Patent Description:
A liquid treatment device generally treats various liquids such as water and ethanol by using one or more liquid treatment media, and usually includes one or more liquid treatment units containing the liquid treatment media. When the liquid passes through the liquid treatment media, impurities and contaminants therein are removed by physical and chemical interaction with the liquid treatment media. A typical example of such a liquid treatment device is a device for purifying and softening water, through which, on the one hand, chemical contaminants such as chlorine, heavy metals, sulfides, and particulate contaminants in the liquid are removed, and on the other hand, calcium, and magnesium, in water are removed to make the water softened. Such a water treatment device may provide purified water and washing water suitable for direct drinking for families, and is currently an important product for family lives.

An existing liquid treatment device may be, for example, a carbon block, and the carbon block may be cylindrical, and two ends of the carbon block may be covered with two gaskets for sealing. A liquid may enter the inside of the carbon block from the outside in a radial direction of the carbon block, and the liquid filtered by the carbon block may flow out through an opening in the center of the top of the carbon block. An internal space may be at the center of the carbon block for placing a post-filter in a cylindrical shape. In general, a medium for filtering may be provided in the post-filter for post-treating the liquid filtered by the carbon block. The medium for filtering may be, for example, a hollow fiber, or a packed bed medium.

The packed bed medium may be, for example, a medium based on a template-assisted crystallization (TAC) technology, which uses special polymer particles as a fluid treatment medium to make hard water minerals (such as CaCO<NUM>) in the water settled and attached to surfaces of the polymer particles in forms of harmless and inactive tiny crystalline particles, and after growing to certain sizes, they are separated from the polymer particles and returned to the water, and suspend in the water in forms of non-reactive and non-adhesive grains, thereby effectively preventing formation of scales. Therefore, a fluid treatment system based on the TAC technology is different from a conventional fluid treatment system in that it does not retain hard water minerals, but only changes the hard water minerals into forms of grains.

An example of a fluid treatment system using the TAC technology is a system that uses Next-ScaleStop as a fluid treatment medium. According to the international operating regulations for preventing scales, the efficiency of the Next-ScaleStop fluid treatment medium reaches <NUM>%, which is more effective than any other water softener. Advantages of Next-ScaleStop are: (<NUM>) no need of using any chemicals, so it is relatively environmentally friendly; (<NUM>) providing scale prevention protection for an entire house; (<NUM>) long life of medium and with no consumption of reaction; (<NUM>) retaining beneficial minerals in water; and (<NUM>) no sticky slippery feeling like soft water. The Next-ScaleStop fluid treatment medium is polymer particles with a size of <NUM> to <NUM> (about <NUM>×<NUM> mesh) and a bulk density of about <NUM>/l.

In the TAC soft water technology, there are many atomic-sized nucleation sites on surfaces of the polymer particles (or polymer beads) (such as Next-ScaleStop), and in these sites, dissolved hard water substances are converted into tiny "seeds". Once the seeds are generated and grow to a certain size, they will be brought away from the surfaces of the polymer particles by water flows of the template-assisted crystallization (TAC) fluid treatment medium. Therefore, the overall mechanism of TAC soft water technology is as follows that: (<NUM>) the hard water materials dissolved on the surfaces of the polymer particles with many nucleation sites are converted into tiny "seeds"; (<NUM>) as it takes several hours to grow the seeds by <NUM>%, if the water flow stops throughout the night, sizes of the seeds released from the TAC column bed is only slightly larger than normal sizes of seeds, hence, after a few minutes of water flow, at various flow rates, sizes of the seeds released from the surfaces of the particles of the TAC column bed become normal again (the variation range is only within <NUM>%); (<NUM>) newly-generated seeds adhere to the atomic-sized nucleation sites and grow, until they washed into the water flow, and release rates of the seeds are proportional to a flow rate of the water.

Furthermore, the packed bed medium may also be other types of media, such as a disinfection medium, which may be, for example, a medium material under a trade name Quantum Disinfection.

a in <FIG> is a front view of an existing carbon block, and a in <FIG> is a perspective view of the existing carbon block. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the carbon block includes a bare main body portion 105a and a cover 101a; wherein the main body portion 105a may include activated carbon, and the cover 101a may be bonded to both ends of the main body portion 105a by a hot melt adhesive. In addition, a surface of the cover 101a may be provided with a gasket 102a.

