CN112441652A

CN112441652A - Control device for water electrolysis equipment, water electrolysis device and air sterilizer

Info

Publication number: CN112441652A
Application number: CN201910815948.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邹丁山; 李益爱; 康建珂; 陈代炎楠
Original assignee: GD Midea Environment Appliances Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: GD Midea Environment Appliances Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-30
Filing date: 2019-08-30
Publication date: 2021-03-05

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of control of water electrolysis equipment, and discloses a control device for water electrolysis equipment, a water electrolysis device and an air sterilizer.

Description

Control device for water electrolysis equipment, water electrolysis device and air sterilizer

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of control of water electrolysis equipment, in particular to a control device for water electrolysis equipment, a water electrolysis device and an air sterilizer.

Background

The micro-electrolysis module electrolyzes tap water by applying a direct current voltage of, for example, 12-24V, so that the tap water generates a bactericidal active ingredient through an electrochemical reaction. In the electrolysis process, calcium and magnesium ions in water are easily attracted by the electrode which is electrified negatively for a long time, and the calcium and magnesium ions are combined with carbonate to form scale and are attached to the surface of the electrode, so that the electrolytic reaction of the electrode and the water is hindered, the generation of active ingredients is influenced, and the sterilization effect is finally influenced.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to overcome the problem that the scale is generated in the existing electrolyzed water module in the long-term use process to influence the generation of active ingredients so as to finally influence the sterilization effect in the prior art, and provides a control device for an electrolyzed water device, an electrolyzed water device and an air sterilizer.

In order to achieve the above object, an aspect of the present invention provides a control apparatus for an electrolytic water device including a first electrode and a second electrode capable of generating an electrolytic reaction with water to generate a bactericidal active ingredient in response to an applied voltage, the control apparatus comprising:

a switching circuit configured to apply a voltage to the first electrode and the second electrode and capable of switching a polarity of the voltage;

a processor configured to control the switching circuit to apply a voltage to the first electrode and the second electrode and to switch a polarity of the voltage according to a preset period and a preset duty cycle within the preset period;

wherein the preset duty cycle is positively or negatively correlated with the preset period.

Preferably, the first electrode is a cathode electrode and the second electrode is an anode electrode, the preset duty cycle is associated with applying a forward voltage to the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, wherein the preset duty cycle is positively associated with the preset period.

Preferably, the preset period ranges from 120 seconds to 190 seconds, and the preset duty ratio ranges from 45% to 75%.

Preferably, the preset duty cycle is equal to or greater than 50%.

Preferably, the preset duty ratio is also determined according to sterilization efficiency.

Preferably, the control device further includes:

a current detection device configured to detect a current flowing through the water electrolysis device;

the processor is further configured to: receiving a detected current from a current detection device; adjusting a preset period according to the magnitude of the current; determining a preset duty ratio corresponding to the adjusted preset period according to the adjusted preset period; and switching the polarity of the voltage according to the adjusted preset period and the determined preset duty ratio.

Preferably, the magnitude of the current is inversely related to the preset period.

In another aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for electrolyzing water, comprising:

an electrolytic water device comprising an anode electrode and a cathode electrode capable of generating an electrolytic reaction with water to generate a bactericidal active ingredient when a voltage is applied thereto; and the control device for the water electrolysis equipment.

The invention further provides an air sterilizer which comprises a water tank, an atomizer, an air outlet cylinder and the water electrolysis device.

Preferably, the cathode of the water electrolysis apparatus comprises a cathode tube and the anode comprises an anode core strip arranged in the cathode tube.

Through the technical scheme, the control device for the water electrolysis equipment disclosed by the invention has the advantages that the voltage is applied to the first electrode and the second electrode through controlling the switch circuit, and the polarity of the voltage is switched according to the preset period and the preset duty ratio in the preset period, so that the phenomenon that calcium and magnesium ions in water are continuously attracted due to the fact that one electrode is continuously electrified negatively for a long time, and the calcium and magnesium ions react with carbonate in the water to form scale so as to influence the sterilization effect is avoided. Meanwhile, the preset duty ratio and the preset period can be used as a positive correlation or a negative correlation to select a proper preset period and duty ratio, and the descaling effect of the first electrode and the second electrode is further improved, so that the sterilization effect of the water electrolysis equipment is kept stable.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control arrangement for an electrolytic water appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a specific circuit diagram of the control device of FIG. 1;

fig. 3 is a partial block diagram of an air sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the present invention, are given by way of illustration and explanation only, not limitation.

