FILTER CANDLE AND SYSTEM COMPRISING A FILTER CANDLE FOR PREPARING WATER

Abstract

A filter candle for treating water is provided, which is adapted to be connected to a filter head. The filter candle comprises a housing which is filled with an ion exchange material for softening the water to be treated. The filter candle has a head with one inlet and at least two outlets, and water that can be introduced into the filter head at a first outlet is more softened than water which can be introduced into the filter head at a second outlet.

Claims

1-18. (canceled)

19. A system for water treatment, comprising: a filter candle; and a filter head in which the filter candle is installed, wherein the filter candle is filled with an ion exchange material, wherein the filter head has one inlet and at least two outlets, wherein water passes through a filter layer of the filter candle before reaching the at least two outlets, and wherein the system is designed such that water that can be extracted at a first outlet of the at least two outlets is softened to a greater extent than water that can be extracted at a second outlet of the at least two outlets.

20. The system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the filter layer is an activated carbon filter layer.

21. The system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the system comprises a bypass which allows water that has passed through the ion exchange material in a dwell time to be mixed with water that has not passed through the ion exchange material or has passed through the ion exchange material in less than the dwell time.

22. The system as claimed in claim 21, wherein the bypass is located in the filter head and/or in the filter candle.

23. The system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the filter head comprises a control element which is operable to actuate an actuator which engages in the filter candle and through which a flow ratio between a main flow and a bypass flow can be adjusted.

24. The system as claimed in claim 19, wherein the first outlet is aligned coaxially to a central axis of the filter head and/or is arranged so that it can be turned on the filter head.

25. A filter candle for treating water, adapted for being connected to a filter head, the filter candle comprising a housing that is filled with an ion exchange material for softening the water to be treated, wherein the filter candle has a head with one inlet and at least two outlets, wherein water that can be introduced into the filter head at a first outlet of the at least two outlets is more softened than water that can be introduced into the filter head at a second outlet of the at least two outlets.

26. The filter candle of claim 25, wherein the filter candle comprises a bypass which allows to mix water that has passed through the ion exchange material in a dwell time with water that has not passed through the ion exchange material or has passed therethrough in a shorter than the dwell time.

27. The filter candle as claimed in claim 25, wherein the water at the second outlet has not been softened but has passed through an activated carbon filter layer.

28. The filter candle as claimed in claim 26, wherein the bypass can be adjusted by a control element on the filter head.

29. The filter candle as claimed in claim 25, wherein the inlet and the outlets at the head of the filter candle are arranged coaxially.

30. The filter candle as claimed in claim 29, wherein the inlet is arranged between the first and the second outlet.

31. The filter candle as claimed in claim 25, wherein one or more backflow preventer(s) is/are arranged between a mixing chamber, where water that passed through the ion exchange material is mixed with a bypass flow, and the ion exchange material.

32. The filter candle as claimed in claim 26, wherein bypass water passes through a filter layer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0090] The subject-matter of the invention will now be explained in more detail by way of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings of FIGS. 1 through 13.

[0091] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a system for treating water, which comprises a filter candle connected to a filter head.

[0092] FIG. 2 shows the system in a side elevational view.

[0093] FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A as indicated in FIG. 2.

[0094] FIG. 4 is a detailed view of section A as indicated in FIG. 3.

[0095] FIG. 5 shows another side elevational view of the system.

[0096] FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B-B as indicated in FIG. 5.

[0097] FIG. 7 is a detailed view of section B as indicated in FIG. 6.

[0098] FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the filter candle.

[0099] FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the filter head.

[0100] FIGS. 10 and 11 are longitudinal sectional views of the filter candle.

[0101] FIG. 12 is an axial sectional view of the filter head; and

[0102] FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view taken close to the inlet of the filter head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0103] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a system 1 for water treatment.

[0104] System 1 comprises a filter candle 100 that is installed in a filter head 200.

[0105] Filter head 200 is used for on-site connection of the system 1 and has one inlet 201 for being connected to an on-site water pipe and two outlets 202, 203 from which water can be extracted.

[0106] In this view, the outlets 202, 203 are arranged on the side opposite to the inlet 201, and outlet 202 is turnable by 360° so that it can be aligned in the direction of the tapping point.

[0107] Outlet 202 extends out of the top of the filter head 200 and is then angled. In this exemplary embodiment, the first outlet 202 is used to extract water which is softened to the maximum degree possible with the filter candle 100 and can be used like fully desalinated water, in particular for steam-generating devices such as steam cookers.

[0108] The second outlet 203 allows to extract partially softened water which can in particular be used for the preparation of beverages.

[0109] For example, the second outlet 203 can be connected to a machine for preparing hot beverages, such as a fully automatic coffee machine.

[0110] So it is possible to either extract softened water at the first outlet 202 or partially softened water at the second outlet 203, or even to extract water at both outlets 202, 203 simultaneously.

[0111] The desired degree of hardness of the water dispensed at outlet 203 can be adjusted by means of a control element 204.

