CN1151979C

CN1151979C - Electrolytic water and its generating device

Info

Publication number: CN1151979C
Application number: CNB011159995A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 国本启次郎; 秀; 白井滋; 见; 松本朋秀; 繁�; 桶田岳见; 冈浩二; 河合祐; 中村一繁
Original assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd
Current assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
Priority date: 2000-07-07
Filing date: 2001-07-09
Publication date: 2004-06-02
Anticipated expiration: 2021-07-09
Also published as: CN1332120A; KR100433856B1; KR20020005433A

Abstract

Provided is an electrolytic water production apparatus, the apparatus is equipped with an electrolytic cell, wherein an ion permeable diapheragm is arranged between an anode and a cathode, and a control means 48 for stopping the application of power in such a state that electrolytic water formed in the cathode chamber becomes alkaline water with a pH of 11.5-12.5 when the water is fed in the anode chamber and the cathode chamber and an high concentration electrolyte is put in at least the anode chamber to electrolyze water to be electrolyzed. This electrolyzed water making apparatus can be installed easily in a home or an office and safe electrolyzed water excellent in washing power is obtained.

Description

Electrolyzed water and electrolyzed water production device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to highly alkaline electrolyzed water produced by electrolyzing water and an apparatus for producing the electrolyzed water.

Background

The electrolyzed water production apparatus includes two types, namely a water-flowing type in which the electrolyzed water is electrolyzed in a water-flowing state by being connected to a water supply facility such as tap water to produce acidic water or alkaline water, and an intermittent type in which the electrolyzed water is electrolyzed in a non-flowing state with a simple and low-cost structure by not being connected to the water supply facility. Although there is an advantage that electrolyzed water can be immediately obtained by a flow type apparatus, when strongly acidicwater having oxidizing property and strongly basic water having reducing property are obtained at the same time, a large-sized electrode is required and a large power is required, and a complicated structure is required and the overall cost of the apparatus is increased. On the other hand, with the batch type apparatus, although it may take a long time to be used for electrolysis in a discontinuous manner, it has a simple structure and has characteristics that the above-mentioned acidic water and alkaline water are easily obtained.

It is considered that the alkaline water having a high pH value produced by the conventional electrolysis is superior in washing ability, as reported in Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2000-282094. The washing water is degreased and washed water adjusted by alkaline electrolytic water, the concentration of sodium ions and potassium ions in the washing water is more than 0.2mmol/L and less than 5mmol/L, the concentration of chloride ions is less than 1mmol/L, the pH value is more than 9 and less than 12, particularly when the washing water is used for washing metal such as iron, steel, copper, brass, plastic, ceramic and the like, oil adhered on the surface can be stripped, the metal and the like are not corroded or the surface is not degraded, and the washing water does not have adverse effect on human bodies like an organic solvent.

However, when the detergent composition is used for cleaning general dirt, for example, oil stain attached to the wall surface of a kitchen, soot attached to glass or furniture, etc., the detergent composition does not have sufficient cleaning ability because sodium ions or potassium ions are small and the pH value as a whole is low under the conditions shown in the above conventional examples. As a result of experiments conducted by the present inventors on the cleaning performance for cleaning the oil stains adhering to the tiles, it was found that a sufficient cleaning performance was not obtained at a pH of 11.5 or less, and that a sufficient cleaning effect was not obtained even at a pH of 11.5 or less when the sodium ion concentration was less than 150ppm (6.5 mmol/L). In addition, in order to produce electrolyzed water having a low chloride ion concentration as in the conventional example, to change the water to be electrolyzed with ions in the water to be used, or to reduce the concentration of the added salt to a required amount or less, and to perform continuous-flow electrolysis. In the water-flowing type electrolysis for reducing the concentration of common salt, the electrolyzed water having a pH of 8 to 10 is easily produced, and the alkaline water having a pH of 11 to 13 and high washing performance is produced by applying a high voltage to the electrodes and charging a large current. Therefore, there is also a problem that the apparatus has to be made large.

As an example of such an electrolyzed water forming apparatus, as reported in japanese unexamined patent application publication No. h 11-123381, there is an electrolyzed water forming apparatus in which 3 chambers such as a cathode chamber 2, an intermediate chamber 3, and an anode chamber 4 are provided in an electrolytic cell 1, the cathode chamber 2 and the intermediate chamber 3 and the anode chamber 4 are separated from the intermediate chamber 3 by a diaphragm 7 and a diaphragm 8, a cathode 5 is provided in the cathode chamber 2, an anode 6 is provided in the cathode chamber 4, and the respective electrodes 5, 6 are connected to a dc power supply apparatus, as shown in fig. 13. Further, 9 is a raw material water supply passage for supplying raw material water, and 16 is a drain passage. Reference numeral 12 denotes a storage tank for storing the electrolyzed ionic water produced in the cathode chamber 2 by being supplied through the electrolyzed ionic water supply line 11, and the electrolyzed ionic water is circulated and supplied to the cathode chamber 2 of the electrolytic cell 1 by the circulation pump 13 through the electrolyzed ionic water circulation line 10. Then, when the electrolyzed ionic water in the storage tank 12 reaches the desired pH and oxidation-reduction potential, the valve 14 is opened to obtain the electrolyzed ionic water through the electrolyzed ionic water discharge conduit 15.

However, in the conventional structure disclosed in japanese unexamined patent publication No. 11-123381, it is necessary to continuously supply an aqueous solution containing an electrolyte to the cathode chamber 4 and the intermediate chamber 3, and when the conventional structure is put into practical use, the entire apparatus is large and complicated as disclosed in japanese unexamined patent publication No. 11-179359 shown in fig. 14, and the conventional structure is not installed in a home, office, or the like and is convenient to use.

In addition, there is a device having a simple structure as disclosed in Japanese patent laid-open No. H10-472 even in the flow type. This electrolyzed water forming apparatus is configured as shown in FIG. 15 by providing

electrode plates

22, 23 inside an electrolytic bath 21 into which raw material water such as tap water or well water is introduced, and adding brine 24 into the electrolytic bath 21 by a pump 25.

In addition, 26 is a diaphragm, 27 is a raw material water supply pipe, 28 is a1 st drain pipe, 29 is a 2 nd drain pipe, 30 is a forward/reverse voltage switcher, and 31 is a dc power supply.

In this configuration, the raw material water is fed from the raw material water feed pipe 27 into the electrolytic bath 21, and brine (NaCl) as an electrolyte is added to the vicinity of the anode plate 22, whereby the resistance of the raw material water is reduced, the voltage at the time of electrolysis is reduced, and the electrolysis is efficiently stabilized, and the chlorine gas is generated from the brine chloride ions by the reaction of the anode plate 22 by electrolysis, and hypochlorous acid (HClO) having bactericidal activity is efficiently generated by dissolving the chlorine gas in the raw material water.

However, in Japanese unexamined patent publication Hei 10-472, if the amount of salt added cannot be adjusted in accordance with the flow rate of the raw material water, it is impossible to produce electrolytic water in which the salt concentration of the raw material water is stably changed. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately control the flow rate of the raw material water and to control the amount of salt to be added.

In addition, since the raw water flows mainly in the vicinity of the separator, the concentration of the brine does not increase, and sodium ions in the brine are less likely to move toward the cathode plate 23. This results in a structure in which it is difficult for increasing the pH of cathode water to contribute to increasing the sodium ion concentration. Therefore, it is not suitable to use the cathode water as the washing water.

Further, when the hypochlorous acid (HClO) is generated, the strong oxidation of the generated chlorine gas may corrode a metal surface or the like, or generate an offensive odor to give a user a sense of discomfort, or the like.

Japanese patent application laid-open No. 9-329570 discloses a conventional harmful gas treatment apparatus. As shown in fig. 16, this harmful gas treatment apparatus has a structure in which chlorine gas generated around an anode 32 and an electrolyte 33 are sent to a harmful gas purifying member 35 by a suction pump 34 to be treated. The chlorine gas discharged from the liquid surface of the electrolytic solution 33 is sent to the chlorine gas adsorbing member 37 by the exhaust fan 36 and is treated. In addition, a catalyst or activated carbon may be used for the harmful gas purifying member 35 and the chlorine adsorbing member 37. In this apparatus, 38 is an electrolytic cell, 39 is a cathode, 40 is a direct current power supply, and 41 is a control device.

However, in the conventional structure disclosed in japanese unexamined patent publication No. 9-329570, the treatment of the harmful gas cannot be sufficiently performed without driving the suction pump and the exhaust fan, and the driving unit is complicated in structure and expensive because it requires a structure resistant to chlorine gas. In addition, the catalyst or the activated carbon has a short life and must be replaced periodically, and thus cannot be used arbitrarily.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an electrolyzed water generator which is safe and excellent in washing ability and can be easily installed in a home, office, or the like for use, and which generates the electrolyzed water.

In order to achieve the above object, an electrolytic water producing apparatus of the present invention includes an electrolytic bath, an electrolyte supply mechanism, and a control mechanism; the electrolytic cell is provided with a diaphragm which is permeable to ions and arranged between an anode and a cathode, and an anode chamber and a cathode chamber are formed by the diaphragm; the electrolyte supply mechanism supplies electrolyzed water to the anode chamber and the cathode chamber, and supplies electrolyte with a higher concentration than that of the electrolyte electrolyzed in the anode chamber to at least the anode chamber; the control mechanism applies a voltage across the anode and cathode and electrolyzes the electrolyzed water; and is configured to stop electrolysis in a state of alkaline waterhaving a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 of the electrolyzed water produced in the cathode chamber when the electrolyzed water is mixed with electrolyzed water and electrolyzed while circulating a part of the electrolyte supplied into the anode chamber in a state of being retained at the bottom of the anode chamber.

According to the present invention, when electrolyzing electrolyzed water, the electrolyte accumulated in the bottom of the anode chamber is attracted to the space between the anode and the diaphragm by the circulating flow in the anode chamber accompanying the electrolysis, and cations such as sodium ions and potassium ions are mainly moved to the cathode by the ion-permeable diaphragm. Then, alkaline electrolyzed water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 is formed in the cathode chamber, and the control means stops the energization between the anode and the cathode. The electrolyzed water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 thus produced is safe electrolyzed water having saponification or emulsification of fats and oils and hydrolysis of proteins, and having excellent washing ability usable as a washing liquid for furniture, surfaces of building materials for houses, and the like.

More specifically, the electrolyzed water of the present invention is an electrolyzed water produced by electrolysis, and has a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 and a chloride ion concentration of 50 to 2000 ppm. The alkaline water has a pH of 11.5 or more, and therefore has a remarkable saponification or emulsification effect on fats and oils and a hydrolysis effect on proteins, and also has a strong penetration effect and a strong peeling effect from OH ions into stains and a superior washing ability. Further, if the pH is about 12.5 or less, the skin and mucous membrane are not irritated, and thus the skin and mucous membrane are safe. In addition, it is possible to control the level of chloride ions which are considered to interfere with the stripping action in practical use, and it is easy toobtain stable cleaning ability.

