JPH10323668A - Electrolytic current control circuit for electrolytic water generator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control a power source for electrolysis by means of electric current flowing between a cathode and an anode of an electrolysis cell. SOLUTION: An electric current flowing between a cathode 6 and an anode 5 of an electrolytic cell 3 is sensed between a rectifier block 2 and both the electrodes 6, 5 by a current sensor 10 and the sensed current is converted into voltage, which is subjected to a V/F(voltage/frequency) conversion. Frequency F relating to electrolysis degree information obtained from the converted F and an operation part 13 is added to F relating to electrolysis information obtained from the relationship between known raw water conductivity and electrolytic current to provide operation control information, whereby an originally expected predetermined current between cathode and anode can be controlled by means of a control unit 11. As a result, an effective electrolytic current control can be conducted using a simple constitution so that the electrolytic cell can always deliver electrolytic water of constant pH according to pH specified by a user of an electrolytic water generator.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrolysis current control circuit for an electrolyzed water generator. More specifically, an electrolyzed water generating device that flows raw water into an electrolytic cell, conducts electricity between a positive electrode and a negative electrode disposed in the electrolytic cell, and performs electrolysis, thereby separating and discharging acidic water and alkaline water. The present invention relates to a control circuit for adjusting the discharged water to a desired pH.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Raw water is continuously supplied to a sealed electrolytic cell, and a direct current or a pulsating current flows between a negative electrode and a positive electrode disposed in a negative anode chamber divided through an ion-permeable membrane in the electrolytic cell. To apply electricity and perform electrolysis and ion osmosis of water, generate cathode water in the cathode chamber and anode water in the anode chamber,
There is an electrolyzed water generator that discharges water from individual discharge ports.

The electrolyzed water generator generates electricity by using ions dissolved in raw water as an electrolyte, and generates alkaline water having a high pH in a cathode chamber and acidic water having a low pH in an anode chamber, but the electrolyte contained in the raw water fluctuates. In addition, calcium ions contained in tap water and calcium ions added separately to supplement calcium lose their charge due to electrolysis due to electrolysis, deterioration of the electrodes, and the negative electrode, cathode chamber diaphragm and cathode chamber spout. Electrolytic conditions of the electrolytic cell itself are temporarily changed by depositing as calcium carbonate or calcium hydroxide and inhibiting the passage of electricity between the negative and positive electrodes. Therefore, even if the current applied to the electrolytic cell is kept in a constant state, it is not always possible to obtain alkaline water or acidic water having a desired pH.

On the other hand, a user of the electrolyzed water generator mainly supplies the alkaline water for drinking. In addition, acidic water is used for sterilizing and disinfecting solutions. Cells forming a living body are sensitive to pH, and it is hoped that water with a predetermined pH can always be obtained because actual fluctuations in pH have an undesirable effect on cells.

[0005] For this reason, specific dissolved components contained in raw water flowing into the electrolytic cell are removed by using an ion exchange resin or the like to stabilize the conductivity of the raw water flowing into the electrolytic cell, or to remove the electrolyte having a newly determined concentration. To make the conductivity of the raw water flowing into the electrolytic cell constant, or to reverse the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrode of the electrolytic cell during the period prior to use or during the suspension of water supply, and apply the positive voltage to the cathode to the anode. Applying a negative voltage to generate acidic water at the cathode, dissolving the deposited calcium with the generated acidic water, regenerating the electrode surface, and always flowing the same current corresponding to the specified pH to the electrode according to the specified pH It is devised.

Separately, the electrical conductivity and pH of the raw water supplied to the electrolytic cell and the negative anodic water discharged from the electrolytic cell are measured, and undesired water is discharged through a direction switching valve in front of the water discharge port. And discharge the water to the drain port, and use only the desired water discharge, or measure the electrical conductivity and pH of the negative anode water discharged from the electrolytic tank, and calculate the value with the control circuit. There is an electrolyzed water generating apparatus having a function of automatically controlling the voltage applied to the negative electrode so that the calculated result does not reach the predetermined value so that the value becomes the predetermined value.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned system for measuring the electric conductivity and the pH of the anode water discharged from the raw water or the electrolytic cell, an apparatus for measuring the electric conductivity or the pH is used for the electrolytic cell. It must be installed in the raw water inflow pipe and the water discharge pipe of the electrolytic cell. In this case, at least this device must be provided, which requires cost for the device and its installation, is not economical, and is difficult to design due to restrictions on the arrangement of electrolytic cells and the like.

