KR0161641B1 - Defective detection method of water level sensor in cold and hot water purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cold and hot water purifier capable of simultaneously supplying cold water and hot water, and more particularly, to a method of detecting defects of a plurality of water level detection sensors installed in cold water and hot water purified water tanks, respectively, to detect the level of purified water. It is about.

Water level sensor failure detection method of the cold and hot water purifier of the present invention, in the cold and hot water purifier comprising a plurality of sensors for detecting the water level of the cold water and hot water storage tank, and the main control portion for controlling the entire stroke, the sensors of the cold water storage tank A first step of reading an input value from and comparing whether the input value satisfies a predetermined condition; A second step of setting a normal state if a predetermined condition is satisfied and a bad state if the predetermined condition is not satisfied; A third step of reading an input value from a sensor of the hot water storage tank and comparing whether the input value satisfies a predetermined condition; A fourth step of setting a normal state if a predetermined condition is satisfied and setting it to a bad state if it is not satisfied; And detecting a cold water level and a hot water level setting state to display an error of a corresponding sensor set to a bad state, to stop the entire stroke if the cold water level sensor is defective, and to turn off only the heater if the cold water level sensor is defective. It consists of steps.

Description

Defective detection method of water level sensor in cold and hot water purifier

1 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional reverse osmosis water purifier.

2 is a partial configuration diagram showing a connection state of the cold and hot water tank.

3 is a side cross-sectional view for showing the position of the water level sensor installed in the cold water and hot water purification tank.

4 is a partial block circuit diagram of a conventional cold and hot water purifier.

5 is a flowchart for explaining a failure detection method according to the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

1: raw water valve 2: high turbidity filter

3: settling filter 4: pump

5: all carbon filter 6: membrane filter

7: wastewater regulator 8: fucarbon filter

9: sterilization filter 10: cold water storage tank

11: display setting unit 12: hot water storage tank

13: check valve 15: main control part

100, l20: Common sensor 101,121: Lower sensor

102,122: low sensor 103,123: high sensor

104: overflow sensor

The present invention relates to a cold and hot water purifier capable of simultaneously supplying cold water and hot water, and more particularly, a method of detecting defects of a plurality of water level detection sensors installed in cold water and hot water purified water tanks, respectively, to detect the level of purified water. It is about.

The use of water purifiers is gradually spreading due to the increase of distrust in tap water due to environmental pollution. A water purifier is a device for filtering natural water such as tap water or weak water (hereinafter referred to as raw water). The water is passed through various kinds of filtering means to remove foreign substances or harmful substances contained in raw water and include only substances that are beneficial to the human body. To provide drinking water. Various kinds of water purifiers as described above are used, and the reverse osmosis type water purifier may be referred to as a representative one.

The reverse osmosis water purifier purifies raw water by using a so-called reverse osmosis filter (hereinafter referred to as a membrane filter). The membrane filter is formed of a plurality of pores having a very small diameter to remove foreign substances or harmful substances.

1 and 2 show an example of the configuration of a conventional water purifier.

As shown, the water purifier is a raw water valve 1 for controlling the supply of raw water such as tap water or natural water, and a high-purity filter for filtering the residue of relatively large particles in the raw water passing through the raw water valve 1. (2), a precipitation filter (3) for filtering the residue of relatively small particles not filtered while passing through the high turbidity filter (2), and a pressurizing pump (3) for moving the supplied raw water to a predetermined pressure. ), An all-carbon filter 4 for removing chlorine components and odors in raw water, a membrane filter 6 for removing ionic heavy metals remaining in raw water passing through the all-carbon filter 4, Wastewater regulator 7 for adjusting the drinking water to wastewater separation ratio of the raw water passing through the membrane filter 6 and to discharge the wastewater, and to remove the chlorine component or odor contained in the drinking water passed through the membrane filter 6 after It consists of a carbon filter 8 and a sterilization filter 9 for removing the bacteria in the raw water passing through the fucarbon filter 8, the purified water passing through the sterilization filter 9 flows into the storage tank. .

