JPH067890U - Ionized water generator with flow sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] With a simple and inexpensive mechanism, both the flow rate and total amount of water are accurately measured, and the alkaline ionized water p
Know H exactly. Optimum time for cleaning the electrode and time for replacing the filter, there is little variation in pH,
It can drain delicious water. [Constitution] The ionized water generator comprises an ionization tank 1, a power source 12 for applying a voltage to electrodes 2 and 3 of the ionization tank 1, and an ionization tank 1.
It is equipped with a flow rate sensor 4 for detecting the water flowing in and a digital display means 5 for calculating the output of the flow rate sensor 4 and displaying the flow rate of water per unit time. The flow rate sensor (4) detects the flow rate per unit time and the total amount of water that has passed in a certain time, the digital display means (5) displays the flow rate per hour, and the total amount display means (6) The total amount of water flowing is displayed digitally.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 This invention relates to an ionized water generator that electrolyzes water to separate it into alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 A device for electrolyzing tap water to separate it into alkaline ionic water and acidic ionic water is already in use. This device can collect acidic ionized water in the vicinity of the positive electrode and alkaline ionized water in the vicinity of the negative electrode. Therefore, alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water can be drained by draining from the vicinity of the electrode. In this type of device, alkaline ionized water is used for drinking water, and acidic ionized water is used as water having a bactericidal effect. The pH of alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water is affected by the current and flow rate flowing between the positive and negative electrodes. When the flow rate is constant and the current between the electrodes increases, the pH of the alkaline ionized water increases. When the current is constant and the flow rate decreases, the pH of alkaline ionized water increases.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In the ionized water generator having this structure, it is important to keep the pH of the drained ionized water within a certain range. If the pH of the alkaline ionized water is too low, the effect as ionized water will be small, and if the pH is too high, it will not be suitable for drinking. A mechanism for adjusting the current is provided to adjust the pH within a certain range. However, the pH of the ionized water varies not only with the current but also with the flow rate, so that the current must be adjusted by the flow rate of water in order to maintain a constant pH. Conventional ion water generators have been developed that adjust the current, but there is no device that measures the flow rate, and it is difficult to adjust the pH of the discharged ion water to a certain range. In the ionized water generator connected to the tap, the pH of the alkaline ionized water decreases when the tap is opened wide and the flow rate is increased. When the faucet is opened small and the flow rate is low, the pH of alkaline ionized water increases. By connecting a pH meter to the discharge side, the pH of the discharged alkaline ionized water can be measured. However, since the pH meter is an extremely expensive measuring instrument, it is extremely difficult to equip it in terms of cost. A device that can measure the flow rate of water per unit time can adjust the current by observing the flow rate to keep the pH of alkaline ionized water within a certain range.

Furthermore, the pH of alkaline ionized water decreases as the ionized water generator is used. The reason is that foreign matter is adsorbed on the surface of the electrodes, and the foreign matter increases the contact resistance with water and reduces the current between the electrodes. Foreign substances adhering to the electrode surface can be removed by applying an opposite voltage to the electrode to pass water. A device with a built-in timer has been developed to detect the cleaning time of the electrode. The timer starts counting each time the electrode cleaning is completed, and when the set time has elapsed, the timer outputs a “cleaning” signal by flashing a lamp or the like. When the cleaning lamp starts blinking, clean the electrodes. The ionized water generator having this structure can wash the electrode after every use for a certain period of time.

However, a device that adjusts the cleaning time of the electrode with a timer cannot necessarily clean the electrode in an optimal usage state. In some cases, the electrodes are cleaned in a clean state, and in other cases, they may not be cleaned until a large amount of foreign matter adheres. This is because the usage time of the electrode is not proportional to the amount of foreign matter adhering to the surface of the electrode. For example, when used at a very low flow rate, the electrode is less contaminated, and conversely, when used at a higher flow rate, the electrode is more contaminated.

Furthermore, the ionized water generator is provided with a filter for removing chlorine and the like contained in water. The filter is connected in series with the water passage. The odorous components such as chlorine are removed from the water passing through the filter by activated carbon. Since the filter adsorbs chlorine and the like to filter, the filter performance decreases as it is used. When the performance of the filter deteriorates, the taste of water becomes bad. The performance of the filter gradually deteriorates due to the total amount of water passing through. In order to keep the filtering capacity of the filter constant, it is necessary to replace it with a new one after a certain period of use. You can use a timer to tell you when to replace the filter. However, the timer can measure the time of use of the filter, but cannot display the total amount of water that has passed through the filter. Therefore, as with the electrode cleaning, there is a drawback that the electrodes cannot be replaced in an optimum state.

