JP3882692B2 - Electrolyzed water generator - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an alkaline electrolyzed water generating device that generates electrolyzed water by electrolysis.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The electrolyzed water generator is connected to a water supply facility such as a water supply and electrolyzes under running water to generate acid water or alkaline water, and the water stays in a simple, low-cost structure that does not connect to the water supply facility. There is a batch system for electrolysis. The flowing water method has an advantage that the electrolyzed water can be taken immediately. However, if an acidic water having a strong oxidizing power or an alkaline water having a strong reducing power is to be obtained, the electrode needs to be enlarged and the entire apparatus becomes large. On the other hand, since the electrolysis is performed in a batch state in the batch method, the acidic water and alkaline water are easily obtained with a simple configuration.
[0003]
As a conventional electrolysis apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6, an anode chamber 3 and a cathode chamber 4 separated by a diaphragm 2 are formed in an electrolytic cell 1, an anode 5 is formed in the anode chamber 3, and a cathode chamber 4 is formed in the anode chamber 3. The cathode 6 is disposed opposite to the membrane 1 through the diaphragm 1, and the anode 5 and the cathode 6 are connected to a DC power supply device 7. Reference numeral 8 denotes a lid that can be freely opened and closed. A control circuit 9 controls energization of the anode 5 and the cathode 6 by the DC power supply device. 10 is a storage tank of electrolytic ionic water generated in the cathode chamber 4, and electrolytic ionic water is supplied from the cathode chamber 4 through the supply port 12 by the supply pump 11.
[0004]
In this configuration, when electrolysis is performed, the lid 8 is opened and a saline solution adjusted to a predetermined concentration as the water to be electrolyzed is put into the electrolytic cell, and a voltage is applied between the anode 5 and the cathode 6 by the control circuit 9 so that the energization time is reached. Accordingly, water is electrolyzed to a desired pH to generate acidic water in the anode chamber 3 and alkaline water in the cathode chamber 4, and alkaline water is stored in the water storage tank 10 by the supply pump 11. At this time, chlorine gas is also generated in the anode chamber 3 from the chlorine ions of the saline by the reaction of the anode 5.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional configuration, when the lid 8 is opened while electrolyzing water to be electrolyzed, chlorine gas may continue to be generated due to continued electrolysis, and chlorine gas may leak to the outside of the electrolytic cell 1. Had the problem of being.
[0006]
The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and provides a highly reliable electrolyzed water generating apparatus capable of terminating the electrolysis process and suppressing the generation of excess chlorine gas when the lid is opened. The purpose is to do.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, an electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to the present invention includes an electrolytic cell composed of an anode chamber having an anode and a cathode chamber having a cathode, an openable / closable cover for covering the electrolytic cell, and opening / closing of the lid A lid opening / closing detection means for detecting the polarity, a polarity switching means for switching the polarity of the voltage applied to the anode and the cathode, and a cathode water supply means for supplying the cathode water to a water storage tank for storing the cathode water generated in the cathode chamber. And having an electrolytic treatment step of applying voltage to the anode and the cathode to electrolyze water to be electrolyzed in the electrolytic cell, and after the electrolytic treatment step, the cathode water supply means supplies the cathode water to the water storage tank The lid open / close detection is performed before the electrolytic treatment step , comprising a post-treatment step comprising a cathode water supply treatment step and a reverse voltage treatment step of applying a reverse voltage by switching the polarity of the voltage applied to the anode and the cathode. Means the lid When it is detected that Iteiru, said without going to an electrolytic process, also in the electrolytic process step, when the cover opening and closing detecting means detects that the lid is opened, stops the electrolytic process step, The process proceeds to the reverse voltage treatment step. When the lid is open, the electrolytic treatment is stopped or not performed, so that high reliability can be realized without generating extra chlorine gas. Furthermore, when the lid is opened and the electrolysis process is interrupted, in the reverse voltage process step, the anode water and the cathode water that have been subjected to the electrolysis process are neutralized and the series of processes is completed. In addition, the treatment of the electrolyzed water when the treatment is interrupted becomes easy and the usability can be improved.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention according to claim 1 is an electrolytic cell composed of an anode chamber having an anode and a cathode chamber having a cathode, an openable / closable lid for covering the electrolytic cell, and a lid open / close detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the lid, Polarity switching means for switching the polarity of the voltage applied to the anode and the cathode, and cathode water supply means for supplying the cathode water to a water storage tank for storing the cathode water generated in the cathode chamber , the voltage applied to the anode and the cathode An electrolysis process for applying and electrolyzing water to be electrolyzed in the electrolytic cell, and after the electrolysis process, the catholyte supply means for supplying the cathodic water to the water storage tank, and the anode A post-processing step including a reverse voltage processing step of switching a polarity of a voltage applied to the cathode to apply a reverse voltage, and the lid open / close detection means is opened before the electrolytic treatment step When it is detected Wherein without going to the electrolysis process, also in the electrolytic process step, when the cover opening and closing detecting means detects that the lid is opened, stops the electrolytic process step, the process proceeds to the inverse voltage treatment step Therefore, when the lid is open, the electrolytic treatment is stopped or not performed, so that high reliability can be realized without generating extra chlorine gas. Further, when the lid is opened and the electrolysis process is interrupted, in the reverse voltage process step, the anode water and the cathode water that have been subjected to the electrolysis process are neutralized and the series of processes is completed. Therefore, it is easy to treat the electrolyzed water when the treatment is interrupted, and the usability can be improved.