<FIG> is a schematic cross-sectional view of the existing carbon block shown in a in <FIG> in an axial direction. As shown in <FIG>, a post-filter 109a may be located in an internal space of the main body portion 105a of the carbon block, and a medium 301a for filtering may be provided in the post-filter 109a. A cover 106a of the post-filter 109a is nested at the external of an upper end 107a of the main body portion 105a in an elastically deformed manner, thereby connecting the post-filter 109a and the main body portion 105a of the carbon block and sealing. The arrow in <FIG> represents a flow direction of the liquid. As shown in <FIG>, the liquid enters the main body portion 105a of the carbon block in a radial direction, enters the post-filter 109a from an opening at a lower end of the post-filter 109a, and is treated by the medium 301a for filtering.

<CIT>, over which the independent claims are characterised, discloses a filter cartridge for a water purifier comprising detachable upper and lower components. <CIT> discloses a liquid processing apparatus. <CIT> and <CIT> each disclose liquid filtering apparatuses.

It was found by the inventors that following defects exist in the post-filter used in the existing carbon block:.

Embodiments of this disclosure provide a liquid treatment device, which may be detachably mounted with a carbon block, whereby the liquid treatment device may be replaced independent of the carbon block. Furthermore, the liquid treatment device includes an upper treatment unit and a lower treatment unit, and a liquid inlet is provided in a housing of the liquid treatment device, thereby making distribution of the liquid flow in the carbon block more uniform.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid treatment device provided at a carbon block, as claimed in claim <NUM>.

An advantage of the embodiments of this disclosure exists in that the liquid treatment device is enabled to be replaced independent of the carbon block; and furthermore, distribution of the liquid flow in the carbon block are made more uniform.

With reference to the following description and drawings, the particular embodiments of this disclosure are disclosed in detail, and the principle of this disclosure and the manners of use are indicated. The embodiments of this disclosure contain many alternations, modifications and equivalents within the scope of the terms of the appended claims.

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/includes" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

The drawings are included to provide further understanding of this disclosure, which constitute a part of the specification and illustrate the preferred embodiments of this disclosure, and are used for setting forth the principles of this disclosure together with the description. It is obvious that the accompanying drawings in the following description are some embodiments of this disclosure, and for those of ordinary skills in the art, other accompanying drawings may be obtained according to these accompanying drawings without making an inventive effort. In the drawings:.

In the embodiments of this disclosure, the carbon block may be in a shape of a cylinder, a direction of an axis of the cylinder is referred to as an axial direction, and a direction perpendicular to the axial direction is referred to as a radial direction; one end of the carbon block for inserting the liquid treatment device is referred to as an upper end, and the other end axially opposite the upper end is referred to as a lower end; a direction from the lower end to the upper end is referred to as an upper direction, and the direction opposite to the upper direction is referred to as a lower direction; and in case where the liquid treatment device is placed in an internal space of the carbon block, description of directions of the liquid treatment device is similar to description of directions of the carbon block. It should be noted that the above definitions of the directions are only for the convenience of explanation, and is not used to limit orientations of the carbon block and the liquid treatment device during manufacture and use.

Embodiment <NUM> of this disclosure provides a liquid treatment device, which may be provided in an internal space of a carbon block, and used for post-treating a liquid after being treated by the carbon block.

b in <FIG> is a front view of a carbon block provided with the liquid treatment device of this embodiment, and b in <FIG> is a perspective view of the liquid treatment device of this embodiment separated from the carbon block. As shown in b of <FIG>, the carbon block includes a main body portion <NUM>, a lower cover (lower cover) <NUM> and an upper cover (upper cover) <NUM>. The main body portion <NUM> may include activated carbon, the upper cover <NUM> and the lower cover <NUM> may be adhered to an upper end and a lower end of the main body portion <NUM> by a hot melt adhesive, respectively. A liquid treatment device <NUM> includes a cover <NUM>. As shown in b of <FIG>, when the liquid treatment device <NUM> is mounted in an internal space of the carbon block, the cover <NUM> of the liquid treatment device <NUM> completely covers external of the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block.

a in <FIG> is an axial sectional view of the carbon block provided with the liquid treatment device of this embodiment. As shown in a of <FIG>, the liquid treatment device <NUM> of this embodiment includes a housing <NUM>, a cover <NUM>, a sealing portion, a lower treatment unit <NUM>, and an upper treatment unit <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the housing <NUM> includes an accommodation space, and a liquid inlet is formed in the housing <NUM> for liquid to flow into the accommodation space. The liquid inlet at least includes a first inlet <NUM> located at a sidewall of the housing.

