Water generator

Abstract

To provide a water generator that can improve water production capacity (increase in an amount of water produced per unit time) while simplifying a structure.SOLUTION: There is provided a water generator 100 having: a raw water tank 11 that stores raw water; a water absorption and evaporation unit 20 that is installed with its lower part immersed in the raw water of the raw water tank 11 and its upper part other than the lower part being above a water surface of the raw water, and that sucks up the raw water from its lower part to its upper part and evaporates it; and a cover 13 that covers the raw water tank 11 and the water absorption and evaporation unit 20 in a sealed state and has light-transmitting properties, wherein sunlight is irradiated onto the water absorption and evaporation unit 20 through the cover 13, and the raw water is evaporated from the upper part of the water absorption and evaporation unit 20, and is condensed on an inner surface of the cover 13 to produce distilled water. The water absorption and evaporation unit 20 is a tubular fiber material structure made of a tubular fiber material, and at least a surface that is irradiated with sunlight is black, and the tubular fiber material structure is installed in a posture where a cylindrical axis P is aligned along the water surface of the raw water.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a freshwater generator comprising: a raw water tank for storing raw water; a water absorption and evaporation section which is installed in the raw water tank with its lower portion immersed in the raw water and its upper portion other than the lower portion being above the surface of the raw water and which sucks up the raw water from the lower portion to the upper portion and evaporates it; and a light-transmitting cover which covers the raw water tank and the water absorption and evaporation section in an airtight manner, in which sunlight is transmitted through the cover and irradiated onto the water absorption and evaporation section, the raw water is evaporated from the upper portion of the water absorption and evaporation section and condensed on the inner surface of the cover to produce distilled water. [Background technology]

[0002] A water maker is used to produce distilled water from raw water that is not suitable for drinking or direct use, such as seawater, river water, or rainwater, without using a power source. As such a water generator, Patent Document 1 discloses one in which the water absorption and evaporation section is a structure made of nonwoven fabric, etc. The nonwoven fabric as the structure is formed in a pleated shape with folds extending in the vertical direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-152562 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the water generator disclosed in Patent Document 1, the nonwoven fabric serving as the water absorption and evaporation section needs to be molded into a relatively complicated shape such as a pleated shape, and there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of simplifying the structure.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fresh water maker that can improve water production capacity (increase the amount of water produced per unit time) while simplifying the structure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The water maker to achieve the above purpose is as follows: a raw water tank for storing raw water; a water absorption and evaporation unit that is installed with its lower portion immersed in the raw water of the raw water tank and its upper portion other than the lower portion being above the water surface of the raw water, and that sucks up the raw water from the lower portion to the upper portion and evaporates it; and a cover that covers the raw water tank and the water absorption and evaporation unit in a sealed state and has translucency; A fresh water generator that produces distilled water by irradiating the water absorption and evaporation unit with sunlight passing through the cover, evaporating the raw water from the upper portion of the water absorption and evaporation unit, and condensing the raw water on an inner surface of the cover, The water absorption and evaporation section is a tubular fiber material structure made of a tubular fiber material, The tubular fiber material structure has a black surface at least on which sunlight is irradiated, and is installed with the axis of the tube aligned along the surface of the raw water.

[0007] As a result of extensive investigations, the inventors of the present application have experimentally confirmed, as described below, that by making the water absorption and evaporation section a tubular fiber material structure made of a tubular fiber material, painting at least the surface of the tubular fiber material structure that is irradiated with sunlight black, and installing the tubular fiber material structure so that its cylindrical axis is aligned with the surface of the raw water, it is possible to improve the water production capacity (increase in the amount of water produced per unit time) compared to the fresh water generator shown in Patent Document 1. Note that in this experiment, the conditions of the light receiving area assumed to be irradiated with sunlight and the height from the surface of the raw water to the upper end of the water absorption and evaporation section were consistent. In other words, according to this configuration, the water absorption and evaporation section can be simply configured by molding a fibrous material into a cylindrical shape, so that the amount of water produced can be increased (improved water production efficiency) while simplifying the configuration compared to conventional technology.

[0008] Further characteristic configurations of the water maker are as follows: The tubular fiber member structure is formed of a single tubular member having a cylindrical or polygonal shape that is circular or polygonal when viewed in a direction along the tubular axis.

