JPH0985244A - Electrolytic water preparation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrolytic water preparation device for controlling the amount of use of water and achieve the desired cleaning efficiency. SOLUTION: This device is provide with a water feed regulating valve 4 for feeding and stopping water flowing into an electrolytic vessel 3 and a controller 15 for controlling the water feed regulating valve 4 to feed and stop water alternately by the given numbers of operations respectively at the time of cleaning the electrolytic vessel 3. The operations of feeding and stopping water for the given time are carried out alternately by the given numbers in the state of controlling a polar conversion circuit 13 by the controller 15 and applying reverse voltage to an anode 8 and a cathode 9. As scale is removed quickly following the water feeding and cleaning operation, the improvement of the removal of scale and the control of consumption of water following the water stop cleaning operation can be carried out by the above arrangement, the desired scale removing efficiency can be provided in the state of controlling the consumption of water, and also the running cost thereof can be lowered.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electrolyzed water generator used to generate alkaline ionized water and acidic water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, electrolyzed water generators have been used to obtain alkaline ionized water for drinking and acidic water used for beauty or disinfection. As an example of this electrolyzed water generator, an electrolytic cell for electrolyzing water to obtain alkaline ionized water and acidic water, and a polarity switching means for switching the polarity of the voltage applied to the anode and cathode provided in the electrolytic cell are provided. Have, anode,
There is an electrolyzed water generator that electrolyzes water by applying a positive voltage and a negative voltage (hereinafter, referred to as a normal voltage) to the cathode. This electrolyzed water generator further switches the polarity and applies negative and positive voltages (hereinafter, referred to as reverse voltage) to the anode and cathode while the water flow is stopped (stopped), and then returns to the original polarity. By applying a normal voltage,
Cleaning is performed by removing scales such as calcium from the anode and cathode. As described above, the cleaning operation performed by stopping the flow of water and using the accumulated water is hereinafter referred to as a water-stop cleaning operation for convenience.

As another type, there is an electrolyzed water generator adapted to perform a cleaning operation in a water-passing state. Hereinafter, the cleaning operation performed in the water-passing state will be referred to as a water-passing cleaning operation for convenience.

[0004]

By the way, in the electrolyzed water generator for carrying out the washing operation with water, water flows in contact with the anode and the cathode, so that the scale can be removed quickly and the scale removal efficiency is excellent. However, there is a problem that a large amount of water is consumed. Further, in the electrolyzed water generator that performs the water washing operation, the amount of water consumed can be small, but the scale removal efficiency is inferior.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrolyzed water generator which can reduce the amount of water used and achieve a desired cleaning efficiency.

[0006]

The present invention is directed to an electrolyzer for electrolyzing water to obtain alkaline ionized water and acidic water, and a polarity for switching the polarity of voltage applied to an anode and a cathode provided in the electrolyzer. An electrolytic water generator having a switching means, wherein the anode and the cathode are applied with a reverse polarity voltage to wash the electrolytic cell,
Water flow adjusting means for water flow to the electrolyzer and stop thereof, and control for controlling the water flow adjusting means so that water flow and water flow stop are alternately performed a predetermined number of times when cleaning the electrolyzer. And means.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An electrolyzed water generator according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In FIG. 1, an electrolytic bath 3 is connected to a water supply source 1 such as a water faucet via a supply pipe 2, and water W is supplied to the electrolytic bath 3. In the supply pipe 2, an electrically operated water flow adjusting valve (water flow adjusting means) 4 for switching water flow or its stop, a water flow rate adjusting mechanism 5 for adjusting a water flow rate,
A flow meter 6 for detecting the water flow rate is provided in this order from the upstream side. The water flow rate adjusting mechanism 5 may be omitted.

The electrolytic cell 3 comprises a tank body 7 for storing water, an anode 8 and a cathode 9 arranged in the tank body 7, a region M ₁ in which the anode 8 is arranged and a region M in which the cathode 9 is arranged. It is generally composed of a diaphragm 10 arranged so as to separate the _two .
The diaphragm 10 is made of a material that is permeable to ions.
The diaphragm 10 may be omitted.

An acidic water discharge pipe 11 and an alkaline ionized water discharge pipe 12 are connected to the portions of the tank body 7 which face the regions M ₁ and M ₂ , respectively, and the acidic water D obtained by electrolysis, The alkaline ionized water E is discharged respectively.

The anode 8 and the cathode 9 are connected to a DC power supply 14 via a polarity conversion circuit (polarity switching means) 13.
The polarity conversion circuit 13 has a switch mechanism (not shown) and switches the polarity of the voltage applied to the anode 8 and the cathode 9 by the operation of the switch mechanism. DC power supply 14
Is composed of, for example, an AC power supply (not shown) and a rectifier circuit (not shown), and the output current including ON and OFF can be adjusted by controlling the rectifier circuit.