The inventor of the present invention has found that the negative electrode of the electrolytic cell is formed of two metal plates facing each other as in the device for measuring electric conductivity, and the change in the current flowing through the negative electrode depends on the raw water, the electrode, and the electrolytic cell. Focusing on having a sensor function to represent the state of (1), by sensing the current flowing through the anode and cathode, it is intended to control the electrolytic current applied between the anode and cathode with the same function as the electric conductivity meter.

In the present invention, after a current flowing between the negative and positive electrodes of an electrolytic cell is sensed between a rectifying block and both electrodes by a current sensor, the current is converted into a voltage, and this voltage output is converted to a voltage V.
/ F (voltage / frequency) conversion. The operation control is performed by adding the converted F to the F relating to the electrolysis information obtained from the operation unit and the F relating to the electrolysis information (operation electrolysis information) obtained from the relationship between the raw water conductivity and the electrolysis current known in advance. As information, a predetermined inter-anode current that should flow is controlled by the control unit. That is, when the current does not flow between the predetermined negative and positive electrodes, the voltage applied between the negative and positive electrodes is changed through the control unit to obtain a predetermined current between the negative and positive electrodes. As a result, effective electrolytic current control of the electrolytic water can be performed with a simple configuration.
The electrolytic cell can always discharge electrolytic water having a constant pH according to the pH specified by the user of the electrolytic water generator.

[0010]

The electrolysis current control circuit of the electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that raw water is continuously flowed into the electrolysis tank, and is controlled by an ion-permeable membrane provided in the electrolysis tank. A DC voltage is applied between the negative and positive electrodes of the cathode chamber into which the cathode electrode is inserted and the anode chamber into which the positive electrode is inserted, and a current is applied between the two electrodes in the electrolyzed water generating apparatus for electrolyzing raw water. The electrolytic power supply is controlled by an output obtained from a current sensor for monitoring the electric current.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrolytic current control circuit for an electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention. Is detected.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrolysis current control circuit for an electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the output voltage obtained from the current sensor is V /
It is characterized in that a circuit for F-conversion, an output obtained by V / F conversion and operation electrolysis information are added to control an electrolytic power source as operation control information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrolysis current control circuit for an electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the output voltage obtained from the current sensor and the V / V
A polarity inversion circuit is formed between the circuits that perform F conversion.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the principle of an electrolysis current control circuit of an electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a transformer, 2 is a rectifying block for rectifying the current on the secondary side of the transformer,
Reference numeral 3 denotes an electrolytic cell, in which an anode 5 and a cathode 6 are disposed so as to face each other with a diaphragm 4 interposed therebetween. In a normal state, raw water entering the electrolytic cell from the inflow side pipe member 7 in the direction of the arrow is electrolyzed. Then, the anode water is discharged from the anode tube member 8 and the cathode water is discharged from the cathode tube member 9.

The current sensor 10 detects a current flowing in a circuit from the rectifier block 2 to the anode 5 by a magnetic field, and monitors a change in the current. The signal from the current sensor 10 passes through the control unit 11 to adjust the voltage on the secondary side of the transformer. Reference numeral 13 denotes an operation unit for inputting a value such as a desired pH to the control unit 11, and its output is input to the control unit 11 as frequency information. A ROM 14 stores the relationship between the conductivity of raw water and the electrolytic current, and information on the operating electrolyticity of the electrolytic current due to deterioration of the electrodes. The optimum current value calculated from the desired pH value and the electric conductivity of the raw water, the current fluctuation value between the cathodes related to the deterioration of the electrodes due to the use time of the electrolytic cell, and the like are processed by the control unit 11 together with the signal obtained from the current sensor 10. Adjust the voltage on the transformer secondary side. Although the current sensor 10 is provided in a circuit from the positive side of the rectification block 2 to the anode 5 in the drawing, it may be provided in a circuit from the negative side of the rectification block 2 to the cathode 6. May be provided with an inversion circuit for reverse power. In the figure, the transformer 2 is controlled by the control unit 11.
The adjustment of the voltage on the secondary side is shown as the voltage adjustment by moving the arrow selecting member 12. However, an energization phase control circuit including a triac is provided on the primary and secondary sides of the transformer to continuously apply the electrode. The voltage can also be controlled.