[0112] Control element 204 is enabled by pressing the locking member 205 and can then be rotated to set the desired degree of hardness.

[0113] In this way, the softening is in particular adapted to the degree of hardness of the water at the respective location. Normally, the setting will then not be changed anymore.

[0114] A backflow preventer 215 arranged in the line of the first outlet 202 prevents softened water from being able to flow back. The second outlet also includes a backflow preventer (see FIG. 7, 211).

[0115] FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the system 1 looking at the outlets 202 and 203 (from the front).

[0116] FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line A-A as indicated in FIG. 2.

[0117] Filter candle 100 comprises a housing 101. The head 102 of filter candle 100 has a thread 103 through which the filter candle is coupled to the filter head 200.

[0118] The housing defines an interior 105 which is at least partially filled with a softening material, in particular with a weakly acidic ion exchange resin (not shown).

[0119] Water to be treated is directed from the filter head 200 into the housing 101 via a downcomer 104 and enters the interior 105 at the bottom of the housing through a lower inlet 108 which may include a filter layer.

[0120] The water then passes through the ion exchange material and is discharged as will be discussed in more detail below.

[0121] FIG. 4 is a detailed view of section A as indicated in FIG. 3, that is the area of the head 102 of filter candle 100 and of the filter head 200.

[0122] Thread 103 of filter candle 100 is screwed into the thread 206 of filter head 200.

[0123] Filter candle 100 has an inlet 107 through which water to be treated is introduced into the filter candle 100.

[0124] The flow of inlet water is indicated by arrows on the right and the flow of the outlet water is indicated by arrows on the left.

[0125] The inlet 107 is defined by downcomer 104 through which water flows from the filter head 200 into the filter candle 100.

[0126] The central passage 120 serves to discharge the water to the outlet 202.

[0127] The inlet water is introduced into the downcomer 104 via passage 121 which is in the form of an annular passage, from where it is directed downwards and thus passes through the ion exchange material.

[0128] The central passage 120 which is defined by a tube 106 inside the filter candle 100 is arranged inside the downcomer 104. Between tube 106 and downcomer 104 there is an annular passage through which water can flow downwards.

[0129] Filter candle 100 comprises a bypass in the form of at least one opening 109 in the downcomer 104.

[0130] Part of the water can exit from the downcomer 104 laterally, through opening 109, and is directed through passage 110 and into a mixing chamber 113 which is partially filled with at least one filter layer 112.

[0131] The bypass 109 can be adjusted by actuating control element 204 to axially displace the actuator 207 through a threaded spindle.

[0132] The passage 120 which leads to the second outlet 202 also extends through the actuator 207.

[0133] Moving the actuator 207 up and down, respectively, will change the open cross section of the opening 109 so that an adjustable bypass is provided in this way.

[0134] It will be appreciated that there may also be a plurality of openings provided instead of a single opening 109, which are opened or closed one after the other.

[0135] From opening 109, the bypass water flows through annular passage 110 and the bypass flow exits via passage outlet 111 and mixes with the water rising from the filter candle 100.

[0136] The water flow from inlet 201 is directed via inlet 107 through downcomer 104 and into the interior 105, where it rises again and passes through the ion exchange material.

[0137] In mixing chamber 113, the rising water mixes with the bypass water.

[0138] Via passage 114 which leads to the second outlet 203 of filter head 200, the water is discharged. Passage 114 is in the form of an annular passage and extends around the downcomer 104.

[0139] The filter candle 100 thus has an inlet 107 which leads into an annular passage between tube 106 and downcomer 104, and has an outlet also in the form of an annular passage 114, which extends around the downcomer 104 and which leads to the second outlet 203 of the filter head 200 in the connected state.

[0140] The central axial passage 120 defines the outlet of filter candle 100 and leads to the first outlet 202 of the filter head 200.

[0141] The water flowing through passage 120 is not mixed with the bypass flow, but rather enters the passage 120 via inlet 119 after having passed through the ion exchange material.

[0142] In order to prevent bypass water from flowing to the passage 120, a backflow preventer 115 is arranged between the mixing chamber 113 and the inlet 119.

[0143] In this exemplary embodiment, the backflow preventer 115 is in the form of an annular plate 116 that extends across the housing.

[0144] Plate 116 is provided with one or more resilient covers 117.

[0145] More particularly, a single annular cover 117 can be used, or else a plurality of covers 117 distributed circumferentially so as to close the openings of plate 116.

[0146] The one or more covers 117 are flexible and/or are resiliently mounted so as to be able to be deflected by water flowing into the mixing chamber 113.

[0147] However, when water is extracted at the first outlet 202, the one or more covers 117 will sit on the plate 116, thereby preventing water from the mixing chamber 113 and thus bypass water from entering the inlet 119.

[0148] In this exemplary embodiment, at least one filter layer 118 is arranged between backflow preventer 115 and the ion exchange material. This filter layer holds back the granulated ion exchange material.

[0149] FIG. 5 is another side elevational view of the water treatment system 1 consisting of filter candle 100 and filter head 200.

