JP2011024849A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a washing machine provided with a water treatment apparatus which adsorbs components dissolved in water. <P>SOLUTION: The washing machine is provided with: the water treatment apparatus including ion exchangers which adsorb ion dissolved in water, an ion exchange membrane in which the ion exchangers having different polarities are arranged on the front and rear sides to dissociate the water and to remove the ion adsorbed to the ion exchangers, at least two electrodes which apply voltage to the ion exchange membrane, and a voltage control means which supplies voltage to the electrodes; a washing tub; a water supply means for supplying water to the washing tub; and a draining means which drains the washing tub. When the water treatment apparatus adsorbs, with the ion exchangers, the ion dissolved in the water to be supplied from the water supply means into the washing tub, voltage lower than the decomposition voltage of water is applied between the electrodes, so that the treated water from which the ion contained in the water is removed never contains electrolysis gas of water. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a washing machine including a water treatment device that removes ions dissolved in water.

  Conventionally, this type of washing machine has a configuration as shown in FIG. 3 (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The configuration and operation will be described below.

  Electrodes 22 are arranged in the electrolytic cell 21 so as to face each other with a diaphragm 23, and each electrode 22 is connected to a power source 24 to form an anode and a cathode. When softening the water, water is introduced into the electrolytic cell 21 and a voltage is applied between the electrodes by the power source 24. Cations such as calcium and magnesium dissolved in water pass through the diaphragm 23 and move to the cathode chamber. Washing is performed using water in the anode chamber in which cations such as calcium and magnesium dissolved in the water are reduced.

Japanese Patent No. 3154765

  However, in the conventional configuration, electrodialysis is performed when softening water, and voltage is applied to water. However, since the applied voltage is not controlled appropriately, treated water is generated by electrolysis of water. Including hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. The gas dissolved in the treated water eventually grows into bubbles, and depending on the routing of the flow path for guiding the treated water, there is a possibility that gas can be accumulated in the flow path and also in the washing tub.

  In order to solve the conventional problems, the washing machine according to the present invention includes an ion exchanger that adsorbs ions dissolved in water, and the ion exchangers having different polarities on the front and back sides to dissociate water and A water treatment apparatus comprising: an ion exchange membrane for desorbing ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger; at least two electrodes for applying a voltage to the ion exchange membrane; and a voltage control means for supplying a voltage to the electrodes; Ions that have a tub, water supply means for supplying water to the washing tub, and drainage means for draining water from the washing tub, and wherein the water treatment device is dissolved in the water supplied to the washing tub from the water supply means Is adsorbed by the ion exchanger, a voltage lower than the water decomposition voltage is applied between the electrodes.

  As a result, when obtaining treated water in which ions in the water are adsorbed and become soft water, the water does not electrolyze to generate gas, so the treated water does not contain water electrolysis gas. There is no possibility of gas accumulating in the flow path leading to the water or in the washing tub.

  The washing machine of the present invention does not contain water electrolysis gas in the treated water that has become soft water by adsorbing ions in the water, so there is no principle that gas accumulates in the flow path leading to the treated water or in the washing tub. Can provide safe products.

The block diagram of the washing machine in the 1st Embodiment of this invention The block diagram of the water treatment apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention Configuration of a conventional water heater

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, an ion exchanger in which a washing machine adsorbs ions dissolved in water and an ion exchanger that dissociates water by disposing the ion exchangers having different polarities on the front and back and adsorbed on the ion exchanger An ion exchange membrane for desorbing water, at least two electrodes for applying a voltage to the ion exchange membrane, a water treatment device having voltage control means for supplying a voltage to the electrodes, a washing tub, and a washing tub Water supply means for supplying water and drainage means for draining water from the washing tub, and the water treatment device adsorbs ions dissolved in water supplied from the water supply means to the washing tub by the ion exchanger. In this case, by applying a voltage lower than the water decomposition voltage between the electrodes, the treated water from which ions in the water have been removed does not contain water electrolysis gas, and the flow path leading the treated water or Gas can accumulate in the washing tub There is no.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an ion exchanger in which a washing machine adsorbs ions dissolved in water and an ion exchanger that dissociates water by disposing the ion exchangers having different polarities on the front and back and adsorbed on the ion exchanger Exchange membrane, at least two electrodes for applying a voltage to the ion exchange membrane, voltage control means for supplying voltage between the electrodes, a washing tub, and the washing tub Water supply means for supplying water and drainage means for draining the water in the washing tub, and when the water treatment device desorbs ions adsorbed to the ion exchanger, the water dissociation voltage is higher than the voltage between the electrodes. By applying this voltage, water can be dissociated to generate H ⁺ ions and OH ⁻ ions, and an ion exchanger that adsorbs ions in water can be regenerated.

