JPH0440797Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention is a water-flowing water purifier equipped with a bactericidal or sterilizing device having a metal-dissolving electrode such as silver inside the body of the water-flowing water purifier. This invention relates to an improvement in a water purifier that elutes ions.

[The problem that the idea aims to solve]

A water purifier that has a purification chamber filled with a water purification material such as activated carbon in a casing that has a water supply section and a drainage section, and a sterilization device that elutes silver ions by applying a DC voltage above the purification chamber. There are Utility Model Registration Application No. 87593 and No. 126053 filed in 1985 by the present inventor.

However, in conventional water purifiers of this kind, even after the silver positive electrode has been used to the extent that it melts, the silver electrode continues to melt as long as voltage continues to be supplied from the power source. As a result, even the mounting base of the silver electrode is melted and becomes thinner, causing water leakage, resulting in serious trouble not only for the water purifier but also for surrounding equipment.

In addition, water purifiers equipped with this type of sterilizer have rod-shaped silver positive electrodes, which have a small contact area with water, resulting in poor efficiency.Furthermore, the surface of the silver electrodes is quickly covered with oxides, which is a problem. It was hot.

On the other hand, this type of sterilizing device in a conventional water purifier operates regardless of whether water is stagnant or flowing, so the silver ion concentration is high when water is stagnant and close to 0 when water is flowing. This is because the amount of silver dissolved is proportional to the residence time in water, so if the silver ion concentration is saturated, silver will not dissolve in water for 3 to 4 hours after starting water flow. When the water temperature is high, bacteria tend to grow in the water supply during this short period of time.

This invention was devised to solve these problems.The first purpose is to prevent water leakage from the sterilizing or sterilizing metal electrode attachment part, and to improve the efficiency of sterilizing action. Our objective is to provide a water purifier with a device.

A second object of the present invention is to provide the above-mentioned water purifier in which sterilizing metal ions are efficiently eluted into the water for a long period of time at the same time as the water flow starts.

[Means to solve the problem]

The first object of the present invention is to provide a main body of a water flow type water purifier having a water supply part and a drainage part connected to a water supply pipe; a negative electrode disposed in the main body of the water purifier; disposed opposite to the negative electrode,
A positive electrode that elutes antibacterial or bactericidal metal ions into the water in the water purifier by applying a DC voltage between the negative electrode; one end of the positive electrode is connected to the (+) side terminal; A power supply device in which a negative electrode is connected to the (-) side terminal and a DC voltage is applied between both electrodes; a circuit is connected to the other end of the positive electrode and the (-) side of the power supply device; be done (+)
A current-carrying circuit in which a voltage load member is interposed in the circuit extending from the terminal to the (-) side terminal via the positive electrode; DC voltage to both the electrodes due to cutting off of current to the positive electrode due to melting of the positive electrode; This can be achieved by a water purifier equipped with a means for stopping the application of the water. In this case, it is preferable that a positive electrode made of a sterilizing metal and a negative electrode made of stainless steel or the like be formed into a horseshoe shape or a ring shape and arranged one above the other, and a baffle plate is provided so as to face the central space of the positive electrode. The electrodes are arranged at the bottom of the water purifier, with the cathode at the top and the anode at the bottom.

The second object of the present invention is to connect a power supply device that applies a DC voltage between a sterilizing metal positive electrode and a stainless steel negative electrode of a sterilizer to a flow switch, a pressure switch, etc. installed in the water supply and drainage piping of a water purifier. The power supply circuit is turned on by the water flow detection signal from the water detection device.
This can be achieved by providing a switch mechanism to

[Effect of invention]

The present invention is equipped with a sterilizer in the water supply section of the water purifier, which has an antibacterial or sterilizing metal positive electrode such as silver or copper and a negative electrode such as stainless steel, which are placed opposite each other, so that a DC voltage cannot be applied between the two electrodes. The water introduced into the water purifier is sterilized or sterilized by elution of sterilizing metal ions before entering the purification chamber. in this case,
When a positive electrode made of a sterilizing metal such as silver melts down, this is detected and the application of DC voltage between the two electrodes of the sterilizer is stopped, which prevents further melting of the positive electrode and prevents the area where the positive electrode is attached from melting. Water leakage is prevented.