The present invention was developed to solve this drawback, and an important object of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive mechanism for accurately measuring both the flow rate and the total amount of water. It is possible to accurately know the pH of the alkaline ionized water to be discharged, and it is possible to discharge delicious water with less variation in pH by optimizing the electrode cleaning time and filter replacement time. To provide a generator of.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The ionized water generator having the cleaning means of the present invention has the following constitution in order to achieve the above-mentioned object. That is, the ionized water generation device having a cleaning means applies a voltage to the ionization tank 1 for energizing the inflowing water to separate it into alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water, and the electrodes 2 and 3 of the ionization tank 1. A power source 12 for controlling the flow rate, a flow rate sensor 4 for detecting the inflow of water into the ionization tank 1, and a digital display means 5 for calculating the output of the flow rate sensor 4 and displaying the flow rate of water per unit time.

Further, the ionized water generating device is provided with a total amount display means 6 for calculating an output signal of the flow rate sensor 4 to add the total amount of passing water and digitally displaying the added water amount. The flow rate sensor 4 is also used as a sensor that detects the flow rate per unit time and the total amount of water that has passed in a certain time. The digital display means 5 displays the flow rate per hour by the signal from the flow rate sensor 4. However, the total amount display means 6 is configured to digitally display the total amount of flowing water.

[0010]

【Example】

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments shown below exemplify a device for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and the device of the present invention has the following materials, shapes, structures, and arrangements of the components. It is not specified in. The device of this invention can be modified in various ways within the scope of claims for utility model registration.

Further, in this specification, in order to make it easy to understand the scope of claims for utility model registration, the numbers corresponding to the members shown in the embodiment are referred to as "column for scope of claims for utility model registration" and "subject." Is added to the member shown in the section of "Means for solving the problem". However, the members indicated in the scope of claims for utility model are not limited to the members of the embodiment.

The ionized water generator having the cleaning means shown in FIG. 1 includes a filter 9, an ionization tank 1, a power source 12, a flow rate sensor 4, a digital display means 5, and a total amount display means 6. There is.

The filter 9 filters the supplied tap water with a filter medium to remove odorous components such as chlorine contained in the water and foreign substances. The filter 9 has a cartridge case filled with a filter material. Filter materials that can cleanly filter water and remove odorous components, such as activated carbon, porous natural stone, porous natural stone pulverized and sintered into granules, etc., have excellent adsorption capacity. Granules can be used. As the particles that are the filtering material, for example, those having an average particle diameter of 1 to 10 mmφ are used.

The ionization tank 1 electrolyzes the water that has passed through the filter 9 to separate it into alkaline ionized water containing positive ions and acidic ionized water containing negative ions. The ionized water ionized in the ionization tank 1 is drained from the alkaline ionized water drainage channel 10 and the acidic ionized water drainage channel 11. The ionization tank 1 is provided with a plus electrode 2 for obtaining acidic ionized water from inflowing water and a negative electrode 3 for obtaining alkaline ionized water. The electrodes 2 and 3 of the ionization tank 1 are connected to a power source 12 via a changeover switch 13.

The negative electrode 3 is also used as a case. The case is made of stainless steel and other electrically conductive and corrosion-resistant metal, and is made into a cylindrical tank type that is strong enough to withstand the pressure of tap water. In the case, the discharge pipe of the filter 9 is connected to the lower end, and the alkaline ion water drainage channel 10 and the acidic ion water drainage channel 11 are coupled to the upper end.

The plus electrode 2 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is provided at the center of the case. Negative ions such as chlorine ions collect on the plus electrode 2 during electrolysis. The positive electrode 2 is made of a material having sufficient corrosion resistance against chlorine ions. As the positive electrode 2, for example, a titanium surface coated with iridium dioxide can be used. Both ends of the positive electrode 2 are insulated and protrude outside the case. A non-conductive material is used for the supporting portion of the positive electrode 2 of the case.

The plus electrode 2 and the minus electrode 3 are connected to a DC power source 12 via a changeover switch 13. The output voltage of the power supply 12, that is, the voltage between the electrodes 2 and 3 is defined by the flow rates of the alkaline ionized water and the acidic ionized water, the areas of the electrodes 2 and 3, and the required ion concentration contained in the alkaline ionized water and the acidic ionized water. Decide in consideration. Normally, the voltage between both electrodes 2 and 3 is adjusted within the range of 20 to 100 volts.

