Water filter abstract
A water filter with improved filtration efficiency and extended
operational period. The filter includes a cassette member filled
with filtration and activation agents, where a water path connecting
a water inlet pipe and an open upper end of the cassette member
is formed between an outer housing member and the cassette member,
while an open lower end is directly connected with the water inlet
pipe; a center pipe located inside the cassette member for connecting
an inside of the cassette member with a water outlet pipe; and a
damper member placed inside the cassette member which is vertically
slidable along the center pipe, which divides the inside of the
cassette member into an upper filtration chamber connected with
the upper end and a lower filtration chamber connected with the
lower end, where the water flows through the upper filtration chamber
from the upper end and the lower filtration chamber from the lower
end alternatively.
Water filter claims
What is claimed is:
1. A water filter, comprising:
a housing member connected to a water inlet pipe;
a cassette member filled with filtration and activation agents,
which is located inside the housing member, and which has open upper
and lower ends, where a water path connecting the water inlet pipe
and the upper end is formed between the housing member and the cassette
member, while the lower end is directly connected with the water
inlet pipe;
a center pipe located inside the cassette member for connecting
an inside of the cassette member with a water outlet pipe; and
a damper member placed inside the cassette member in contact with
the filtration and activation agents, which vertically slides along
the center pipe during a filtration operation by the cassette member
while keeping contact with the filtration and activation agents,
and which divides the inside of the cassette member into an upper
filtration chamber connected with the upper end and a lower filtration
chamber connected with the lower end, where the water flows through
the upper filtration chamber from the upper end and the lower filtration
chamber from the lower end alteratively.
2. The filter of claim 1 wherein the damper member moves upwards
when the water stops flowing from the upper end, and moves downwards
when the water stops flowing from the lower end.
3. The filter of claim 2 wherein the upwards motion of the damper
member compresses external elements removed from the water by the
filtration and activation agents in the upper filtration chamber,
wherein the downwards motion of the damper member compresses external
elements removed from the water by the filtration and activation
agents in the lower filtration chamber.
4. The filter of claim 3 wherein the upwards motion of the damper
produces cracks on the external elements compressed by a previous
downwards motion of the damper member, and wherein the downwards
motion of the damper produces cracks on the external elements compressed
by a previous upwards motion of the damper member.
Water filter description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water filter for purifying tap
water to obtain clean water.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, filtration of water and an activation of water
have been achieved by separate equipment designed for each purpose.
A filter to be utilized in the filtration of the water is most
commonly either a so called gravitational type in which the original
water is poured from an upper portion of the filter and made to
run down through filtration agents filling the interior of the filter,
such that external elements contained in the original water such
as sludges are filtered out by the filtration agents and the clean
water can be obtained at a lower portion of the filter, or a so-called
called centrifugal type in which the water and external elements
contained in the original water are separated by means of a centrifugal
force generated by a high speed rotation of an inner cylinder containing
the original water with respect to an outer cylinder in a double
cylinder configuration.
However, such a conventional water filter requires a large number
of valves, and control of these large number of valves can be quite
tedious.
Also, as a conventional water filter is operated, the filtration
becomes more difficult as a result of clogging due to the filtration
agents and the sludges remaining inside the filter, so that a conventional
water filter becomes inoperative in a rather short period of time.
This has necessitated frequent maintenance operations for keeping
the filter in a working condition, which are also quite tedious.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a
water filter capable of performing both of the filtration and the
activation of the water, capable of separating the external elements
from the water more effectively so that a highly purified clean
water can be obtained, and also capable of extending an operational
period of the filter by reducing the clogging due to the filtration
elements and external elements.
This object is achieved in the present invention by providing a
water filter, comprising: a housing member connected to a water
inlet pipe; a cassette member filled with filtration and activation
agents, which is located inside the housing member, and which has
open upper and lower ends, where a water path connecting the water
inlet pipe and the upper end is formed between the housing member
and the cassette member, while the lower end is directly connected
with the water inlet pipe; a center pipe located inside the cassette
member for connecting an inside of the cassette member with a water
outlet pipe; and a damper member placed inside the cassette member
which is vertically slidable along the center pipe, which divides
the inside of the cassette member into an upper filtration chamber
connected with the upper end and a lower filtration chamber connected
with the lower end, where the water flows through the upper filtration
chamber from the upper end and the lower filtration chamber from
the lower end alternatively.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross sectional view of one embodiment of
a water filter according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the
water filter of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 there is shown one embodiment
of a water filter according to the present invention.
This water filter 1 generally comprises a housing (outer cylinder)
2 a cassette (inner cylinder) 3 installed inside the housing 2
and a damper 4 located inside the cassette 3.
The housing 2 has a cylindrical shape with an upper end closed
and a lower end open. On the closed upper end of this housing 2
there is provided an automatic air release valve 5. The open lower
end of this housing 2 is fixed on a base frame 6.
On a side surface near the open lower end of the housing 2 there
is provided a water inlet port 7 connected to a water inlet pipe
9 and a water outlet port 8 connected to a water outlet pipe 10.
The water inlet pipe 9 is equipped with a pressure gauge 12 connected
to the water inlet pipe 9 through a control valve 11 while the
water outlet port 8 is equipped with a switching valve 13 such that
the water coming out from the water outlet port 8 can be led to
a branching pipe 14 by controlling this switching valve 13.
The cassette 3 has a cylindrical shape with both upper and lower
ends open, and is installed inside the housing 2 coaxially. The
size of the cassette 3 is smaller than that of the housing 2 by
such an extent that, when the cassette 3 is installed inside the
housing 2 an annular side path 17 and an upper condensation chamber
18 are formed between the housing 2 and the cassette 3.
A bottom of the cassette 3 inside the housing 2 is fixed to a bottom
plate 16 having a multiplicity of tiny holes 15A located beneath
the annular side path 17 formed between the housing 2 and a multiplicity
of tiny holes the cassette 3 and 15B located beneath the cassette
3. This bottom plate 16 effectively divides the inside of the housing
2 into an upper chamber 2U and the lower chamber 2D, where the ratio
of a volume of the upper chamber 2U with respect to that of the
lower chamber 2D is set to be approximately 3:1.
On an upper end of the cassette 3 there is provided a detachable
lid 20 having a multiplicity of tiny holes 19 of the same size as
those of the bottom plate 16. This detachable lid 20 is equipped
with a handle 21 for facilitating an easy manual operation to detach
the lid 20 as shown in FIG. 2 which can be pulled out into an
operative standing position shown in FIG. 2 from a pulled down position
at which it is housed inside the lid 20.
Inside of the cassette 3 there is provided a center pipe 22 which
is fixed to the bottom plate 16 and which extends up to about two
third of a length of the cassette 3. A top end of this center pipe
22 is closed, while an open bottom end of this center pipe 22 passes
through the center of the bottom plate 16 and connected to the water
outlet pipe 10 at the lower chamber 2D. On a side surface near the
top end of this center pipe 22 a multiplicity of tiny holes 23
of the same size as those of the bottom plate 16 are provided.
The damper 4 placed inside the cassette has a central opening 24
receiving the center pipe 22 so that the damper 4 is capable of
sliding up and down vertically along the center pipe 22. The damper
4 is normally positioned at about one half to one third of the length
of the cassette 3 away from the top end of the cassette 3.
As shown in detail in FIG. 2 the damper 4 comprises a pair of
round plates 25 fixed in a predetermined separation by a set of
bolt joints 27 provided near the circumference of the round plates
25 and by separation pieces 28 provided near the center of the
round plates 28 which are fixed to the round plate by another set
of bolt joints 29 and which also reinforces the strength of the
damper 4. Also, along the circumference of the round plates 25
there is provided a hard rubber ring 26 placed between the round
plates 25. The round plates 25 also have a multiplicity of tiny
holes 30 of the same size as those of the bottom plate 16.
An upper filtration chamber 31 formed between the lid 20 of the
cassette 3 and the upper one of the round plates 25 of the damper
4 and a lower filtration chamber 32 formed between the lower one
of the round plates 25 of the damper 4 and the bottom plate 16 are
filled with filtration and activation agents 33 made of numerous
identical particles of calcite and numerous identical particles
of calcite ceramic.
The water filter 1 having such a configuration operates as follows.
The pumped original water transferred through the water inlet pipe
9 is sent into the lower chamber 2D through the water inlet port
7. This water then flows through the effectively frictionless annular
side path 17 up to the upper condensation chamber 18 and pours
into the cassette 3 through the holes 19 on the lid 20. Here, a
fraction of the water also flows into the cassette 3 from the holes
15B on the bottom plate 16 but due to the larger resistance of
this route with respect to the water, only a minor fraction of the
water takes this route.
The majority of the water flowing into the cassette 3 from the
upper condensation chamber 18 side then runs down through the filtration
and activation agents 33 filling the interior of the upper filtration
chamber 31 in a process in which the external elements contained
in the water are removed by the filtration and activation agents
33 while the minerals dissolve from the calcite elements of the
filtration and activation agents 33 to activate the filtered water.
The clean and active water thus obtained flows into the damper
4 through the holes 30 on the upper one of the round plates 25
and then flows into the center pipe 22 through the holes 23 on the
central pipe 22 and finally flows out through the water outlet
pipe 10 water outlet port 8 and switching valve 13.
Now, as this filtration process goes on, a layer of the external
elements piled up on the filtration and activation agents 33 in
the upper filtration chamber 31 gets thicker, which in turn increases
a loss of the pressure of the water flowing into the cassette 3
through the upper condensation chamber 18.
When the loss of the pressure of the water exceeds the pressure
of the water in the lower chamber 2D, the majority of the water
stops flowing through the annular side path 17 and instead starts
to flow into the lower filtration chamber 32 from the holes 15B
on the bottom plate 16.
As a result, a dynamic pressure due to the water flowing into the
cassette 3 from the bottom plate 16 side becomes stronger and the
damper 4 is pushed upwards. This upward motion of the damper 4 compresses
the layer of the external elements against the particles of the
filtration and activation agents 33 in the upper filtration chamber
31.
Meanwhile, the water flowing through the holes 15B runs up through
the filtration and activation agents 33 filling the interior of
the lower filtration chamber 32 in a process in which the external
elements contained in the water are removed by the filtration and
activation agents 33 while the minerals dissolve from the calcite
elements of the filtration and activation agents 33 to activate
the filtered water.
The clean and active water thus obtained flows into the damper
4 through the holes 30 on the lower one of the round plates 25
and then flows into the center pipe 22 through the holes 23 on the
central pipe 22 and finally flows out through the water outlet
pipe 10 water outlet port 8 and switching valve 13.
Next, as this filtration process further goes on, a layer of the
external elements piled up on the filtration and activation agents
33 in the lower filtration chamber 32 gets thicker, which in turn
increases a loss of the pressure of the water flowing into the cassette
3 through the bottom plate 16. As a result, a dynamic pressure due
to the water flowing into the cassette 3 from the bottom plate 16
side becomes weaker again, and the water stops flowing through the
holes 15B on the bottom plate 16 which destroys the equilibrium
of the pressure inside the cassette 3 so that the damper 4 slides
down.
This downward motion of the damper 4 compresses the layer of the
external elements against the particles of the filtration and activation
agents 33 in the lower filtration chamber 32. At the same time,
this downward motion of the damper 4 also causes a production of
cracks on the compressed external elements in the upper filtration
chamber 31 due to shocks provided by the water flowing through the
damper 4. Due to these cracks, the loss of the pressure of the water
in the upper filtration chamber 31 is decreased, and the initial
state in which the water flows through the annular side path 17
and the upper condensation chamber 18 to the cassette 3 is restored.
Next, the water flowing through the holes 19 runs down through
the filtration and activation agents 33 filling inside the upper
filtration chamber 31 again, in a process of which the external
elements contained in the water are removed by the filtration and
activation agents 33 while the minerals dissolve from the calcite
elements of the filtration and activation agents 33 to activate
the filtered water as before. The clean and active water thus obtained
flows into the damper 4 through the holes 30 on the lower one of
the round plates 25 and then flows into the center pipe 22 through
the holes 23 on the central pipe 22 and finally flows out through
the water outlet pipe 10 water outlet port 8 and switching valve
13 as before.
Now, as this filtration process goes on, a layer of the external
elements piled up on the filtration and activation agents 33 in
the upper filtration chamber 31 gets thicker, which in turn increases
a loss of the pressure of the water flowing into the cassette 3
through the upper condensation chamber 18.
When the loss of the pressure of the water exceeds the pressure
of the water in the lower chamber 2D, the majority of the water
stops flowing through the annular side path 17 and instead starts
to flow into the lower filtration chamber 32 from the holes 15B
on the bottom plate 16.
As a result, a dynamical pressure due to the water flowing into
the cassette 3 from the bottom plate 16 side becomes stronger again
and the damper 4 is pushed upwards again. This upward motion of
the damper 4 compresses the layer of the external elements against
the particles of the filtration and activation agents 33 in the
upper filtration chamber 31 as before. At the same time, this upward
motion of the damper 4 also causes a production of cracks on the
compressed external elements in the lower filtration chamber 32
due to shocks provided by the water flowing through the damper 4
and the loss of the pressure of the water in the lower filtration
chamber 32 is decreased so that the water starts to flow into the
cassette 3 from the bottom plate 16 side again, and the process
described above will be repeated thereafter.
After the water filtration operation as described above is performed
for a prescribed period of time, the switching valve 13 is switched
to the branching pipe 14 and the water pressure is tripled, so
that the filtration and activation agents 33 are washed and the
external elements are drained through the branching pipe 14.
Thus, according to this embodiment of the present invention, it
becomes possible to provide a water filter capable of performing
both of the filtration and the activation of the water, capable
of separating the external elements from the water more effectively
as the external elements are compressed to acquire smaller volumes
and then cracked, and capable of extending an operational period
of the filter by reducing the clogging due to the filtration elements
and external elements.
Because of these advantages, the present invention is particularly
useful in locations where the usual back washing process for washing
the filter is difficult.
It is to be noted that, many modifications and variations of the
above embodiment may be made without departing from the novel and
advantageous features of the present invention. Accordingly, all
such modifications and variations are intended to be included within
the scope of the appended claims. |