It should be noted that, if directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, and back … …) are involved in the embodiment of the present invention, the directional indications are only used to explain the relative positional relationship between the components, the movement situation, and the like in a specific posture (as shown in the drawing), and if the specific posture is changed, the directional indications are changed accordingly.

In addition, if there is a description of "first", "second", etc. in an embodiment of the present invention, the description of "first", "second", etc. is for descriptive purposes only and is not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, technical solutions between various embodiments may be combined with each other, but must be realized by a person skilled in the art, and when the technical solutions are contradictory or cannot be realized, such a combination should not be considered to exist, and is not within the protection scope of the present invention.

The embodiment of the invention firstly provides a control device for an electrolytic water device, as shown in fig. 1, the electrolytic water device 10 comprises a first electrode 11 and a second electrode 12, and the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 can generate an electrolytic reaction with water under the condition of applying voltage to generate bactericidal active ingredients. Specifically, one electrode to which positive electrode electricity is applied is generally made of a corrosion-resistant material, such as one of ruthenium, , and titanium, and catalyzes generation of an active component for sterilization, such as ground-state oxygen atoms, sodium hypochlorite, hydroxyl radicals, and the like, during electrolysis.

In a first embodiment of the control device, the control device for the above-described electrolytic water device 10 includes:

a switching circuit 20 configured to apply a voltage to the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 and capable of switching the polarity of the voltage;

the processor 30 (e.g., the MCU shown in fig. 1) is configured to control the switching circuit 20 to apply a voltage to the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 and to switch the polarity of the voltage according to a preset period and a preset duty cycle within the preset period;

It can be known from the principle of the electrolytic water reaction that, when the electrolytic water device 10 works for a long time, if direct current with fixed polarity is always applied to the two electrodes of the electrolytic water device 10, the negatively charged electrode will adhere to scale with a certain thickness, and if the polarities of the voltages applied to the two electrodes are interchanged, the electrode originally adhered with scale will not attract calcium and magnesium ions any more because the electrode is positively charged, so that the scale will not increase any more, and the scale will loosen and fall off because of the washing of bubbles generated by the electrode during the water electrolysis reaction, and the negatively charged electrode may gradually form scale; when the polarity of the applied voltage is reversed again, the polarity of the electrode to which the scale has adhered is reversed, and the scale on the electrode to which the scale has adhered is removed. Therefore, the scale on the electrode which originally adsorbs the scale is continuously fallen off by periodically exchanging the polarity of the applied voltage, thereby realizing the scale removal effect.

Creative experiments show that the descaling effect can be optimized by selecting a proper period and a duty ratio of the applied voltage in the preset direction in the period. Also, the duty cycle is either positively or negatively correlated with the period. In one example, if the selected duty cycle is associated with applying a forward voltage (i.e., applying a forward voltage between the anode and cathode electrodes), the duty cycle is positively correlated with the period, i.e., the greater the selected period, the greater the corresponding duty cycle. In another example, if the selected duty cycle is associated with applying a reverse voltage (i.e., applying a reverse voltage between the anode and cathode electrodes), the duty cycle is inversely related to the period, i.e., the greater the selected period, the smaller the duty cycle.

For example, the preset period is 150 seconds, the first electrode 11 is a cathode electrode, the second electrode 12 is an anode electrode, the duty ratio of applying the forward voltage to the anode electrode and the cathode electrode in the period is 58%, and the direction of the voltage is changed in the rest time of the period, so that the descaling effect can be remarkably improved. In another example, a significant increase in descaling effect can also be achieved with a preset period of 140 seconds and a preset duty cycle of 50%.

According to the control device for the water electrolysis equipment 10, the switch circuit 20 is controlled to apply voltage to the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12, the polarity of the voltage is switched according to the preset period and the preset duty ratio in the preset period, and the preset period and the duty ratio are selected to be proper in positive correlation or negative correlation, so that the descaling effect of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 is improved, and the sterilization effect of the water electrolysis equipment is maintained to be stable.

Further, based on the first embodiment of the control device, in the second embodiment of the control device, the first electrode 11 is preferably a cathode electrode, the second electrode 12 is preferably an anode electrode, and the preset duty ratio is associated with applying a forward voltage to the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, wherein the preset duty ratio is positively associated with the preset period.

Specifically, the positive voltage applied to the positive electrode and the negative electrode means that the positive electrode is connected to the positive electrode of the dc power supply, and the negative electrode is connected to the negative electrode of the dc power supply. At the moment, the preset duty ratio is positively correlated with the preset period, so that the descaling effect can be obviously improved.

