Empty well

Abstract

This simple design provides an empty well that collects and filters moisture from the air, enabling the supply of safe water even during disasters or in environments with limited water resources. [Solution] The empty well comprises a housing, a dehumidifying unit 16 located at the top of the housing 12 for collecting moisture from the air, a recovery tank 18 located below the dehumidifying unit for storing the moisture collected by the dehumidifying unit, a filtration mechanism 20 located below the recovery tank for filtering the water stored in the recovery tank by gravity, a clean water tank 22 located at the bottom of the housing below the filtration mechanism for storing the clean water filtered by the filtration mechanism by gravity, a flexible drain hose 14 located protruding from the housing, and a pump for draining the clean water stored in the clean water tank via the drain hose. The clean water, filtered from the moisture in the air collected by the dehumidifying unit, is drained outside the housing via the drain hose.

Description

Empty well

[0001] This invention relates to an empty well that can collect and filter moisture in the air to supply safe water.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a device for collecting (reducing) moisture in indoor air, a dehumidifier has been widely used. However, a conventional dehumidifier is a device for maintaining (lowering) the indoor humidity at an appropriate humidity value, and all the collected water has been drained and discarded and has not been reused.

[0003] When investigating prior art for collecting moisture in the air, no prior art similar to this technology was extracted. However, daring to say, as shown by the technology described in Patent Document 1, in a solid polymer electrolyte membrane type fuel cell using a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, for humidifying the fuel hydrogen on the hydrogen electrode side necessary for wetting the electrolyte membrane, dehumidifying from the air electrode (or oxygen electrode) side, improving the utilization rate of hydrogen, reusing the generated water on the air electrode side, and facilitating adjustment of the battery operating temperature, only a new fuel cell system has been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, the dehumidification technology described in this Patent Document 1 is intended for reusing the generated water on the air electrode side, and has no purpose at all of being able to supply safe water even in times of disaster or in an environment with limited water resources. There is a strong demand for reusing safe water in times of disaster or in an environment with limited water resources.

[0006] This invention was conceived in view of the circumstances described above, and its main purpose is to provide an empty well with a simple structure that can collect and filter moisture from the air, thereby supplying safe water even during disasters or in environments with limited water resources. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, the empty well according to this invention, as described in claim 1, comprises a housing, a dehumidifying unit disposed at the top of the housing for collecting moisture from the air, a recovery tank disposed below the dehumidifying unit for storing the moisture collected by the dehumidifying unit, a filtration mechanism disposed below the recovery tank for filtering the water stored in the recovery tank by gravity, a clean water tank disposed below the filtration mechanism at the bottom of the housing for storing the clean water filtered by the filtration mechanism by gravity, a flexible drain hose disposed protruding from the housing, and a pump for draining the clean water stored in the clean water tank via the drain hose, characterized in that the clean water filtered from the moisture in the air collected by the dehumidifying unit is drained to the outside of the housing via the drain hose.

[0008] Furthermore, according to claim 2, the empty well according to this invention is characterized in that a nozzle is attached to the tip of the drain hose for discharging clean water drawn from the clean water tank via the pump.

[0009] Furthermore, according to the description in claim 3, the empty well according to this invention is characterized in that the nozzle comprises a nozzle cover that is in close contact with human skin to prevent the clean water discharged therefrom from leaking out of the nozzle, a blowing hole that sprays the clean water onto the human skin to be discharged, and a recovery hole that collects the wastewater that is ejected from the blowing hole and has removed the dirt from the skin, and a wastewater separation mechanism is provided inside the recovery tank, which is connected to the recovery hole and separates the dirt from the skin and the water from the wastewater collected from the recovery hole, and the water separated by the wastewater separation mechanism is collected in the recovery tank.

[0010] Furthermore, according to claim 4, the empty well according to this invention is characterized in that a compressor is interposed between the recovery hole and the wastewater separation mechanism to send the wastewater, which has been blown out from the blowout hole and used to remove dirt from human skin, to the wastewater separation mechanism.