[0009] The water production capacity of a water maker (amount of water produced per unit time) depends on the suction capacity of the water absorption and evaporation section, which sucks up raw water from the bottom to the top, and the evaporation capacity of the water absorption and evaporation section, which evaporates raw water from the top of the water absorption and evaporation section into the space inside the cover. Conventionally, it was thought that the total surface area of ​​the materials that suck up raw water, such as the fibrous materials that make up the top and bottom of the water absorption and evaporation section, was important in increasing evaporation capacity. However, after extensive investigation, the inventors of the present application have confirmed through experiments described below that by configuring the tubular fiber material structure as in the present configuration from a single tubular member that is cylindrical or polygonal when viewed in the direction along the tubular axis, and by installing the tubular member with its axis aligned along the surface of the raw water, it is possible to achieve a higher water production capacity than the conventional technology while significantly reducing the total surface area compared to the conventional technology. This makes it possible to realize a freshwater generator that can achieve a high water production capacity while simplifying the configuration of the water absorption and evaporation section. Furthermore, the inventors believe that because the light-receiving area that receives sunlight has a significant effect on the water production capacity, it is possible to improve the water production capacity (increase the amount of water produced per unit time) even in a configuration with a low total surface area, as in this configuration.

[0010] Further characteristic configurations of the water maker are as follows: The tubular fiber member structure includes a plurality of cylindrical or polygonal tubular members that are circular or polygonal when viewed in a direction along the tubular axis, The present invention is characterized in that the cylindrical members are arranged in a multi-cylinder structure in which one cylindrical member accommodates the other cylindrical member inside the cylindrical member, with the cylindrical members being aligned with each other in the orientation.

[0011] The inventors have confirmed that even in the case of this configuration, in which a tubular fiber material structure is constructed from multiple tubular members and one tubular member is installed to house other tubular members inside the tube in an aligned position with their respective tubular axes, it is possible to improve the water production capacity (increase in the amount of water produced per unit time) compared to conventional technology.

[0012] Further characteristic configurations of the water maker are as follows: The tubular fiber material structure is a spiral structure in which the fiber material is wound multiple times around a cylindrical axis and formed into a spiral shape when viewed in a direction along the cylindrical axis.

[0013] The inventors have confirmed that even when the tubular fiber material structure is a spiral structure in which the fiber material is wound multiple times around the cylindrical axis and molded into a spiral shape when viewed in the direction along the cylindrical axis, as in the present configuration, it is possible to improve the water production capacity (increase in the amount of water produced per unit time) compared to conventional technology.

[0014] Further characteristic configurations of the water maker are as follows: The tubular fiber material structure has at least two or more members provided at different positions in a plan view.

[0015] As in this configuration, by providing at least two or more tubular fiber material structures at different positions when viewed in a plane, the light receiving area can be increased while maintaining a relatively simple configuration with a small total surface area, and the water production capacity can be easily improved (increased amount of water produced per unit time).

[0016] Further characteristic configurations of the water maker are as follows: The tubular fiber material structure includes a shape maintaining body that is provided along a front surface or a back surface of the fiber material and maintains the shape of the fiber material in a tubular shape, The shape-retaining body is made of a mesh-like resin provided along the fibrous member.

