JP2008080273A - Water softener for bathroom - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress the height of a water softener for a bathroom.
A resin tank 2 containing an ion exchange resin, a regeneration liquid tank 7 in which a regeneration liquid of the ion exchange resin is stored and connected to the resin tank 2 via a regeneration liquid supply line 8, and the resin A drain line 20 that is connected to the tank 2 and discharges the regenerated liquid supplied from the regenerated liquid tank 7 to the resin tank 2 as regenerated waste water to the outside of the apparatus, and the regenerated liquid level in the regenerated liquid tank 7 is: It is configured not to be higher than the resin tank 2 and higher than the end of the drainage line 20, and the regenerated liquid level in the regenerant liquid tank 7 and the end of the drainage line 20 The regenerated liquid is supplied from the regenerated liquid tank 7 to the resin tank 2 and discharged from the resin tank 2 to the drain line 20 due to the water head pressure difference between them. Characterized by being configured to.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a soft water device for a bathroom that removes hardness contained in hot water used in a bathroom.

  The water softener is used in various fields such as a water treatment system in a factory. Soft water is highly moisturizing and warming, has the same bathing feeling as a hot spring, and there are cases where bathing is effective in healing allergic diseases. In recent years, bathroom water softeners that generate soft water for use as hot water in time have attracted attention.

  The bathroom soft water device includes a resin tank containing a sodium-type or potassium-type ion exchange resin. Then, raw water is supplied to the resin tank from the raw water line, and soft water is generated by replacing the hardness contained in the raw water, that is, calcium ions and magnesium ions with sodium ions or potassium ions. To supply from.

  When the ion-exchange resin reaches a predetermined amount of treated water, the ion-exchange group becomes almost saturated due to its hardness, and loses the ion-exchange capacity, that is, breaks through. Therefore, in the water softener for bathroom, before the ion exchange resin is in a breakthrough state, the ion tank is supplied with salt water in which sodium chloride or potassium chloride is dissolved in water as a regenerating liquid. Regeneration operation is performed to restore the ion exchange capacity.

The regeneration operation includes a step of supplying salt water to the resin tank, that is, a regeneration step, a step of supplying raw water to the resin tank and pushing out salt water in the resin tank, that is, an extrusion step, and a washing water to the resin tank. The raw water is supplied to clean the inside of the resin tank, that is, the cleaning step. Conventionally, the salt water and raw water used in the regeneration operation, that is, the regeneration liquid, is supplied to the resin tank by being dropped from the regeneration liquid tank provided above the resin tank and opened to the atmosphere by a head pressure difference. It is common (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 3525899

  By the way, when installing the said soft water apparatus for bathrooms in a bathroom, from a viewpoint of utilizing the existing hot-water mixing tap in a bathroom as it is, first, a shower head is removed from the said hot-water mixing tap with a hose. Next, the hot-water mixing tap and the resin tank are connected by the raw water line. Then, the removed hose is connected to the resin tank as the soft water line. That is, the resin tank is constructed so as to be interposed between the hot and cold water mixing tap and the shower head.

  In the soft water device thus constructed, the soft water from the resin tank is discharged from the shower head. Therefore, when soft water is stored in the bathtub, water is discharged from the shower head to the bathtub.

  Here, in a bathroom where the water softener for a bathroom is not installed, it is common to store hot water in the bathtub from the faucet of the hot water mixing tap. On the other hand, when the soft water from the bathroom soft water device is stored in the bathtub, water is discharged from the shower head, so that the discharge flow rate is the discharge flow rate from the faucet of the hot water mixer tap due to the pressure loss of the head portion. It takes much time until soft water accumulates in the bathtub. Therefore, the applicant of the present application has proposed a water softener equipped with a water discharge pipe for discharging soft water from the resin tank to the bathtub (Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-86835).

  By the way, conventionally, the resin tank is open to the atmosphere, and the regeneration liquid tank is provided at a position where the surface of the regeneration liquid is above the resin tank. Due to the water head pressure difference, the regenerated liquid is dropped from the regenerated liquid tank and supplied to the resin tank. When the regeneration liquid tank is provided above the resin tank in this way, the height of the apparatus is increased, but the thickness can be reduced. In the bathroom water softener that discharges water from the shower head to the bathtub, the installation position in the bathroom is not particularly limited, and if installed near the wall, the height of the apparatus increases. However, because the thickness was thin, there was little pressure and there was not much in the way.