The electrolyzed water of the 2 nd aspect of the present invention is electrolyzed water produced by electrolysis, has a pH of 11.5 to 12.5, and contains sodium ions at a concentration of 150-700ppm alkali water, and further improves the washing ability by appropriately adding sodium ions which are strong in the saponification or emulsification of the fat and oil and the hydrolysis of the protein.

The electrolyzed water of the 3 rd aspect of the present invention is electrolyzed water produced by electrolysis, and is alkaline water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 and a ratio of a sodium ion or potassium ion concentration to a chloride ion concentration of 0.5 or more, and is capable of sufficiently exhibiting a cleaning ability because the ratio of a sodium ion or potassium ion, which is a factor of improving a cleaning ability, to a chloride ion, which is a factor of mainly hindering the cleaning ability, is 0.5 or more.

The 4 th electrolytic water of the present invention is alkaline water having a chloride ion concentration of 2000ppm or less, and is capable of controlling the chloride ions which are considered to interfere with the stripping action to a low level, and thus is capable of obtaining a high cleaning ability more than a high cleaning ability obtained by controlling the composition ratio of sodium ions or potassium ions, which is a factor for improving the cleaning ability, to 0.5 or more.

The 5 th electrolytic water of the present invention is obtained by suitably setting sodium ions or potassium ions considered to be strong in saponification or emulsification of fats and oils and hydrolysis of proteins in the alkaline water having a sodium ion or potassium ion concentration of 150-.

The electrolyzed water production apparatus according to the 1 st aspect of the presentinvention is constituted by an electrolytic cell in which an ion-permeable diaphragm is provided between an anode and a cathode and an anode chamber and a cathode chamber are formed by the diaphragm, water feed ports for feeding electrolyzed water to the anode chamber and the cathode chamber, an electrolyte feed mechanism for feeding an electrolyte having a higher electrolytic concentration than that in the anode chamber to at least the anode chamber, and a control mechanism for applying a voltage to the anode and the cathode to electrolyze water, wherein the electrolyzed water is mixed with electrolyzed water while circulating a part of the electrolyte fed to the anode chamber in a state of being retained at the bottom of the anode chamber.

In the electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to the present invention, the electrolyte is supplied to the water to be electrolyzed supplied into the anode chamber at a high concentration, and therefore the electrolyte is retained in the bottom of the anode chamber due to the difference in specific gravity. On the other hand, when the electrolysis is started, a circulating flow occurs in the anode chamber due to a convection action caused by the rising of the electrolytic gas such as oxygen and chlorine generated on the anode surface. The electrolyte retained at the bottom of the anode chamber causes a portion thereof to be mixed with electrolyzed water as the circulation flow passes between the anode and the diaphragm. Therefore, the electrolyte concentration between the anode and the separator is kept higher than the concentration of the entire anode chamber, and alkaline water having a high pH can be generated in the cathode chamber in a short period of time even if the electrolyte addition amount is small. That is, when a voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode, ions contained in the electrolyzed water of the mixed electrolyte move ions having a polarity opposite to that of the electrodes through the separator by anelectric attraction force. Therefore, cations such as sodium ions and potassium ions introduced into the anode chamber immediately move to the cathode chamber through the diaphragm. Further, since anions such as chloride ions are attracted to the anode, the movement to the cathode chamber is limited to a minimum. Furthermore, as explained in the above-mentioned electrolytic waters according to the present invention of the 1 st to 5 th aspects, such electrolytic waters are excellent in washing ability.

In addition, when the high-concentration electrolyte is accumulated in the bottom of the anode chamber, a part of the electrolyte is circulated in the anode chamber and mixed with the electrolyzed water to perform electrolysis, so that the concentration of the electrolyte flowing between the anode and the diaphragm is highest immediately after the start of electrolysis, and the electrolyte is homogenized and released after the end of electrolysis along with the mixing of the electrolyzed water and the electrolyte. In the electrolysis of the electrolyte, for example, when a chloride such as common salt is used as the electrolyte, chlorine gas is generated by an anode reaction of chloride ions, and the higher the concentration of common salt is, the more chlorine gas is generated. Further, when the pH of the electrolytic water is high, the chlorine gas is dissolved in the electrolytic water and is retained in the form of hypochlorous acid, making it difficult to release the chlorine gas to the atmosphere, but when the pH is lowered, the release as chlorine gas directly starts to the atmosphere. According to the present invention, although the pH of the electrolyzed water in the anode chamber is constantly lowered, the electrolyte at the initial stage of electrolysis at a high pH is electrolyzed at a high concentration, and the electrolyte concentration is lowered by mixing with the lowering of the pH, so that the generation of harmful gas such as chlorine gas during electrolysis can be suppressed.

An apparatus for generating electrolyzed water of the 2 nd aspect of the present invention comprises an electrolytic cell having an anode and a cathode, an ion-permeable diaphragm provided between the anode and the cathode, and an anode chamber and a cathode chamber formed by the diaphragm, electrolyte supply means for supplying an electrolyte to the anode chamber, discharge means for discharging cathode water generated in the cathode chamber, an electrolyzed water container for receiving water from the discharge means, and control means for applying a voltage to the anode and the anode to electrolyze the electrolyzed water and driving the discharge means to store the cathode water in the electrolyzed water container after the electrolysis is completed, wherein the various means are incorporated in a main body constituting the apparatus for generating electrolyzed water, and the electrolyzed water container can be taken out from the main body and the spray means can be attached.

In the electrolytic water generator of the 2 nd aspect of the present invention, since the electrolytic water generated at the cathode is stored in the electrolytic water tank after the electrolysis is completed, the cathode water is not mixed with the anode water through the diaphragm after the electrolysis, and the pH is lowered to increase the chloride ion concentration, thereby maintaining a high washing capacity.

In addition, since the electrolytic water container can be taken out from the main body, the electrolytic water container is convenient to use in a home or office. Furthermore, the electrolytic water container can be installed to form a spraying mechanism, so that the electrolytic water can be uniformly sprayed on the washing surface of the furniture and the like in a small amount, and the washing can be efficiently performed without spraying too much electrolytic water on the washing surface.

The 3 rd electrolytic water generator according to the present invention is the 1 st electrolytic water generator for generating the 1 st to 5 th electrolytic water.

The electrolyzed water forming apparatus of the above 1 st aspect can safely form electrolyzed water having high cleaning performance as described in the above 1 st to 5 th aspects with a simple configuration.

The 4 th electrolytic water producing apparatus of the present invention is the apparatus wherein the control means in the 1 st electrolytic water producing apparatus judges and controls the electrolyzed water in the cathode chamber to be alkaline water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 in the energization time period from the start of energization between the anode and the cathode to the stop of energization.

Accordingly, the pH sensor is not required, and therefore, the pH sensor is simple and inexpensive in structure, is not affected by changes in the characteristics of the pH sensor, does not require any trouble such as maintenance of the pH sensor, and can be used stably for a long period of time.

An electrolyzed water production apparatus according to claim 5 is characterized in that the electrolyte supply means in the electrolyzed water production apparatus according to claim 1 is composed of an electrolyte tank containing an electrolyte having a concentration higher than a concentration suitable for electrolysis in the anode chamber, and supply means for supplying the electrolyte having the higher concentration to the anode chamber.

Accordingly, since the electrolyte in the electrolyte tank is supplied to at least the electrolyzed water in the anode chamber by the supply means, it is not necessary to prepare a salt solution or the like by a manual operation, and the electrolyte concentration is also stable, so thatthe electrolyzed water having a desired pH value and ion concentration can be obtained with high accuracy.

In the electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to the 6 th aspect of the present invention, the electrolyte supply means in the electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to the 1 st aspect is configured not to have supply means for supplying electrolyzed water from the electrolytic cell to the electrolytic tank, and the electrolytic solution in the electrolytic tank is supplied to the electrolytic cell under a supply pressure of the supply means.

Then, the electrolyzed water in the electrolytic cell is taken out and the electrolytic solution from the electrolytic tank is supplied to the electrolytic cell, so that the amount of water in the electrolytic cell does not change and the water pressure or the water level does not fluctuate. Further, since the supply means only feeds the electrolyzed water, there is no influence on the material deterioration of the supply means for the electrolytic solution.

In the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 7 th aspect of the present invention, a connection port to the electrolyte tank of the electrolytic cell in the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 6 th aspect is provided above a liquid level of the electrolyte tank.

Therefore, since the connection port is provided above the liquid level of the electrolyte tank, the electrolyte solution does not flow into the electrolytic cell when not needed due to the difference in water level. That is, if the connection port is provided below the liquid level of the electrolyte tank, the electrolyte solution often flows into the electrolytic cell due to the difference in water level, and the electrolyte concentration during electrolysis cannot be maintained at a constant value, and the desired pH value is not reached, and unnecessary electrolyte is consumed.

In the electrolyzed water forming apparatus of the 8 th aspect of the present invention, a connection port to the electrolyte tank of the electrolytic cell and a connection port to the supply mechanism of the electrolytic cell in the electrolyzed water forming apparatus of the 7 th aspect are disposed at substantially the same height.

In this way, when there is no water to be electrolyzed in the electrolytic cell, the 2 connection ports that determine the water head difference of the flow path between the electrolytic cell and the electrolyte tank are provided at substantially the same height, and when the electrolyte solution is not needed, the water does not flow into the electrolytic cell. As a result, an electrolyte solution of a desired concentration can be supplied to the electrolytic cell from a connection port with the electrolyte tank of the electrolytic cell with high accuracy, and a stable pH value and ion concentration can be obtained.

An electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to the 9 th aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a check valve for preventing reverse flow of electrolyzed water is provided between the electrolytic tank and the electrolytic cell in any of the electrolyzed water forming apparatuses described in the 5 th to 8 th aspects.

Thus, when water is supplied to the electrolytic cell by providing the check valve, the raw water is prevented from flowing back toward the electrolytic tank, and the electrolyzed solution is prevented from being diluted by the back flow of the electrolyzed water. As a result, an electrolyte solution of a desired concentration can be supplied to the electrolytic cell from a connection port with the electrolyte tank at all times and with high accuracy, and a stable pH value and ion concentration can be obtained.

An electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to the 10 th aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a check valve for preventing reverse flow of electrolyzed water is provided between the electrolyte tank and the supply mechanism in any of the electrolyzed water forming apparatuses of the 6 th to 8 th aspects.

Thus, by providing such a check valve, the electrolyte solution in the electrolyte tank can be prevented from flowing back to the supply mechanism, and the supply mechanism is not affected by corrosion, material deterioration, and the like of the electrolyte solution.

An 11 th electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention is the electrolytic water producing apparatus described in any one of the 5 th to 8 th electrolytic water producing apparatuses, wherein at least a part of the electrolytic tank is made of a transparent or translucent container so that the inside thereof can be seen and confirmed, and the electrolytic tank stores a solid electrolyte.

Thus, the inside of the electrolytic tank can be visually checked, so that the presence or absence or the remaining amount of the solid electrolyte can be easily checked, and a simple and convenient electrolytic water generator can be realized.