[0017] As in the present configuration, a shape maintaining body is provided along the front or back surface of the fiber part of the cylindrical fiber material structure to maintain the shape of the fiber material into a cylindrical shape, and the shape maintaining body is made of a mesh-like resin provided along the fiber material, so that even when filter paper or the like is used as the fiber material and it is difficult to maintain the shape of the fiber material over a long period of time, the shape of the fiber material can be properly maintained by the shape maintaining body, and the light receiving area can be maintained in a good condition. Furthermore, because the shape maintaining body is made of a mesh-like resin, even when the shape maintaining body is provided along the front or back surface of the fiber material, the evaporation capacity can be maintained in a good condition without impeding the evaporation of raw water from the surface of the fiber material. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a fresh water generator according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a water absorption and evaporation part according to the first embodiment (Example 1). [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a water absorption and evaporation part according to a second embodiment (Example 2). [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a water absorption and evaporation part according to a third embodiment (Example 3). [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a water absorption and evaporation part according to Comparative Example 2. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a water absorption / evaporation part according to Comparative Example 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] The water maker according to the embodiment of the present invention relates to a water maker that can improve water production capacity (increase in the amount of water produced per unit time) while simplifying the structure. Hereinafter, the water maker according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the fresh water generator 100 has a water absorption and evaporation unit 20 that is installed with its lower part immersed in raw water in a raw water tank 11 and its upper part other than the lower part being above the surface of the raw water, and that sucks up the raw water from its lower part to its upper part and evaporates it, and a light-transmitting cover 13 that covers the raw water tank 11 and the water absorption and evaporation unit 20 in an airtight state. Sunlight is transmitted through the cover 13 and irradiated onto the water absorption and evaporation unit 20, and the raw water is evaporated from the upper part of the water absorption and evaporation unit 20, and condensed on the inner surface of the cover 13 to produce distilled water. More specifically, the fresh water generator 100 has a distilled water vat 14 that houses a raw water tank 11, a water absorption and evaporation section 20, and a cover 13, and the distilled water vat 14 is configured to be capable of storing distilled water that condenses on the inner surface of the cover 13 and trickles down, and to enable the distilled water to be taken out from the distilled water vat 14 via a water intake pipe 15. Incidentally, the cover 13 is shaped so that it opens downward, while the distilled water vat 14 is shaped so that it opens upward, and the lower end of the cover 13 is in close contact with the upper end of the distilled water vat 14, forming an airtight space between the cover 13 and the distilled water vat 14.

[0021] The raw water tank 11 is a tank for storing raw water, and is made of resin such as plastic.

[0022] The cover 13 entirely covers the raw water tank 11 and the water absorption and evaporation section 20 in a sealed state, and is made of a light-transmitting material having a rectangular parallelepiped, conical, polygonal pyramid, hemispherical, etc. Examples of light-transmitting materials include polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, amorphous polyester, acrylic, polycarbonate, polyamide, acrylic, glass, etc.

[0023] The inner surface of the cover 13 is coated with a hydrophilic coating so that the water contact angle is 10° or less. Therefore, the distilled water condensed on the inner surface of the cover 13 easily flows downward along the inner surface of the cover 13.

[0024] Since the freshwater generator 100 is installed outdoors, the cover 13 should be constructed to have sufficient rigidity to maintain the shape of the cover 13 against rain and wind. The cover 13 may be provided with a frame that is formed integrally or separately.

[0025] The cover 13 may have an uneven shape, in which case the uneven shape functions as a convex or concave lens, thereby improving heat generation efficiency since concentrated sunlight is irradiated onto the water absorption and evaporation section 20. Also, the distilled water condensed on the inner surface of the cover 13 tends to flow downward along the convex or concave portions of the inner surface.

[0026] The water evaporated in the water absorption and evaporation section 20 is condensed on the inner surface of the cover 13 and flows downward along the inner surface, and the distilled water that flows down is collected in the distilled water tray 14.

[0027] The material of the distilled water tray 14 may be any material that does not adversely affect the quality of the collected distilled water.

[0028] The water intake pipe 15 is a pipe made of, for example, resin, for taking out the distilled water stored in the distilled water vat 14 to the outside, and is connected to the distilled water vat 14. The water intake pipe 15 is provided with a valve, which can be opened and closed to easily allow water to pass or stop. Note that the water intake pipe 15 does not necessarily have to be provided.

[0029] In the above embodiment, the distilled water vat 14 is configured to accommodate the raw water tank 11, the water absorption and evaporation section 20, and the cover 13, but is not limited to this. Any shape can be used as long as it can collect the distilled water that has flowed down along the inner surface of the cover 13, and it may be configured to accommodate only the lower edge of the cover 13, for example.

[0030] The water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to the first embodiment, the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to the second embodiment, and the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to the third embodiment will be described below in the order of description.

