JP2927233B2 - 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 ionic water producing apparatus capable of producing alkaline ionic water and acidic ionic water by electrolyzing water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ionic water generating apparatus has, for example, a branch tap attached to a faucet and an apparatus main body installed near a sink. The apparatus main body has a septic tank for filtering and purifying raw water. In addition, there is known an apparatus in which an electrolytic cell for electrolyzing water to generate alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water is incorporated.

[0003] The branch tap of such an ionized water generator has a switching lever, which can be positioned at either a raw water position or a water treatment position. Further, the apparatus main body is provided with an operation panel, and the operation panel is provided with a processing selection switch for selecting between alkaline ionized water and purified water and a pH selection switch for selecting the strength of pH, that is, strong, medium or weak.

When using the ionized water generator, when the switching lever is positioned at the raw water position, the water from the water source is discharged as it is from the raw water discharge port provided at the lower part of the branch tap. When the switching lever of the branch tap is positioned at the water treatment position, water from the water source is supplied to the septic tank and the electrolytic tank. Here, when the alkaline ionized water is selected by the processing selection switch of the apparatus main body, the electrolytic cell is energized. For this reason, electrolysis is performed in the electrolytic cell, and alkaline ionized water is released from a water intake hose provided in the apparatus main body, and acidic ionized water is released from a waste water hose. On the other hand, when purified water is selected by the process selection switch, the electrolytic cell is not energized. Therefore, electrolysis is not performed in the electrolytic cell, and purified water is discharged from a water intake hose provided in the apparatus main body.

When a user wants to change the pH intensity,
For example, in a case where high pH water is used to remove the pressure, the user strongly sets the pH selection switch provided on the apparatus main body.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned ionized water generator, when the user seeks the alkaline ionized water, the user operates the switching lever provided on the branch tap and the treatment provided on the main body of the apparatus. The selection switch also had to be operated. Since the branch tap and the apparatus main body are separated from each other, such a double operation is complicated.

[0007] Further, even when the user changes the pH intensity, it is necessary to operate the pH selection switch provided on the apparatus main body. Therefore, the user has to reach for the apparatus main body side, and the operability is low. It was not good. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ion water generation device that can obtain ion water having a desired pH intensity by a simple operation.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a branch tap attached to a faucet and provided with a water selection means capable of selecting at least ionic water, An apparatus main body installed near the sink and connected via the branch tap and a water passage, and an electrolytic cell built in the apparatus main body and generating alkali ion water and acidic ion water by electrolyzing water. In the ionic water generating apparatus provided with, a detecting means provided on the branch tap and outputting a detection signal indicating that ionic water is selected when the ionic water is selected by the water selecting means,
An electrolytic cell control means for supplying ionic water to the electrolytic cell when the detection signal is output by the detection means to generate ionic water, and an alkaline ionized water provided in the branch tap and generated in the electrolytic cell pH instruction input means for inputting an instruction of pH intensity, and pH control means for controlling the amount of electricity supplied to the electrolytic cell so as to obtain alkaline ionized water having the pH intensity input by the pH instruction input means. It is characterized by the following.

[0009] In this ionic water generating apparatus, when ionic water is selected by the water selecting means provided on the branch tap,
The detection means outputs a detection signal indicating that. When this detection signal is output, the electrolytic cell control means energizes the electrolytic cell to generate ionic water. On the other hand, when the ionic water is not selected by the water selection means, the detection means does not output the detection signal to the electrolytic cell control means. At this time, the electrolytic cell control means does not supply electricity to the electrolytic cell and does not allow ionic water to flow. When the electrolytic cell control means is provided on the apparatus main body side, the detection signal is transmitted to the electrolytic cell control means via a transmission path.

[0010] In this ion water generating apparatus, when an instruction for the pH intensity of the alkaline ionized water is inputted by the pH instruction inputting means provided on the branch tap, the pH control means operates the alkaline ionized water having the designated pH intensity. The amount of electricity to the electrolytic cell is controlled so as to obtain. When the pH control means is provided on the apparatus main body side, a signal input by the pH instruction input means is transmitted to the pH control means via a transmission path.

As described above, according to the ionic water generating device of the first aspect, the user can use the water selecting means or p
Since ion water having a desired pH intensity can be taken out only by operating the H instruction input means, it is not necessary to reach the apparatus main body side and operate levers and switches on the apparatus main body side as in the related art. Therefore, the operability is improved. That is, an effect is obtained that ion water having a desired pH intensity can be obtained by a simple operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ionic water generating apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the electrolytic cell control means converts the water from the water source into the electrolyzed water when the detection signal is output by the detection means. The battery is supplied to the tank and energization of the electrolytic cell is permitted. When the detection signal is not output, water from a water source is not supplied to the electrolytic cell or power supply to the electrolytic cell is stopped.

In such an ion water generating apparatus, when a detection signal is output, water from a water source is supplied to the electrolytic cell and electricity is supplied to the electrolytic cell. Ionized water is generated. on the other hand,
When the detection signal is not output, if the water from the water source is not supplied to the electrolytic cell or the power supply to the electrolytic cell is stopped, the electrolysis is not performed, so that no alkaline ionized water or acidic ionized water is generated.

As described above, according to the ionic water generating device of the second aspect, when the detection signal indicating that the ionic water is selected is not output, when the water from the water source is not supplied to the electrolytic cell, A configuration in which a water outlet and a water outlet other than ion water are separately provided can be easily adopted. That is, it is possible to easily adopt a configuration in which the water outlet via the electrolytic tank is an outlet for ion water, and the water outlet not via the electrolytic tank is an outlet for water other than ion water. For this reason, the effect that a user does not have a possibility to mistake water other than ion water and ion water is obtained. On the other hand, when the current supply to the electrolytic cell is stopped when the detection signal is not output, there is obtained an effect that unnecessary power is not consumed when extracting water other than ionic water.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ionic water generating apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein an electrode reversal instruction is provided on the branch tap to input an instruction to reverse the polarity of the electrode of the electrolytic cell. An input means and an electrode reversal control means for reversing the polarity of the electrode of the electrolytic cell when the instruction is inputted by the positive / negative reversal instruction input means.

In such an ion water generating apparatus, for example, when the electrolytic cell is to be washed, the user inputs an instruction to reverse the polarity of the electrode by means of an electrode reversal instruction input means provided on the branch tap. Then, the electrode reversal control means reverses the polarity of the electrode. When the electrode reversal control means is provided on the apparatus main body side, the signal input by the electrode reversal instruction input means is transmitted to the electrode reversal control means via the transmission path.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the user only has to operate the electrode reversal instruction input means provided on the branch tap when reversing the electrodes. The effect that the operability is further improved is obtained. In the ionic water generating apparatus of the present invention, the water selecting means may be, for example, a flow path switching valve capable of selecting at least raw water or ionic water. That is, such a flow path switching valve switches to a flow path in which water from the water source is discharged without being supplied to the electrolytic cell when raw water is selected, and water from the water source is supplied when ionic water is selected. It is switched to the flow path to be supplied to. Since such a flow path switching valve is provided in a normal ionized water generator, by using this as water selection means,
The number of parts and cost can be reduced. However, the water selection means may be provided as a lever, a button switch, or the like separately from the flow path switching valve.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment of the present invention
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and can take various forms within the technical scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the state of use of the ionic water generating apparatus of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical connection and water path connection of the apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a left side view of the branch tap, and FIG. 5 is a right side view of the branch tap. As shown in FIG. 1, the ionized water generator 1 of the present embodiment includes a branch tap 10 and an apparatus main body 30.

As shown in FIG. 1, the branch tap 10 is attached to a distal end of a water discharge pipe 91 of a water tap as a water source via a nut 11 and a joint with packing (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, the branch tap 10 includes a water inflow path 11, a raw water discharge path 12, and a water outflow path 13 as flow paths through which water flows. The water inflow channel 11 has a water discharge pipe 91
This is a flow path through which tap water flows from the tap water into the branch tap 10. The raw water discharge path 12 is a flow path that discharges tap water from the water inflow path 11 toward the lower raw water discharge port 14 (see FIG. 4 or 5). The water outflow passage 13 is a flow passage through which tap water that has entered from the water inflow passage 11 flows out to the water passage 51. The water passage 51 is a flow path for sending water from the branch tap 10 to the apparatus main body 30, and is provided between the branch tap 10 and the apparatus main body 30.

