Water purifier

Abstract

Provided is a water purifier that can prevent an increase in the total dissolved solid concentration of a fluid located in a water purification region of a reverse osmosis (RO) filter. The water purifier may comprise: a reverse osmosis filter having a raw water zone, a purified water zone, and a reverse osmosis membrane; a pre-treatment filter configured to pre-treat the raw water flowing into the RO filter and having a hollow portion through which the pre-treated raw water flows; a flow channel connected to the pretreatment filter and the RO filter and providing a passage through which raw water and purified water flow; an inner guide including a cylindrical inner guide partition wall inserted into the hollow portion of the pretreatment filter and a passage hole passing through the inner guide partition wall and communicating with the hollow portion; a plurality of valves connected to the pretreatment filter and the RO filter and selectively opened / closed to adjust the flow rate of the raw water and the purified water; and a controller configured to control opening / closing of the plurality of valves based on a plurality of flow patterns.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a water purifier. BACKGROUND

[0002] The water purifier refers to a general term of any device capable of receiving raw water, processing the raw water into a state required by a user, and then providing the user with purified water. The water purifier can use various types of filters to filter the raw water and provide the user with the purified water.

[0003] Such a water purifier includes a filter that can filter impurities in raw water, thereby providing the user with purified water. The filter can be a reverse osmosis (RO) filter including a raw water zone into which raw water flows, a reverse osmosis membrane located in the raw water zone to filter the raw water, and a purified water zone into which purified water filtered through the reverse osmosis membrane flows.

[0004] In the process in which the reverse osmosis filter filters the raw water, a large amount of impurities can be accumulated in the reverse osmosis filter. In other words, the reverse osmosis filter outputs water having a high total dissolved solid (TDS) concentration, i.e., water containing unfiltered ions, in the raw water zone based on the reverse osmosis membrane, and outputs water having a low TDS concentration, i.e., filtered water in which ions are removed, in the purified water zone.

[0005] Meanwhile, when water is not filtered through the reverse osmosis filter, the water of the purified water zone of the reverse osmosis filter moves to the raw water zone due to osmotic pressure. Accordingly, the TDS concentration of the water of the purified water zone of the reverse osmosis filter increases and eventually approaches the TDS concentration of the water of the raw water zone.

[0006] In this state, when filtering is resumed through the reverse osmosis filter, there is a problem in that the water having a high TDS concentration in the purified water zone of the reverse osmosis filter is supplied to the user in an initial stage, which phenomenon is called a creep phenomenon.

[0007] In the water purifier according to the related art, in order to reduce the creep phenomenon, a method of minimizing the volume of the raw water zone, removing water in the raw water zone, or the raw water zone is used.

[0008] For the method of flushing the raw water zone, for example, a technique of separately providing a box-shaped member in which a certain amount of purified water is stored and supplying the purified water stored in the box-shaped member to the raw water zone of the reverse osmosis filter (Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0480984) is used, however, since a separate box-shaped member for storing the purified water for flushing is required, there is a problem in that the water purifier has a large volume.

[0009] In addition, Korean Patent No. 10-2622548 discloses a technology of delivering the purified water generated in the reverse osmosis filter to the raw water zone of the reverse osmosis filter through a separate flushing line to perform flushing. However, this method has a disadvantage in that the method only makes the reverse osmosis membrane concentration continuously higher, and when the purified water for the reverse osmosis filter is discharged to the outside, it is necessary to additionally make the raw water flow in, which only makes the reverse osmosis membrane concentration continuously higher.

[0010] [Related Art Documents]

[0011] [Patent Documents]

[0012] Korean Patent No. 10-0480984 (published on March 24, 2005)

[0013] Korean Patent No. 10-2622548 (published on January 4, 2024) SUMMARY

[0014] TECHNICAL PROBLEM

[0015] According to the present invention, the present disclosure provides a water purifier in which since the purified water can circulate between the reverse osmosis (RO) filter and the pretreatment filter in the purified water circulation mode, it is possible to prevent the total dissolved solid (TDS) concentration inside the RO filter, particularly in the purified water zone, from rising. In other words, the present disclosure provides a water purifier in which since the purified water can be circulated from the raw water zone to the purified water zone in the purified water circulation mode, it is possible to prevent the TDS concentration of the water in the purified water zone from rising.

[0016] In addition, the present disclosure also provides a water purifier in which since the pretreatment filter adopts an in-line design, achieving the effect of first-in first-out, when the water purification circulation mode is performed, a certain amount of purified water with a low TDS concentration can be stored in the pretreatment filter, so that in the subsequent flushing mode, the flushing effect can be maximized, and flushing can be performed even without a separate water purification tank for flushing, thereby achieving product miniaturization.

[0017] In addition, the present disclosure also provides a water purifier in which since the purified water is not discharged to the outside in the purified water circulation mode, it is possible to prevent the purified water TDS concentration of the purified water zone of the RO filter from rising, and to avoid water waste.

[0018] In addition, the present disclosure also provides a water purifier in which, before the purified water discharge mode, the purified water circulation mode is performed for a certain period of time, so that the purified water can circulate between the RO filter and the pretreatment filter several times, thereby providing the user with purified water with a low TDS concentration in the purified water discharge mode.

[0019] Further, the present disclosure provides a water purifier in which the reverse osmosis membrane can be cleaned and daily water located in the raw water area can be discharged to the outside in the raw water flushing mode and the purified water flushing mode, thereby reducing the TDS concentration of the RO filter.

[0020] Further, the present disclosure provides a water purifier in which the TDS concentration of the RO filter raw water area fluid can be reduced since the RO filter can be cleaned using purified water contained in the pretreatment filter in the purified water flushing mode.

[0021] Further, the present disclosure provides a water purifier in which the daily water discharge flow path can be selectively opened or closed according to whether the amount of purified water continuously discharged through the discharge port in the purified water discharge mode is greater than a reference discharge amount, thereby preventing overconcentration of the RO filter.

