JP7773709B2 - Shower-type water softener - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a shower-type water softener that softens hardness components contained in water to be treated.

The above-mentioned shower-type water softener is connected to a mixer tap installed in, for example, a bathroom, and softens the water to be treated from the mixer tap in a processing section filled with ion exchange resin, and then discharges the treated softened water through a shower head at the end of a shower hose connected to a drain outlet (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The shower-type water softener described above uses ion exchange resin to remove hardness components, such as calcium and magnesium ions, from raw water. When the ion exchange resin becomes saturated after replacing the hardness components, salt water is supplied to regenerate its capacity. To regenerate the ion exchange resin, a flow meter measures the amount of water passing through the resin tube filled with the ion exchange resin. When the accumulated water flow reaches a set value, the ion exchange resin is regenerated. This flow regeneration method accurately determines the remaining capacity of the ion exchange resin, allowing for regeneration using an appropriate amount of salt water at the appropriate time. The sodium ions adsorbed on the ion exchange resin are exchanged for hardness components, such as calcium and magnesium ions, to produce soft water. When the ion exchange resin is exchanging hardness components, it becomes saturated and no longer produces soft water. Therefore, salt water must be supplied to regenerate the ion exchange resin's capacity. However, the shower-type water softener described above does not have a function to notify the user when it is time to regenerate. As a result, users end up regenerating the ion exchange resin at inappropriate times. As a result, if regeneration is performed before the appropriate regeneration time, some of the salt water will be wasted because the ion exchange capacity will still be there. Also, if regeneration is performed after the appropriate regeneration time has passed, there will be a period of time when the softened water cannot be used.

Patent No. 6688571

In light of the above situation, the present invention aims to solve the problem by providing a shower-type water softener that can be properly regenerated.

To solve the above-mentioned problems, the shower-type water softener of the present invention comprises a battery as a power source, a treatment section filled with ion exchange resin for softening the water to be treated that is supplied to the treatment section, and an outlet for discharging the softened water treated in the treatment section and to which a shower hose can be connected. The shower-type water softener is also characterized by the following: flow rate measurement means for measuring at least one of the flow rate of the water to be treated that is supplied to the treatment section, the flow rate of the water treated in the treatment section, and the flow rate of the softened water treated in the treatment section that is discharged; detection means for detecting the time for regeneration based on the flow rate measured by the flow rate measurement means; notification means for notifying that it is time for regeneration based on a detection signal from the detection means; and notification stop mode transition means for transitioning to a stop mode in which notification is stopped after the notification means has issued a notification.

According to the present invention, the notification means notifies the user that it is time to regenerate based on the detection signal from the detection means, allowing for appropriate regeneration. Furthermore, after the notification means issues a notification, the notification stop mode transition means stops the notification, thereby reducing battery consumption.

Furthermore, in the shower-type water softener of the present invention, the notification stop mode transition means may transition to the stop mode when the flow rate measurement means is not measuring a flow rate.

As described above, by transitioning to stop mode when the flow measurement means is not measuring flow, unnecessary battery consumption can be reduced.

The shower-type water softener of the present invention may also include an alarm restart means that cancels the stop mode of the alarm stop mode transition means and restarts alarming by the alarm means in response to an input signal received when the flow rate measurement means starts measuring the flow rate.

As described above, when the flow measurement means starts measuring the flow rate, an input signal is sent to the notification stop mode transition means to cancel the stop mode, and the notification means resumes notification, thereby reaffirming that it is time to regenerate.

The shower-type water softener of the present invention may also include a display unit that displays predetermined information, and a non-display mode transition means that transitions to a non-display mode in which no information is displayed on the display unit when the flow rate measurement means is not measuring a flow rate.

As described above, by switching to a non-display mode in which no display is made on the display unit when the flow rate measurement means is not measuring the flow rate, it is possible to reduce battery consumption caused by the display unit.