According to such a configuration, when the pH of the electrolyzed water generator is set to a predetermined value, an abnormality is detected in the current flowing in the circuit from the rectifying block 2 to the anode 5, which should flow to the current sensor 10. Then, the control unit 11 can adjust the voltage on the secondary side of the transformer to an optimum voltage and adjust the current flowing in the circuit from the rectifying block 2 to the anode 5. For example, due to calcium ions and the like contained in tap water due to electrolysis, the calcium ions lose their charge with use and accumulate on the negative electrode and the cathode compartment diaphragm.
Since the resistance between the negative and positive electrodes increases with the deposition and inhibits current flow, the electrolysis conditions change successively, and the current flowing between the two electrodes decreases, but the current sensor 10 senses this and decreases the current. At the same time, it operates in the direction of increasing the voltage via the control unit 11, that is, in the direction against the resistance between the negative and positive electrodes, so that the same current as before the deposition can flow between the two electrodes. As a result, the desired pH without the influence of the deposition
Alkaline water or acidic water is obtained.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the characteristics of the current sensor and the electrolyticity, and the relationship between the current and the voltage flowing through the electrolytic cell. FIG. 2A shows the relationship between the pH of the cathode water discharged from the electrolytic cell and the pH. FIG. 2B shows the relationship between the current flowing between the positive and negative poles, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between a current flowing through an electrolytic cell and a voltage.

FIG. 2A shows the relationship between the current (horizontal axis) flowing between the negative and positive electrodes and the pH (vertical axis) of the cathode water discharged from the electrolytic cell.
It can be seen that H increases and saturates at a certain height. In addition, it can be seen from FIG. 2B that the current flowing in the electrolytic cell and the voltage are substantially proportional to each other, and that the current can be increased by increasing the voltage.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a practical device constructed based on the above-mentioned technical idea, from a current sensor to an output after V / F conversion. The addition of the output, the desired pH value, and the output such as the optimal current value calculated from the electric conductivity of the raw water is a configuration of the control unit itself, and a known technique is used.

A voltage proportional to the current flowing through both electrodes can be obtained from the current sensor 10 shown in FIG. Such a current sensor 10 which is mass-produced is commercially available and can be suitably used. The comparator 15 constituting the current sensor 10 is supplied with positive and negative voltages from a power source (not shown) so as to be able to respond to the application of a reverse voltage to the electrolytic cell. The output is smoothed by an LC integration circuit 16 and input to a V / F conversion circuit 17 composed of a comparator and a regulator, where the output is subjected to V / F conversion. Occur. This pulse current is a reference pulse relating to electrolysis information obtained from a previously known relationship between raw water conductivity and electrolysis current stored in the ROM and a pulse current (not shown) corresponding to a desired electrolysis degree input from the operation unit 13. The current is freely compared with and added to the current, output to the selection member 12, and the electrolysis voltage is adjusted.

FIG. 4 shows another example of a practical device constructed based on the above technical idea corresponding to FIG.
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing an output after / F conversion.

As described above, with the use of the electrolyzed water generating apparatus, the conductivity between the anode and the cathode gradually deteriorates due to the deposition of the calcium compound on the cathode and the like. For this reason, the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrodes of the electrolytic cell is reversed during the suspension of water supply, and a positive voltage is applied to the cathode and a negative voltage is applied to the anode to generate acidic water at the cathode. Reverse electrolysis for dissolving the calcium thus obtained and regenerating the electrode surface is performed. In the reverse electrolysis, since the anode current is inverted, the voltage output from the current sensor 10 and proportional to the current flowing through both electrodes is also inverted. According to the configuration of the circuit diagram shown in FIG. 4, the polarity inversion circuit automatically reverses the voltage polarity when reverse electrolysis is performed, so that the current value flowing from the photo-switch 18 to both electrodes as a positive voltage at all times is always positive. And a corresponding pulse current can be generated.