[0009]
The invention according to claim 2 is an electrolytic cell comprising an anode chamber having an anode and a cathode chamber having a cathode, an openable / closable lid for covering the electrolytic cell, and lid open / close detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the lid, and a time measuring means for the cover opening and closing detecting means for counting an elapsed time from when detecting that the lid is opened, electrolyzing the electrolyzed water in said electrolyzer by applying a voltage to the anode and the cathode And having an electrolytic treatment step, and when the time counted by the timing means has exceeded a predetermined time, it is determined that the lid is open, and the lid is placed in the middle of the electrolytic treatment step or before the electrolytic treatment step. When the open / close detection means detects that the lid is open, the electrolytic treatment process is not stopped or does not shift to the electrolytic treatment process, and when the lid is open, the electrolytic treatment is not stopped or performed. The extra chlorine gas So that no to produce, it is possible to realize high reliability. Further , even if the user opens the lid due to an erroneous operation, the process is continued within a predetermined time, so that the usability against the erroneous operation can be improved.
[0010]
【Example】
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 is a front view of an electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the electrolyzed water generating apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the electrolyzed water generating apparatus. FIG. 4 is an operation block diagram of the electrolyzed water generating device, and FIG. 5 shows a process chart of the electrolyzed water generating process.
[0012]
In this example, electrolysis is performed using raw water such as tap water supplied to the anode chamber and tap water supplied to the cathode chamber (hereinafter referred to as raw water) as electrolyzed water, and alkaline water is collected as the electrolyzed water. The case where it is used as washing water is shown.
[0013]
1 and 2, reference numeral 20 denotes an electrolytic cell that is hermetically sealed when a water supply port 21 at the upper end is closed by a lid 22, and an anode chamber 24 and a cathode chamber 25 are formed by an ion-permeable diaphragm 23. 26 and the cathode 27 are located opposite to each other through the diaphragm 23. The cathode chamber 25 has a shape in which the vicinity of the water supply port 21 is wide and the bottom is narrowed from a certain point. A cathode water outlet 28 is provided from the vicinity of the water supply port 21 of the cathode chamber 25, and an anode chamber 24 is provided below the anode chamber 24. A chamber outlet 29 is provided. The shapes of the anode chamber 24 and the cathode chamber 25 are different because the amount of alkaline water obtained is set according to the shape and position depending on the shape of the cathode chamber 25 and the position of the cathode water outlet 28.
[0014]
30 is a water storage tank for storing the alkaline water generated in the cathode chamber 25, and the generated cathode water is stored by the cathode water supply means 31 from the cathode water outlet 28 via the cathode water supply pipe 32. 30 to be supplied.
[0015]
Reference numeral 33 denotes a drainage tank for storing acid water generated in the anode chamber 24, and is configured to be discharged from the anode water outlet 29 to the drainage tank 33.
[0016]
34 is a lid opening / closing detection means for detecting opening / closing of the lid 22, and 35 is a saline tank for storing saturated saline, and a predetermined capacity is supplied to the anode chamber 24 via the saline pipe 36. The The predetermined capacity is a capacity at which the saline concentration in the anode chamber 24 becomes a predetermined concentration with respect to the capacity of water charged into the anode chamber 24.
[0017]
In FIG. 3, 37 is a start switch for starting a series of processes, 38 is an operation LED that displays that the process is being performed, and a notification for notifying the lid opening abnormality detected by the lid opening / closing detection means 34. It also serves as a means.
