JPH0929244A - Liquid purification and sterilization apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liq. purification and sterilization apparatus with high purification and sterilization force which can keep the photochem. reaction effect processed by a photocatalyst for a long time. SOLUTION: Bath water stored in a bathtub is fed into a microorganism filtering tank by means of a circuration pump 64 and the bath water is purified in the microorganism filtering tank and is electrolyzed in an electrolytic tank 12 and, by feeding oxygen gas and acidic bath water formed on the anode 12 side of the electrolytic tank 12 into a photocatalytlc tank 18, oxygen gas included in the acidic bath water accelerates photochem. reaction in the photocatalytic tank 18 and the sterilization force is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a domestic or commercial liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus for purifying and sterilizing water in a pool or a bath.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it is preferable to change the water or hot water used in a pool or bathtub every time it is used, because it can be used in a clean state without unpleasant odor, dirt, slime, etc. There was a problem in that

To address the problem, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-6
In the water sterilization and purification device described in Japanese Patent No. 8190,
By combining the photocatalyst and the purifying material, the photocatalyst sterilizes various bacteria in the running water, and the organic stains accumulated in the purifying material are decomposed to obtain clean water free from organic contamination and bacterial contamination. It was obtained without maintenance. This water sterilization purification device is 1 ~ 200μm
It is configured by including a filtration filter carrying a photocatalyst having a pore size of 1 and an ultraviolet light source. The water sterilizing and purifying device arranges these components so that water flows from the filtration filter in the direction of the light source, and collects organic contaminants such as particles dispersed in water and floating scales by the filtration filter. By filtering and sterilizing various bacteria by a photocatalyst irradiated with ultraviolet rays and decomposing organic substances attached to the filter, clean water without turbidity or odor was produced.

Further, in the circulation filtration device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-123699, a photocatalyst and a microbial filtration material are combined to sterilize various bacteria in the running water and decompose organic stains. . This circulation filtration device is provided with a microbial filtration tank filled with a filter material in which microorganisms are propagated on the surface of crushed stone or gravel, and a sterilization tank filled with granular photocatalyst in the order of this description in the flow direction. There is. In the microbial filtration tank, organic matter in water is attached to the filter material in which microorganisms have propagated and decomposed.After that, in the sterilization tank filled with the photocatalyst, the photochemical reaction effect of the photocatalyst excited by receiving the light of the lamp causes the photochemical reaction in water. By carrying out the killing treatment of the miscellaneous bacteria, the amount of dirt in water was kept below the allowable value.

The photocatalyst in the photocatalyst tank as described above is
In addition to the irradiation of light to excite this, oxidative decomposition of organic matter contained in the solution in the presence of oxidizing agents such as ozone and oxygen, sterilization of various bacteria, decomposition of organic harmful substances, etc. are efficiently performed. It was known to take place. The photocatalytic decomposition rate is high in the neutral to alkaline range,
It was also known that the OH radical (hydroxyl radical) generated from the hydroxyl ion (OH ⁻ ) in the solution is involved in the promotion of the photochemical reaction.

[0006]