Further, the preset period may range from 120 seconds to 190 seconds, the preset duty cycle may range from 45% to 75%,

further, in order to operate the water electrolysis apparatus 10 in the forward direction power-on state for a longer time than in the reverse direction power-on state to further enhance the descaling effect, the preset duty ratio may be greater than or equal to 50%.

Table 1 shows an example of the descaling effect when forward voltages corresponding to preset duty ratios are applied to the anode and the cathode at different preset periods.

TABLE 1

Serial number	Period T(s)	Duty ratio D (%)	Scale inhibition rate
				1	123	50％	96.86％
2	139	55％	96.24％
				3	154	60％	91.30％
4	184	70％	81.97％

As can be seen from Table 1, the period is positively correlated with the duty ratio, and the smaller the period is, the higher the scale inhibition rate is, i.e., the better the scale removal effect is.

When the preset period and the preset duty ratio are actually selected, in addition to considering the descaling effect, the sterilization efficiency, that is, the amount of active ingredients for sterilization generated by the electrolytic water device 10 under the control of different periods and duty ratios, needs to be considered, so that an appropriate period and duty ratio are selected under the condition of considering both the sterilization efficiency and the descaling effect. For the data of table 1, the actually selected period is 139 seconds, the corresponding duty ratio is 55%, that is, during the time control, positive voltage is applied to the positive electrode and the negative electrode in the first 55% of the 139 seconds, negative voltage is applied to the positive electrode and the negative electrode in the remaining 139 seconds, and the cycle is repeated, so that better sterilization efficiency can be realized under the condition of relatively good descaling effect.

Further, based on the first embodiment of the control device, in the third embodiment of the control device, as a specific implementable manner of the control device, as shown in fig. 2, the switch circuit 20 includes a switch unit 21;

the switching unit 21 includes a first switch control terminal CRTL1, a second switch control terminal CTRL2, a third switch control terminal CTRL3, a fourth switch control terminal CTRL4, a first switch output terminal OUT1, a second switch output terminal OUT2, a power supply positive input terminal VCC, and a power supply negative input terminal GND;

the first switch output end OUT1 is connected to the first electrode 11, the second switch output end OUT2 is connected to the second electrode 12, and the switch driving unit outputs direct currents with different polarities from the first switch output end OUT1 and the second switch output end OUT2 according to input control signals of the first switch control end CRTL1, the second switch control end CTRL2, the third switch control end CTRL3 and the fourth switch control end CTRL4, respectively, so as to drive the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 to work.

Specifically, the switching unit 21 includes a fourth NMOS transistor Q4, a first NMOS transistor Q1, a third PMOS transistor Q3, and a second PMOS transistor Q2;

the source of the second PMOS transistor Q2 and the source of the third PMOS transistor Q3 are connected to the positive input terminal VCC of a power supply, the gate of the second PMOS transistor Q2 is a first switch control terminal CRTL1, the gate of the third PMOS transistor Q3 is a second switch control terminal CTRL2, the sources of the fourth NMOS transistor Q4 and the first NMOS transistor Q1 are connected to the negative input terminal GND of the power supply, the gate of the fourth NMOS transistor Q4 is a third control terminal, the gate of the first NMOS transistor Q1 is a fourth control terminal, the drain of the second PMOS transistor Q2 and the drain of the fourth NMOS transistor Q4 are connected to the first switch output terminal OUT1, and the drain of the third PMOS transistor Q3 and the drain of the first NMOS transistor Q1 are connected to the second switch output terminal OUT 2.

When the switch unit 21 is operated, the direct current driven water electrolysis device 10 with different polarities output from the first switch output terminal OUT1 and the second switch output terminal OUT2 is operated by controlling the four control terminals of the switch unit 21.

Specifically, when the gate of the second PMOS transistor Q2 inputs a low level, the gate of the first NMOS transistor Q1 inputs a high level, the gate of the third PMOS transistor Q3 inputs a high level, and the gate of the fourth NMOS transistor Q4 inputs a low level, at this time, the second PMOS transistor Q2 and the first NMOS transistor Q1 are turned on, the third PMOS transistor Q3 and the fourth NMOS transistor Q4 are turned off, and at this time, positive and negative direct currents are respectively output from the first switch output terminal OUT1 and the second switch output terminal OUT2 to drive the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 to operate; when the levels of the gate inputs of the four transistors are opposite, negative and positive direct currents are respectively output from the first switch output end OUT1 and the second switch output end OUT2 to drive the first electrode 11 and the second electrode to work, so that the polarity of the voltage applied to the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 is switched.

