This application claims the benefit of the filing date of Chinese Patent Application No. 201310244411.0, filed Jun. 19, 2013, entitled “LIQUID-GAS CYCLING SYSTEM FOR ELECTROLYTIC TANK OF HEALTH GAS GENERATOR,” and the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to a liquid/gas cycling system, more particularly, to a liquid/gas cycling system for use with an electrolytic tank of a health gas generator that can produce a gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen.
From ancient times till now, humanity has always made preserving life a high priority. Many developments in medical technology are used for diseases and increasing life expectancy. In the past, most medical treatment was passive. In other words, diseases are treated only when people fall ill, by performing surgical operation, medication, chemotherapy, radiation treatment and so on. But recently, many medical experts are focusing on disease prevention, such as studying on the health effects of food, and screening for genetic disorders to actively reduce the risk of falling ill. Furthermore, to increase life expectancy, many anti-aging technologies have been developed, including skin care products and antioxidant food/medicine.
Studies have found that there is an instable oxygen species (O+), also known as free radicals, in the human body. The free radicals usually generated due to diseases, diet, environment and one's lifestyle, but can be excreted in the form of water by reacting with the inhaled hydrogen. With this method, the amount of free radicals in the human body can be reduced, thereby restoring the body condition from an acidic state to an alkaline state, achieving an anti-oxidation, anti-aging and beauty health effect, and even eliminating chronic diseases. Furthermore, there are also clinical experiments showing that patients who need to inhale a high concentration of oxygen for an extended period of time would experience lung damage and the lung damage can be ameliorated by inhaling hydrogen. In summary, the hydrogen-containing gas is regarded as a type of health gas that can be obtained by electrolysis of water.
One objective of the present invention is to provide a liquid/gas cycling system for use with an electrolytic tank of a health gas generator that can produce a gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. The liquid/gas cycling system is adapted for controlling the amounts of hydrogen and oxygen in the gas generator to prevent hydrogen explosion.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a liquid/gas cycling system for use with an electrolytic tank of a health gas generator that can produce a gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. The liquid/gas cycling system is adapted for reducing the temperature of the electrolytic tank to prevent hydrogen explosion.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a liquid/gas cycling system for use with an electrolytic tank of a health gas generator that can produce a gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. The liquid/gas cycling system has an automatic replenishment function.
According to some embodiments of the present invention, a liquid/gas cycling system applied to the electrolysis of water is provided, which comprises an electrolytic tank having a first liquid inlet and a first gas outlet. The first gas outlet is mounted on the upper portion of the electrolytic tank. The electrolytic tank is used for containing water, such as electrolytic water, and generating the gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis of water. The liquid/gas cycling system further comprises a first tank for containing pure water. The first tank comprises a gas inlet, a first liquid outlet, a second gas outlet and a pressure relief valve. The gas inlet is mounted on the lower portion of the first tank and coupled with the first gas outlet of the electrolytic tank. The first liquid outlet is coupled with the first liquid inlet. The second gas outlet and the pressure relief valve are mounted on the upper portion of the first tank. When the pressure of the gas mixture in the first tank exceeds a predetermined value, the pressure relief valve can release the excess pressure.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the first tank further comprises a first level detector and a first water inlet. The first level detector is used for detecting the level of pure water in the first tank. The first water inlet is used for supplying pure water into the first tank when the level of pure water is under a predetermined value.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the liquid/gas cycling system further comprises a second tank. The second tank comprises a second liquid outlet and is used for containing pure water. The first tank further comprises a second liquid inlet coupled with the second liquid outlet. Furthermore, there is a liquid valve coupled between the second liquid inlet and the second liquid outlet. The first tank comprises a first level detector for detecting the level of pure water in the first tank. When the first level detector detects that the level of pure water drops below a predetermined value, the liquid valve will be opened, so that the pure water in the second tank can flow into the first tank for replenishment, meanwhile, the pressure relief valve will also be opened to release the pressure.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the second tank further comprises a second level detector and a second water inlet. The second level detector is used for detecting the level of pure water in the second tank. The second water inlet is adapted for supplying pure water into the second tank when the level of pure water is under a predetermined value.