However, in the conventional water sterilization and purification apparatus and circulation filtration apparatus, the microorganism filtration tank and the photocatalyst tank are arranged in the circulation flow path, and the liquid is passed through each tank. Therefore, the property of the liquid was not taken into consideration. Therefore, the sterilization and purification ability of the photocatalyst tank could not be fully exhibited.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid purification and sterilization apparatus having a high purification and sterilizing power capable of maintaining the photochemical reaction effect of a photocatalyst for a long period of time. To do.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, the liquid purifying and sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention pumps up the liquid stored in the storage means by a circulation pump,
After that, the pumped liquid is passed through a microbial filtration tank containing microorganisms to purify and sterilize the liquid,
An electrolytic cell, which is disposed on the downstream side of the microorganism filtration tank, and which electrolyzes the liquid by energizing a pair of electrodes, for the purpose of returning the purified and sterilized liquid to the storage means. A photocatalyst tank accommodating a light source and a photocatalyst is provided, and the liquid produced on either the anode side or the cathode side of the electrolytic cell is supplied to the photocatalyst tank. Therefore, the liquid stored in the storage means is supplied to the microorganism filtration tank by the circulation pump, the liquid is purified in the microorganism filtration tank, the liquid is electrolyzed in the electrolytic cell, and the liquid is stored on the anode side of the electrolytic cell. When supplying the generated liquid to the photocatalyst tank, the oxygen gas contained in the liquid accelerates the photochemical reaction of the photocatalyst tank,
The sterilizing power can be increased. In addition, when the liquid generated on the cathode side of the electrolytic cell is supplied to the photocatalyst cell, O generated from the hydroxyl ion (OH ⁻ ) contained in the liquid.
The H radical can accelerate the photochemical reaction of the photocatalyst and enhance the bactericidal activity.

Further, in the liquid purifying and sterilizing apparatus according to the second aspect, the amount of the liquid discharged from any one electrode side of the electrolytic cell to the photocatalyst tank side is discharged from the other electrode side of the same electrolytic cell. Configured to be greater than the amount of liquid that is dispensed. Therefore, most of the liquid drawn up by the circulation pump is supplied to the photocatalyst tank, and not only the purification by the microorganism filtration tank but also the sterilization by the photocatalyst tank is performed.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment in which the liquid purification / sterilization apparatus of the present invention is embodied in a circulating hot bath apparatus used in a bath will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the structure of the circulating hot bath apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

As shown in FIG. 1, the circulating hot bath apparatus of this embodiment supplies bath water to the apparatus main body 50 via the apparatus main body 50 and a water supply hose 52a, or a water outlet hose 52b.
It is composed of a water supply / drainage unit 56 for returning the bath water purified from the apparatus main body 50 to the bathtub 54 serving as a storage means again.

Electric power to the apparatus main body 50 is supplied through the earth leakage breaker 58 and the power cable 60 connected to the earth leakage breaker 58. Further, a ground cable 62a is connected to the device body 50. Therefore, the device body 5
0 and the ground 62 are electrically connected to each other to protect against leakage and electric shock. Further, the apparatus main body 50 is installed at the edge portion of the bathtub 54, and is attached to the side wall portion of the bathtub 54 by using an adhesive board 56d (shown in FIG. 2) so that the water supply / drainage unit 56 is immersed in the bath water. ing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the water supply / drainage unit 56 has a unit case 56a having a substantially rectangular shape as a whole, and a suction port 56b connected to the unit case 56a for pumping out bath water. An outlet 56 for discharging the purified bath water and returning it to the bath 54 again.
c and an adhesive board 56d for adhesively fixing the unit case 56a to the side wall of the bath tub 54.
Inside the unit case 56a, a water supply hose 52a for supplying bath water to the apparatus main body 50 is provided with a suction port 56b.
In addition, a water outlet hose 52b for circulating the purified bath water from the apparatus body 50 is configured to be connected to each of the outlets 56c, so that the bath water in the bathtub 54 is sucked into the apparatus body 50. Are supplied to the bathtub 54 and are returned to the bathtub 54 for circulation.

As shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus main body 50 includes a circulation pump 64 for pumping and circulating bath water, a heating tank 66 for heating and keeping warm the pumped bath water, and a bath water purified by microorganisms for pairing. The liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus 10 that performs electrolysis by the electrodes of the above, and then performs the purification and sterilization processing by the photocatalyst, three three-way valves 68a, 68b, 68c for switching the flow path of circulating bath water, and each of the above configurations And a flow path for communicating the elements.

