JPS5950186A - Oxygen supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To maintain concn. of O2 approximately at a specified level without over or under concn. and to decrease the consumption of electrolyzing electric power in a device for electrolyzing water and supplying O2, by supplying O2 according to the concn. of O2 in the region where O2 is required to be supplied. CONSTITUTION:An electrolysis device 1 makes stationary operation and when the H2 pressure in an H2 storage means 2 in within a prescribed value, a three-way valve 5 is set at the evacuation port and the H2 from the device 1 is released. The H2 occluded in the means 2 is released and supplied to an O2 sensor 3 of an O2H2 fuel battery. On the other hand, when the H2 in the means 2 runs out and the voltage drops, the voltage drop is detected with a pressure sensor 7, and a control device 6 changes over the valve 5 to the supply port so that the H2 from the device 1 is supplied and occluded in the means 2. Part thereof is supplied through a regulating valve 8 at a specified flow rate to the sensor 3. When the occlusion of the means 2 is satd., the saturation is detected with the sensor 7 and the valve 5 is changed over to the evacuation port. When the concn. of O2 in the O2 supply range decreases and the electromotive force of the sensor 3 decreases, the electrolytic current is increased by a control device 4 in accordance with the decreased component of the electromotive force and if the concn. of O2 is excessive, the electrolytic current is decreased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for supplying oxygen by electrolyzing water, and more particularly to an oxygen supply apparatus for controlling the amount of electrolysis according to the oxygen concentration in the supply region 1i.

Generally, in sensitive areas such as basements, inside buildings, inside ships, and inside vehicles, oxygen concentration decreases due to human activities, and in severe cases, oxygen deficiency occurs. Father, even if it doesn't lead to a lack of oxygen, there is a problem in that it reduces a person's thinking ability. In such cases, a ventilation system can be used, but if outside air is allowed to flow in directly, there is a problem in that airflow turbulence, temperature changes, etc. occur, and cooling and heating efficiency decreases. Father, there are times when the amount of oxygen provided by the air alone is not enough.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop a means to supply insufficient oxygen, reduce the amount of ventilation, and prevent the oxygen deficiency state while preventing temperature changes and the like.

Conventionally, as a device for this glaze, a device that electrolyzes water and supplies oxygen has been proposed. However, the conventionally proposed devices are only configured to supply a certain level of nt9 element, and cannot respond to fluctuations in oxygen demand, resulting in excess or deficiency in oxygen concentration and using more electrolytic power than necessary. It has the disadvantage of consuming

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and by detecting the oxygen concentration in the area to which oxygen is to be supplied using an oxygen sensor and controlling the amount of electrolysis of the electrolyzer according to this output,
1] The purpose is to provide an oxygen supply device that can supply an amount of oxygen corresponding to the demand, can maintain the oxygen concentration at a substantially constant level without excess or deficiency, and can reduce the consumption of electrolytic power. .

That is, the present invention includes an electrolysis device that electrolyzes water to produce oxygen and hydrogen, an oxygen sensor that detects the oxygen concentration in a region to which oxygen is to be supplied, and an electrolyzer that generates oxygen and hydrogen according to the output of the oxygen sensor.
ff, an oxygen supply device comprising: an electrolysis control device for controlling electrolysis in the decomposition device; As a sensor, a fuel cell is provided that reacts hydrogen released from the hydrogen storage means with oxygen present in a region to which oxygen is to be supplied, and the electrolysis of the electrolyzer is controlled according to the output of the fuel cell. It is composed of

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the oxygen supply apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, the oxygen supply device of the present invention includes an electrolysis device], a hydrogen storage means 2, an oxygen sensor 3, and an electrolysis control device 4.
It is composed of:

The electrolyzer 1 consists of an electrolytic cell and a power supply device.

The electrolytic cell is a known one, for example, it consists of a single-electrode type or bipolar type normal-pressure water electrolytic cell, and the electrolyte is an aqueous alkali hydroxide solution of 20 to 30 g.The positive electrode is nickel, and the negative electrode is mainly made of iron. In addition, asbestos cloth is used as a diaphragm to prevent mixing of the generated oxygen gas and hydrogen gas. An appropriate amount of water is supplied through an ion exchanger (not shown).

The hydrogen storage means 2 is, for example, 1aNis-I-Ix, C
A check valve 9. Three-way valve 5 is made by filling a closed container with a metal hydride compound such as eCo5-)(x, V-Hx, etc.)
It is connected to the electrolytic device 1 through the electrolytic device 1, stores hydrogen generated in the electrolytic device 1, and supplies hydrogen to an oxygen sensor 3, which will be described later, via a flow rate regulating valve 8.

A metal hydride compound is formed by a reversible reaction between a metal or an alloy and hydrogen in response to pressure changes, as shown in the following formula.