[0022] Technical Solution

[0023] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a water purifier including: a reverse osmosis (RO) filter including a raw water area into which raw water flows from the outside, a purified water area for containing purified water generated by filtering at least a portion of the raw water located in the raw water area, and a reverse osmosis membrane that separates the raw water area and the purified water area; a pretreatment filter configured to pretreat the raw water flowing into the RO filter, and having a hollow portion through which the pretreated raw water passes; a flow passage connected to the pretreatment filter and the RO filter and providing a passage for the flow of the raw water and the purified water; an internal guide including a cylindrical internal guide partition wall inserted into the hollow portion of the pretreatment filter and a passage hole formed through the internal guide partition wall and communicating with the hollow portion; a plurality of valves connected to the pretreatment filter and the RO filter and selectively opened / closed to regulate the flow of the raw water and the purified water; and a controller configured to control the opening / closing of the plurality of valves based on a plurality of flow modes.

[0024] The internal guide partition wall can be disposed to cut off communication between a filtering unit of the pretreatment filter and the hollow portion, and the internal guide partition wall can have a passage flow path formed in the internal guide partition wall, the passage flow path being aligned with the hollow portion, and the passage hole can communicate with the passage flow path through which fluid can flow into the internal guide.

[0025] The passage hole can be arranged closer to a second end portion opposite to a first end portion in which a pretreatment inlet and a pretreatment outlet of the pretreatment filter are formed.

[0026] Fluid remaining in the pretreatment filter before the purified water flows to the pretreatment filter can be discharged through the pretreatment outlet.

[0027] The plurality of flow modes can include a purified water circulation mode in which purified water is circulated between the pretreatment filter and the PO filter, and the controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves so that, in the purified water circulation mode, purified water discharged from the purified water zone flows into the pretreatment filter, and purified water passing through the pretreatment filter flows into the raw water zone.

[0028] The flow passage can include a purified water circulation flow path connected between the purified water zone and the pretreatment filter, and the plurality of valves can further include a purified water circulation valve disposed on the purified water circulation flow path and configured to open / close the purified water circulation flow path, and the controller can control the purified water circulation valve so that, when in the purified water circulation mode, the purified water circulation flow path is opened.

[0029] The flow passage can include: an RO filter inflow flow path, the reverse osmosis filter inflow flow path being connected between the pretreatment outlet of the pretreatment filter and the raw water zone of the RO filter; and a return flow path connected between the raw water zone and the PO filter inflow flow path.

[0030] The controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves so that, in the purified water circulation mode, daily water discharged from the raw water zone flows into the raw water zone through the return flow path and the RO filter inflow flow path.

[0031] The plurality of flow modes can further include a purified water discharge mode in which purified water located in the purified water zone is discharged to the outside, and the controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves so that, when in the purified water discharge mode, the purified water located in the purified water zone is discharged to the outside.

[0032] The controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves according to the purified water circulation mode for a predetermined amount of time before the purified water discharge mode.

[0033] The flow passage can include a purified water discharge flow path connected between the purified water zone and the discharge port, and the plurality of valves can include a purified water discharge valve disposed on the purified water discharge flow path and configured to open / close the purified water discharge flow path, and the controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves so that, when in the purified water circulation mode, the purified water discharge flow path is closed, and when in the purified water discharge mode, the purified water discharge flow path is opened.

[0034] The plurality of flow modes can further include a purified water flushing mode in which the reverse osmosis membrane is cleaned with purified water contained in the pretreatment filter, and the controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that, in the purified water flushing mode, the purified water contained in the pretreatment filter flows into the raw water zone, and the daily water in the raw water zone is discharged to the outside.

[0035] The flow passage can further include a daily water discharge flow path through which the daily water in the raw water zone is discharged to the outside, and the plurality of valves can further include a daily water discharge valve disposed on the daily water discharge flow path and configured to open / close the daily water discharge flow path, the controller can control opening / closing of the daily water discharge valve such that the daily water discharge flow path is closed in the purified water circulation mode and the purified water discharge mode, and the daily water discharge flow path is opened in the purified water flushing mode.

[0036] The controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that, in the purified water discharge mode, when the amount of the purified water located in the purified water zone and discharged to the outside through the discharge port is less than a reference discharge amount, the purified water discharge valve is opened and the daily water discharge valve is closed, and when the amount of the purified water located in the purified water zone and discharged to the outside through the discharge port is greater than the reference discharge amount, the purified water discharge valve is opened and the daily water discharge valve is opened.

[0037] The controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that, in the purified water discharge mode, when the amount of the purified water discharged to the outside through the discharge port is greater than the reference discharge amount, the opening degree of the purified water discharge valve is greater than the opening degree of the daily water discharge valve.

[0038] The size of the hole when the purified water discharge valve is opened can be greater than the size of the hole when the daily water discharge valve is opened.

[0039] The daily water discharge flow path can include a first daily water discharge flow path and a second daily water discharge flow path arranged in parallel with the first daily water discharge flow path, and the daily water discharge valve can include a first daily water discharge valve disposed on the first daily water discharge flow path and a second daily water discharge valve disposed on the second daily water discharge flow path.

[0040] The size of the hole when the first daily water discharge valve is opened can be greater than the size of the hole when the second daily water discharge valve is opened, and the controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that, in the purified water discharge mode, when the amount of the purified water discharged to the outside through the discharge port is greater than the reference discharge amount, the first daily water discharge valve is closed and the second daily water discharge valve is opened.

[0041] The controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that, in the purified water flushing mode, the first daily water discharge valve is opened and the second daily water discharge valve is closed.

[0042] The water purifier can further include a third daily water discharge valve disposed on the first daily water discharge flow path downstream of the first daily water discharge valve, and an opening degree of the third daily water discharge valve can be adjusted by the controller, and the controller can control opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that, in the purified water discharge mode, when an amount of the purified water discharged to the outside through the discharge port is greater than a reference discharge amount, the first daily water discharge valve is opened, the second daily water discharge valve is closed, and the opening degree of the third daily water discharge valve is less than the opening degree of the purified water discharge valve.

[0043] [Advantageous Effects]

[0044] According to the water purifier of the present application, since the purified water can be circulated between the reverse osmosis (RO) filter and the pre-treatment filter in the purified water circulation mode, it is possible to prevent the total dissolved solid (TDS) concentration inside the RO filter, particularly, in the purified water zone, from increasing. In other words, since the purified water can be circulated inside the water purifier in the purified water circulation mode, causing the purified water to flow from the raw water zone to the purified water zone, it is possible to prevent the concentration in the purified water zone from increasing.