Further, since a complicated structure and control such as an electrolyte residual amount sensor and a residual amount detection circuit are not required, a simple and inexpensive structure can be realized, and the number of components having a failure can be reduced, an electrolyzed water forming apparatus having high reliability can be obtained.

In the electrolytic water generator of the 12 th aspect of the present invention, the electrolyte in the electrolytic water generator of the 1 st or 2 nd aspect is an electrolyte containing sodium or potassium.

Accordingly, the diffusion of sodium ions or potassium ions makes it possible to achieve a uniform ion concentration, to facilitate the passage of current between the anode and the cathode, and to efficiently obtain alkaline water having a high pH value in a short time. According to the experimental results, electrolysis of 500CC water at 1.5A for 10 minutes gave alkaline water of pH12. The alkaline water having a strong reducing power has a saponification or emulsification action on fats and oils and a hydrolysis action on proteins, has a high cleaning power for removing surface dirt of furniture, building materials for houses, electric appliances, and the like, and can be used as a cleaning water safe for the skin of hands and the like.

The 13 th electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention is the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water producing apparatus wherein the electrolyte is composed of at least one of salt, amino acid salt, glutamate, vitamin salt, ascorbate, organic acid salt, nucleic acid salt, and the like.

Thus, common people can easily obtain the electrolyte by using common salt, and the electrolyte can be easily used in families or offices.

Further, by using an amino acid salt or a glutamic acid salt as an electrolyte, chlorine ions existing in the liquid can be extremely reduced, and the chlorine generating agent is highly safe for human use, so that the safety can be maintained, and the chlorine generating agent can suppress the generation of chlorine at the anode side during electrolysis because the amount of chlorine generated at the anode side during electrolysis is small. At the same time, since the electrolyte is added to the anode chamber, the electrolyzed water produced on the anode side does not mix with the electrolyzed water produced on the anode side, and the mixing of organic substances into the anode side can be suppressed. Therefore, since the putrefaction can be suppressed and no crystal remains after use, the time and effort for the second wiping can be saved, and the uncomfortable feeling during use can be reduced.

Sodium glutamate, which is a seasoning, is commercially available and easily available to ordinary people, and is easily used even in homes and offices.

Further, by using a vitamin salt or an ascorbate as an electrolyte, chlorine ions existing in the liquid are extremely small, the amount of chlorine gas generated on the anode side during electrolysis is reduced, and chlorine gas can be removed even if chlorine gas is generated, so that the concentration of chlorine gas in the atmosphere can be kept low, and favorable electrolysis can be performed.

Further, by using an organic acid salt or a nucleic acid salt as an electrolyte, the amount of chlorine ions present in the liquid can be minimized, and the amount of chlorine gas generated on the anode side during electrolysis can be reduced, and chlorine gas can be efficiently removed. Further, the concentration of chlorine gas in the atmosphere in which electrolysis is performed can be kept low, and satisfactory electrolysis can be performed.

Further, since the organic acid is a weak electrolyte containing carboxylic acid, the pH of the water to be electrolyzed in the anode chamber is not lowered as compared with the case where common salt is used as the electrolyte. Therefore, it is difficult to generate chlorine gas.

In addition, the solution containing the nuclear salt can be decomposed by the microorganism, and the substances produced are almost all amino acids, so that the safety is high.

In the 14 th electrolytic water producing apparatus of the present invention, the diaphragm of the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water producing apparatus is a cation exchange membrane.

Thus, by making the diaphragm a cation exchange membrane, it is possible to prevent cations such as sodium ions and potassium ions from moving from the anode chamber to the cathode chamber and anions such as chloride ions from moving to the cathode chamber, and therefore, the electrolyzed water of the above-mentioned types 1 to 5 of the present invention can be obtained efficiently.

In the 15 th electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention, the cathode chamber in the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water producing apparatus has an internal volume larger than that of the anode chamber.

Thus, the size of the main body is not increased, and more alkaline water in the cathode chamber used as washing water can be collected. In addition, when acidic water in the anode chamber is discharged, the discharge capacity can be reduced.

In the 16 th electrolytic water generator according to the present invention, at least a part of the electrolytic cell in the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water generator is made into a transparent or translucent container so that the inside of the electrolytic water generator can be seen from the outside thereof.

Thus, the amount of water or water level in the electrolytic bath, the state of electrolysis, the state of scale deposition on the electrodes, and the like can be easily confirmed from the outside. Therefore, for example, a water level sensor or a detection circuit for detecting the water level of the electrolytic bath is not particularly required, and the apparatus can be simplified and configured at low cost. Further, since the adhesion of scale can be confirmed from the side without opening the lid above the electrolytic cell, the timing of adding the scale dissolved and washed with citric acid or the like can be grasped more easily and the performance can be maintained more easily.

The 17 th electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention is the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 1 st or 2 nd above, wherein the water level in the anode chamber of the water to be electrolyzed is equal to or higher than the water level in the cathode chamber.

In this way, since the movement of cations such as sodium ions and potassium ions from the anode chamber to the cathode chamber can be promoted, alkaline water having a high cation concentration and a high pH can be efficiently generated in the cathode chamber. Further, since the movement of ions to the cathode side can be accelerated, the conductivity during electrolysis between the anode and the cathode can be reduced, and low power consumption can be suppressed.

An 18 th electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention is the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water producing apparatus, wherein an electrolyte retention part for retaining an electrolyte is formed at a bottom of the electrolytic tank, and an electrolyte guide mechanism for guiding the electrolyte to a portion of the separator facing the anode is provided.

Thus, the electrolyte solution with high concentration can be supplied between the electrode and the separator, so that high electrolysis efficiency can be obtained with a small amount of electrolyte, and electrolysis can be performed at low power.

In addition, since the consumption amount of the electrolyte can be reduced, the number of times of replenishing the electrolyte and the amount of replenishment can be reduced, the use can be facilitated, and the electrolysis can be performed economically.

In the electrolytic water generator of the 19 th aspect of the present invention, the electrolyte retention section in the electrolytic water generator of the 18 th aspect is configured to incline the bottom of the electrolytic cell.

In this way, the electrolyte solution of high concentration retained at the bottom of the electrolytic cell is collected along the inclined surface, and the electrolyte solution is guided to the portion of the anode facing the separator, thereby enabling effective use of the electrolyte.

In the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 20 th aspect of the present invention, the electrolyte guide means of the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 18 th aspect is configured such that the lower end of the anode has a gap at the bottom of the electrolytic tank and is allowed to enter the electrolyte retention section.

In this way, the high-concentration electrolyte solution retained in the electrolyte retaining portion can be guided to the opposing portion by the convection of water caused by the rise of the gas generated by electrolysis, so that the salt concentration in the opposing portion becomes high, the electrolysis efficiency is improved, and the power consumption for improving the electric conductivity between the electrodes can be suppressed.

In addition, since the lower end of the anode does not contact the bottom of the electrolytic bath, water can flow outward from the electrode, and convection can be more efficiently caused to improve the electrolytic efficiency.

In the 21 st electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention, the discharge means in the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water producing apparatus may take out a part of the cathode water produced in the cathode chamber.

In this way, by leaving cathode water in the electrolytic cell, harmful gas such as chlorine gas generated from the anode chamber during electrolysis is dissolved in the remaining cathode water or neutralized by mixing with anode water.

A22 ndelectrolytic water generating apparatus according to the present invention comprises container detecting means for detecting the presence of an electrolytic water container, wherein the detecting means restricts an electrolytic operation and prohibits driving of the discharging means when the container is not detected.

Thus, the container detection means can operate electrolysis only when the electrolytic water container is present, and can automatically discharge the alkaline water in the electrolytic water container after the electrolysis is completed. Therefore, the acidic water and the alkaline water passing through the electrolytic separator can be prevented from being permeated and mixed, the pH value can be prevented from being deteriorated, and the acid water and the alkaline water can be prevented from being discharged by mistake when the container is not provided.

The electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 23 rd aspect of the present invention is the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 1 st or 2 nd aspect, wherein the electrolytic water producing apparatus includes a liquid holding mechanism for holding a liquid in which a harmful gas generated in the electrolytic bath is dissolved, and the harmful gas is dissolved and absorbed in the liquid holding mechanism to prevent the harmful gas from diffusing to the outside.

In addition, since the solution of the harmful gas is liquid, the solution can be easily replaced, and the harmful gas can be repeatedly treated with a simple configuration.

In a 24 th electrolytic water generating apparatus according to the present invention, the liquid holding means in the 23 th electrolytic water generating apparatus is configured to hold the electrolyzed water in the fine voids, and to allow the harmful gas to come into contact with the electrolyzed water, whereby the liquid can be smoothly permeated into the fine voids by a capillary phenomenon. Further, since the liquid is held in a complicated shape inside the liquid holding mechanism, the surface area thereof is particularly enlarged, a larger contact area with the harmful gas can be obtained, and the efficiency of dissolving the harmful gas into the liquid can be improved.

In the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 25 th aspect of the present invention, the liquid holding means in the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 23 th aspect is constituted by a continuous foam, so that the liquid holding means can be communicated with a plurality of the holes in a three-dimensional manner, and permeability between the liquid and the harmful gas in the holes is improved. Further, the continuous foam is a sponge and can be produced at low cost.

Further, by using a chlorine gas resistant material, the deterioration due to the harmful gas being chlorine gas can be prevented, the liquid retaining property can be maintained, and the solubility of the harmful gas can be maintained.

In the electrolyzed water forming apparatus of the 26 th aspect of the present invention, the liquid holding means provided in the electrolyzed water forming apparatus of the 23 rd aspect is detachably provided, so that the liquid holding means can be easily taken out and washed or replaced when the liquid holding means is contaminated or aged.

An apparatus for generating electrolyzed water according to the 27 th aspect of the present invention is the apparatus for generating electrolyzed water according to the 1 st or 2 nd aspect, wherein the apparatus comprises mixing means for mixing a part of cathode water generated in the cathode chamber with anode water generated in the anode chamber, and wherein the anode water having a low pH is mixed with the cathode water to neutralize the cathode water, whereby generation of harmful gases such as chlorine gas can be suppressed, and corrosion can be suppressed by the neutralization, and therefore, corrosion of metals or stainless steel products can be prevented.

In the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 28 th aspect of the present invention, the mixing mechanism in the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 27 th aspect is constituted by a mixing tank and a switching valve below the electrolytic tank, and the anode water are fed to the mixing tank by a head drop, and can be reliably mixed in the mixing tank. Therefore, the mixing can be sufficiently performed with a simple structure.

In the 29 th electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention, the mixing tank in the 28 th electrolytic water producing apparatus is detachably attached to the electrolytic water producing apparatus main body, and a mixing tank detecting means for detecting the presence of the mixing tank is provided, and when the detecting means does not detect the mixing tank, the operation of the switch is restricted, so that water can be easily taken out from the mixing tank and used or poured out. In addition, when the switch valve is opened by mistake and the mixing tank is directly taken out, the electrolytic water can be prevented from overflowing.

An electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to the 30 th aspect of the present invention is the electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to the 28 th aspect, wherein the mixed water detecting means for detecting the amount of water in the mixing tank is provided, and the on-off valve is controlled based on a value detected by the mixed water detecting means, whereby it is possible to prevent the occurrence of overflow caused by refilling of the mixing tank with electrolyzed water in a state where the mixing tank is full of water due to an erroneous operation.

In the 31 st electrolytic water producing apparatus of the present invention, the mixing means of the 28 th electrolytic water producing apparatus is used to set the cathode water amount so that the pH of the mixed water is in the range of 3 to 8, and when electrolytic water containing chloride ions such as common salt is added to the anode water to perform electrolysis, the pH is lowered and chlorine gas starts to be emitted. When the pH exceeds 3, the amount of chlorine gas emitted is significantly reduced, and when the pH is 5 or more, almost no chlorine gas is emitted. Therefore, if the pH is set to 3 to 8, the emission of chlorine gas can be suppressed.

A32 nd electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to the present invention is the apparatus of the 1 st or 2 nd above, wherein residual water obtained by taking out a part of cathode water formed in the cathode chamber and anode water are used, and a counter potential is applied to the anode and the cathode to raise the pH of the anode water, thereby suppressing the emission of chlorine gas from the anode water after the completion of electrolysis. In addition, in order to use cathode water for washing or the like, the anode water can be neutralized with the residual water after being taken out, so that it is not wasted.

In the 33 rd electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention, in the 32 nd electrolytic water producing apparatus, a counter potential is applied to raise the pH of the anode water to 3 or more. Therefore, the emission of chlorine gas from the anode water can be reliably suppressed.

The 34 th electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention is the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water producing apparatus, wherein the apparatus comprises a lid for opening and closing a water supply port of the electrolytic bath and a lid closing/holding means for holding the lid closed, and the lid closing/holding means is kept closed for a predetermined period of time from the start of electrolysis, and the lid prevents chlorine gas generated from the anode water from being emitted during or after the completion of electrolysis. In addition, the lid closing mechanism can prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable due to the lid of the electrolysis vessel filled with chlorine being opened by mistake.

In the electrolytic water generating apparatus of the 35 th aspect of the present invention, the 34 th electrolytic water generating apparatus includes cover opening/closing detection means for detecting an opening/closing cover, and electrolysis is performed based on a detection operation of the cover opening/closing detection means, so that direct electrolysis can be prevented from being performed when the cover is opened.

The 36 th electrolytic water generating apparatus according to the present invention is the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water generating apparatus, wherein the electrolytic water generating apparatus includes electrolyte detecting means for detecting the concentration of the electrolyte in the electrolytic bath, and the electrolysis condition is controlled based on the detection value of the electrolyte detecting means. Further, since the electrolyte concentration can be detected, a failure of the electrolyte supply mechanism or a shortage of the electrolyte supply can be detected. In addition, even when the electrolyzed water in the electrolytic cell is insufficient, the concentration of the electrolyte can be increased or the contact state between the electrolyte detection means and the electrolyzed water can be changed. Therefore, when an abnormal condition is detected, or electrolysis is stopped, or the electrolysis time and the electrolysis current are adjusted by the magnitude of the electrolyte concentration, stable electrolyzed water can be generated.

An apparatus forgenerating electrolyzed water according to 37 th aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the electrolytic water is supplied before a value detected by the electrolyte detecting means in the apparatus for generating electrolyzed water according to 36 th aspect reaches a predetermined value, thereby preventing variations in the amount of supply and the amount of supply of the electrolytic water, and generating electrolyzed water that is constant at each time.

An electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 38 th aspect of the present invention is the electrolytic water producing apparatus of the 36 th aspect, wherein electrolysis is performed when a detection value of the electrolyte detecting means is within a predetermined range, and electrolysis is stopped when it is determined that any abnormality occurs when the detection value is out of the predetermined range, and electrolysis is performed within the predetermined range. Therefore, the generated electrolyzed water can be stabilized within a prescribed range.

In a 39 th electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention, the electrolyte detecting means in the 36 th electrolytic water producing apparatus detects the potential or the current between the anode and the cathode. The potential or current between the electrodes is related to the conductivity of the water being electrolyzed, as well as to the electrolyte concentration and conductivity. Therefore, the electrolyte concentration can be easily detected from the potential or current between the electrodes, and therefore, the dual-purpose electrode and the electrolyte detection mechanism can be simply configured.

A40 th electrolytic water generating apparatus according to the present invention is the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water generating apparatus, wherein the electrolytic water generating apparatus includes water amount detecting means for detecting an amountof water to be electrolyzed in the electrolytic bath, and the electrolysis operation is controlled based on a detection value of the water amount detecting means. Thus, by detecting the amount of water in the electrolytic cell and adjusting the supply amount of the electrolyte, the electrolysis time, and the electrolysis current, it is possible to generate constant electrolyzed water irrespective of the amount of water to be electrolyzed.

In the 41 th electrolytic water generating apparatus according to the present invention, when the value detected by the water amount detecting means in the 40 th electrolytic water generating apparatus is out of the predetermined range, electrolysis is prohibited, and the properties of the generated electrolytic water can be stabilized by stabilizing the amount of water during electrolysis while preventing deterioration of the electrodes or the diaphragm during electrolysis when the amount of electrolyzed water is forgotten to be added or is abnormally low.

A42 th electrolytic water producing apparatus according to the present invention is the 1 st or 2 nd electrolytic water producing apparatus, wherein an alarm is issued when an accumulated time of energization or a number of energization times to an anode and a cathode exceeds a predetermined time or a predetermined number of times, and when electrolysis is continued, scale components contained in electrolyzed water such as tap water are deposited on an electrode or a diaphragm, and electrolysis performance is deteriorated. To eliminate this, washing is usually carried out using citric acid. Therefore, when the cumulative time of the power-on or the number of the power-on exceeds a predetermined time or a predetermined number of times, the user can be informed of the most appropriate washing time by an alarm.

In the electrolytic water producing apparatus of 43 rd aspect of the present invention, thecumulative current-carrying time in the electrolytic water producing apparatus of 42 th aspect is used to individually calculate the washing time of the electrolytic bath and the replacement time of the electrodes and the diaphragm, and to give an alarm, so that the user can be informed not only of the washing time of the scale component but also of the replacement time of the electrodes or the diaphragm according to the lifetime thereof, thereby facilitating maintenance.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to example 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a configuration diagram of an operation panel of embodiment 1.

Fig. 3 is a time chart of the control operation in embodiment 1.

FIG. 4 is an external view of an electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to example 1.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between pH and the presence of available chlorine.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the pH of electrolyzed water and the washing ability in example 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the sodium ion concentration and the washing ability of the electrolyzed water of example 1.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the chloride ion concentration and the washing ability of the electrolyzed water of example 1.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the ratio of the sodium ion concentration to the chloride ion concentration of the electrolyzed water and the washing ability in example 1.

Fig. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the water head difference between the anode water and the cathode water and the pH and sodium concentration of the cathode water in example 1.

FIG. 11 is a structural view of an electrolytic cell in example 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a structural view of an electrolytic cell in example 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a structural diagram of a conventional electrolyzed water forming apparatus.

Fig. 14 is an external view of a conventional electrolyzed water forming apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of another conventional electrolyzed water forming apparatus.

Fig. 16 is a structural diagram of a conventional harmful gas treatment apparatus.

In the figure, 50-electrolytic cell, 51-water feed, 52-lid, 53-diaphragm, 54-anode chamber, 55-cathode chamber, 56-anode, 57-cathode, 62-liquid holding mechanism, 66-electrolyte tank, 69-electrolyte (salt), 79-supply mechanism (pulse pump), 77-discharge mechanism (pump), 80-electrolytic water container, 81-mixing mechanism, 83-switch valve, 84-mixing tank, 85-control mechanism.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the drawings

Example 1

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to example 1 of the present invention. Fig. 2 shows an operation panel of the control mechanism according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a timing chart of the control operation in embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an external view of an electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to example 1 of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram showing the state of hydrogen ion concentration (pH) and available chlorine.

This example shows a case where alkaline water is taken as electrolytic water and used as washing water, and is explained centering on fig. 1. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 50 denotes an electrolyzer in which a water feed port 51 at the upper end is closed by an electrolyzer lid 52 to be in a sealed state, wherein an anode chamber 54 and a cathode chamber 55 are formed by an ion permeable diaphragm 53, and an anode 56 and a cathode 57 are provided to face each other through the diaphragm 53. An anode water outlet 58 and a cathode water outlet 59 are provided below the electrolytic cell 50, and a water level portion 60 in the cathode chamber 55 is provided with a take-out port 61 for taking out cathode water after electrolysis. The cathode chamber 55 has a larger internal volume than the anode chamber 54, but is not easily visible in the drawing, and the anode water discharge amount is reduced by adopting a ratio of 1: 5.

A liquid holding mechanism 62 for dissolving and treating chlorine gas, which is a harmful gas generated in the anode chamber 54, is provided at the upper water feed port 51 of the electrolytic cell 50, and the liquid holding mechanism 62 has a fine pore structure and holds a pore inside the fine pore structure so that liquid can permeate therethrough. The term "liquid" as used herein means that the water to be electrolyzed supplied to the electrolytic bath 50 is tap water or ground water, and will be referred to as raw material water hereinafter.

The gas generated by the electrolytic cell 50 is discharged from the gas discharge port 63 through the liquid holding mechanism 62.

At this time, gas in which oxygen, hydrogen, orthe like is hardly dissolved in the raw material water is discharged from the gas discharge port 63, and the chlorine gas comes into contact with and dissolves the raw material water contained in the liquid holding mechanism 62. A concave retention section 64 for retaining the raw material water and a liquid retention section 65 for allowing the bottom of the liquid holding mechanism 62 to be immersed in the raw material water are provided on the upper surface of the liquid holding mechanism 62.

The liquid holding mechanism 62 is made of a sponge of a porous body obtained by continuously foaming and molding polyethylene as a chlorine gas resistant material.

When the user opens the cover 52 from above and feeds the raw material water into the electrolytic bath 50, the raw material water spreads over the upper surface of the liquid holding mechanism 62 and enters the anode chamber 54. Then, the anode chamber 54 is filled with the overflowing raw material water, and the cathode chamber 55 is filled with the overflowing raw material water.

In addition, at least a part of the electrolytic bath 50 is formed as a transparent or translucent container so that the inside can be seen and confirmed from the outside of the apparatus main body. Here, the electrolytic bath 50 is molded from a transparent acrylic resin, and the side wall of the electrolytic bath 50 faces outward. Therefore, when the raw material water is supplied to the electrolytic cell 50, the water level can be confirmed from the side, which is convenient for use. Further, when the electrolysis is repeated for a long period of time, scale components contained in the raw water are deposited on the electrodes or the separators and on the inner wall surface of the electrolytic bath 50, and therefore, it is necessary to perform the washing periodically. However, since the state of scale deposition and the state of washing can be observed, maintenance is easy.

