Electrolyzed water generating and spraying device

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2007-331333, filed Dec. 25, 2007, in the Japanese Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

1. Field

The present invention relates to an electrolyzed water generating and spraying device for spraying and applying electrolyzed water, obtained by electrolysis of an electrolytic solution, onto human skin or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art

Electrolyzed water obtained through electrolysis of an electrolytic solution is sprayed and applied onto human skin or the like, for instance to clean, disinfect and sterilize the skin thereby. Electrolyzed water generating devices, for generating electrolyzed water, and spraying devices, for spraying the electrolyzed water generated by the electrolyzed water generating device, have conventionally been constructed independently. Accordingly, the electrolyzed water generated in the electrolyzed water generating device must be transferred to the spraying device, to be sprayed therefrom. This operation is problematic on account of the hassle involved.

Such being the case, Japanese Patent No. 2796075 proposes an electrolyzed water generating and spraying device in which a container (tank) holding an electrolytic solution and doubling as an electrolytic cell is integrated as a single unit with a spraying mechanism for spraying electrolyzed water.

The electrolyzed water generating and spraying device proposed in Japanese Patent No. 2796075, however, relies on a batch-wise operation whereby the entire electrolytic solution in the container is electrolyzed. Thus, electrolyzed water cannot be sprayed until electrolysis of the electrolytic solution in the container is completely over, which is problematic in terms of the time that elapses until spraying.

The electrolyzed water generating and spraying device is also problematic in that the electrolyzed water in the container must be stirred, and also in terms of electrolyzed water deterioration, since the electrolyzed water remains in the container after being generated.

The device is problematic, moreover, in that re-electrolysis efficiency is poor, since the entire electrolytic solution in the container is electrolyzed at all times.

In the light of the above shortcomings, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide an electrolyzed water generating and spraying device that allows generating electrolyzed water in a short time, and allows non-deteriorated electrolyzed water to be sprayed immediately after being generated.

Additional aspects and/or advantages will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are achieved by providing an electrolyzed water generating and spraying device having a container, and housed therein, an electrolytic cell for generating electrolyzed water through electrolysis of an electrolytic solution by an electrode, a spraying mechanism for manually spraying the electrolyzed water generated in the electrolytic cell, and a power supply for energizing the electrode, wherein a tank for storing the electrolytic solution and the electrolytic cell are provided independently in the container, the electrolytic cell being disposed below the tank, and the tank and the electrolytic cell communicating with each other via a communicating passage.

As a result, there is electrolyzed only the small volume of electrolytic solution in the electrolytic cell, whereby the generated electrolyzed water can be sprayed continuously. This allows generating electrolyzed water in a short time, and allows directly spraying non-deteriorated electrolyzed water immediately after being generated.

A part of at least the electrolytic cell in the container may be transparent, and hence the electrolysis condition in the electrolytic cell can be visually checked from outside.

The volume of the electrolytic cell may be set to be smaller than the volume of the tank. Therefore, the small volume of electrolytic solution in the electrolytic cell can be electrolyzed in a short time.

The distance between respective plural electrodes may be set to be short in part. This increases, as a result, the current density between those portions of adjacent electrodes standing at a shorter distance from each other, thereby enhancing electrolysis in those portions. Thus, the amount of electrolysis gas that is generated in the electrodes increases on account of this enhanced electrolysis. This electrolysis gas generation reinforces the circulating flow of electrolyzed water in the electrolytic cell, whereby the electrolyzed water is stirred more vigorously, yielding as a result electrolyzed water having a given electrolytic concentration.

The tank and the electrolytic cell may be partitioned by a partition wall, and hence non-deteriorated electrolyzed water that is electrolyzed in the electrolytic cell can be directly suctioned and sprayed by the spraying mechanism. The communicating passage that communicates the tank and the electrolytic cell is formed in the partition wall, at the opposite side of an inlet of the spraying mechanism with respect to the electrodes. As a result, there forms a circulating flow, centered around the electrodes in the electrolytic cell, that prevents backflow of electrolyzed water into the tank, via the communicating passage, and prevents intrusion electrolytic solution in the tank, so that electrolyzed water having a high electrolysis concentration can be stably sprayed by way of the spraying mechanism.

A communicating passage may be formed along a container inner wall in the partition wall, and a protrusion may be formed on part of an opening edge of the partition wall, at a portion on the side of the electrolytic cell. The protrusion prevents as a result backflow, into the tank, of electrolysis gas generated through electrolysis of the electrolytic solution in the electrolytic cell, so that the electrolyzed water in the electrolytic cell becomes naturally homogenized through stirring resulting from circulation of the electrolysis gas. This simplifies the structure of the device, since no stirring means is then required.

A light-emitting element to illuminate the electrolytic cell upon being fed with current from the power supply may be provided in the container. As a result, the electrolysis condition as well as the on/off state of the electrolytic cell can be viewed from outside.