[0045] In addition, since the pre-treatment filter adopts the internal guide, achieving the first-in-first-out effect, it is possible to store a certain amount of purified water with low TDS concentration in the pre-treatment filter when the purified water circulation mode is performed, maximizing the flushing effect in the flushing mode to be performed later, and even without a separate water purification tank for flushing, it is possible to perform flushing, thereby making it possible to miniaturize the product.

[0046] In addition, since the purified water is not discharged to the outside in the purified water circulation mode, it is possible to prevent the purified water TDS concentration in the RO filter purified water zone from increasing, thereby avoiding water waste.

[0047] In addition, the purified water circulation mode is performed for a certain period of time before the purified water discharge mode, causing the purified water to be circulated between the RO filter and the pre-treatment filter several times, thereby providing the user with purified water with low TDS concentration in the purified water discharge mode.

[0048] In addition, in the raw water flushing mode and the purified water flushing mode, it is possible to clean the reverse osmosis membrane and discharge the daily water in the raw water zone to the outside, thereby reducing the TDS concentration of the RO filter.

[0049] In addition, in the purified water flushing mode, the RO filter can be cleaned using the purified water contained in the pretreatment filter, so that the TDS concentration of the fluid in the raw water zone of the RO filter can be reduced.

[0050] In addition, in the purified water discharge mode, the daily water discharge flow path can be selectively opened or closed according to whether the amount of the purified water continuously discharged through the discharge port is greater than a reference discharge amount, so that the RO filter concentration can be prevented from being excessively high. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0051] Figure 1 is a view illustrating a water purifier according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0052] Figure 2 is a view illustrating Figure 1 a pretreatment filter of the water purifier of FIG. 1;

[0053] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a filter of the related art without an internal guide installed;

[0054] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a pretreatment filter according to an embodiment of the disclosure with an internal guide installed;

[0055] Figure 5 is a view illustrating Figure 1 the flow of fluid when the water purifier of FIG. 1 is operated in a purified water circulation mode;

[0056] Figure 6 is a view illustrating Figure 1 the flow of fluid when the water purifier of FIG. 1 is operated in a purified water discharge mode, which illustrates the flow of fluid when the amount of the purified water continuously discharged through the discharge port is less than a reference discharge amount;

[0057] Figure 7 is a view illustrating Figure 1 the flow of fluid when the water purifier of FIG. 1 is operated in a purified water discharge mode, which illustrates the flow of fluid when the amount of the purified water continuously discharged through the discharge port is greater than a reference discharge amount;

[0058] Figure 8 is a view illustrating Figure 1 the flow of fluid when the water purifier of FIG. 1 is operated in a flushing mode;

[0059] Figure 9 is a view illustrating a water purifier according to another embodiment of the disclosure; and

[0060] Figure 10 is a view illustrating a water purifier according to another embodiment of the disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] In certain cases, in order to avoid the concepts of the present disclosure from being ambiguous, known structures and devices can be omitted or shown in the form of a block diagram, focusing on the core functions of each structure and device.

[0062] Throughout the specification, when a component is described as "including" or "comprising" a certain component, unless otherwise explicitly stated, this does not mean that other components are excluded, but can include other components. In addition, terms such as "component", "unit", and "module" described in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which can be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. In addition, "a", "an", "the", and similar related words can be used in the context of describing the present disclosure (particularly in the context of the following claims) to include both singular and plural meanings, unless otherwise stated in the specification or the context clearly contradicts it.

[0063] In describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, if it is determined that detailed descriptions of known functions or configurations can unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present disclosure, these detailed descriptions will be omitted. In addition, the terms described below are defined according to the functions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and these terms can differ depending on the user's or operator's intention or habit. Therefore, these definitions should be made based on the content of the entire specification.

[0064] The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0065] Referring to Figure 1 , the water purifier 1 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can provide purified water produced by filtering water flowing in from the outside to a user. The water purifier 1 can include a reverse osmosis (RO) filter 100, a flow passage 200, a valve unit 300 having a plurality of valves, a pre-treatment filter 400, a post-treatment filter 500, a pump 600, a circulation check valve 700, a discharge port 800, and a controller 900.

[0066] The filter 100 can filter the inflow raw water and provide the filtered water as purified water. When the RO filter 100 is configured to filter a portion of the introduced raw water, the RO filter 100 can provide the remaining raw water that is not filtered as daily use water. For example, the RO filter 100 can be a reverse osmosis filter. The raw water in the present specification can refer to water that is not filtered by the RO filter 100, regardless of whether it is filtered by the pre-treatment filter 400; the purified water can refer to water that is filtered by the RO filter 100, regardless of whether it is filtered by the post-treatment filter 500. In addition, the daily use water can refer to water that is not filtered by the RO filter 100. The RO filter 100 can include a raw water zone 110, a purified water zone 120, and a reverse osmosis membrane 130.

[0067] The raw water can flow into the raw water zone 110. The raw water zone 110 can be separated by the reverse osmosis membrane 130, and the daily water containing dissolved solids can flow into the raw water zone 110. The return flow path 230 can communicate with the raw water zone 110, and the daily water located in the raw water zone 110 can be discharged to the outside of the RO filter 100 through the return flow path 230.

[0068] The purified water filtered through the reverse osmosis membrane 130 can flow into the purified water zone 120. The purified water zone 120 can be separated by the reverse osmosis membrane 130, and can communicate with one of the circulation flow path 210 and the purified water discharge flow path 250. Accordingly, the purified water located in the purified water zone 120 can be discharged to the outside of the RO filter 100 through one or both of the circulation flow path 210 and the purified water discharge flow path 250.

[0069] The reverse osmosis membrane 130 is disposed to cross the internal space of the RO filter 100, and can separate the raw water zone 110 and the purified water zone 120 by the reverse osmosis membrane 130. The reverse osmosis membrane 130 can be configured to filter the raw water located in the raw water zone 110, and a portion of the unfiltered raw water can be the daily water.

[0070] The flow passage 200 can be connected to the pretreatment filter 400, the RO filter 100, the post-treatment filter 500, and the discharge port 800, and can provide a passage through which the raw water, the purified water, and the daily water pass. The flow passage 200 can include the circulation flow path 210, the RO filter inflow flow path 220, the return flow path 230, the daily water discharge flow path 240, and the purified water discharge flow path 250.

