JPH0691266A - Control apparatus for continuous electrolytic water generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable continuous intake of a proper electrolytic water while elevation of the temp. is suppressed when a transformer of electric source for electrolysis is overheated. CONSTITUTION:An electric circuit 30 is connected with two electrodes 7 and 8 of an electrolytic tank 5 of a water feeding path 1 in such a way that an electrolytic water is obtd. by applying an electric voltage at a specified polarity and a temp. sensor 23 detecting the wire temp. is built in a transformer 32 of electric source of this electric circuit 30 and when overheat of the transformer 32 of electric source is judged by a signal of this temp. sensor, electric power for electrolysis is temporarily lowered by a control unit 40 to ensure a condition of use of continuous electrolysis.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a controller for a continuous electrolyzed water generator for electrolyzing drinking water such as tap water to continuously produce alkaline or acidic electrolyzed water, and more particularly to a power supply transformer for electrolysis. Regarding overheat protection.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in this type of continuous electrolyzed water generator, two electrodes are installed facing each other inside an electrolyzer to which drinking water is supplied. Then, by applying a predetermined voltage by setting the polarity of one electrode to the anode and the other electrode to the cathode,
The drinking water in the electrolyzer is continuously electrolyzed to obtain alkaline water suitable for drinking for medical use or electrolytic water suitable for makeup and the like. Further, a filter cartridge that removes residual chlorine such as tap water is attached to the water supply side of the electrolytic cell, and it is possible to obtain purified water purified by the cartridge by passing water without electrolysis.

The electric circuit connected to the two electrodes of the electrolytic cell is constructed such that an AC power source is transformed into a predetermined voltage by a power transformer, rectified into a DC voltage and applied to the electrodes with a predetermined polarity. Has been done. Here, the time during which continuous electrolysis can be performed greatly varies depending on the electrical conductivity of water to be electrolyzed by water flow. Further, in a household device, it is desired to make the size as small as possible in terms of installation space, and therefore a large capacity power transformer cannot be mounted. Therefore, when designing assuming standard electrical conductivity water and continuous electrolysis time,
The power transformer will be small. For this reason, the temperature of the power transformer rises quickly in areas of high electrical conductivity, or in summer when the water temperature and ambient temperature are high.
Therefore, for such a small power transformer, measures are taken to prevent and protect its abnormal overheating.

Conventionally, as a measure against overheat of a power transformer of the above continuous electrolyzed water generator, for example, one of the power transformers is used.
A bimetal thermoswitch or a thermal fuse is connected in series to the secondary or secondary circuit. When the power transformer is overheated, the thermoswitch or the like is turned off to stop the power supply to the electrolysis power supply and stop the electrolysis.

[0005]

By the way, in the above-mentioned prior art, since it is a method of forcibly stopping the electrolysis by the thermoswitch when the power transformer is overheated, the electrolyzed water is suddenly discharged during the water flow electrolysis. It may not be obtained. Further, even if it is desired to obtain electrolyzed water continuously, there is a problem that the power transformer must be cooled.

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to continue to take in appropriate electrolyzed water while suppressing the temperature rise thereof when the electrolysis power transformer is overheated.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electric circuit connected so as to obtain electrolyzed water by applying a voltage with a predetermined polarity to two electrodes of an electrolytic cell in a water passage. Circuit, a temperature sensor built into the power transformer of this electric circuit to detect the winding temperature, and the signal from this temperature sensor determines whether or not the power transformer is overheated. And a control unit for controlling so as to decrease.

[0008]

According to the above structure, when water is passed through the electrolytic cell of the water passage, power is supplied from the power transformer in the electric circuit,
A voltage is applied to the two electrodes of the electrolyzer with a predetermined polarity to electrolyze the drinking water in the electrolyzer, whereby alkaline water or acidic water is taken in. During this water electrolysis, the temperature sensor always detects the winding temperature of a small-sized power transformer for home use, for example, and when it overheats, the electrolysis power is temporarily reduced by the control unit to ensure continuous electrolysis use. Therefore,
Due to the power reduction, the temperature rise of the power supply transformer is effectively suppressed, and for example, in the usage state of using alkaline water, it becomes possible to continue to take alkaline water having an appropriate PH value even when the power is reduced.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, an outline of the entire configuration in the case where both electrolyzed water and purified water can be taken in as a continuous electrolyzed water generator will be described. Reference numeral 1 is a water passage of a stop type,
A water inlet pipe 2 connected to a water pipe or the like for introducing drinking water is connected to a filter cartridge 3 for removing residual chlorine in drinking water, and an outlet pipe 4 of the filter cartridge 3 is connected to an electrolytic cell 5. The electrolytic cell 5 is of a hermetically sealed type, the outlet side of which is divided into two chambers 5a and 5b by a partition wall 6, and electrodes 7 and 8 are provided in the respective chambers 5a and 5b.

