JP3222983B2 - Ion water generator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ion water generator for electrolyzing continuously supplied tap water to produce alkaline water and acidic water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In this type of apparatus, a scale of calcium or the like is deposited and adhered to the electrode surface during electrolysis to reduce the electrolytic capacity. There has been known one in which the electrode is cleaned. In these devices, a pressure switch that is turned on / off in conjunction with the passage and stoppage of the water supply at the time of electrode cleaning is provided, and a constant voltage is applied for a predetermined time based on a signal from the pressure switch. Device (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open No. 59-189)
871) and a device for applying a constant current (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-14990).

However, when a constant voltage is applied for a predetermined period of time, the electrolytic current fluctuates according to the quality of the supplied tap water, and the amount of washing changes, so that appropriate washing may not be obtained.

When a constant current is applied for a predetermined time,
Since the cleaning flow rate varies depending on the supplied water pressure, cleaning may be incomplete.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to appropriately perform electrode cleaning without being affected by fluctuations in the supply amount of tap water.

[0006]

According to the present invention, at least one pair of electrodes is provided in an electrolytic cell for continuously supplying tap water,
A flow rate detecting means for detecting a flow rate of tap water supplied to an electrolytic cell in an ion water generator which applies a DC voltage between these electrodes to take out tap water while electrolyzing it into alkaline water and acidic water, And electrode control means for adjusting the applied current applied between the electrodes according to the output of the flow rate detecting means when the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrode is reversed.

[0007]

When the polarity of the DC voltage applied between the electrodes is reversed to wash the electrodes, the electrode control means applies the voltage to the electrodes according to the amount of water supplied to the electrolytic cell detected by the flow rate detection means. By adjusting the applied current to be applied, electrode cleaning can be performed efficiently even if the amount of water supplied to the electrolytic cell varies.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. First, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Is a main body of the ion water generator, which is mainly composed of a calcium cartridge (2), a water purification cartridge (3), and an electrolytic cell (4), and is connected to a water supply pipe (5) of the calcium cartridge (2).
Tap water tap (7) is connected via switching cock (6), and tap water is sequentially passed through the calcium cartridge (2), water purification cartridge (3), and electrolytic cell (4). Alkaline water, acidic water,
It is configured to discharge purified water or the like as appropriate.

In the calcium cartridge (2), a cartridge containing calcium glycerophosphate or the like is detachably housed, and the compound in the cartridge is added to tap water to supply water to the water purification cartridge (3).

The water purification cartridge (3) is made of silver activated carbon.
(10) After the cartridge containing the filter medium such as the hollow fiber membrane (11) is detachably housed, and after removing impurities and the like in tap water,
The water is supplied to the electrolytic cell (4).

Further, the electrolytic cell (4) is provided with a first electrode (13) made of stainless steel and a second electrode (14) made of titanium alloy via a diaphragm (12) inside. (13) Connect the first water pipe (15) so as to supply the water near the outlet (8),
A second water pipe (16) is connected so that water near the electrode (14) is supplied to the drain (9).

The switching cock (6) taps tap water.
(7) It is possible to arbitrarily switch between directly supplying water or supplying water to the generator body (1).

(17) The above water purification cartridge (3) and electrolytic cell
A flow meter mounted in the middle of a connecting pipe (18) communicating with (4),
(19) is a solenoid valve interposed in the second water pipe (16).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a circuit unit (20) housed in the generator body (1). The microcomputer (21) mainly includes a flow meter (17), a solenoid valve (19), and an integrated flow rate. Arithmetic circuit (22),
Switch unit (23), power supply circuit (24), display unit (2
5) etc. are connected.

The switch unit (23) comprises a water selection switch (26) for selecting alkaline water, purified water and acidic water.
And a concentration selection switch (2
7) and the like, and the display unit (25) includes a water selection display lamp (28) for displaying the selection results of the water selection switch (26) and the concentration selection switch (27), and an ion concentration display lamp (2
9), consisting of a cleaning lamp (30) that lights up during cleaning.

The power supply circuit (24) includes the microcomputer (21)
Circuit power supply (31) for supplying power to the electrodes, etc., and the electrodes (13) (14)
Then, based on the instruction from the microcomputer (21), the electrode control circuit (32)
And a switching power supply (33) for supplying a DC power of a predetermined current through the power supply.

On the other hand, the integrated flow rate calculating circuit (22) integrates the integrated flow rate of alkaline water, the integrated flow rate of acidic water, the integrated flow rate during washing, and the like. When it reaches 105 liters with alkaline water and 2 liters with acidic water), it outputs to the microcomputer 21 to perform initialization and the like.

The general operation will be described. In FIG. 1, the switching cock (6) is switched to the generator main body (1) side to switch the faucet.
When (7) is opened, the amount of tap water according to the opening of the faucet is sequentially supplied to the calcium cartridge (2), the water purification cartridge (3), and the electrolytic cell (4) through the water supply pipe (5).

On the other hand, when the power of the generator body (1) is turned on, as shown in the flow chart showing the main routine of FIG. Is determined to be equal to or higher than a predetermined flow rate (for example, 1.5 liters / minute). If the output is equal to or lower than a predetermined amount, the operation is not performed.