[0150] FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line B-B as indicated in FIG. 5.

[0151] FIG. 7 is a detailed view of section B as indicated in FIG. 6.

[0152] In this view, the section is taken along the tubes which define the inlet 201 and the two outlets 202, 203.

[0153] One backflow preventer 210 is arranged downstream of inlet 201.

[0154] Another backflow preventer 211 is arranged upstream of outlet 203.

[0155] In this view it can be seen that below the backflow preventer 115 of the filter candle water can flow into the passage 120 via inlet 119, and this water will then reach the outlet 202 through passage 120 which extends through seal 208 and actuator 207.

[0156] In the coupled state, seal 208 engages in tube 106 and thus connects the central outlet of filter candle 100 with the outlet 202 of filter head 200.

[0157] As described above, this water is not mixed with bypass water and can therefore in particular be used for steam generating devices.

[0158] The inflowing water, on the other hand, flows through annular passage 121 along downcomer 104. This annular passage 121 extends as far as to the inlet 119 into passage 120, which extends laterally out of downcomer 104. Only the downcomer 104 extends further downward.

[0159] Seal 209, through which the passage 120 extends as well, seals off the inlet 107 to the outside.

[0160] FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the filter candle 100.

[0161] Passage 120 is located in the center and is defined by tube 122 inside the filter candle 100 and defines the first outlet of the filter candle 100.

[0162] In the connected state, the tube 122 engages around seal 208 which can be seen in particular in the bottom plan view of the filter head 200 according to FIG. 9, through which the passage 120 passes into filter head 200.

[0163] Annular passage 121 which is defined by downcomer 104 extends around the tube 122.

[0164] The downcomer 104 extends further upward than the inner tube 122. Thus, the bypass 109 can be provided in the downcomer 104 above the inner tube 122.

[0165] Annular passage 114, in turn, extends around the downcomer 104 and is defined by the outer tube 123 which extends around the downcomer. This annular passage 114 serves as the second outlet of the filter candle 100.

[0166] The filter head 200 has a complementary design and comprises an inner annular passage 212 through which water flows into the downcomer 104, and an outer annular passage 213 through which water flows to the second outlet 203.

[0167] FIG. 10 is an axial sectional view of the head 102 of filter candle 100.

[0168] Tube 122 is accommodated inside and spaced apart from the downcomer 104, so that the actuator 207 of the filter head 200 can engage in the downcomer in the upper section of the downcomer 104.

[0169] The annular passage 114 of the second outlet extends around the downcomer 104.

[0170] FIG. 11 is a sectional view with the sectional plane offset parallel to that of FIG. 10.

[0171] It can be seen that the downcomer 104 is double-walled at least in sections thereof. A gap is defined between the inner wall 104a and the outer wall 104b and defines a passage 110 (see FIG. 4) through which bypass water can flow from the opening 109 of inner wall 104a and into the mixing chamber 113.

[0172] The cross section of opening 109 can be varied through actuator 207.

[0173] FIG. 12 is an axial sectional view and FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the filter head 200 in the area of the inlet 201 and second outlet 203.

[0174] The inlet 201 leads into a seat 214 for the downcomer 104 which comprises the inlet 107 of the filter candle 100.

[0175] As shown in FIG. 13, the outer passage 213 of the head 200 leads to the second outlet 203.

[0176] The invention allowed to provide a compact system for water treatment, which comprises an outlet at which water is provided in particular for beverages, and in addition thereto a further outlet at which more strongly softened water can be extracted, which can be used for steam generating devices, for example.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0177] 1 Water treatment system

[0178] 100 Filter candle

[0179] 101 Housing

[0180] 102 Head

[0181] 103 Thread

[0182] 104 Downcomer

[0183] 104a Inner wall of downcomer

[0184] 104b Outer wall of downcomer

[0185] 105 Interior

[0186] 106 Tube

[0187] 107 Filter candle inlet

[0188] 108 Lower inlet

[0189] 109 Opening/bypass

[0190] 110 Passage/annular passage

[0191] 111 Passage outlet

[0192] 112 Filter layer

[0193] 113 Mixing chamber

[0194] 114 Passage/annular passage

[0195] 115 Backflow preventer

[0196] 116 Plate

[0197] 117 Cover

[0198] 118 Filter layer

[0199] 119 Inlet

[0200] 120 Passage

[0201] 121 Passage/annular passage

[0202] 122 Tube

[0203] 123 Outer tube

[0204] 200 Filter head

[0205] 201 Inlet

[0206] 202 First outlet

[0207] 203 Second outlet

[0208] 204 Control element

[0209] 205 Safety element

[0210] 206 Thread

[0211] 207 Actuator

[0212] 208 Seal

[0213] 209 Seal

[0214] 210 Backflow preventer inlet

[0215] 211 Backflow preventer second outlet

[0216] 212 Annular passage

[0217] 213 Annular passage/passage

[0218] 214 Seat

[0219] 215 Backflow preventer first outlet