The branch tap 10 is, as shown in FIG.
A water quality setting switching unit 9 is provided. This water quality setting switching section 9
Comprises a switching lever 15, a flow path switching valve 16, and a detection sensor 17. As shown in FIG. 3, the switching lever 15 includes a knob 15a and a shaft 15b, and the shaft 15b is inserted into the housing 10a and is rotatably supported. As shown in FIG. 5, the switching lever 15 can be positioned at any of a raw water position, a purified water position, and an ionized water position by a rotating operation. The flow path switching valve 16 is formed on the shaft portion 15b of the switching lever 15 as shown in FIG. 3, and flows the tap water from the water inflow path 11 to the raw water discharge path 12 as shown in FIG. The flow is switched to the side 13. That is, when the switching lever 15 is positioned at the raw water position, the flow path switching valve 16 causes the tap water entering from the water inflow channel 11 to flow toward the raw water discharging channel 12, and the switching lever 15 is positioned at the water purification position or the ion position. Then, the flow path switching valve 16 flows the tap water entered from the water inflow path 11 to the water outflow path 13 side.
The detection sensor 17 is provided on the housing 10a of the branch tap 10 as shown in FIG. 3, and outputs a detection signal to the transmission path 52 when the switching lever 15 is positioned at the ionized water position.
The transmission line 52 is provided between the branch tap 10 and the apparatus main body 30.

Further, the branch tap 10 is provided with a pH intensity input section 18.
, A display unit 21 and an alkali / acid switching unit (corresponding to an electrode reversal instruction input unit) 19. As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3, the pH intensity input section 18 is provided on the front surface of the housing 10a of the branch tap 10, and is used to set the pH intensity to one of three levels of strong, medium, and weak. Switch.
The pH intensity set by the pH intensity input section 18 is output to the transmission line 52 as a pH intensity signal. As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 21 is an LED that indicates which of strong, medium, and weak has been selected by the pH intensity input unit 18. The alkali / acid switching unit 19 includes, as shown in FIG.
The water inlet 3 is provided on the left side surface of the housing 10 a of the branch tap 10.
6 is a dial switch for setting the ionized water released from 6 (see FIG. 1) to either alkaline ionized water or acidic ionized water. This alkali / acid switching section 19
Normally, it is set to alkali, and when an acid is specified, a reverse rotation instruction signal is output to the transmission line 52.

The apparatus main body 30 is installed on a sink 90 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus main body 30 has a water purification tank 31, an electromagnetic switching valve 32, and an electrolytic tank 33 built therein. Among them, the water purification tank 31 is provided with activated carbon and a hollow fiber membrane filter. Tap water flowing into the apparatus main body 30 through the water passage 51 passes through the water purification tank 31. The electromagnetic switching valve 32 is a valve that switches between flowing the water (hereinafter, referred to as “purified water”) passing through the purified water tank 31 to the purified water discharge port 34 side and the electrolytic tank 33 side according to a command from the control unit 46. It can be switched. That is, always
It is arranged at the position where the purified water flows to the purified water discharge port 34 side, and is arranged at the position where the purified water flows to the electrolytic cell 33 side when the detection signal from the detection sensor 17 provided in the branch tap 10 is input to the control unit 46. You. In this embodiment, the purified water discharge port 34 is configured so as to coincide with the water intake port 36 (see FIG. 1). The electrolytic cell 33 includes a pair of electrodes 331, 33
2 and a diaphragm (not shown) disposed between the electrodes 331 and 332, and the electrolytic cell 33 is partitioned into two rooms by the diaphragm. Further, each electrode 331,
A water intake port 36 and a water discharge port 37 communicating with 332 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus main body 30 includes a power supply section 41, a current detection section 42, a drive circuit 43,
A relay 44, a water pressure switch 45, and a control unit 46 are provided. The power supply section 41 transforms and rectifies the voltage of the external power supply and supplies the rectified voltage to the control section 46. The current detector 42 detects a current flowing between the electrodes 331 and 332 of the electrolytic cell 33. The drive circuit 43 adjusts a current flowing between the electrodes 331 and 332 of the electrolytic cell 33 by a duty signal. The relay 44 is connected to the electrolytic cell 33.
The polarity of the electrodes 331 and 332 is reversed.
The electrodes 331 and 332 of the electrolytic cell 33 are always set such that the intake port 36 side is a negative electrode and the water drain port 37 side is a positive electrode (see FIG. 2), and the polarity is reversed when a reverse instruction signal is input to the control unit 46. . The water pressure switch 45 is turned on when water is supplied to the electrolytic cell 33, and turned off when water is not supplied to the electrolytic cell 33. When a pH intensity signal is input from the pH intensity input unit 18 provided in the branch tap 10, the control unit 46
The set current value corresponding to the pH intensity signal and the current detection unit 42
A duty signal is obtained based on the current value detected in step (1), and the drive circuit 43 controls the energization amount based on the duty signal. The control unit 46 also controls the branch tap 1
When an inversion instruction signal is input from the alkali / acid switching unit 19 provided for the relay 4, the relay 4 is operated in accordance with the inversion instruction signal.
Activate 4 to reverse the electrodes.

Next, the operation of the ionized water generator 1 of this embodiment will be described. First, an operation when the switching lever 15 is positioned in any of raw water, purified water, and ionized water (see FIG. 5) will be described. When the switching lever 15 is positioned at the raw water position, the flow path switching valve 16
Tap water that has flowed into the raw water discharge channel 12 side. That is, in this state, the raw water discharge port 14 provided on the lower surface of the branch tap 10
(See FIG. 4 or FIG. 5), the tap water is discharged in an untreated state. At this time, since water is not supplied to the electrolytic cell 33, the water pressure switch 45 remains off, and the electrolytic cell 3
3 is not energized.

When the switching lever 15 is positioned at the water purification position, the flow path switching valve 16 allows the tap water entering from the water inflow path 11 to flow to the water outflow path 13. In addition, since the detection signal from the detection sensor 17 is not input to the control unit 46, the electromagnetic switching valve 32 is arranged so that the purified water flows to the purified water discharge port 34 side, and no water is supplied to the electrolytic cell 33, Therefore, the water pressure switch 45 remains off. Therefore, the electrolytic cell 33 is not energized. In this state, the tap water that has entered the water inflow path 11 of the branch tap 10 is supplied to the flow path switching valve 16 and the water outflow path 1.
3, through the water passage 51, the water purification tank 31, the electromagnetic switching valve 32,
The water is discharged from the water discharge port 34 as purified water.

When the switching lever 15 is positioned at the ionic water position, the flow path switching valve 16 causes the tap water entering from the water inflow path 11 to flow to the water outflow path 13. In addition, since the detection signal from the detection sensor 17 is input to the control unit 46, the electromagnetic switching valve 32 is disposed so as to flow the purified water to the electrolytic cell 33 side. The switch 45 turns on. Thus, the electrolytic cell 33 is energized. In this state, the tap water that has entered the water inflow channel 11 of the branch tap 10 is
Flow path switching valve 16, water outflow path 13, water path 51, water purification tank 3
1, through the electromagnetic switching valve 32, the electrolytic cell 33, the water intake 36,
The water is discharged from the water discharge port 37 as alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water, respectively (note that the alkali / acid switching unit 19 is set to be alkaline).

Next, a strong, medium,
The case where the setting is input to any of the weak values will be described.
When any one of strong, medium, and weak is set and input by the pH intensity input unit 18, the corresponding LED is lit on the display unit 21. Further, the pH intensity signal set and input is transmitted to the control unit 46 via the transmission line 52. Then, the control unit 46 reads the set current value according to the pH intensity signal, obtains a duty signal, and drives the drive circuit 43 based on the duty signal to drive both electrodes 3 of the electrolytic cell 33.
31 and 332 are controlled. This allows
Alkaline ion water having a desired pH intensity is released from the water intake 36.