The all-carbon filter 5 and the fucarbon filter 8 are the same as activated carbon mainly containing carbon, and remove chlorine component particles and odor contained in raw water. The pump 4 is for moving the raw water to a very high pressure. This is related to the operation state of the membrane filter 6, since the water purification is performed only in the membrane filter 6 only when the raw water is supplied at a pressure of 60 psi or more on average.

The membrane filter 6 is especially operated at high pressures and is very sensitive to temperature, which will damage the filter if it is outside the temperature range of 5-40 ° C. The post carbon filter 8 through which the purified water discharged from the membrane filter 6 passes is essentially the same as the all carbon filter 5, and also performs the same function. The purified water that has passed through the fucarbon filter 8 is later discharged through the sterilizing filter 9 for removing bacteria contained in the purified water.

The purified water discharged through the above process is stored in the purified water storage tank. In particular, in the cold and hot water purifier that stores the cold and hot water at the same time, the filtered purified water is supplied to the hot water storage tank 12 at the same time as the cold water storage tank (10).

Each water purification tank (10, 12) is further provided with a water level sensor for measuring the water level of the purified water. Although not shown in each of the cold and hot water storage tanks 10 and 12, a cooling device for cooling the purified water and a heating device for heating the purified water are further installed.

3 is a side cross-sectional view showing the installation position of a plurality of sensors for detecting the water level installed in the cold water and hot water storage tanks (10, 12), respectively, common sensor (100,120), common to perform the common terminal role on the bottom bottom The lower sensors 101 and 121 on the sensors 100 and 120, the low sensors 102 and 122 on the lower sensors 101 and 121, and the high sensors 103 and 123 on the low sensors 102 and 122, respectively, are provided on the cold water storage tank 10. The overflow sensor 104 is further installed on the side to grasp the excess state of the integer. The sensors are devices that sense a change in resistance caused by water and thus generate different electrical signals.

The water level sensor installed as described above may cause a defect due to its own failure or various reasons, and thus becomes a factor of failure of the cold / hot water purifier. For example, when a failure occurs in the overflow sensor 104, the water purification operation is not stopped but is continuously performed, and the water purification is discharged to the outside, resulting in waste water purification.

In addition, when the water level inside the cold water storage tank 10 is in the high sensor 103 position, it does not detect this and determines that the low sensor 102 is in the position of the cooling device. If not, or the water level of the hot water storage tank 12 is in the position of the lower sensor 121, but is mistaken for the position of the high sensor 123, such that the hot water is excessively heated due to excessive heating has occurred.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a water level sensor failure detection method that can detect the failure of the water level sensor of the cold water purifier.

Another object of the present invention is a water level sensor failure detection method of the cold and hot water purifier that can prevent the occurrence of freezing of the cold water tank caused by the failure of the water level sensor of the cold and hot water purifier, a failure due to the overheat of the heater, or excessive waste of purified water. To provide.

Water level sensor failure detection method of the cold and hot water purifier of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the cold and hot water purifier including a plurality of sensors for detecting the water level of the cold water and hot water storage tank, and a main control unit for controlling the entire stroke, A first step of reading an input value from a sensor inside the cold water storage tank and comparing whether the input value satisfies a predetermined condition; A second step of setting a normal state if a predetermined condition is satisfied and a bad state if the predetermined condition is not satisfied; A third step of reading an input value from a sensor of the hot water storage tank and comparing whether the input value satisfies a predetermined condition; A fourth step of setting a normal state if a predetermined condition is satisfied and setting it to a bad state if it is not satisfied; And a fifth step of detecting a cold water level and a hot water level setting state, displaying an error of a corresponding sensor set to a bad state, and stopping the water purification operation.

Hereinafter, a method for detecting a water level sensor failure of the cold / hot water purifier of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

The method of the present invention detects the state of a plurality of sensors installed in the cold water and hot water storage tank, and compares the data with a table (table) stored in the memory of the main controller in advance to determine whether it is a sensor state under a normal operating state. Detects their failure.