The shower-type water softener of the present invention may also be equipped with a flow rate measurement stop means that transitions to a flow rate measurement stop mode in which measurement of flow rate by the flow rate measurement means is stopped when the flow rate measurement means is not measuring flow rate.

As described above, by stopping the flow measurement by the flow measurement means when the flow measurement means is not measuring the flow rate, it is possible to reduce battery consumption by the flow measurement means.

This invention provides a shower-type water softener that can perform regeneration appropriately by including a notification means that notifies the user that it is time to regenerate based on a detection signal from the detection means. Furthermore, by stopping the notification using the notification stop mode transition means, battery consumption can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shower-type water softener in which a shower head and a mixer tap are connected via a hose. FIG. 1 is a side view of a shower-type water softener. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a shower-type water softener. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shower-type water softener with the lid removed. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the present invention. A block diagram showing three modes that can be switched is shown.

Figure 1 shows the shower-type water softener of the present invention. This shower-type water softener has a roughly oval shape when viewed from above, making it compact and easy to carry.

As shown in Figure 1, the shower-type water softener 1 is placed in a bathroom and used. It includes a water supply inlet 4 (see Figure 2) to which one end of a flexible hose 3 is connected, the other end of which is connected to a mixer tap 2 provided in the bathroom; a treatment section 5 (see Figure 3) filled with ion exchange resin for softening raw water (water to be treated) from the water supply inlet 4; and an outlet 8 (see Figure 2) that discharges the softened water treated in the treatment section 5 and to which the other end of a flexible shower hose 7, one end of which is connected to a shower head 6, can be connected.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the shower-type water softener 1 comprises a tank 9 that receives raw water supplied from the water supply port 4; a casing 10 that is slightly larger than the tank 9 and covers the top, outer periphery, and bottom of the tank 9; an ion exchange resin section 11 in which the inner surface of the tank 9 is filled with ion exchange resin to soften the water in the tank 9; and a lid 12 that covers the upper end of the casing 10. The tank 9 and the ion exchange resin section 11 constitute the processing section 5. The ion exchange resin is made of granular cation exchange resin and has the function of removing hardness components such as calcium ions and magnesium ions contained in the raw water.

One end of a pipe 16 for supplying raw water is connected to the center of the upper end of the tank 9. Furthermore, a regenerant insertion section 17 is formed at a position radially outward from the center of the upper end of the tank 9, into which the opening of a container (not shown) containing a regenerant (salt water) for regenerating the ion exchange resin section 11 is inserted.

The lower end of the tank 9 is equipped with piping 18 for moving the softened water to the outside of the casing 10. A three-way valve 19 is connected to the protruding end of this piping 18, and the outlet 8 is formed above the three-way valve 19. By manually rotating this three-way valve 19, it is possible to switch between a first state in which softened water flows into the shower hose 7 and a second state in which the regenerant (salt water) added to regenerate the ion exchange resin section 11 is discharged.

The ion exchange resin section 11 has a pair of filter sections 11A, 11B (see Figure 3) located above and below the tank 9 to form a storage space for the cation exchange resin within the tank 9. These filter sections 11A, 11B allow water to pass through but prevent the cation exchange resin from passing through. Therefore, raw water supplied to the tank 9 passes through the upper filter section 11A and is softened by the cation exchange resin filling the storage space. The softened water then passes through the lower filter section 11B and moves downward, flowing out of the outlet 8 into the shower hose 7 (see Figure 1).

The shower-type water softener 1 includes a flow rate measuring means 28 (see FIG. 5) that measures the flow rate of water supplied to the treatment section 5, and a flow rate display unit 29 (see FIG. 4) that displays the flow rate of water measured by the flow rate measuring means 28. The flow rate display unit 29 includes a display unit 30 (described below), which is provided at the top end of the casing 10 (see FIG. 4). The flow rate display unit 29 is connected to the control unit S shown in FIG. 5. The control unit S may display the flow rate of raw water measured by the flow rate measuring means 28 on the display unit 30, or may display the remaining softened water amount (the amount of water that can be softened) on the display unit 30 based on the flow rate of raw water measured by the flow rate measuring means 28. The display unit 30 can display predetermined information such as the flow rate of raw water, the remaining amount of softened water, the amount of softened water processed, the remaining number of showers for which softened water can be used, and the remaining shower time for which softened water can be used.