Further, the switch circuit 20 further includes a first port driving unit 22 and a second port driving unit 23, where the first port driving unit 22 includes a first port input terminal and a first port output terminal and a second port output terminal; the second port driving unit 23 includes a second port input terminal, a third port output terminal, and a fourth port output terminal;

the first port input end and the second port input end are respectively connected with the processor 30, the first port output end and the second port output end are respectively connected with the first switch control end CRTL1 and the third switch control end CTRL3, and the third port output end and the fourth port output end are respectively connected with the second switch control end CTRL2 and the fourth switch control end CTRL 4;

specifically, the first port driving unit 22 includes a fifth PNP transistor Q5, a first resistor R1, a second resistor R2, and a sixth resistor R6; the second port driving unit 23 includes a sixth PNP transistor Q6, a third resistor R3, a fourth resistor R4, and a fifth resistor R5;

one end of a first resistor R1 and one end of a second resistor R2 are connected to the input end of the first port, the other end of the first resistor R1 is connected with the base electrode of a fifth PNP triode Q5, the collector electrode of the fifth PNP triode Q5 is grounded, the emitter electrode of the fifth PNP triode Q5 is connected with one end of a sixth resistor R6, the other end of the sixth resistor R6 is the output end of the first port, and the other end of the second resistor R2 is the output end of the second port;

one end of a fifth resistor R5 and one end of a fourth resistor R4 are connected to the input end of the second port, the other end of the fifth resistor R5 is connected to the base of a sixth PNP triode Q6, the collector of the sixth PNP triode Q6 is grounded, the emitter of the sixth PNP triode Q6 is connected to one end of a third resistor R3, the other end of the third resistor R3 is the output end of the third port, and the other end of the fourth resistor R4 is the output end of the fourth port.

The operation principle of the switching circuit 20 including the specific circuits of the first port driving unit 22 and the second port driving unit 23 is as follows: when the P1 port of the processor 30 outputs a low level and the P3 port outputs a high level, the fifth PNP transistor Q5 is turned on, the sixth PNP transistor Q6 is turned off, the second PMOS transistor Q2 and the first NMOS transistor Q1 are turned on, the third PMOS transistor Q3 and the fourth NMOS transistor Q4 are turned off, so that positive and negative direct currents are respectively output from the first switch output terminal OUT1 and the second switch output terminal OUT2 at this time to drive the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 to operate; when the P3 port of the processor 30 outputs a low level and the P1 port outputs a high level, the fifth PNP transistor Q5 is turned off, the sixth PNP transistor Q6 is turned on, the second PMOS transistor Q2 and the first NMOS transistor Q1 are turned off, the third PMOS transistor Q3 and the fourth NMOS transistor Q4 are turned on, so that the negative dc power and the positive dc power are respectively output from the first switch output terminal OUT1 and the second switch output terminal OUT2 to drive the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 to operate.

Through the first port driving unit 22 and the second port driving unit 23, only two ports of the processor 30 are needed to drive the four MOS transistors of the switch unit 21, and thus, I/O ports of the processor 30 are saved.

Further, based on the first embodiment of the control device, in a fourth embodiment of the control device, as shown in fig. 1, the control device further includes:

a current detection device 40 configured to detect a current flowing through the water electrolysis device 10;

the processor 30 is further configured to: receiving the detected current from the current detecting device 40; adjusting a preset period according to the magnitude of the current; determining a preset duty ratio corresponding to the adjusted preset period according to the adjusted preset period; and switching the polarity of the voltage according to the adjusted preset period and the determined preset duty ratio.

After the scale is attached to the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12, the working current of the water electrolysis device 10 is increased to determine the amount of the scale on the electrodes according to the magnitude of the working current, so as to adjust the period and the duty ratio to enhance the scale removal effect.

It was found by inventive experiments that the adjustment period is smaller when a larger current is detected, i.e. the current magnitude is inversely related to the period. Therefore, the descaling effect can be enhanced, and the descaling is more rapid.

The specific circuit of the current detection device 40 is shown in fig. 2, and includes a seventh resistor R7 and a current detection unit 41, the seventh resistor R7 is connected in series in the power supply loop of the water electrolysis device 10, and the specific seventh resistor R7 is connected in series in the source-to-ground line of the fourth NMOS transistor Q4 and the first NMOS transistor Q1, so as to detect the operating current passing through the water electrolysis device 10, thereby forming a voltage across the seventh resistor R7, and the voltage is output to the processor 30 through the amplification of the current detection unit 41. Specifically, the current detection unit 41 may be a general amplifying circuit composed of comparators, which are not described herein.