In addition, when a baffle plate is provided in the central space of the horseshoe-shaped anode, the water flow introduced from the water supply part is blocked by the baffle plate and passes around the anode, and in the process, the oxidation generated on the surface of the anode is Since the object is blown away, the positive electrode is always maintained in a state of good conductivity.
Metal oxides produced by electrolysis settle at the bottom of the water purifier due to their own weight, and therefore the current conduction efficiency of the negative electrode is less likely to decrease.

Furthermore, if the power supply device is provided with a switch that is turned on by a water flow detection signal from a water flow detection device installed in the water supply and drainage piping, the sterilizer will operate in conjunction with water flow. That is, silver ions and the like are not eluted when water is stagnant, and silver ions can be eluted simultaneously with water flow.

[Example of idea]

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows an example of the water purifier main body.This water purifier has a water supply part 2 and a drainage part 3 for connecting to water supply and drainage pipes at both ends of the main body casing 1 in the axial direction. A purification chamber 5 filled with a water purification material 4 such as activated carbon is partitioned between the section 2 and the drainage section 3 via upper and lower filters 6a and 6b.

The water purification material 4 in the purification chamber 5 may contain an appropriate amount of silver-containing activated carbon, and in this embodiment, a plurality of magnets held in a cylindrical holder 7' as shown in the figure are included in the water purification material 4, for example. 7 and purification chamber 5
It is designed to have a magnetic effect on the water.

In the illustrated embodiment, a water supply section 2 is provided at the lower part of the water purifier main body casing 1, and this water supply section 2
A negative electrode 8 made of a material such as stainless steel and a positive electrode 9 made of an antibacterial or sterilizing metal such as silver or copper or an alloy thereof are disposed facing each other with a predetermined gap necessary for discharge.

In the illustrated embodiment, the negative electrode 8 and the positive electrode 9 made of sterilizing metal (hereinafter referred to as "silver electrode") are formed in the shape of a horseshoe or a partially cut-out ring, as shown in FIG. A negative electrode 8 is fixed to the bottom surface of the casing 1, and a silver positive electrode 9 is placed on the downstream side of the water flow with a gap of about 3 to 5 mm between the silver positive electrode 9 and the bottom surface of the casing.

Preferably, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a baffle plate 10 is provided in the central space of the annular silver positive electrode 9, and the introduced water is guided by the baffle plate 10 and flows over the surface of the silver positive electrode 9. Allow it to flow while washing.

The terminal of the negative electrode 8 is connected to the outside of the main casing 1.
Similarly, both ends of the silver positive electrode 9 also protrude outside the casing 1 via an O-ring as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and both electrodes 8, Silver positive electrode 9 between 9
A DC voltage is applied to elute silver ions from the silver ions.

3a to 3c show an embodiment of an electric circuit for controlling the DC voltage between the negative electrode 8 and the silver positive electrode 9 of the sterilizer, and the power supply device 11 controls the current of the power supply circuit 11a. Rectification is performed via the rectifier 11b, and the (+) side terminal is connected to one end 9a of the positive electrode 9 via circuit a, and the (-) side terminal is connected to the negative electrode via circuit b, and both electrodes 8 , 9, the DC voltage is applied between them. In this case, one feature of the present invention is that when the silver positive electrode 9 melts, the application of the DC voltage is stopped to prevent the silver electrode from melting thereafter. , the other end 9 of the silver positive electrode 9
b is connected to the (-) side terminal of the power supply device 11 via the circuit c, thereby connecting the (-) terminal from the (+) terminal of the power supply device 11 to the circuit a, the silver electrode 9, and the circuit c.
An electric circuit that conducts electricity to the terminal is configured, and voltage load members such as relay coils and resistors are included in this current-carrying circuit.
a detection means 12 for detecting interruption of energization to the anode 9 due to melting of the anode 9;
A stopping means 13 is provided for stopping the application of DC voltage between the electrodes 8 and 9 in response to a current cutoff detection signal from the detecting means 12.

Figure 3a shows the voltage load member r and the current cutoff means 1.
2, a relay L is provided in the circuit c, and a normally open contact ac controlled by the relay L is provided in the circuit b to serve as voltage application stopping means 13. In this case, a current flows through the relay L which is energized to the silver positive electrode 9 by the circuit ac, the normally open contact ac is closed, and a tidal current voltage is applied to both the electrodes 8 and 9. On the other hand, when the silver electrode 9 melts, the normally open contact is activated by the relay L.
ac is opened and the application of voltage to both electrodes 8 and 9 is stopped.

The current cutoff detection means 12 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3b is constituted by a circuit d connected between the circuit a and the circuit c via a resistor R and a relay L, and the voltage application stop means 13 is connected to the circuit b. A normally closed contact bc is provided and controlled by the relay L. In addition, in FIG. 3b, a resistor R2 having a smaller resistance value than the resistor R of the circuit b is interposed in the circuit c as the voltage load member r. Of course, this resistor R2
may be interposed in circuit a.

Thus, in this embodiment, when a DC voltage is applied to both electrodes 8 and 9 and the positive electrode 9 is energized, no current flows through the relay L due to the resistor R in the circuit d, and the normally closed contact is closed. bc is closed. Therefore, the voltage application stop means 13 does not operate.

On the other hand, when silver electrode 9 melts, relay L of circuit d
Current flows through the terminal, the normally closed contact bc opens, and the voltage application is stopped.

FIG. 3c shows yet another embodiment, in which the LED 12a provided in circuit c and this LED
A photocoupler 12c consisting of a phototransistor 12b activated by a signal from the phototransistor 12a, and a contact control circuit 12 connected to the phototransistor 12b.
d constitutes the current cutoff detection means 12, and a normally open contact ac controlled by the contact control circuit 12d is provided in the voltage application circuit b of the negative electrode 8 to form the voltage application stop means 13. Note that it is desirable to additionally provide a resistor R as a voltage load member r in circuit a or circuit c. Incidentally, in this case, while the circuit c is energized, the phototransistor 12b is turned on by the light emission of the LED 12a, the normally open contact ac of the circuit a is closed via the contact control circuit 12d, and voltage is applied to both electrodes. On the other hand, due to the melting of the silver electrode 9, the LED 12a stops emitting light, the phototransistor 12b is turned OFF, and this OFF signal causes the normally open contact AC to be activated via the contact control circuit 12d.
opens and stops power supply.

Incidentally, as shown in FIGS. 3a to 3b above,
When an electric circuit 14 for lighting an indicator lamp 14a or the like is used, this indicator circuit 14 may also be provided with a contact 14b controlled by the energization cutoff detection means 12 to visually indicate whether or not power is being supplied. good.

FIG. 4 shows that when a water flow detection device 18 such as a flow switch 16 or a pressure switch 17 is used in combination with the water supply and drainage pipe system 15 that connects the water purifier, the new number 19 from these water flow detection devices 18 is used to open and close the water flow detection device 18. This shows an embodiment in which a switch 20 is provided in the circuit 11a of the power supply device 11. When the water supply signal is ON, that is, when the water purifier is in the water supply state, the switch 20 closes the power supply circuit 11a and closes the power supply circuit 11a, At the same time, when the water flow signal is OFF, that is, water flow through the water purifier stops, the power supply circuit 11a is opened and the electrodes 8 and 9
The power supply is now cut off.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 5, the water purifier of the present invention is connected to the electrolyzed water generating device via piping 15 as a pretreatment for the electrolyzed ionized water generating device 21 that electrolyzes water into alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water. It can be used. In this case, a two-stage flow switch valve 16 that opens and closes the pair of drainage channels 15a and 15b at the same time is provided in the pair of drainage channels of the electrolyzer 21, or a pressure switch 17 is provided in the water supply channel of the electrolyzed water generation device. The operation of the electrolyzed water generator 21 is often controlled, and the switch 20 of the present invention is controlled by signals from these water flow detection devices 18 (flow switch valve 16 or pressure switch 17). .

FIG. 6 shows a more preferred embodiment of the electrode arrangement of the water purifier main body according to the present invention. In this embodiment, at the bottom of the water purifier, the negative electrode 8 is arranged upward, and the sterilizing metal is placed below it. Positive electrodes 9 for ion elution are arranged opposite to each other.

That is, if the sterilizing positive electrode 9 made of silver or the like is placed above the negative electrode 8 as in the embodiment shown in FIG. However, by placing the negative electrode 8 above the positive electrode 9 as shown in Figure 6, the oxides will settle to the bottom of the water purifier under their own weight, and an oxide film will form on the negative electrode 8. It becomes difficult to approach.

More preferably, as shown in FIG. 6, a space S is provided between the positive electrode 9 and the bottom surface of the water purifier in order to deposit the electrolytic oxide.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, in the present invention, when the silver positive electrode for sterilization is fused due to use, the application of DC voltage to both electrodes of the sterilizer is stopped, and the positive electrode is no longer melted. Therefore, troubles such as water leakage due to dissolution of the anode mounting portion can be prevented.

In addition, if the electrode is formed into a horseshoe shape or annular shape and a baffle plate is provided in the center space, the oxide film formed on the surface of the silver positive electrode will be blown away by the water flow induced around the silver positive electrode. Therefore, efficient discharge is always maintained and the sterilization effect is significantly improved.

Furthermore, if the power supply of the sterilizer is equipped with a switch that is turned on and off by the signal from the water flow detection device, silver ions will not be dissolved when the water is stagnant in the water purifier, so silver ions will not become excessive. do not have. Therefore, elution of silver ions starts at the same time as water is passed again, so that it is possible to effectively eliminate the lingering time during which bacteria can propagate.

When the sterilizing anode is disposed below the cathode at the bottom of the water purifier, oxides are less likely to adhere to the cathode, so current flow is not obstructed as in the past, and maintenance is also reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the water purifier main body according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line -
Figures a to 3c are DC voltage circuit diagrams to the electrodes, Figure 4 is a diagram corresponding to Figure 3a according to another embodiment, Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of use of the embodiment of Figure 4, and Figure 6. FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing another embodiment of the electrolytic arrangement of the water purifier. 1...Water purifier main body casing, 2...Water supply part,
3...Drainage section, 4...Water purification material, 5...Purification room, 6
a, 6b...Filter, 7...Magnet, 8...
...Cathode electrode, 9 ... Sterilizing metal positive electrode, 10 ... Baffle plate, 11 ... Power supply device, 11a ... Power supply circuit,
11b... Rectifier, 12... Energization cutoff detection means,
12a...LED, 12b...phototransistor,
12c... Contact control circuit, 13... Voltage application stop means, 14... Display circuit, 15... Water supply and drainage pipe system,
16...Flow switch, 17...Pressure switch, 18...Water flow detection device, 20...Switch,
21... Electrolyzed ionized water generator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) A flow-through water purifier body having a water supply part and a drainage part connected to a water supply pipe; a negative electrode disposed within the water purifier body; are arranged oppositely,
A positive electrode that elutes sterilization or bactericidal metal ions into the water in the water purifier by applying a DC voltage between the negative electrode; one end of the positive electrode is connected to the (+) side terminal, and the (- ) side terminal is connected to a negative electrode, and a power supply device applies a DC voltage between both electrodes; and a circuit is connected to the other end of the positive electrode and the (-) side of the power supply device. A current-carrying circuit in which a voltage load member is interposed in the circuit from the (+) terminal to the (-) side terminal via the positive electrode; when the current is cut off to the positive electrode due to the melting of the positive electrode, both the electrodes A water purifier having a sterilizing device, characterized in that the water purifier comprises: means for stopping the application of a DC voltage to the water purifier. (2) An annular or horseshoe-shaped positive electrode and a negative electrode are arranged one above the other in the water purifier body, and
2. The water purifier according to claim 1, wherein a baffle plate faces the central space of the positive electrode so that water flows between the annular electrodes. (3) The power supply device is turned on by a water flow detection signal from a water flow detection device installed in the water supply and drainage pipe of the water purifier.
2. The water purifier according to claim 1, further comprising an actuated switch. (4) A claim characterized in that a negative electrode and a positive electrode for eluting bactericidal metal ions are arranged facing each other at the bottom of the water purifier, with the negative electrode facing upward and the bactericidal positive electrode facing downward. Water purifier described in paragraph (1), (2) or (3). (5) The water purifier according to claim (4), further comprising a space for depositing electrolytic oxide between the sterilizing anode and the water purifier.