The cover <NUM> is located at the upper end of the housing <NUM>, fixedly connected to the housing <NUM>, and covers the upper end of the housing <NUM>. The cover <NUM> includes a liquid outlet <NUM> for the liquid to flow out of the accommodation space, and the cover <NUM> may detachably completely cover an upper surface of the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block and cover a radially external surface of the upper cover <NUM>. An internal diameter L1 of the cover <NUM> is larger than an outer diameter L2 of the upper cover <NUM> (as shown in b of <FIG>), thus, it is very convenient to remove the housing <NUM> from the carbon block. In this embodiment, the radially external surface of the upper cover <NUM> is shown by <NUM> in b of <FIG>, and the radially internal surface of the upper cover <NUM> is shown by <NUM>.

The sealing portion may be located between the cover <NUM> and the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block, and is used to seal between the cover <NUM> and the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block.

The lower treatment unit <NUM> may be provided in the accommodation space to treat the liquid entering the lower treatment unit <NUM>.

The upper treatment unit <NUM> may be provided in the accommodation space to treat the liquid entering the upper treatment unit <NUM>, and the upper treatment unit <NUM> may be located above the lower treatment unit <NUM>.

According to this embodiment, the liquid treatment device may be detachably mounted with the carbon block, hence, the liquid treatment device may be easily replaced independent of the carbon block; furthermore, the liquid treatment device includes an upper treatment unit and a lower treatment unit, and a liquid inlet is provided in the housing of the liquid treatment device, thereby making distribution of the liquid flow in the carbon block more uniform.

b in <FIG> is an enlarged view of the dotted frame portion in a of <FIG>. As shown in b of <FIG>, in this embodiment, the sealing portion may be a sealing ring <NUM> provided between a radial internal side of the cover <NUM> and a radial internal side of the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block, and the sealing ring <NUM> may be, for example, O-shaped. In addition, as shown in b of <FIG>, the sealing ring <NUM> may also be deemed as being located between the radial internal side of the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block and the radial periphery of the housing <NUM>, hence, the sealing ring <NUM> is held by the radial internal side of the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block, the radial periphery of the housing <NUM> and the cover <NUM>. The sealing ring <NUM> may be composed of a material having sealing properties against liquid, and the material may be, for example, rubber, or the like.

A method for assembling the sealing ring <NUM> may refer to b of <FIG>, for example, the sealing ring <NUM> may be nested on the periphery of the housing <NUM>. During the process of inserting the liquid treatment device <NUM> through the upper end opening of the carbon block into the internal space of the carbon block, with a friction between the sealing ring <NUM> and the carbon block, the sealing ring moves on the housing <NUM>, and finally the sealing ring <NUM> stays between the radial internal side of the cover <NUM> and the radial internal side of the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block, thereby making the sealing ring <NUM> positioned between the radial internal side of the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block, the radial periphery of the housing <NUM> and the cover <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the sealing portion may not be limited to the sealing ring <NUM>, the sealing portion may also be an annular protrusion provided on an upper surface of the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block, and the annular protrusion may include a ring, or more than two rings of different radii. The annular protrusion may be elastic, hence, when the cover <NUM> is subjected to a top-down pressure, the cover <NUM> and the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block may be sealed therebetween.

In this embodiment, the sealing portion may be at least one of the sealing ring <NUM> and the annular protrusion. In addition, the sealing portion may be of other types.

In this embodiment, as shown in b of <FIG>, a radial size (e.g. inner diameter L1) of the cover <NUM> is larger than a radial size (e.g. external diameter L2) of the upper cover <NUM> of the carbon block, thereby facilitating that the liquid treatment device <NUM> is easily taken out from the internal space of the carbon block.

Furthermore, as shown in b of <FIG> and b of <FIG>, the surface of the lower cover <NUM> of the carbon block and the upper surface of the cover <NUM> of the liquid treatment device <NUM> may be respectively provided with a gasket <NUM>, which is able to be used to seal the top and/or bottom of the carbon block.