4 is a partial block circuit diagram of a water purifier in which the method of the present invention is performed, and includes a plurality of water level sensing sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, 121, 122, and 123 installed inside the cold water and hot water storage tanks 10, 12, and the water level sensor. The main control unit 15 includes a built-in program for determining the state of the water level sensor and controlling the water purification operation by receiving an electrical signal. The block circuit diagram is an example of a configuration of a water purifier used in the related art.

The water level sensor failure detection method of the cold / hot water purifier of the present invention carried out using the block circuit as described above is as follows: Input value transmitted from the water level sensor (101, 102, 103, 104) installed inside the cold water storage tank (10) A first step of reading from the main control unit 15 and comparing whether the input value satisfies the input value in the steady state; A second step of storing the state of the cold water level sensors in the main control unit 15 by setting the normal state when the input value in the normal state is satisfied and setting the defective state when the input value is not satisfied; The third step of reading the input value transmitted from the water level sensor (121, 122, 123) installed in the hot water storage tank 12 in the main control unit 15, and compares whether the input value satisfies the input value in the normal state ; A fourth step of storing the state of the hot water level sensors in the main control unit 15 by setting a normal state when the input value in the normal state is satisfied and a bad state when the input value is not satisfied; And detects the cold water level and hot water level setting status by displaying a control signal from the main control unit 15 to indicate an error of the sensor set to a bad state.If the cold water level sensor is defective, the whole stroke is stopped, and the hot water level sensor is defective. The fifth step is to control to turn off only the heater.

The operational effects of the method of the present invention as described above are as follows.

Under normal operating conditions, the output values from the sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, 121, 122, 123 change depending on the level of the cold water and hot water storage tanks 10, 12. That is, as shown in the cold water storage tank 10 of FIG. 3, when the constant W reaches the position of the high sensor 103, the constant water may also contact the lower sensor 101 and the low sensor 102. Therefore, each of the sensors (101, 102, 103) is generated an electrical signal due to the resistance of water (this is a current due to the conduction action of the integer).

This is an electrical signal different from the overflow sensor 104 in which the constant does not reach.

Table 1 below is a table showing the normal sensor output value according to the arrival state of the constant (W).

The data in Table 1 is converted into a conventional method and stored in the main controller 15.

In the normal state, the state of the sensor, that is, 0 represents a state of contact between the air without an integer and the sensor, and 1 represents a state of contact with the sensor due to the introduction of an integer. That is, when the purified water filtered by the water filter reaches the low sensor 101, the signal output from the low sensor 101 is displayed as 1. The electrical signals input from the sensors thus have two kinds of states, 0 and 1 states. These electrical signals are input to the main controller 15 which controls the whole stroke. Of course, the signals 0 and 1 can be interchanged according to the setting state at the time of design. Since the data corresponding to Table 1 is stored in the main control unit 15, signal values input from the water level detection sensors 101, 102, 103, and 104 are sensed and compared with the data of Table 1.

If the state of the input sensor signal value is one of the states shown in Table 1, the main control unit 15 sets the cold water level to be normal. If the state of the sensor signal is not one of the states, the main control unit 15 sets the cold water level. The setting state is stored in the memory of the main control unit 15.

When the measurement of the failure of the sensors for measuring the water level of the cold water storage tank 10 is completed, the measurement of the failure of the sensors 121, 122, 123 for measuring the water level of the hot water storage tank 12 is performed.

This measurement is essentially the same process as the sensors of the cold water storage tank (10). However, among the sensors of the hot water storage tank 12, only the lower sensor 121, the low sensor 121, and the high sensor 123 are included, and the overflow sensor is not included. The state except for () is a normal state.