  However, in the water softener for bathrooms provided with the water discharge pipe, it is necessary to install it near the bathtub so that the water discharge pipe reaches the bathtub. In this case, if the height of the device is higher than the height of the bathtub wall from the bathroom floor surface, a feeling of pressure is given or obstructed. The height of the resin tank is almost the same as the height of the bathtub wall from the bathroom floor. When a regenerated liquid tank is provided above the resin tank, the height of the apparatus is higher than that of the bathtub. It gets quite expensive.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to suppress the height of the water softener for the bathroom.

  This invention was made in order to solve the said subject, and the invention of Claim 1 stores the resin tank which accommodated the ion exchange resin, the reproduction | regeneration liquid of the said ion exchange resin, and the said resin tank A regenerated liquid tank connected via a regenerated liquid supply line; and a drain line connected to the resin tank for discharging the regenerated liquid supplied from the regenerated liquid tank to the resin tank to the outside as a regenerated waste water. The bathroom soft water device is configured such that the regenerated liquid level in the regenerated liquid tank is not higher than the resin tank, and is higher than the end of the drainage line, The regeneration liquid is supplied from the regeneration liquid tank to the resin tank by the head pressure difference between the regeneration liquid level in the regeneration liquid tank and the end of the drainage line. Characterized by being comprised of the resin tank so as to discharge into the drain line.

  According to this invention, even if the regenerated liquid level in the regenerated liquid tank is not higher than the resin tank, it is between the regenerated liquid level in the regenerated liquid tank and the end of the drainage line. Thus, the regenerated liquid can be supplied from the regenerated liquid tank to the resin tank, and the regenerated liquid can be discharged to the drainage line. Therefore, in order to supply the regenerated liquid from the regenerated liquid tank to the resin tank, the regenerated liquid level in the regenerated liquid tank does not need to be higher than that of the resin tank. Can be suppressed.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing an example of the configuration of an embodiment of a soft water device for bathrooms according to the present invention.

  The bathroom water softener 1 includes a resin tank 2 containing an ion exchange resin (not shown) in order to generate soft water by adsorbing and removing the hardness contained in the raw water. A raw water line 3 and a soft water line 4 are connected to the resin tank 2.

  The raw water line 3 is provided with a raw water valve 5, and the soft water line 4 is provided with a soft water valve 6. The raw water line 3 is connected to a hot water / water mixing tap (not shown) in a bathroom (not shown), and raw water from the hot water / water mixing tap is supplied to the resin tank 2 via the raw water line 3. Then, it becomes soft water in the resin tank 2, and this soft water is supplied into the bathroom through the soft water line 4.

  The bathroom soft water device 1 includes a regenerated liquid tank 7 in which a regenerated liquid of the ion exchange resin is stored. The regeneration liquid tank 7 is connected to the resin tank 2 via the regeneration liquid supply line 8.

  The regenerant tank 7 is composed of a regenerant tank 10 storing a regenerant 9 (for example, granular or pellet sodium chloride) and a raw water tank 12 communicating with the regenerant tank 10 via a communication line 11. It is configured as.

  The regeneration liquid supply line 8 branches on the regeneration liquid tank 7 side into a first line 13 connected to the regeneration agent tank 10 and a second line 14 connected to the raw water tank 12. A first valve 15 and a second valve 16 are provided in the first line 13 and the second line 14, respectively.

  The raw water tank 12 is connected to the raw water line 3 upstream of the raw water valve 5 via a raw water introduction line 18 provided with a raw water introduction valve 17. The raw water supplied to the raw water tank 12 via the raw water introduction line 18 is supplied to the regenerant tank 10 via the communication line 11. The regenerant tank 10 stores a regenerant solution generated by dissolving the regenerant 9 in the raw water supplied from the raw water tank 12.