In this embodiment, the lower treatment unit <NUM> and the upper treatment unit <NUM> of the liquid treatment device <NUM> may treat the liquid in a parallel manner, or may treat the liquid in a series manner.

In this embodiment, the liquid may enter the lower treatment unit <NUM> and the upper treatment unit <NUM> from different inlets, respectively, so that the lower treatment unit <NUM> and the upper treatment unit <NUM> respectively treat the liquid entering therein in a parallel manner.

For example, in this embodiment, the liquid inlet of the liquid treatment device <NUM> may include, in addition to the first inlet <NUM>, a second inlet located in the housing <NUM>. The liquid may enter the lower treatment unit <NUM> via the second inlet and may be treated by the lower treatment unit <NUM>, and the liquid treated by the lower treatment unit <NUM> may be guided through an upper liquid flow path in the upper treatment unit <NUM> (such as a guide flow path <NUM> described below) to a liquid outlet <NUM>; the liquid may enter the upper treatment unit <NUM> through the first inlet <NUM>, and flow out through the liquid outlet <NUM> after being treated by the upper treatment unit <NUM>.

a in <FIG> is an axial cross-sectional view of the carbon block provided with the liquid treatment device of this embodiment, and b in <FIG> is a schematic diagram of liquid flow direction of a in <FIG>. As shown in a and b of <FIG>, in this embodiment, the second inlet may be located at the lower end of the lower treatment unit <NUM>, for example, the second inlet may be an opening 305a at the lower end of the housing <NUM>. The lower treatment unit <NUM> may have a medium <NUM> for filtering. The liquid entering the lower treatment unit <NUM> through the second inlet may be filtered by the medium <NUM> for filtering, and then guided to the liquid outlet <NUM> by the guide flow path <NUM> in the upper treatment unit <NUM>. And the upper treatment unit <NUM> may also have a medium <NUM> for filtering, and the liquid entering the upper treatment unit <NUM> through the first inlet <NUM> may be filtered by the medium <NUM> for filtering in the upper treatment unit <NUM> and then reach the liquid outlet <NUM>.

As shown in b of <FIG>, by providing the first inlet <NUM> and providing the upper treatment unit <NUM> and the lower treatment unit <NUM>, the water flow distribution into the carbon block is more uniform than that shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> is an exploded view of the liquid treatment device in a of <FIG>. The liquid treatment device <NUM> shown in <FIG> may include a cover <NUM>, a filter <NUM>, a holding portion <NUM>, a spiral nozzle <NUM>, a liquid guide <NUM>, a housing <NUM> and a medium for filtering (not shown in <FIG>).

In this embodiment, the spiral nozzle <NUM> includes an internal channel and a spiral fin; wherein the internal channel may allow liquid to flow through, and the spiral fin may guide the surrounding liquid to move spirally; the filter <NUM> may be used to hold the medium <NUM> for filtering. For example, the filter <NUM> may be a stainless steel mesh filter with a mesh size of <NUM> microns, which may hold particles of the medium <NUM> for filtering in the liquid treatment device <NUM>; the holding portion <NUM> is used to hold the filter <NUM> in a correct position; and the liquid guide <NUM> may include a peripheral opening and a central channel for liquid to flow through, and is used for guiding the flow direction of the liquid.

As shown in <FIG>, in this embodiment, the lower treatment unit <NUM> may include a liquid guide <NUM>, two spiral nozzles <NUM>, a holding portion <NUM>, a filter <NUM> and a medium <NUM> for filtering (not shown in <FIG>). The upper treatment unit <NUM> may include two spiral nozzles <NUM>, a holding portion <NUM>, a filter <NUM>, and a medium <NUM> for filtering (not shown in <FIG>), and an internal channel of the spiral nozzle <NUM> of the upper treatment unit <NUM> may be a part of the guide flow path <NUM> in the upper treatment unit <NUM>.

In addition, a guide unit (not shown) may be provided at the upper end of the lower treatment unit <NUM>, and the guide unit may guide the liquid treated by the lower treatment unit <NUM> into the guide flow path <NUM> in the upper treatment unit <NUM>.