The first three-way valve 68a forms a flow path for switching the flowing direction of bath water in the liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus 10. The second three-way valve 68b
Communicates with a flow path 30 leading to an inlet 16e of a microbial filtration tank 16 described later provided in the liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus 10 in conjunction with the first three-way valve 68a, or flows out from the inlet 16e. A flow path is formed so that the bath water can be discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body 50 via the discharge hose 70 without returning to the bath 54. The third three-way valve 68c flows out from an outlet 18e of a photocatalyst tank 18 described later provided in the liquid purification and sterilization apparatus 10 in conjunction with the second three-way valve 68b and the first three-way valve 68a. The bath water and the bath water discharged from the cathode 12b side of the electrolytic cell 12 to be described later are merged into the merge portion 34, and the merged bath water is mixed in the bath 5
4 to form a normal flow path for returning to No. 4 or to form a flow path that communicates the first three-way valve 68a with the outlet 18e.

A heater 66a is provided in the heating tank 66.
Is installed, and the bath water pumped up by the circulation pump 64 is heated by supplying power to the heater 66a.

The liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus 10 comprises a microbial filtration tank 16 for filtering and purifying the bath water supplied by the circulation pump 64, and an electrolytic cell 12 for electrolyzing the bath water by energizing a pair of electrodes. It comprises a photocatalyst tank 18 containing a light source and a photocatalyst, an ozonizer 20 for adding ozone to bath water supplied to the photocatalyst tank 18, and a flow path for communicating the above-mentioned respective components.

As shown in FIG. 4, the microbial filtration tank 16 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and is arranged horizontally so that the bath water supplied through the second three-way valve 68b is horizontally circulated. It is set up. This microbial filtration tank 16 has a drain port 1
6d is composed of a cylindrical wall portion 16a installed near the top of the side surface, and an inlet 16e is configured by a lid portion 16c installed near the lower portion of the side surface. Inside the microbial filtration tank 16, granular porous ceramics in which aerobic bacteria are propagated are contained in layers to form a porous ceramic layer 16b. The lid 16c is the inlet 1 of the tubular wall 16a.
It is configured to be screwed and fixed to the outer peripheral portion on the 6e side, and the porous ceramic layer 16b housed inside the microorganism filtration tank 16 can be taken out. As a result, stagnation does not occur in the flow of bath water in the microbial filtration tank 16 during passage of water, and the air remaining near the top of the microbial filtration tank 16 can also be discharged smoothly and easily from the drain port 16d. It can be surely discharged to the outside of the microorganism filtration tank 16. Further, the drain port 16d and the electrolytic cell 12 are connected by a flow path 35.

As shown in FIG. 5, the electrolytic cell 12 is basically composed of an anode 12c and a cathode 12b, and an electrolysis separation member 12d installed so as to partition both electrodes. It is stored in a flat box-shaped container 12a as a whole. The inlet 12e of this electrolytic cell 12 is
It is connected to the flow path 35. As the material of the anode 12c, stainless steel, ferrite, platinum, Ti coated with platinum, or the like is preferably used, and for the cathode 12b, platinum, Ti coated with platinum, or the like is preferably used. In the present embodiment, stainless steel was used as the material of the anode 12c and Ti coated with platinum was used as the material of the cathode 12b.
The anode 12c and the cathode 12b are installed so that the distance between the electrodes is constant. In addition, the separation member for electrolysis 1
2d may be any material that can permeate bath water, such as coarse cloth or non-woven cloth, thin resin plate or ceramic plate with many holes, or thin metal plate with many holes electrically isolated. Is preferably used. Furthermore, this electrolytic cell 12
A flow path is provided on the discharge side of the anode 12c side and the electrolytic water generated on the cathode 12b side separately to flow, and the cathode side discharge path 96 and the anode side due to the pressure of the supplied bath water. It is configured to be separately discharged from the discharge path 94.

In this embodiment, the opening cross sectional area of the cathode side discharge passage 96 is smaller than the opening cross sectional area of the anode side discharge passage 94. Further, the anode side discharge path 94 is connected to the photocatalyst tank 18 described later, and the cathode side discharge path 96 is the bath water purified and sterilized by the photocatalyst tank 18, and the bath water generated on the cathode 12b side. Are connected to a flow path 33 that leads to a merging portion 34 where the and are merged.