[0018]
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 40 denotes a control unit that controls a series of processes for generating electrolyzed water, and reference numeral 41 denotes a saline supply unit that supplies the saturated saline in the saline tank 35 to the anode chamber 24. Reference numeral 43 denotes polarity switching means for switching the polarity of the voltage applied to the anode 26 and the cathode 27, and the electrolysis is performed by energizing the anode 26 and the cathode 27 with a DC voltage source (not shown). In this embodiment, the polarity switching means 43, the anode 26, the cathode 27, and the DC power source constitute the electrolysis means 42. 44 is a time measuring means for the lid opening / closing detection means 34 to measure the time after the lid is opened.
[0019]
Hereinafter, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
[0020]
As shown in the time chart of FIG. 5, the control means 40 performs the alkaline water generation process in the order of the pretreatment process, the electrolytic treatment process, the posttreatment process, and the termination process. The end of the processing is a state in which all loads such as energization between the anode 26 and the cathode 17 and display of the operation LED 38 are turned off. The user first puts raw water into the anode chamber 24 and the cathode chamber 25 of the electrolytic cell 20 from the water supply port 21, closes the lid 22, and presses the start switch 37. Further, the user puts saturated saline in the saline tank 35 in advance. When the start switch 37 is pressed, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the device, turns on the operation LED 38, and shifts to the salt solution supply step of the pretreatment step.
[0021]
When the control unit 40 shifts to the saline solution supplying step, the control unit 40 operates the salt solution supplying unit 41 for a predetermined time so that the salt solution concentration in the anode chamber 24 becomes a predetermined concentration, and the saturated saline solution in the salt solution tank 35 is made into salt solution. It supplies to the anode chamber 24 via a water supply pipe. As a result, the raw water and the saturated saline that have been put into the anode chamber 24 are mixed to obtain a salt solution having a predetermined concentration. When the supply of the saline solution is completed, the process proceeds to the lid opening / closing confirmation process.
[0022]
The lid opening / closing detection means 34 detects whether the lid 22 is closed or open, and outputs the opening / closing information of the lid 22 to the control means 40. In the lid opening / closing confirmation process, the control means 40 determines that the device is in a normal state for performing the electrolytic treatment if the lid 22 is closed based on the lid opening / closing information, and shifts the process to the electrolytic treatment process. . If the lid open / close information is information that the lid 22 is open, the lid open / close confirmation process waits until the lid 22 is closed. Until this step, the control means 40 has turned off the anode 26 and the cathode 27.
[0023]
If the lid 22 is open, the control means 40 switches the operation LED 38 from lighting to blinking to notify the user that the lid 22 is open. As a result, the user notices that the lid 22 is open despite the operation of the device, and when the lid 22 is closed, the control means 40 returns the operation LED 38 from blinking to lighting, and performs the process. Since the process proceeds from the lid opening / closing confirmation step to the electrolytic treatment step, the electrolytic treatment is not performed to generate chlorine gas while the lid 22 is open, and the reliability and usability can be improved without generating chlorine gas. .
[0024]
When the process proceeds to the electrolytic treatment step, the control means 40 starts energization of the anode 26 and the cathode 27, starts electrolysis of the electrolyzed water, and performs electrolysis for a predetermined time corresponding to the desired alkaline water ph. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the cathode water supply process. At the end of the electrolytic treatment process, acidic water is generated in the anode chamber 24, alkaline water is generated in the cathode chamber 25, and chlorine gas is also generated as a byproduct. In the electrolytic treatment process, the lid 22 is opened due to a user's mistaken operation or the like, and if the energization to the anode 26 and the cathode 27 is continued as it is, chlorine gas continues to be generated while the lid 22 is open, There is a possibility of leakage from the tank 20. When the lid opening / closing information detected by the lid opening / closing detection unit 34 is in an open state, the control unit 40 turns off the energization of the anode 26 and the cathode 27 and causes the timing unit 44 to start measuring time. The control means 40 has a predetermined time set in advance with respect to the time measured by the time measuring means 44. If the lid is closed within the predetermined time, the energization to the anode 26 and the cathode 27 is returned to the on state. Continue processing. Thereby, when the lid 22 is opened only for a short time due to a user's erroneous operation, the generation of chlorine is stopped only at that time and the process can be continued. Therefore, the use when the lid 22 is opened only for a short time is used. Improvement in reliability and reliability can be achieved. If the lid is not closed within a predetermined time, the control means 40 determines that the lid has been opened for some reason during the electrolysis process, resulting in an abnormal state, and moves the process to the end of the process. Turn off. At this time, the operation LED 38 blinks to notify the user that the lid 22 has opened and the processing has not been completed normally. If the lid | cover 22 is closed, after performing an electrolytic process, it will transfer to the cathode water supply process of a post-processing process. As a result, when the lid 22 is open and the electrolytic treatment cannot be performed normally, the reliability is improved by preventing generation of excessive chlorine gas, and the electrolytic treatment cannot be performed normally because the lid 22 is open. This can be easily recognized by the user.