[0011] Furthermore, according to claim 5, the empty well according to this invention is characterized in that a detergent tank for introducing detergent for washing the surface of human skin into the clean water in the drain hose inside the housing is provided within the housing.

[0012] Furthermore, according to claim 6, the empty well according to this invention is characterized in that the filtration mechanism comprises a first filter module having an activated carbon layer for removing odors, a second filter module having a particulate removal layer for removing dirt and dust, a third filter module having a hollow fiber membrane tank for removing bacteria and viruses, and a fourth filter module having a water supply stabilizer for making the water flow uniform. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] As detailed above, this invention provides an empty well with a simple configuration that can collect and filter moisture from the air, supplying safe water even during disasters or in environments with limited water resources. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the configuration of one embodiment of the empty well related to this invention, taken from the front left in a photographic image. [Figure 2] This is a perspective view showing the configuration of one embodiment of the empty well related to this invention, taken from the right rear in a photographic image. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a front view showing the configuration of one embodiment of an empty well. [Figure 4] Figure 1 is a left side view showing the configuration of one embodiment of an empty well. [Figure 5] Figure 1 is a right side view showing the configuration of one embodiment of an empty well. [Figure 6] Figure 1 is a rear view showing the configuration of one embodiment of an empty well. [Figure 7] Figure 1 is a front view showing the internal structure of one embodiment of an empty well, with the front panel removed, as captured in a photograph. [Figure 8] Figure 1 shows a rear view of an embodiment of an empty well, with the rear panel removed, illustrating the internal structure as seen in the photographic images. Description of the Examples

[0015] The configuration of the embodiment for implementing this invention's empty well will be described in detail below.

[0016] First of all, the name of the "Empty Well 10" in this embodiment is quite sensational, but functionally it is a portable washing and water purification device that collects and filters moisture from the air, supplying safe water even in times of disaster or in environments with limited water resources. The name "Empty Well" was chosen because the commonly used term "land well" (a well installed in the land) refers to a device that collects water from underground, while this device collects water from the air.

[0017] In this embodiment, the empty well 10, as shown in Figures 1 to 6, is a portable body washing and water purification device, having a roughly vertically elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape and equipped with a housing 12 that closely conforms to its external shape. As shown in Figure 7, the housing 12 is composed of a front panel 12A that is completely open at the front, a left panel 12C and a right panel 12D, each having a groove 12B for detachably embedding and holding a drain hose 14 (described later), a top panel 12E on which operation buttons and a display panel are arranged (details not shown), a rear panel 12F, and a carrying handle 12G fixed to the top of the housing 12.

[0018] As the basic configuration of this empty well 10, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, inside this housing 12, at its uppermost part, there is a dehumidification unit 16 that collects moisture in the air, and below this dehumidification unit 16, there is a collection tank 18 that stores the moisture collected by the dehumidification unit 16. Below this collection tank 18, there is a filtration mechanism 20 that filters the water stored in this collection tank 18 in a state of natural flow. Below this filtration mechanism 20, at the bottom of the housing 12, there is a clean water tank 22 that stores the clean water filtered by the filtration mechanism 20 by natural flow. There is a flexible drainage hose 14 arranged in a state of protruding from the housing 12, and through this drainage hose 14, there is a pump 24 for draining the clean water stored in the clean water tank 22. The clean water obtained by filtering the moisture in the air collected by the dehumidification unit 16 is drained outside the housing 12 through the drainage hose 14 and is supplied as safe water to moisten a human's throat or, as will be described later, to be used for body washing.

[0019] Here, in this empty well 10, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the rear panel 12F of the housing 12 is composed of the first to fourth modules M1 to M4 that enable the mechanisms arranged inside the housing 12 to be individually removable in four upper and lower stages. The dehumidification unit 16 is attached to the first module M1 at the uppermost stage. By pulling out this first module M1 backward, it can be taken out from inside the housing 12, making it easy to perform maintenance on the dehumidification unit 16. Incidentally, although the details of this dehumidification unit 16 are not shown, it has a well-known desiccant type dehumidification mechanism including a cooling coil and a fan that blows indoor air onto this cooling coil. For this reason, the rear surface of the first module M1 has a mesh structure almost entirely, and based on the drive of the fan, outside air can be efficiently blown onto the cooling coil.