Here, the one chamber 5a is for collecting purified water during non-electrolysis or for collecting alkaline or acidic electrolyzed water according to the polarity of the electrode 7 during electrolysis. The other chamber 5b drains unnecessary water during electrolysis.
Therefore, one of the chambers 5a is communicated with the water intake pipe 9, and a relief valve 13 for releasing the gas at the time of backwashing to the water intake pipe 9, water is supplied in a first stop type,
A faucet 10 for stop operation is provided. The other chamber 5b is communicated with the drain pipe 11, and the drain pipe 11 is provided with a constant flow valve 19 that always sets a constant small flow rate, a drain solenoid valve 12 that opens only during electrolysis, and a check valve 14. Also the water pipe 2
Is provided with a pressure regulating valve 15 that keeps the water pressure constant and keeps the maximum water amount according to the electrolysis capacity, and a negative pressure prevention valve 16 that prevents negative pressure when the valve is closed. Further, in order to effectively take in the purified water from the faucet 10 at the time of purifying water, the intake pipe 9 on the discharge side of the electrolysis tank 5 and the drain pipe 11 are communicated with each other by the communicating pipe 17, and the communicating solenoid valve 18 that opens only at the time of purifying water Is provided.

A water flow rate sensor 20 is provided at the outlet pipe 4 at the downstream side of the filter cartridge 3 so as to integrate water flow in order to know the life of the cartridge, and further detect water flow, stoppage and water flow rate Qi. On the other hand, a drainage flow sensor 21 is provided between the constant flow valve 19 of the drainage pipe 11 and the drainage solenoid valve 12.
Is provided so as to detect the presence or absence of drainage and the amount of drainage Qo. Then, the water flow rate Qi and the water flow rate Qo of these two flow rate sensors 20, 21 are used to pass through the water intake pipe 9 and the faucet 10
It is possible to indirectly calculate the amount Q of electrolyzed water taken from.

Next, the electric circuit 30 will be described.
AC power source 31 is connected to the primary side of power transformer 32,
The secondary side of the power transformer 32 is connected to the rectifier circuit 34. Here, the power transformer 32 is, for example, a small one for home use, and has a built-in temperature sensor 23 for electrically detecting the temperature of a thermistor, a bimetal thermoswitch, etc. for overheat protection.

The positive and negative electrodes on the DC voltage output side of the rectifier circuit 34 are connected via a smoothing capacitor 35 to a pulse width control type switching regulator (PWM) 36 for controlling the DC supply power. The output side of the switching regulator 36 is connected to the two electrodes 7 and 8 via the power switch 37 and the polarity setting switch 38, respectively. The polarity setting switch 38 is
One movable piece 38a is connected to the positive electrode as shown and its electrode 7 is set as the anode, and the other movable piece 38b is connected to the negative electrode and its electrode 8 is set as the cathode. Also two movable pieces 38
When the electrodes a and 38b are operated in reverse, the electrode 7 and the electrode 8 are set to the cathode and the anode, respectively, and the polarities are inverted.

In addition to the two flow rate sensors 20 and 21 and the temperature sensor 23, a selection switch 22 for selecting acidic water, alkaline water, or purified water of electrolyzed water is provided, and these signals are input to the control unit 40. To do. The control unit 40 processes these signals and outputs control signals to the drainage solenoid valve 12, the power switch 37, the polarity setting switch 38, and the switching regulator 36, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 2, the control unit 40 will be described. The water flow rate Qi of the two flow rate sensors 20, 21.
And a water flow detecting means 41 to which a signal of the drainage amount Qo is inputted, and a water flow stop detecting means 42. The water flow detection means 41 detects the start of water flow accompanying the operation of the faucet 10 based on the signals of both flow rates Qi and Qo. The water flow stop detecting means 42 detects both flow rates Q
A difference ΔQ between i and Qo is obtained, and when this difference ΔQ is equal to or less than a set value, water flow stop is detected. These water flow and stop signals are input to the solenoid valve control means 43, which outputs an open signal to the drain solenoid valve 12 in the case of the water flow signal and outputs a close signal in the case of the stop signal.

Further, the signals from the two flow rate sensors 20 and 21 are input to the electrolytic water intake amount calculating means 44, and the electrolytic flow water intake amount Q is calculated by subtracting the two flow rates Qi and Qo. Then, the selection switch 22, the electrolytic water intake amount Q, and the signals of water flow and stop are input to the electrolysis control means 45. The electrolysis control means 45 outputs an ON / OFF signal to the power switch 37 according to a signal of water flow and a stop, and outputs a voltage adjustment signal according to the electrolytic water intake amount Q to the switching regulator 36 to select alkaline water and acidic water. The polarity setting signal corresponding to the above is output to the polarity setting switch 38. In addition, after the water flow is stopped, a backwash voltage and a backwash time are determined each time, and an ON / OFF signal is output to the power switch 37, a backwash voltage signal is output to the switching regulator 36, and a polarity inversion signal is output to the polarity setting switch 38. To do.

