JPH0724460A - Ion water generator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide a user-friendly ion water generation device that allows a user to know the current progress of backwashing in stages and foresee the end of electrode washing. [Structure] When backwashing is started, a timer in the MPU 22 starts measuring the accumulated time from the start of backwashing, and the measurement result indicates that 15 seconds have elapsed from the start of backwashing.
If it is determined that the LED 42 is turned off (S8: Y), the LED 42 is turned off (S9), and if it is determined that 30 seconds have passed since the backwashing was started (S10: Y), the LED 43 is turned off (S11), When it is determined that 45 seconds have passed since the backwashing was started (S12: Y), the LED 44 is turned off (S13). Finally, the set time (60 in this embodiment)
When it is determined that (seconds) has elapsed (S14: Y), the LED 45 for backwash display is turned off (S16), and the user is notified of the end of backwash.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ionized water generator for generating alkaline ionized water or acidic ionized water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of ionized water generator, the amount of water supplied to the electrolytic cell is regularly removed in order to periodically remove scales and the like deposited on the surface of the electrode in the electrolytic cell. When a predetermined amount has been reached, a simple notification such as an alarm is given and then the polarity of the electrode is reversed to remove the scale for a certain period of time or a certain flow rate. Hereinafter, reversing the polarity of this electrode to remove scale is called backwashing.

[0003]

However, during backwashing, the user must stop using the device and wait in front of the device until the backwashing is complete. However, since the progress of backwashing is not known while waiting for the end of backwashing, the user feels that the waiting time is longer than necessary.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the user can know the progress of the current electrode cleaning step by step, and can predict the end of the electrode cleaning. The purpose is to provide a user-friendly ion water generator.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, an ion water generator of the present invention is provided with an electrolyzer to which raw water is supplied, a water supply amount to the electrolyzer, or an integration relating to the water supply amount. Based on the data from the detection means and the detection means for detecting the time, the integrated current amount, etc., it is determined whether the amount of water supplied to the electrolytic cell or the accumulated time related to the amount of water supplied has reached a predetermined amount. Judgment means for judging and the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrodes by controlling the switching means when it is judged by the judgment means that the water supply amount or the integration time related to the water supply amount has reached a predetermined value. When the water supply amount after reversing the polarity and the accumulated time or the like related to the water supply amount have reached a set value, the switching means is controlled again,
Control means for restoring the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrodes,
The control means includes a notifying means for stepwise notifying the progress from when the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrodes is reversed to when the polarity is restored.

[0006]

In the ion water generator of the present invention having the above structure, the detection means detects the amount of raw water supplied to the electrolytic cell at the time of backwashing, or the accumulated time or accumulated current amount related to the amount of water supplied. , Based on the data from the detecting means, the judging means judges whether or not the amount of water supplied to the electrolytic cell and the integration time related to the amount of water have reached a predetermined amount, and it is judged that the predetermined amount has been reached. In this case, the control means controls the switching means to invert the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrodes, and the amount of water supplied after reversing the polarity and the accumulated time related to the amount of water reached the set value. At this time, the control means controls the switching means again to restore the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrodes.
Then, the notifying means notifies stepwise of the progress from the time when the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrodes is reversed by the control means until the time of returning to the original state.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an ionized water generator embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a front view of the appearance of the ion water generator according to the present invention is composed of a main body 1 and a main body cover 1a for replacing the water purification tank 7 and the like. Power switch 40 for turning on / off the
A 15-second display LED 4 provided with a mode switch 41 and the like, is turned on immediately before the start of backwashing, and is turned off when the water supply time to the electrolytic bath 14 reaches 15 seconds during backwashing.
LED for 25 seconds display that turns off when it reaches 2, 25 seconds
LE for 45 seconds display that turns off when 43 or 45 seconds have passed
A D44, a backwash state display LED 45, an ion water mode display LED 46, a water purification mode display LED 47, and the like are arranged. The LEDs 42 to 45 form a notification means.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the schematic internal structure of the present ionized water generator is composed of a main body 1 and a branch plug 2 connected to a tap 5 of the water supply, and the main body 1 and the branch plug 2 thereof. Are connected by a raw water hose 3 and an alkaline water hose 4. A switchable lever 6 is provided on the branch plug 2.
Is provided, and by switching the lever 6,
When the raw water or the alkaline ionized water is selected and the raw water is selected by the lever 6, the raw water supplied from the water pipe (not shown) is directly discharged from the faucet 5.

On the other hand, when the alkaline ionized water is selected by the lever 6, the raw water supplied from the water pipe is diverted.
Flows into the main body 1 through the raw water hose 3 from the water channel 8
And flows into the water purification tank 7. The raw water flowing into the water purification tank 7 passes through the activated carbon cartridge 9 and further passes through the hollow fiber membrane layer 10 to be purified. A temperature sensor 11 and a pressure sensor 12 are arranged on the water passage 8. The temperature sensor 11 adsorbs the activated carbon in the activated carbon cartridge 9 when raw water having an abnormally high temperature flows into the water purification tank 7. Since the impurities are discharged and the raw water is contaminated, the temperature of the raw water flowing through the water channel 8 is monitored. Further, the pressure sensor 12 detects the pressure of raw water flowing into the main body 1.

The purified raw water flows into the electrolytic cell 14 through the water channel 8a while the calcium powder is added from the calcium addition cylinder 13 in a constant amount. Further, a flow rate sensor 15 constituting a detecting means is provided on the water passage 8a, and detects the supply amount of raw water flowing into the main body 1 and the amount of water to be electrolyzed at any time.

A positive electrode 19 and a negative electrode 20 are disposed in the electrolytic cell 14, and the positive electrode 19 and the negative electrode 20 are separated by a diaphragm 16, and the positive electrode 19 is disposed in the anode. A chamber 17 and a cathode chamber 18 in which a negative electrode 20 is arranged are formed. When the raw water flowing into the electrolytic cell 14 is electrolyzed, alkaline water is generated in the cathode chamber 18 and acidic water is generated in the anode chamber 17.
Furthermore, the alkaline water generated in the cathode chamber 18 is the water channel 8b.
After passing through, the alkaline water hose 4 is caused to flow, then flows into the branch plug 2 again and is discharged from the faucet 5, and the acidic water generated in the anode chamber 17 passes through the water passage 8c and is discharged to the outside of the main body 1.

An electromagnetic valve 21 is arranged on the water passage 8c. When the electrolysis is not normally performed by the electromagnetic valve 21, the water passage 8c is closed so that all the water purified in the water purification tank 7 is the water passage. It passes through 8b and is discharged as purified water from the faucet 5 so that wasteful waste water is eliminated.

Next, a system block diagram of this ion water generator is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control system of this ionized water generator comprises a power supply circuit 30, an oscillation circuit 31, and a power supply switch 40.
And mode selector switch 41 and other PH not shown
An input unit 33 configured by a setting switch or the like, a microprocessor (MPU) 22 for integrally managing information input from the input unit 33 and information from various sensors, and performing electrolytic processing, display operation, and the like, The MPU2
A RAM 24 that temporarily stores each input data or data from a sensor or the like according to a command from 2, or reads out previously stored data, for comparison with a control program of the MPU 22 or data from a sensor or the like ROM 23 for storing control data and the like, a voltage adjusting circuit 27 for adjusting the voltage applied to the electrodes during the electrolytic treatment, and for removing scale deposited on the surfaces of the electrodes 19 and 20 by electrolyzing raw water. , Electrodes 19 and 2 in the electrolytic cell 14
It is composed of a reversing relay 26 which constitutes a switching means capable of applying a voltage of reverse polarity between 0, a driver 29 for controlling the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 21 according to a command from the MPU 22, and the like.

The MPU 22 is provided with a reversing relay 2
6 is configured to invert the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrodes 19 and 20, and a determination means to determine whether the amount of water supplied to the electrolytic cell 14 has reached a predetermined amount is also configured. is doing.

The display device 25 and the piezoelectric buzzer 28, which are composed of various LEDs 42 to 47, etc.
It is controlled by the PU 22.

The pressure sensor 12 and the flow rate sensor 15 compare the data obtained from each with the data obtained in advance in the ROM 23 by an experiment or the like to determine the clogging degree of the water purification tank 7 from the relationship between the pressure and the flow rate. Provides the data to judge. In addition, the flow rate sensor 1 which constitutes the detection means
Reference numeral 5 provides the MPU 22 with data on the integrated flow rate during the electrolytic treatment and data on the integrated flow rate such as the total amount of water supplied to the main body 1. The temperature sensor 11 monitors the temperature of the raw water entering the main body 1, and warns the user by the piezoelectric buzzer 28 via the MPU 22 when the raw water having a temperature equal to or higher than the set temperature is supplied.

This embodiment is constructed as described above.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG.

When the water supply is started and the electrolytic treatment is carried out in the electrolytic bath 14 (step 1: Y, abbreviated as S1 hereinafter, each step is also abbreviated hereinafter), the ion water mode display LED 46 is turned on. By doing so, it is displayed that it is in the ion water mode (S2). When this electrolytic treatment is performed in a certain amount, Ca ⁺⁺ ions (calcium ions)
And Mg ⁺⁺ ion (magnesium ion) etc.
4 is deposited on the surface of the negative electrode 20 and the electrolysis efficiency is lowered, so that the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrodes 19 and 20 is periodically reversed, and Ca ⁺⁺ ions or Mg ⁺⁺ deposited on the negative electrode 20 are deposited.
Ions need to be removed.

Therefore, the flow rate sensor 15 detects the integrated flow rate during the electrolytic treatment (S3), and based on the data, the MPU 22 determines whether or not the current integrated flow rate exceeds a predetermined value (90 liters in this embodiment). Is judged (S4), and when it exceeds (S4: Y), the ion water mode display LED 46
Is turned off (S5), and LEDs 42 to 45 for backwashing state display
Is turned on (S6). Then, the MPU 22 controls the inversion relay 26 to invert the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrodes 19 and 20 (S7).

When the backwash is started, the timer in the MPU 22 starts measuring the accumulated time from the start of the backwash, and from the measurement result, it is determined that 15 seconds have passed since the backwash was started.
When the determination is made in U22 (S8: Y), the LED 42 indicating that 15 seconds have elapsed is turned off (S).
9). Subsequently, when it is determined from the measurement result from the MPU 22 that 30 seconds have elapsed since the backwashing was started (S1
(0: Y), the LED 43 indicating that 30 seconds have passed since the backwashing was started is turned off (S11). Similarly,
When it is determined that 45 seconds have passed since the start of backwashing (S12: Y), LED4 indicating that 45 seconds have passed
4 is turned off (S13). Thus, when it is finally determined that the set time (60 seconds in the present embodiment) has elapsed (S14: Y), the MPU 22 controls the reversing relay 26 again to change the DC voltage applied to the electrodes 19 and 20. The polarity is reversed and electrolysis is started (S15), and LE for backwash display is displayed.
D45 is turned off (S16), and the process returns to S2.

As described above, in the ion water generator of this embodiment, the time elapsed after entering the backwashing state is indicated by the LED.
Since the display is made stepwise by 42 to 45, while the user is waiting in front of the apparatus, the user can easily grasp the progress state of the backwash and predict the end of the backwash. The operability is improved. Also, with this,
The user does not feel the time waiting in front of the device for an unnecessarily long time, and since the end of backwashing can be foreseen in advance, the ionized water generated after the backwashing is used without being wasted. be able to.

In this embodiment, the progress from the start of backwashing is informed based on the measurement result of the integrated time by the MPU 22, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be shared with the detecting means. Alternatively, the progress from the backwashing start may be notified based on the integrated water supply amount and the integrated current amount detected by the detection means.

Further, in the present embodiment, the LEDs 42 to 45 for displaying the backwash state are turned off at regular intervals (intervals of 15 seconds), but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is just before the end of the backwash state. A display method may be used in which the display interval is shortened and the initial display interval at the time of entering the backwash is long so that the user can easily understand the timing of the backwash end.

[0027]

As is apparent from the above description, in the ion water generator of the present invention, the process from when the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrodes is reversed by the control means to when it is returned to the original, Since the notification is made step by step by the notification means, the user can know the current progress of the electrode cleaning step by step, it is possible to predict the end of the electrode cleaning, and the operability is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external front view of an ion water generator of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic internal structure diagram of the ionized water generator of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of the ionized water generator of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a display operation of the ionized water generator of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 Electrolyzer 15 Flow sensor 19 Positive electrode 20 Negative electrode 22 MPU 26 Inversion relay 42 15 second display LED 43 30 second display LED 44 45 second display LED 45 Backwash state display LED

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electrolysis tank to which raw water is supplied, a detection means for detecting the amount of water supplied to the electrolysis tank, or an accumulated time or an accumulated current amount related to the amount of water supplied, and an electrode in the electrolytic cell. Based on the data from the switching means for switching the polarity of the applied DC voltage, and the data from the detection means, whether or not the amount of water supplied to the electrolytic cell and the cumulative time related to the amount of water supplied have reached a predetermined value. When it is determined by the determining means that the water supply amount and the integration time related to the water supply amount have reached a predetermined value, the switching means is controlled to control the DC voltage applied to the electrodes. When the polarity is reversed and the amount of water supplied after reversing the polarity or the accumulated time related to the amount of water reaches a set value, the switching means is controlled again to change the polarity of the DC voltage applied to the electrodes. Control means to undo, before Since the polarity inversion of the DC voltage applied to the electrode by the control unit, the ion water generator, characterized in that it and a notification means for stepwise notifying the course to return to the original.