[0031] <Water absorption / evaporation unit 20 according to the first embodiment> The water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to the first embodiment is a tubular fiber material structure made of tubular filter paper (manufactured by Mitsubishi Paper Mills: an example of a fiber material) as shown in Fig. 2, and the tubular fiber material structure has at least the surface that is irradiated with sunlight black, and is installed with the tube axis P aligned along the surface of the raw water (shown in Fig. 1). To further explain, the tubular fiber material structure is made of a single cylindrical member 20a that is circular when viewed in the direction along the tube axis P. Note that the circle here is not limited to a perfect circle as shown in Fig. 2, and may be an ellipse or other shape. The cylindrical member 20a is formed by rolling a flat filter paper around the cylinder axis P into a cylindrical shape. To add to the explanation, the cylindrical member 20a is provided with a shape maintaining body 30 that is provided along the back surface (cylindrical inner surface) of the filter paper and maintains the shape of the filter paper in a cylindrical shape. The shape maintaining body 30 is formed into a cylindrical shape by rolling a flat one and fixing it with a plastic screw (Bush rivet: Hirosugi Keiki, NP-0000) not shown, and the filter paper is fixed to the surface of the shape maintaining body 30 with a stainless steel stapler. The fixing form of the shape maintaining body 30 and the fixing form of the filter paper to the shape maintaining body 30 may adopt various other forms. The shape maintaining body 30 has a higher rigidity than filter paper and can maintain the cylindrical shape for a longer period of time than when the tubular member 20a is made of filter paper alone. The shape maintaining body 30 is made of, for example, a mesh-like resin.

[0032] <Water absorption / evaporation unit 20 according to the second embodiment> The water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to the second embodiment is a cylindrical fiber material structure made of a cylindrical filter paper (one example of a fiber material), and is made of a plurality of cylindrical members 20b, 20c, and 20d (three in the second embodiment) that are circular when viewed in a direction along the cylindrical axis (not shown) as shown in Fig. 3. More specifically, in the second embodiment, the plurality of cylindrical members 20b, 20c, and 20d are made of a first cylindrical member 20b with a large diameter, a second cylindrical member 20c with a smaller diameter than the first cylindrical member 20b, and a third cylindrical member 20d with a smaller diameter than the second cylindrical member 20c, and have the same length in the cylindrical axis direction. Incidentally, the circular shape here is not limited to a perfect circle as shown in FIG. 3, but may be an ellipse or other shape, and the shapes of the multiple cylindrical members 20b, 20c, and 20d when viewed in the axial direction may be different from each other. The first cylindrical member 20b, the second cylindrical member 20c, and the third cylindrical member 20d are arranged in a position where their cylindrical axes are aligned, with the first cylindrical member 20b accommodating the second cylindrical member 20c inside the cylindrical member, and the second cylindrical member 20c accommodating the third cylindrical member 20d inside the cylindrical member. This forms a multi-tubular structure. Each of the first cylindrical member 20b, the second cylindrical member 20c, and the third cylindrical member 20d is provided with a shape maintaining body 30, similar to the cylindrical member 20a of the first embodiment, and has a fixed form similar to that of the cylindrical member 20a of the first embodiment.

[0033] <Water absorption / evaporation unit 20 according to the third embodiment> The water absorption and evaporation section 20 of the third embodiment is a tubular fiber material structure made of tubular filter paper (an example of a fiber material), and as shown in Figure 4, is a spiral structure 20e in which flat filter paper is wound multiple times around a cylindrical axis (not shown) to form a spiral shape when viewed in the direction along the cylindrical axis. Incidentally, the spiral structure 20e includes a shape maintaining body 30 similar to the cylindrical member 20a of the first embodiment, and has a fixed form similar to that of the cylindrical member 20a of the first embodiment. Incidentally, the surface of the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to the first to third embodiments is colored black with carbon black or the like.

[0034] Hereinafter, although not the configuration according to the embodiment, the configurations of the water absorption and evaporation units 40 and 50 according to Comparative Examples 1 and 2 will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 6. For convenience of explanation, the configuration of the water absorption and evaporation unit according to Comparative Example 2 will be described first, and then the configuration of the water absorption and evaporation unit according to Comparative Example 1 will be described. <Water absorption / evaporation section according to Comparative Example 2> The water absorption and evaporation section 40 of Comparative Example 2 is a structure made of nonwoven fabric, as shown in FIG. 5, and has a pleated section PB formed in a pleated shape with folds extending in the vertical direction (the direction along the arrow Z), and has a black surface. When the surface of the pleat portion PB of the water absorption and evaporation portion 40 is disposed substantially along the direction of the arrow Y, each of the end face as viewed in the direction of the arrow X, the end face as viewed in the opposite direction of the arrow X, the end face as viewed in the direction of the arrow Z, and the end face as viewed in the opposite direction of the arrow Z is surrounded by an outer surrounding cloth G made of a nonwoven fabric, and the pleat portion PB and the outer surrounding cloth G are fixed together by hot melt or the like. After that, the entire surface is colored black with a coloring agent containing carbon powder.