Further, as a control system for the power transformer overheat protection, an overheat judging means 46 to which a signal from the temperature sensor 23 is inputted.
When the winding temperature rises and reaches the set value, overheat is determined and this overheat signal is input to the electrolysis control means 45. Since this type of electrolyzed water generator is mainly used for drinking alkaline water, the electrolysis control means 45 refers to the PH value characteristic of the alkaline water with respect to the electrolysis power when the overheat signal is input, and outputs the output of the switching regulator 36. Control the voltage drop.

The characteristics of the pH value of alkaline water will be described below. The characteristic curve is slightly different depending on the electric conductivity of the raw water, the amount of water passing, etc., but it is generally as shown in FIG. That is, in the region where the pH value of alkaline water is close to neutral,
The PH value changes approximately proportionally to the electrolytic power with a large change amount, but in the drinking region where the PH value suitable for drinking is 9 to 10, the change amount of the PH value becomes small with respect to the electrolytic power. When the power transformer 32 is overheated, the pH value of the alkaline water is sufficiently in the drinking area. Therefore, even if the electrolysis power is reduced by 30 to 40% in this area, the PH value is, for example, 9.5. The change is slight when it is reduced to 9.4 to 9.3, and alkaline water having no practical problem can be obtained. Further, if the electrolytic power is reduced by 30 to 40%, it is possible to effectively suppress the temperature rise of the power transformer 32. Therefore, when it is determined that the temperature is overheated, the output voltage of the switching regulator 36 is reduced by 30 to 40%. It is supposed to do.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, when the faucet 10 is closed, the water intake pipe 9 on the discharge side of the electrolytic cell 5 is shut off, and at the same time, the drainage electromagnetic valve 12 is closed and the drainage pipe 11 is shut off. Therefore, drinking water A such as tap water is supplied to the water passage 1 through the water inlet pipe 2, the filter cartridge 3, and the outlet pipe 4.
Is introduced into the electrolytic cell 5, the water intake pipe 9, and the drainage pipe 11 at a predetermined water pressure to be filled.

Then, when the user selects, for example, alkaline water with the selection switch 22 to open the faucet 10, the water intake pipe 9 communicates, and water is started to the water passage 1 in a pre-stopped manner.
Water immediately comes out of the tap 10. At this time, a signal of the amount of water Qi input from the water flow rate sensor 20 is input to the water flow detection means 41 of the control unit 40 to detect the start of water flow, and the electromagnetic valve control means 43 opens the drainage electromagnetic valve 12, which causes the drainage pipe. A part of water is discharged by communicating with 11 as well, and thus the state of electrolytic water intake is obtained. Then, the signal of the drainage amount Qo of the drainage flow rate sensor 21 is also input, and the opening of the drainage solenoid valve 12 is confirmed.

At this time, in the electric circuit 30, the AC power source 31
Is applied to the primary side of the power transformer 32, the transformed voltage on the secondary side is rectified into a DC voltage by the rectifier circuit 34, and smoothed by the smoothing capacitor 35, so that the switching regulator 3
I am typing in 6. Therefore, based on the selection of the selection switch 22 by the electrolysis control means 45, the polarity setting switch 38 of the electric circuit 30 operates so that the electrode 7 becomes the cathode. Further, the power switch 37 is turned on based on the water flow signal.

On the other hand, the water flow rate calculating means 44 is determined by the two flow rates Qi and Qo of the incoming water flow rate sensor 20 and the drainage flow rate sensor 21.
The electrolytic water intake Q is calculated according to the opening of the faucet 10, and the output voltage of the switching regulator 36 is adjusted to be higher as the electrolytic water intake Q is larger. Then, a predetermined DC voltage on the regulator output side is applied with the electrode 7 as the cathode and the electrode 8 as the anode, and the drinking water in the electrolytic cell 5 is electrolyzed. As a result, the alkaline water B containing a large amount of anions is taken from the chamber 5 a of the electrolytic cell 5 from the faucet 10 through the water intake pipe 9. At this time, the unnecessary acidic water C in the chamber 5b is restricted by the constant flow valve 19 and discharged through the drain pipe 11.

During this electrolysis, even if the tap water pressure fluctuates, the pressure regulating valve 15 keeps the water pressure constant and allows the water to flow continuously. It is squeezed to a substantially constant value. Therefore, even if the alkaline water B is arbitrarily taken from the faucet 10, the electrolytic cell 5
The alkaline water B is stably taken in while maintaining high electrolysis efficiency. When the alkaline water B is mainly used for alkaline water, the alkaline water B containing a large amount of minerals such as calcium and magnesium by electrolysis in the electrolytic cell 5 passes through the water intake pipe 9 exclusively. Valve, sensor,
Since there is no switch or the like, troubles due to adhesion of scale such as calcium carbonate can be reliably avoided.