The photocatalyst tank 18 is, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a substantially cylindrical case 18a and a lid 18b, and the opening of the case 18a is closed by the lid 18b. Inside the case 18a, a lamp 18c as a light source is arranged at a central axis position thereof, and a cylindrical photocatalyst 18d is arranged on an outer peripheral portion thereof.

The lamp 18c extends in the axial direction, and the outer peripheral portion thereof is covered with a bottomed cylindrical translucent container 18e. The lamp 18c is configured such that the lamp base 13 is fastened and fixed to the upper surface of the case 18a with a screw 19 so that the lamp base 13 is inserted into the case 18a through the central opening of the lower surface of the case 18a. In this case, the lamp base 13 is connected to the case 18a via the O-ring 17.
The translucent container 18e, which comes into contact with the circular side surface of the case, is fixed by being sandwiched between the translucent container 18e and the circular upper surface of the case 18a, and a watertight state is maintained between the case 18a and the translucent container 18e. It is configured to be. That is, the lamp 18c housed in the translucent container 18e is separated from the bath water flowing in the photocatalyst tank 18 by the translucent container 18e, and the light emitted from the lamp 18c is translucent. The photocatalyst 18d is irradiated with the light through the transparent container 18e.

As the lamp 18c, a medium pressure lamp having a main light emission wavelength of 185 nm, 254 nm and 365 nm is used. In addition to this, a main light emission wavelength of 254 n is used.
m low pressure lamp and emission main wavelength of 185 nm or 2
It may be a low pressure ozone lamp having a wavelength of 54 nm. That is, as long as it is a light source having an emission wavelength capable of exciting the photocatalyst, a filament lamp such as an incandescent lamp, a mercury lamp, a high-intensity discharge lamp such as a xenon lamp, a fluorescent lamp, a black light,
An artificial light source such as a fluorescent lamp such as a germicidal lamp or a natural light source such as sunlight can be used. Further, a configuration in which these are combined may be used.

The transparent container 18e is made of, for example, a quartz tube or a resin tube, and has a hollow inside.

The photocatalyst 18d is constructed by coating quartz glass or hard glass on a net-like carrier which has a large contact area with the bath water and allows the bath water to easily pass therethrough and has a small pressure loss, and a catalyst layer is formed on this. Has been done. A metal or a resin such as plastic is used as the carrier, and anatase type titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ) is mainly applied as the catalyst layer.

The carrier for forming the catalyst layer of the photocatalyst 18d may have any shape as long as it has a large contact area with the bath water and allows the bath water to easily pass therethrough. In addition to metals and resins, granular quartz glass, hard glass, ceramics and the like are preferably used. In addition to the anatase-type titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ), the catalyst material includes rutile-type and brookite-type titanium oxide (Ti
O ₂ ) is also preferably used. Furthermore, titanium oxide (Ti
O ₂ ), ferric oxide (Fe ₂ O ₃ ), zinc oxide (Z
nO), zirconium oxide (ZrO), tungsten oxide (WO ₃ ), or platinum (P
t), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd), gold (A
A catalyst material in which a small amount of a noble metal such as u) is supported is also suitably used. Of course, these noble metals and titanium oxide (TiO ₂ ) act as a carrier, on which 1 to 10 nm
Other oxides having a specific particle size of the order may be supported.

By the way, in a normal circulation state, the flow passage 30 of the liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus 10 has the second three-way valve 68.
b, the first three-way valve 68a, the heating tank 66 and the circulation pump 6
4, the fluid supply hose 52a is communicated, and the flow path 31 of the liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus 10 is communicated with the water outlet hose 52b via the third three-way valve 68c. As a result, a series of continuous flow paths are formed in which the bath water sucked up from the bath 54 by the circulation pump 64 passes through the apparatus main body 50 and returns to the bath 54 again.