In the implementations of <FIG> and <FIG>, the first inlet <NUM> may be provided at an axially middle portion of the housing <NUM>; however, this embodiment is not limited thereto, and it may also be provided at other positions in the axial direction of the housing <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the medium <NUM> for filtering may be a medium based on the TAC technology, or a disinfection medium, and the disinfection medium may be, for example, a medium under a trade name Quantum Disinfection; and furthermore, the medium <NUM> may also be of other types.

a in <FIG> is another axial cross-sectional view of the carbon block provided with the liquid treatment device of this embodiment, and b in <FIG> is a schematic diagram of the liquid flow direction of a in <FIG>. The components denoted by identical reference numerals in <FIG> and <FIG> are identical. Differences between <FIG> and <FIG> are that positions of the second inlet are different, and flow paths of the liquid in the lower treatment unit <NUM> are different.

As shown in <FIG>, the second inlet is located in a sidewall of a part of the housing to which the lower treatment unit corresponds. For example, the second inlet may be located at a position at a sidewall of the housing <NUM> radially opposite to the lower treatment unit <NUM>, and the lower end of the lower treatment unit <NUM> is closed. For example, the second inlet may be an opening <NUM> located in a sidewall of the housing <NUM>, and the opening <NUM> may be at a predetermined position beneath the first inlet <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the lower treatment unit <NUM> may also include the medium <NUM> for filtering, and a lower liquid flow path <NUM> may be provided between the medium <NUM> for filtering and the housing <NUM>. The liquid entering the lower treatment unit <NUM> through the second inlet may be guided by the lower liquid flow path <NUM> to enter the filtering medium <NUM> from the lower end of the filtering medium <NUM> through the liquid guide <NUM>, and the liquid after being filtered by the medium <NUM> for filtering may enter the guide flow path <NUM> of the upper treatment unit <NUM> and may be guided to the liquid outlet <NUM>.

In <FIG>, in order to allow the liquid entering the lower treatment unit <NUM> to adequately contact the medium <NUM> for filtering, the central channel of the liquid guide <NUM> may be closed.

As shown in b of <FIG>, by arranging the second inlet at a position in the sidewall of the housing <NUM> that is radially opposite to the lower treatment unit <NUM>, the distribution of the liquid flowing into the carbon block may be made more uniform, and by adjusting a distance between the second inlet and the first inlet <NUM>, uniformity of distribution of the liquid may be adjusted.

In this embodiment, the liquid may enter the liquid treatment device <NUM> only through the first inlet <NUM>, so that the lower treatment unit <NUM> and the upper treatment unit <NUM> treat the liquid entering the liquid treatment device <NUM> in a series manner.

The first inlet may be located in a sidewall of a part of the housing to which the lower treatment unit corresponds. For example, the first inlet may be located at a position on the sidewall of the housing <NUM> that is radially opposite to the lower treatment unit <NUM>, and the liquid enters the lower treatment unit <NUM> through the first inlet, enters the upper treatment unit <NUM> after being processed by the lower treatment unit <NUM>, and then the liquid is processed by the upper treatment unit <NUM>. And the liquid processed by the upper treatment unit <NUM> flows out of the accommodation space through the liquid outlet <NUM>.

a in <FIG> is a further axial cross-sectional view of the carbon block provided with the liquid treatment device of this embodiment, and b in <FIG> is a schematic diagram of the liquid flow direction of a in <FIG>. The components denoted by identical reference numerals in <FIG> and <FIG> are identical. Differences between <FIG> and <FIG> are that a position of the first inlet 202a in <FIG> is different from a position of the first inlet <NUM> in <FIG>, <FIG> does not include a second inlet, and flow paths of the liquid in the lower treatment unit are different.

As shown in <FIG>, the first inlet 202a may be located at a position of the sidewall of the housing <NUM> that is radially opposite to the lower treatment unit <NUM>. For example, the position of the first inlet 202a may be the same as the position of the opening <NUM> in <FIG>.

In an implementation shown in <FIG>, the lower end of the lower treatment unit <NUM> is closed, for example, the lower end of the housing <NUM> is closed. The lower treatment unit <NUM> has a medium <NUM> for filtering, and there exists a lower liquid flow path <NUM> between the medium <NUM> for filtering and the housing <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the liquid entering the lower treatment unit <NUM> through the first inlet 202a is guided by the lower liquid flow path <NUM> to enter the medium <NUM> for filtering from the lower end of the medium <NUM> for filtering, the liquid filtered by the medium <NUM> for filtering is guided into the upper treatment unit <NUM>, and is filtered by the medium <NUM> for filtering in the upper treatment unit <NUM>.