The content of ions ionized in the ionization tank 1 is proportional to the current between the electrodes. The current between the electrodes is almost proportional to the voltage. Therefore, the voltage between the electrodes is set so that the ion concentrations of the alkaline ionized water and the acidic ionized water are optimal values. When the voltage between the electrodes is increased, the concentration of ions contained in alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water increases. The optimum ionic concentrations of alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water differ depending on the application. The voltage between the electrodes can be adjusted to obtain the optimum ionic water for the application.

A perforated plate 14 is arranged between the positive electrode 2 and the case as shown by a chain line. The porous plate 14 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is separated in the vicinity of the positive electrode 2 and the negative electrode 3 to prevent the acidic ion water and the alkaline ion water from mixing. The alkaline ionized water drainage channel 10 is connected to the center of the plate material that closes the upper end of the porous plate 14. The acidic ionized water drainage channel 11 is opened at the upper end of the outer peripheral portion of the case.

Both the alkaline ionized water and the acidic ionized water flowing out from the ionization tank 1 are discharged simultaneously. If only one ionized water is drained, the other ionized water concentration will gradually increase. Therefore, it is not preferable to discharge only one of the alkaline ionized water and the acidic ionized water.

The flow sensor 4 is shown in FIG. The flow rate sensor 4 shown in this figure includes a rotor 4A that rotates when water passes through it, a casing 4B that houses the rotor 4A, and a magnetic sensor 4C that detects the rotation of the rotor 4A. The rotor 4A has radial blades 7, and is rotatably connected to the casing 4B via a bearing 8 and a shaft fixed at the center. The rotor 4A is rotated by the water impinging on the blades 7. The rotation speed of the rotor 4A is almost proportional to the flow rate. A ring-shaped magnet 4D is fixed to the rotor 4A in order to detect the rotation speed in a non-contact manner. The magnet 4D is excited so as to have an N pole and an S pole in the rotating direction.

The casing 4B has a cylindrical shape that houses the rotor 4A, and has a water inlet and a water outlet opened tangentially. Further, the casing 4B has a magnetic sensor 4C built in a watertight chamber. The magnetic sensor 4C is arranged close to the magnet 4D of the rotor 4A. The magnetic sensor 4C detects the change in the magnetic flux by the magnet 4D rotated by the rotor 4A, and detects the rotation speed of the rotor 4A. When the rotor 4A is provided with two magnetic poles of N and S poles, the magnetic sensor 4C outputs one pulse signal when the rotor 4A makes one rotation.

The digital display means 5 is connected to the magnetic sensor 4C, calculates a signal from the magnetic sensor 4C, and digitally displays the flow rate per minute. For example, the digital display means 5 counts the number of rotations of the rotor 4A that rotates for 1 second to calculate the flow rate. The flow rate sensor 4 having the rotor 4A that makes one rotation when water passes through 1 cc means that when the rotor 4A makes 100 revolutions per second, 100 cc per second and 6 liters of water pass per minute. The digital display means 5 to which the flow rate sensor 4 is connected can display the flow rate per minute in liters by multiplying the rotation speed of the rotor 4A per second by 6/100.

Further, the flow rate sensor 4 is also connected to the total amount display means 6 to digitally display the total amount of water passing through. The total amount display means 6 integrates the rotation speed of the rotor 4A to calculate the total amount of water that has passed. The total amount display means 6 connected to the flow rate sensor 4 having the rotor 4A that makes one revolution by passing 1 cc of water measures the total amount of water by counting the total number of revolutions of the rotor 4A from the time when the measurement is started. it can. The total amount display means 6 displays the total amount of water from the time of resetting after resetting the count after replacing the filter or cleaning the electrode. The flow rate after resetting is 1 liter per 1000 rotations of the rotor 4A.

