Filtration aid dispenser

Abstract

To provide a filter aid charging device capable of smoothly supplying a filter aid to a filter device without the phenomenon in which the filter aid does not fall downward and stays due to coagulation and solidification (with high yield), even if the lower part of a filter aid tank is formed into a reverse quadrangular pyramid shape, a reverse conical shape or the like.SOLUTION: A filter aid charging device comprises: a filter aid tank 2 for charging a filter aid; and an agitation unit 5 which is provided on a support plate 4 having a discharge hole fixed to a bottom part of the filter aid tank 2, where the agitation unit 5 comprises: a rotary shaft (not shown) installed so as to be vertical to the support plate 4, on the center of the support plate 4; a rotary wing 6 which is rotatably installed on the rotary shaft; and a flexible string 7 fitted to the rotary wing 6.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a circulation type filtration device for maintaining the water quality of a swimming pool, a bath, etc., and particularly to a filtration aid feeding device for supplying a filtration aid such as diatomaceous earth to a filtration device during maintenance of a filtration device using diatomaceous earth as a filtration aid for forming a filtration layer (filter).

Background Art

[0002] Higher quality is required for circulation type filtration devices for maintaining the water quality of swimming pools, baths, etc. Specifically, it is required to improve the water quality and water transparency by firmly collecting and removing dirt floating in the water. In order to meet this requirement, diatomaceous earth, which can obtain excellent transparency, has attracted attention as a filtration aid for forming a filtration layer (filter) of a circulation type filtration device. The characteristics of filtration by diatomaceous earth include that it is not necessary to use chemicals such as flocculants, high filtration accuracy (low treated water turbidity and high removal rate), and the diatomaceous earth forming the filtration layer can flow smoothly during maintenance, so it is known that it can prevent Legionella.

[0003] In order to improve the maintainability of the circulation type filtration device (to minimize unnecessary maintenance, or rather, to make it unnecessary), the performance required for a filtration aid feeding device that supplies diatomaceous earth or the like, which is a filtration aid for forming a filtration layer, to the filtration device is that it is important to be able to smoothly feed the filtration aid without any phenomena such as staying without falling down due to aggregation and solidification of (diatomaceous earth containing moisture, etc.). Furthermore, as a performance required for smoothly performing the automatic operation of the circulation type filtration device, it is also important to accurately input the set amount into the filtration device in a short time.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a filter aid supply device that can supply the filter aid while cutting it, even if the filter aid in the filter aid tank absorbs moisture and hardens. The device addresses this objective by constructing the bottom wall of the filter aid tank, which stores the filter aid, from a pair of inclined bottom walls having a roughly V-shaped cross-section. One of the lower ends of this pair of inclined bottom walls is cut off to form a drop hole. A shutter / cutter blade that opens and closes the drop hole is movably installed along the inner surface of the inclined bottom wall on the side with the drop hole, and an extrusion plate that discharges the filter aid in the tank from the drop hole is movably installed along the inner surface of the other inclined bottom wall. The shutter / cutter blade and the extrusion blade can be independently reciprocated. (Patent Document 1: Title of Invention) [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-273118 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] The filter aid supply device described in Patent Document 1 (Patent Document 1: Title of Invention) is a filter aid supply device that installs a shutter / cutter blade and an extrusion blade along a pair of inclined bottom walls of a filter aid tank, and independently reciprocates these shutter / cutter blade and extrusion blade, thereby supplying the filter aid while cutting it even if it has absorbed moisture and solidified. Indeed, it seems that this device can handle the situation even if the filter aid has solidified inside the filter aid tank. However, the fact that the filter aid tank has a pair of inclined bottom walls, that is, the shape of the bottom of the filter aid tank is an inverted square pyramid or inverted cone (a funnel: a tool for pouring liquid into a container with a narrow opening, which is shaped like a trumpet with a narrow tip inserted into the mouth of a bottle or other container and into which the liquid is poured from above), is the very reason why the filter aid solidifies when it absorbs moisture. The applicants thought that it would be better to devise a way to ensure that there is no residue even if the bottom surface of the filter aid tank is flat, rather than an inverted square pyramid or inverted cone, and they diligently conducted research and development to arrive at the present invention.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a filter aid supply device that can smoothly supply the filter aid to a filtration device (with good yield) without phenomena such as accumulation due to aggregation and solidification, even without making the lower part of the filter aid tank an inverted square pyramid shape, an inverted cone shape, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 comprises a filter aid tank for introducing a filter aid from an upper opening, and an agitator installed on a support plate having a discharge hole fixed to the bottom of the filter aid tank, wherein the agitator comprises a rotating shaft installed perpendicular to the support plate, a rotating blade installed so as to be rotatable around the rotating shaft, and attached to the rotating blade A filter aid dispenser characterized by having multiple flexible strings of different lengths installed point-symmetrically on both sides of the rotor blade with respect to the axis of rotation, the multiple flexible strings of different lengths being attached to the rotor blade in a loop shape of different diameters so that they do not overlap when viewed from above, and not lying on the same plane when viewed from the side. It is characterized by the following: [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] The filter aid dispensing device according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a filter aid tank for dispensing the filter aid and a stirring device installed on a support plate with a discharge hole fixed to the bottom surface of the filter aid tank.