[0071] The circulation flow path 210 can be connected to the purified water zone 120 and the pretreatment filter 400, and can provide a passage through which the purified water in the purified water zone 120 flows into the pretreatment filter 400.

[0072] The RO filter inflow flow path 220 can provide a passage through which water flows into the RO filter 100. The water flowing through the RO filter inflow flow path 220 can be raw water, purified water, or daily water. The RO filter inflow flow path 220 can communicate with the raw water zone 110 of the RO filter 100.

[0073] The return flow path 230 can provide a passage through which the daily water flows. The return flow path 230 can be connected to the raw water zone 110 and the RO filter inflow flow path 220, so that the daily water can flow into the raw water zone 110 through the return flow path 230 and the RO filter inflow flow path 220.

[0074] The daily water discharge flow path 240 can provide a passage for the flow of daily water so as to discharge the daily water to the outside. The daily water discharge flow path 240 can be connected with the return flow path 230 so as to discharge the daily water discharged from the return flow path 230 to the outside.

[0075] The purified water discharge flow path 250 can provide a passage for the flow of purified water so as to discharge the purified water to the outside. The purified water discharge flow path 250 can be connected to the purified water zone 120 and the discharge port 800 so that the purified water located in the purified water zone 120 can be discharged to the outside through the discharge port 800.

[0076] A resistance valve 260 can be installed on the return flow path 230, and more particularly, the resistance valve 260 can be installed downstream of a portion connected with the daily water discharge valve 330. The fluid flow resistance on the flow path in which the resistance valve 260 is installed is increased compared to the fluid flow resistance on the flow path in which the resistance valve 260 is not installed, in other words, when the daily water discharge valve 330 is opened, the fluid located in the raw water zone 110 can be naturally discharged along the daily water discharge flow path 240, and the fluid flow resistance of the daily water discharge flow path 240 is smaller than the fluid flow resistance of the return flow path 230. When the daily water discharge valve 330 is closed, the fluid located in the raw water zone 110 can flow into the raw water zone 110 along the return flow path 230 and the RO filter inflow flow path 220.

[0077] The valve unit 300 can include a plurality of valves that are selectively opened / closed to adjust the flow rates of the raw water, the purified water, and the daily water in the flow passage 200. The valve unit 300 can include a circulation valve 310, a purified water discharge valve 320, and a daily water discharge valve 330.

[0078] The circulation valve 310 can be installed on the circulation flow path 210 and can open / close the circulation flow path 210. When the circulation valve 310 opens the circulation flow path 210, the purified water located in the purified water zone 120 can flow into the pretreatment filter 400 through the circulation flow path 210.

[0079] The purified water discharge valve 320 can be installed on the purified water discharge flow path 250 and can open / close the purified water discharge flow path 250. When the purified water discharge valve 320 opens the purified water discharge flow path 250, the purified water located in the purified water zone 120 can be discharged to the outside through the purified water discharge flow path 250 and the discharge port 800.

[0080] The daily water discharge valve 330 can be installed on the daily water discharge flow path 240 and can open / close the daily water discharge flow path 240. When the daily water discharge valve 330 opens the daily water discharge flow path 240, the daily water located in the raw water zone 110 can be discharged to the outside through the daily water discharge flow path 240. In addition, when the daily water discharge valve 330 closes the daily water discharge flow path 240, the daily water located in the raw water zone 110 can flow into the raw water zone 110 through the return flow path 230.

[0081] The pretreatment filter 400 is configured to pretreat the raw water to be flowed into the RO filter 100 before the raw water flows into the RO filter 100. The purified water located in the purified water zone 120 can flow into the pretreatment filter 400. The pretreatment filter 400 can be installed on the RO filter inflow flow path 220, and the purified water can circulate between the pretreatment filter 400 and the RO filter 100 through the RO filter inflow flow path 220 and the circulation flow path 210.

[0082] The pretreatment inlet 410 through which the raw water or the purified water flows in and the pretreatment outlet 420 through which the filtered raw water or purified water is discharged can be formed on the pretreatment filter 400. The pretreatment inlet 410 can communicate with the circulation flow path 210 and the RO filter inflow flow path 220, and the purified water in the circulation flow path 210 and the raw water in the RO filter inflow flow path 220 can flow into the pretreatment inlet 410, be filtered, be discharged from the pretreatment outlet 420, and flow into the RO filter 100.

[0083] Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the disclosure, an internal guide 430 can be installed in the pretreatment filter 400.

[0084] Referring to Figure 2 The filter unit 440 that filters the raw water flowing in from the outside can be provided in a cylindrical shape having a hollow portion 441.

[0085] The internal guide 430 can include an internal guide partition wall 431, a passage flow path 432, and a passage hole 433.

[0086] The inner guide 430 can be inserted into the hollow portion 441 of the filter unit 440. Like the filter unit 440, the inner guide partition wall 431 can be provided in a cylindrical shape having the passage flow path 432 therein, and a diameter of the inner guide partition wall 431 can be at least equal to or greater than an inner diameter of the hollow portion 441. Thus, when the inner guide 430 is inserted into the hollow portion 441 of the filter unit 440, the inner guide partition wall 431 can be provided to cut off communication between the filter area 440a of the filter unit 440 and the hollow portion 441.

[0087] The passage flow path 432 can be provided coaxially with the hollow portion 441, and the passage hole 433 can be formed through one side of the inner guide partition wall 431. Thus, raw water or purified water passing through the filter area 440a can flow into the passage flow path 432 only through the passage hole 433, and further discharged to the outside of the pretreatment filter 400 through the pretreatment outlet 420. To this end, the pretreatment inlet 410 can be formed in a radially outward direction based on the filter unit 440, and the pretreatment outlet 420 can be formed in a radially inward direction based on the filter unit 440.

[0088] Meanwhile, the passage hole 433 can be formed at a position close to the second end portion 400b opposite to the first end portion 400a in which the pretreatment inlet 410 and the pretreatment outlet 420 of the pretreatment filter 400 are formed. Thus, the pretreatment filter 400 can be used as a kind of water purification tank. This will be described in detail below.

[0089] The post-treatment filter 500 can filter purified water produced by the RO filter 100 again. The post-treatment filter 500 can be installed on the purified water discharge flow path 250 such that purified water filtered through the post-treatment filter 500 flows into the discharge port 800 through the purified water discharge flow path 250.

