JPH0523278Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention relates to a water softener, particularly a cartridge for a water softener that easily softens tap water and is suitable for home use. This makes it possible to easily replace the cation exchange resin when the exchange resin deteriorates (ion exchange capacity) due to use, and also allows the extracted soft water to be mixed with water that is hardly softened. It is.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as a device for softening tap water to obtain drinking water, a water softener has been used, such as one in which a cation exchange resin is directly filled inside the container body, or a cartridge filled with cation exchange resin is placed inside the container body. It is known to be stored in a In the case where the cation exchange resin is directly filled inside the container body, some are equipped with a switching device for switching between water softening and regeneration so that the cation exchange resin can be regenerated at home.

On the other hand, in the case where a cartridge is used, when the ion exchange ability of the cation exchange resin deteriorates, the cartridge can be easily handled because it can be replaced with a cartridge filled with a new cation exchange resin.

Furthermore, in the water softener described above, the hardness of the water that has passed through the cation exchange resin layer generally becomes almost zero, and most of the minerals beneficial to the human body, such as calcium and magnesium, are removed. In view of this situation, some of the tap water used as raw water is softened through a cation exchange resin layer, and the other part is bypassed without passing through the cation exchange resin layer and mixed with the softened water. There are also known ones that do this. (For example, Utility Model Application No. 61-167992) [Problems to be solved by the invention] By the way, the hardness of raw water varies greatly from country to country, and even from region to region within the same country.
For example, Okinawa and Western European countries are known to have high hardness. In these regions, there are many places with hardness values of 200 or more, or even 300 or more.

In this way, it is effective to use a water softener in areas with high raw water hardness, but when hard raw water is softened, the amount of raw water that can be treated becomes extremely small, so the above-mentioned regeneration treatment is often required. Or you have to replace the cartridge.
As an example of raw water treatment, 1 (liter) of Na ⁺
When trying to soften water with a hardness of 200 using a type cation exchange resin, the amount of water that can be treated is approximately 300.
If the amount of soft water used per day is 15, it will be necessary to recycle or replace the cartridge once every 20 days. This is very complicated and
Furthermore, replacing the cartridge is expensive.

Incidentally, a cartridge is composed of a main body (casing) and a cation exchange resin filled in the main body, and when replacing the cartridge, the main body is also discarded along with the old cation exchange resin. Since this body is relatively expensive, the replacement cost of the cartridge becomes expensive.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, it is effective to use a water softener in areas with high raw water hardness, but if you are trying to secure an appropriate amount of soft water hardness (a certain amount), the amount of bypass described above must be adjusted according to the hardness of the raw water. It needs to change.

Furthermore, some conventional water softeners using cartridges have a pipe inserted into the cartridge to bypass raw water. With this structure, the amount of cation exchange resin that can be filled into the cartridge is reduced by the volume of the pipe, which has the disadvantage that the amount of raw water that can be softened is reduced.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, this invention is provided with a water supply port and a soft water outlet, and a water flow path that passes through a cation exchange resin layer from the water supply port to the soft water outlet. A cartridge for use in a water softener, which is filled with the cation exchange resin and is provided with a water outlet and a water inlet,
The present invention is characterized in that a lid that can be opened and closed for exchanging the cation exchange resin is provided, and the lid is provided with the running water outlet and a second running water inlet near the running water outlet.

[Function] In this way, by providing a lid for exchanging the cation exchange resin, when the ion exchange ability of the cation exchange resin deteriorates, only the cation exchange resin can be exchanged, and it is possible to replace the cation exchange resin as usual. There is no need to replace even the cartridge itself, and soft water can be obtained at a low cost.

In addition, part of the raw water flows into the water inlet of the cartridge filled with the cation exchange resin and is softened, and this water is taken out from the water outlet.
Another part of the raw water flows in from the second water inlet, is hardly softened, and is taken out from the water outlet and mixed with the softened water.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of this invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the entire water softener with a cartridge housed therein, and FIG. 2 shows the cartridge.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is the container body of the water softener, and a pipe-shaped water supply port 2 is provided on the lid 1a of the container body.
and a soft water outlet 3 are provided. This lid 1a is attached (fixed) to the main body 1e via an O-ring 1c using a well-known fastening fitting 1b. Reference numeral 4 denotes a cartridge, and the cartridge is composed of a cylinder 4a made of plastic or stainless steel, and a lower lid 4b and an upper lid 4c attached to the cylinder 4a. 4d, 4e
are filters, which are attached to the insides of the lids 4c and 4b, respectively. The lid body 4c has a second
A water inlet 4f is bored therein, and the lid is provided with a connecting cylinder 4g constituting a water outlet. This cartridge 4 is filled with a cation exchange resin 4h and silver-impregnated activated carbon 4i. Furthermore, a water inlet 4j is provided in the lid 4b.