[0020] Attached to the second module M2 located directly below this first module M1 is the collection tank 18 that receives the water in which the air blown by the fan is cooled in the above-mentioned cooling coil, the moisture in the air is condensed, and water droplets are naturally dripped downward according to gravity.

[0021] Immediately below the second module M2 provided with the recovery tank 18, there is provided a third module M3 to which a filtration mechanism 20 is attached for receiving the water that has naturally flowed down by gravity from the recovery tank 18 and filtering this water into clean water. This filtration mechanism 20 includes a first filter module FM1 having an activated carbon layer for removing the odor of the water flowing down by gravity here, a second filter module FM2 that receives the water from which the odor has been removed by the first filter module FM1 from above by gravity and has a particulate removal layer for removing dust and powder from this water, a third filter module FM3 having a hollow fiber membrane tank for removing bacteria and viruses from the water flowing down by gravity from the second filter module FM2, and a fourth filter module FM4 that receives the water flowing down by gravity from the third filter module FM3, has a water supply stabilizer for making the water flow of this water uniform, and is configured to take out clean water downward by gravity as clean water from here.

[0022] Immediately below this third module M3, that is, at the lowermost stage of the housing 12, a fourth module M4 provided with a clean water tank 22 for storing the clean water flowing down by gravity from the above-described filtration mechanism 20 is arranged. This fourth module M4, like the above-described first to third modules M1 to M3, can be taken out to the outside (side), and in the taken-out state, a large amount of clean water can be supplied from this clean water tank 22.

[0023] In this way, this empty well 10 can supply safe water as drinking water even in a disaster or an environment with limited water resources, and at the same time, it can supply clean water for washing the skin of the human body using this clean water.

[0024] The following describes a structure that can supply this clean water for washing the body. The third module M3 described above is equipped with a compressor 26 for draining the clean water stored in the clean water tank 22 to the outside via the drain hose 14 described above. The base end of the drain hose 14 is connected to this compressor 26, and the middle part of the drain hole is partially embedded in a groove 12B formed in the housing 12, and is normally embedded and attached to the housing 12, but is attached to the housing 12 in a state that it can be removed from this groove 12B when in use, and a nozzle 28 is attached to the tip of the drain hose 14 for discharging the clean water drawn out from the clean water tank 22 via a pump 24.

[0025] The groove 12B for latching the drain hose 14 is formed on both the left and right sides of the housing 12, but not on the ceiling panel 12E that forms the top surface. Instead, it is formed on the handle 12G. When the drain hose 14 is housed, it is partially embedded in the groove 12B and attached to the housing 12 as a whole, so as not to get in the way. When in use, it can be detached from the groove 12B, allowing the nozzle 28 to be used at a longer length for easier operation.

[0026] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 3 to 6, the nozzle 28 includes a nozzle cover 28A made of soft synthetic resin that adheres closely to human skin to prevent the clean water discharged from the nozzle 28 from leaking outwards, and, as shown in particular in Figure 4, a discharge hole 28B that sprays clean water onto the human skin to be discharged, and a recovery hole 28C that collects the wastewater that has been discharged from the discharge hole 28B and used to remove dirt from the skin. Meanwhile, inside the recovery tank 18, a wastewater separation mechanism 32 is provided, which is connected to the recovery hole 28C via a recovery pipe (not shown) and separates the wastewater collected from the recovery hole 28C into skin dirt and clean water. The water separated by this wastewater separation mechanism 32 is temporarily collected inside the recovery tank 18, then filtered through a filtration mechanism 20 to become clean water, and then collected again into the clean water tank 22. This recovery pipe is installed so as to penetrate inside the drain pipe 14.

