JP7624364B2 - Electrolyzed water generator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electrolytic water generator capable of generating electrolytic water containing both hypochlorous acid and silver ions.

In recent years, electrolytic water generators that can generate electrolytic water such as hypochlorous acid water and silver ion water by passing an electric current through electrodes in a container have been commercialized. Patent Document 1 discloses a device that generates hypochlorous acid water by electrolyzing tap water by adding sodium chloride tablets.

JP 2019-63054 A

In Patent Document 1, sodium chloride tablets are added to tap water to form an aqueous sodium chloride solution, after which electrolysis is carried out. However, some users may turn on the device to start electrolysis after adding the tablets, but before the tablets have completely dissolved. In such cases, it is preferable to be able to efficiently generate hypochlorous acid even before the tablets have completely dissolved.

In addition, if the electrolytic water generator is to be capable of generating both hypochlorous acid and silver ions, it is necessary to provide both an electrode for generating hypochlorous acid (electrode for hypochlorous acid) and an electrode for generating silver ions (electrode for silver ions). However, it is preferable to suppress the occurrence of adverse effects of sodium chloride dissolved from the tablet on the electrode for silver ions (e.g., the generation of silver chloride).

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide an electrolytic water generator that has high electrolysis efficiency for hypochlorous acid and can suppress the adverse effects of sodium chloride on the silver ion electrode.

In order to solve the above problems, the electrolytic water generator of the present invention is a container-shaped electrolytic water generator capable of generating electrolytic water containing both hypochlorous acid and silver ions, and has a hypochlorous acid electrode arranged at the bottom of the container for generating hypochlorous acid, a silver ion electrode arranged at the bottom of the container for generating silver ions, and an electrode cover positioned and fixed inside the container above the hypochlorous acid electrode and the silver ion electrode, which is permeable to liquids and gases, and is characterized in that the electrode cover has a bottom surface portion that is positioned directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode when positioned and fixed, and a sloped portion that becomes higher around the bottom surface portion toward the outer edge side.

According to the above configuration, when a sodium chloride tablet is inserted into the electrolytic water generator to generate hypochlorous acid and electrolysis is performed, the tablet rests on the bottom surface of the electrode cover, so that the tablet can be held directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode. When a current is passed through the hypochlorous acid electrode in this state to start electrolysis, air bubbles are generated in the hypochlorous acid electrode, and the generated air bubbles pass through the electrode cover and hit the tablet, promoting the dissolution of sodium chloride. This increases the concentration of dissolved sodium chloride around the hypochlorous acid electrode, and the electrolysis efficiency of hypochlorous acid can be improved.

Furthermore, the electrode cover also prevents sodium chloride tablets from being placed on the silver ion electrode. This prevents the concentration of dissolved sodium chloride from increasing around the silver ion electrode, and suppresses the adverse effects of dissolved sodium chloride on the silver ion electrode.

In addition, in the electrolytic water generator, the outer shape of the bottom surface of the electrode cover in a plan view can be configured to be the same as the outer shape of the hypochlorous acid electrode or smaller than the outer shape of the hypochlorous acid electrode.

The above configuration allows the sodium chloride tablet placed on the bottom surface to be securely held directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode and not placed above the silver ion electrode.

In addition, in the electrolytic water generator, the hypochlorous acid electrode has a non-electrode facing area where the positive electrode and the negative electrode do not face each other, and the bottom surface of the electrode cover can be configured to have a convex portion corresponding to the non-electrode facing area.

According to the above configuration, by providing a convex portion on the bottom surface of the electrode cover, it is possible to prevent the sodium chloride tablet from being placed directly above the non-electrode facing area of the hypochlorous acid electrode, where air bubbles are less likely to occur.

The electrolytic water generator can also be configured so that the silver ion electrode is positioned above the hypochlorous acid electrode.

The above configuration prevents the eluted silver ions from accumulating in the space below the silver ion electrode, which would otherwise increase the silver ion concentration between the silver electrodes of the silver ion electrode, and improves the electrolysis efficiency at the silver ion electrode. In addition, the silver ion electrode can be further separated from the hypochlorous acid electrode, which prevents the generation of silver chloride (which occurs when the silver electrode combines with the chlorine in hypochlorous acid).

The electrolytic water generator can also be configured so that a water level guide line indicating a predetermined water level is provided on the inner circumferential side of the container.

With the above configuration, when a sodium chloride tablet is added, the amount of water required to achieve the set concentration can be easily recognized.

The electrolytic water generator of the present invention can hold the sodium chloride tablet directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode using the electrode cover, which has the effect of increasing the electrolysis efficiency of hypochlorous acid and suppressing the adverse effect of dissolved sodium chloride on the silver ion electrode.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an electrolytic water generator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the electrolytic water generator with the lid removed. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which an electrode cover is further removed from FIG. 2 . FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the electrolytic water generator. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the arrangement of a hypochlorous acid electrode, a silver ion electrode, and an electrode cover near the bottom of a container in an electrolytic water generator according to an embodiment. FIG.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an electrolytic water generator 10 according to the present embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the electrolytic water generator 10 with the lid 12 removed. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the electrolytic water generator 10 with the electrode cover 15 removed from Fig. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electrolytic water generator 10 is a container-shaped device equipped with a container body 11 and a lid 12. The lid 12 can be removed and water can be poured into the container body 11 to generate electrolytic water by electrolysis. The electrolytic water generator 10 has a relatively large capacity and can generate a large amount of electrolytic water, but it is not intended to be used in a manner that would allow the electrolytic water to be sprayed directly onto an object. In other words, the electrolytic water generator 10 is intended to be used by transferring the generated electrolytic water to a separate sprayer with a small capacity. For this reason, the electrolytic water generator 10 has a spout 111 and a handle 112 on the container body 11. The spout 111 and the handle 112 are arranged so as to be opposite each other when viewed from above the container body 11.

The top surface of the electrolytic water generator 10 is provided with an operation unit 113 equipped with various operation buttons, and the lower part of the side of the electrolytic water generator 10 is provided with a plug socket 114 for detachably connecting a power cord.

As shown in FIG. 3, the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 for generating hypochlorous acid and the silver ion electrode 14 for generating silver ions are arranged on the bottom of the container (the bottom of the inner surface of the container) of the electrolytic water generator 10 as electrodes for generating an electrolytic solution. The hypochlorous acid electrode 13 is arranged so that the annular positive electrode and negative electrode are intertwined with each other. On the other hand, the silver ion electrode 14 is arranged as a pair of flat silver electrodes facing each other, each of which has a longitudinal direction parallel to the bottom of the container. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, an electrode cover 15 is arranged on the upper part of the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 and the silver ion electrode 14.

The electrolytic water generator 10 basically has an operating mode in which both hypochlorous acid and silver ions are generated simultaneously, but may also have an operating mode in which either hypochlorous acid or silver ions are generated independently. That is, current may be applied to both the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 and the silver ion electrode 14 simultaneously, or current may be applied to only one of the electrodes.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the electrolytic water generator 10 (the lid 12 is not shown) (the electrode cover 15 is not shown). Inside the electrolytic water generator 10, a control circuit 16 that controls the entire electrolytic water generator 10 and a power supply circuit 17 that generates an applied current to the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 and the silver ion electrode 14 are provided. In the electrolytic water generator 10 according to the first embodiment, the control circuit 16 is arranged in the upper part of the container body 11 (below the operation unit 113), and the power supply circuit 17 is arranged in the lower part of the container body 11. In addition, the connection wiring 18 that connects the control circuit 16 and the power supply circuit 17 (or connects the plug socket 114 and the control circuit 16) is housed inside the handle 112. As a result, the electrolytic water generator 10 can effectively utilize the space of the handle 112, which allows the electrolytic water generator 10 to be miniaturized and improves the design of the electrolytic water generator 10.

The handle 112 can be an extrusion molded product made of aluminum or carbon material. In addition, since the handle 112 is a hollow member that houses the connection wiring 18 inside, it is preferable that the handle 112 be shaped like a cylinder (or an elliptical cylinder) that has high strength.

When generating hypochlorous acid in the electrolytic water generator 10, tablets containing sodium chloride as the main component (and further containing a pH adjuster, etc.) (hereinafter referred to as sodium chloride tablets) are added to tap water, and electrolysis is performed by passing a current through the hypochlorous acid electrode 13. When generating silver ions, an alternating current is applied to the silver ion electrode 14, causing the silver ions to elute from the silver electrode.

The sodium chloride tablet can obtain a set concentration when dissolved by adding it to a specified amount of tap water. For this reason, in the electrolytic water generator 10, it is preferable that a water volume guideline L (see FIG. 4) indicating a specified water volume is provided on the inner circumferential side of the container. In addition, the water volume guideline L is formed as a step that discontinuously changes the inner diameter of the container, and it is preferable that the inner circumferential side of the container below the water volume guideline L protrudes inward from the inner circumferential side of the container above the water volume guideline L to form a step (see FIG. 4). This allows the water volume guideline L to be formed simply by providing this step in the mold used to manufacture the container, without printing or the like on the inner circumferential side of the container.

When generating hypochlorous acid, the sodium chloride tablets can be completely dissolved before electrolysis using the hypochlorous acid electrode 13, but the electrolytic water generator 10 is designed to efficiently generate hypochlorous acid even if electrolysis is performed before the sodium chloride tablets are completely dissolved.

Specifically, the electrolytic water generator 10 has an electrode cover 15 arranged on top of the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 and the silver ion electrode 14, which is formed in a cone shape and has many slits. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the electrode cover 15. In FIG. 2, the lower members (the hypochlorous acid electrode 13, the silver ion electrode 14, etc.) visible through the slits of the electrode cover 15 are omitted. The electrode cover 15 may be configured to allow liquid or gas to pass through, and may be formed, for example, in a mesh shape instead of having many slits.

The electrode cover 15 can be positioned and fixed to the container body 11 by passing a screw through the positioning hole 153 and screwing it into the screw hole 115 (see Figure 3) at the bottom of the container. The electrode cover 15 has a bottom surface portion 151 that is approximately circular and forms a nearly horizontal surface when fixed to the container body 11, and an inclined portion 152 that rises toward the outer edge around the bottom surface portion 151. When the electrode cover 15 is positioned on the container body 11, the bottom surface portion 151 is placed directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode 13.

When sodium chloride tablets for generating hypochlorous acid are placed inside the container of the electrolytic water generator 10, even if the sodium chloride tablets fall onto the inclined portion 152 of the electrode cover 15, they slide down along the inclination and always end up on the bottom portion 151. In other words, the electrode cover 15 can hold the sodium chloride tablets directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode 13. In addition, by placing the sodium chloride tablets on the bottom portion 151, the electrode cover 15 can also appropriately maintain the distance between the sodium chloride tablets and the hypochlorous acid electrode 13.

When a current is passed through the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 and electrolysis is started with the sodium chloride tablet placed on the bottom surface 151 of the electrode cover 15, bubbles are generated in the hypochlorous acid electrode 13. The generated bubbles rise and pass through the slits in the electrode cover 15 to hit the sodium chloride tablet, promoting dissolution of the sodium chloride tablet. This increases the concentration of dissolved sodium chloride (i.e., chloride ions and sodium ions) around the hypochlorous acid electrode 13, and the electrolysis efficiency of hypochlorous acid can be improved.

In addition, the configuration in which the electrode cover 15 positions the sodium chloride tablet directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 can be said to be a configuration in which the sodium chloride tablet is not positioned above the silver ion electrode 14. Therefore, even if the sodium chloride tablet dissolves, the adverse effects of an increase in the concentration of dissolved sodium chloride around the silver ion electrode 14 can be suppressed. For example, it is possible to suppress the chloride ions generated by dissolving the sodium chloride tablet from reacting with the silver electrode to generate silver chloride. Alternatively, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of variations in the elution of silver ions from the silver electrode due to the ion concentration becoming non-uniform around the silver ion electrode 14 caused by the dissolution of the sodium chloride tablet.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable that the longitudinal direction of the silver electrode in the silver ion electrode 14 is arranged so as to be parallel to the tangent direction of the outer circumference circle of the hypochlorous acid electrode 13. This is a configuration that allows the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 and the silver ion electrode 14 to be efficiently arranged at the bottom of the container of the electrolytic water generator 10, but in addition to this, it is also a configuration to avoid uneven elution of the silver electrode. In other words, in the above-mentioned arrangement, the distance between the silver electrode and the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 is equal over almost the entire silver electrode. As a result, when silver ions are generated while dissolving a sodium chloride tablet placed directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode 13, uneven ion concentration due to dissolution of the sodium chloride tablet is unlikely to occur along the longitudinal direction of the silver electrode, and variation in the elution of silver ions from the silver electrode is unlikely to occur.

The outer shape of the bottom surface portion 151 of the electrode cover 15 in a plan view is approximately the same as the outer shape of the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 or is smaller than the outer shape of the hypochlorous acid electrode 13. This allows the sodium chloride tablet placed on the bottom surface portion 151 to be securely held directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 and not placed on the silver ion electrode 14. In addition, when the bottom surface portion 151 is made smaller than the hypochlorous acid electrode 13, the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 and the bottom surface portion 151 may not be concentrically arranged in a plan view, but may be arranged so that the bottom surface portion 151 is as far away as possible from the silver ion electrode 14.