The embodiment of the invention also provides an electrolytic water device, which comprises the electrolytic water device 10 and the control device for the electrolytic water device 10. Wherein the water electrolysis apparatus 10 includes a positive electrode and a negative electrode capable of generating an electrolytic reaction with water to produce a bactericidal active ingredient upon application of a voltage.

The water electrolysis device realizes the improvement of the descaling effect of the first electrode 11 and the second electrode 12 of the water electrolysis device 10 through the control device for the water electrolysis device 10.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides an air sterilizer 100, as shown in fig. 3, including a water tank 110, an atomizer 120, an air outlet cylinder 130 and the above-mentioned water electrolysis device. The water electrolysis device 10 of the water electrolysis device comprises an electrolysis tube 140, wherein the electrolysis tube 140 comprises a water inlet joint 141, a cathode tube 145, a water outlet joint 144 and an anode core strip (not shown in the figure), the water inlet joint 141 and the water outlet joint 144 are respectively connected with two ends of the cathode tube 145 in a sealing manner, the anode core strip is arranged in the cathode tube 145 in a penetrating manner, and the cathode tube 145 is further provided with a positive joint 142 and a negative joint 144 which are connected with the cathode core strip so as to be respectively and electrically connected with a first switch output end OUT1 and a second switch output end OUT2 of a switch circuit 20 in the control device.

The water tank 110 is connected with the water inlet connector 141 through a connecting pipe, the water outlet connector 144 is connected with the atomizer 120 through a connecting pipe, the atomizer 120 is connected with the air outlet cylinder 130, so that after water in the water tank 110 enters the electrolytic tube 140 through the connecting pipe, electrolytic reaction is carried out on the water in the electrolytic tube 140 through the work of the control device, active ingredients for sterilization are generated, and the active ingredients enter the atomizer 120 for atomization and then are sprayed out from the air outlet cylinder 130, so that the sterilization of the surrounding environment is realized.

During the operation, the inner wall of the cathode tube 145 of the electrolytic tube 140 is easy to generate scale, and after the control device is applied, the anode is electrified within the time of the preset duty ratio of the preset period, and the cathode is electrified within the remaining time of the preset period, so that the scale generation in the cathode tube 145 can be effectively reduced, the generation of active ingredients is increased, and the sterilization effect is improved.

Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps in the method for implementing the above embodiments may be implemented by a program instructing related hardware, where the program is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a (which may be a single chip, a chip, etc.) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps in the method for implementing each embodiment of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

In addition, various different embodiments of the present invention may be arbitrarily combined with each other, and the embodiments of the present invention should be considered as disclosed in the disclosure of the embodiments of the present invention as long as the embodiments do not depart from the spirit of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control device for an apparatus for electrolyzing water, the apparatus comprising a first electrode and a second electrode, the first and second electrodes being capable of producing an electrolytic reaction with water to produce a bactericidal active ingredient upon application of a voltage thereto, the control device comprising:

a switching circuit configured to apply a voltage to the first and second electrodes and capable of switching a polarity of the voltage;

2. The control device of claim 1, wherein the first electrode is a negative electrode and the second electrode is a positive electrode, and wherein the preset duty cycle is associated with applying a positive voltage to the positive electrode and the negative electrode, wherein the preset duty cycle is positively associated with the preset period.

3. The control device of claim 2, wherein the preset period ranges from 120 seconds to 190 seconds and the preset duty cycle ranges from 45% to 75%.

4. The control device of claim 2, wherein the preset duty cycle is greater than or equal to 50%.

5. The control device of claim 1, wherein the preset duty cycle is further determined according to sterilization efficiency.

6. The control device according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising:

the processor is further configured to:

receiving the detected current from the current detection device;

adjusting the preset period according to the magnitude of the current;

determining a preset duty ratio corresponding to the adjusted preset period according to the adjusted preset period; and

and switching the polarity of the voltage according to the adjusted preset period and the determined preset duty ratio.

7. The control device of claim 6, wherein the magnitude of the current is inversely related to the preset period.

8. An apparatus for electrolyzing water, comprising:

an electrolytic water device comprising an anode electrode and a cathode electrode capable of generating an electrolytic reaction with water to produce a bactericidal active ingredient upon application of a voltage; and

the control device for an apparatus for electrolyzing water according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. An air sterilizer comprising a water tank, an atomizer, an air outlet cylinder, characterized in that the air sterilizer further comprises an electrolyzed water apparatus according to claim 8.

10. The air sterilizer of claim 9, wherein the cathode electrode of the electrolyzed water apparatus comprises a cathode tube and the anode electrode comprises an anode core strip disposed through the cathode tube.