Reference numeral 66 denotes an electrolyte tank having a detachable lid 67 and an electrolyte bed 68, and salt 69 is filled therein as an electrolyte. The raw material water fed into the electrolytic cell 50 is fed from above the electrolyte tank 66 to the electrolyte tank 66 through an inlet pipe 72 from a water feed port 70 provided in the anode chamber 54 by a feed mechanism 71 constituted by a pulse pump. The introduced raw material water dissolves the salt 69 to prepare a saturated salt solution, and the electrolyte solution is supplied from the electrolyte supply port 74 to the anode chamber 54 through the electrolyte bed 68 and the liquid supply pipe 73.

The saturated saline solution supplied to the anode chamber 54 has a high specific gravity with respect to the raw material water, and therefore, is deposited at the bottom of the anode chamber 54. When the electrolysis of the high-concentration brine accumulated in the bottom portion is started, the oxygen or chlorine gas generated on the surface of the anode 56 is guided while being mixed with the raw material water between the anode 56 and the diaphragm 53 by convection when the oxygen or chlorine gas rises, and finally, the whole is mixed.

Here, a check valve 75A is provided in the vicinity of the electrolyte supply port 74 of the liquid supply pipe 73 in a direction to prevent the raw material water in the anode chamber 54 from flowing backward, and a check valve 75B for preventing the saline solution in the electrolyte tank 66 from flowing backward in the supply mechanism 71 is provided between the electrolyte tank 66 and the supply mechanism 71 in the introduction pipe 72. Further, by providing the electrolyte supply port 74 at a position above the liquid surface 76 of the electrolyte tank 66, the saturated saline in the electrolyte tank 66 is prevented from flowing out to the electrolytic bath 50 by the drop height. Further, by setting the height of the electrolyte supply port 74 and the height of the water supply port 70 to be substantially the same, even if the raw material water of the electrolytic bath 50 is not present, the difference in height between the inlet and outlet of the electrolyte tank 66 is not present, and the water in the electrolyte tank 66 can be prevented from flowing out. Further, since the water supply port 70 is provided above the retention portion of the high-concentration saline solution retained at the bottom of the anode chamber 54, the saline solution supplied to the water supply mechanism 71 is not sucked any more, and therefore corrosion and sticking of the saline solution to the water supply mechanism 71 can be prevented.

At least a part of the electrolyte tank 66 is formed as a transparent or hermetically transparent container so that the inside can be observed and confirmed from the outside of the apparatus main body. Here, the electrolyte tank 66 is molded from a transparent acrylic resin, and the side wall of the electrolyte tank 66 is formed to face the outside. This allows the amount of the salt 69 in the electrolyte tank 66 to be checked from the outside, and therefore, the salt can be easily replenished.

A discharge mechanism 77 is provided downstream of the cathode water outlet 61, and cathode water is taken out from the electrolytic water tank 80 through a discharge pipe 78 from a discharge port 79 by driving the discharge mechanism.

A mixing means 81 for mixing cathode water and anode water is provided downstream of the cathode water outlet 59 and the anode water outlet 58. The mixing means 81 is composed of an on-off valve 83 for mixing the anode water and the cathode water while discharging them through a drain pipe 82, and a mixing tank 84 for storing the discharged water of the on-off valve 83, and finally the cathode water and the anode water are completely mixed by the mixing tank 84.

In general, when negative water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 is produced by electrolysis with addition of common salt, strongly acidic water having an anode water pH of about 2 can be produced. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the effective chlorine of the electrolyzed anode water is changed in accordance with the presence ratio of chlorine gas to hypochlorous acid at a lower pH, and the presence ratio of chlorine gas is increased, and when the pH is lowered, harmful chlorine gas is emitted to the atmosphere. Therefore, in order to suppress the emission of chlorine gas, it is necessary that the pH is at least 3, preferably at least 5.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the anode water and the cathode water are mixed by the mixing mechanism 81, and the mixing ratio is set so that at least the pH of the mixed water is 3 or more. The ratio of cathode water having a pH of more than 3 was determined by mixing electrolyzed water produced by mixing anode water and cathode water at a volume ratio of 1: 5 with anode water having a pH of 2 of 1 and cathode water having a pH of 12 of 2. Then, the pH of the mixed water exceeded 5 and was in a proportion of 2.5. The cathode water ratio was set to 2.5 for an anode water of 1. The higher the pH of the mixed water, the more chlorine gas generation can be suppressed and the corrosion problem is less likely to occur. However, if this value is high, the mixing ratio of the cathode water needs to be increased more, and the amount of the washing water used is reduced. Moreover, when the pH is 8 or more, the cathode water is not available. Therefore, the pH cannot exceed 8 even if it is high. This also corresponds to the discharge water having a pH of 8.6 or less based on the water quality.

The mixing tank 84 is configured to be removable, and after the water is drained, the user takes out the mixing tank 84 and pours out the mixed water therein. Further,since the mixed water contains much hypochlorous acid and has a pH close to neutral, it can be used for sterilization to prevent the putrefaction of the waste. The on-off valve 83 is a 3-way valve driven by a motor (not shown), and functions to switch between a state of closing both inlets on the cathode water side and a state of opening 3 sides of both inlets and outlets on the cathode water side and the anode water side by a rotation angle.

Reference numeral 85 denotes a control unit constituted by an operation panel 86, a control circuit 87, a back voltage unit 88, and a dc power supply 89.

The control means 85 is configured to input a signal of the container detection means 90 for detecting the presence of the electrolytic water container 80 to the control circuit 87, and the container is electrolyzed by the container detection means 90 only at a position facing the discharge port 79.

The control means 85 feeds a predetermined amount of raw material water (electrolyzed water) into the electrolytic bath 50, supplies saturated brine to the anode chamber 54 by the pulse pump 71 at a predetermined electrolyte concentration, supplies a predetermined current between the anode 56 and the cathode 57 for a predetermined energization time, and automatically stops energization after the energization time when all electrolyzed water produced in the cathode chamber 55 becomes alkaline water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5.

After stopping the energization of the anode 56 and the cathode 57, the control means 85 automatically operates the pump of the discharge means 77 to automatically feed the alkaline water having a ph of 11.5 to 12.5 from the cathode chamber 55 to the electrolytic water tank 80, and then stops the operation, and then gives an alarm by a display lamp 100 (fig. 2) or a warning generating part such as a buzzer or the like.

The control means 85 controls the electrolysis operation based on the detection values of the water level sensors A91 and B92 of the water level detection means of the electrolytic bath 50. That is, when the water level is not at the water level sensor B92 at the start of the electrolysis operation, the supply of the raw material water is determined to be insufficient, and the electrolysis is stopped. If the water level is above the water level sensor a91, the water is excessively supplied, and electrolysis is also stopped. That is, the electrolysis is controlled to be operated when the water level is at the water level sensor B92 and not at the a 91.

The control means 85 inputs signals from a mixing tank detection means 93 for detecting the presence of the mixing tank 84 and a mixing detection means 94 for detecting the full level of the mixed water in the mixing tank 84 to the control circuit 87, and controls the on/off valve 83 not to be opened while giving an alarm by a warning means such as a display lamp, a chime, or a buzzer when it is judged that the mixing tank 84 is absent or the mixed water is full. Both the detection mechanisms 93 and 94 are constituted by reed contact switches that sense the magnetism of a magnet 97 provided on the float 96.

The control means 85 is provided with a lid opening/closing detection means 98 for detecting the closing of the lid 52 of the electrolytic bath 50, and controls the operation not to start the electrolysis when the lid is opened.

Further, a lid closing holding mechanism 99 is provided for holding the closing of the electrolytic cell lid 52. The lid closure holding mechanism 99 is constituted by a solenoid, and functions to hold the lid closed from the start of electrolysis to a predetermined time by the control circuit 87. That is, the cover 52 is not opened during the electrolysis or after the electrolysis in consideration of the time when the insideof the electrolytic bath 50 is filled with chlorine gas. This prevents the user from being bothered by the chlorine gas acting on the cover 52 without paying attention to the opening of the cover, and from corroding the surrounding metal due to the leakage of the chlorine gas.

The control means 85 includes a voltage detection circuit (not shown) for detecting the voltage of the dc power supply 89, and electrolyte detection means 87A for determining the amount of salt added to the anode chamber 54 from the voltage value. When salt is added to the anode chamber 54, the electric conductivity between the anode 56 and the cathode 57 increases in proportion to the amount of salt added. Therefore, when a constant current is applied between the electrodes, the conductivity as a potential difference can be obtained, and the amount of salt added can be estimated.

The control means 85 is provided with a nonvolatile memory (not shown) for storing the cumulative time of the 1 st energization time to the anode 56 and the cathode 57, and when the 1 st energization cumulative time exceeds the 1 st predetermined time, the electrolytic bath washing lamp 113 is turned on to urge the user to wash the inner surface of the electrolytic bath 50. Here, the washing means washing by causing a scale component film attached to the cathode 57 and the diaphragm 53 or the inner wall of the electrolytic bath 50 to fall, and when calcium or magnesium not contained in the raw material such as tap water is precipitated and attached to the cathode 57 and the diaphragm 53, the electrolytic efficiency is lowered, the pH of the electrolytic water in the cathode chamber 55 cannot be set to 11.5 or more, or the sodium ion concentration cannot be sufficiently increased, and the washing ability of the electrolytic water cannot be maintained. As a method for removing such scale, citric acid is generally added to dissolve the scale components. In this example, washing with citric acid is also proposed. When washing is performed, the 1 st erase switch (not shown) is pressed to perform the 1 st power-on accumulated time washing.

The control means 85 is provided with a nonvolatile memory (not shown) for storing the cumulative time of the 2 nd energization time to the anode 56 and the cathode 57, and when the 2 nd energization cumulative time exceeds the 2 nd predetermined time, the cell washing lamp 113 is turned off to urge the replacement of the anode 56, the cathode 57, and the separator 53. The anode 56, the cathode 57 and the separator 53 have a certain life, and are consumed and deteriorated to fail to maintain the original performance by electrolysis for a long time. The lifetime is set as 2 nd predetermined time, and the cathode water generated by electrolysis can be maintained at high washing capacity by replacing the cathode water with the water having reached the lifetime. When such replacement is performed, the 2 nd cancellation switch (not shown) is pressed to clear the 2 nd energization cumulative time.

The cumulative time of energization is used for determining the bath washing or the life of the anode 56, cathode 57 and separator 53, but the cumulative time may be determined by multiplying the electrolysis time by the number of times of electrolysis for each fixed electrolysis time.

Reference numeral 49 denotes an electrolyzed water forming apparatus (fig. 4) in which the above-described constituent elements are integrally incorporated, and as shown in the drawing, an electrolyzed water container 80 is taken out from a main body 49, and a spray mechanism 120 is attached thereto. The spray mechanism 120 may be integrally formed with the electrolytic water container 80. Because of the integral structure, the utility model can be conveniently used even if the utility model is arranged in a home or an office.

In the above-described configuration, the operation and action thereof are explained as follows.