[0025]
In the cathode water supply process, the control means 40 operates the cathode water supply means for a predetermined time to supply alkaline water from the cathode water outlet 28 of the cathode chamber 25 to the water storage tank 30, and then proceeds to the reverse voltage processing process. To do.
[0026]
When the process proceeds to the reverse voltage processing step, the control unit 40 causes the polarity switching unit 43 to switch the polarity of the voltage applied to the anode 26 and the cathode 27, and the voltage applied to the anode 26 and the cathode 27 in the electrolytic processing step. A reverse voltage is applied to the anode 26 and the cathode 27.
[0027]
After the supply to the water storage tank 30 in the cathode water supply process, the alkaline water remains in the cathode chamber 25 below the cathode water outlet 28. Therefore, the remaining alkaline water and the anode chamber 24 are left behind. The remaining acidic water is neutralized by applying a reverse voltage so that wastewater other than the alkaline water stored in the water storage tank 30 can be easily disposed of. And when predetermined time passes, it will transfer to the end of a process, and will end a series of electrolysis processes.
[0028]
Further, when the control means 40 determines that the lid 22 is open in the electrolytic treatment process, the control means 40 shifts to the reverse voltage treatment process and performs neutralization for a predetermined time, thereby performing the lid 22 during the electrolytic treatment. Even when the process is not completed normally, the waste water remaining in the electrolytic cell 20 can be easily disposed of.
[0029]
In addition, since the desired alkaline water has already been generated after the transition to the cathodic water supply process, and no chlorine gas is generated in the reverse voltage treatment process, the control means 40 can perform the process even if the lid 22 is opened. By continuing the process of the process without shifting the water, alkaline water can be obtained without causing any problems, so that the usability can be improved.
[0030]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when the lid is opened, it is possible to provide a highly reliable electrolyzed water generating apparatus capable of terminating the electrolysis process and suppressing the generation of excess chlorine gas.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of an electrolyzed water generating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the electrolyzed water generating device. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the electrolyzed water generating device. Operational block diagram of the apparatus [FIG. 5] Process chart of operation of the electrolyzed water generating apparatus [FIG. 6] Schematic configuration diagram of a conventional electrolyzed water generating apparatus
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Electrolyzer 21 Water supply port 22 Lid 23 Diaphragm 24 Anode chamber 25 Cathode chamber 26 Anode 27 Cathode 34 Lid opening / closing detection means 40 Control means 43 Polarity switching means 44 Timing means

Claims (2)

An electrolytic cell comprising an anode chamber having an anode and a cathode chamber having a cathode, an openable / closable cover for covering the electrolytic cell, lid open / close detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the lid, and polarity of voltage applied to the anode and the cathode Polarity switching means for switching the cathode water supply means for supplying the cathode water to a water storage tank for storing the cathode water generated in the cathode chamber, and a voltage is applied to the anode and the cathode to apply the voltage to the anode and the cathode. An electrolysis process for electrolyzing electrolyzed water, and after the electrolysis process, the cathode water supply means supplies the cathode water to the water storage tank, and the polarity of the voltage applied to the anode and the cathode. A post-processing step comprising a reverse voltage processing step of switching and applying a reverse voltage, and when the lid open / close detection means detects that the lid is open before the electrolytic processing step, the electrolytic processing step Migrate to Not, also in the electrolytic process step, when the cover opening and closing detecting means detects that the lid is opened, the electrolytic process step to cancel, electrolytic water generation apparatus to shift to the reverse voltage step. An electrolytic cell comprising an anode chamber having an anode and a cathode chamber having a cathode, an openable / closable lid for covering the electrolytic cell, lid open / close detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the lid, and the lid open / close detecting means for opening the lid and a counting means for counting an elapsed time since detecting that have, together with an electrolytic process for electrolyzing the electrolyzed water in said electrolyzer by applying a voltage to the anode and the cathode, the time counter When the time counted by the means exceeds a predetermined time, it is determined that the lid is open, and the lid open / close detection means opens the lid during the electrolytic treatment step or before the electrolytic treatment step. An electrolyzed water generating device that does not stop or shift to the electrolytic treatment process when it is detected that the electrolytic treatment is performed .

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