In step S2, it is determined whether or not the integrated flow rate of the alkaline electrolysis integrated by the integrated flow rate calculation circuit (22) is, for example, 105 liters or more. If so, step S4
To the alkaline water process.

When the predetermined process is completed in step S4, the process proceeds to step S5, and in this step, when the selection by operating the water selection switch (26) is detected,
Proceed to the water purification step of step S6, and when a predetermined step is completed in this water purification step, proceed to step S7 to detect an operation of the water selection switch (26). The process proceeds to the water process. When the predetermined process is completed, the process proceeds to step S9. If the selection of the water selection switch (26) is detected here, the process proceeds to step S4.
And the above operation is repeated.

In the acidic water process in step S8, if the selection of the water selection switch (26) is not detected in step S9, the process proceeds to step S10, and if the integrated flow rate of the acidic water has reached, for example, 2 liters, , Step S1
After proceeding to step 1 to reset the integrated flow rate of the alkaline electrolysis, the process proceeds to step S12. If the integrated flow rate of the acidic water has reached 7 liters in this step, the process forcibly proceeds to step S4 to switch to the alkaline water process to switch the electrode ( 13) Prevent the dissolution of (14), and if not reached, return to step S8 to continue the acidic water process.

The operations of the alkaline water process, the water purification process and the acidic water process are omitted. In the alkaline water process, it is mainly detected whether or not the integrated flow rate of the alkaline water electrolysis has reached, for example, 105 liters. A predetermined direct current set by the switch (27) is applied in the forward direction with the first electrode (13) serving as a cathode and the second electrode (14) serving as an anode, and alkaline water is taken out from the outlet (8). Drain the acidic water from the drain (9). In the water purification step, the application of voltage to the electrodes (13) and (14) is stopped, the electromagnetic valve (19) is closed, and the purified water that has passed through the water purification cartridge (3) is taken out only from the outlet (8).
In the acidic water process, open the solenoid valve (19) and switch the concentration
The predetermined direct current set by (27) is applied to the electrodes (13) and (14) in the reverse direction, and the acidic water is taken out from the outlet (8).

On the other hand, in the cleaning step of step S3, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 4, the same constant flow rate as in step S1 is detected in step S13. It is detected whether the volume has reached 2 liters or more.
If the flow rate detected by the output of the flow meter (17) is, for example, 5 liters / minute or more, the flow proceeds to step S16, and the electrodes (13) and (14) are, for example, 3.5 A (around 35 V).
Is applied in the reverse direction, the flow returns to step S13, and the above operation is repeated.

If the flow rate is less than 5 liters / minute in step S15, the process proceeds to step S17, S18, or S19. If the flow rate is within the set flow rate range of each step, step S20 or S21, respectively. S22
If the flow rate is smaller than the set flow rate in step S19, the flow proceeds to step S23, and in each step, the electrodes (13) and (14)
For example, a DC current of 2.2 A (around 22 V), 1.5 A (around 15 V), 0.8 A (around 8 V), and 0.4 A (around 4 V) is applied in the reverse direction. Is greater than or equal to 2 liters, step S24
After stopping the application to the electrodes (13) and (14), the process proceeds to step S25 to determine whether the integrated cleaning flow rate has reached, for example, 3 liters. After resetting the integrated flow rate, the process returns to step S4 of the main routine, and the cleaning process ends.

The operation of applying to the electrodes (13) and (14) in steps S15 to S24 adjusts the electrolytic current value according to the flow rate of tap water, for example, as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned washing routine, the flow rate of tap water is divided into, for example, four stages, and the reverse electrolysis current value to the electrodes 13 and 14 is adjusted according to the flow range of each stage. However, the number of stages may be increased or decreased as appropriate, and the configuration may be such that the current value applied to the electrodes (13) (14) is adjusted in proportion to the flow rate.

[0028]

According to the structure of the present invention, the current value for reverse electrolysis applied to the electrode at the time of cleaning the electrode is adjusted according to the amount of water supplied to the electrolytic cell, so that a high current is applied to the electrode regardless of the flow rate. Appropriate cleaning of the electrode can be performed without causing excessive cleaning by applying the voltage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main routine of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a cleaning step of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the operation of the cleaning step of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Generator body 4 Electrolyzer 13 First electrode 14 Second electrode 17 Flow meter 21 Microcomputer 22 Integrated flow calculation circuit 32 Electrode control circuit 33 Switching power supply

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Junnosuke Ijiri 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Miyawaki 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toru Matsui 3-201 Minamiyoshikata, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture Tottori Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-5-115877 (JP, A) JP-A Heihei 5-329478 (JP, A) JP-A-6-328074 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C02F 1/46

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] At least one pair of electrodes is provided in an electrolytic cell for continuously supplying tap water, and a dc voltage is applied between the electrodes to remove tap water while electrolyzing it into alkaline water and acidic water. In the generator, the flow rate detecting means for detecting the flow rate of tap water supplied to the electrolytic cell, and when the polarity of the DC voltage applied between the electrodes is reversed, the electrode according to the output of the flow rate detecting means An ion water generator, comprising: an electrode control means for adjusting an applied current applied between the two.