In FIG. 4, a circuit for performing the above inversion is shown in FIG.
Output terminal of the current sensor 10 and the V / F conversion circuit 1 shown in FIG.
It comprises a polarity inversion amplifier 19 placed between the seven input terminals and two diodes D1 and D2. When alkaline water is to be obtained, a current having a positive potential at the anode and a potential of 0 at the cathode flows through the current sensor 10, and a positive voltage is generated in the operational amplifier 15 by this flow. The generated positive voltage is a diode
D1 is made conductive and input to the V / F conversion circuit 17. At this time, since the output of the polarity inversion amplifier 19 becomes a negative voltage, the diode D2 is reverse-biased and no output appears. When the anode voltage is inverted for backwashing, a negative voltage is generated in the operational amplifier 15. At this time, the diode D1 is reverse-biased, and the output of the polarity inversion amplifier 19 becomes a positive voltage, so that the diode D2 conducts and V / F
It is input to the conversion circuit 17. As a result, even in the case of back washing, the same signal as when alkaline water is obtained is output to the V / F conversion circuit 17.
Is input to

It is convenient to perform such frequency comparison and data reading in software in conjunction with the timing clock of the microcomputer. In this case, the output of the current sensor 10 can be accurately counted digitally by the control unit 11 and adjusted via the selection member 12, so that the output of the current sensor 10 can be adjusted according to the state of the electrolytic cell and the conductivity of the water supplied to the electrolytic cell. Thus, the applied voltage to both electrodes can be accurately calculated and applied.

[0026]

The electrolysis current control circuit of the electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to the present invention receives the current flowing between the anode and the anode of the electrolytic cell by a current sensor, converts the current into a voltage, and converts this voltage output to V / F.
Converting and comparing F (frequency) with the current flowing between the predetermined anode and anode in the normal state, and changing the applied voltage between the cathode and anode via the control unit when the current is not the current flowing between the cathode and anode. As a result, a predetermined current between the negative and positive electrodes can be obtained, and the following effects can be obtained practically. (B) Since there is no need to provide a device for measuring electric conductivity or a pH meter in the raw water inflow pipe of the electrolytic cell or the water discharge pipe of the electrolytic cell, the arrangement of the electrolytic cell is not restricted. (B) Since there is no need to provide a device for measuring electrical conductivity or a pH meter, it is economical. (C) The electrolytic cell can always discharge electrolytic water having a constant pH according to the pH specified by the user of the electrolytic water generator. D) Even in the case of reverse electrolysis, it is possible to obtain a V / F converted pulse current similar to that obtained when obtaining alkaline water. E The circuit is simple and economical, and can operate stably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of an electrolysis current control circuit of an electrolyzed water generation device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a relationship between a characteristic of a current sensor and an electrolytic degree and a relationship between a current flowing through an electrolytic cell and a voltage.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a practical device configured based on the technical idea of the present invention, from a current sensor to an output after V / F conversion.

FIG. 4 is another example of a practical device constructed based on the technical idea of the present invention, and a V / F from a current sensor via a polarity inversion circuit.
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing an output after conversion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Current sensor 11 Control unit 13 Operation part 17 V / F conversion circuit 18 Foot switch 19 Polarity inversion amplifier

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method according to claim 1, wherein the raw water is continuously introduced into the electrolytic cell and is divided by an ion-permeable diaphragm provided in the electrolytic cell. An electrolyzed water generating apparatus for applying a direct current voltage between electrodes and conducting electricity to electrolyze raw water, wherein an electrolyzed power supply is controlled by an output obtained from a current sensor for monitoring a current flowing between the two electrodes. Electrolytic current control circuit of generator. 2. The electrolytic current control circuit for an electrolyzed water generator according to claim 1, wherein the current sensor senses a current between the rectifying block and both electrodes. circuit. 3. The electrolytic current control circuit of the electrolyzed water generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output voltage obtained from the current sensor is V / F.
An electrolysis current control circuit for an electrolyzed water generator, comprising: a circuit for converting; and an output obtained by V / F conversion and operation electrolysis information, and an electrolysis power supply is controlled as operation control information. 4. The electrolytic current control circuit according to claim 3, wherein the output voltage obtained from the current sensor and V / F
An electrolysis current control circuit for an electrolyzed water generator, wherein a polarity inversion circuit is formed between circuits for conversion.