Next, a case in which the alkali / acid switching unit 19 is set to be acidic will be described. In this case, the reverse rotation instruction signal is transmitted to the control unit 46 via the transmission line 52. Then, the control unit 46 operates the relay 44 to reverse the polarity of the electrode. That is, when the reverse rotation instruction is not input (normal time), since the water intake 36 side is the negative electrode,
Alkaline water (drinking water) is discharged from the water intake port 36, and since the water discharge port 37 side is a positive electrode, acidic water is discharged from the water discharge port 37. However, when it is desired to use acidic water as an astringent solution (lotion), it is difficult for the user to use the acidic water discharged from the drainage port 37. Then, the water is discharged from the water inlet 36 with the water inlet 36 as a positive electrode.

As described in detail above, according to the ionic water generator 1 of the present embodiment, the user operates the switching lever 15 and the pH intensity input unit 18 provided on the branch tap 10 to obtain the desired pH. Since high-strength ionic water can be taken out, it is not necessary to reach for the apparatus main body and operate levers, switches, and the like on the apparatus main body as in the related art, thereby improving operability. That is, an effect is obtained that ion water having a desired pH intensity can be obtained by a simple operation.

Also, when the user attempts to reverse the electrode, the alkali / acid switching unit 1 provided on the branch tap 10 can be used.
Since only the user needs to operate No. 9, the effect of further improving the operability can be obtained. In the above embodiment, instead of using the same outlet for the purified water discharge port 34 and the water intake port 36, these outlets are separately provided so that the purified water is exclusively discharged from the purified water discharge port 34, and the ionic water is discharged. The water may be exclusively discharged from the water inlet 36 or the water outlet 37. In this case, there is no possibility that the purified water and the ionic water are confused.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a state of use of an ionized water generator according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical connection and a connection of a water channel of the ionized water generator of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of the branch tap of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a left side view of the branch tap according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the branch tap according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ion water generator 10 ... Branch tap
14: Raw water discharge port, 15: Switching lever, 16: Channel switching valve, 17: Detection sensor, 18: pH intensity input section, 19:
Alkali / acid switching unit, 30 ... device body,
31 ... water purification tank, 32 ... electromagnetic switching valve,
33 ... electrolyzer, 34 ... purified water outlet,
36 ・ ・ ・ water intake, 37 ・ ・ ・ water drain,
44 ... relay, 45 ... water pressure switch,
46 ... control unit, 51 ... water channel,
52 transmission line

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-290059 (JP, A) JP-A-6-182342 (JP, A) JP-A-6-343966 (JP, A) JP-A-6-343966 269781 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model 7-7975 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) C02F 1/46-1/48

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A tap attached to a faucet and provided with a water selecting means capable of selecting at least ionic water; and a device main body installed near a sink and connected to the tap via a water passage. An ionic water generating device, which is provided in the branch tap and is provided in the branch tap, and is provided with the ionic water by the water selecting means. Detecting means for outputting a detection signal indicating that ionic water has been selected when is selected; and electrolysis for generating ionic water by supplying electricity to the electrolytic cell when the detection signal is output by the detecting means. Tank control means, pH instruction input means provided in the branch tap, for inputting an instruction of the pH intensity of the alkaline ionized water generated in the electrolytic cell, and pH instruction input means PH control means for controlling the amount of electricity supplied to the electrolytic cell so as to obtain alkaline ionized water having the input pH intensity. 2. The electrolytic cell control means, when the detection signal is output by the detection means, supplies water from a water source to the electrolytic cell and allows energization of the electrolytic cell, and the detection signal is 2. The ionic water generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when no output is made, water from a water source is not supplied to the electrolytic cell or power supply to the electrolytic cell is stopped. 3. An electrode reversal instruction input means provided on the branch tap for inputting an instruction for reversing the polarity of the electrode of the electrolytic cell; and when the instruction is input by the positive / negative reversal instruction input means, the electrolysis is performed. 3. The ion water generating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an electrode reversing control unit for reversing the polarity of the electrode of the tank.