The lower lid body 4b and the upper lid body 4c are connected to the cylinder 4a by well-known taper screws 4k and 4l.
is removably attached (fixed) to the

Further, a female thread is provided on the inside of the pipe-shaped soft water outlet 3, and a male thread is provided on the outside of the connection cylinder 4g. The water supply port 2 is provided with a backflow prevention valve 2a.

In the water softener configured as described above, the main body 1e
Remove the lid 1a, and in this state, open the soft water outlet 3.
The soft water outlet 3 and the connecting cylinder 4g are connected by screwing together the female thread of the connecting cylinder 4g and the male thread of the connecting cylinder 4g. Thereby, the cartridge 4 is attached (fixed) to the lid 1a. In this state, attach the lid 1a to the main body 1e,
The cartridge 4 is housed in the container body 1 by attaching it with the tightening fitting 1b, and the O-ring 1
c maintains an airtight state between the lid 1a and the main body 1e.

When tap water is supplied from the water supply port 2 with the cartridge 4 housed in the closed lid state as described above, the water flows as shown by the arrow and is taken out from the soft water outlet 3. That is, a portion of the water passes through the cartridge 4 from the water inlet 4j of the cartridge 4, and is softened by the cation exchange resin 4h. The other part of the water flows into the cartridge 4 from the second water inlet 4f of the cartridge 4, is mixed with the softened water in a state where the water is hardly softened, and is taken out from the softened water outlet 3, Soft water with appropriate hardness can be obtained.

When the ion exchange ability of the cation exchange resin deteriorates due to use of this water softener, remove the cartridge 4 and remove the lower lid 4b or upper lid 4c.
, replace the cation exchange resin with a new one, and then attach and store the cartridge 4 in the water softener as described above.

Incidentally, the silver-impregnated activated carbon 4i filled in the cartridge 4 is to prevent water accumulated in the cartridge 4 from spoiling.

The gist of the present invention is to provide a removable lid body 4b for replacing the cation exchange resin on the cartridge;
4c, etc., which can be opened and closed, and a second water inlet 4f is provided in the vicinity of the water outlet of the cartridge 4 provided on the lid, and various modifications can be made without departing from this spirit. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

[Effects of the invention] As described above, this invention is equipped with a water supply port 2 and a soft water outlet 3, and a flow channel is formed from the water supply port to the soft water intake port through a 4h layer of cation exchange resin. A cartridge 4 used in a water softener, which is filled with the cation exchange resin 4h and provided with a water outlet and a water inlet 4j, includes a removable lid 4b for exchanging the cation exchange resin 4h. , 4c, etc., which can be opened and closed, and the lid is provided with the running water outlet and the second running water inlet 4f near the running water outlet, so that when the ion exchange ability of the cation exchange resin deteriorates,
It is only necessary to replace the cation exchange resin 4h of the cartridge 4, and the cost required for replacement is lower than the conventional case where the entire cartridge 4 is replaced. Further, by providing the second water inlet 4f, soft water with appropriate hardness can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 show an embodiment of this invention, with Figure 1 being a longitudinal sectional front view of the water softener, and Figure 2 being a longitudinal sectional front view of the water softener.
The figure is a longitudinal sectional front view of the cartridge. 2...Water supply port, 3...Soft water outlet, 4...Cartridge, 4b...Lower lid, 4c...Upper lid, 4g...Connection cylinder (water outlet), 4h...
Cation exchange resin, 4j...Water inlet, 4k, 4
l...Tapered screw.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A cartridge used in a water softener, which is equipped with a water supply port and a soft water outlet, and is configured to form a flow channel from the water supply port to the soft water intake port through a cation exchange resin layer, and is filled with the cation exchange resin. and is provided with a water outlet and a water inlet, an openable/closable lid for exchanging the cation exchange resin is provided, and the lid is provided with the running water outlet and a second running water inlet near the running water outlet. A water softener cartridge characterized by: