JP4604664B2 - Chlorine generator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a chlorine generator for maintaining the residual chlorine concentration of tap water stored in a water storage tank such as a building or a condominium.

In general, in buildings and condominiums, tap water received in a water receiving tank on the ground is pumped up to a water storage tank (elevated water tank), and water is supplied from the water storage tank to each faucet. However, the elevated water tank is an open-type tank, and when the residence time of tap water becomes longer, chlorine is released and germs are easily propagated. On the other hand, in the Waterworks Law, the residual chlorine concentration at the tap is 0.1 mg / l.
Although it is defined as above, it is said that a residual chlorine concentration of 0.3 to 0.5 mg / l is necessary to maintain safe water quality. Therefore, a chlorine generator that generates chlorine using chlorine ions contained in tap water and maintains the residual chlorine concentration of the water in the water tank has been developed. Are listed.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a general configuration of a water storage tank having such a water quality maintaining device. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a water storage tank installed on the rooftop of a building, in which tap water pumped up from a water receiving tank (not shown) installed on the ground is stored. The tap water in the water tank 1 is supplied from the water supply port 2 to the faucet on each floor, and when the water level drops, it is supplied from the supply port 3 by a detection signal from a water level sensor (not shown). Although the tap water in the water tank 1 is sterilized with chlorine, as described above, the chlorine gradually disappears as the residence time elapses, so that germs can easily propagate. Therefore, a chlorine generator 4 is installed along with the water tank 1 to maintain the residual chlorine concentration. The tap water in the water tank 1 is circulated through the chlorine generator 4 to maintain the residual chlorine concentration.

The chlorine generator 4 includes an electrolytic tank 5 that electrolyzes tap water to generate hypochlorous acid from chlorine ions, and a circulation pump 6 that circulates the tap water in the water storage tank 1 through the electrolytic tank 5. . As is well known, the electrolytic cell 5 has two plates of positive and negative flat electrodes 7 in a sealed container, and the electrodes 7 are arranged to face each other through a minute gap. For example, the number of operations per day, the operation time, and the operation time per operation of the electrolytic cell 5 and the circulation pump 6 are determined in advance, and the control unit 8 sets the electrodes of the electrolytic cell 5 for a predetermined time when the operation time is reached. The circulating pump 6 is operated while a predetermined direct current is passed between them. Thereby, the tap water in the water tank 1 is electrolyzed while passing between the electrodes, the chlorine ions are converted into hypochlorous acid, and the residual chlorine concentration of the water in the water tank 1 is maintained within a certain range. The
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-153858

By the way, water tanks that store tap water are regularly checked and
Repair work such as repainting may be performed in accordance with cleaning. These operations are performed with the supply of water from the water tank stopped, and are performed in a short time as much as possible. For this reason, there is a case where the working time cannot be taken sufficiently and the water tank starts to supply water before the paint by repainting is completely cured. In this case, the coating gradually cures in water, but during that time, the residual chlorine concentration in the water is significantly reduced compared to the normal time due to the reaction with the organic substance in the coating. Such a phenomenon also occurs due to the influence of paint, oil, and the like in the case of starting up a new water supply device or maintaining a water tank before the ship leaves.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to prevent a significant decrease in residual chlorine concentration when tap water is first filled in an empty water tank.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes an electrolytic cell that electrolyzes tap water stored in a water storage tank to generate residual chlorine, and the stored water is stored for a predetermined time at a preset time or time interval. In the chlorine generator that circulates through the electrolytic cell and energizes the electrolytic cell to maintain the residual chlorine concentration in the stored water in a certain range,
After filling the empty water tank with tap water, the initial period until a certain time elapses is set so that the energization time of the electrolyzer is longer than the subsequent steady state , and the energization time during the initial period elapses. The power consumption is gradually decreased with time until the energization time in the steady state (claim 1).

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, after the initial water supply, the energization time of the electrolytic cell is extended for a certain period of time from the steady state, thereby increasing the amount of residual chlorine generated during this period, and the consumption of residual chlorine due to the influence of paint, etc. Can be supplemented.

  And the influence of a paint etc. reduces with time. Therefore, the extension of the energization time is preferably suppressed with the elapsed time, and thereby generation of chlorine odor due to excessive generation of residual chlorine can be prevented.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the energization time pattern that decreases with the elapsed time can be repeated at a predetermined period during the initial period (second aspect).

  According to this invention, in the initial period after filling an empty water tank with tap water, residual chlorine is excessively consumed due to the influence of paint, etc. by increasing the amount of residual chlorine generated from the steady state. It can compensate for the decrease in residual chlorine concentration due to water and can always maintain an appropriate water quality.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing Example 1 of the present invention, in which the horizontal axis is the elapsed time (h) after filling an empty water tank with tap water, and the vertical axis is the energization time (min) of the electrolytic cell. . In Example 1, for example, when the water tank is repainted, the first 10 hours after filling with tap water assumes a case where the decrease in residual chlorine concentration in the stored water becomes large due to the reaction with the paint or the like. In the meantime, an example in which the energization time of the electrolytic cell is made longer than in the steady state is shown. That is, in FIG. 1, the energization time in the steady state (after 10 hours) is 30 minutes, initially 60 minutes, and then gradually decreased to 30 minutes after 10 hours.

  The chlorine generator is automatically operated, for example, every hour (every hour), and each energization time is varied based on the diagram in accordance with the elapsed time after filling with tap water. According to such variable control of the energization time, it is possible to compensate for a significant decrease in the initial residual chlorine concentration when tap water is filled in an empty water tank, and in accordance with a decrease in the influence of paint, etc. over time. By gradually reducing the energization time, excessive generation of residual chlorine can be suppressed and chlorine odor can be prevented.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing Example 2 of the present invention, in which the horizontal axis represents the elapsed time (h) after filling an empty water tank with tap water, and the vertical axis represents the energization time (min) of the electrolytic cell. . In Example 2, the first 30 hours after filling with tap water is assumed to be a case where the decrease in residual chlorine concentration in the stored water becomes large due to the reaction with the paint, etc. In the example, the energization time is lengthened and the energization time is gradually decreased as time elapses, and this reduction pattern is repeated a plurality of times (in the illustrated case, three times). That is, in FIG. 2, the energization time in the steady state (after 30 hours) is 30 minutes, but in the initial state, the first is 60 minutes, and then gradually decreases to 30 minutes after 10 hours. This decreasing pattern is repeated three times in 30 hours until the steady state is reached.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the elapsed time (horizontal axis) during the initial operation of Example 2 and the residual chlorine concentration in the water tank (horizontal axis). The broken line in the figure indicates that the chlorine generator is not operated, the alternate long and short dash line indicates that the energization time is always kept constant, and the solid line indicates the case where the energization time is changed in the pattern of FIG. It is assumed that the chlorine generator is automatically operated every hour. In general, replenishment of tap water to a water tank is performed when the water level is lowered by about 1/3 by a water level detection signal, but in the example of FIG. 3, the water tank is initially filled with tap water to a full tank for 12 hours. The case where the first replenishment is performed after the elapse of time and the second replenishment is performed after the elapse of 21 hours is shown.

  Now, in FIG. 3, when the electrolytic cell is not energized, the residual chlorine concentration indicated by the broken line decreases with the passage of time, but particularly during the initial period shown in the figure after the water tank is first filled with tap water. Is remarkable. The lowered residual chlorine concentration recovers as shown when the water level drops and new tap water is replenished to full tank. Next, in FIG. 3, when the electrolytic cell is energized every hour for a certain period of time, the residual chlorine concentration is recovered as indicated by the alternate long and short dash line. Is not sufficiently recovered, and the residual chlorine concentration decreases with time.

  On the other hand, when the electrolytic cell is energized for the time set in FIG. 2 every hour, as shown by the solid line, the residual chlorine concentration is kept almost constant regardless of the passage of time. This is because, during the initial period, the energization time is lengthened based on FIG. 2 to compensate for the great consumption of residual chlorine due to the influence of the paint and the like. In this way, during the initial operation after filling tap water into the empty water tank for the first time, the energization time of the electrolytic cell is made longer than the steady state, thereby preventing an excessive decrease in the residual chlorine concentration due to paint and oil. Further, by gradually reducing the energization time with the passage of time, generation of excessive residual chlorine can be suppressed and a chlorine odor can be prevented.

It is a diagram which shows Example 1 of this invention. It is a diagram which shows Example 2 of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a change with time in residual chlorine concentration in Example 2. It is a system diagram which shows the general structure of a chlorine generator.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Water storage tank 5 Electrolysis tank 6 Circulation pump 7 Electrode

Claims (2)

An electrolytic cell that electrolyzes tap water stored in a water storage tank to generate residual chlorine is provided, and the stored water is circulated through the electrolytic cell for a predetermined time at a preset time or time interval, and the electrolytic cell In the chlorine generator for energizing the tank and maintaining the residual chlorine concentration of the stored water in a certain range,
After filling the empty water tank with tap water, the initial period until a certain time elapses is set so that the energization time of the electrolyzer is longer than the subsequent steady state , and the energization time during the initial period elapses. A chlorine generator characterized by gradually decreasing with time to the energization time in the steady state . Elapsed chlorine generator of the pattern of the energization time to decrease with time according to claim 1, wherein it has to repeat at a predetermined cycle during the initial period.

Images