On the other hand, the regeneration of the liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus 10,
Particularly when the microbial filtration tank 16 is regenerated, the flow passage 30 of the liquid purification / sterilization apparatus 10 is provided with the second three-way valve 68b.
And the flow passage 31 of the liquid purification / sterilization apparatus 10 is connected to the circulation pump 64 via the third three-way valve 68c and the first three-way valve 68a. Therefore, the bath water sucked up from the bathtub 54 by the circulation pump 64 is in a reverse flow state in which it flows in the liquid purifying and sterilizing device 10 in the direction opposite to the normal circulation state, and the drainage hose 70 does not return to the bathtub 54 to return to the reverse direction. A flow path is formed so as to be discharged to the outside of the device body 50.

Further, a water thermometer 72 for detecting the temperature of the circulating bath water is provided in the flow path from the bath 54 to the heating tank 66. Based on the measurement result by the water temperature meter 72, the heating tank is heated. A control circuit 76, which will be described later, determines whether or not to supply power to the heater 66a of 66. In the case of this embodiment, the water temperature gauge 72 is installed near the inlet of the heating tank 66. A turbidimeter 14 for detecting the turbidity of circulating bath water is provided in the vicinity of the outlet of the microbial filtration tank 16, and a flow meter 74 for detecting the presence or absence of circulation of the bath water and the flow rate is the device body. It is installed in a water outlet hose 52b arranged in the water tank 50. As a result, the control circuit 76 determines whether the electrode of the electrolytic cell 12 is regenerated or the microorganism filtration tank 16 is regenerated.

Next, the electrical circuit configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The electric circuit of this embodiment includes an earth leakage breaker 58 for preventing an earth leakage accident, a main switch (not shown), a transformer (not shown) for converting a household AC voltage into a desired voltage, and an output voltage of the transformer. A power supply circuit 78 including a rectifying circuit (not shown) for rectifying the DC voltage to generate a DC voltage, a pump drive circuit (P drive circuit) 80 for driving the circulation pump 64, and a circulation passage for bath water. A valve drive circuit 82 that changes the valve positions of the three-way valves 68a, 68b, and 68c, a lamp drive circuit (L drive circuit) 84 that lights the lamp 18c that generates excitation light for the photocatalyst 18d, and an ozonizer 20 that generates ozone. An ozonizer drive circuit (O drive circuit) 86 for driving and a heater drive circuit (H drive for driving the heater 66a for heating the circulating bath water). Path) 88, an electrolytic cell circuit 90 for applying a predetermined voltage to the pair of electrodes 12b and 12c in the electrolytic cell 12 for electrolyzing the bath water, and drive circuits 80, 82, 84, 86 for each of these. , 88 and 90.

Of these, the power supply circuit 78 is suitable for the pump drive circuit 80, the valve drive circuit 82, the lamp drive circuit 84, the ozonizer drive circuit 86, the heater drive circuit 88, the electrolytic cell circuit 90 and the control circuit 76. It is connected so that power can be supplied. Further, the control circuit 76 is connected to a signal line for transmitting a control signal for controlling the drive states of the drive circuits 80, 82, 84, 86, 88 and 90, and the turbidimeter 14 and The flow meter 74 and the water temperature meter 72 are connected. Further, the control circuit 76 is connected to a RAM 92 that stores values such as turbidity of bath water, water temperature, flow rate, and water passage time, which serve as a reference.

Next, the operation of the circulating hot bath apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

First, when the power is turned on, the bath water in the bathtub 54 is drawn up by the circulation pump 64, and the suction port 5 of the water supply / drainage unit 56 is immersed and fixed in the bath water.
6b is supplied into the circulating hot bath apparatus main body 50 through the water supply hose 52a. At the same time, the water temperature of the bath water is measured by the water temperature meter 72, the flow meter 74 and the turbidity meter 14 installed in the flow path provided in the apparatus main body 50, the presence or absence of circulation is detected, and the circulation of the bath water is turbid. Is measured, and an information signal based on these is output to the control circuit 76. The water temperature, the flow rate, and the turbidity at each time point are compared with the reference values of the water temperature, the flow rate, and the turbidity stored in the RAM 92. Further, the control circuit 76 outputs a command signal for driving the three-way valves 68a, 68b and 68c to form a normal circulation flow path to the valve drive circuit 82 when the power is turned on. As a result, the bath water that has passed through the water supply hose 52a returns to the bathtub 54 again from the outlet 52c of the water supply / drainage unit 56 that is connected to the water outlet hose 52b through the normal circulation flow path.

