JP3975383B2 - Electrolyzed water supply device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrolyzed water supply apparatus that electrolyzes water to generate ionic water.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A DC voltage is applied to the electrode while supplying tap water to which an electrolytic aid such as sodium chloride (NaCl) or potassium chloride (KCl) is added to the electrolytic cell in which the electrode is installed, and the water in the electrolytic cell is electrolyzed. Electrolyzed water supply devices that continuously generate acidic water and alkaline water are known. In that case, the acidic water contains hypochlorous acid (HClO) having a bactericidal action.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
At the beginning of the installation of the electrolyzed water supply device, air may remain in the water filter, and it may take time for the tap water supplied to the electrolyzer to reach the specified flow rate at the start of electrolyzed water discharge. However, the flow rate may be too high or too low due to fluctuations in water pressure. However, conventionally, electrolysis water is discharged even if the flow rate of tap water is not within a specified range. For example, acidic water having a hypochlorous acid concentration outside the specified concentration may be discharged. there were. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to prevent degradation of the quality of electrolyzed water when the flow rate of tap water fluctuates.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises means for detecting a flow rate of tap water, means for storing an upper limit value or a lower limit value of the flow rate, and the detected flow rate and the upper limit value or the lower limit value. In comparison, when the flow rate exceeds the upper limit value or does not reach the lower limit value, control means for draining all water discharged from the electrolytic cell is provided (Claim 1). According to the first aspect, since the electrolyzed water is not discharged when the flow rate of the tap water is outside the specified range, the electrolyzed water with poor quality is not used.
[0005]
In that case, the user can understand the reason why the electrolyzed water is not discharged by providing means for indicating that the water is being drained (Claim 2). When the flow rate is equal to or lower than the upper limit value or equal to or higher than the lower limit value, discharge of electrolyzed water is preferably started (Claim 3). However, if the flow rate does not become the upper limit value or less or the lower limit value or more even after a certain period of time, the supply of water to the electrolytic cell is preferably stopped (Claim 4). Moreover, it is preferable to stop the electrolysis during drainage, so that wasteful power consumption can be stopped (claim 5).
[ 0006 ]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, an embodiment of the present invention. First, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the external appearance of the electrolyzed water supply device. A water supply port 2 for taking in tap water from a tap faucet (not shown) is provided at the upper part of the main body 1, and one of generated alkaline water and acidic water is provided at the lower part. A water outlet 3 for taking out the water and a water outlet 4 for discharging the other as waste water are provided. On the front surface of the main body 1, a water discharge start switch 5 for starting discharge of ion water, a water discharge end switch 6 for stopping water discharge, a display unit 7 for displaying various information, and the like are arranged.
[ 0007 ]
FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of the electrolyzed water supply apparatus. In FIG. 3, tap water entering from the water inlet 2 enters the electrolytic cell 10 through a water valve (electromagnetic valve) 8, a water filter (not shown) and a flow meter 9 as indicated by an arrow A. At the same time, the saline stored in the saline tank 11 is sent to the electrolytic cell 10 by the saline pump 12 as indicated by an arrow B, and merges with the tap water at the inlet. Electrodes 13 and 14 are installed in the electrolytic cell 10, and the tap water into which the saline solution is injected is electrolyzed by a DC voltage applied to the electrodes 13 and 14 from the power supply 15 through the polarity switching circuit 16. Alkaline water is generated near the negative electrode 13, and acidic water is generated near the positive electrode 14. The two three-way valves 17 and 18 are used to switch between flowing ionic water near the electrodes 13 and 14 to the water outlet 3 as shown by the arrow C or to the water outlet 4 as shown by the arrow D. Both are switched to the drain port 4 side, but one is switched to the water discharge port 3 side and the other is switched to the drain port 4 side during the generation of ionic water. The saline pump 12 is operated at a constant rotational speed and discharges saline at a constant flow rate.
[ 0008 ]
FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of the electrolyzed water supply apparatus. A control unit 19 comprising a microcomputer includes a ROM 20 that stores a control program and a RAM 21 that temporarily stores control data, and includes a timer (not shown). In a standby state, the control unit 19 receives signals from the water discharge start switch 5 and the water discharge end switch 6, and controls the water supply valve 8, the salt water pump 12, and the power supply 15 based on the flow rate of tap water measured by the flow meter 9. Each is on / off controlled. If it is determined that the time for electrode cleaning has come, electrode cleaning is performed, for example, for 5 minutes. In this electrode cleaning, the polarity switching circuit 16 is switched to invert the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrodes 13 and 14, and the two three-way valves 17 and 18 are both switched to the drain port 4 side and supplied to the electrolytic cell 10. The tap water is electrolyzed, and all the generated ionic water is discharged from the drain port 4.