As the gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen from the electrolytic tank is transferred to the first tank through the gas inlet mounted on the bottom portion of the first tank, allowing the gas mixture to pass through the pure water in the first tank, thus reducing the temperature of the gas mixture to prevent hydrogen explosion. Another means to prevent hydrogen explosion is to keep the storage amount of the gas mixture at a safe value. In the present invention, the first level detector, the pressure relief valve and the second tank make sure that the gas mixture is at a safe value. Furthermore, the first liquid inlet and the first gas outlet of the electrolytic tank, as well as the gas inlet and the first liquid outlet of the first tank, together realize the replenishment of pure water into the first tank As a result, the gas mixture in the electrolytic tank can automatically be transferred to the first tank, thus achieving the goal of cycling liquid/gas.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will be further understood by the following detailed description and the appended drawings.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where it is possible to designate identical elements that are common to the figures.
In order to allow the advantages, spirit and features of the present invention to be more easily and clearly understood, the embodiments and appended drawings thereof are discussed in the following. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and appended drawings.
Please refer to
A first tank 122 is used for containing pure water 124 and supplying the pure water to the electrolytic tank 110. The first tank 122 comprises a gas inlet 126 which is connected to the first gas outlet 118 via a line. The gas mixture 116 from the electrolytic tank 110 can be introduced into the water 124 in the first tank 122 through the gas inlet 126. At this point, only a very small portion of the gas mixture 116 will be dissolved in pure water 124, as most of the gas mixture 116 can pass through the pure water 124 to the upper portion of the first tank 122. In addition, during the process of the gas mixture 116 passing through the pure water 124, the pure water 124 can absorb most of the heat and reduce the temperature of the gas mixture 116 to about room temperature (25° C.) due to high specific heat. In this way, the possibility of hydrogen explosion is reduced, thus enhancing the system security. In one embodiment, the gas inlet 126 is mounted on the outer wall of the lower portion of the first tank 122, as shown in
After being cooled and filtered by the pure water 124, the gas mixture 116 is stored in the upper portion of the first tank 122, and exported from a second gas outlet 130 for being inhaled by a user. At this point, the flow rate of the gas mixture 116 in the second gas outlet 130 is between 0.1 L/min and 2 L/min. A pressure relief valve 132 is mounted on the upper portion of the first tank 122. When the pressure of the gas mixture 116 in the first tank 122 exceeds a predetermined value, the pressure relief valve 132 will release the gas mixture 116 to prevent hydrogen explosion. That is to say, the pressure relief valve 132 can selectively release the gas mixture 116 in the first tank 122. For example, if the second gas outlet 130 is malfunctional, such as being blocked and so forth, the pressure of the first tank 122 will rise as the gas mixture 116 from the electrolytic tank 110 is continuously imported into the first tank 122, and the pressure relief valve 132 will release the gas mixture 116 in the first tank 122 to prevent an hydrogen explosion. In one embodiment, the pressure relief valve 132 is set to open to release the gas mixture 116 at an atmospheric pressure (1 Pa). The first tank 122 further comprises a first level detector 134 for detecting the level of pure water in the first tank 122, with the mode of action of the first level detector 134 being described in detail below.
The liquid/gas cycling system 100 further comprises a second tank 136 for containing pure water 124. The second tank 136 comprises a second liquid outlet 138 which is coupled to a second liquid inlet 140 of the first tank 122 through a line. In one embodiment, the second liquid outlet 138 is mounted on the lower portion of the second tank 136, and the second liquid inlet 140 is mounted on the upper portion of the first tank 122. There is still a liquid valve 142 coupled between the second liquid inlet 140 and the second liquid outlet 138. When the first level detector 134 detects that the level of the pure water 124 in the first tank 122 has dropped below a predetermined value, the liquid valve 142 can be opened, so that the pure water 124 in the second tank 136 can flow into the first tank 122 for replenishment. That is to say, the first level detector 134 can selectively open the liquid valve 142. As the first tank 122 continuously supplies the electrolytic tank 110 with pure water 124, the amounts of the gas mixture 116 produced and stored are increased, and the level of the pure water 124 in the first tank 122 drops. An hydrogen explosion would tend to occur if the amount of the gas mixture 116 is too high. Therefore, with the first level detector 134, the amount of the gas mixture 116 in the first tank 122 can be kept at a safe value. The release of the gas mixture 116 and the replenishment of pure water 124 are useful for controlling the pressure and storage of the gas mixture 116 in the first tank 122, thereby preventing hydrogen explosion.
