JP2003236548A - Electrolytic water producing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for selectively producing water with high hypochlorous acid concentration, acid water and alkaline water, respectively. <P>SOLUTION: The electrolytic water producing apparatus has a water cleaning means 2 and a chloride ion feeding means 8 at the upstream side of an electrolysis vessel 5 provided with an anode plate 52 and a cathode plate 51, an acid stream passage 7 for discharging water of an anode plate side 52, and an alkaline stream passage 6 for discharging water of a cathode plate side 51 are provided at the downstream side of the electrolysis vessel 5. The chloride ion feeding means 8 can freely be switched to be in a state where chloride ion is supplied in the electrolysis vessel 5, or a state where an chloride ion is not supplied in the electrolysis vessel 5. The flow passage of at least one of the acid stream passage 7 or the alkaline stream passage 6 provided at the downstream side of the electrolysis vessel 5 is closed with the switch of the chloride ion into the electrolysis vessel 5. Drainage from the electrolysis vessel 5 is entirely discharged from a single discharge port. All are discharged from the single discharge port. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for continuously electrolyzing water to selectively generate water having a high concentration of hypochlorous acid, and acidic water and alkaline water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a device for continuously producing acidic water and alkaline water by electrolyzing water. The alkaline water drained from one chamber with the diaphragm of the electrolytic cell as a boundary is used as healthy water, and at the same time, the acidic water generated in the other chamber is used as sterilizing water. However, in general, simply electrolyzing tap water does not produce sufficiently sterilizing water, and in order to make acid water sterilizing in such a device, salt water etc. may be added as necessary. It was general to add an ionizing inorganic electrolyte to lower the pH value. The generator is easily used at home.
Conventionally, such sterilizing water has a strong sterilizing power, but it has not been recognized as a food additive, and its use is limited, and on the other hand, it has the drawback of being highly corrosive to metals. Further, the alkaline water generated at the same time is wasted as waste water. As a matter of course, the alkaline water generated at the same time as the acidity is high due to the influence of salt etc. also has a high alkalinity, which is not suitable for drinking and may cause health problems if swallowed accidentally. Therefore, when sterilizing water is generated, it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to avoid accidental ingestion of strong alkaline water.

[0003]

As described above, the conventional general alkaline ionized water conditioner was a product suitable for obtaining alkaline ionized water suitable for health, but the acidic water produced at the same time. There are many problems in using water effectively and safely as sterilizing water. On the other hand, a device for electrolyzing water to generate sterilized water having a high concentration of hypochlorous acid is well known. JP-A-4-330986 is known as a device for obtaining sterilized water in a particularly simple and continuous manner. So-called hypochlorous acid water obtained by such a conventional device is recognized as a food additive, and since it is highly safe and there is no fear of generating strong alkaline water at the same time, it is used as a device for obtaining sterilized water. Are suitable.

However, this type of device for producing sterilized water having a high concentration of hypochlorous acid must have a structure without a diaphragm, and has a difference in structure from a conventional general alkaline ionized water device. , Both devices were commercialized separately. Therefore, in order to eliminate these conventional drawbacks, as shown in JP-A-2000-117254, it is conceivable to use a diaphragmless electrolytic cell to obtain mixed water, but in this conventional example, addition of salt is automatically performed. Therefore, alkaline water for drinking cannot be suitably produced. Also, the electrolytic cell is also a diaphragm, but when hypochlorous acid is produced, the water that has passed through the center between the electrodes does not go straight and is discharged, so it is difficult to produce good hypochlorous acid. there were.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional example, the present invention has a water purifying means and a chlorine ion supplying means on the upstream side of an electrolytic cell provided with an anode plate and a cathode plate,
In the electrolyzed water generator provided with an acidic water flow path for discharging water on the anode plate side and an alkaline water flow path for discharging water on the cathode plate side on the downstream side of the electrolytic cell, the chlorine ion supply means is chlorine in the electrolytic cell. It is possible to switch between the state in which ions are supplied and the state in which chlorine ions are not supplied in the electrolytic cell, and in conjunction with switching to the state in which chlorine ions are supplied in the electrolytic cell, the acidity provided on the downstream side of the electrolytic cell At least one of the water channel or the alkaline water channel is substantially closed,
All the drainage water from the electrolyzer was discharged from a single outlet.

