4, a filter inserting portion 23a is formed on the bottom of the filter mounting portion 23 to which the upper portion of the filter 21 is inserted and fixed. The filter inserting portion 23a is formed so that a portion of the upper end of the filter 21 can be inserted into the inside thereof, and the push switch 24 having a protrusion shape protrudes from the surface thereof.

The push switch 24 is configured to be received while sliding into the filter mounting portion 23, the push switch 24 is to be received inside the filter mounting portion 23 while being pressed by the upper portion of the filter. . Specifically, the filter 21 is composed of a filter body portion 21a and a cap 21b mounted on the upper portion of the filter body portion 21a, and the cap 21b is made of a thin metal plate.

Therefore, when the filter 21 is inserted into the filter inserting portion 23a of the filter mounting portion 23, the push switch 24 is pressed by the cap 21b. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the installation structure of the push switch 24. The push switch 24 is housed in the installation hole 23b formed in the filter inserting portion 23a. At this time, a flange 24a is formed at the inner end of the push switch 24 to prevent the switch from being separated out of the installation hole 23b. In addition, a coil spring 24b is interposed on the rear surface of the push switch, so that the push switch maintains the protruding state when there is no external force.

Accordingly, the push switch 24 is pressed due to the mounting of the filter 21, and the counter is initialized when the push switch 24 is pressed. Because of this, the counter is also initialized when the filter is newly installed, so there is no need to perform a separate counter initialization. Here, the counter is configured to be initialized when the push switch 24 is pressed, but the present invention is not limited thereto. When the push switch 24 is pressed, the press is released, that is, the filter 21 is pressed. You can also have the counter initialized when detached.

On the other hand, the engaging portion 23c is formed on the inner wall surface of the filter inserting portion (23a). The locking portion 23c has a bottom surface formed as an inclined surface, and an upper surface thereof is formed in parallel with the filter inserting portion 23a. As shown in FIG. 5, the parallel surface in the state where the filter 21 is inserted is shown. It is arrange | positioned so that it may contact the edge part of this cap 21b. Therefore, when the filter 21 is inserted, the cap 21b is inserted into the filter inserting portion 23a while moving along the inclined surface, but when the filter 21 is removed, the catching portion 23c is removed. ), The cap 21b is caught by the parallel plane.

When the filter 21 is completely removed in this state, both ends of the cap 21b are deformed and the filter 21 is separated. In this way, when the cap 21b is deformed, it can be distinguished from the normal filter 21 in appearance, and cannot be inserted into the filter inserting portion 23a. This makes it possible to prevent accidental reuse of the end-of-life filter 21. Of course, an embodiment in which the cap 21b is removed may also be considered.

6 to 8 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing yet another embodiment of the water supply apparatus according to the present invention. 6 to 8, the rest of the configuration except for the filter mounting unit 23 is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and thus redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 6, a filter inserting portion 23a is formed below the filter mounting portion 23, and a pair of electrodes 26 are provided inside the filter inserting portion 23a. The electrode 26 is configured to be connected to the above-described printed circuit board side so that the counter can be initialized when the two electrodes 26 are conductive. Of course, in some cases, an example may be considered in which the counter is initialized when the two electrodes 26 are turned on and shut off.

The engaging portion 28 in the form of a protrusion is provided adjacent to the pair of electrodes 26. The locking portion is slidably mounted into the filter mounting portion 23 and the end portion is formed to have an inclined surface.

Referring to FIG. 7, the filter 21 has a metal thin plate 29 attached to an upper surface thereof, and a groove 29a extending in a circumferential form is formed on a bottom surface of the metal thin plate 29. The groove portion 29a is formed to accommodate the locking portion 28 when the filter 21 is mounted on the filter mounting portion 23. Here, the filter 21 is configured to be inserted while being rotated inside the filter mounting portion 23. At this time, since the groove portion 29a extends in the circumferential form as described above, the filter 21 may be smoothly rotated even when the locking portion 28 is inserted into the groove portion 29a.

8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the filter 21 is mounted on the filter mounting unit 23. The locking portion 28 is inserted through the coil spring 28c in the insertion hole 23b formed in the filter insertion portion 23a, and is inserted into the insertion hole by the flange 28a formed at one end thereof. 23b) is maintained so as not to deviate. Therefore, the engaging portion 28 is accommodated while sliding into the insertion hole (23b) when the external force is applied, and maintains the protruding state when the external force is removed.