Before electrolysis, the cover 52 of the electrolytic cell 50 is opened, and the raw material water is added to a predetermined water level. At this time, the raw material water is poured into the liquid holding mechanism 62 to flow into the electrolytic bath 50 while the raw material water is soaked in the liquid holding mechanism 62. Then, the supply of the raw material water is stopped after the predetermined water level is reached, and the raw material water retained in the retention part 64 on the upper surface of the liquid holding mechanism 62 gradually permeates into the liquid holding mechanism 62. Further, since the raw material water discharged from the liquid holding mechanism 62 is retained in the liquid retaining section 65 and the liquid holding mechanism 62 is immersed in the raw material water, the liquid holding mechanism 62 can constantly hold the raw material water.

Then, the electrolytic cell lid 52 is closed, the power switch 102 of the operation panel 86 is pressed, the electrolytic switch 103 is turned on, the power lamp 104 and the electrolytic lamp 105 are turned on, and the electrolysis operation is started. At this time, if the electrolytic bath lid 52 is not closed, the lid switch detection means 98 is actuated and detected, and the lid closing lamp 106 is turned on, and the start of electrolysis is suspended to urge the user to close the lid. Therefore, the diffusion of harmful gases such as chlorine generated during electrolysis to the outside of the electrolytic bath 50 is avoided, and the user is not given an uncomfortable feeling. Then, the lid is closed, the lamp 106 is turned off, and the electrolytic operation is started. Then, when the electrolysis is started, the lid closure holding mechanism 99 is operated until the electrolytic water is filled to hold the lid closed.

When the electrolytic water tank 80 is not mounted at the predetermined position, the tank detection means 90 detects that the tank mounting lamp 107 of the operation panel 86 is turned on, thereby giving a warning that the mounting of the electrolytic water tank 80 is forgotten and suspending the start of electrolysis. Thus, the electrolytic water cannot be discharged to the outside of the container in the event of an erroneous operation. Then, when the electrolytic water container 80 is set, the container set lamp 107 is turned off to start the electrolysis operation.

When the mixing tank 84 is not mounted at the predetermined position, the mixing tank detection means 93 detects that the drain tank mounting lamp 108 is turned on, and the user is warned that the mixing tank 84 is not mounted, thereby urging the mounting of the mixing tank 84. At this time, since there is no problem with electrolysis, the electrolysis operation is started. When the mixing tank 84 is installed but the mixed water is not poured and left in the previous time, the mixed water detecting means 94 detects that the mixed water is full, and the full water discharge lamp 109 is turned on to prompt the user to discharge the mixed water. However, when the mixed water in the mixing tank 84 is discharged to an empty state at the end of the electrolysis operation, the on-off valve 83 is not opened until the mixed water is properly set to a predetermined position. In the normal state, the lamps 108 and 109 are turned off, and the on-off valve 83 is opened to flow the anode water and the cathode water to the mixing tank 84.

If the raw water level in the electrolytic bath 50 is insufficient and the raw water level does not reach the water level sensor B92, the water feed lamp 110 is turned on to warn of the water supply shortage and to suspend the start of electrolysis. On the other hand, when the raw material water is excessively added to reach the waterlevel sensor a91, the excessive water supply lamp 111 is turned on to suspend the start of electrolysis. Then, the electrolysis operation was started when the raw material water level was between the water level sensors a91 and B92. For example, when electrolysis is performed at a low water level, a large current locally flows through the anode 56 and the cathode 57, and the electrode life is deteriorated. On the other hand, when electrolysis is performed at a water level exceeding the upper end of the diaphragm 53, the anode water and the cathode water are mixed, and the washing property of the cathode water is not obtained. In addition, such water level deviation affects the pH value and sodium ion concentration of the produced cathode water, and stable performance cannot be obtained. The control based on the detection values of the water level sensors a91 and B92 can eliminate such problems and achieve stable electrolysis.

Next, the electrolysis operation will be described with reference to fig. 3. When the electrolysis switch 102 is activated, the pulse valve 71 is first actuated for a predetermined time, and the raw material water in the anode chamber 54 is sent to the electrolyte tank 66 through the introduction pipe 72 and the check valve 75B. The electrolyte tank 66 is configured in a sealed state, and by introducing the raw material water, a saturated saline solution is supplied into the anode chamber 54 by a predetermined amount through the electrolyte bed 68, the liquid supply path 73, and the check valve 75A from the electrolyte supply port 74. The saturated saline solution has a higher specific gravity than the raw material water in the anode chamber 54, and therefore, is retained at the bottom of the anode chamber 54, and forms an electrolyte retention portion at the bottom.

Then, the control circuit 87 is operated to apply a voltage between the anode 56 and the cathode 57, thereby starting electrolysis. At this time, the DC powersupply 89 supplies a constant current to generate a constant amount of electrolyzed water. The back voltage mechanism 88 is set to a normal polarity for electrolysis, and the anode 56 is a positive electrode, and the cathode 57 is a negative electrode.

At this time, the electrolyte detection means 87A detects the amount of salt supplied by the voltage between the electrodes at the start of electrolysis, and when it is judged that the amount is less than the predetermined amount, the pulse pump 71 is driven again for a predetermined time, and the operation is repeated until the electrolyte detection means 87A reaches the predetermined value for the amount of salt supplied. However, if the amount of electrolysis does not reach the predetermined value even after the electrolysis is repeated a plurality of times (for example, 5 times), the salt replenishment lamp 112 is turned on to interrupt the electrolysis. In this case, the salt 69 in the electrolyte tank 66 may be empty or the pulse pump 71 may be out of order.

Then, when the electrolysis is normally started, the reaction of chemical formula 1 occurs in the anode chamber 54 during the electrolysis for a predetermined time Le of the polarity, and acidic water is generated.

At this time, electricity is applied to the surfaces of the anodes 56 and 57, and electrolytic gas is generated. Oxygen and chlorine are generated on the surface of the anode 56, and a circulation flow is formed between the surface of the anode 56 and the diaphragm 53 by the convection effect of the rising gas. Then, the high-concentration brine in the electrolyte retention portion at the bottom of the anode chamber 54 is mixed with the raw water by the conduction of the circulating flow 31, and flows into between the anode 56 and the diaphragm 53. Therefore, after the start of electrolysis, the saline solution having a concentration higher than the total saline concentration in the anode chamber 54 flows between the anode 56 and the diaphragm 53, and the effect of improving the electrolysis efficiency is achieved.

Chemical formula 1

On the other hand, the reaction of chemical formula 2 occurs in the cathode chamber 55 due to the neutralization of hydroxyl OH^-，Na⁺The alkaline water is generated by the movement of the diaphragm 21.

Chemical formula 2

Since a high-concentration saline solution is supplied between the anode 56 of the anode chamber 54 and the diaphragm 53, alkaline water having a high reducing power of pH11.5 to 12.5 can be obtained in a short time. That is, when a voltage is applied between the anode 56 and the cathode 57, ions contained in the electrolyzed water move through the diaphragm 53 by electrically attracting the anode/cathode 56, 57 and ions of opposite polarity. Therefore, the Na ions contained in the common salt introduced into the anode chamber 54 immediately move to the cathode chamber 55 through the diaphragm 53. As a result, alkaline water having a high pH value can be obtained in a short time. According to the experiment, 500CC water was electrolyzed at 1.5A for 10 minutes to obtain alkaline water having pH12. The alkaline water having a high sodium ion concentrationhas saponification and emulsification effects on oils and fats and hydrolysis effects on proteins, and can be used as washing water for surfaces of furniture, building materials for houses, electric appliances, and the like.

In addition, the saline solution is supplied only to the anode chamber 54, and chloride ions Cl are generated in the cathode chamber 55^-And alkaline water with low concentration. Cl^-Since this is a factor that impairs the cleaning ability, alkaline water having high cleaning ability can be generated by supplying the salt solution only to the anode chamber 55.

After the alkaline water produced in cathode chamber 55 is electrolyzed for a predetermined time Le, discharge mechanism 77 is driven at a predetermined time to, and the alkaline water is injected into electrolyzed water container 80 through cathode water outlet 61, discharge pipe 78 and discharge port 79. Then, the alkaline water in the upper part is taken out from the mid-water level part 60. This prevents the permeation and mixing of acidic water and alkaline water through the diaphragm 53, thereby preventing the pH from being lowered. As shown in fig. 4, the electrolytic water tank 80 is provided with a spray mechanism 120, and can be used by spraying directly onto a surface to be washed.

Then, the control circuit 87 operates the reverse voltage mechanism 88 to apply a reverse polarity between the anode 56 and the cathode 57, that is, a negative voltage is applied to the anode 56 side and a positive voltage is applied to the cathode 57 side to perform electrolysis. The reverse voltage is applied for a predetermined time tr.

At this time, the residual water in the water level section 60 in the cathode chamber 55 and the cathode water in the anode chamber 54 are electrolyzed in opposite polarity, the pH of the anode water rises, and the pH of the cathode water falls. I.e. both are near neutral.

As shown in FIG. 5, since the anode water produced by adding common salt to the anode chamber 54 contains a large amount of available chlorine and the available chlorine in the solution is present in the form of chlorine gas when the pH is low, chlorine gas is released into the air. Therefore, the discharge of chlorine gas can be suppressed by adjusting the pH of the anode water to at least 3, preferably at least 5. When the pH of the anode water becomes high, the pH of the cathode water decreases, but the cathode water contains almost no available chlorine, and almost no chlorine gas is released even if the pH is 3 or less. Therefore, applying such a counter potential for a sufficiently long time can have good results.

Further, by applying such a counter potential, scale components that have been eluted onto the surface of the cathode 57 by the previous electrolysis are oxidized and washed. That is, although various ions, particularly cations such as calcium ions and magnesium ions contained in the raw water react with hydroxide ions in the cathode chamber 55 to form calcium hydroxide or magnesium hydroxide, and when the solubility product is exceeded, the calcium hydroxide or magnesium hydroxide precipitates on the surface of the cathode 57 or the separator 53, which becomes a factor of hindering the electrolysis current, by performing such reverse electrolysis operation for a predetermined time, the washing can be favorably performed to decompose the scale component, and the electrode can have a long life.

Then, at the end of the application of the reverse potential, the on-off valve 83 is opened for a predetermined time td, and the anode water and the cathode water are discharged into the mixing tank 84 and mixed. The user of the mixing water stored in the mixing tank 84 removes the mixing tank 84 from the main body 49 and pours it out, and returns the empty mixing tank 84 to the main body 49 to complete a series of operations.