With such a structure, when chlorine ions are being supplied, the drainage from the electrolytic cell is not automatically separated, but all is drained from a single drain port, so that the pH is extremely low. Unbiased strong alkaline water or strongly acidic water is not generated, and there is no risk of adverse health effects due to accidental ingestion. It is known that when the water supplied with chlorine ions is electrolyzed without separation and drainage, hypochlorous acid water is generated, but this hypochlorous acid water is recognized as a food additive. Therefore, compared to extremely strong alkaline water or strongly acidic water, there are less health problems due to accidental ingestion. When alkaline water suitable for drinking or acidic water that can be used as astringent water is required, chlorine ion is not supplied and the acidic water channel and the alkaline water channel are separately discharged. That is, according to the present invention, there is an effect that alkaline water suitable for drinking, acidic water having an astringent effect, and hypochlorous acid water having a bactericidal effect can be reliably obtained as needed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the electrolytic cell is of a diaphragm type in which an anode plate and a cathode plate are opposed to each other and water is allowed to pass between them, and the acidic water flow path is a slit-like shape formed in the anode plate. The alkaline flow passage was connected to the discharge port from the end between the counter electrodes, and a solenoid valve that could be closed was provided in the middle of the acid flow passage, so the acid flow passage was closed. In the state, the structure is such that all the water that has passed between the two electrodes facing each other without a diaphragm is discharged at a position that is not biased to either electrode, and hypochlorous water can be generated extremely effectively. Furthermore, according to claim 3 of the present invention, since it is only necessary to add the configuration of the addition cylinder and the solenoid valve in order to realize the present invention, the conventional pump means for supplying saline solution is not required. The risk of failure is reduced as much as possible, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 schematically shows a water channel according to the present invention, in which a water faucet is connected to a main body 1 through a branch plug 10.
Basically, when the faucet is opened, water basically has a branch plug 10, a water purification cartridge 2, a flow rate sensor 3, a chemical addition cylinder 4 capable of accommodating, for example, calcium glycerophosphate as an electrolysis promoter, and an electrolysis tank 5. After that, the water is discharged from the alkaline water flow path 6 and the acidic water flow path 7 at the electrolyzed water outlet. Separately, a solenoid valve A, between the water purification cartridge 2 and the chemical addition cylinder 4,
A chloride ion supply flow passage 11 is formed which joins the chemical addition pipe 4 through the salt addition pipe 8 to the middle of the flow passage 9 leading to the electrolytic cell 5. Although a calcium compound is cited as a preferred example of the drug that enters the drug adding cylinder 4, the drug is not limited as long as it has a function as an electrolysis accelerator and is free of chloride ions. Further, although a means for adding salt is illustrated as the chlorine ion supply means, it is needless to say that it is not limited to salt as long as it can supply chlorine ions.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the salt addition cylinder 8 is detachable from the upper part of the main body case. If necessary, the salt addition cylinder 8 is taken out of the main body case and the lid 14 is opened. Can be inserted. A plate 13 for partitioning is arranged in the case of the salt addition cylinder 8 so that salt can be placed below the plate 13.

The case has a through-flow passage 15 in the center, and the water rising from the through-flow passage 15 is dispersed from the through-hole 16 of the plate 13 and flows in to dissolve salt. Water that has become saturated saline flows from the holes of the plate 13 to the electrolytic cell 5 through the drainage holes 17 formed below the case and from the chemical addition cylinder 4.
The electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to this embodiment has the above-described basic configuration, and the purified water, the alkaline water for drinking, the acidic water, and the sterilizing water are easily selectively drained from the outlet by the switching operation of the main body operation panel (not shown). I can.