The flow rate measuring means 28 is, for example, an impeller-type flow meter (flow rate sensor), and outputs a signal to the control unit S whose frequency changes according to the rotation speed of the impeller. As shown in FIG. 3, a battery 31 is provided as a power source for the control unit S and the flow meter 28, and the power from the battery 31 controls the activation and deactivation of the flow rate measuring means 28 and the display on the display unit 30. In this embodiment, a dry cell battery is used as the battery 31, but it may also be a button battery, a rechargeable secondary battery, etc.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit S includes a detection means 32, a notification stop mode transition means 33, a notification restart means 34, a non-display mode transition means 35, and a flow rate measurement stop means 36.

The detection means 32 is a means for detecting the time for regeneration based on the flow rate measured by the flow rate measurement means 28. In other words, when the flow rate of raw water, i.e., the cumulative value of raw water supplied to the tank 9 filled with ion exchange resin, reaches a set value, the control unit S determines that it is time to regenerate the ion exchange resin, and the control unit S activates the notification means 37 to notify the user of the shower-type water softener 1. The time for regeneration is when the ion exchange resin replaces the hardness and becomes saturated, making it unable to perform water softening treatment. When the time for regeneration arrives, a regenerant (salt water) is supplied to regenerate the capacity of the ion exchange resin.

The notification means 37 is composed of a light-emitting diode (LED) that serves as a light-emitting element provided in the flow rate display unit 29. As shown in FIG. 4, the light from this light-emitting diode (LED) 37 is transmitted through a light-transmitting portion 39 provided at the upper end of the top plate portion 27 of the lid body 12 and irradiated toward the upper part of the lid body 12. The light-transmitting portion 39 is formed by thinning the thickness of the portion of the lid body 12 located above the light-emitting diode (LED) 37. Therefore, by having the notification means 37 notify the user that it is time to regenerate based on the detection signal from the detection means 32, the user of the shower-type water softener 1 can appropriately regenerate the ion exchange resin. Furthermore, since the notification is stopped by the notification stop mode transition means 33 after the notification means 37 has issued a notification, consumption of the battery 31 (in this embodiment, a dry cell battery) can be reduced.

The notification stop mode transition means 33 is a means for transitioning to a stop mode in which the notification means 37 has issued a notification and then the notification is stopped. In other words, it is a means for transitioning to the stop mode when the flow rate measurement means 28 is not measuring the flow rate. Specifically, it is a means for the control unit S to control the on/off of the light-emitting diode (LED) 37 so that the LED 37 is repeatedly turned on for ^0.02 seconds and off for 0.98 seconds only when the remaining amount of softened water reaches a set amount (e.g., less than 0.05 m3) and the device is in the operating mode (operating while using softened water). Therefore, by transitioning to the stop mode when the flow rate measurement means 28 is not measuring the flow rate (in a non-operating mode other than the operating mode), unnecessary consumption of the battery 31 can be suppressed.

When in stop mode, the control unit S is instantaneously activated to periodically (e.g., every few seconds) scan for changes in pulse frequency, and if no changes in pulse frequency are found, the control unit S is returned to stop mode. Since only a small amount of power is required to activate the control unit S for this scan, the battery 31 is not significantly drained.

The notification restart means 34 is a means for canceling the stop mode of the notification stop mode transition means 33 and restarting notification by the notification means 37 in response to an input signal when flow measurement by the flow measurement means 28 begins. Therefore, by canceling the stop mode of the notification stop mode transition means 33 and restarting notification by the notification means 37 in response to an input signal when flow measurement by the flow measurement means 28 begins, it is possible to remind the user that it is time to regenerate, and to ensure that regeneration using salt water is carried out.