  Further, an overflow line 19 is connected to a side portion of the raw water tank 12 as a liquid level control means for the regenerated liquid tank 7, and the liquid level of the regenerated liquid tank 7, that is, the raw water, during the regenerating operation described later. The level of the raw water in the tank 12 and the level of the regenerant solution in the regenerant tank 10 are kept constant.

  Here, the regeneration solution is stored in the regeneration agent tank 10 and is used as a regeneration agent solution used in the regeneration step in the regeneration operation and a diluting water for the regeneration agent solution. It is a concept including the raw water of the raw water tank 12 used in the extrusion process. In addition, the regenerated liquid includes raw water from the raw water line 3 used in the cleaning step in the regeneration operation.

  The regeneration liquid tank 7 is slightly lower in height than the resin tank 2. The regeneration liquid tank 7 is installed in parallel with the resin tank 2 so that the upper end of the regeneration liquid tank 7 is substantially at the same position as the upper end of the resin tank 2, and the regeneration liquid level is higher than that of the resin tank 2. It is not provided at a high position, and is provided at a position that is higher than a terminal portion of a later-described drain line 20 connected to the resin tank 2. The regenerative liquid tank 7 is open to atmospheric pressure, and due to the water head pressure difference between the regenerative liquid level in the regenerative liquid tank 7 and the end of the drainage line 20, the regenerative liquid tank 7 to the resin tank. The regenerated liquid is supplied to 2, and the regenerated liquid is discharged from the resin tank 2 to the drain line 20.

  The resin tank 2 is connected to a drain line 20 that discharges the regenerated liquid supplied from the regenerated liquid tank 7 to the resin tank 2 to the outside of the apparatus as reclaimed waste water. The drain line 20 is provided with a drain valve 21.

  Now, the water flow operation and regeneration operation of the bathroom water softener 1 will be described. First, the water flow operation will be described. In this water flow operation, when supplying soft water, the raw water valve 5 and the soft water valve 6 are set in an open state, while the first valve 15, the second valve 16, the raw water introduction valve 17 and the waste water are set. The valve 21 is set to a closed state. When raw water from the hot and cold water mixing tap (not shown) is supplied to the resin tank 2 through the raw water line 3, the hardness in the raw water is removed by the ion exchange resin (not shown) and soft water is added. Is generated. Soft water generated in the resin tank 2 is supplied into the bathroom (not shown) through the soft water line 4.

  On the other hand, when the supply of soft water is stopped, the valves 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, and 21 are set in a closed state.

  Next, the regeneration operation will be described. In this regeneration operation, a water replenishment process, an air vent process, a regeneration process, an extrusion process, and a cleaning process are performed in this order. Hereinafter, each of these steps will be described.

  In the water replenishing step, raw water is supplied to the raw water tank 12 and the water level in the regenerated liquid tank 7 is set to a predetermined water level (specifically, a portion where the overflow line 19 is connected in the raw water tank 12). In the process, the second valve 16, the raw water introduction valve 17 and the drain valve 21 are set in an open state, while the raw water valve 5, the soft water valve 6 and the first valve 15 are set in a closed state. Thus, when the raw water is supplied from the hot water mixing tap, the raw water flows into the raw water tank 12 through the raw water introduction line 18 and the regenerant from the raw water tank 12 through the communication line 11. Raw water flows into the tank 10. The raw water in the raw water tank 12 that has reached the overflow line 19 is discharged from the overflow line 19 to the outside of the apparatus. Furthermore, the raw water in the raw water tank 12 flows through the regenerated liquid supply line 8 and the resin tank 2 and is discharged from the drainage line 20.

  Prior to the regeneration process, the air venting process discharges air remaining in the resin tank 2, the regeneration liquid supply line 8, the raw water introduction line 18 and the drainage line 20, and each line 8 18, 20 and the resin tank 2 are filled with water. In the regeneration step, as will be described later, the regeneration liquid is supplied to the resin tank 2 by a water head pressure difference generated between the regeneration liquid surface in the regeneration liquid tank 7 and the end of the drainage line 22. For this reason, if air is present in each of the lines 8 and 20 and the resin tank 2 through which the regeneration liquid flows, the regeneration liquid may not flow smoothly and may cause regeneration failure. Further, if air exists in the raw water introduction line 18, the raw water as a regenerated liquid may not flow smoothly from the raw water line 3 to the regenerated liquid tank 7 via the raw water introduction line 18. . In the air venting process, in order to eliminate such a problem, the flow path through which the regenerating liquid flows is filled with water.

  The air bleeding step includes a first air bleeding step and a second air bleeding step. In the first air venting process, the regenerated liquid supply line 8 (part excluding the first line 13) including the resin tank 2 and the second line 14 and the drain line 20 are retained. This is a step of discharging the air being filled and filling the channel with water. In the first air venting step, the raw water valve 5, the second valve 16, the raw water introduction valve 17 and the drain valve 21 are set in an open state, while the soft water valve 6 and the first valve 15 are closed. Set to state. Thus, when the raw water is supplied from the hot water mixing tap, the raw water flows into the resin tank 2 from the raw water line 3, and the raw water is supplied to the regenerated liquid from the raw water line 3 side in the resin tank 2. It flows toward the line 8 side and flows out to the regenerated liquid supply line 8, and further flows in the regenerated liquid supply line 8 toward the raw water tank 12. The raw water that has flowed into the resin tank 2 flows out to the drain line 20. Further, the raw water flowing into the raw water introduction line 18 from the raw water line 3 flows through the raw water introduction line 18 toward the raw water tank 12.

  In the second air venting step, the air staying in the resin tank 2 and the regeneration liquid supply line 8 including the first line 13 (portion excluding the second line 14) is discharged. Is a step of filling the water with water. In this second air venting step, the raw water valve 5 and the first valve 15 are set in an open state, while the soft water valve 6, the second valve 16, the raw water introduction valve 17 and the drain valve 21 are closed. Set to state. Thus, when the raw water is supplied from the hot water mixing tap, the raw water flows into the resin tank 2 from the raw water line 3, and the raw water is supplied to the regenerated liquid from the raw water line 3 side in the resin tank 2. It flows toward the line 8 side, flows out to the regeneration solution supply line 8, and further flows in the regeneration solution supply line 8 toward the regeneration agent tank 10.

  In the regeneration step, the first valve 15, the second valve 16, the raw water introduction valve 17 and the drain valve 21 are set in an open state, while the raw water valve 5 and the soft water valve 6 are set in a closed state. To do. Thus, when the raw water is supplied from the hot and cold water mixing tap, the raw water is supplied from the raw water line 3 to the raw water tank 12 through the raw water introduction line 18. The raw water supplied to the raw water tank 12 is supplied to the regenerant tank 10 via the communication line 11. At the same time, the raw water in the raw water tank 12 flows out to the second line 14 due to a water head pressure difference generated between the water surface in the raw water tank 12 and the end portion of the drainage line 20.

  The raw water supplied to the regenerant tank 10 dissolves the regenerant 9 while flowing in the regenerant tank 10 to generate a regenerant solution. The regenerant solution in the regenerant tank 10 flows out to the first line 13 due to a water head pressure difference generated between the liquid level in the regenerant tank 10 and the end of the drainage line 20.

  In the regenerated liquid supply line 8, the regenerant solution that has flowed out to the first line 13 is mixed with the raw water that has flowed out to the second line 14, at the confluence portion of the first line 13 and the second line 14. After being diluted to a concentration suitable for regeneration, it flows into the resin tank 2 as a regeneration solution for regenerating the ion exchange resin (not shown). The regenerated liquid that has flowed into the resin tank 2 passes through the ion exchange resin, and then flows out to the drain line 20 and is discharged out of the apparatus.

  In the extruding step performed immediately after the regeneration step, the first valve 15 set in the open state in the regeneration step is closed to supply only raw water from the regeneration liquid tank 7 to the resin tank 2. Set to. That is, in the extrusion step, the second valve 16, the raw water introduction valve 17 and the drain valve 21 are set to an open state, while the raw water valve 5, the soft water valve 6 and the first valve 15 are closed. Set to. Thereby, the raw water supplied and stored in the raw water tank 12 through the raw water introduction line 18 is caused by the head pressure difference generated between the water surface in the raw water tank 12 and the end portion of the drainage line 20. Outflowing into the second line 14, only raw water flows into the resin tank 2 through the regenerated liquid supply line 8 as extruded water.

  The raw water that has flowed into the resin tank 2 passes through the ion exchange resin while pushing out the regeneration solution, and the ion exchange resin is subsequently regenerated. And the raw | natural water which passed the said ion exchange resin flows out into the said drainage line 20, and is discharged | emitted out of an apparatus.

  The cleaning process includes a first cleaning process and a second cleaning process. The first cleaning step is a step of supplying raw water to the resin tank 2 through the raw water line 3 and cleaning the resin tank 2. In this first washing step, the raw water valve 5 and the drain valve 21 are set in an open state, and the soft water valve 6, the first valve 15, the second valve 16 and the raw water introduction valve 17 are set in a closed state. To do. Thus, when the raw water is supplied from the hot and cold water mixing tap, the raw water is supplied from the raw water line 3 to the resin tank 2 as washing water. The raw water supplied to the resin tank 2 passes through the ion exchange resin while washing out the regenerated liquid remaining in the resin tank 2, and then flows out to the drain line 20 and is discharged outside the apparatus. Is done. Here, in FIG. 1, the raw water line 3 and the drainage line 20 are both connected to the lower end side of the resin tank 2, but FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view. The raw water that has flowed into the resin tank 2 from the line 3 as washing water passes through the resin tank 2 from the lower end side to the upper end side, and is then discharged to the drain line 20.

  The second cleaning step is a step of cleaning by supplying raw water to the regenerated liquid supply line 8 including the first line 13 and the first valve 15. In this second washing step, the raw water valve 5 and the first valve 15 are set in an open state, and the soft water valve 6, the second valve 16, the raw water introduction valve 17 and the drain valve 21 are set in a closed state. To do. Thus, when the raw water is supplied from the hot water mixing tap, the raw water flows into the resin tank 2 from the raw water line 3, and further, this raw water passes through the regenerated liquid supply line 8 to the regenerant tank 10. Inflow. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the residual salt content in the regenerated liquid from recrystallizing in the regenerated liquid supply line 8 and the first valve 15.

  According to the soft water device for bathroom 1 described above, even when the regenerated liquid level in the regenerated liquid tank 7 is not higher than the resin tank 2, during the regeneration process and the extrusion process, The raw water valve 5 and the soft water valve 6 are set in a closed state, the regenerated liquid supply line 8 and the resin tank 2 are sealed, and the regenerated liquid level in the regenerated liquid tank 7 and the end of the drain line 20 are set. The regeneration liquid can be supplied from the regeneration liquid tank 7 to the resin tank 2 due to the water head pressure difference between the two parts, and the regeneration liquid can be discharged to the drain line 20. Therefore, in order to supply the regeneration liquid from the regeneration liquid tank 7 to the resin tank 2, it is not necessary to set the regeneration liquid level in the regeneration liquid tank 7 higher than the resin tank 2. The height of the bathroom soft water device 1 can be suppressed.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated by the said embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Of course, it can implement variously in the range which does not change the main point.

It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows an example of a structure of embodiment of the soft water apparatus for bathrooms concerning this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Soft water apparatus for bathrooms 2 Resin tank 7 Regenerated liquid tank 8 Regenerated liquid supply line 20 Drain line

Claims (1)

A resin tank containing an ion exchange resin; a regenerated liquid tank storing the regenerated liquid of the ion exchange resin; connected to the resin tank via a regenerated liquid supply line; and connected to the resin tank; A soft water device for a bathroom provided with a drain line for discharging the regenerated liquid supplied from the tank to the resin tank as a regenerated waste water outside the device,
The reclaimed liquid level in the reclaimed liquid tank is not higher than the resin tank and is higher than the end of the drainage line. The regenerative liquid is supplied from the regenerant liquid tank to the resin tank due to a water head pressure difference with the end portion of the drainage line, and the regenerated liquid is discharged from the resin tank to the drainage line. Features a soft water device for bathrooms.

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