The selected modes will be described below. (Drinking alkaline water, acidic water mode) When alkaline water is selected by the operation switch of the main body and water flows in from the branch tap 10, the control unit 12 closes the solenoid valve A and opens the solenoid valve B. When the electromagnetic valve A is closed, water flows from the water purification cartridge 2 into the electrolytic cell 5 through the flow rate sensor 3 and the chemical addition cylinder 4. A predetermined voltage is applied to the electrolytic cell 5 so that a plurality of alkali concentrations can be selected. In this embodiment, the strong alkali concentration, the medium alkali concentration, and the weak alkali concentration are selectable, and the voltage is controlled in accordance therewith. The electrolytic cell 5 is of course applicable to an existing one having a diaphragm, but in this embodiment, a non-diaphragm type electrolytic cell which is more preferable in the hypochlorous acid water mode described below is exemplified. Fig. 3 shows a diaphragmless electrolytic cell.
As shown in FIG. 3, the cathode plate 51 and the anode plate 52 are opposed to each other, water passes through the water passage 55 formed by the spacer 54, and the water is discharged from the end of the facing region of the electrode to the alkaline water flow path 6 side. Has become. Although this water passage 55 is schematically disclosed as a large gap in FIG. 1, it is actually determined by the thickness of the spacer 54 and is about 0.5 mm to several mm. Further, by providing the slit-shaped opening 53 in a part of the anode plate 52, only the water that passes in the vicinity of the anode plate 52 flows as acidic water from the opening 53 to the acidic water flow path 7, and the remaining water is alkaline water that is alkaline water. It flows to the water channel 6.
The water discharged from the alkaline water flow path 6 is drunk as alkaline ionized water.

Since the chemical in the chemical addition cylinder 4 is for promoting electrolysis, the chemical may be empty when there is no need to promote electrolysis due to water quality conditions or the like. The acidic water produced at the same time is discharged from the acidic water flow path and used as astringent water as needed. Of course, it is also possible to adjust the pH value to some extent of the bactericidal action by adjusting the electric field strength and the flow rate. However, it is necessary to be careful of accidental ingestion of highly alkaline water that occurs at the same time as handling acidic water. The electromagnetic valve C is a ball valve for naturally draining water accumulated in the water purification cartridge 2, the electrolytic cell 5, etc., and is closed when water pressure is applied, and opens when the predetermined water pressure is lost, and the acidic water flow path is opened. Water is discharged from 7.

(Hypochlorous acid water mode) When hypochlorous acid water is selected by the operation switch of the main body and water flows in from the branch plug, the control unit 12 closes the solenoid valve B and opens the solenoid valve A. . When the solenoid valve A is opened, water flows from the water purification cartridge 2 to the flow rate sensor 3 and the medicine addition cylinder 4.
Through the electromagnetic valve A to the salt addition cylinder 8 and then into the flow path that joins before entering the electrolytic cell 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the salt addition cylinder 8 is introduced from below and reaches the salt reservoir below through the plate 13 from the upper part. Since the salt is filled in a sufficient amount, the water that has passed through the salt reservoir has reached a saturated concentration, and therefore an accurate concentration can be set by setting the flow rate ratio at the time of merging.
In this embodiment, the flow rate is controlled by providing the orifice 15 immediately before the merging.

The salt solution whose concentration has been accurately adjusted as described above flows into the electrolytic cell 5 to electrolyze the salt solution to generate hypochlorous acid water. In this embodiment, since the electrolytic cell 5 is of the diaphragm-free type having the above-described structure, all the water is hypochlorous acid water between the electrodes without loading the electrolytic cell 5 only by closing the solenoid valve B. Is discharged from the flat end of the. This hypochlorous acid discharge channel is the same channel as the alkaline water channel 6. Incidentally, it is desirable that the hypochlorous acid mode be entered from the state of the drinking alkaline water mode, especially after passing water for several seconds in the state of selecting strong alkaline concentration, and if the hypochlorous acid mode is set, We found that the chlorine concentration increased. Therefore, it is desirable to control so that when the hypochlorous acid mode is selected, the strongly alkaline selected state of the drinking alkaline water mode is automatically executed for a predetermined time. Specifically, if the user selects the hypochlorous acid mode, the control unit 12 first applies a voltage to the electrolytic cell 5 so that the alkaline concentration becomes strong, and the solenoid valve A is closed and the solenoid valve B is opened. . This state is continued for a predetermined time, for example, 5 seconds to generate strong alkaline water. After that, the electromagnetic valve A is opened and the electromagnetic valve B is closed so that saline solution flows into the electrolytic cell 5 to generate hypochlorous acid by applying a predetermined voltage, and all the hypochlorous acid is discharged from a single outlet.