As described above, the electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to the present embodiment comprises an electrolytic cell 50 and a control means 85, wherein the electrolytic cell 50 has a permeable ion diaphragm 53 disposed between an anode 56 and a cathode 57, and an anode chamber 54 and a cathode chamber 55 are formed by the diaphragm 53; the control means 85 feeds electrolyzed water to the anode chamber 54 and the anode chamber 55, supplies electrolyte 69 of a higher concentration than that in the same anode chamber 54 to at least the anode chamber 54, and stops the energization between the anode 56 and the cathode 57 in a state where the electrolyzed water produced in the anode chamber 54 is alkaline at pH11.5-12.5 when the electrolyzed water is mixed with the electrolyzed water and electrolyzed while retaining the electrolyte 69 of a higher concentration supplied to the anode chamber 54 at the bottom of the anode chamber 54 or circulating a part of the electrolyzed water in the anode chamber 54. Therefore, when electrolyzing electrolyzed water, the electrolyte in a state of staying at the bottom of the anode chamber 54 along with the circulating current in the anode chamber 54 by electrolysis is introduced between the anode 56 and the diaphragm 53, and sodium ions mainly move to the cathode chamber by passing through the ionic diaphragm 53. Then, alkaline electrolyzed water having a high sodium ion concentration and a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 is formed in the cathode chamber 55. The electrolyzed water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 thus produced has a saponification or emulsification effect on fats and oils and a hydrolysis effect on proteins, and is safe and excellent in cleaning ability and usable as a cleaning water for furniture, surfaces of building materials, and the like.

Fig. 6 shows the results of evaluating the washing ability of the electrolyzed water produced by the electrolyzed water production apparatus of this example, and the pH was changed by changing the salt supply amount, the electrolysis time, and the electrolysis current of the electrolyzed water in this test. From this cleaning ability evaluation test, the result that the cleaning ability was actually felt when the pH of the electrolyzed water was 11.5 or more, but no effective result was obtained when the pH was less than 11.2. In addition, the cleaning ability evaluation test method is a method of quantitatively evaluating the cleaning rate by spraying a predetermined amount of electrolytic water on a test piece having standard contaminants containing oil on a commercially available tile, applying a predetermined load to a wiping paper after a predetermined time to slide and wipe it, and measuring the color difference between a new tile and the tile after wiping at a predetermined position by a color difference meter. The cleaning rate of 100% means that the tile can be cleaned to a new level, and 0% means that the dirt is hardly removed. The series of tests was carried out at ambient temperature (15-25 ℃).

Table 1 shows the results of confirmation tests performed by the detection department on various safety items of the electrolyzed water produced by the electrolyzed water production apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

TABLE 1

The test for evaluating safety was carried out using rabbits and mice, and no change was observed at ○, while slight irritation was observed at △ in the column of the other symbol, and no test was carried out at the column of the other symbol, and according to the test result of safety evaluation, no change was observed in the electrolyzed water at pH12.5 in the test, and in the test for stimulating the ocular mucosa, the result of judgment that slight change was observed was reported by a test method for confirming the change in cornea, iris and conjunctiva by dropping the electrolyzed water at pH12.8 in the eyes of rabbits.

From the results of the above-mentioned washing ability evaluation test and safety test, it was confirmed that the alkaline electrolyzed water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 was excellent in washing ability and safe, whereas the electrolyzed water having a pH of less than 11.5 was not excellent in washing ability and the electrolyzed water having a pH of more than 12.5 was not safe.

Then, the washing performance of cathode water having different sodium ion concentrations of electrolyzed water produced by varying the salt supply amount and the electrolysis time was determined in the same manner as described above. In this example, since the anode chamber 54 is electrolyzed by adding the electrolyte 69, the sodium ion concentration in the cathode chamber 55 is increased in proportion to the salt supply amount, the electrolysis time, and the electric power current. As shown in FIG. 7, the relationship between the sodium ion concentration and the washing rate was not considered to be excellent since the washing rate was lowered when the sodium ion concentration was 150ppm or less or 700ppm or more, although the sodium ion concentration had a peak around 300 ppm. Sodium ions hydrolyze fat and oil components, or become components which are easily dissolved in water such as glycerin or fatty acids, or react with fatty acids to produce fatty acid soaps, or the like, to improve detergency. Therefore, when sodium ions are reduced, the washing ability is reduced. The reason why the cleaning rate can have a peak is that sodium ions move together with water when moving from the anode chamber 54 to the cathode chamber 55 by electrolysis, and a part of chloride ions which hinder the cleaning factor also move. Therefore, it was confirmed that the electrolytic water cleaning ability was excellent at a sodium ion concentration of 150ppm to 700 ppm. Further, if the sodium ion concentration is too high, damage may occur to the materials such as furniture and floors, which is not preferable. In addition, it was confirmed through experiments that even if the cathode water was adjusted to a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 and the sodium ion concentration was in the range from 150 to 700ppm, the washing ability was low with the electrolyzed water having a pH cut-off to 11.5.

In the present example, although common salt was used as the electrolyte, the same effect was obtained by using potassium chloride instead of sodium chloride. That is, potassium ions have the same washing action as sodium ions.

Next, the washing performance of the cathode water will be described by changing the difference between the salt supply amount and the chloride ion concentration of the electrolyzed water produced by the electrolysis time. The electrolytic chloride ions also migrate from the anode chamber 54 to the cathode chamber 55, and FIG. 8 shows the results of experiments including the relationship between the chloride ion concentration and the washing efficiency when common salt was supplied to the cathode chamber 55, and the pH of the cathode water here was from 12.0 to 12.2. As shown in the figure, when the chloride ion concentration of cathode water exceeds 2000ppm, the cleaning efficiency is lowered, and the cleaning ability is not said to be excellent. However, some ppm of chloride ions are originally contained in raw water used for ordinary tap water and the like. Even if salt is added to only the anode chamber to obtain cathode water having a pH of 11.5 or more, chlorine ions are mixed into the cathode chamber in a large amount, and therefore, a chlorine ion level of 50ppm is unavoidable. Further, if the chloride ion concentration is intentionally reduced to 50ppm or less, there are problems such as lowering of the conductivity of the raw water to increase the power consumption, necessity of using ion-exchanged water as the raw water, and necessity of dechlorinating the electrolyzed water. Further, the inventors' experiments also confirmed that even if the chloride ion content is 50ppm or less, there is no significant difference in the washing ability when the pH is 11.5 or more. Therefore, it was confirmed that the electrolyzed water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 and a chloride ion concentration of 50 to 2000ppm had an excellent washing ability. The mechanism of inhibiting washing by chloride ions is not clear, but it is considered that hydrolysis or saponification of sodium ions may be inhibited. Therefore, it is found that it is preferable to add the electrolyte salt only to the anode chamber 54 and to add the electrolyte salt to the cathode chamber 55 in a small amount day.

In addition, in the case of electrolysis performed by adding common salt only to the anode chamber 54 in this example, the chloride ion concentration of cathode water was 500ppm or less, and higher washing performance was obtained.

Next, the washing ability of cathode water having different ratios of the chloride ion concentration to sodium ions of the electrolyzed water produced by changing the amount of the salt supplied to the anode chamber 54, the amount of the salt supplied to the cathode chamber 55, and the electrolysis time will be described. FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the ratio of the chloride ion concentration to the sodium ion concentration (hereinafter referred to as the ion ratio) and the washing rate. The pH value of cathode water is 12.0-12.2. As shown in the figure, the cleaning efficiency was drastically lowered at an ion ratio of 0.5 or less, and it could not be said that the cleaning ability was excellent. From this, it was confirmed that the electrolyzed water having a pH value of 11.5 to 12.5 and an ion ratio of0.5 or more had an excellent washing ability. Further, the ion ratio is preferably 1.0 or more in order to obtain higher washing ability.

From the above results, it is understood that cathode water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 and a chloride ion concentration of 2000ppm or less and an ion ratio of 0.5 or more interacts with various factors to have a more excellent washing ability. The cathode water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 and a sodium ion concentration of 150-700ppm and an ion ratio of 0.5 or more was also excellent in the cleaning ability.

The ion-permeable membrane 53 is a cation membrane in which cations such as sodium ions and potassium ions permeate from the anode chamber 54 to the cathode chamber 55 and anions such as chloride ions permeate therethrough, and is advantageous for producing electrolyzed water having excellent cleaning ability.

In the electrolytic cell 50 of the present embodiment, the raw material water of water supplied from the water supply port 51 is first supplied to the anode chamber 54, and the water overflowing the raw material water is poured into the cathode chamber 55, so that the water level in the anode chamber 54 is higher than the water level in the cathode chamber 55.

Here, fig. 10 shows the electrolysis performance of cathode water by the difference in water level between anode water and cathode water when salt is added to the anode chamber 54 and electrolysis is performed. This figure shows the pH value and sodium ion concentration of cathode water when electrolysis is performed while changing the water level of anode water with the amount of cathode water, salt concentration, electrolysis current, and electrolysis time being constant. As can be seen from the figure, the pH value is higher when the water level difference is the same or when the water level of the anode water is high than that of the cathode water,and the movement of sodium ions is promoted. Therefore, alkaline water having a high pH can be efficiently produced with a small amount of electrolyte. In addition, by setting the water head, the anode water is mixed into the cathode water to prevent the deterioration of the properties of the electrolyzed water.

In the electrolyzed water forming apparatus of this embodiment, since the pH12 alkaline water can be obtained by electrolyzing water of about 500CC at 1.5A for 10 minutes, the control means 85 automatically stops the energization after the energization of the anode 56 and the cathode 57 is started for 10 minutes.

In this way, the control means 85 determines and controls the electrolyzed water to be the alkaline water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 by using at least the energization time from the start of energization between the anode 56 and the cathode 57 to the stop of energization, and thus, it is not necessary to provide a special pH sensor, and therefore, it is simple and inexpensive in structure, is not affected by the change in the characteristics of the pH sensor, and can be stably used for a long period of time without maintenance of the pH sensor.

Further, by using an electrolyte containing sodium or potassium as the electrolyte 69 and moving sodium ions or potassium ions, the ion concentration between the anode 56 and the cathode 57 is increased, so that an electric current can easily flow between the anode 56 and the cathode 57, and alkaline water having a high pH can be efficiently obtained in a short time. The alkaline water having a high pH value has high washing ability and can be used as a safe washing water for the skin such as hands. In particular, common people can easily use the electrolyte 69 made of common salt, and the electrolyte can be easily used even in homes and offices.

In addition, when at least one of amino acid salts, glutamic acid salts, vitamin salts, ascorbic acid salts, organic acid salts, nucleic acid salts, and the like is used as the electrolyte 69, since chlorine ions that can be present in the liquid are extremely small and also a substance that is highly safe to humans, safety can be maintained, and since the amount of chlorine gas generated on the anode 56 side during electrolysis is small, generation of chlorine gas on the anode 56 side during electrolysis can be suppressed. At the same time, since the diaphragm 53 is provided and the electrolyte 69 is added to the anode chamber 56, the electrolytic water generated on the cathode 57 side does not mix with the electrolytic water generated on the anode 56 side, and mixing of organic substances into the cathode 57 side is suppressed, and putrefaction is suppressed, and after use, no crystal remains, and no wiping is required, and unpleasant feeling in use can be reduced.

In addition, when ascorbate or organic acid salt nucleate is used, chlorine gas can be removed even if chlorine gas is generated, so that the chlorine gas concentration in the atmosphere can be kept low. The organic acid is a weak electrolyte containing carboxylic acid, and the pH of the anode water is not lower than that when salt is used as the electrolyte. In addition, the produced substance is almost amino acid, and the safety is high if nucleic acid salt is used.