In the ionized water generator shown in FIG. 3, the arithmetic circuit 17, the memory 18, the display member 19 and the changeover switch 20 constitute a digital display means 5 and a total amount display means 6. The changeover switch 20 includes a flow rate switch 20A and a total amount switch 20B. When the flow rate switch 20A is pressed, the arithmetic circuit 17 arithmetically processes the signal from the flow rate sensor 4 and displays the flow rate liter / minute on the display member 19. The arithmetic circuit 17 counts the pulse signal input from the flow rate sensor 4 and stores it in the memory 18. When the total amount switch 20B is pressed, the total amount of water that has passed is calculated from the stored value of the memory 18 and is digitally displayed on the display member. This structure has the advantage that the cost of parts can be further reduced because the display part is also used for displaying the flow rate and total amount.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 applies a reverse voltage to the electrodes 2 and 3 for cleaning. This device does not specify the structure for electrically cleaning the electrodes 2 and 3 to the structure shown in FIG. As shown by the chain line in FIG. 2, it is possible to provide a cleaning electrode 15 and apply a voltage to the cleaning electrode 15 to clean the electrode. The cleaning electrode 15 applies a negative voltage to the positive electrode 2 and a positive voltage to the negative electrode 3 when cleaning the electrode.

In the ionized water generator in which the electrodes are washed, the changeover switch 13 is set to the solid line position in FIG. 1, the valve is opened to supply water, and a voltage is applied to the electrodes to drain the ionized water.

[0028]

[Effect of device]

 The ionized water generator having the cleaning means of the present invention digitally displays the amount of water passing through in a unit time. Therefore, the pH of the discharged alkaline ionized water can be measured in real time without using an expensive pH meter. This is because the pH of alkaline ionized water is determined as a function of current and flow rate. Therefore, the user can adjust the flow rate while observing the digital display, or by adjusting both the flow rate and the electric current, if necessary, to obtain the ion water having the optimum pH for him or herself. Water and acidic ionic water can be used with optimum pH.

In addition, in the ionized water generator of the present invention, the flow rate sensor is used in combination with a sensor that detects the flow rate per unit time and a sensor that detects the total amount of water that has passed. The electrode can be washed under ideal conditions by measuring the total amount of water that has passed, using it as a sensor that detects the total amount of water. This is because the dirt on the electrode depends on the total amount of water that passes through. If the electrode can be washed in an ideal state, it can be washed before the concentration of ionized water drops, and the pH of alkaline ionized water can be adjusted within a certain range, and wasteful consumption of the electrode during washing can be reduced. There are features.

Furthermore, the ionized water generator of the present invention can realize the feature that the filter can be replaced at an optimum time to discharge delicious water. This is because the total amount display means displays the total amount of water that has passed through the filter, so that the filter can be replaced every time a certain amount of water has passed.

Furthermore, a remarkable feature of the ionized water generator of the present invention is that it can be mass-produced at low cost, although it can be used in an ideal state. The reason is that the flow rate sensor is used both as a sensor for measuring the flow rate per unit time and as a sensor for measuring the total amount of water passing through. Furthermore, since the measured values are displayed digitally, the flow rate and total amount can be displayed accurately.

That is, the ionized water generator of the present invention has an ideal characteristic that the pH can be prevented from lowering and the concentration can be kept constant, and that delicious water can be discharged. It has the advantage that the measuring mechanism can be significantly simplified and mass-produced at low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ionized water generator showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of a flow sensor.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an ionized water generator showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 ... Ionization tank 2 ... Electrode (+ side) 3 ......... Electrode (-side) 4 ... Flow rate sensor 4A ... Rotor 4B ... Casing 4C ... Magnetic sensor 4D ... … Magnet 5 ……… Digital display means 6 ……… Total amount display means 7 ……… Blade 8 ……… Bearing 9 ……… Filter 10 ……… Alkaline ion water drainage channel 11 ……… Acid ion water drainage channel 12 … Power supply 13 ……… Changeover switch 14 ……… Perforated plate 15 ……… Washing electrode 16 ……… Valve 17 ……… Calculation circuit 18 ……… Memory 19 ……… Display member 20 ……… Changeover switch

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A filter for filtering inflowing water, and an ionization tank for separating alkaline ionized water and acidic ionized water.
Power supply for applying voltage to (1) and electrodes (2) and (3) of ionization chamber (1)
(12), a flow rate sensor (4) that detects the flow rate of water flowing into the ionization tank (1), and a digital display that displays the flow rate of water per unit time by calculating the output of this flow rate sensor (4) means
In an ionized water generator that has a flow sensor (4) with (5), the output signal of the flow sensor (4) is calculated, the total amount of passing water is added, and the added water amount is displayed digitally. Having a display means (6), the flow rate sensor (4) detects the flow rate per unit time and the total amount of water that has passed in a certain time,
An ionized water generator having a flow sensor, characterized in that the digital display means (5) displays the flow rate per hour, and the total amount display means (6) is configured to digitally display the total amount of the flowed water. .