[0090] The pump 600 can pressurize raw water or purified water flowing in the RO filter inflow flow path 220. The pump 600 can be installed on the RO filter inflow flow path 220 such that purified water or raw water can flow into the RO filter 100 through the pump 600.

[0091] The circulation check valve 700 can be installed on the circulation flow path 210 to prevent purified water from flowing back to the purified water area 120. The circulation check valve 700 can be located between the circulation valve 310 and the RO filter 100.

[0092] The discharge port 800 can be configured to discharge purified water to a user, and can be installed on the purified water discharge flow path 250.

[0093] The controller 900 can control the opening / closing of the plurality of valves according to a plurality of flow modes. Here, the plurality of flow modes can include a purified water circulation mode, a purified water discharge mode, a raw water flushing mode, and a purified water flushing mode.

[0094] Referring to Figure 5 The purified water circulation mode is a mode in which purified water is circulated between the pretreatment filter 400 and the RO filter 100. The purified water circulation mode can be performed before or after the purified water discharge mode.

[0095] The controller 900 can control the opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that, in the purified water circulation mode, purified water located in the purified water zone 120 flows into the pretreatment filter 400, and purified water discharged from the pretreatment filter 400 flows into the raw water zone 110. Specifically, the controller 900 can control the circulation valve 310 such that, in the purified water circulation mode, the circulation flow path 210 can be opened, and the controller 900 can control the purified water discharge valve 320 such that the purified water discharge flow path 250 can be closed, and the controller 900 can control the daily water discharge valve 330 such that the daily water discharge flow path 240 can be closed. Through the above control, purified water located in the purified water zone 120 can flow into the pretreatment filter 400 through the circulation flow path 210, be discharged from the pretreatment filter 400, and flow into the raw water zone 110 of the RO filter 100 through the RO filter flow path 220. That is, in the purified water circulation mode, purified water can be circulated inside the purified water purifier 1, and flow from the raw water zone 110 into the purified water zone 120.

[0096] Meanwhile, in the purified water circulation mode, daily water located in the raw water zone 110 can flow into the raw water zone 110 through the return flow path 230 and the RO filter flow path 220. Accordingly, the amount of water discharged from the RO filter 100 and the amount of water returned to the RO filter 100 can be maintained, so that purified water circulation can be performed without additional supply of raw water.

[0097] The controller 900 can control the plurality of valves such that the purified water circulation mode can be continued for a predetermined amount of time. Accordingly, in the purified water circulation mode, purified water can be circulated between the pretreatment filter 400 and the RO filter 100 a plurality of times for a predetermined amount of time.

[0098] When the purified water circulation mode is performed after the purified water discharge mode, purified water can be contained in the pretreatment filter 400.

[0099] As Figure 3As shown, in the conventional pre-treatment filter 400, raw water or purified water flowing into the pre-treatment inlet 410 can be discharged to the outside through the pre-treatment outlet 420 when flowing through the upper portion of the filtration zone 440a, however, the raw water or purified water can also be discharged to the outside through the pre-treatment outlet 420 when flowing through the lower portion of the filtration zone 440a. In other words, this means that raw water or purified water introduced first through the pre-treatment inlet 410 is not necessarily discharged to the outside through the pre-treatment outlet 420 first than raw water or purified water introduced later. That is, when raw water or purified water introduced first is directed to the lower portion of the filtration zone 440a, and raw water or purified water introduced later is directed to the upper portion of the filtration zone 440a, raw water or purified water introduced later can be discharged to the outside first through the pre-treatment outlet 420. In other words, in the case of the conventional pre-treatment filter 400, so-called first-in first-out cannot be properly implemented.

[0100] However, in the pre-treatment filter 400 according to the embodiment of the disclosure, due to the effect of the internal guide 430, fluid flowing through the filtration zone 440a can be guided toward the pre-treatment outlet 420 only through the passage hole 433. Since the passage hole 433 is positioned close to the second end portion, which is opposite to the first end portion in which the pre-treatment outlet 420 is formed, even if raw water or purified water flows into the upper portion of the filtration zone 440a through the pre-treatment inlet 410, the raw water or purified water must flow again in the direction of the second end portion toward the passage hole 433 so that the raw water or purified water can be discharged through the pre-treatment outlet 420 (see Figure 4 ) In the purified water circulation mode, when purified water flows into the pre-treatment inlet 410, the water flow having a higher TDS concentration than the remaining purified water in the existing filtration zone 440a is directed to the passage hole 433, and when the purified water circulation mode continues for a predetermined amount of time or repeats a predetermined number of times, only purified water having a reduced TDS concentration by the reverse osmosis membrane 130 remains in the filtration zone 440a, the passage hole 433, and the passage flow path 422. In other words, according to the embodiment of the disclosure, the internal guide 430 is applied to the pre-treatment filter 400, so that first-in first-out can be effectively implemented, and when the purified water circulation mode continues for a predetermined amount of time or repeats a predetermined number of times, purified water can be contained in the pre-treatment filter 400, so that the washing effect in the subsequent purified water washing mode can be maximized.

[0101] Reference Figure 6The purified water discharge mode is a mode in which purified water is discharged to the outside. The controller 900 can control the opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that, in the purified water discharge mode, raw water can flow into the raw water zone 110 through the pretreatment filter 400, and purified water located in the purified water zone 120 can be discharged to the outside. In other words, the controller 900 can control the circulation valve 310 such that, in the purified water discharge mode, the circulation flow path 210 can be closed, and the controller 900 can control the purified water discharge valve 320 such that the purified water discharge flow path 250 can be opened. Through the above-described control, purified water can flow through the post-treatment filter 500 and be discharged to the outside through the discharge port 800. In addition, the controller 900 can control the daily water discharge valve 330 such that, in the purified water discharge mode, the daily water discharge flow path 240 can be closed. In this way, daily water can be discharged from the raw water zone 110 and flow into the RO filter 100 through the return flow path 230 and the RO filter flow-in flow path 220.

[0102] The controller 900 can control the plurality of valves based on the purified water circulation mode for a predetermined amount of time before controlling the plurality of valves based on the purified water discharge mode. In other words, the purified water discharge mode can be performed after the purified water circulation mode is performed. When the purified water circulation mode is performed for a predetermined amount of time, the TDS concentration of the purified water in the purified water zone 120 can be lower than in other cases, thereby preventing a user from receiving purified water with a high TDS concentration in the purified water discharge mode.