[0012] Conventional feeding devices (hoppers: containers that hold materials to be processed or transported. Materials are put in through an inlet and then fall down and exit through an outlet. Typically, the upper inlet is the largest and the lower outlet is the smallest) have a lower shape of the filter aid tank that resembles an inverted square pyramid or inverted cone. Because the lower part of the filter aid tank is shaped like an inverted square pyramid or inverted cone, the filter aid is affected by gravity and accumulates at the bottom of the feeding device, causing it to agglomerate. This is a factor that causes the filter aid to solidify when it absorbs moisture.

[0013] The applicants have developed a technology that allows for the smooth discharge (supply to the filtration device) of the filter aid even if the lower part of the filter aid tank is not shaped like an inverted square pyramid or inverted cone, by devising the shape and arrangement of the flexible strings of the stirring device. The stirring device comprises a rotating shaft installed perpendicular to the support plate, a rotating blade rotatably mounted around the rotating shaft, and flexible strings attached to the rotating blades. By rotating the rotating shaft of the stirring device, the rotating blades rotate together with the flexible strings, stirring the filter aid in the tank and supplying it to the filtration layer of the filtration device by discharging it through the discharge hole.

[0014] Multiple flexible strings of varying lengths are attached in a loop-like manner to the rotor blades of the agitator, and are positioned symmetrically on both sides of the rotor blades with respect to the axis of rotation. The multiple flexible strings are positioned so that they do not lie on the same plane when viewed from the side. Because the multiple flexible strings are positioned so that they do not lie on the same plane when viewed from the side, even if the lower part of the filter aid tank does not have a shape such as an inverted square pyramid or inverted cone, as in conventional input devices (hopper type), the filter aid can be dropped into the agitator through the discharge hole in the support plate without remaining on the support plate. Furthermore, even when the amount of filter aid remaining in the tank decreases (without relying on gravity), fluctuations in the discharge amount (input amount) can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This is an external view of the filter aid dispensing device according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a top view of the filter aid dispenser (with the lid removed). [Figure 3] This is a top view of the stirring device and support plate. [Figure 4] This is a bottom view of the stirring device and support plate. [Figure 5] This is a diagram illustrating the installation state of a flexible string (viewed from the side). [Figure 6] This is a diagram illustrating the installation state of the flexible string. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0016] <Overview of the filtration aid dispenser> Hereinafter, one embodiment of the filtration aid dispensing device 1 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 to 6. Figure 1 is an external view of the filtration aid dispensing device 1 according to the present invention. Figure 2 is a top view of the filtration aid dispensing device 1 (with the lid removed). Figure 3 is a top view of the stirring device 5 and the support plate 4. Figure 4 is a bottom view of the support plate 4 (stirring device 5 and)

[0017] As shown in Fig. 1, the appearance of the filter aid feeding device 1 according to the present invention is characterized in that the shape of the lower part of the filter aid tank 2 is not like an inverted quadrangular pyramid shape or an inverted conical shape as in the conventional feeding device (hopper type).

[0018] In the field related to the present invention, as common sense, the feeding device (hopper type) forms an inclined bottom wall (V-shaped cross-section) at the lower part (discharge side) to enlarge the inlet on the supply side of the processed material such as filter aid, and make the discharge port on the side where the processed material (such as filter aid) is discharged from the feeding device and supplied to the filtering device smaller. That is, it has a shape like an inverted quadrangular pyramid or an inverted cone at the lower part (discharge side). To put it simply, the lower part (discharge side) has a shape like a funnel (a tool for pouring liquid into a narrow-mouthed container). This is to accumulate the processed material (such as filter aid) at the lower part and discharge it all without leaving any residue.