A controller (control means) 15 is provided in connection with the water flow regulating valve 4, the flow meter 6, the polarity conversion circuit 13, and the DC power supply 14. The controller 15 controls the polarity conversion circuit 13 to apply a normal voltage to the anode 8 and the cathode 9 to electrolyze water to generate alkaline ionized water E and acidic water D, and as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. A cleaning operation is performed by performing processing.

This cleaning operation will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 2, when the cleaning operation is started (step S1), the DC power supply 14 is turned off and the voltage application to the electrolytic cell 3 is stopped (step S2).

Subsequently, the switch mechanism of the polarity conversion circuit 13 is controlled so that the polarities of the voltages applied to the anode 8 and the cathode 9 are switched (step S3), the DC power supply 14 is turned on,
Reverse voltage is applied to the anode 8 and the cathode 9 via the polarity conversion circuit 13 (step S4). Before controlling the switch mechanism of the polarity conversion circuit 13 (step S3), the DC power source 1
4 is turned off to stop the voltage application to the electrolytic cell 3 (step S2), but the step S2 may be omitted.

Next, a still water washing operation (step S5) and a water passing washing operation (step S6) are sequentially performed. The still water washing operation is
It is executed as shown in FIG. First, at the same time as starting step S5 (step S21), start measuring the cleaning time,
The water flow regulating valve 4 is closed to stop the water flow to the electrolytic cell 3 (step S22), and the reverse voltage is applied to the anode 8 and the cathode 9 in the water stopped state to remove the scale. Next, it is judged whether or not the water-stopping cleaning operation is completed based on the comparison result of whether or not the cleaning time has reached a predetermined time (step S23). If the cleaning time reaches the predetermined time T ₁ in step S23, the determination is YES and the water-stop cleaning operation is ended (step S24), and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

Subsequent to the sub-routine of step S5, a sub-routine for water flow cleaning operation is executed (step S6). The water washing operation is executed as shown in FIG. First, at the same time as the start of step S6 (step S31), the measurement of the cleaning time is started, and the water flow regulating valve 4 is opened to restart the water flow to the electrolytic cell 3 (step S32). Remove. Next, it is judged whether or not the water-stopping cleaning operation is completed based on the comparison result as to whether or not the cleaning time has reached the predetermined time T ₂ (step S33). If the cleaning time reaches the predetermined time T ₂ in step S33, it is determined to be YES, the water flow cleaning operation is ended, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 2 to proceed.

Subsequent to the subroutine of step S6, the number of washings C is calculated assuming that the above-mentioned water-stopping washing operation (step S5) and water-passage washing operation (step S6) have been performed once.
Each time both of the above operations are performed, the cleaning number C is incremented by "1" (step S7). Next, it is determined whether or not the number of times of cleaning C has reached a preset reference value X (step S
8) If the number of times of cleaning C has not reached the reference value X, it is determined to be NO and the process returns to step S5 to perform the still water cleaning operation (step S5) and the passing water cleaning operation (step S6).
Do it once.

When the cleaning frequency C reaches the reference value X, step S8
If YES is determined, the DC power supply 14 is turned off and the electrolytic cell 3
The voltage application to is stopped (step S9). Next, the switch mechanism of the polarity conversion circuit 13 is controlled so that the polarities of the voltages applied to the anode 8 and the cathode 9 are switched, the DC power supply 14 is turned on, and the anode 8 and the cathode 9 are connected via the polarity conversion circuit 13. A normal voltage is applied to the device to restore the normal electrolytic treatment (step S10), and the cleaning process ends (step S11). In step S9, the DC power supply 14 is turned off to stop the voltage application to the electrolytic cell 3, but step S9 may be omitted.

In the above-described electrolyzed water generator, the controller 15 controls the polarity conversion circuit 13 to apply a reverse voltage to the anode 8 and the cathode 9, and water is stopped and water is stopped for a predetermined number of times. Alternate. For this reason, it is possible to speed up scale removal associated with the water-washing operation, improve scale removal efficiency, and reduce water consumption associated with the water-stopping cleaning operation. The desired scale removal efficiency can be obtained with the water consumption suppressed, and the running cost can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the case where the termination judgment of the water-stopping cleaning operation is determined based on whether or not the cleaning time has reached the predetermined time T ₁ in step S23 of FIG. Instead of this, the electrolysis accumulated time, the electrolysis accumulated current value, or the electrolysis accumulated power value may be measured, and the termination determination of the water-stop cleaning operation may be performed based on the measured data. Further, in FIG. 4, the water passing cleaning operation is ended based on the cleaning time, but similarly to the above, it is performed based on the electrolysis integrated time, the electrolysis integrated current value, or the electrolysis integrated power value. Good.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the end of the cleaning operation is determined based on whether or not the number of times of cleaning C has reached the preset reference value X in step S8 of FIG. 2 has been described as an example. Instead of this, the electrolysis accumulated time, the electrolysis accumulated current value, or the electrolysis accumulated power value may be measured, and the end of the cleaning operation may be determined based on each data.