Now, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. When the filter 21 is mounted, the locking portion 28 is pressed by the top surface of the filter 21 and is in a state accommodated in the insertion hole 23a. When the filter 21 is rotated in this state, the filter 21 is fixed to the inside of the filter mounting part 23. In the process, the locking part 28 meets the groove part 29a and the groove part 29a. Protrudes into the inside of the metal plate 29 in contact with the inclined surface is moved to the right side of the locking portion 28 to maintain the state of FIG. In this state, the thin metal plates 29 come into contact with the pair of electrodes 26 to conduct both. Thus, the counter is initialized.

For reference, when the groove portion 29a moves to the right side in FIG. 8, the filter 21 is fastened, and when the groove portion 29a moves to the left side, the filter 21 is separated.

After that, when the filter 21 reaches the end of its life, the filter 21 is rotated in the separation direction to be separated. In the process, the metal thin plate 29 is disposed on the side surface of the locking portion 28. Caught and broken as the turn continues. In order to facilitate such breakage, the side surface of the locking portion 28 may have a triangular shape.

If the thin metal plate 29 is broken in this way, even if it is remounted, the pair of electrodes 26 cannot be turned on, so that the counter is not initialized and the filter replacement is notified again. Through this, it is possible to prevent the reuse of the end-of-life filter, the filter is broken in the thin metal plate 29, the user can easily recognize whether the end of life in appearance.

In some cases, an example may be considered in which the water supply device does not operate when the pair of electrodes are not connected to each other.

1 is a perspective view showing a water purifier to which an embodiment of a water supply device according to the present invention is applied.

2 is a left side view schematically showing the internal structure of the water purifier shown in FIG.

3 is a right side view schematically showing the internal structure of the water purifier shown in FIG.

4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a filter mounting structure of the water purifier shown in FIG. 1.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a filter mounting structure of the water purifier shown in FIG.

6 is a perspective view showing a filter mounting portion of another embodiment of a water supply device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a filter mounted on the filter mounting unit illustrated in FIG. 6.

8 is a cross-sectional view showing the filter mounting structure of the embodiment shown in FIG.

Claims (15)

Filter unit for filtering the water to be watered; A reservoir for storing the water filtered through the filter unit; A extraction unit for taking out the water stored in the reservoir; A filter mounting unit to which the filter unit is mounted; And And a counter for storing information about the use period or the degree of use of the filter. The filter mounting portion is provided with an initialization means for contacting the filter portion in the state in which the filter portion is mounted, And said initializing means initializes said counter when said filter part is separated from said initializing means. The method of claim 1, The initializing means is a water supply device, characterized in that it comprises a push switch protruding from the filter mounting portion. The method of claim 1, The initialization means includes a terminal portion provided in the filter mounting portion and a conductive member provided in the filter portion, And the conductive member is in contact with the terminal portion when the filter portion is mounted in the filter mounting portion. The method of claim 3, And the terminal portion includes a pair of electrodes formed to protrude from the filter mounting portion, and the conductive member includes a metallic plate mounted to the filter portion. The method of claim 3, The filter mounting part is further provided with a locking portion in contact with the conductive member, wherein the locking portion physically deforms the conductive member when separating the filter unit from the filter mounting portion. The method of claim 5, The hooking portion breaks the conductive member. The method of claim 5, And the locking portion deforms the conductive member so as not to contact the terminal portion when the filter portion is remounted in the filter mounting portion. The method of claim 5, The locking portion is elastically supported to be slidable into the filter mounting portion, and when the filter portion is mounted, the hooking portion is accommodated inside the filter mounting portion and deforms the conductive member by maintaining the protruding state when the filter portion is separated. Water supply equipment. The method of claim 8, Water supply device, characterized in that the inclined surface in contact with the filter portion is formed in the process of mounting the filter portion. Filter unit for filtering the water to be watered; A filter mounting unit to which the filter unit is mounted; And And a counter for storing information about the use period or the degree of use of the filter. The filter mounting portion is provided with an initialization means for contacting the filter portion in the state in which the filter portion is mounted, The water supply device for initializing the counter while the initialization means is in contact with the filter unit. The method of claim 10, The initialization means includes a terminal portion provided in the filter mounting portion and a conductive member provided in the filter portion, And the conductive member is in contact with the terminal portion when the filter portion is mounted in the filter mounting portion. The method of claim 11, And the terminal portion includes a pair of electrodes formed to protrude from the filter mounting portion, and the conductive member includes a metallic plate mounted to the filter portion. The method of claim 12, The filter mounting part is further provided with a locking portion in contact with the conductive member, wherein the locking portion physically deforms the conductive member when separating the filter unit from the filter mounting portion. The method of claim 13, The locking portion is elastically supported to be slidable into the filter mounting portion, and when the filter portion is mounted, the hooking portion is accommodated inside the filter mounting portion and deforms the conductive member by maintaining the protruding state when the filter portion is separated. Water supply equipment. The method of claim 14, The hooking portion breaks the conductive member.

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