  In the third aspect of the invention, in particular, when the water treatment apparatus of the washing machine of the second aspect of the present invention desorbs ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger, a voltage lower than the water decomposition voltage is applied between the electrodes. The regenerated water that regenerates the ion exchanger that adsorbs ions in the water does not contain water electrolysis gas, and there is no possibility of gas collecting in the flow path that leads the regenerated water.

  In the fourth invention, in particular, when the water treatment device of the washing machine according to any one of the second or third invention desorbs ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger, water passing through the water treatment device By discharging to the outside of the machine by the drainage means without going through the washing tub, the high concentration ions contained in the drainage can be quickly discharged without passing through the washing tub etc., so that they do not accumulate in the washing machine. .

  In the fifth aspect of the invention, in particular, the washing machine according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention has a coarse filtration means for removing insoluble matters contained in water, and the coarse filtration of water flowing into a water treatment device is performed. Since the treatment is performed by the means, insoluble matters are not deposited on the water treatment apparatus, and the life of the water treatment apparatus can be extended.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a washing machine has a washing tub 2 housed in a housing 1 and rotatably housed in an outer tub 3. A raw water line is connected to the water supply valve 4, and the raw water line is supplied from a water source such as tap water, industrial water, and groundwater. The water in the raw water line passes through the water supply valve 4 and the coarse filtration means 5 and is guided to the water treatment device 6. The water treated by the water treatment device 6 is branched by the three-way valve 7, one is directly discharged to the washing tub 2 via the detergent charging means 8, and the other is directly discharged outside the machine. The water in the washing tub 2 is
The drainage valve 9 joins the drainage flow path of the water treatment device 6 and is discharged out of the machine. The control means 10 is accommodated in the housing 1 and controls a series of operations of the washing machine and the water treatment device 6.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the water treatment device 6 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The water treatment device 6 will be described in more detail. The water treatment device 6 includes a pair of opposing electrodes 11a and 11b, a cation exchanger 12 that adsorbs cations dissolved in water, and an anion exchanger 13 that adsorbs anions dissolved in water. Are composed of ion-exchange membranes that are bonded so that the polarities are different on the front and back sides. A plurality of ion exchange membranes are laminated between the electrodes 11, an ion exchange membrane is laminated on a flat surface between the flat electrodes 11, and concentric circles are formed between the concentric cylindrical electrodes 11 having different radii. Alternatively, an ion exchange membrane may be laminated spirally. The ion exchanger is based on a polymer or copolymer polymer of styrene or divinylbenzene, and the cation exchanger 12 is introduced with a sulfonic acid group or a carboxylic acid group such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid. The body 13 has introduced a quaternary ammonium group or a primary to tertiary amino group. When forming the ion exchanger on the ion exchange membrane, the formability of the membrane can be improved by kneading and dispersing the ion exchanger in a thermoplastic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene. Ion exchange membranes that have ion exchangers with different polarities on the front and back are called bipolar membranes. Dissociation of water at low voltage is promoted by applying a voltage to promote water dissociation at the interface of the ion exchanger. It can be performed.

  About the washing machine comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement and an effect | action are demonstrated below.

  The washing machine performs the washing process and the rinsing process by automatically controlling the rotation of the water supply valve 4, the three-way valve 7, the drain valve 9, and the washing tub 2 by the control means 10 equipped with a microcomputer.