In another embodiment, when the first level detector 134 detects that the level of the pure water 124 drops below a predetermined value, the liquid valve 142 can be opened, so that the pure water 124 in the second tank 136 can flow into the first tank 122 for replenishment. Meanwhile, the pressure relief valve 132 can also be opened to release the gas mixture 116. In other words, the first level detector 134 can selectively open the pressure relief valve 132, where the liquid valve 142 and the pressure relief valve 132 are turned on simultaneously. In another preferred embodiment, the second tank 136 is slightly higher than the first tank 122 (as shown in
The second tank 136 also comprises a second level detector 144 and a second water inlet 146. The second level detector 144 is used for detecting the level of water 124 (or electrolytic water) in the second tank 136. When the second level detector 144 detects that the level of water 124 (or electrolytic water) drops below a predetermined value, a warning light on the second level detector 144 will inform the user to replenish the pure water 124 through the second water inlet 146. At this point, the power of the electrolytic tank can be turned off to allow the user to replenish the pure water 124 into the second tank 136. In addition, the second level detector 144 of the second tank 136 can also be used to detect whether the level of the pure water 124 is too high. If the level is too high, a warning light on the second level detector 144 will inform the user to stop replenishing pure water 124.
In addition, to facilitate cleaning and maintenance, the electrolytic tank 110, the first tank 122 and the second tank 136 are provided with a first drain outlet 148, a second drain outlet 150 and a third drain outlet 152, respectively. The first drain outlet 148, the second drain outlet 150 and the third drain outlet 152 are controlled by a first drain valve 154, a second drain valve 156 and a third drain valve 158, respectively. The first drain valve 154, the second drain valve 156 and the third drain valve 158 can drain water from the electrolytic tank 110, the first tank 122 and the second tank 136, thereby allowing users to perform maintenance or repair.
Please refer to
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The liquid/gas circulation between the electrolytic tank 110 and the first tank 122 is the same as in
According to the aforesaid, the pressure relief valve 132 can adjust the amount of the gas mixture 116 stored in the upper portion of the first tank 122. When the pressure of the gas mixture 116 in the first tank 122 exceeds a predetermined value (such as 1 Pa), the pressure relief valve 132 can release the gas mixture 116 to prevent hydrogen explosion. And when the first level detector 134 detects that the level of the pure water 124 in the first tank 122 drops below a predetermined value, the pressure relief valve 132 can also be opened to release the gas mixture 116, thereby enhancing the system security.
Please refer to
In the electrolytic tank, hydrogen is formed on the cathode and oxygen is formed on the anode. In one embodiment, the polarity of the electrodes can be alternated, for example, at a point in time, one electrode (such as the first electrode) is the cathode and another electrode (such as the second electrode) is the anode, but after a predetermined time, the first electrode changes into the anode and the second electrode changes into the cathode. In other words, the polarity of the first electrode and the second electrode can be interchangeable. In another embodiment, the bimodal electrolyzer comprises an outer cylinder 52, a middle cylinder 54 and an inner cylinder 56, as shown in
According to the above embodiments, as the gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen from the electrolytic tank is transferred into the first tank through the gas inlet mounted on the bottom portion of the first tank. This allows the gas mixture to pass through the pure water in the first tank, thus reducing the temperature of the gas mixture and preventing hydrogen explosion. Another mechanism for preventing hydrogen explosion is to keep the stored amount of the gas mixture at a safe value. In the present invention, the first level detector, the pressure relief valve and the replenishment from the second tank all help to achieve this. Furthermore, the first liquid inlet and the first gas outlet of the electrolytic tank, as well as the gas inlet and the first liquid outlet of the first tank, allow the pure water in the first tank can be replenished, and the gas mixture in the electrolytic tank can then automatically be imported into the first tank, thus, achieving the goal of cycling liquid/gas.
With the examples and explanations mentioned above, the features and spirits of the invention are hopefully well described. Importantly, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201310244278.9 | Jun 2013 | CN | national |