Here, the bath water supplied into the apparatus main body 50 is heated and kept at an appropriate temperature in the heating tank 66 based on the measured value of the water temperature by the water thermometer 72 and the reference value of the water temperature stored in the RAM 92. After that, the liquid is supplied to the liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus 10 via the first three-way valve 68a and the second three-way valve 68b.

The bath water flowing into the liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus 10 first passes through the porous ceramics 16b contained in the microbial filtration tank 16 and, during this period, organic contaminants are generated by the porous ceramics 16b. And inorganic solid particles are filtered. At this time, the aerobic bacteria growing on the porous ceramics 16b have a function of decomposing the organic stains attached thereto, and thus the turbidity meter 14 of the filtered and purified bath water is used. It is supplied into the electrolytic cell 12 through the installed flow path. During this period, the turbidity meter 14 detects the turbidity of the bath water. The information signal is output to the control circuit 76 and is also compared with the reference value relating to the turbidity stored in the RAM 92, and each three-way valve 68a,
It is judged whether or not 68b and 68c are switched to perform the regeneration process of the microorganism filtration tank 16.

In the electrolytic cell 12, the inflowing bath water is electrolyzed by the cathode 12b and the anode 12c which form a pair of electrodes, and the alkaline bath water together with hydrogen gas is present in the vicinity of the cathode 12b and in the vicinity of the anode 12c. Acid bath water is generated together with oxygen gas. On the side of the anode 12c, a part of the organic substance contained in the bath water is oxidatively decomposed as the water is electrolyzed. Hydrogen gas and alkaline bath water and oxygen gas and acidic bath water generated near the respective electrodes are separated by the separating member 12d, and the cathode side discharge passage 96 and the anode side discharge passage are separated by the pressure of the supplied bath water. It is discharged separately from 94. This anode side discharge path 94
Has a larger opening cross-sectional area than the cathode-side discharge passage 96, the amount of acidic bath water containing oxygen gas discharged through the anode-side discharge passage 94 is equal to that of the cathode-side discharge passage 96.
More than alkaline bath water containing hydrogen gas discharged through.

Since the pH value increases near the cathode 12b as the alkaline bath water is generated by electrolysis, calcium ions and magnesium ions contained in the water are deposited as compounds on the surface of the cathode 12b.
In the present embodiment, when the amount of water passing after the start of electrolysis reaches, for example, 400 liters set in advance, the cathode 12b and the anode 12c have the reverse of the normal electrolysis in order to remove deposits. A voltage of polarity is applied for a predetermined time. Therefore, at the cathode 12b to which a positive potential is applied, the adhering compounds such as calcium and magnesium are dissolved and the electrode surface is cleaned. While the electrode cleaning process is being performed, the control circuit 76 controls the lamp drive circuit 84 to prevent the photochemical reaction from occurring in the photocatalyst tank 18 disposed downstream of the electrolytic cell 12. A command signal for not lighting 18c is output. After that, the electrode cleaning process described above is repeated every 400 liters, and the electrolysis capacity of the electrolytic cell 12 can be maintained.