[ 0009 ]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the control unit 19. In FIG. 4, the control unit 19 constantly checks whether or not there is an input from the water discharge start switch 5 (S1), and if there is an input, opens the water supply valve 8 (S2) and starts the saline pump 12 (S3). The flow rate of tap water is detected by the flow meter 9 (S4) and input to the control unit 19. Therefore, the control unit 19 sets the detected tap water flow rate within the specified flow rate set in the RAM 21, that is, between the upper limit value (for example, 10 liters / minute) and the lower limit value (for example, 2 liters / minute). (S5), if it is within the specified flow range, a voltage is applied to the electrodes 13 and 14 to start electrolysis (S6), and at the same time, one of the three-way valves 17 and 18 is connected to the spout 3 Switching (S7). In this case, since acidic water is generated on the electrode 13 side and alkaline water is generated on the electrode 14 side, for example, when the acidic water is used, the three-way valve 17 is switched to the water outlet side 3. Thereafter, if there is an input from the water discharge end switch 6 (S8), the water supply valve 8 is closed (S9), the saline pump 12 is stopped (S10), the electrolysis is stopped (S11), and the three-way valve 17 Is switched to the drain outlet 4 side to finish the operation.
[ 0010 ]
On the other hand, if the flow rate of tap water is not within the specified range in step S5, a timer is started (S13), waits for a fixed time, for example, 5 seconds (S14), and whether the flow rate is within the specified range is determined in S5. Return to and check. Meanwhile, all the water discharged from the electrolytic cell 10 is discharged from the drain port 4. If the flow rate falls within the specified range before the elapse of 5 seconds (Y in S5), the process proceeds to S7. If the flow rate remains outside the specified range and 5 seconds elapses (Y in S14), the timer is reset ( S15), the water supply valve 8 is closed (S16), the saline pump 12 is stopped (S17), an alarm that the flow rate of tap water is too high or too low is displayed on the display unit 7, and the operation is terminated. (S18). Note that the alarm on the display unit 7 is reset, for example, when the water discharge start switch 5 is turned on next time.
[ 0011 ]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when the flow rate of water is not within the specified range, it is possible to avoid discharge of poor quality electrolytic water by draining all of the discharged water, and in that case, By not disassembling, wasteful power consumption can be prevented, and it can be known from the display that waste water is being discharged. When the flow rate falls within the specified range, the discharge of electrolyzed water is started to improve usability, and when the flow rate does not fall within the specified range even after a certain period of time, By stopping the supply of water, wasteful consumption of tap water can be suppressed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of an electrolyzed water supply apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing an external appearance of an electrolyzed water supply apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an internal configuration diagram of the electrolyzed water supply device of FIG. 2;
4 is a flowchart showing a control operation of the electrolyzed water supply apparatus of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Water supply port 3 Ionized water discharge port 5 Water discharge start switch 6 Water discharge end switch 7 Display unit 8 Water valve 9 Flow meter 10 Electrolyzer 12 Saline pump 13 Electrode 14 Electrode 15 Power supply 17 Three-way valve 18 Three-way valve

Claims (5)

Electrolyzed water supply that continuously generates ionic water by electrolyzing water in the electrolytic cell by applying a DC voltage to the electrode while supplying tap water to which an electrolytic auxiliary agent has been added to the electrolytic cell in which the electrode is installed In the device
The means for detecting the flow rate of tap water, the means for storing the upper limit value or the lower limit value of the flow rate, the detected flow rate and the upper limit value or the lower limit value are compared, and the flow rate exceeds the upper limit value. And a control means for draining all the water discharged from the electrolyzer when the lower limit value is not reached. 2. The electrolyzed water supply device according to claim 1, further comprising means for indicating that the waste water is being discharged. The electrolyzed water supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein discharge of electrolyzed water is started when the flow rate is equal to or lower than the upper limit value or equal to or higher than the lower limit value. The supply of water to the electrolytic cell is stopped when the flow rate does not become the upper limit value or the lower limit value or more even after a fixed time has elapsed. The electrolyzed water supply apparatus in any one of. 2. The electrolyzed water supply device according to claim 1, wherein electrolysis is stopped during drainage.

Images