[0103] Meanwhile, the controller 900 can control the daily water discharge valve 330 such that, in the purified water discharge mode, when the amount of purified water in the purified water zone 120 that is continuously discharged through the discharge port 800 is greater than a reference discharge amount, the daily water discharge flow path 240 can be opened. Accordingly, daily water located in the raw water zone 110 can be discharged to the outside through the daily water discharge flow path 240. In other words, when the amount of purified water that is continuously discharged through the discharge port 800 is not greater than the reference discharge amount, the controller 900 can control the daily water discharge valve 330 such that the daily water discharge flow path 240 can be closed, and when the amount of purified water that is continuously discharged through the discharge port 800 is greater than the reference discharge amount, the controller 900 can control the daily water discharge valve 330 such that the daily water discharge flow path 240 can be opened.

[0104] For a water purifier using the RO filter 100, the RO filter 100 can be over-concentrated when the amount of continuously extracted purified water exceeds the reference discharge amount. Therefore, when purified water of the reference discharge amount is extracted, a process of lowering the TDS concentration of the RO filter 100 through a flushing mode can be accompanied. On the other hand, the water purifier 1 according to the embodiment of the disclosure can control the daily water discharge valve 330 so that the daily water discharge flow path 240 is opened when the amount of purified water continuously discharged through the discharge port 800 exceeds the reference discharge amount, thereby performing a control operation, and thus can perform flushing while extracting purified water, thereby solving the above problem.

[0105] When the discharge of daily water and the extraction of purified water are simultaneously performed, it can be impossible to provide sufficient pressure to the reverse osmosis membrane 130 (the daily water discharge flow path is opened, so that the raw water zone is in communication with the outside).

[0106] Therefore, in the embodiment of the disclosure, in the purified water discharge mode, when purified water of more than the reference discharge amount is continuously extracted through the discharge port 800, the opening degrees of the plurality of valves can be controlled so that the opening degree of the purified water discharge valve 320 can be greater than the opening degree of the daily water discharge valve 330. In this case, the purified water discharge valve 320 and the daily water discharge valve 330 can be valves of which the opening degrees are controllable. Through the above control, the pressure of the raw water zone 110 in communication with the daily water discharge flow path 240 can be higher than the pressure of the purified water zone 120 in communication with the purified water discharge flow path 250, thereby enabling the filtration of the reverse osmosis membrane 130 on the fluid in the raw water zone 110 to be smoothly performed.

[0107] In another embodiment of the disclosure, the purified water discharge valve 320 and the daily water discharge valve 330 are valves that can only be opened or closed, and the size of the hole when the purified water discharge valve 320 is opened can be greater than the size of the hole when the daily water discharge valve 330 is opened. Also, even when the purified water discharge valve 320 and the daily water discharge valve 330 are all opened, the pressure of the raw water zone 110 in communication with the daily water discharge flow path 240 can be higher than the pressure of the purified water zone 120 in communication with the purified water discharge flow path 250, thereby enabling the filtration of the reverse osmosis membrane 130 on the fluid in the raw water zone 110 to be smoothly performed.

[0108] Reference Figure 9 The water purifier 1 according to another embodiment of the disclosure can further include a first daily water discharge flow path 241 and a second daily water discharge flow path 242, which are branched from the return flow path 230 in communication with the raw water zone 110, respectively.

[0109] The first daily water discharge flow path 241 and the second daily water discharge flow path 242 can be merged at one point. Also, the first daily water discharge valve 331 can be installed on the first daily water discharge flow path 241, and the second daily water discharge valve 332 can be installed on the second daily water discharge flow path 242.

[0110] The size of the hole when the first daily water discharge valve 331 is opened can be greater than the size of the hole when the second daily water discharge valve 332 is opened. When the amount of clean water discharged to the outside through the discharge port 800 is greater than the reference discharge amount, the controller 900 can control the plurality of valves to close the first daily water discharge valve 331 and open the second daily water discharge valve 332. The size of the hole when the second daily water discharge valve 332 is opened can be smaller than the size of the hole when the clean water discharge valve 320 is opened, and thus, even when the clean water discharge valve 320 and the second daily water discharge valve 332 are both opened, the pressure of the raw water region 110 communicating with the second daily water discharge valve 332 can be higher than the pressure of the clean water region 120 communicating with the clean water discharge flow path 240, so that the filtration of the fluid in the raw water region 110 by the reverse osmosis membrane 130 can be smoothly performed.

[0111] Also, in the clean water flushing mode, the controller 900 can control the opening / closing of the plurality of valves so that the first daily water discharge valve 331 can be opened and the second daily water discharge valve 332 can be closed. In this way, the clean water flowing into the raw water region 110 can be more smoothly discharged to the outside.

[0112] Reference Figure 10 A third daily water discharge valve 333 can also be installed downstream of the first daily water discharge valve 331.

[0113] For example, when the first daily water discharge valve 331 and the second daily water discharge valve 332 are valves that can only be opened / closed, and the third daily water discharge valve 333 is a valve that can control the opening degree, the controller 900 can control the opening / closing of the first daily water discharge valve 331 and the second daily water discharge valve 332, and the opening degree of the third daily water discharge valve 333.

[0114] Specifically, the controller 900 can control the opening / closing of the plurality of valves so that, in the clean water discharge mode, when the amount of clean water discharged to the outside through the discharge port 800 is greater than the reference discharge amount, the first daily water discharge valve 331 can be opened, the second daily water discharge valve 332 can be closed, and the opening degree of the third daily water discharge valve 333 can be less than the opening degree of the clean water discharge valve 320. Accordingly, even when the clean water discharge valve 320, the first daily water discharge valve 331, and the third daily water discharge valve 333 are all opened, the pressure of the raw water region 110 communicated with the third daily water discharge valve 333 can be higher than the pressure of the clean water region 120 communicated with the clean water discharge flow path 250, so that the filtration of the reverse osmosis membrane 130 on the fluid in the raw water region 110 can be smoothly performed.

