JP7672916B2 - 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 have been commercialized that can generate electrolytic water such as hypochlorous acid water and silver ion water by passing an electric current through electrodes in a container. Electrolytic water containing hypochlorous acid, silver ions, etc. is used for sterilization and antibacterial purposes, and is generally sprayed onto objects. However, if the electrolytic water generator is made into a portable sprayer, it is not suitable for increasing the capacity and generating large amounts of electrolytic water. For this reason, it is conceivable to generate electrolytic water using an electrolytic water generator that does not have a spraying means, and then transfer the generated electrolytic water to a separate sprayer for use. Patent Document 1 discloses an ionized water generating device that generates ionized water in a container such as a cup.

Special Publication No. 2007-508918

The ionized water generating device of Patent Document 1 is not configured to have a lid on the container that generates the ionized water. However, in a container-shaped electrolytic water generator that does not have a spraying means, it is preferable to provide a lid so that the water inside does not spill when the container is carried. In this case, ease of use for the user is also important.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide an electrolytic water generator with a lid that is easy for users to use.

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 is characterized in that it comprises a container body having therein a hypochlorous acid electrode for generating hypochlorous acid and a silver ion electrode for generating silver ions, and a lid that is opened and closed at the top of the container body, and the lid is a rotary lid that is opened and closed by rotating it relative to the container body.

With the above configuration, the lid can be easily opened and closed by rotating it relative to the container body.

In addition, in the electrolytic water generator, the lid can be positioned in a water-stopping position in which the lid is completely closed relative to the container body, a drainage position in which the water inside the container body can be drained without removing the lid from the container body, and a removable position in which the lid can be attached and detached relative to the container body, and a clicking sensation can be provided at least in the drainage position when the lid is rotated relative to the container body.

According to the above configuration, by providing a clicking sensation as the lid rotates, the user can easily (intuitively) recognize that the rotated lid has reached the drain position.

The electrolytic water generator may be configured such that a male thread is provided on the outer peripheral side of the lid, and a female thread is provided on the inner peripheral side of the container body, and each of the male thread and the female thread has a double thread that is symmetrical with respect to the center of rotation of the lid.

With the above configuration, when closing the lid that has been removed from the container body, the lid will not tilt no matter what rotational position it is placed in relative to the container body, making it easy for the user to close the lid.

The electrolytic water generator can also be configured so that a stirring blade is attached to the bottom of the lid, which rotates integrally with the lid when the lid is rotated.

With the above configuration, the rotation of the lid can be used to stir the electrolyzed water, making the concentration of the electrolyzed water uniform.

The electrolytic water generator can also be configured so that a plate-shaped partition plate with multiple slits formed unevenly is attached to the bottom of the lid.

According to the above configuration, when the electrolyzed water is poured from the electrolyzed water generator into another container, the electrolyzed water passes through the slits in the partition plate, stirring the electrolyzed water and making the concentration of the electrolyzed water uniform.

The electrolytic water generator of the present invention has a rotating lid that allows the lid to be opened and closed easily, providing an electrolytic water generator with a lid that is easy for the user to use.

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. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the electrolytic water generator. FIG. FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of embodiment 3, illustrating a lid equipped with an agitating blade. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing another example of the third embodiment, showing a lid provided with a partition plate.

[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. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the electrolytic water generator 10 with a lid 12 removed.

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. 2, the bottom of the container (bottom of the container inner surface) of the electrolytic water generator 10 is provided with a hypochlorous acid electrode 13 for generating hypochlorous acid and a silver ion electrode 14 for generating silver ions as electrodes for generating electrolytic water. The hypochlorous acid electrode 13 is arranged so that the annular positive electrode and negative electrode are intertwined with each other. When generating hypochlorous acid water, tablets containing sodium chloride as a main component are added to tap water, and an electric current is passed through the hypochlorous acid electrode 13 to perform electrolysis. On the other hand, the silver ion electrode 14 is a pair of flat silver electrodes arranged opposite each other, and each silver electrode has a longitudinal direction parallel to the container bottom. When generating silver ions, a current is applied to the silver ion electrode 14, causing silver ions to elute from the silver electrodes.

