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JP-7856237-B2 - water softener

JP7856237B2JP 7856237 B2JP7856237 B2JP 7856237B2JP-7856237-B2

Inventors

  • 植屋 宣義
  • 磯野 真衣
  • 前田 康成

Assignees

  • パナソニックハウジングソリューションズ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20250618
Priority Date
20200522

Claims (5)

  1. An electrolysis apparatus that produces alkaline water and acidic water by electrolysis, A circulation channel connected to the electrolysis apparatus, comprising a first circulation channel and a second circulation channel through which alkaline water and acidic water produced by the electrolysis apparatus can be alternately passed, A first sensor for detecting parameters of the water flowing through the first circulation channel, A second sensor for detecting the parameters of the water flowing through the second circulation channel, Control unit and A first batch processing tank is provided in the middle of the first circulation channel, A second batch processing tank is provided in the middle of the second circulation channel, The system includes a valve that controls the flow/stopping of water from the first batch processing tank downstream and the flow/stopping of water from the second batch processing tank downstream, The first sensor and the second sensor are one of a pH sensor, a conductivity sensor, and a TDS sensor. The control unit, The electrolysis apparatus is controlled to perform a first mode in which alkaline water is passed through the first circulation channel and acidic water is passed through the second circulation channel, a second mode in which acidic water is passed through the first circulation channel and alkaline water is passed through the second circulation channel, and a first pipe cleaning mode in which the pipes constituting the first and second circulation channels are cleaned. In the first mode, it is determined whether the fluctuation value of the detected value of the first sensor over a predetermined period is within a predetermined range. If it is determined that the fluctuation value is within a predetermined range, it is then determined whether the increase in the detected value of the first sensor over a predetermined period is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. If it is determined that the aforementioned increase is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the electrolysis apparatus is controlled to stop the electrolysis. In the second mode, it is determined whether the fluctuation value of the detected value of the second sensor over a predetermined period is within a predetermined range. If it is determined that the fluctuation value is within a predetermined range, it is then determined whether the increase in the detected value of the second sensor over a predetermined period is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. If it is determined that the aforementioned increase is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the electrolysis apparatus is controlled to stop the electrolysis. A water softening device that, in the first pipe cleaning mode, controls the valve to return the acidic water remaining in the second batch processing tank to the first batch processing tank and the second batch processing tank.
  2. An electrolysis apparatus that produces alkaline water and acidic water by electrolysis, A circulation channel connected to the electrolysis apparatus, comprising a first circulation channel and a second circulation channel through which alkaline water and acidic water produced by the electrolysis apparatus can be alternately passed, A first sensor for detecting parameters of the water flowing through the first circulation channel, A second sensor for detecting the parameters of the water flowing through the second circulation channel, Control unit and A first batch processing tank is provided in the middle of the first circulation channel, A second batch processing tank is provided in the middle of the second circulation channel, A valve that controls the flow/stopping of water from the first batch processing tank downstream, and the flow/stopping of water from the second batch processing tank downstream, Equipped with, The first sensor and the second sensor are hardness sensors, The control unit, The electrolysis apparatus is controlled to perform a first mode in which alkaline water is passed through the first circulation channel and acidic water is passed through the second circulation channel, a second mode in which acidic water is passed through the first circulation channel and alkaline water is passed through the second circulation channel, and a first pipe cleaning mode in which the pipes constituting the first and second circulation channels are cleaned. In the first mode, it is determined whether the rate of decrease per unit time of the detected value of the first sensor is less than or equal to a predetermined value. If it is determined that the rate of decrease is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the electrolysis apparatus is controlled to stop the electrolysis. In the second mode, it is determined whether the rate of decrease per unit time of the detected value of the second sensor is less than or equal to a predetermined value. If it is determined that the rate of decrease is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the electrolysis apparatus is controlled to stop the electrolysis. A water softening device that, in the first pipe cleaning mode, controls the valve to return the acidic water remaining in the second batch processing tank to the first batch processing tank and the second batch processing tank.
  3. The water softening apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first sensor is provided downstream of the electrolysis apparatus and upstream of the first batch processing tank in the first circulation channel, and the second sensor is provided downstream of the electrolysis apparatus and upstream of the second batch processing tank in the second circulation channel.
  4. The water softening apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first circulation channel and the second circulation channel each merge at a position extending downstream from the first batch processing tank and the second batch processing tank, and are connected to the electrolysis apparatus.
  5. The water softening apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a channel connected to the first and second circulation channels, and a separation device connected to the channel, wherein the separation device separates metal component crystals from the water supplied from the channel.