[0019] The filter aid feeding device 1 is designed such that the shape of the lower part of the filter aid tank is not like an inverted quadrangular pyramid or an inverted cone as in the conventional (filter aid) feeding device (hopper type). In fact, this is considered to be a factor causing the filter aid to solidify (especially for powders that easily absorb moisture like diatomaceous earth). Even without setting an inclined bottom wall at the lower part, that is, even if the lower part is flat, the filter aid can be discharged from the bottom of the filter aid feeding device 1 without any residue and supplied to the filtering device without leaving any residue. The stirring device and other components of the filter aid feeding device 1 (specifically, the shape and arrangement of the flexible string 7, etc.) are creatively designed. The filter aid feeding device 1 rotates the stirring device 5, so that the rotating blade 6 rotates along with the flexible string 7, stirring the filter aid in the filter aid tank 2, and discharging the filter aid through the discharge hole 3 to supply the filter aid to the filter layer of the filtering device.

[0020] <Structure of Stirring Device and Support Plate> The filter aid input device 1 is composed of a filter aid tank 2 for inputting filter aids such as diatomaceous earth, and a stirring device 5 installed on a support plate 4 installed on the inner bottom of the filter aid tank 2 (see Fig. 2). The stirring device 5 includes a rotating shaft (not shown) installed perpendicular to the support plate 4, a rotating blade 6 installed rotatably around the rotating shaft (not shown), and a flexible string 7 attached to the rotating blade 6 (see Fig. 3). The support plate 4 has a plurality of discharge holes 3 at positions along a circular center line (see Fig. 4). The shape of the discharge hole 3 is a rectangle along the center line (of the support plate 4), and both ends of the rectangle are semi-circular (see Fig. 4). The circular hole at the center of the support plate 4 in Fig. 4 is the installation position of the rotating shaft (not shown). Note that the positional relationship between Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 is the relationship between the front side and the back side. That is, Fig. 3 is a view from directly above of the stirring device 5 installed on the support plate 4 (Fig. 3), and Fig. 4 is a view from directly below.

[0021] In addition, a nylon cord can be used as the flexible string 7. The nylon cord is preferably of a spiral type formed in a spiral shape or twisted, and furthermore, a shark tooth type with irregularities like shark teeth applied to the cord surface can also be preferably used. Particularly, those of the spiral type or shark tooth type have a strong effect of stirring or scraping and collecting the filter aid, and can be preferably used as the flexible string 7, especially when the filter aid is diatomaceous earth. The diameter of the flexible string 7 (nylon cord) is preferably about 1.5 to 4 mm.

[0022] By rotating the rotating shaft (not shown) of the stirring device 5 by power such as a speed reducer, the rotating blade 6 rotates together with the flexible string 7, stirs the filter aid in the filter aid tank 2, and discharges it through the discharge hole 3, so that the filter aid can be supplied to the filter layer of the filtering device. The flexible string 7 is point-symmetric with respect to the rotating shaft (not shown) on both sides of the rotating blade 6. Furthermore, a plurality of flexible strings 7 of different lengths (three in Fig. 3) are attached to the rotating blade 6 in a loop shape so that they do not cross each other (when viewed from above).

[0023] The flexible string 7 attached to the rotor blade 6 is a flexible nylon cord. Regarding the method of attaching the flexible string 7, it is preferable to attach three loop-shaped flexible strings 7 of different lengths (long, medium, and short) to the rotor blade 6, on both sides (point symmetrically) when viewed from the axis of rotation. While the flexible strings 7 are attached "three on each side" (see Figure 3) when viewed from the axis of rotation (point symmetrically), it goes without saying that the arrangement is not limited to "three on each side".

[0024] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the installation of the flexible string 7 (viewed from the side). The flexible string 7 is installed on both sides of the rotor blade 6 in a point-symmetrical manner with respect to the axis of rotation (not shown), but the diagram in Figure 5 shows only one side of the rotor blade 6 (the flexible string 7 installed thereon). A distinctive feature of the flexible string 7 installation is that, when viewed from the side, all installed flexible strings 7 (flexible string 7a, flexible string 7b, and flexible string 7c) are not on the same plane (see Figure 5). Specifically, the first and third loop-shaped flexible strings 7a and 7c, counting from the axis of rotation (center of the support plate 4), are on the same plane, but the second flexible string 7b is bent midway through the flexible string 7 to form an angle (20°~30°) with respect to the first flexible string 7a and the third flexible string 7c, thereby adjusting the angle so that (all installed flexible strings 7) are not on the same plane.