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 3 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the electrolytic water generator 10 (the lid 12 is not shown). Inside the electrolytic water generator 10, a control circuit 15 that controls the entire electrolytic water generator 10 and a power supply circuit 16 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 this embodiment, the control circuit 15 is arranged in the upper part of the container body 11 (below the operation unit 113), and the power supply circuit 16 is arranged in the lower part of the container body 11. In addition, the connection wiring 17 that connects the control circuit 15 and the power supply circuit 16 (or connects the plug socket 114 and the control circuit 15) is housed inside the handle 112. This allows the electrolytic water generator 10 to effectively utilize the space of the handle 112, thereby miniaturizing the electrolytic water generator 10 and improving 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 17 inside, it is preferable that the handle 112 has a strong cylindrical (or elliptical cylindrical) shape.

As described above, the electrolytic water generator 10 is intended to be used to transfer the generated electrolytic water to another container (such as a portable sprayer). The electrolytic water is transferred by a user lifting the electrolytic water generator 10 by holding the handle 112 and pouring the electrolytic water from the spout 111 into the other container. The lid 12 of the electrolytic water generator 10 has the function of preventing the water in the container from spilling when the container is carried and of making it easy to pour the electrolytic water when transferring it. The characteristic configuration of such a lid 12 will be described in detail below.

In the electrolytic water generator 10, the lid 12 is a rotating lid that is opened and closed at the top of the container body 11, and the lid 12 can be easily opened and closed by rotating the lid 12 relative to the container body 11. For this reason, a male thread portion 121 (see FIG. 1) is provided on the outer peripheral side of the lid 12, and a female thread portion 115 (see FIG. 1) is provided on the inner peripheral side of the container body 11.

The lid 12 can be in a water-stopping position, a draining position, and a removable position relative to the container body 11. The water-stopping position is a state in which the lid 12 is completely closed relative to the container body 11, preventing water from being discharged from the container body 11. The draining position is a state in which the lid 12 is attached to the container body 11 somewhat loosely, allowing water to be discharged from the container body 11 without removing the lid 12 from the container body 11. The removable position is a state in which the lid 12 can be attached and detached from the container body 11.

The electrolytic water generator 10 is also designed so that when the lid 12 is rotated, a clicking sensation is felt at each of the water-stopping position, the draining position, and the removable position. For example, the lid 12 provides a clicking sensation at each rotational position of 90° relative to the container body 11.

To provide a clicking sensation to the lid 12, the lid 12 has a click convex portion 122 (see FIG. 1) on the lower edge of the outer peripheral side surface below the male thread portion 121. The click convex portion 122 is formed at the tip of a leaf spring that is a part of the side wall of the lid 12. The container body 11 also has a click concave portion 116 (see FIG. 1) below the female thread portion 115 on the inner peripheral side surface. The click convex portions 122 are preferably provided at multiple locations (two locations at 180° intervals in the example of FIG. 1) at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral side surface of the lid 12. The click concave portions 116 are preferably provided at multiple locations (four locations at 90° intervals in the example of FIG. 1) at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral side surface of the container body 11.

When the lid 12 is rotated relative to the container body 11, the click protrusion 122 fits into the click recess 116, providing a clicking sensation for the lid 12. As in the example of FIG. 1, if the click protrusions 122 are provided at two locations spaced 180° apart and the click recesses 116 are provided at four locations spaced 90° apart, a clicking sensation is provided for each 90° rotation of the lid 12. For this reason, by designing the male thread portion 121 and the female thread portion 115 so that the water stop position, drain position, and removable position correspond to the rotational positions of the lid 12 at which a clicking sensation is provided, the lid 12 provides a clicking sensation at each of the water stop position, drain position, and removable position. In this example, the water stop position and the removable position are rotational positions where the phase of the lid 12 differs by 180°, and the click recess 116 used is the same.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lid 12 has two click protrusions 122 spaced 180° apart, and a drainage cutout 123 is provided at a position 90° from the click protrusions 122. The container body 11 has a spout 111, and click recesses 116 are provided at positions 90° to the left and right of the spout 111. With this configuration, a clicking sensation is obtained at least when the lid 12 is in the drainage position. In addition, since the spout 111 and the cutout 123 face each other in the drainage position, the electrolyzed water in the container can be poured out smoothly. Therefore, the user can at least recognize the drainage position and can drain the water smoothly.

However, in the present invention, the angle interval at which the clicking sensation is obtained is not limited to 90° and can be any angle. For example, if the clicking convex portion 122 and the clicking concave portion 116 are provided at three locations at 120° intervals, a configuration can be achieved in which a clicking sensation is obtained every 120° of rotation. In addition, the clicking concave portion 116 may or may not be used in common at multiple click positions. For example, if the clicking convex portion 122 is provided at two locations at 180° intervals and the clicking concave portion 116 is provided at six locations at 60° intervals, a clicking sensation is obtained every 60° of rotation, and the clicking concave portion 116 is not used in common at each of the water stop position, the water drain position, and the removable position.

In this way, by providing a clicking sensation with the rotation of the lid 12, the user can easily (intuitively) recognize that the rotated lid 12 has reached the water stop position, the drain position, or the removable position. As a result, for example, the following advantages can be obtained.
When transferring the generated electrolytic water to another container, the lid 12 can be prevented from being rotated too far to the removable position in an attempt to move it from the water-stopping position to the draining position. As a result, the lid 12 can be prevented from coming off and spilling water during transfer.
- When closing the lid 12, the user can recognize the water-stopping position, which gives the user a sense of security and prevents the user from applying additional rotational force from the water-stopping position in an attempt to close the lid 12 tightly, which could cause damage to the male threaded portion 121 and the female threaded portion 115, etc., or the male threaded portion 121 and the female threaded portion 115 becoming tightly interlocked, making it difficult to open the lid 12.
When removing the lid 12 from the container body 11, it is not necessary to rotate the lid 12 more than necessary.

[Embodiment 2]
As described above, the lid 12 is a rotating lid, and the lid 12 is provided with a male screw portion 121, and the container body 11 is provided with a female screw portion 115. In the present embodiment 2, features of the male screw portion 121 and the female screw portion 115 will be described. Fig. 4 is a side view of the lid 12. Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the lid 12.

In the electrolytic water generator 10 according to the second embodiment, the male screw portion 121 and the female screw portion 115 are each formed in two layers. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the male screw portion 121 has two (two threads) screw threads (a first screw portion 121a and a second screw portion 121b) formed with a phase difference of 180° with respect to the center of rotation of the lid 12. Although not shown in the figure, the female screw portion 115 also has two (two threads) screw threads corresponding to this.

In this way, by forming each of the male thread portion 121 and the female thread portion 115 doubly, for example, at the lower end of the male thread portion 121, the lower ends of the first thread portion 121a and the second thread portion 121b are located at 180° symmetrical positions with respect to the center of rotation of the lid 12 and at the same height (see FIG. 5). Similarly, at the upper end of the female thread portion 115, the upper ends of the two threads are located at 180° symmetrical positions with respect to the center of rotation of the lid 12 and at the same height.

As a result, when closing the lid 12 that has been removed from the container body 11, the lid 12 will not tilt no matter what rotational position the lid 12 is placed in relative to the container body 11, making it easy for the user to close the lid 12.

Third Embodiment
The electrolytic water generator 10 can generate electrolytic water containing both hypochlorous acid and silver ions, but the hypochlorous acid and silver ions may not be mixed evenly immediately after the generation of the electrolytic water, and the concentration may be uneven. If the concentration of the electrolytic water in the container of the electrolytic water generator 10 is uneven, when the electrolytic water is transferred to multiple other containers, the effect of the electrolytic water may differ for each container. In this embodiment 3, an electrolytic water generator 10 having a function of stirring the electrolytic water in the container will be described.

Figure 6 shows an example of the third embodiment, and is a perspective view showing a lid 12 equipped with an agitating blade 18. As shown in Figure 6, the agitating blade 18 is attached to the bottom of the lid 12, and when the lid 12 attached to the container body 11 is rotated, the agitating blade 18 rotates integrally with the lid 12.

In the electrolytic water generator 10 equipped with the stirring blade 18, the stirring blade 18 can stir the electrolytic water in the container, making the concentration of the electrolytic water uniform. In the electrolytic water generator 10, the lid 12 is considered to be in the water-stop position while the electrolytic water is being generated (while hypochlorous acid and silver ions are being generated). When discharging the generated electrolytic water (e.g., when transferring it to another container), the lid 12 needs to be rotated to the discharge position, and the rotation of the lid 12 can be used to stir the electrolytic water.

Figure 7 shows another example of the third embodiment, and is a perspective view of the lid 12 equipped with a partition plate 19. As shown in Figure 7, the partition plate 19 is a dome-shaped member that is convex upward, and is attached to the lower part of the lid 12 via a support shaft 20. In addition, the partition plate 19 has a plurality of slits 191 formed unevenly (e.g., in half the area of the partition plate 19) in a plan view. By configuring the partition plate 19 to be attached to the lid 12 instead of the container body 11, it becomes easier to place the electrolytic water generator 10 inside the container.

In the electrolytic water generator 10 equipped with the partition plate 19, when electrolytic water is poured from the spout 111 of the electrolytic water generator 10, the electrolytic water passes through the slits 191 of the partition plate 19, whereby the electrolytic water is stirred and the concentration of the electrolytic water can be made uniform. In addition, because the partition plate 19 is dome-shaped and the slits 191 are formed unevenly, the flow of electrolytic water passing through the partition plate 19 becomes complex, and efficient stirring can be achieved. However, the partition plate 19 is not limited to a dome shape and may be flat.

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.

10 Electrolyzed water generator 11 Container body 111 Spout 112 Handle 113 Operation part 114 Plug insertion port 115 Female screw part 116 Click recess 12 Lid 121 Male screw part 121a First screw part 121b Second screw part 122 Click protrusion part 123 Cutout part 13 Hypochlorous acid electrode 14 Silver ion electrode 15 Control circuit 16 Power supply circuit 17 Connection wiring 18 Stirring blade 19 Partition plate 191 Slit 20 Support shaft

Claims (3)

A container-shaped electrolytic water generator capable of generating electrolytic water containing both hypochlorous acid and silver ions,
A container body having therein a hypochlorous acid electrode for generating hypochlorous acid and a silver ion electrode for generating silver ions;
A spout for pouring the electrolytic water in the container to the outside;
A lid that is opened and closed at an upper portion of the container body,
The lid is a rotary lid that is opened and closed by rotating it relative to the container body,
A plate-shaped partition plate having a plurality of unequal slits formed therein is attached to the lower part of the lid,
the partition plate is disposed so as to divide the inside of the container body into upper and lower parts when the lid is attached to the container body,
This electrolytic water generator is characterized in that, when the electrolytic water in the container is poured to the outside, the electrolytic water generator is tilted to generate a flow of electrolytic water toward the spout, causing the electrolytic water to pass through the slit . The electrolytic water generator according to claim 1,
The lid can be in a water-stopping position in which the lid is completely closed on the container body, a draining position in which water inside the container body can be drained without removing the lid from the container body, and a removable position in which the lid can be attached and detached to the container body,
An electrolytic water generator characterized in that it has a structure that provides a clicking sensation at least at the drainage position when the lid is rotated relative to the container body. The electrolytic water generator according to claim 1 or 2,
A male screw portion is provided on the outer peripheral side surface of the lid,
A female screw portion is provided on the inner peripheral side surface of the container body,
An electrolytic water generator characterized in that each of the male and female threaded portions has a double thread formed symmetrically about the rotation center of the lid.

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