[0115] The flush mode is a mode of washing the reverse osmosis membrane 130 with raw water or clean water. After the clean water discharge mode, the raw water flush mode of washing the reverse osmosis membrane 130 with raw water can be performed. The controller 900 can control the opening / closing of the plurality of valves so that, in the raw water flush mode, raw water can flow into the raw water region 110 through the pretreatment filter 400 and daily water can be discharged from the raw water region 110. Specifically, the controller 900 can control the circulation valve 310 so that, in the raw water flush mode, the circulation flow path 210 can be closed, and can control the clean water discharge valve 320 so that the clean water discharge flow path 250 can be closed, and can control the daily water discharge valve 330 so that the daily water discharge flow path 240 can be opened. Through the above control, daily water can be discharged to the outside through the return flow path 230 and the daily water discharge flow path 240, or can flow into the raw water region 110 through the return flow path 230 and the RO inflow flow path 220.

[0116] When the clean water discharge mode and the clean water circulation mode are sequentially executed, a clean water flushing mode in which the reverse osmosis membrane 130 is cleaned with clean water can be executed. The controller 900 can control the opening / closing of the plurality of valves so that, in the clean water flushing mode, the clean water contained in the pretreatment filter 400 can flow into the raw water zone 110, and the daily use water in the raw water zone 110 can be discharged to the outside. Specifically, the controller 900 can control the circulation valve 310 so that, in the clean water flushing mode, the circulation flow path 210 can be closed; can control the clean water discharge valve 320 so that the clean water discharge flow path 250 can be closed; and can control the daily use water discharge valve 330 so that the daily use water discharge flow path 240 can be opened. Through the above control, the clean water contained in the pretreatment filter 400 can flow into the raw water zone 110 through the RO filter and the flow path 220. In addition, the daily use water discharged from the raw water zone 110 can flow into the raw water zone 110 through the return flow path 230 and the RO filter and the flow path 220, or can be discharged to the outside through the return flow path 230 and the daily use water discharge flow path 240.

[0117] The following describes the effects and advantages of the water purifier 1 based on various flow modes.

[0118] The water purifier 1 according to the embodiment of the present application can execute the clean water circulation mode before and after the clean water discharge mode, respectively. In other words, the water purifier 1 can sequentially execute the clean water circulation mode, the clean water discharge mode, the raw water flushing mode, the clean water circulation mode, and the clean water flushing mode.

[0119] When in the clean water circulation mode, the water purifier 1 can circulate the clean water between the RO filter 100 and the pretreatment filter 400, thereby preventing the TDS concentration in the RO filter 100, particularly in the clean water zone 120, from increasing. In other words, since the clean water can circulate inside the water purifier 1 and flow from the raw water zone 110 into the clean water zone 120 in the clean water circulation mode, the TDS concentration in the clean water zone 120 can be prevented from increasing.

[0120] In addition, since the pretreatment filter employs an internal guide to achieve the first-in-first-out effect, a certain amount of clean water with a low TDS concentration can be stored in the pretreatment filter when the water purification circulation mode is executed, thereby maximizing the flushing effect in the flushing mode to be executed thereafter, and flushing can be performed even without a separate water purification tank for flushing, thereby achieving miniaturization of the water purifier.

[0121] In addition, since the clean water is not discharged to the outside in the clean water circulation mode, the TDS concentration of the clean water in the clean water zone 120 of the RO filter can be prevented from increasing, thereby avoiding waste of water.

[0122] Further, before the purified water discharge mode, the purified water circulation mode is performed for a certain period of time, so that the purified water can be circulated several times between the RO filter 100 and the pretreatment filter 400, and thus the user can use the purified water having a low TDS concentration in the purified water discharge mode.

[0123] In addition, in the raw water flushing mode and the purified water flushing mode, the reverse osmosis membrane 130 can be cleaned, and the daily water located in the raw water zone 110 can be discharged to the outside, and thus the TDS concentration of the RO filter 100 can be reduced.

[0124] Further, in the purified water flushing mode, the RO filter 100 can be cleaned using the purified water contained in the pretreatment filter 400, and thus the TDS concentration of the fluid in the raw water zone 110 of the RO filter 100 can be reduced.

[0125] Further, in the purified water discharge mode, the discharge flow path of the daily water can be selectively opened or closed according to whether the amount of the purified water continuously discharged through the discharge port is greater than a reference discharge amount, and thus the RO filter concentration can be prevented from being excessively high.

[0126] As described above, although the present application has been described in connection with the embodiments illustrated in the drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily understand and reproduce the present application, this is only exemplary, and those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications and other embodiments equivalent thereto can be derived from the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be determined by the claims.

[0127] [REFERENCE NUMERALS]

[0128] 1: purified water device

[0129] 100: RO filter

[0130] 110: raw water zone

[0131] 120: purified water zone

[0132] 130: reverse osmosis membrane

[0133] 200: flow passage

[0134] 210: circulation flow path

[0135] 220: RO filter inflow flow path

[0136] 230: return flow path

[0137] 240: daily water discharge flow path

[0138] 250: purified water discharge flow path

[0139] 260: resistance valve

[0140] 300: valve unit

[0141] 310: circulation valve

[0142] 320: clean water discharge valve

[0143] 330: daily water discharge valve

[0144] 400: pretreatment filter

[0145] 400a: first end portion

[0146] 400b: second end portion

[0147] 410: pretreatment inlet

[0148] 420: pretreatment outlet

[0149] 430: internal guide

[0150] 431: internal guide partition wall

[0151] 432: passage flow path

[0152] 440: filtration unit

[0153] 440a: filtration zone

[0154] 441: hollow portion

[0155] 500: post-treatment filter

[0156] 600: pump

[0157] 700: circulation check valve

[0158] 800: discharge port

[0159] 900: controller

Claims

1. A water purifier, wherein, The water purifier includes: A reverse osmosis filter, comprising: a raw water zone into which raw water flows from the outside; a purified water zone for containing purified water produced by filtering at least a portion of the raw water located in the raw water zone; and a reverse osmosis membrane separating the raw water zone and the purified water zone. A pretreatment filter configured to pretreat raw water flowing into the reverse osmosis filter, and the pretreatment filter having a hollow section through which the pretreated raw water passes; A flow channel is provided, which is connected to the pretreatment filter and the reverse osmosis filter, and provides a pathway for the flow of the raw water and the purified water. An internal guide includes a cylindrical internal guide partition wall and a passage hole, the internal guide partition wall being inserted into the hollow portion of the pretreatment filter, and the passage hole being formed to pass through the internal guide partition wall and communicate with the hollow portion; Multiple valves are connected to the pretreatment filter and the reverse osmosis filter, and the multiple valves are selectively opened / closed to regulate the flow rates of the raw water and the purified water; and A controller configured to control the opening / closing of the plurality of valves based on multiple flow patterns.

