JPH01228587A - Hardness leakage alarm means of hard water softening apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a serious accident caused by hardness leakage by providing a comparator for comparing the measured voltage if a softened water hardness sensor with reference voltage preset in order to judge the abnormality of the sensor and the inferiority of water supply and emitting an abnormality alarm signal when the measured voltage is smaller than the reference voltage. CONSTITUTION:An atmosphere open type measuring container 4 is connected to the softened water line 3 of a hard water softening apparatus 1 and a hardness sensor 5 consisting of a pair of an ion electrode 5a and a comparing electrode 5b is provided in the container 4. The measured voltage between the electrodes 5a, 5b is compared with reference voltage, which is preset in order to judge the abnormality of the hardness sensor 5 and the inferiority of water supply by a comparator X and, when the measured voltage is smaller than the reference voltage, an abnormality alarm signal X3 is generated. As a result, a serious accident caused by hardness leakage can be prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] This invention uses a hardness sensor to detect the hardness component of water flowing through a water softening line of a water softening device, and at the same time detects abnormalities in the sensor itself and water flow. It is possible to determine the presence or absence and issue an alarm.

[Prior art and its problems] Tap water and well water used in the food industry appear clean and transparent, but they contain various impurities (for example, hardness components such as calcium and magnesium). include. If these waters are used as they are, they may cause scale adhesion and corrosion. Therefore, water softening devices for removing hardened bone among the above impurities are widely used.

In general, water softeners are made of ion exchange resin for strong acids.
Type a is used to eliminate impurities in raw water (e.g. Ca'', Mg
However, due to the deterioration or insufficient regeneration of the ion exchange resin, the ion exchange resin has been devised to replace Ca"+, M g2" and Na". The replacement of impurities such as Ca'' and Mg'' may not be carried out properly, and impurities such as Ca'' and Mg'' may pass through, resulting in hardness leakage.

In such cases, methods for detecting hardness leaks in water softening equipment include a method of periodically regenerating the resin using a timer (timer usage method), and a method of measuring the PH value (P)I.
There are two methods: a method of measuring the electrical resistance of a resin aqueous system using an alternating current voltage (200 Hz) (a method of measuring electrical resistance of a resin aqueous system), and the like. However, when using a timer, there is an uneconomical point in that regeneration is performed when it is not the time for hardness leakage, or conversely, there is a risk that regeneration will not begin even if hardness leakage has occurred, and PH measurement In this method, it is difficult to accurately detect actual hardness leakage because the change in pH value is slight. In addition, in the method of measuring the electrical resistance of resin water systems, it is easy to detect resistance changes in the resin water system using high AC voltage, but if there is uneven flow of water in the resin cylinder, accurate detection values may not be obtained. Moreover, since the electrodes are inserted into the resin, the structure is complicated.

On the other hand, in the invention of JP-A-60-146146,
The measured voltage A between the hardness ion electrode and the reference electrode is compared with the reference voltage C for hardness leakage determination, and the measured voltage A is 5.
'<9. If the voltage becomes larger than C, a hardness leak alarm signal is issued, or at the time of water flow immediately after receiving the regeneration completion timing signal from the control valve, the measured voltage A is compared with the ion electrode deterioration base voltage, and the voltage A is determined. A system is disclosed in which an ion electrode deterioration alarm signal is issued when the ion electrode deterioration reference voltage becomes larger than the ion electrode deterioration reference voltage. However, in these methods, when the measured voltage A becomes larger than each preset voltage, it is possible to notify the outside as a "hardness leak alarm" or "ion electrode deterioration alarm," but conversely, when the voltage If \ becomes smaller than the reference voltage, it appears to be operating normally, so
If hardness leakage occurs at this time, it will lead to a serious accident.

[Purpose and outline of the invention]

This invention was made by focusing on the above-mentioned drawbacks, and includes a measuring container that is open to the atmosphere and connected to one softening water line of a water softening device, a set of ion electrodes installed in this container, and a comparison container. The hardness sensor consists of electrodes, and the measured voltage A between both electrodes is compared with a reference voltage B set in advance for determining sensor abnormality and water flow failure, and if the former is smaller than the latter, an abnormality alarm signal is issued. This is a hardness leak alarm system for water softening equipment, which is specially equipped with a comparator that works on the water softener.

〔Example] The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of one embodiment of the present invention, in which (1) is a water softening device filled with Na-type ion exchange resin, and (7) is a control attached to the water softening device. It's a valve. The water softening device (1) passes raw water through an ion exchange resin layer to soften water during water flow, and sucks salt water from a salt water tank (not shown) during regeneration by the action of a control valve (7). By bringing the resin into contact with the ion exchange resin, ion exchange between Na'' and Ca'' is carried out, and the ion exchange resin is regenerated. The water flow cycle in this case is determined by the properties of the raw water, the water flow rate, and the capacity of the water softener.