However, M is a simple metal or an alloy. In this reversible reaction, the hydrogen pressure remains at a substantially constant value while hydrogen is being stored or released, and suddenly rises when the stored hydrogen reaches the saturated J state. It is known that when hydrogen becomes depleted, it suddenly drops. Therefore, it is suitable as a means for supplying a fixed amount of hydrogen to an oxygen sensor as in the present invention.

The three-way valve 5 supplies hydrogen from the above-mentioned frost disassembly 1 to the hydrogen storage means 2; This is a valve that switches between exhausting to the outside. This valve 5 is controlled by a valve control device #6 to control rAI-
I can do it.

The oxygen sensor 3 connects the hydrogen storage means 2 to the flow rate regulating valve 8.
It consists of an oxy-hydrogen fuel cell which reacts hydrogen supplied at a constant rate through a fuel cell with oxygen in the region to be supplied with oxygen.

This oxygen sensor 3 utilizes the fact that the electromotive force of the fuel cell changes in response to changes in the amount of oxygen. Oxygen is supplied to the oxygen sensor 3 by either natural ventilation of the air in the area to which oxygen is to be supplied, or by forced ventilation using an appropriate fan.

The electrolysis control device 4 includes, for example, a comparison circuit that compares the output of the acid accumulation sensor 3 with a reference voltage, and a control circuit that turns on/off the power of the electrolysis control device 1 or increases or decreases the current based on the output of the comparison circuit. It controls electrolysis in response to changes in oxygen concentration in the area to which oxygen is to be supplied.

Next, the operation of the oxygen supply apparatus of the present invention will be explained.

Assume that the electrolyzer 1 is now being operated steadily. Here, if the hydrogen pressure in the hydrogen storage means 2 is within a predetermined range, the three-way valve 5 becomes an exhaust boat and the 11L dismantling r
Hydrogen from g1 is released to the outside. Then, the hydrogen stored in the hydrogen storage means 2 is released and supplied to the oxygen sensor 3.

On the other hand, when the hydrogen in the hydrogen storage means 2 is depleted and the pressure drops, it is detected by the force sensor 7 and the valve control device 6 switches the three-way valve 5 to the supply port. Hydrogen from the device 1 is supplied to the hydrogen storage means 2. Part of the supplied hydrogen is supplied to the oxygen sensor 3 at a constant flow rate via the flow rate adjustment valve 8, and the rest is supplied to the hydrogen storage means 2. When hydrogen storage reaches a saturated state, it is detected by the pressure sensor 7, and the three-way valve 5 is switched to the exhaust port by the valve control device 6.

In this state, when the oxygen concentration in the area to which oxygen is to be supplied decreases and the starting force of the oxygen sensor 3 decreases, the electrolysis control device 4 increases the electrolysis current in response to the decrease in electromotive force. so that the output of the oxygen sensor 3 becomes a value corresponding to a predetermined oxygen concentration. On the other hand, when the oxygen concentration becomes too high, contrary to the above, the electrolytic current is decreased in accordance with the increase in the output of the oxygen sensor 3. Thereby, the oxygen concentration in the target area can be maintained constant.

Although the above-mentioned operation is a case of analog control, it is of course also possible to perform main-off control of the electrolyzer 1.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a container filled with a metal hydride compound was used as the hydrogen storage means 2, but a structure may be adopted in which the generated hydrogen is compressed and stored in the container. Alternatively, a plurality of hydrogen storage means may be appropriately switched and used by operating a valve.

As explained above, the present invention is produced by an electrolytic device,
a hydrogen storage means for storing a part of the hydrogen released from the hydrogen storage means; and an oxygen sensor for detecting the oxygen concentration by reacting the hydrogen released from the hydrogen storage means with oxygen in a target area, and By controlling the electrolyzer of the electrolyzer accordingly, it is possible to supply ft of oxygen corresponding to the demand, maintain the oxygen concentration at a substantially constant level without excess or deficiency, and reduce the consumption of electrolysis power. effective.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the oxygen supply apparatus of the present invention. 1... Electrolyzer 2... Hydrogen storage means 3.
...Oxygen sensor 4...Electrolysis control device 5...
Three-way valve 6... Valve control device 7... Pressure sensor 8... Flow j+ (Adjusting valve 9... Check valve applicant Motoda Electronics Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An electrolysis device that supplies oxygen by decomposing water with Mi, and an I! that detects the oxygen concentration in the area to which oxygen is to be supplied. T? Basic sensor and
An oxygen supply device comprising: an electrolysis control device that controls electrolysis in the electrolysis device according to the output of the oxygen sensor; The oxygen sensor is equipped with a fuel pond for reacting hydrogen released from the hydrogen storage means with oxygen present in an area to which oxygen is to be supplied, and the oxygen sensor is configured to react according to the output of the fuel cell. An oxygen supply device characterized in that it is configured to control electrolysis in the electrolysis device.