Description

This invention relates to a water softening device. In hard water areas, problems caused by hardness components such as scale and limescale are common, creating a demand for water softening devices. While ion exchange resins are one method of water softening (see, for example, Patent Document 1), they have the drawback of generating salt wastewater due to regeneration using salt. Other methods, such as EDI and RO membranes, also exist (see, for example, Patent Document 2), but these suffer from the problem of large amounts of wastewater. Patent No. 3145240International Publication No. 2007/132685 Schematic diagram of a water softening device in an embodimentFlowchart showing the water softening device in the first mode as shown in Figure 1.Diagram showing the water flow in the first raw water injection mode in the first mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the first crystallization treatment mode in the first mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the first acidic water delivery mode in the first mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the first alkaline water supply mode in the first mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the first pipe cleaning mode in the first mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the first electrolytic tank cleaning mode in the first mode.A flowchart showing a method for determining whether to continue or stop electrolysis in the first crystallization treatment mode.Graph showing the time evolution of "alkaline pH" and "ion separation rate" in the first crystallization treatment mode.Flowchart showing the second mode of operation of the water softening device shown in Figure 1.Diagram showing the water flow in the second raw water injection mode in the second mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the second crystallization treatment mode in the second mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the second acidic water delivery mode in the second mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the second alkaline water supply mode in the second mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the second pipe cleaning mode in the second mode.Diagram showing the water flow in the second electrolytic tank cleaning mode in the second mode.Schematic diagram showing the time evolution of parameters when using a conductivity sensor or TDS sensor.Schematic diagram showing the time evolution of parameters when using a turbidity sensor or chromaticity sensor.Schematic diagram showing the time evolution of parameters when using a hardness sensor. The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. (Embodiment) Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the water softening device 2 in an embodiment. The water softening device 2 is a device that uses electrolysis to remove metal ions, which are hardness components, from water. Here, metal ions refer to calcium ions ( Ca²⁺ ) and magnesium ions ( Mg²⁺ ). In this embodiment, the water softening device 2 is a water softening device that produces soft water by removing and separating metal ions from hard water, thereby reducing the concentration of metal ions (hardness) in hard water to below a predetermined concentration. For the definitions of hard water and soft water, for example, the WHO definition may be used. That is, water with a hardness of less than 120 mg/L may be defined as soft water, and water with a hardness of 120 mg/L or more may be defined as hard water. The water softening device 2 shown in Figure 1 comprises raw water channels 4A and 4B, batch processing tanks 6A and 6B, circulation channels 8A and 8B, a pump 10, an electrolysis device 12, pH sensors 14A and 14B, a separation device 16, an intermediate tank 18, a water storage tank 20, and a control unit 21. The water softening device 2 further includes various valves: valves 22A and 22B, valve 24, valve 26, valves 28A and 28B, valve 30, and valve 32. The raw water channels 4A and 4B are channels for supplying raw water to batch processing tanks 6A and 6B, respectively. The raw water is, for example, hard water. The upstream side of the raw water channels 4A and 4B is connected to a water source (not shown), and the downstream side is connected to batch processing tanks 6A and 6B. Valves 22A and 22B are provided in the raw water channels 4A and 4B, respectively. The opening and closing of valves 22A and 22B controls the flow of water from the raw water channels 4A and 4B to the batch processing tanks 6A and 6B, respectively. Batch processing tanks 6A and 6B are, respectively, tanks for storing water for batch processing. Each batch processing tank 6A and 6B is equipped with a float sensor (not shown) that can detect the amount of water stored in each tank. Circulation channels 8A and 8B are connected to batch processing tanks 6A and 6B, respectively. The circulation channels 8A and 8B are two circulation channels connected to the batch processing tanks 6A and 6B. Each of the circulation chann