US-12623933-B2 - Water-softening system

US12623933B2US 12623933 B2US12623933 B2US 12623933B2US-12623933-B2

Abstract

A water-softening system includes a filter device including filter units that are provided in at least some of a plurality of supply channels arranged in parallel to supply raw water to a consumption site and that remove at least part of ionic matter contained in supplied raw water by electro-deionization and discharge soft water containing less ionic matter than the raw water, a plurality of supply valves provided in the plurality of supply channels to open or close the supply channels, and a processor connected to the filter device and the plurality of supply valves. The processor determines whether water is supplied to the consumption site and controls at least one of the plurality of supply valves to remain open to maintain a state in which water is allowed to be supplied to the consumption site, when it is determined that no water is supplied to the consumption site.

Inventors

Bum Seup KIM
Soo Young Lee
Ji Hyung YOON
Gu Min LIM

Assignees

KYUNGDONG NAVIEN CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20221221
Priority Date: 20190307

Claims (9)

1 . A water-softening system comprising: a first supply channel and a second supply channel arranged in parallel to supply raw water to a consumption site; a filter device including a first filter unit provided in the first supply channel and a second filter unit provided in the second supply channel, wherein the first filter unit and the second filter unit remove at least part of ionic matter contained in supplied raw water by electro-deionization and discharge soft water containing less ionic matter than the raw water; a first supply valve provided in the first supply channel to open or close the first supply channel and a second supply valve provided in the second supply channel to open or close the second supply channel; a flow-rate acquisition device configured to obtain a flow rate of water delivered to the consumption site; and a processor connected to the filter device, the flow-rate acquisition device, the first supply valve and the second supply valve, wherein the processor: determines whether water is supplied to the consumption site; and controls both the first supply valve and the second supply valve to remain open to maintain a modified standby state in which water is allowed to be supplied to the consumption site, when it is determined that no water is supplied to the consumption site.
2 . The water-softening system of claim 1 , wherein the first and second filter unit selectively perform any one of a removal mode of removing the ionic matter by electro-deionization through electrodes and a regeneration mode of regenerating the electrodes.
3 . The water-softening system of claim 2 , wherein the processor performs control such that the first filter unit performs the removal mode in an open state of the first supply valve, when water starts to be supplied to the consumption site.
4 . The water-softening system of claim 3 , wherein the processor controls the second filter unit to perform the regeneration mode and the second supply valve to be closed.
5 . The water-softening system of claim 3 , wherein the processor determines again whether water is supplied to the consumption site, when mode transition time elapses after the first filter unit performs the removal mode, and wherein when it is determined that water is supplied to the consumption site, the processor: controls the first filter unit to perform the regeneration mode; controls the second filter unit to perform the removal mode; controls the first supply valve to be closed; and controls the second supply valve to be opened.
6 . The water-softening system of claim 5 , wherein the processor determines again whether water is supplied to the consumption site, every time mode transition time elapses after water starts to be supplied to the consumption site, and wherein when it is determined that no water is supplied to the consumption site, the processor: performs control such that the first or second filter unit configured to perform the removal mode performs the regeneration mode; performs control such that the first or second filter unit configured to perform the regeneration mode stops operating; performs control to open the first or second supply valve installed in the first or second supply channel provided with the first or second filter unit configured to stop operating; and performs control to close the first or second supply valve installed in the first or second supply channel provided with the first or second filter unit configured to perform the regeneration mode.
7 . The water-softening system of claim 6 , wherein the processor determines again whether water is supplied to the consumption site within confirmation time, after it is determined that water supply to the consumption site is stopped, and wherein when it is determined that no water is supplied to the consumption site, the processor: controls the first and second filter units to stop operating; performs control to open the first and second supply valve.
8 . The water-softening system of claim 6 , wherein the processor determines again whether water is supplied to the consumption site within confirmation time, after it is determined that water supply to the consumption site is stopped, and wherein when it is determined that water is supplied to the consumption site, the processor performs control such that the first or second filter unit configured to stop operating performs the removal mode in a state in which open/closed states of the first and second supply valves are maintained.
9 . The water-softening system of claim 1 , wherein the processor determines that water is supplied to the consumption site, when the flow rate obtained by the flow-rate acquisition device is higher than or equal to a critical flow rate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Nonprovisional Patent Application Ser. No. 16/803,391, filed on Feb. 27, 2020, and to Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2019-0026110 and 10-2020-0009529, filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 7, 2019 and Jan. 23, 2020, respectively, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a water-softening system. BACKGROUND A water-softening system of a Point of Entry (PoE) type is a system that produces soft water from raw water and supplies the soft water to a consumption site. The consumption site may be a house. The soft water supplied to the consumption site is delivered to a faucet, a shower head, or the like for use. When water is used in the consumption site, water is automatically supplied to the consumption site through the water-softening system by water pressure of raw water delivered from a water source to the consumption site. That is, the water-softening system cannot determine when to supply water to the consumption site. The water-softening system needs to recognize when water is supplied to the consumption site. This is because when water is supplied to the consumption site, the water-softening system has to be controlled to produce soft water from raw water. As foreign matter is accumulated or adsorbed in the water-softening system, a capability to produce soft water may be degraded, and impurities may be mixed with soft water. Accordingly, treatment is required to return the capability to produce soft water to the original state and remove impurities that are likely to be mixed with soft water. Meanwhile, water may be used in the consumption site even while the treatment is performed. To sufficiently deliver water to the consumption site irrespective of the treatment, the water-softening system needs to consistently determine whether water is used in the consumption site and needs to supply water even while the treatment is performed. SUMMARY The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art while advantages achieved by the prior art are maintained intact. An aspect of the present disclosure provides a water-softening system for always determining whether water is supplied to a consumption site. Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a water-softening system for performing predetermined treatment and during the treatment, determining whether water is used in a consumption site. The technical problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned problems, and any other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a water-softening system includes a filter device including filter units that are provided in at least some of a plurality of supply channels arranged in parallel to supply raw water to a consumption site and that remove at least part of ionic matter contained in supplied raw water by electro-deionization and discharge soft water containing less ionic matter than the raw water, a plurality of supply valves provided in the plurality of supply channels to open or close the supply channels, and a processor connected to the filter device and the plurality of supply valves. The processor determines whether water is supplied to the consumption site and controls at least one of the plurality of supply valves to remain open to maintain a state in which water is allowed to be supplied to the consumption site, when it is determined that no water is supplied to the consumption site. According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a water-softening system includes filter units that are provided in supply channels for supplying raw water to a consumption site and that remove at least part of ionic matter contained in supplied raw water by electric force and discharge soft water containing less ionic matter than the raw water, filter valves provided in filter channels provided with the filter units among the supply channels, a treatment device that provides a treatment substance for predetermined treatment to the filter channels, and a processor connected to the filter units, the filter valves, and the treatment device. The processor controls the treatment device to provide the treatment substance to the filter channels, when a preset condition is satisfied and controls the filter valves to remain closed during treatment by the treatment substance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a water-softening system according to an embodiment