(Water purification mode) When water purification is selected by the operation switch of the main body and water flows in from the branch tap, the control unit 1
Both solenoid valves A and B are closed by 2. When the electromagnetic valves A and B are closed, water flows from the water purification cartridge into the electrolytic cell 5 through the flow rate sensor 3 and the chemical addition cylinder 4, and is discharged only from the alkaline water flow path 6 described above. At this time, electrolysis is controlled so that drinking water suitable for drinking is discharged as purified water. In this embodiment, since the electrolytic cell having no diaphragm is adopted as described above, there is an advantage that the diaphragm is not damaged by the pressure difference due to the closing of one of the outlets like the electrolytic cell with the diaphragm. This advantage is also applicable to the hypochlorous acid water mode.

As described above, in the electrolyzed water producing apparatus of the present invention, the electrolytic cell 5 having the anode plate 52 and the cathode plate 51 is provided.
Has a water purification means 2 and a chlorine ion supply means 8 on the upstream side of
In the electrolyzed water generating apparatus, which is provided with an acidic water flow path 7 for discharging water on the anode plate side 52 and an alkaline water flow path 6 for discharging water on the cathode plate side 51 on the downstream side of the electrolytic cell 5, the chlorine ion supply means 8 is used. Can be switched between a state where chlorine ions are supplied to the electrolytic cell 5 and a state where chlorine ions are not supplied to the electrolytic cell 5. Downstream of the electrolytic cell 5 in conjunction with switching chlorine ions into the electrolytic cell 5. At least one of the acidic water flow path 7 and the alkaline water flow path 6 provided on the side is closed so that all the drainage water from the electrolysis tank 5 is discharged from a single discharge port. In the tank 5, both the electrolytic water for drinking and the electrolytic water for sterilization can be easily and freely generated, and the manufacturing cost as a whole can be reduced. In particular, it is effective in that the optimum addition is surely carried out for each mode, although the chemicals to be added are different between the electrolytic water for drinking and the electrolytic water for sterilization. Further, according to the configuration of claim 2, when hypochlorous acid is produced, the outflow from the slit 53 of the electrode is stopped, which is combined with the absence of the diaphragm, and therefore is exclusively for hypochlorous acid production. Almost the same structure as that of the electrolytic cell can be obtained, and there is an effect that hypochlorous acid can be generated very effectively by being discharged from a position where there is no bias between the electrodes. Further, according to the configuration of claim 3, since it is only necessary to add the configuration of the addition cylinder 4 and the solenoid valve A for supplying the saline solution, a pump means unlike the conventional one is not required, and a malfunction occurs. The risk of occurrence is reduced as much as possible, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an electrolyzed water supply device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the main body explaining the salt addition cylinder in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an electrolytic cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a salt addition cylinder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Water purification cartridge 5 ... Electrolytic bath 8 ... Salt addition cylinder A, B ... Solenoid valve

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An acidic water flow path and a cathode for discharging water on the anode plate side to the downstream side of the electrolytic cell, which has a water purification means and a chlorine ion supply means on the upstream side of the electrolytic cell equipped with the anode plate and the cathode plate. In the electrolyzed water generator provided with an alkaline water flow path for discharging water on the plate side, the chlorine ion supply means can be switched between a state in which chlorine ions are supplied in the electrolytic cell and a state in which no chlorine ions are supplied in the electrolytic cell. That is, at least one of the acidic water channel and the alkaline water channel provided on the downstream side of the electrolytic cell is substantially closed in conjunction with switching to the state of supplying chlorine ions into the electrolytic cell, and electrolysis is performed. An electrolyzed water generator characterized in that all wastewater from the tank is discharged from a single outlet. 2. The electrolytic cell is of a non-diaphragm type in which an anode plate and a cathode plate are opposed to each other and water is allowed to pass between them, an acidic water flow path is communicated with a slit-shaped opening formed in the anode plate, and an alkaline flow path is opposed to each other. The electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a solenoid valve that is in communication with an outlet from an end portion between the electrodes and that can be closed is provided in the middle of the acidic flow path. 3. The chlorine ion supply means is a salt addition cylinder containing salt, and switching between a state in which chlorine ions are supplied in the electrolytic cell and a state in which no chlorine ions are supplied in the electrolytic cell is performed by adding salt. The electrolysis generating apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flow is performed by a solenoid valve that opens and closes the flow path including the cylinder.