(2) is the raw water line installed on the inlet side of the control valve (7), and (3) is the soft water line installed on the outlet side of the control valve (7). Measurement container (4) that is open to the atmosphere to accommodate
are connected. (5) is an ion electrode (5a) of a known configuration and a reference electrode (5) installed by immersing it in water in the container.
b) A set of hardness sensors.

When the water tank (4) has a large capacity, a partition plate (not shown) is installed inside the tank to separate the upstream and downstream areas in order to minimize the time lag in detecting hardness leaks. It is preferable to divide the area and provide a pair of electrodes only in the upstream region of the small capacity part.

(X) is a comparator for detecting and determining the output voltage from the hardness sensor (5), that is, the voltage A between the hardness ion electrode (5a) and the comparison electrode (5b). When the voltage A becomes larger than the base (1!! voltage C) for hardness leakage determination, it operates to output a hardness leakage alarm signal (this is the first alarm function and is represented by Xl).This comparison In addition to the above-mentioned functions, during the resin regeneration process, the container activates the hardness sensor's picture electrode (5a
), (5b) is detected, and if this voltage A becomes higher than a reference voltage (different from the reference voltage C mentioned above) set to 6 in advance for sensor abnormality determination, a sensor abnormality alarm is issued. The function of outputting a signal (2nd report function;
) is smaller than the other W table voltage B, which is set p to determine sensor abnormality and poor water flow.
It has a function of emitting a third alarm signal (third alarm signal: X3). The base <V voltage B in this case is a voltage at a level different from the above-mentioned reference voltage, and is given from an experimental value or a calculated value.

Next, the effect will be explained. First, when water is flowing, raw water enters the water softener (1) from the inlet raw water line (2) at the original pressure by the action of the control valve (7), and undergoes ion exchange with the ion exchange resin to become soft water. , through the soft water inlet (3) at the outlet and into the measuring container (4) which is open to the atmosphere.
) (flows out of the system via the supply line (9).

Then, when moving to the regeneration process, the control valve sucks brine from a brine tank (not shown). With this salt water, the ion exchange resin is regenerated into the Na type,
On the other hand, drain water containing hardness during regeneration is discharged to the outside of the system through a drainage line (not shown).

In the above cycle, the comparator (X) constantly detects the output voltage of the hardness sensor during water flow, and the picture electrode (5
If the voltage A between a) and (5b) becomes greater than the reference voltage C, a first warning signal indicating hardness leakage is immediately output. Therefore, the sensor has an ionic electrode (5
A) shows a tendency for the detected voltage to increase as it deteriorates over time, so when the signal to start water flow is received from the control valve (7) at the timing of completion of regeneration, the voltage A between the electrodes and Compare with the reference voltage for hardness ion sensor abnormality determination. Therefore, if the voltage A is higher than the reference voltage, the sensor considers it to be abnormal and outputs a second alarm signal. In this way, the reason for determining the deterioration of the hardness ion electrode when water is passed immediately after the regeneration completion timing is that the difference between the voltage A and the reference voltage is not due to hardness leakage, but is due to an abnormality in the hardness sensor (deterioration of the electrode, etc.). ).

In addition, according to the comparator (X), at any point in the above-mentioned cycle, the output voltage of the hardness sensor 'J--(5) is set to the previous value, and from another base i voltage B. If it becomes too small, at that point a third alarm is triggered 41, which indicates that the sensor has a negative voltage (-7) or a voltage in the measuring container (4). I know that the soft water is getting low and I can slurp.

[Effects of the Invention] As shown below, the present invention is configured to detect the hardness component of water flowing through a soft water line using a hard-hiko sensor (
By comparing the output type of the sensor with a specific power source, it is possible to determine whether the sensor itself is defective, whether or not water is flowing, etc. Since it is possible to know 1, serious accidents due to hardness leakage can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a graph showing the relationship between the hardness component (PPM) and the measurement voltage (V). (1)...Hard water softener (2)...Raw water line (3)...Soft water line (4)...Atmospheric open measuring container (5)...Hardness sensor "I--(6)... )... Comparator (7
)...Control valve patent applicant Miura Industries Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A hardness sensor (composed of an atmosphere-open measurement container (3) connected to the water softening line (2) of the water softener (1), and a set of ion electrodes (5a) and comparison electrodes (5b) installed in this container) 5), and the voltage A measured between these two electrodes is compared with a reference voltage B set in advance for determining sensor abnormality and water flow failure, and if the former becomes smaller than the latter, a comparison that works to issue an abnormality alarm signal. Hardness leak alarm means for a water softening device, characterized in that it comprises a container (9).