[0027] In this embodiment, in order to improve the efficiency of body washing, the third module M3 is equipped with a detergent tank 34 for mixing detergent into the clean water discharged from the recovery tank 18 to the nozzle 28 by the compressor 26. This improves the degree of washing as much as possible. Although not shown in the figure, the supply of detergent can be controlled at any time by a switch provided on the ceiling panel 12E of the housing 1. In addition, a heater 36 is also installed to warm the clean water sprayed onto the skin in order to reduce the cold sensation on the skin during washing.

[0028] In this way, the empty well 10 of this embodiment can supply safe drinking water even in times of disaster or in environments with limited water resources, while also having the unique effect of allowing people to wash their skin with this clean water, even in times of disaster or in environments with limited water resources. [Industrial applicability]

[0029] As detailed above, the empty well according to this invention not only provides safe drinking water in times of disaster or in environments with limited water resources, but also has the unique effect of allowing people to wash their bodies with this clean water to maintain cleanliness and health, even in situations where washing the body is difficult and health problems arise during such times of disaster or in environments with limited water resources. Its industrial applicability is extremely high. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0030] 10 Empty Well 12 cabinets 12A Front Panel 12B Groove 12C Left Panel 12D Right side panel 12E Ceiling Panel 12F Rear Panel 12G Handle 14. Drain hose 16 Dehumidifying Unit 18 Recovery Tanks 20 Filtration mechanism 22 Clean water tank 24 pumps 26 Compressor 28 nozzles 28A Nozzle Cover 28B Air outlet 28C Recovery hole 32 Wastewater separation mechanism 34 detergent tank 36 Heater FM1~FM4 Filter Modules M1~M4 Modules

Claims

1. The casing and A dehumidifying unit, located at the very top of this enclosure, collects moisture from the air. A recovery tank is located below this dehumidification unit to store the moisture collected by the dehumidification unit, A filtration mechanism is installed below this recovery tank and filters the water stored in the recovery tank while allowing it to flow down by gravity. Below this filtration mechanism, a fresh water tank is provided at the bottom of the housing, which stores the fresh water filtered by the filtration mechanism by gravity. It is arranged in a manner that protrudes from the aforementioned housing and includes a flexible drain hose, This system is equipped with a pump for draining the clean water stored in the clean water tank via this drain hose. An empty well characterized by draining clean water, obtained by filtering moisture from the air collected by the dehumidifying unit, to the outside of the housing via the drain hose.

2. The empty well according to claim 1, characterized in that a nozzle for discharging clean water drawn from the clean water tank via the pump is attached to the tip of the drain hose.

3. The aforementioned nozzle is A nozzle cover that adheres closely to human skin and prevents the clean water discharged from it from leaking out of the nozzle, A nozzle for spraying the clean water onto the skin of a person to be discharged, It is equipped with a collection port for collecting the wastewater that is ejected from this outlet and used to remove dirt from the skin, A wastewater separation mechanism is provided inside the recovery tank, which is connected to the recovery hole and separates the skin dirt and moisture from the wastewater recovered from the recovery hole. The empty well according to claim 2, characterized in that the water separated by this wastewater separation mechanism is collected in the recovery tank.

4. An empty well according to claim 3, characterized in that a compressor is interposed between the recovery hole and the wastewater separation mechanism to send the wastewater, which has been blown out from the blowing hole and has had the dirt from human skin removed, to the wastewater separation mechanism.

5. The empty well according to claim 4, characterized in that a detergent tank for introducing detergent for washing the surface of human skin into the clean water in the drain hose inside the housing is provided within the housing.

6. The empty well according to claim 1, characterized in that the filtration mechanism comprises a first filter module having an activated carbon layer for removing odors, a second filter module having a particulate removal layer for removing dirt and dust, a third filter module having a hollow fiber membrane tank for removing bacteria and viruses, and a fourth filter module having a water supply stabilizer for making the water flow uniform.

Images