[0035] <Water absorption / evaporation section according to Comparative Example 1> 6, the water absorption and evaporation unit 50 according to Comparative Example 1 is provided by abutting a plurality of water absorption and evaporation units 50a having the same structure as the water absorption and evaporation unit 40 according to Comparative Example 1 with the portions where the folds of the pleats PB are formed facing each other. Other configurations related to the outer surrounding cloth G and the like are the same as those of Comparative Example 2, so description thereof will be omitted here.

[0036] [Experimental Results] The results of experiments on fresh water production are shown below, with the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to the above-mentioned embodiment 1 as Example 1, the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to embodiment 2 as Example 2, and the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to embodiment 3 as Example 3. In the following description, the plane is defined as a surface viewed in the direction from the tip to the base end side of arrow Z, the front surface is defined as a surface viewed in the direction from the tip to the base end side of arrow X, the back surface is defined as a surface viewed in the direction from the base end to the tip side of arrow X, the left surface is defined as a surface viewed in the direction from the base end to the tip side of arrow Y, and the right surface is defined as a surface viewed in the direction from the tip to the base end side of arrow Y. The sunlight receiving area is assumed to be the area of ​​the plane. The cover 13 was made of Excel Pure (Chuo Jidosha Kogyo, BD-P01) with the inside surface coated with hydrophilic coating, and the distilled water tray 14 was of a size suitable for the Excel Pure. In the experiment, first, 2 L of water was placed in the raw water tank 11 of the freshwater generator 100, and the water absorption and evaporation section 20 was fully immersed. Next, the freshwater generator 100 was set in a sunny location and left for a period of time until a predetermined amount of condensed water was stored in the distilled water vat 14 (24 hours in the experiment described below), and the amount of condensed water obtained was taken as the amount of freshwater produced. Note that in this experiment, it was assumed that there was no leakage of raw water or condensed water from the freshwater generator 100 to the outside during the experiment, and that the amount of evaporation and the amount of freshwater produced were the same. The raw water depth Lw (shown in FIG. 1) was set to 0.5 cm at the beginning of the experiment, and the height of the water absorption and evaporation section 20 from the bottom of the raw water tank 11 was set to 10 cm in all the examples and comparative examples.

[0037] <Water absorption / evaporation unit 20 according to Example 1> The dimensional relationships of the water absorption and evaporation section 20 in Example 1, i.e., the diameter L2 shown in FIG. 2, the length L1 along the cylinder axis P, the cylinder circumference L3, the length Lx of the portion of the cylinder circumference L3 that is immersed in the raw water, and the cylinder circumference correction value L3-Lx, are as shown in Table 1 below.

[0038] [Table 1]

[0039] In the experiment, the water absorption and evaporation section 20 of Example 1 is implemented by immersing two cylindrical members 20a shown in Figure 2 in the raw water tank 11, so that the light receiving area AL and the total surface area AT are expressed by the following [Equation 1] and [Equation 2], respectively, and the specific values ​​are shown in the following [Table 6].

[0040] [Formula 1] AL = L1 × L2 × 2

[0041] [Formula 2] AT = L1 × (L3 - Lx) × 2

[0042] <Water absorption / evaporation unit 20 according to Example 2> The dimensional relationship of the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to the second embodiment is as shown in Table 2. Note that since the respective indicators are the same as those explained in the first embodiment, the explanation thereof will be omitted here, and the illustration in FIG. The specific values ​​of the light receiving area AL and the total surface area AT of the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to the second embodiment are shown in the following Table 6. The concept of the method (calculation formula) for calculating the light receiving area AL and the total surface area AT is the same as that of the first embodiment, so the explanation thereof will be omitted here. In addition, the light receiving area AL in the second embodiment is the light receiving area of ​​only the first cylindrical member 20b with the maximum diameter.