When the faucet 10 is closed after the predetermined amount of the alkaline water B is taken in, the water flow stops and the signal from the water flow rate sensor 20 also stops. Therefore, the water flow stop detecting means 42 detects both flow rates Qi,
The water flow stop is detected by the difference ΔQ in Qo, and the electromagnetic valve control means 43 also closes the drain electromagnetic valve 12. Further, the power switch 37 is turned off by this stop signal, and the above electrolysis action is stopped. On the other hand, when the electrolysis is stopped, the electrolysis control means 45 determines the backwash voltage and the backwash time according to the amount of water flow and the like, reverses the polarities of the two electrodes 7 and 8, and turns on the power switch 37 again to electrolyze. By doing so, backwashing is performed, whereby scales attached to the two electrodes 7 and 8 are removed.

On the other hand, when acidic water is selected by the selection switch 22 and the faucet 10 is opened, the polarity setting switch 38 causes the electrode 7 of the electrolytic cell 5 to have the polarity of the anode. Also in this case, the control is performed in exactly the same manner as described above, whereby the acid water containing a large amount of cations is reversely taken from the faucet 10 and the scale is removed by backwashing when water flow is stopped.

During the above-described water flow electrolysis, the electric circuit 30 is always used.
The temperature of the small-sized power transformer 32 is detected by the temperature sensor 23, and the sensor signal is input to the overheat judging means 46 to judge the presence or absence of overheat. Therefore, in a normal use state in which the continuous electrolysis time is relatively short, the winding temperature of the power supply transformer 32 does not increase so much, so that the normal electrolysis state is maintained. On the other hand, if the continuous electrolysis time is used for a long time in summer or the like, the winding temperature of the small power transformer 32 becomes high, and it is judged that the temperature is overheated when the winding temperature reaches the set value. In this case, an overheat signal is input to the electrolysis control means 45,
Switching regulator 36 when using alkaline water
Is controlled to forcibly lower the output voltage of about 40% to continue the electrolysis state.

At this time, even if the electrolysis power is lowered, the pH value of the alkaline water is in a substantially proper range as shown in FIG. 3, so that it becomes possible to continuously take in the alkaline water having the proper PH value. Further, the reduction of the electrolysis power reduces the load on the power supply transformer 32 to about half, and accordingly, the temperature rise of the power supply transformer 32 is effectively suppressed. Then, when the winding temperature becomes equal to or lower than the set value, the output voltage of the switching regulator 36 is restored to the original value, and a normal electrolytic action is achieved.
In this way, the electrolytic power is temporarily reduced only when the power transformer 32 overheats, and the state of continuous electrolytic use is ensured.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the power transformer 3 can be used as a method for reducing the electrolytic power.
The two taps may be switched. Further, the water passage can be applied not only to the first stop type but also to the original stop type.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the power supply transformer for electrolysis in the continuous electrolyzed water generator overheats, the electrolysis power is controlled to be temporarily reduced, so that it is possible to secure the state of continuous electrolysis use while suppressing the temperature rise. For this reason, the power transformer is small for home use, for example, and it can be continuously used with peace of mind even when it is used in high temperature conditions such as summer or when the continuous electrolysis is used for a long time. Greatly improved.

When the alkaline water is used, the pH value of the alkaline water with respect to the electrolysis power is referred to, and the electrolysis power is reduced by about 40% when overheated. Therefore, the temperature rise of the power transformer is effectively suppressed and protected. can do. At this time, since the PH value of the alkaline water is in a substantially proper range, it becomes possible to continuously take in the alkaline water having the proper PH value.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an overall outline of an embodiment of a control device for a continuous electrolyzed water generator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a characteristic of a PH value of alkaline water with respect to electrolysis power.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Water Flow Path 5 Electrolyzer 7, 8 Electrode 23 Temperature Sensor 30 Electric Circuit 32 Power Transformer 40 Control Unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electric circuit which is circuit-connected so as to obtain electrolyzed water by applying a voltage with a predetermined polarity to two electrodes of an electrolytic cell in a water passage, and a winding built in a power transformer of this electric circuit. A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature, and a control unit for determining whether or not the power transformer is overheated by the signal of the temperature sensor and controlling the electrolysis power to be temporarily reduced in the case of overheat, Control device for continuous electrolyzed water generator. 2. The control unit refers to the characteristic of the PH value of the alkaline water with respect to the electrolytic power when the power transformer is overheated under the condition of using the alkaline water, and temporarily controls the electrolytic power to 30-40%. The control device for a continuous electrolyzed water generator according to claim 1, wherein the control is performed for reduction.