  The operation of the water treatment device 6 differs depending on whether the ions dissolved in the water are adsorbed by the ion exchanger or the ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger are desorbed. A description will be given of adsorption of ions in water with an ion exchanger.

  When the water treatment device 6 adsorbs ions dissolved in water, the water supply valve 4 is opened, and the water in the raw water line flows into the water treatment device 6. The purified water from which ions dissolved in water are removed by the water treatment device 6 is guided to the washing tub 2 via the detergent charging means 8. A part of the purified water is directly led to the washing tub 2. After performing a washing process for a predetermined time, the drain valve 9 is opened to drain the washing water in the washing tub 2. Subsequently, water is again supplied in the same manner, and a rinsing process is performed.

Here, the operation of the water treatment device 6 will be described in detail. In the water treatment device 6, ions such as cations Ca, Mg, Na, Mn, Fe dissolved in water are converted into hydrogen ions by the cation exchanger 12, and anions Cl, carbonic acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, etc. dissolved in water. These ions are ion-exchanged to hydroxide ions by the anion exchanger 13 to adsorb various ions dissolved in water to the ion exchanger. When the ion exchanger adsorbs ions, a voltage is applied so that the electrode 11a on the cation exchanger 12 side of the ion exchange membrane serves as an anode, and the electrode 11b on the anion exchanger 13 side serves as a cathode. Since the ions in 6 move to the ion exchanger, the ion adsorption rate of the ion exchanger can be increased. At that time, since the theoretical decomposition voltage of water in which water molecules are electrolyzed to generate hydrogen molecules and oxygen molecules is 1.226 V, hydrogen gas and oxygen gas are generated by applying a voltage lower than the water decomposition voltage. Ions that are dissolved in water can be efficiently adsorbed by the ion exchanger without being carried out. By adsorbing ions dissolved in water with the water treatment device 6, it is possible to enhance the effect of the detergent for washing the clothes, thereby improving the cleaning power, shortening the cleaning time, and saving energy. Moreover, since no metal soap is generated in the detergent charging means 8 and the washing tub 2, the detergent charging means 8 and the washing tub 2 can be kept clean. In addition, promotion of corrosion due to anions can be prevented. Also, when water with a non-uniform pH is treated, it can be brought close to neutral water by exchanging the anion species with hydroxide ions when acidic and the cation species with hydrogen ions when basic. Therefore, the water treated by the water treatment device 6 can prevent corrosion due to pH. In addition, by applying a voltage lower than the water decomposition voltage, the treated water does not contain water decomposition gas, and water decomposition gas does not accumulate in the washing tub 2 or the drainage path.

  Note that when the water treatment device 6 adsorbs ions dissolved in water, it is not necessary to apply a voltage between the electrodes 11. The effect of the ion exchanger adsorbing ions dissolved in water remains the same, and the effect of not containing the decomposition gas of water in the treated water remains the same.

  Next, the operation and action when the water treatment device 6 desorbs ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger will be described.

  When the ion exchanger desorbs ions, the water guided from the raw water line to the water supply valve 4 is treated by the water treatment device 6 and then switched by the three-way valve 7 and discharged from the housing 1. In the water treatment device 6, a voltage is applied so that the electrode 11a on the cation exchanger 12 side of the ion exchange membrane serves as a cathode and the electrode 11b on the anion exchanger 13 side serves as an anode. Since the theoretical dissociation voltage of water at which water molecules dissociate into hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions is 0.828 V, the cation exchanger 12 and the anion of the ion exchange membrane can be applied by applying a voltage higher than the water dissociation voltage. Water is dissociated at the interface of the exchanger 13, and exchanged with ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger and desorbed to regenerate the ion exchanger. By making the applied voltage less than the decomposition voltage of water, the treated water does not contain the decomposition gas of water, so it prevents the decomposition gas of water from growing and collecting in the drainage path while discharging from the washing machine. be able to.

  In addition, by reducing the pipe diameter of the drainage channel and increasing the flow rate of the drainage flowing through the drainage channel sufficiently so that bubbles do not stay in the drainage channel, it is possible to prevent water decomposition gas from accumulating. Can do. Since the water decomposition gas can be reliably discharged from the water heater, sufficient current and voltage can be applied to dissociate the water and regenerate the ion exchanger, and the regeneration efficiency can be improved. Shortening and regeneration wastewater can be reduced.