[0043] [Table 2]

[0044] <Water absorption / evaporation unit 20 according to Example 3> The dimensional relationships of the water absorption and evaporation section 20 in Example 3, i.e., the diameter equivalent length Lα of the outermost cylinder part shown in Figure 4, the length Lγ along the cylinder axis, the spiral length Lβ when viewed in the cylinder axis direction (viewed in the direction along arrow Y), the length Lx (shown in Figure 1) of the part of the spiral Lβ immersed in the raw water, and the corrected spiral length Lβ-Lx, are as shown in Table 3 below.

[0045] [Table 3]

[0046] In the experiment, the water absorption and evaporation section 20 of Example 3 is implemented by immersing two spiral structures 20e shown in Figure 4 in the raw water tank 11, so that the light receiving area AL and total surface area AT are expressed by the following [Equation 3] and [Equation 4], respectively, and the specific values ​​are shown in the following [Table 6].

[0047] [Formula 3] AL = Lα × Lγ × 2

[0048] [Formula 4] AT = Lγ × (Lβ-Lx) × 2

[0049] <Water absorption / evaporation section 40 according to Comparative Example 2> The dimensional relationships of the water absorption and evaporation section 40 according to Comparative Example 2, i.e., the width L6 along the arrow X, the height L7 along the arrow Z, the thickness L8 along the arrow Y, the length L9 of the pleated section PB as viewed in the direction of the arrow Z (plan view), and the corrected height L7-Lw, as shown in Table 4 below. Here, the length of the pleated section PB as viewed in a plan view means the length of the pleated section PB when stretched out without being folded.

[0050] [Table 4]

[0051] The light receiving area AL and the total surface area AT of the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to Comparative Example 2 are respectively expressed by the following [Formula 5] and [Formula 6], and the specific values ​​are shown in the following [Table 6]. Incidentally, the water absorption and evaporation section 40 according to the comparative example 2 was a humidifying filter (Mitsubishi Paper Mills) coated with a carbon black pigment.

[0052] [Formula 5] AL=L6×L8

[0053] [Formula 6] AT=L6×L8+(L7-Lw)×L8×2+L9×(L7-Lw)

[0054] <Water absorption / evaporation section 50 according to Comparative Example 1> The dimensional relationships of the water absorption and evaporation section 40 in Comparative Example 1, i.e., the width L10 along the arrow X shown in Figure 6, the height L11 along the arrow Z, the thickness L12 along the arrow Y, the length L13 of the pleated section PB when viewed in the direction of arrow Z (planar view), and the corrected height L11-Lw, are as shown in Table 5 below. The light receiving area AL and the total surface area AT of the water absorption and evaporation section 20 according to Comparative Example 1 are respectively expressed by the following [Formula 7] and [Formula 8], and the specific values ​​are shown in the following [Table 6].

[0055] [Table 5]

[0056] Incidentally, the water absorption and evaporation section 40 according to Comparative Example 2 was a humidification filter (Mitsubishi Paper Mills) coated with a carbon black pigment. Here, the water absorption and evaporation section 50 according to Comparative Example 1 is a combination of a plurality of water absorption and evaporation sections 50b having the same configuration as the water absorption and evaporation section 40 according to Comparative Example 2, and is configured such that the left surface of one water absorption and evaporation section 50b abuts against the right surface of another water absorption and evaporation section 50b. However, the dimensions of each of the 16 water absorption and evaporation sections 50a constituting the water absorption and evaporation section 50 according to Comparative Example 1 are different from the dimensions of the water absorption and evaporation section 40 according to Comparative Example 2 for the convenience of the experiment.

[0057] [Formula 7] AL=L10×L12

[0058] [Formula 8] AT=L10×L12+(L11-Lw)×L12×2+L13×(L11-Lw)

[0059] [Table 6]

[0060] As shown in Table 6, the light receiving area of ​​Examples 1 to 3 was the same, and the number of water absorption and evaporation sections 50a of Comparative Example 1 was adjusted so as to roughly match the light receiving area. As a result, it can be seen that the relative water production amount can be increased in Examples 1 to 3 compared to Comparative Example 1. Incidentally, although the total surface area of ​​Examples 1 to 3 is significantly reduced compared to Comparative Example 1, the relative water production amount can be increased. It can be seen that when the light receiving area is significantly reduced compared to Examples 1 to 3, as in Comparative Example 2, the relative water production amount also decreases.