In addition, the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 has some locations where bubbles are unlikely to occur when a current is applied. In the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 of the example shown in FIG. 3, there is a non-electrode facing region in the center where the positive electrode and the negative electrode do not face each other, and bubbles are unlikely to occur in this non-electrode facing region. In such a case, a convex portion 154 (see FIG. 5) may be provided on the bottom surface portion 151 of the electrode cover 15 in correspondence with the non-electrode facing region of the hypochlorous acid electrode 13. By providing the convex portion 154 on the electrode cover 15, it is possible to prevent the sodium chloride tablet from being placed directly above the non-electrode facing region of the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 where bubbles are unlikely to occur.

[Embodiment 2]
In the above-mentioned embodiment 1, the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 and the silver ion electrode 14 are arranged at approximately the same height at the bottom of the container. In contrast, in the electrolytic water generator 10 according to the present embodiment 2, the silver ion electrode 14 is arranged above (at a higher position) than the hypochlorous acid electrode 13. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the arrangement of the hypochlorous acid electrode 13, the silver ion electrode 14, and the electrode cover 15 near the bottom of the container in the electrolytic water generator 10 according to the present embodiment 2.

As shown in FIG. 6, by placing the silver ion electrode 14 at a high position, a space S can be provided below the silver ion electrode 14. Since the silver ion electrode 14 is placed below the inclined portion 152 with respect to the electrode cover 15, even if the silver ion electrode 14 is placed at a high position, the electrode cover 15 can have the same configuration and arrangement as in embodiment 1.

If there is no space S below the silver ion electrode 14, the eluted silver ions will remain between the silver electrodes of the silver ion electrode 14, and the silver ion concentration will increase only between the silver electrodes, making it difficult for further elution of silver ions to occur. As a result, the silver ion concentration will be difficult to increase throughout the entire container of the electrolytic water generator 10, and the electrolysis efficiency (silver ion production efficiency) at the silver ion electrode 14 may decrease.

In contrast, if the silver ion electrode 14 is placed at a high position and a space S is provided below the silver ion electrode 14, the eluted silver ions will flow into the space S below the silver ion electrode 14, preventing the silver ion concentration from increasing between the silver electrodes. As a result, it becomes easier for more silver ions to be eluted, and the silver ion concentration in the entire container of the electrolytic water generator 10 also becomes easier to increase. In other words, the electrolysis efficiency (silver ion production efficiency) at the silver ion electrode 14 can be improved.

In addition, by positioning the silver ion electrode 14 above the hypochlorous acid electrode 13, the silver ion electrode 14 can be further away from the hypochlorous acid electrode 13, which prevents the silver electrode of the silver ion electrode 14 from bonding with the chlorine of hypochlorous acid (i.e., the production of silver chloride).

The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be a basis for a restrictive interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not to be interpreted solely by the above-described embodiments, but is defined based on the claims. Furthermore, all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims are included.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Electrolyzed water generator 11 Container body 111 Spout 112 Handle 113 Operation unit 114 Plug socket 115 Screw hole 12 Lid 13 Hypochlorous acid electrode 14 Silver ion electrode 15 Electrode cover 151 Bottom portion 152 Inclined portion 153 Positioning hole 154 Convex portion 16 Control circuit 17 Power supply circuit 18 Connection wiring

Claims (5)

A container-shaped electrolytic water generator capable of generating electrolytic water containing both hypochlorous acid and silver ions,
A hypochlorous acid electrode disposed at the bottom of the container for generating hypochlorous acid;
a silver ion electrode disposed at the bottom of the container for generating silver ions;
The electrode cover is positioned and fixed to the upper part of the hypochlorous acid electrode and the silver ion electrode inside the container and is permeable to liquid and gas;
The electrode cover has a bottom surface portion that is positioned directly above the hypochlorous acid electrode when positioned and fixed, and a sloped portion that increases toward the outer edge around the bottom surface. An electrolytic water generator. The electrolytic water generator according to claim 1,
The electrolytic water generator characterized in that the outer shape of the bottom surface of the electrode cover in a plan view is the same as the outer shape of the hypochlorous acid electrode or smaller than the outer shape of the hypochlorous acid electrode. The electrolytic water generator according to claim 1 or 2,
The hypochlorous acid electrode has a non-electrode facing region where the positive electrode and the negative electrode do not face each other,
An electrolytic water generator characterized in that a convex portion is provided on the bottom surface of the electrode cover in correspondence with the non-electrode facing area. The electrolytic water generator according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An electrolytic water generator characterized in that the silver ion electrode is arranged above the hypochlorous acid electrode. The electrolytic water generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An electrolytic water generator characterized in that a water level guide line indicating a predetermined water level is provided on the inner peripheral side surface of the container.

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