Now, at the time of normal electrolysis, the electrolytic cell 12
The acid bath water containing the oxygen gas generated on the side of the anode 12c is supplied to the photocatalyst tank 18. In the photocatalyst tank 18, the germicidal power is generated by the ultraviolet rays emitted from the lamp 18c. Further, due to the effect of the photochemical reaction of the photocatalyst 18d excited by ultraviolet rays, the organic substances contained in the bath water are oxidatively decomposed, bacteria are sterilized, and harmful organic substances are decomposed. At this time, the oxygen gas contained in the bath water acts as an oxidant and promotes the photochemical reaction of the photocatalyst. Further, in the bath water flowing into the photocatalyst tank 18, the ozonizer 2 installed near the entrance of the photocatalyst tank 18 is used.
Since the ozone generated by 0 is added, the photochemical reaction of the photocatalyst can be further promoted. On the other hand, the alkaline bath water generated on the cathode 12b side of the electrolytic bath 12 joins the bath water purified and sterilized by the photocatalyst bath 18 at the joining portion 34 via the cathode side discharge passage 96 and the flow passage 33, While flowing out of the liquid purification / sterilization apparatus 10, it returns to the bathtub 54 again via the third three-way valve 68c.

Further, on the downstream side of the third three-way valve 68c,
A flow meter 74 is installed to detect the presence or absence of circulation of bath water and its flow rate. The information signal is output to the control circuit 76 and is also compared and calculated with the reference value relating to the flow rate stored in the RAM 92, so that the three-way valves 68a, 6a.
It is judged whether or not the regeneration treatment of the electrolytic cell 12 is performed by switching 8b and 68c. When it is determined that the flow rate is less than the reference value or does not flow at all, the control circuit 7
Reference numeral 6 outputs an error signal to a display device (not shown) and also outputs a command signal for stopping the entire device.

When the electrodes in the electrolytic cell 12 are clean, the lamp 18c installed in the photocatalyst tank 18 is not turned on, and the ozonizer 20 does not add ozone to the bath water. are doing. Therefore, the bath water that has flowed into the photocatalyst tank 18 is not cleaned by the photocatalyst or ultraviolet rays and is passed through the third three-way valve 68c to the bath 54.
Will return to again.

As is clear from the above description, the liquid purification and sterilization apparatus of the present invention supplies the bath water stored in the bath by the circulation pump 64 to the microbial filtration tank 16, and the microbial filtration tank 16 uses the bath water. And electrolyze the bath water in the electrolytic cell 12 to obtain the anode 12c of the electrolytic cell 12.
The oxygen gas generated on the side and the water for the acidic bath are used for the photocatalyst tank 18
The oxygen gas contained in the acid bath water can accelerate the photochemical reaction of the photocatalyst tank 18 to enhance the sterilizing power, and the bath water supplied to the electrolytic cell 12 can be supplied to the microbial filtration tank in advance. Since it is purified by 16, the inside of the electrolytic cell 12 can be prevented from being contaminated.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail above, and within the scope of the invention,
Various changes can be made.

For example, in the present embodiment, the oxygen gas generated on the side of the anode 12c of the electrolytic cell 12 and the acid bath water are supplied to the photocatalyst vessel 18, but on the side of the cathode 12b of the electrolytic cell 12. The generated hydrogen gas and alkaline bath water may be supplied to the photocatalyst tank 18. In this case, the opening cross-sectional area of the cathode-side discharge passage 96 is made larger than the opening cross-sectional area of the anode-side discharge passage 94, the cathode-side discharge passage 96 is connected to the photocatalyst tank 18, and further the anode-side discharge passage 94 is flowed. Connect to 33. Therefore, most of the bath water pumped up by the circulation pump 64 is supplied to the photocatalyst tank 18. According to this structure, the hydrogen gas generated on the side of the cathode 12b of the electrolytic bath 12 and the alkaline bath water are supplied to the photocatalyst bath 18, and the OH radical generated from the hydroxyl ion (OH ⁻ ) contained in the alkaline bath water. Thus, the photochemical reaction of the photocatalyst 18d can be promoted and the sterilizing power can be enhanced.