[0025] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the installation state of the flexible strings 7 (viewed from the side). The flexible strings 7 are installed on both sides of the rotor blade 6 in a point-symmetrical manner with respect to the axis of rotation (not shown), but the diagram in Figure 6 shows only one side of the rotor blade 6 (the flexible strings 7 installed on that side). As shown in Figure 6, the flexible strings 7 are installed so that the distance between flexible strings 7a and 7b and the distance between flexible strings 7b and 7c are the same on the side of each flexible string 7 (flexible string 7a, flexible string 7b, flexible string 7c) that is close to the rotor blade 6, that is, on the side closer to the rotor blade 6 than the point where the flexible string 7 is bent at an angle (20°~30°).

[0026] <Effects of the filtration aid dispenser> Conventionally, in hopper-type filter aid dispensers, the lower part of the filter aid tank has a shape such as an inverted square pyramid or inverted cone. This has led to problems such as the filter aid gradually adhering to and accumulating in the hopper if the filter aid does not slide smoothly, causing issues such as bridging.

[0027] The object of the present invention is to provide a filter aid supply device that can smoothly supply the filter aid to the filtration device (with good yield) without phenomena such as the filter aid accumulating and not falling to the bottom due to aggregation and solidification, even if the bottom of the filter aid tank 2 is not shaped like an inverted square pyramid or an inverted cone. The applicants thought that it was not desirable for the bottom of the filter aid tank 2 to be in the shape of an inverted square pyramid or an inverted cone, and that it would be better to install a stirring device 5 or the like and devise a stirring method including the shape of the rotor blade 6 so that there is no residue of the filter aid even if the bottom is flat. They diligently conducted research and development and arrived at the present invention.

[0028] Diatomaceous earth, which can provide exceptional clarity, is attracting attention as a filter aid for forming the filter layer (filter) of a circulating filtration system. To utilize diatomaceous earth, which has extremely high water absorption capacity, as a filter aid, it is now possible to provide a filter aid input device 1 that can smoothly supply the filter aid to the filtration system (with good yield) without phenomena such as accumulation due to coagulation and solidification, without the lower part of the filter aid tank 2 being shaped like an inverted square pyramid or inverted cone as in conventional systems. In other words, it is now possible to supply diatomaceous earth that is prone to phenomena such as accumulation due to coagulation and solidification, without the accumulation due to the accumulation of diatomaceous earth.

[0029] <Example of modification to the filtration aid dispenser> The filter aid dispensing device according to the present invention is not limited in any way to the embodiments described above, and the configuration of the filter aid tank, discharge hole, support plate, stirring device, rotating shaft, rotating blade, flexible string, etc. can be appropriately changed as needed without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Industrial applicability]

[0030] As described above, the filter aid dispensing device according to the present invention exhibits excellent effects, This device can be suitably used as a filter aid supply device for supplying diatomaceous earth or other filter aids to a filtration system during maintenance of circulating filtration systems used to maintain water quality in swimming pools, baths, etc., particularly filtration systems that use diatomaceous earth as a filter aid to form a filtration layer (filter). [Explanation of Symbols]

[0031] 1. Filtration aid dispenser 2. Filtration aid tank 3...Drain hole 4...Support plate 5. Stirring device 6. Rotary blades 7. Flexible string

Claims

[Claim 1] A filter aid tank for introducing filter aids through the top opening, It consists of an agitator installed on a support plate with a discharge hole fixed to the bottom of the aforementioned filter aid tank, The stirring device comprises a rotating shaft installed perpendicular to the support plate, a rotating blade rotatably mounted around the rotating shaft, and a plurality of flexible strings of different lengths attached to the rotating blade, which are installed point-symmetrically on both sides of the rotating blade with respect to the rotating shaft. The aforementioned flexible strings of different lengths are attached to the rotor blade in a loop shape with different diameters so as not to overlap when viewed from above, and are not on the same plane when viewed from the side, characterized in that they are not on the same plane.

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