Example 2

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an electrolytic water producing apparatus according to example 2 of the present invention. The same reference numerals are used for the same components as those of the electrolyzed water forming apparatus of example 1, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 11, an electrolyte retention part 130 for retaining the saline solution at the bottom of the anode chamber 54 of the electrolytic cell 50 and an interface 131 between the high-concentration saline solution and the raw material are formed.

The electrolyte is a saturated saline solution supplied from the electrolyte tank 66, and when a predetermined amount of the saturated saline solution is supplied to the raw material water in the anode chamber 54, the saline solution sinks to the bottom of the anode chamber 54 due to a difference in specific gravity. Then, the electrolyte is retained in the electrolyte retaining portion 130. At this time, the saturated saline solution is slightly diluted, but the saline solution with a high concentration is maintained, and an interface 131 between the saline solution and the raw material water is formed.

An electrolyte guide 133 is provided below the anode 56 to guide the saline solution in the electrolyte retention portion 130 to the facing portion 132 of the anode 56 and the separator 53.

The electrolyte guiding part 133 is provided at a position where its lower end 134 enters the electrolyte retaining part 130, and has a gap with the bottom of the anode chamber 54. Further, the anode 56 is provided in close contact with the back surface 135 side thereof.

When electrolysis is started with this structure, oxygen and chlorine gas are generated on the surface of the anode 56 opposite to the diaphragm 53, and a circulating flow shown by a dotted line is generated as the electrolytic gas rises. The circulating flow guides the flow of the high-concentration saline solution in the electrolyte retention section 130, so that the high-concentration saline solution is mixed with the raw water and flows between the anode 56 and the diaphragm 53, and the saline concentration at this time is maintained in a state of being richer than the total saline concentration in the anode chamber 54. Then, as the electrolysis proceeds, the high-concentration salt solution in the electrolyte retention section 130 is completely mixed with the raw material water and homogenized. In this way, the effect is improved by the electrolysis of the high-concentration common salt at the initial stage of the electrolysis. Then, since the supplied salt is completely mixed, the salt does not remain without electrolysis, and the utilization rate of the salt is high. Therefore, the high-pH alkaline water as the target can be obtained quickly and with a small amount of electric power, and electrolysis can be efficiently performed with a small amount of common salt.

Example 3

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an electrolytic cell of an electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to example 3 of the present invention. The same components as those of the electrolytic water generating apparatuses of embodiments 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

In fig. 12, inclined surface a136 and inclined surface B137 are provided at the bottom of anode chamber 54 of electrolytic cell 50, and electrolyte retention portion 138 for retaining electrolyte saline solution is formed. The electrolyte is a saturated brine supplied from electrolyte tank 66, and due to its difference in specific gravity, the electrolyte settles to the bottom of anode chamber 54, is introduced from inclined surface a136 and inclined surface B137, and is accumulated in electrolyte accumulation section 138. At this time, the saturated saline solution is slightly diluted but still maintains a high concentration of saline solution, and forms an interface 139 between the saline solution and the raw material water.

The anode 56 is provided at a position where its lower end 140 enters the electrolyte retention part 138 below the interface 139 of the saline solution, and is provided with a gap 141 with the bottom of the anode chamber 54, forming an electrolyte guide part.

When electrolysis was started with this configuration, alkaline water having a high pH as the target product could be produced quickly with a small amount of electric power, and electrolysis could be efficiently performed with a small amount of common salt, in the same manner as in example 2. In addition, since the electrolyte guide portion can be formed in accordance with the shape of the bottom of the anode chamber 54 and the installation length of the anode 56, the configuration is simple.

As described above, according to the electrolyzed water of the types 1 to 6 and the electrolyzed water production apparatus of the types 1 to 44 of the present invention, it is possible to provide electrolyzed water and an electrolyzed water production apparatus thereof which are simple and compact in structure, can be easily installed in a home or office for use, and are excellent in washing ability and safe.

Claims

1. An electrolyzed water production apparatus comprising an electrolytic cell having an anode chamber and a cathode chamber formed by a diaphragm provided between an anode and a cathode, a water feed port for feeding electrolyzed water to the anode chamber and the cathode chamber, an electrolyte feed mechanism for feeding an electrolyte having a higher concentration than that of the electrolyte to be electrolyzed in the anode chamber to the anode chamber, and a control mechanism for applying a voltage to the anode and the cathode to electrolyze water, wherein the electrolyzed water is electrolyzed while being mixed with electrolyzed water while circulating a part of the electrolyte fed to the anode chamber in a state where the electrolyte is retained at the bottom of the anode chamber; the electrolyte supply mechanism is composed of an electrolyte tank containing electrolyte with higher concentrationthan that of the electrolyte electrolyzed in the anode chamber and a supply mechanism for supplying the electrolyte to the anode chamber, and the electrolyte supply mechanism is also provided with a supply mechanism for supplying electrolyzed water of the electrolytic cell to the electrolyte tank, and the electrolytic solution in the electrolyte tank is supplied to the electrolytic cell by the supply pressure of the supply mechanism.

2. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyzed water formed by electrolysis is alkaline water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 and a chloride ion concentration of 50 to 2000 ppm.

3. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the electrolyzed water formed by the electrolysis is alkaline water having a pH of 11.5-12.5 and a sodium ion concentration of 150-700 ppm.

4. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyzed water formed by electrolysis is alkaline water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 and a ratio of a sodium ion or potassium ion concentration to a chloride ion concentration of 0.5 or more.

5. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyzed water formed by electrolysis is alkaline water having a chloride ion concentration of 2000ppm or less.

6. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the electrolyzed water formed by electrolysis is alkaline water having a sodium ion or potassium ion concentration of 150-.

7.The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a discharge mechanism for taking out cathode water formed in the cathode chamber and an electrolyzed water tank for receiving water from the discharge mechanism, wherein the control mechanism drives the discharge mechanism to store cathode water in the electrolyzed water tank after completion of electrolysis, and the various mechanisms are incorporated in a main body constituting the electrolyzed water forming apparatus, and the electrolyzed water tank is removable from the main body and the spray mechanism is attachable.

8. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the electrolyzed water in the cathode chamber to be alkaline water having a pH of 11.5 to 12.5 during the energization period from the start of energization between the anode and the cathode to the stop of energization.

9. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a connection port to the electrolyte tank of the electrolytic cell is provided above a liquid level of the electrolyte tank.

10. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a connection port connected to an electrolyte tank of the electrolysis vessel and a connection port connected to a supply mechanism of the electrolysis vessel are provided at the same height, respectively.

11. An electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that a check valve for preventing reverse flow of electrolyzed water is provided between the electrolyte tank and the electrolytic cell.

12. An electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein a check valve for preventing reverse flow of electrolyzed water is provided between the electrolyte tank and the supply mechanism.

13. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein a part or the whole of the electrolytic tank is made of a transparent or translucent container so that the inside thereof can be seen and confirmed, and the solid electrolyte is stored.

14. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyte is an electrolyte containing sodium or potassium.

15. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrolyte is composed of at least one of salts, amino acid salts, glutamic acid salts, vitamin salts, ascorbic acid salts, organic acid salts, nucleic acid salts, and the like.

16. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the diaphragm is formed as a cation exchange membrane.

17. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cathode chamber has a larger internal volume than the anode chamber.

18. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein a part or the whole of the electrolytic cell is formed as a transparent or translucent container so that the inside thereof can be seen and confirmed from the outside of the electrolyzed water forming apparatus.

19. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a water level of the anode chamber and a water level of the cathode chamber of the water to be electrolyzed are made the same or higher.

20. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an electrolyte retention section for retaining the electrolyte is formed in the bottom of the electrolytic cell, and an electrolyte guide means for guiding the electrolyte to a portion of the anode opposite to the diaphragm is provided, and the electrolyte retention section is formed so as to incline the bottom of the electrolytic cell, and the electrolyte guide means is formed so that the lower end of the anode has a gap in the bottom of the electrolytic cell and can enter the electrolyte retention section.

21. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge means is capable of taking out a part of the cathode water formed in the cathode chamber.

22. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising container detection means for detecting the presence of the electrolyzed water container, wherein the detection means restricts the electrolysis operation and prohibits the drive of the discharge means when the container is not detected.

23. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a liquid holding mechanism that holds a liquid that dissolves a harmful gas produced by the electrolytic cell, the liquid holding mechanism holding the electrolyzed water in the fine voids and bringing the harmful gas into contact with the electrolyzed water; and the liquid holding mechanism is constituted by a chlorine gas resistant material of a continuous foam.

24. An electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 23, characterized in that the liquid holding mechanism is constituted detachably.

25. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a mixing mechanism for mixing a part of the cathode water formed in the cathode chamber with the anode water formed in the anode chamber.

26. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the mixing means is constituted by a mixing tank and an on-off valve below the electrolysis tank.

27. An apparatus for generating electrolyzed water according to claim 26, wherein the mixing tank is detachably attached to the main body of the apparatus for generating electrolyzed water, and a mixing tank detecting means for detecting the presence of the mixing tank is provided, and when the detecting means does not detect the mixing tank, the operation of the on-off valve is restricted.

28. An electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising mixed water detection means for detecting the amount of water in the mixing tank, wherein the on-off valve is controlled based on a value detected by the mixed water detection means.

29. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the cathode water amount is set so that the pH of the water to be mixed is in a range of 3 to 8 by the mixing means.

30. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a counter voltage mechanism for applying a counter potential to the anode and the cathode is provided.

31. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the counter voltage applying means raises the pH of the anode water to 3 or more.

32. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lid for opening and closing a water feed port of the electrolytic cell and a lid closure holding mechanism for holding the lid closed, wherein the lid closure holding mechanism is kept closed for a predetermined period from the start of electrolysis.

33. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 32, further comprising cover opening/closing detection means for detecting an opening/closing cover, wherein electrolysis is performed in accordance with a detection operation of the cover opening/closing detection means.

34. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising electrolyte detection means for detecting the concentration of the electrolyte in the electrolytic cell, and wherein the electrolysis condition is controlled based on a value detected by the electrolyte detection means.

35. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the electrolyte is supplied before a value detected by the electrolyte detecting means reaches a predetermined value.

36. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 34, wherein electrolysis is performed when a detection value of the electrolyte detection means is within a predetermined range.

37. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the electrolyte detection means detects the voltage or the current between the anode and the cathode.

38. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising water amount detection means for detecting an amount of electrolyzed water in the electrolytic bath, wherein the electrolysis operation is controlled based on a detection value of the water amount detection means.

39. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 38, wherein electrolysis is prohibited if a value detected by the water amount detection means deviates from a predetermined range.

40. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an alarm is issued when an accumulated time or the number of energization times to the anode and the cathode exceeds a prescribed time or a prescribed number of times.

41. The electrolyzed water forming apparatus according to claim 40, wherein the energization cumulative time is individually cumulatively calculated for washing the electrolyzer and for replacing the electrodes and the separators, and an alarm is given.