Next, an electrolyzed water generator according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This electrolyzed water generator is branched to the alkaline ionized water discharge pipe 12 and connected to the first auxiliary pipe 20 as compared with those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and the first auxiliary pipe 20 is controlled by the controller 15A. A normally closed atmosphere opening control valve 21 that opens and closes is installed, and the second auxiliary pipe 22 is connected to the second auxiliary pipe 22 by branching to the downstream side portion of the flow meter 6 of the supply pipe 2.
A controller 15A having a normally closed drainage control valve 23 which is controlled by A and has a subroutine of step S5A (stop water cleaning operation) instead of the subroutine of step S5 of FIG. 2 in place of the controller 15. The other parts and members are the same as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and the description of the same parts and members will be appropriately omitted.

In step S5A, the controller 15A first starts its processing (step S5A), as shown in FIG.
At the same time, the measurement of the cleaning time is started, the water flow adjusting valve 4 is closed, and the water flow to the electrolytic cell 3 is stopped (step S52).
), The scale is removed by applying a reverse voltage to the anode 8 and the cathode 9 in a water-stopped state. Next, the cleaning time is a predetermined time T
Based on the comparison result of whether it has reached ₃ , it is judged whether or not the water-stopping cleaning operation is completed (step S53). In the present embodiment, in step S53 of FIG. 7, the cleaning time is the predetermined time T ₃
Although the example in which the termination judgment of the water-stopping cleaning operation is performed based on whether or not the value has reached has been taken as an example, instead of this, the electrolytic accumulated time, the electrolytic accumulated current value, or the electrolytic accumulated electric power value is measured, and It may be possible to determine the end of the water-stop cleaning operation based on the data.

In step S53, the cleaning time is a predetermined time T
_When it reaches ₃ , it is determined to be YES, and the process proceeds to step S54 to open the atmosphere opening control valve 21. Next, the drainage control valve 23
Then, the water inside the electrolytic cell 3 is discharged from the second auxiliary pipe 22 by the head pressure (step S56), and the measurement of the drainage time is started. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the drainage time has reached a preset time T _B (step S5
7). If YES is determined in step S57, the atmosphere release control valve 21 is closed and the atmosphere release is completed (step S57).
Then, the drainage control valve 23 is closed to terminate the drainage by the head pressure (step S58), the water-stop cleaning process is terminated (step S59), and the process proceeds to step S6 of the main routine of FIG.
Hereinafter, the process proceeds in the same manner as described with reference to FIG.

This electrolyzed water generator, like the electrolyzed water generator described above, alternately conducts water supply and water supply stop for a predetermined time a predetermined number of times with a reverse voltage applied to the anode 8 and the cathode 9. . For this reason, it is possible to speed up scale removal associated with the water-washing operation, improve scale removal efficiency, and reduce water consumption associated with the water-stopping cleaning operation. The desired scale removal efficiency can be obtained with the water consumption suppressed, and the running cost can be reduced.

This electrolyzed water generator discharges the water in the electrolytic cell 3 during the water-stopping cleaning operation, so that the scale removed from the anode 8 and the cathode 9 by the cleaning operation is surely removed from the electrolytic cell 3. Since it flows out, the scale is not attached to the anode 8 or the cathode 9 when the next voltage is applied, and the scale removal efficiency can be improved accordingly.

[0026]

According to the present invention, the control means controls the polarity switching means to alternately pass water and stop water for a predetermined number of times in a state in which a reverse voltage is applied to the anode and the cathode. It is possible to speed up scale removal associated with the water-through cleaning operation, improve scale removal efficiency, and reduce water consumption associated with the water-stopping cleaning operation. In this state, the desired scale removal efficiency can be obtained, and the running cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram schematically showing an electrolyzed water generator according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a part of processing contents of a controller of the electrolyzed water generator.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of step S5 of FIG.

4 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of step S6 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a system diagram schematically showing an electrolyzed water generator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a part of processing contents of a controller of the electrolyzed water generator.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of step S5A of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Electrolyzer 4 Water flow adjusting valve (water flow adjusting means) 8 Anode 9 Cathode 13 Polarity conversion circuit (polarity switching means) 15 Controller (controlling means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electrolytic cell for electrolyzing water to obtain alkaline ionized water and acidic water, and a polarity switching means for switching the polarity of voltage applied to an anode and a cathode provided in the electrolytic cell, Anode, an electrolyzed water generator for applying a reverse polarity voltage to the cathode to wash the electrolytic cell, water flow adjusting means for passing water to the electrolytic cell and stopping it, and in cleaning the electrolytic cell, An electrolyzed water generator, comprising: control means for controlling the water flow adjusting means so that water flow and water flow stop are alternately performed a predetermined number of times.