[0061] [Another embodiment] (1) In the above first embodiment, the cylindrical member 20a as the water absorption and evaporation section 20 has a circular cylindrical shape when viewed in the direction along the cylindrical axis P. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the cylindrical member 20a may have a polygonal shape when viewed in the direction along the cylindrical axis P. Moreover, the first cylindrical member 20b, the second cylindrical member 20c, and the third cylindrical member 30d in the second embodiment may also have a similar shape.

[0062] (2) In the above embodiment, the fibrous material of the cylindrical fibrous material structure serving as the water absorption and evaporation section 20 is filter paper. However, the fibrous material is not limited to this material, and may be made of carbon fiber, natural fiber, or synthetic fiber. Specifically, raw materials such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyurethane, and polyester may be made into a sheet-like nonwoven fabric by a spunbond method or the like.

[0063] (3) The tubular fibrous material structure serving as the water absorption and evaporation section 20 shown in the first to third embodiments is not limited to one, and may be two or more as long as the volume of the raw water tank 11 allows.

[0064] (4) The water absorption and evaporation unit 20 according to the first to third embodiments has a structure in which the entire surface is colored black. However, the present invention is not limited to such a structure, and at least the surface onto which sunlight is irradiated (the portion defined as the light receiving area) may be colored black.

[0065] (5) In the above embodiment, the water absorption and evaporation section 20 is provided with the shape maintaining body 30. However, the shape maintaining body 30 may be omitted.

[0066] Furthermore, the configurations disclosed in the above embodiments (including other embodiments, the same applies below) can be applied in combination with configurations disclosed in other embodiments, provided that no contradiction arises. Furthermore, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto, and can be appropriately modified within the scope that does not deviate from the purpose of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0067] The fresh water maker of the present invention can be effectively used as a fresh water maker that can improve the water production capacity (increase the amount of water produced per unit time) while simplifying the structure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 11: Raw water tank 13: Cover 20: Water absorption and evaporation section 20a: Cylindrical member 20b: First cylindrical member (multiple cylindrical structure) 20c: Second cylindrical member (multiple cylindrical structure) 20d: Third cylindrical member (multiple cylindrical structure) 20e: Spiral structure 30: Shape maintaining body 100: Water generator P: cylinder axis

Claims

1. a raw water tank for storing raw water; a water absorption and evaporation unit that is installed with its lower portion immersed in the raw water of the raw water tank and its upper portion other than the lower portion being above the water surface of the raw water, and that sucks up the raw water from the lower portion to the upper portion and evaporates it; and a cover that covers the raw water tank and the water absorption and evaporation unit in a sealed state and has translucency; A fresh water generator that produces distilled water by irradiating the water absorption and evaporation unit with sunlight passing through the cover, evaporating the raw water from the upper portion of the water absorption and evaporation unit, and condensing the raw water on an inner surface of the cover, The water absorption and evaporation section is a tubular fiber material structure made of a tubular fiber material, The tubular fiber member structure has a surface that is black at least on which sunlight is irradiated, and is installed in the water generator with the tubular axis aligned along the surface of the raw water.

2. 2. The fresh water generator according to claim 1, wherein the tubular fiber material structure is made of a single tubular member having a cylindrical or polygonal shape that is a circle or a polygon when viewed in a direction along the tubular axis.

3. The tubular fiber member structure includes a plurality of cylindrical or polygonal tubular members that are circular or polygonal when viewed in a direction along the tubular axis, 2. The freshwater generator according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical members are arranged in a multi-cylinder structure, with one of the cylindrical members housing the other cylindrical member therein, with the cylindrical members being aligned with each other's axis centers.

4. 2. The water generator according to claim 1, wherein the tubular fiber material structure is a spiral structure in which the fiber material is wound multiple times around a cylindrical axis and formed into a spiral shape when viewed in a direction along the cylindrical axis.

5. The fresh water generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least two of the tubular fiber material structures are provided at different positions in a plan view.

6. The tubular fiber material structure includes a shape maintaining body that is provided along a front surface or a back surface of the fiber material and maintains the shape of the fiber material in a tubular shape, 2. The fresh water generator according to claim 1, wherein the shape-maintaining body is made of a mesh-like resin provided along the fibrous member.

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