Furthermore, in <FIG>, a guide structure (not shown) may be provided for the liquid treated by the lower treatment unit <NUM> to flow to the medium <NUM> for filtering in the upper treatment unit <NUM>.

a in <FIG> is yet another axial cross-sectional view of the carbon block provided with the liquid treatment device of this embodiment, and b in <FIG> is a schematic diagram of the liquid flow direction of a in <FIG>. The components denoted by identical reference numerals in <FIG> and <FIG> are identical. Differences between <FIG> and <FIG> are that flow paths of the liquid in the liquid treatment device are different, and treatment experienced by the liquid in the lower treatment unit <NUM> is different. For example, the lower treatment unit <NUM> may not include the medium <NUM> for filtering, hence, the lower treatment unit <NUM> does not filter the liquid, but only guides the liquid.

As shown in <FIG>, the lower end of the lower treatment unit <NUM> may be closed, and the lower treatment unit <NUM> may include a lower housing <NUM> and an upper guide portion <NUM> and a lower guide portion <NUM> located at both axial ends of the lower housing <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, a first lower liquid flow path <NUM> is formed between the lower housing <NUM> and the housing <NUM>, a second lower liquid flow path <NUM> is formed inside the lower housing <NUM>, and the liquid entering the lower treatment unit <NUM> through the first inlet 202a is guided to the lower guide portion <NUM> by the upper guide portion <NUM> and the first lower liquid flow path <NUM>, and is further guided to the upper treatment unit <NUM> by the lower guide portion <NUM> and the second lower liquid flow path <NUM>, and is filtered by the medium <NUM> for filtering in the upper treatment unit <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the lower housing <NUM> may be of a cylindrical shape with an upper portion smaller than a lower portion, and the upper guide portion <NUM> may include a central through hole. The lower end of the lower housing <NUM> may accommodate the lower guide portion <NUM>, and the upper end of the lower housing <NUM> may be accommodated in the central through hole of the upper guide portion <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the surface of the upper guide member <NUM> may include a spiral guide surface to guide the liquid to move spirally; and the surface of the lower guide portion <NUM> may have a spiral guide surface to guide the liquid to move spirally.

Claim 1:
A liquid treatment device provided at a carbon block, the carbon block having an upper cover, the liquid treatment device being used for post-treating a liquid treated by the carbon block, characterized in that the liquid treatment device comprises:
a housing (<NUM>) having an accommodation space, a liquid inlet being opened in the housing for the liquid to flow into the accommodation space, and the liquid inlet at least comprising a first inlet (<NUM>) located in a sidewall of the housing;
a cover (<NUM>) located at an upper end of the housing, the cover being fixedly connected to the housing, covering the upper end of the housing, having a liquid outlet (<NUM>) for the liquid to flow out of the accommodation space, being detachably covering an upper surface of the upper cover of the carbon block and a radially outer surface of the upper cover, and a radial size of the cover being larger than a radial size of the upper cover of the carbon block;
a sealing portion (<NUM>), the sealing portion being located between the cover and the upper cover of the carbon block, being used to seal between the cover and the upper cover of the carbon block, and being an annular protrusion provided on the upper surface of the upper cover of the carbon block, or being a sealing ring (<NUM>) provided between a radially internal side of the cover and a radially internal side of the upper cover of the carbon block;
a lower treatment unit (<NUM>) disposed in the accommodation space and configured to treat the liquid entering the lower treatment unit; and
an upper treatment unit (<NUM>) disposed in the accommodation space and configured to treat the liquid entering the upper treatment unit, the upper treatment unit being located above the lower treatment unit; wherein
the liquid inlet further comprises a second inlet located in the housing (<NUM>),
the liquid enters the lower treatment unit (<NUM>) through the second inlet and is treated by the lower treatment unit, and the liquid treated by the lower treatment unit is guided to the liquid outlet (<NUM>) through an upper liquid flow path located in the upper treatment unit,
and the liquid enters the upper treatment unit (<NUM>) through the first inlet and flows out from the liquid outlet after being treated by the upper treatment unit.