  The rough filtration means 5 will be described. The water treatment device 6 desirably adsorbs ions dissolved in water with an ion exchanger, so that the ion exchange membranes are desirably stacked in close proximity, but there is little space between the ion exchange membranes. Insoluble materials may accumulate. The removal performance of the coarse filtration means 5 needs to be able to remove insoluble matters that are similar to or finer than the interval of the ion exchange membrane. The coarse filtration means 5 is formed by microfiltration (MF) such as a thread wound filter, a pleated filter, and a hollow fiber filter, and removes insoluble substances such as sand and iron rust contained in the raw water by filtration. It is desirable that the arrangement location be installed on the downstream side of the water supply valve 4 where the rough filtration means 5 is not subjected to the water pressure of the raw water line. In addition, when there are many insolubles in the water of the raw water line and a problem occurs in the operation of opening / closing the water supply valve 4, it may be installed upstream of the water supply valve 4. Moreover, since the coarse filtration means treats the water flowing into the water treatment means 6, the water guided to the washing tank 2 can also be treated by the coarse filtration means 5, so that the washing tank 2 can be kept clean. In addition, clothing can be prevented from contamination with insoluble materials.

  Although the three-way valve 7 is used to branch the water treated by the water treatment device 6, the switching of the flow path is not limited to the three-way valve, and the two-way electromagnetic valve that opens and closes the flow path Even if a plurality of combinations are combined, the flow path can be switched.

As described above, the water heater of the present invention can adsorb ions dissolved in water with an ion exchanger, and can dissociate water by applying a voltage to desorb the adsorbed ions to regenerate the ion exchanger. it can. By performing adsorption and desorption operation alternately, the user can use the treated water from which ions have been continuously removed without maintenance, and the obtained treated water does not contain water decomposition gas. It is safe. The washing performance of the washing machine can be improved, the washing time can be shortened, energy can be saved, and the reliability and life of the equipment can be improved.

  As described above, the washing machine provided with the water treatment apparatus according to the present invention can adsorb and remove dissolved ions of raw water, and the treated water obtained does not contain water decomposition gas. Without being restricted to industrial use, it can be applied to a cleaning system that uses safe treated water.

2 Washing tank 4 Water supply means 6 Water treatment device 9 Drainage means 10 Control means

Claims (5)

An ion exchanger that adsorbs ions dissolved in water, an ion exchange membrane that disposes the ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger by dissociating water by disposing the ion exchangers having different polarities on the front and back, A water treatment device having at least two electrodes for applying a voltage to the ion exchange membrane; a voltage control means for supplying a voltage to the electrodes; a washing tub; a water supply means for supplying water to the washing tub; Drainage means for draining water, and when the water treatment device adsorbs ions dissolved in water supplied from the water supply means to the washing tub with the ion exchanger, A washing machine that applies a voltage lower than the decomposition voltage. An ion exchanger that adsorbs ions dissolved in water, an ion exchange membrane that disposes the ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger by dissociating water by disposing the ion exchangers having different polarities on the front and back, A water treatment device having at least two electrodes for applying a voltage to the ion exchange membrane, and a voltage control means for supplying a voltage between the electrodes, a washing tub, a water supply means for supplying water to the washing tub, and the washing tub A washing machine that applies a voltage higher than a water dissociation voltage between the electrodes when the water treatment device desorbs ions adsorbed to the ion exchanger. The washing machine according to claim 2, wherein when the water treatment device desorbs ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger, a voltage lower than the water decomposition voltage is applied between the electrodes. The water treatment device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein when the water treatment device desorbs the ions adsorbed on the ion exchanger, the water passing through the water treatment device is discharged out of the machine by the drainage means without going through the washing tub. Washing machine. The washing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a coarse filtration unit that removes insoluble matters contained in water, wherein water flowing into a water treatment device is treated by the coarse filtration unit.