The non-display mode transition means 35 is a means for transitioning to a non-display mode in which no display is made on the display unit 30 (in this embodiment, display of the remaining amount of soft water) when the flow rate measurement means 28 is not measuring the flow rate. In this way, by transitioning to a non-display mode in which no display is made on the display unit 30 when the flow rate measurement means 28 is not measuring the flow rate, it is possible to reduce consumption of the battery 31 by the display unit 30.

The flow rate measurement stop means 36 is a means for transitioning to a flow rate measurement stop mode in which the flow rate measurement by the flow rate measurement means 28 is stopped when the flow rate measurement means 28 is not measuring a flow rate. In this way, by stopping the flow rate measurement by the flow rate measurement means 28 when the flow rate measurement means 28 is not measuring a flow rate, it is possible to reduce the consumption of the battery 31 by the flow rate measurement means 28.

As shown in Figure 4, the flow rate display unit 29 includes a display unit 30 that displays the remaining soft water amount numerically, a push-button confirm/reset switch 41, a push-button setting switch 42, and a light-emitting diode (LED) 37 located between the two switches.

The flow rate display unit 29 is powered by a dry cell battery 31 and, as shown in FIG. 6, enters the operation mode (the solid line "1.7 ^m³ " is lit on the display unit 30 in FIG. 6). By pressing and holding the confirm/reset switch 41 for a predetermined time (1 second in this embodiment) during this operation mode, the remaining soft water volume is reset and the system transitions to the setting mode. In the setting mode, the text displayed on the display unit 30 (2.0 ^m³ , shown by a dashed line in FIG. 6) begins to flash. This flashing display may alternate between being lit for a set time (1.2 seconds in this embodiment) and being turned off for a set time (0.4 seconds in this embodiment, which is shorter than the lit display, but may be set to the same time). Each time the setting switch 42 is pressed, the count is incremented by a predetermined amount (0.1 in this embodiment). The maximum volume can be set to 9.9 ^m³ . After that, the count returns to 0.1, and each time the setting switch 42 is pressed, the count is incremented by a predetermined amount (0.1 in this embodiment). Furthermore, if the setting switch 42 is pressed and held down, the count will be increased continuously in increments of 0.1.

After setting the maximum remaining amount of softened water (usable softened water capacity) using the setting switch 42, pressing the confirm/reset switch 41 confirms the maximum remaining amount of softened water and returns to operation mode. After returning to operation mode, if a predetermined time (10 seconds in this embodiment) has passed without any operation of either switch 41 or 42, and the frequency of the pulses input from the flow rate measurement means 28 remains below the predetermined frequency of 8 Hz (a frequency that can be determined to indicate no water flow) for a predetermined time (10 seconds in this embodiment), the system will transition to stop mode. If either switch 41 or 42 is operated during stop mode, or if the frequency of the pulses input from the flow rate measurement means 28 exceeds the predetermined frequency of 8 Hz (a frequency that can be determined to indicate water flow), the system will transition to operation mode.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, a light-emitting diode (LED) 37 was used as the notification means, but it may also be an organic EL element, or it may be configured as a sound device such as a buzzer.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the flow rate measuring means 28 measured the flow rate of raw water supplied to the treatment unit 5, but it may also be configured to measure the flow rate of the water treated in the treatment unit 5, or the flow rate of the softened water treated in the treatment unit 5 that is discharged.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the notification means 37 notifies the user that it is time to regenerate. However, a second notification means may also be provided to notify the user that the time for regeneration is approaching shortly before the time for regeneration. In this case, the remaining amount of soft water shortly before the time for regeneration is set.