Further, in this embodiment, the anode 12 of the electrolytic cell 12 is
When supplying the liquid discharged from the c side to the photocatalyst tank 18, in order to make the amount of the liquid larger than the amount of the liquid discharged from the cathode 12b side of the same electrolytic tank 12, the anode side discharge passage 94 is provided. Although the opening cross-sectional area is configured to be larger than the opening cross-sectional area of the cathode side discharge passage 96, the anode side discharge passage 9
4 and the cathode side discharge passage 96 may have the same opening cross-sectional area, and the cathode side discharge passage 96 may be provided with a valve for adjusting the amount of water flow. Similarly, the cathode 1 of the electrolytic cell 12
When supplying the liquid discharged from the 2b side to the photocatalyst tank 18, in order to make the amount of the liquid larger than the amount of the liquid discharged from the anode 12c side of the same electrolytic tank 12, the cathode side discharge passage 96 is provided. Although the opening cross-sectional area is configured to be larger than the opening cross-sectional area of the anode side discharge passage 94, the anode side discharge passage 9
4 and the cathode side discharge passage 96 may have the same opening cross-sectional area, and the anode side discharge passage 94 may be provided with a valve for adjusting the amount of water flow.

[0047]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the liquid purification and sterilization apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the liquid stored in the storage means is supplied to the microorganism filtration tank by the circulation pump, Purify the liquid in a microorganism filtration tank,
When the liquid is electrolyzed in the electrolysis tank and the liquid generated on the anode side of the electrolysis tank is supplied to the photocatalyst tank, the oxygen gas contained in the liquid promotes the photochemical reaction of the photocatalyst tank, and the sterilizing power is increased. Can be increased. When supplying the liquid generated on the cathode side of the electrolysis tank to the photocatalyst tank, the photochemical reaction of the photocatalyst is promoted by the OH radicals generated from the hydroxyl ion (OH ⁻ ) contained in the liquid, and the bactericidal power is increased. In any of the above cases, the liquid supplied to the electrolytic cell has been purified by the microbial filtration tank in advance, so that the inside of the electrolytic cell can be prevented from being contaminated.

Further, in the liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus according to the second aspect, the amount of the liquid discharged from any one electrode side of the electrolytic cell to the photocatalyst tank side is discharged from the other electrode side of the electrolytic cell. Since it is configured to be larger than the amount of the liquid to be stored, most of the liquid pumped by the circulation pump is supplied to the photocatalyst tank, and not only the purification by the microorganism filtration tank but also the sterilization by the photocatalyst tank is performed. The effect can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a circulating hot bath apparatus applying the liquid purification / sterilization apparatus of this embodiment is installed in a bathroom.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a water supply / drainage unit of the circulating hot bath apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a circulating hot bath apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a microorganism filtration tank constituting a liquid purification / sterilization apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an electrolytic cell that constitutes a liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a photocatalyst tank that constitutes the liquid purifying / sterilizing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of a circulating hot bath apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Liquid Purifying / Sterilizing Device 12 Electrolytic Tank 12b Cathode 12c Anode 16 Microbial Filtration Tank 18 Photocatalyst Tank 54 Bath 64 64 Circulating Pump 66 Heating Tank

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A liquid stored in a storage means is pumped by a circulation pump, and then the pumped liquid is passed through a microbial filtration tank containing microorganisms to purify and sterilize the liquid. In the liquid purification and sterilization device for returning the liquid to the storage means, an electrolyzer arranged downstream of the microorganism filtration tank and electrolyzing the liquid by energizing a pair of electrodes, a light source and a photocatalyst And a photocatalyst tank accommodating a liquid, characterized in that it is configured to supply to the photocatalyst tank a liquid generated on one of the anode side and the cathode side of the electrolytic cell. Sterilizer. 2. The amount of liquid discharged from one of the electrode sides of the electrolytic cell to the photocatalyst tank side is set to be larger than the amount of liquid discharged from the other electrode side of the electrolytic cell. The liquid purifying and sterilizing apparatus according to claim 1, which is characterized in that.