JP2002028653A - Electrolytic water feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase a generation quantity of electrolytic water and also to maintain the water quality and to prolong the service life of an electrode, in an electrolytic water feeder for electrolyzing water and generating electrolytic water such as acidic water and alkaline water. SOLUTION: Plural electrolytic baths 8 are provided in one electrolytic water feeding device, and electrolytic water generated by these baths is stored in an electrolytic water tank 9 and is used. By operating plural electrolytic baths 8 in parallel, a large amount of water is generated and by generating electrolytic water and storing it in the electrolytic tank 9 at a nonuse time of electrolytic water, this device can permit the use of a large amount of water at a time. When a water feed quantity of city water becomes short due to lowering in water pressure or the like, the number of operating electrolytic baths 8 is decreased, and the stipulated water quality is obtained by holding a water quantity for one of the electrolytic baths 8 more than a specified quantity. Also, in this case, energizing times of respective electrolytic baths 8 are made uniform and the service life of the electrode as the whole device is prolonged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrolyzed water supply apparatus for continuously generating electrolyzed water by electrolyzing water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Tap water or salt water (NaC)
l) Injection of water containing potassium chloride (KCl) as an electrolysis auxiliary into the electrolysis tank, and applying a DC voltage between the electrodes to generate electrolyzed water such as acidic water or alkaline water Generally known. In that case, the acidic water side contains hypochlorous acid (HClO) containing a sterilizing component. In some cases, the generated acidic water and alkaline water are mixed again and used as weak alkaline water, and this weak alkaline water also contains hypochlorous acid, like the acidic water.

[0003]

However, such an electrolyzed water supply apparatus conventionally has the following problems. The electrolyzed water supply capacity is small, and a large amount of electrolyzed water having a specified water quality cannot be generated. Therefore, in locations such as hospitals and food factories that require a large amount of electrolyzed water, conventionally, multiple electrolyzed water supply devices are installed,
Although one electrolyzed water supply device supplies a required amount of electrolyzed water for a long time, it is costly or time-consuming. The water pressure of the tap water injected into the electrolyzed water supply device may be originally low depending on the location, or may vary depending on the usage of other water facilities drawn from the same water pipe. In this case, if the amount of water to be injected is small, it takes time for the water to pass between the electrodes, resulting in excessive electrolysis, so that it is not possible to supply electrolytic water having a specified water quality. The characteristics of the electrodes in the electrolytic cell are degraded by the supply of electrolytic water, and eventually the specified water quality cannot be maintained, and the electrodes need to be replaced. As a countermeasure, life-extending means such as switching the direction of current supply are provided, but it is desired to further reduce the running cost by extending the life.
An object of the present invention is to address these problems and to increase the supply amount of electrolytic water and extend the life of the electrode.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention applies a DC voltage to the electrode while pouring water into the electrolytic cell provided with the electrode, and converts the water in the electrolytic cell into electricity. In an electrolyzed water supply device that continuously generates ionized water by decomposition, a plurality of the electrolyzers and a control unit that manages the order of operation and stop of these electrolyzers are provided (claim 1). By providing a plurality of electrolyzers in the same electrolyzed water supply device, these electrolyzers can be operated simultaneously in parallel to increase the supply amount of electrolyzed water. This is more cost effective than installing a plurality of devices.

In the electrolyzed water supply apparatus according to claim 1, means is provided for detecting a flow rate of water injected into the electrolytic cell, and when the flow rate is less than a predetermined amount, the number of the electrolysis water corresponding to the flow rate is provided. It is preferable that only the cell is operated and the other electrolytic cells are stopped (claim 2). Thereby, when the flow rate of the water to be injected is small, the number of operated electrolytic cells can be reduced, and the flow rate per electrolytic cell can be increased to maintain a specified water quality.

In this case, means for accumulating and storing the energizing time of each of the electrolytic cells may be provided, and the electrolytic cells may be operated and stopped so that the integrated energizing times are equalized. ). Thereby, it is possible to avoid biased operation of some of the electrolytic cells and to prolong the life of the electrode as the whole electrolyzed water supply device. As another means for this, the order of the electrolyzers to be operated is determined in advance, and a calendar means for detecting the date and time can be provided to change the order at a constant cycle (claim 4).

In the above electrolyzed water supply apparatus, a common electrolyzed water tank is provided for each of the electrolyzed tanks, and electrolyzed water from each of the electrolyzed tanks is stored in the electrolyzed water tank. It is good to start and stop (claim 5). This makes it possible to operate the electrolyzer and store the electrolyzed water in the tank even when the electrolyzed water is not used, and discharge the stored electrolyzed water when using the electrolyzed water to supply a large amount of electrolyzed water in a short time become.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of a main body of an electrolyzed water supply device. A water inlet 2 for taking in tap water from a water tap (not shown) is provided at an upper portion of the main body 1, and generated acidic water or alkaline water is provided at a lower portion. A spout 3 for taking out one of the water and a drain 4 for discharging the other as drainage are provided. On the front surface of the main body 1, a water discharge start switch 5 for starting discharge of electrolytic water, a water discharge end switch 6 for stopping water discharge, a display unit 7 for displaying various information, and the like are arranged.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the electrolytic water supply device of FIG. In FIG. 2, a plurality (four in the figure) of electrolytic cells 8 are provided inside the apparatus.
, Tap water from the water inlet 2 is injected in parallel. The electrolyzed water generated in the electrolyzer 8 is stored in an electrolyzed water tank 9 and is discharged by operation of a water discharge pump 10 at the time of use. The water level in the electrolyzed water tank 9 is maintained in a certain range by water level signals from the high water level sensor 11 and the low water level sensor 12. on the other hand,
The drainage from each electrolytic cell 8 is collected in the drain port 4 and discharged collectively. The operation / stop order of the electrolytic cell 8 is managed by the main control unit 13 which controls the entire apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of each electrolytic cell 8. In FIG. 3, tap water entering from a water inlet 14 branched from the whole water inlet 2 enters the electrolytic cell 8 through a flow meter 15 and a water valve (solenoid valve) 16 as shown by an arrow A.
At the same time, the saline solution stored in the saline solution tank 17 is fed into the electrolytic cell 8 by the saline solution pump 18 as shown by the arrow B, and merges with the tap water at the entrance. Electrodes 19 and 20 are installed in the electrolytic cell 8, and water in the electrolytic cell 8 is supplied from a power source 21 via a polarity switching circuit 22 to the electrodes 19 and 20.
It is electrolyzed by a DC voltage applied between the electrodes, and generates acidic water near the positive electrode and alkaline water near the negative electrode. Here, the electrolysis water supply device using the saline solution as the electrolysis auxiliary is shown, but another electrolysis auxiliary may be used or the electrolysis auxiliary may not be used depending on the use of electrolyzed water.

The electrolyzed water flows through a three-way valve 23 and 24 to a spout 25 or a drain 26. Three-way valve 23
Switches between flowing the acidic water or the alkaline water generated in the vicinity of the electrode 19 to the water discharge port 25 or the drain port 26. Further, the three-way valve 24 switches between flowing the alkaline water or the acidic water generated near the electrode 20 to the water discharge port 25 or the drain port 26. That is, when supplying alkaline water, the alkaline water is caused to flow to the spout 25 and the acidic water is caused to flow to the drain 26. When supplying acidic water, the acidic water is supplied to the water discharge port 25, and the alkaline water is supplied to the drain port 26. When supplying weak alkaline water, both the alkaline water and the acidic water are supplied to the spout 25.
To generate weak alkaline water as mixed water. In that case, nothing is discharged from the drain port 26. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which any of alkaline water, acidic water and weak alkaline water can be supplied. However, when the supplied water is limited to any one, the three-way valves 23 and 24 and the associated piping are omitted. May be.

In FIG. 3, the water valve 1 is operated during the operation of the electrolytic cell.
6 is opened, the saline solution pump 18 is started, and a DC voltage from the power supply 21 is applied to the electrodes 19 and 20 to discharge the electrolytic water from the water outlet 25. Electrode 1
When the total energization time reaches a certain time, the polarity switching circuit 22 is switched to reverse the direction of electrolysis because the characteristics of Nos. 9 and 20 decrease. At this time, since the positions at which the alkaline water and the acidic water are generated change with the polarity switching, the three-way valves 23 and 24 are also switched so that the water to be supplied flows to the water discharge port 25. If the three-way valves 23 and 24 are not provided, the flow direction of the electrolyzed water cannot be controlled, so that it is necessary to clean the electrodes for a certain time. Electrode cleaning is performed by reversing the polarity of the electrode to perform electrolysis, whereby the electrode is cleaned and the electrolytic properties are restored. All the electrolyzed water generated at that time is drained. Note that the salt pump 18 does not need to be operated during electrode cleaning. FIG. 4 shows an example of the polarity switching circuit 22. In this example, two interlocked relays 22a are combined to form an electrode 1
The polarity of 9, 20 is reversed.

FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of the electrolyzed water supply device. In FIG. 5, a main control unit 13 controls the entire electrolyzed water supply device, and a control unit 27 is provided below each electrolysis tank. The main control unit 13 and the control unit 27 are composed of a CPU and perform control operations according to a predetermined program. The main control unit 13 and the control unit 27 are provided with a main storage unit 28 and a storage unit 29, each of which is a semiconductor memory.
The timer is built in the main control unit 13.

The operation of the entire electrolyzed water supply device will be described below. 2 and 5, the electrolyzed water is stored in an electrolyzed water tank 9 and a water discharge start switch 5 is provided.
When is pressed, the water discharge pump 10 is activated to discharge the electrolytic water from the faucet 30. The upper and lower limits of the water level in the electrolyzed water tank 9 are detected by the high water level sensor 11 and the low water level sensor 12, and when the water level falls to the lower limit, the electrolyzer 8 is operated and the electrolyzed water is transferred from the water discharge port 3 to the electrolyzed water tank 9. The operation of the electrolytic cell 8 is stopped when the water level rises to the upper limit. In this case, since the electrolyzed water supply device has a plurality of (four) outlets, a large amount of electrolyzed water can be generated simultaneously by their parallel operation. Further, by temporarily storing the electrolyzed water in the electrolyzed water tank 9 and using it, even when the electrolyzed water is not used, the electrolyzed water can be generated and stored in advance, and it is possible to cope with a temporary large amount of use. Can be. When there is no electrolyzed water tank 9, the electrolyzer 8 is operated immediately by pressing the water discharge start switch 5, and the electrolyzed water is directly discharged from the water discharge port 3.

Here, each control unit 27 constantly detects the flow rate of tap water supplied to the electrolytic cell 8 by the flow rate sensor 15,
The value is stored in the storage unit 29. Therefore, the main control unit 13 receives the flow rate values from each control unit 27 at regular intervals and calculates the total. When the total flow rate is less than a certain value, the electrolytic cell 8 corresponding to the total flow rate is used.
Is operated, and the number of the electrolytic cells 8 is operated based on a predetermined priority order as described later, and the other electrolytic cells 8 are stopped. Thereafter, if the flow rate is increased or decreased, a part of the stopped electrolytic cell 8 is additionally started up, or a part of the operating electrolytic cell 8 is further stopped. Table 1 shows an example of a correspondence table between the total flow rate (l / min) and the number of electrolytic cells 8 to be operated.
The up column in the table is the threshold value of the total flow rate when the number of operations is increased, and the down column is the threshold value when the number is decreased. According to such operation control, when the overall flow rate is small, the electrolytic cell 8 to be operated is limited and the flow rate is secured to a certain value or more, and a decrease in the quality of the electrolyzed water can be prevented. In addition,
In the illustrated example, a flow meter 15 is provided in each electrolytic cell 8 to calculate the total flow rate. However, the flow meter 15 may be provided at the position of the water supply port 2 to detect the entire flow rate.

[0016]

[Table 1]

Further, in FIG. 5, each control unit 27 measures the energization time each time the electrolytic cell 8 is operated / stopped, and accumulates the energization time and stores it in the storage unit 29. Therefore, when starting the electrolytic cell 8, the main control unit 13 receives the integrated energizing time from each control unit 27, and operates with priority on the one with the shorter integrated energizing time. This avoids bias of energization to a specific electrolytic cell 8 and allows all electrolytic cells 8
And the life of the electrode as an electrolyzed water supply device can be extended to the maximum. The electrolytic cell 8 for which the cumulative energizing time has reached the use limit will not be energized thereafter, and an alarm will be displayed on the display unit 7 when the number of electrolytic cells 8 which have become unusable reaches a certain number. In the above example, the integrated energization time of each electrolytic cell 8 is stored in the storage unit 29 of the control unit 27, but may be stored in the storage unit 28 of the main control unit 13.

The priority of the operation of the electrolytic cell 8 is determined, for example, in a certain order in advance, for example, in several patterns, in accordance with any one of the patterns. The main control unit 13 may be provided so that the pattern to be used is switched when the month or week changes based on the date and time when the pattern to be used is read from the clock IC 30. This also makes it possible to average the operation rate of each electrolytic cell 8 and prolong the electrode life.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, by providing a plurality of electrolyzers in the electrolyzed water supply device, the amount of electrolyzed water generated can be increased and supplied to large demand customers at low cost. Can be used, and the generated electrolyzed water can be stored and used in the electrolyzed water tank, so that it can cope with temporary large-scale use. By reducing the water content, the specified water quality can be ensured even in a location where the water pressure is low. In this case, by setting the priority of operation so that the integrated energizing time of each electrolytic cell becomes equal, it is possible to maximize the electrode life of the electrolyzed water supply device as a whole and to reduce the electrode replacement time. Since they are almost simultaneous, the electrodes of all the electrolytic cells can be replaced at a time, and maintenance becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external front view of a main body of an electrolyzed water supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the electrolytic water supply device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of each electrolytic cell in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a connection diagram of a polarity switching circuit in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a control block diagram of an electrolyzed water supply device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electrolyzed water supply apparatus main body 2 Water supply port 3 Water discharge port 4 Drain port 5 Water discharge start switch 6 Water discharge end switch 7 Display part 8 Electrolysis tank 9 Electrolyzed water tank 10 Water discharge pump 14 Water injection port 15 Flow meter 16 Water valve 17 Salt water tank Reference Signs List 18 saline solution pump 19 electrode 20 electrode 21 power supply 22 polarity switching circuit 23 three-way valve 24 three-way valve 25 water outlet 26 drain port 28 storage unit 29 storage unit 30 clock IC

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electrolytic water supply apparatus for applying a DC voltage to an electrode while pouring water into an electrolytic cell provided with the electrode, and electrolyzing water in the electrolytic cell to continuously generate ionic water. An electrolytic water supply device, comprising: a plurality of the electrolytic cells; and control means for managing the operation / stop order of the electrolytic cells. A means for detecting a flow rate of water injected into the electrolytic cell, wherein when the flow rate is less than a predetermined amount,
Only the number of said electrolytic cells corresponding to the flow rate is operated, and the other electrolytic cells are stopped.
The electrolyzed water supply device according to 1. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for accumulating and storing the energizing time of each of the electrolytic cells, and operating and stopping the electrolytic cells so as to equalize the integrated energizing times. Item 3. An electrolyzed water supply device according to item 2. 4. The electrolyzed water supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the order of the electrolyzers to be operated is determined in advance, and a calendar means for detecting a date and time is provided, and the order is changed at a constant cycle. . 5. A common electrolyzed water tank is provided for each of said electrolyzers, electrolyzed water from each of said electrolyzers is stored in said electrolyzed water tank, and said electrolyzers are operated / stopped based on their water level. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein:
The electrolyzed water supply device according to claim 1.