2. The water purifier according to claim 1, wherein, The internal guide partition wall is configured to cut off the communication between the filter unit of the pretreatment filter and the hollow portion, and the internal guide partition wall has a flow path formed in the internal guide partition wall, the flow path being aligned with the hollow portion, and the flow hole communicating with the flow path, through which fluid flows into the internal guide.

3. The water purifier according to claim 2, wherein, The passage hole is arranged closer to the second end opposite to the first end in which the pretreatment inlet and pretreatment outlet are formed.

4. The water purifier according to claim 2, wherein, Before the purified water flows to the pretreatment filter, the fluid retained in the pretreatment filter is discharged through the pretreatment outlet.

5. The water purifier according to claim 1, wherein, The multiple flow modes include a purified water circulation mode, in which purified water circulates between the pretreatment filter and the reverse osmosis filter, and the controller controls the opening / closing of the multiple valves such that: when in the purified water circulation mode, purified water discharged from the purified water zone flows into the pretreatment filter, and purified water that has passed through the pretreatment filter flows into the raw water zone.

6. The water purifier according to claim 5, wherein, The flow channel includes a purified water circulation flow path connecting the purified water zone and the pretreatment filter, and the plurality of valves further include a purified water circulation valve disposed on the purified water circulation flow path and configured to open / close the purified water circulation flow path, and the controller controls the purified water circulation valve such that: when in the purified water circulation mode, the purified water circulation flow path is opened.

7. The water purifier according to claim 1, wherein, The flow channel includes: a reverse osmosis filter inflow path, which connects the pretreatment outlet of the pretreatment filter to the raw water zone of the reverse osmosis filter; and a return flow path, which connects the raw water zone to the reverse osmosis filter inflow path.

8. The water purifier according to claim 7, wherein, The controller controls the opening / closing of the plurality of valves so that: when in the purified water circulation mode, daily water discharged from the raw water zone flows into the raw water zone through the return flow path and the reverse osmosis filter flow path.

9. The water purifier according to claim 1, wherein, The multiple flow modes also include a purified water discharge mode, in which purified water located in the purified water zone is discharged to the outside, and the controller controls the opening / closing of the multiple valves such that: when in the purified water discharge mode, purified water located in the purified water zone is discharged to the outside.

10. The water purifier according to claim 9, wherein, Prior to the purified water discharge mode, the controller controls the opening / closing of the plurality of valves for a predetermined amount of time according to the purified water circulation mode.

11. The water purifier according to claim 9, wherein, The flow channel includes a purified water discharge flow path connecting the purified water zone and the discharge port, and the plurality of valves includes a purified water discharge valve disposed on the purified water discharge flow path and configured to open / close the purified water discharge flow path, and the controller controls the opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that: when in the purified water circulation mode, the purified water discharge flow path is closed, and when in the purified water discharge mode, the purified water discharge flow path is open.

12. The water purifier according to claim 9, wherein, The multiple flow modes also include a clean water flushing mode, in which the reverse osmosis membrane is cleaned using clean water contained in the pretreatment filter, and the controller controls the opening / closing of the multiple valves such that: when in the clean water flushing mode, the clean water contained in the pretreatment filter flows into the raw water zone, and the daily water use in the raw water zone is discharged to the outside.

13. The water purifier according to claim 12, wherein, The flow channel also includes a daily water discharge flow path through which daily water in the raw water area is discharged to the outside. The plurality of valves also include a daily water discharge valve disposed on the daily water discharge flow path and configured to open / close the daily water discharge flow path. The controller controls the opening / closing of the daily water discharge valve such that: in the purified water circulation mode and the purified water discharge mode, the daily water discharge flow path is closed, and in the purified water flushing mode, the daily water discharge flow path is open.

14. The water purifier according to claim 12, wherein, The controller controls the opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that: in the purified water discharge mode, when the amount of purified water discharged to the outside through the discharge port in the purified water zone is less than a reference discharge amount, the purified water discharge valve is opened and the daily water discharge valve is closed; and when the amount of purified water discharged to the outside through the discharge port in the purified water zone is greater than the reference discharge amount, the purified water discharge valve is opened and the daily water discharge valve is opened.

15. The water purifier according to claim 14, wherein, The controller controls the opening / closing of multiple valves such that, in the purified water discharge mode, when the amount of purified water discharged to the outside through the discharge port is greater than the reference discharge amount, the opening degree of the purified water discharge valve is greater than the opening degree of the daily water discharge valve.

16. The water purifier according to claim 15, wherein, The size of the orifice when the purified water discharge valve is opened is larger than the size of the orifice when the daily water discharge valve is opened.

17. The water purifier according to claim 15, wherein, The flow path of daily water discharge includes: The primary daily water discharge flow path; and A second daily water discharge flow path, the second daily water discharge flow path being arranged parallel to the first daily water discharge flow path, and The daily water discharge valve includes: A first daily water discharge valve is installed on the first daily water discharge flow path; and A second daily water discharge valve is installed on the second daily water discharge flow path.

18. The water purifier according to claim 17, wherein, When the orifice size of the first daily water discharge valve is opened is greater than the orifice size of the second daily water discharge valve is opened, and the controller controls the opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that: in the purified water discharge mode, when the amount of purified water discharged to the outside through the discharge port is greater than the reference discharge amount, the first daily water discharge valve is closed and the second daily water discharge valve is opened.

19. The water purifier according to claim 18, wherein, The controller controls the opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that, in the purified water flushing mode, the first daily water discharge valve is opened and the second daily water discharge valve is closed.

20. The water purifier according to claim 17, wherein, The water purifier further includes a third daily water discharge valve, which is disposed on the first daily water discharge flow path and downstream of the first daily water discharge valve. The opening degree of the third daily water discharge valve can be adjusted by the controller. The controller controls the opening / closing of the plurality of valves such that: in the purified water discharge mode, when the amount of purified water discharged to the outside through the discharge port is greater than a reference discharge amount, the first daily water discharge valve is opened, the second daily water discharge valve is closed, and the opening degree of the third daily water discharge valve is less than the opening degree of the purified water discharge valve.

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