Electrolyzed water generator

Abstract

To provide an electrolytic water generator capable of selectively supplying electrolytic water and supplying water only, without the need for a separate water channel for water supply only.SOLUTION: A control part 5 has a selection operation part 53 for selecting either an electrolytic water supply operation function part 51, a water supply alone operation function part 52 or both operation function parts, whereas the electrolytic water supply operation function part 51 operates and controls both a water supply system 3 and an electrolyte supply system 4 to discharge electrolytic water into an electrolytic water discharge channel 72, and the water supply alone operation function part 52 independently controls the operation of the water supply system 3 while the operation of the electrolyte supply system 4 is stopped, to supply water only into the electrolytic water discharge channel 72.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrolyzed water generator used in an air purifying device having functions of sterilization, deodorization, dust removal, and gas removal, and contributes to the technology of generating hypochlorous acid water by electrolysis.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in home appliances, facilities, air conditioners, water supply and drainage infrastructure, agricultural environments, livestock farming environments, and closed and semi-closed spaces in schools, hospitals, commercial facilities, etc. where people gather, where water is handled inside, such as in humidifying air purifiers, hypochlorous acid water generated by an electrolyzed water generator has been used for sterilization, hygiene management, infection prevention measures, and BCP (Business Continuity Plan).

[0003] For example, an electrolyzed water generator used in an air purifying device electrolyzes a raw material chemical solution in an electrolytic cell to generate chlorine gas, mixes the chlorine gas into the feed water supplied from the water supply system, and generates slightly acidic electrolyzed water.

[0004] Further, the electrolyzed water production device described in Patent Document 1 includes an electrolytic cell, a raw material pump that supplies raw material water to the electrolytic cell, a raw material water pipe that connects the discharge port of the raw material pump and the inlet of the electrolytic cell, and an electrolytic solution flow prevention part formed between the discharge port and the inlet in the raw material water pipe.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, in the electrolyzed water generator used in the conventional air purifier, since it only has the function of generating electrolyzed water, when the operation is started, the operation of the electrolytic cell is inevitably started and the electrolyzed water is generated. Therefore, it is not possible to supply only water from the device, and it is necessary to separately provide a water supply passage for water supply. For this reason, the equipment configuration and control become complicated, which is a factor increasing the cost in terms of components, assembly, and maintenance, and is also a factor causing the device to become larger.

[0007] The present invention solves the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an electrolyzed water generator that can selectively perform electrolyzed water supply and water supply only without separately providing a water passage for only water supply.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the electrolyzed water generator of the present invention includes an electrolytic cell having an air mixing portion connected to an electrolyzed water discharge path, a water supply system that is connected to the electrolyzed water discharge path through the air mixing portion of the electrolytic cell and supplies water from a water supply source to the air mixing portion, an electrolytic solution supply system that supplies an electrolytic solution to the electrolytic cell, and a control portion that controls each part of the device. The electrolytic cell Electrolyze hydrochloric acid in the raw material chemical solution which is the electrolyte solution to generate chlorine gas, mixes chlorine gas, which is an electrolytic product, from the opening of the electrolytic cell into the supplied water flowing through the pipeline of the water supply system in the air mixing portion to generate electrolyzed water. The control portion has a selection operation portion that selects either one of an electrolyzed water supply operation function portion, a water supply only operation function portion, and both operation function portions. The electrolyzed water supply operation function portion controls the operation of both the water supply system and the electrolytic solution supply system to discharge electrolyzed water to the electrolyzed water discharge path. The water supply only operation function portion controls the operation of the water supply system alone in a state where the operation of the electrolytic solution supply system and the electrolytic cell is stopped to supply only water to the electrolyzed water discharge path.

[0009] The electrolyzed water generator of the present invention has an air mixing portion connected to an electrolyzed water discharge path an electrolytic cell, supplies water from a water supply source to the air mixing portion through a three-way valve, and is selectively switched between a state of being connected to the air mixing portion and a state of being connected to a water supply path by operating the three-way valve instead, a water supply system having an electrolyzed water trap in the middle of the flow path between the three-way valve and the air mixing section, includes an electrolytic solution supply system that supplies an electrolytic solution to the electrolytic cell, and a control portion that controls each part of the device, The electrolytic cell mixes chlorine gas, which is an electrolytic product, from the opening of the electrolytic cell into the feed water flowing through the pipeline of the water supply system in the air mixing section to generate electrolyzed water,The control unit has a selection operation unit for selecting either the electrolyzed water supply operation function unit, the water supply only operation function unit, or both operation function units. The electrolyzed water supply operation function unit controls the operation of both the water supply system and the electrolytic solution supply system to discharge electrolyzed water into the electrolyzed water discharge path. The water supply only operation function unit switches to a state where the water supply system is connected to the water supply path by operating a three-way valve while stopping the operation of the electrolytic solution supply system, and controls the operation of the water supply system alone to supply only water to the water supply path.