For example, when the electric signal values input from the lower sensor 131, the low sensor 121, and the high sensor 123 become 1,0, 1, the sensor cannot be expressed in the normal state of Table 1, It will be recognized as a bad. If the state of the input signal value is one of the states shown in Table 1, the main control unit 15 sets the hot water level to be normal, and if it is not one of the states, the hot water level is set in the main control unit 15. It is set as bad. This setting state is stored in the memory of the main control unit 15 similarly to the water level sensor state of the cold water storage tank 10.

The main control unit 15 displays a failure of the sensor to the user according to the state of the water level sensor stored in the main control unit 15 when the detection of the water level detection sensors of the cold water and hot water storage tanks 10 and 12 ends as described above. Done. That is, if at least one of the sensor states indicating the cold water or the hot water level is defective, the water purification operation is stopped. In this case, by distinguishing the sensors of the cold water and hot water storage tanks to distinguish between the failed sensors, the repair can be facilitated. If all states are found to be normal, the main control unit 15 performs normal administration.

After displaying the fault condition to the outside, all strokes of the water purification stroke, the cooling stroke, and the temperature rise stroke are stopped for the safety of the water purifier according to the fault condition of the sensors 101, 102, 103, and 104 for the water level detection attached to the cold water storage tank. On the contrary, when a failure occurs in the water level detection sensors 121, 122, and 123 attached to the hot water storage tank, since the water and cooling action in the cold water storage tank is normally operated, only the heater for raising the temperature of the hot water storage tank 12 is turned off. Let's do it. Therefore, the cooled purified water has an advantage that it can be used normally.

In addition, although the above description has been described using four water level sensors installed in each of the storage tanks 10 and 12, the present invention may be modified and applied according to the number of sensors. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art. That is, if only two sensors for detecting the water level, for example, the lower sensor 101 and the low sensor 102 are installed, the state of the two sensors in Table 1, that is, the lower sensor 101 and the low sensor 102. It can be seen that only the state (0,0) (0,1) of the sensor is a normal state.

According to the method of the present invention as described above, it is possible to detect the failure of the water level sensor of the cold and hot water purifier, the cold water tank caused by the poor water level detection sensor, poor due to the heater overheating, or excessive waste of purified water There is an advantage that can prevent the occurrence of.

Although the invention has been described in detail only with respect to the described embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention, and such variations or modifications will belong to the appended claims. .

Claims (2)

The lower sensors 101 and 121, the low sensors 102 and 122, the high sensors 103 and 123, and the overflow sensor 104 for detecting the water level of the cold water and the hot water storage tank, and the main controller 15 for controlling the whole stroke are provided. In the cold and hot water purifier including, the input value transmitted from the water level sensor lower sensor 101, the low sensor 102, the high sensor 103, and the overflow sensor 104 installed in the cold water storage tank (10) A first step of reading a from the main controller 15 and comparing whether the input value satisfies the input value in the steady state; A second step of storing the state of the cold water level sensor in the main control unit 15 by setting the normal state when the input value in the normal state is satisfied and setting the defective state when the input value is not satisfied; The main controller 15 reads the input value transmitted from the lower sensor 121, the low sensor 122, and the high sensor 123 for detecting the water level installed in the hot water storage tank 12, and the input value is normal. A third step of comparing whether an input value in a state is satisfied; A fourth step of storing the state of the hot water level sensor in a memory of the main control unit 15 by setting a normal state when the input value in the normal state is satisfied and a bad state when the input value is not satisfied; And detects the cold water level and hot water level setting status by displaying a control signal from the main control unit 15 to indicate an error of the sensor set to a bad state.If the cold water level sensor is defective, the whole stroke is stopped, and the hot water level sensor is defective. And a fifth step of controlling only the rear heater to be turned off. According to claim 1, wherein the lower sensor (101,121), the low sensor (102, 122), the high sensor (103, 123), and the overflow sensor (104) for the water level detection according to the contact relationship with the purified water flowing into the purified water tank Or water level sensor failure detection method of a cold / hot water purifier, characterized by outputting two types of states.