In addition, in the above embodiment, raw water is introduced into the water softener from the top and discharged from the bottom, and the regenerant (salt water) is also introduced from the top and discharged from the bottom. However, raw water may be introduced into the water softener from the bottom and discharged from the top, and the regenerant (salt water) may be introduced into the water softener from the top and discharged from the bottom, the opposite of raw water.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the lid portion 12 is formed thin so that the light from the light-emitting diode 37 can be seen from outside the lid portion 12. However, the entire lid portion 12 may be made of a transparent or translucent material, or an opening may be formed in the portion of the lid portion 12 where the light from the light-emitting diode 37 hits, and a transparent plate portion may be provided to close the opening, so that the light from the light-emitting diode 37 can be seen from outside.

In addition, in the above embodiment, an impeller-type flow sensor was used as the flow measurement means 28, but various other sensors may also be used, such as ultrasonic, float, electromagnetic, thermal, and differential pressure sensors.

1...Shower-type water softener, 2...Mixer tap, 3...Hose, 4...Water supply port, 5...Processing unit, 6...Shower head, 7...Shower hose, 8...Outlet, 9...Tank, 10...Casing, 11...Ion exchange resin unit, 11A, 11B...Filter unit, 12...Cover unit, 16...Pipe, 17...Inlet unit, 18...Pipe, 19...Three-way valve, 27...Top plate, 28...Flow rate measurement means, 29...Flow rate display unit, 30...Display unit, 31...Battery, 32...Detection unit, 33...Alarm stop mode transition means, 34...Alarm restart means, 35...Non-display mode transition means, 36...Flow rate measurement stop means, 37...Alarm means (light-emitting diode (LED)), 39...Translucent unit, 41...Confirm/reset switch, 42...Setting switch, S...Control unit

Claims (5)

A shower-type water softener comprising a battery as a power source, a treatment section filled with ion exchange resin for softening water to be treated, and an outlet for discharging the softened water treated in the treatment section and to which a shower hose can be connected,
a flow rate measuring means for measuring at least one of the flow rate of the water to be treated supplied to the treatment section, the flow rate of the water treated in the treatment section, and the flow rate of the softened water treated in the treatment section that is discharged;
The control unit is provided with a detection means for detecting the time for regeneration based on the flow rate measured by the flow rate measurement means, and a notification stop mode transition means for transitioning to a stop mode in which notification is stopped after a notification is made by a notification means that notifies that it is time for regeneration based on a detection signal from the detection means,
the flow rate measuring means is an impeller-type flow meter and is configured to output a signal whose frequency changes according to the rotation speed of the impeller to the control unit;
the notification stop mode transition means transitions to the stop mode when the flow rate measurement means is not measuring a flow rate, and when in the stop mode after transition to the stop mode, instantly starts the control unit to periodically scan for any change in pulse frequency, and if there is no change in the pulse frequency, switches the shower type water softener to the stop mode again. The shower-type water softener of claim 1, further comprising an alarm restart means that cancels the stop mode of the alarm stop mode transition means and restarts alarming by the alarm means in response to an input signal when flow measurement by the flow rate measurement means begins. The shower-type water softener according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is equipped with a display unit that displays predetermined information, and also equipped with a non-display mode transition means that transitions to a non-display mode in which no information is displayed on the display unit when the flow rate measurement means is not measuring the flow rate. The shower-type water softener described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is equipped with a flow measurement stop means that transitions to a flow measurement stop mode in which measurement of flow by the flow measurement means is stopped when the flow measurement means is not measuring flow rate. The shower type water softener according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising: a casing that covers the outer periphery and bottom of the processing unit; and a lid that covers the upper end of the casing; a flow rate display unit that displays the flow rate of water measured by the flow rate measuring means is provided at the upper end of the casing; the notification means is composed of a light-emitting diode as a light-emitting unit provided in the flow rate display unit ; and a light-transmitting unit at the upper end of the lid that transmits light from the light-emitting diode to above the lid.