Effects of the Invention

[0010] As described above, according to the present invention, since the water supply system is connected to the electrolyzed water discharge path through the gas mixing part of the electrolytic cell, if the operation of the electrolytic cell is stopped, only water is supplied to the electrolyzed water discharge path. That is, by using the water supply system connected to the electrolyzed water discharge path through the gas mixing part of the electrolytic cell in both the electrolyzed water supply operation mode and the water supply only operation mode, it is possible to handle both cases where only water is to be supplied and where electrolyzed water is to be supplied with only the electrolyzed water generating device, eliminating the need to separately provide a water path. In addition, the operation control of the water supply only operation function unit can be easily realized by simply stopping the operation of the electrolytic cell in the operation control of the electrolyzed water supply operation function unit.

[0011] Further, the water supply only operation function unit switches to a state where the water supply system is connected to the water supply path by operating a three-way valve while stopping the operation of the electrolytic solution supply system, and controls the operation of the water supply system alone to supply only water to the water supply path. Therefore, the water supply system can be used in both the electrolyzed water supply operation mode and the water supply only operation mode, and in either case where only water is to be supplied or where electrolyzed water is to be supplied, it can be handled by operating the three-way valve.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, an electrolyzed water generator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (Example 1) As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the electrolyzed water generator 1 includes an electrolytic cell 2, a water supply system 3, an electrolytic solution supply system 4, and a control unit 5 as main components.

[0014] The electrolytic cell 2 shown as an example in the present embodiment has an electrode 21 in the cell and a gas mixing part 22 connected to the electrolyzed water discharge path 72 as shown in FIG. 2. Then, hydrochloric acid of the raw chemical solution which is the electrolytic solution is electrolyzed to generate chlorine gas G, and the chlorine gas G is mixed into the water supply flowing through the pipeline of the water supply system 3 from the opening 23 of the electrolytic cell 2 in the gas mixing part 22 to obtain slightly acidic electrolyzed water (hypochlorous acid water). The slightly acidic electrolyzed water here has hypochlorous acid (HCLO) as the main active ingredient and is an aqueous solution with a pH of 5.0 - 6.5 and an available chlorine concentration of 10 - 80 mg / kg.

[0015] The water supply system 3 is connected to the electrolyzed water discharge path through the gas mixing part 22 of the electrolytic cell 2, and in the middle of the flow path for supplying water from the water supply source 71 to the gas mixing part 22, a pressure reducing valve 31, a solenoid valve 32, a flow meter 33, a check valve 34, and an electrolyzed water trap 35 are sequentially arranged from the upstream side of the water supply source 71 toward the downstream electrolytic cell 2. The electrolyzed water trap 35 has a high - level flow path flowing at a position higher than the inlet to the gas mixing part 22 of the electrolytic cell 2, and suppresses the backflow of electrolyzed water from the electrolytic cell 2 into the water supply system 3.

[0016] The electrolyte supply system 4 arranges an electrolyte tank 6 at the lower part of the apparatus, and supplies hydrochloric acid, which is the raw material chemical solution of the electrolyte stored in the electrolyte tank 6, to the electrolytic cell 2. And, in the middle of the flow path from the electrolyte tank 6 to the electrolytic cell 2, there are an electrolyte transfer device 41 composed of a tube pump or the like and an electrolytic product trap 42 in order from upstream to downstream.

[0017] The electrolytic product trap 42 suppresses the backflow of electrolytic products from the electrolytic cell 2 to the electrolyte supply system 4, and here, it is composed of a single-rotation tube that rotates around the horizontal axis.

[0018] The control unit 5 that controls each part of the apparatus has an electrolyzed water supply operation function unit 51, a water supply only operation function unit 52, and a selection operation unit 53 that selects either one of the two operation function units.

[0019] In the electrolyzed water supply operation mode, the electrolyzed water supply operation function unit 51 controls the operation of both the water supply system 3 and the electrolyte supply system 4 to discharge electrolyzed water to the electrolyzed water discharge path 72. The water supply only operation function unit 52 controls the operation of the water supply system 3 alone in a state where the operation of the electrolyte supply system 4 is stopped to supply water to the electrolyzed water discharge path 72.

[0020] That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when the electrolyzed water supply operation function unit 51 starts the operation 511, it opens the electromagnetic valve 32 512, measures the flow rate of the water flowing through the water supply system 3 with the flow meter 33, and determines the appropriateness of the flow rate by the flow meter determination 513.

[0021] If the amount of water measured by the flow meter 33 is equal to or more than the set value (2 L / min), it is determined that the amount of water is appropriate, and the operation of the electrolyte supply system 4 is performed. If the amount of water is less than the set value (2 L / min), it is determined that the amount of water is inappropriate, and an error stop 514 is performed.

[0022] In the operation of the electrolyte supply system 4, the operation of the electrolytic cell 2 is started, the current value generated in the electrolytic cell 2 is measured 515, and the operation of the electrolyte transfer device 41 is controlled ON / OFF 516 according to the current value to perform intermittent operation and generate electrolyzed water 517.

[0023] This intermittent operation is performed to adjust the hypochlorous acid concentration of electrolyzed water to a constant value or to adjust it variably. When the current value is low, the amount of electrolytic products generated per unit time in the electrolytic cell 2 decreases, so the operation is performed so that the ON time becomes longer in the intermittent operation of the electrolytic solution transfer device 41. When the current value is high, the amount of electrolytic products generated per unit time in the electrolytic cell 2 increases, so the operation is performed so that the ON time becomes shorter in the intermittent operation of the electrolytic solution transfer device 41, thereby adjusting the hypochlorous acid concentration of electrolyzed water to a constant value. Alternatively, in order to variably adjust the hypochlorous acid concentration of electrolyzed water, the ratio of the ON time to the OFF time is adjusted in the ON / OFF control 516 of the operation of the electrolytic solution transfer device 41.

[0024] When the control unit 5 stops the operation 518, it stops the operation of the electrolytic cell 2 519 and closes the solenoid valve 32 520.

[0025] The water supply only operation function unit 52 controls the operation of the water supply system 3 alone to supply water to the electrolyzed water discharge path 72 in a state where the operation of the electrolytic solution supply system 4 is stopped in the water supply only operation mode.

[0026] That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the water supply only operation function unit 52 starts the operation 521, it opens the solenoid valve 32 522, measures the flow rate of the water flowing through the water supply system 3 with the flow meter 33, and determines the adequacy of the flow rate by the flow meter determination 523.

[0027] If the amount of water measured by the flow meter 33 is equal to or greater than the set value (2 L / min), it is determined that the amount of water is appropriate, and only water is passed through 524 without operating the electrolytic solution supply system 4. If the amount of water is less than the set value (2 L / min), it is determined that the amount of water is inappropriate, and an error stop 525 is performed. When the control unit 5 stops the operation 526, it closes the solenoid valve 32 527.

[0028] Hereinafter, the operation in the above configuration will be described. When supplying electrolyzed water, in the selection operation unit 53 of the control unit 5, the electrolyzed water supply operation function unit 51 is selected, and electrolyzed water is discharged from the electrolyzed water discharge path 72 by the operation of the electrolyzed water supply operation function unit 51.

[0029] When only supplying water, in the selection operation unit 53 of the control unit 5, the water supply only operation function unit 52 is selected, and water is discharged from the electrolyzed water discharge path 72 by the operation of the water supply only operation function unit 52.

[0030] Thus, according to the present embodiment, since the water supply system 3 is connected to the electrolyzed water discharge path 72 through the air mixing unit 22 of the electrolytic cell 2, if the operation of the electrolytic cell 2 is stopped, only water is supplied to the electrolyzed water discharge path 72. That is, by using the water supply system 3 connected to the electrolyzed water discharge path 72 through the air mixing unit 22 of the electrolytic cell 2 in both the electrolyzed water supply operation mode and the water supply only operation mode, it becomes possible to handle both cases where only water is to be supplied and where electrolyzed water is to be supplied with only the electrolyzed water generating device, and there is no need to separately provide a water path. Further, the operation control of the water supply only operation function unit 52 can be easily realized by simply controlling to stop the operation of the electrolytic cell 22 in the operation control of the electrolyzed water supply operation function unit 51. (Embodiment 2) Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5. Here, a three-way valve 36 is provided on the upstream side of the electrolyzed water trap 35 in the water supply system 3, and a water supply path 37 is connected to the three-way valve 36. By operating the three-way valve 36, the state where the water supply system 3 is connected to the air mixing unit 22 of the electrolytic cell 2 and the state where the water supply system 3 is connected to the water supply path 37 are switched.

[0031] When supplying electrolyzed water, in the selection operation unit 53 of the control unit 5, when the electrolyzed water supply operation function unit 51 is selected, the control unit 5 makes the water supply system 3 connected to the air mixing unit 22 of the electrolytic cell 2 through the three-way valve 36, and electrolyzed water is discharged from the electrolyzed water discharge path 72 by the operation of the electrolyzed water supply operation function unit 51.

[0032] When only supplying water, in the selection operation unit 53 of the control unit 5, when the water supply only operation function unit 52 is selected, the control unit 5 makes the water supply system 3 connected to the water supply path 37 through the three-way valve 36, and water is supplied from the water supply path 37 by the operation of the water supply only operation function unit 52.

[0033] Thus, according to this embodiment, since the water supply system 3 switches between a state of being connected to the gas mixture part 22 of the electrolytic cell 2 through the three-way valve 36 and a state of being connected to the water supply path 37 through the three-way valve 36, the water supply system 3 can be used in both the electrolyzed water supply operation mode and the water supply only operation mode. In either case, whether only water is to be supplied or electrolyzed water is to be supplied, it is possible to respond by operating the three-way valve 36.

Explanation of Signs

[0034] 1 Electrolyzed water generating device 2 Electrolytic cell 3 Water supply system 4 Electrolyte supply system 5 Control unit 6 Electrolyte tank 21 Electrode 22 Gas mixture part 23 Opening 31 Pressure reducing valve 32 Electromagnetic valve 33 Flow meter 34 Check valve 35 Electrolyzed water trap 36 Three-way valve 37 Water supply path 41 Electrolyte transfer device 42 Electrolysis product trap 51 Electrolyzed water supply operation function unit 52 Water supply only operation function unit 53 Selection operation unit 71 Water supply source 72 Electrolyzed water discharge path 511 Start operation 512 Open the valve 513 Flow meter determination 514 Error stop 515 Measure the current value 516 ON / OFF control 517 Generate 518 Stop operation 519 Stop the operation of the electrolytic cell 520 Close the valve 523 Flow meter determination 524 Water flow 525 Error stop 526 Stop operation 527 Close G Chlorine gas

Claims

1. An electrolytic cell having a gas mixing section connected to an electrolyzed water discharge path, A water supply system that is connected to the electrolyzed water discharge path through the gas mixing section of the electrolytic cell and supplies water from a water supply source to the gas mixing section, An electrolytic solution supply system that supplies an electrolytic solution to the electrolytic cell, A control unit that controls each part of the device, The electrolytic cell electrolyzes hydrochloric acid, which is a raw chemical solution as the electrolytic solution, to generate chlorine gas, and mixes the chlorine gas, which is an electrolytic product, from the opening of the electrolytic cell into the water supply flowing through the pipeline of the water supply system in the gas mixing section to generate electrolyzed water. The control unit has a selection operation unit that selects either one of an electrolyzed water supply operation function unit, a water supply only operation function unit, and both operation function units. The electrolyzed water supply operation function unit controls the operation of both the water supply system and the electrolytic solution supply system to discharge electrolyzed water to the electrolyzed water discharge path. The water supply only operation function unit controls the operation of the water supply system alone in a state where the operation of the electrolytic solution supply system and the electrolytic cell is stopped to supply only water to the electrolyzed water discharge path. An electrolyzed water generation device characterized by this.

2. An electrolytic cell having a gas mixing section connected to an electrolyzed water discharge path, A water supply system that supplies water from a water supply source to the gas mixing section through a three-way valve, is selectively switched between a state of being connected to the gas mixing section and a state of being connected to a water supply path by operating the three-way valve, and has an electrolyzed water trap in the middle of the flow path between the three-way valve and the gas mixing section, An electrolytic solution supply system that supplies an electrolytic solution to the electrolytic cell, A control unit that controls each part of the device, The electrolytic cell mixes the chlorine gas, which is an electrolytic product, from the opening of the electrolytic cell into the water supply flowing through the pipeline of the water supply system in the gas mixing section to generate electrolyzed water. The control unit has a selection operation unit that selects either one of an electrolyzed water supply operation function unit, a water supply only operation function unit, and both operation function units. The electrolyzed water supply operation function unit controls the operation of both the water supply system and the electrolytic solution supply system to discharge electrolyzed water to the electrolyzed water discharge path. The water supply independent operation function unit is an electrolyzed water generator characterized in that, in a state where the operation of the electrolyte supply system is stopped, it is switched to a state where the water supply system is connected to the water supply path by operating a three-way valve, and the water supply system is independently operationally controlled to supply only water to the water supply path.

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