ELECTRODE PLATE, ELECTROLYSIS APPARATUS, AND LAUNDRY TREATMENT DEVICE

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electrode plate, an electrolysis apparatus, and a laundry treatment device. Multiple through holes penetrating the electrode plate in the thickness direction of the electrode plate are formed in the electrode plate. The density of the through holes in the electrode plate is 1-10/cm2. According to the electrode plate in the embodiments of the present disclosure, on the one hand, because the density of surface charge at the junction of the inner wall of the through hole and the surface of the electrode plate is larger, and the electric field intensity nearby is higher, the electrolysis efficiency can be greatly improved, more active substances such as hydroxyl radicals and active chlorine can be generated, and more microbubbles can also be generated, which can improve the sterilization, cross color prevention and washing effects.

FIELD

The disclosure relates to the field of electrolysis of water, and in particular to an electrode plate, an electrolysis apparatus, and a laundry treatment device.

BACKGROUND

Due to an extremely high oxidation potential (2.80 eV), a hydroxyl free radical (.OH) has strong oxidation capacity, and may generate a rapid chain reaction with most of organic pollutants and oxidize harmful substances into CO2, H2O or mineral salt without selectivity, and may not induce secondary pollution. Therefore, an electrolysis electrode may be applied to a field of a laundry treatment device, and laundries are sterilized and disinfected through electrolyzed water. However, in a related art, the electrolysis electrode is in a shape of a smooth flat plate, therefore, in a process of electrolysis of water, an electrolysis efficiency of the electrolysis electrode is relatively low, and bubbles on a surface of the electrolysis electrode are likely to gather to form large bubbles.

SUMMARY

In view of the above, embodiments of the disclosure are intended to provide an electrode plate with a relatively high electrolysis efficiency, an electrolysis apparatus, and a laundry treatment device.

Some embodiments of the disclosure provide an electrode plate, having formed therein multiple through holes penetrating the electrode plate in a thickness direction of the electrode plate, and a distribution density of the through holes in the electrode plate is 1-10/cm2.

In some implementations, each of the through holes is circular and has a diameter of 2 mm to 5 mm.

In some implementations, a distance between adjacent two of the through holes is 2 mm to 10 mm.

In some implementations, a distance between the through hole closest to an edge of the electrode plate and the edge of the electrode plate is 2 mm to 10 mm.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide an electrolysis apparatus, including a cathode conductive connector, an anode conductive connector, two electrode plates of any of the above descriptions, here one of the electrode plates is a cathode plate, the other of the electrode plates is an anode plate, the cathode plate and the anode plate are arranged in a stack, and the through holes in the anode plate and the through holes in the cathode plate are arranged to face each other; the cathode conductive connector is in conductive connection with the cathode plate; and the anode conductive connector is in conductive connection with the anode plate.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide a laundry treatment device, including a cylinder assembly including an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder rotationally arranged within the outer cylinder; and the electrolysis apparatus of any of the above descriptions, in which the cathode plate and the anode plate are arranged between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder, and an end, away from the anode plate, of the anode conductive connector is located outside of the outer cylinder, and an end, away from the cathode plate, of the cathode conductive connector is located outside of the outer cylinder.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide another laundry treatment device, including a cylinder assembly; and the electrolysis apparatus of any of the above descriptions, arranged on a water inlet channel provided in the laundry treatment device and communicating with the cylinder assembly, to electrolyze water in the water inlet channel.

In some implementations, the electrolysis apparatus includes a shell in which an electrolysis cavity, as well as a to-be-electrolyzed water inlet and an electrolyzed water outlet communicating with the electrolysis cavity are formed, and the cathode plate and the anode plate are arranged within the electrolysis cavity, and an end, away from the cathode plate, of the cathode conductive connector is located outside of the shell, and an end, away from the anode plate, of the anode conductive connector is located outside of the shell, and the electrolysis cavity is located in the water inlet channel.

In some implementations, the laundry treatment device includes a water inlet valve communicating with the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet, and a detergent box provided with a storage tank containing a detergent and communicating with the electrolyzed water outlet to guide the electrolyzed water within the electrolysis cavity to the storage tank.

In some implementations, the water inlet valve is provided with a water inlet, a first water outlet communicating with the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet, and a second water outlet communicating with the detergent box, and the water inlet valve selectively communicates the water inlet with the first water outlet or the second water outlet.

In some implementations, the electrolyzed water outlet is located at an end, close to the detergent box, of the shell, and the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet is located at an end, away from the electrolyzed water outlet, of the shell.

In some implementations, the laundry treatment device includes a workbench arranged on a top side of the cylinder assembly and provided with a laundry feeding opening, and the electrolysis apparatus is fixedly connected to a bottom side of the workbench.

In some implementations, the shell includes a shell body, as well as a first end cover and a second end cover hermetically arranged at two ends, opposite in a length direction, of the shell body, a hollow containing space is enclosed by the shell body, the first end cover and the second end cover together, the electrolysis cavity is formed by at least a part of the containing space, the electrolyzed water outlet is formed in the first end cover, and the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet is formed in the second end cover.

In the electrode plate according to the embodiments of the disclosure, on one hand, because a charge density at the junction of an inner wall of the through hole and a surface of the electrode plate is relatively large, and an electric field intensity nearby is relatively high, an electrolysis efficiency may be greatly improved, more active substances such as .OH, active chlorine and the like may be generated, while more microbubbles may also be generated, which may improve the sterilization, cross-color prevention and washing effects; on the other hand, water flow may flow from one side of the electrode plate to the other side of the electrode plate through the through hole, and may take away the microbubbles on the surface of the electrode plate and a surface of the inner wall of the through hole in time, to prevent the microbubbles from gathering to form large bubbles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

It should be noted that embodiments of the disclosure may be combined with each other without conflict, and detailed descriptions in a specific implementation should be understood as an explanation of embodiments of the disclosure and should not be taken as unduly limitations of the disclosure.

During describing the embodiments of disclosure, orientation or position relationships indicated by terms “upper”, “lower”, “front”, “rear”, “horizontal”, “top” and “bottom” are based on orientation or position relationships as shown inFIG. 4, and it should be understood that the orientation terms are intended only to conveniently describe the disclosure and simplify descriptions, rather than to indicate or imply that devices or components indicated by them must be in specific orientations or structured and operated in specific orientations, and thus should not be understood as limitations of the disclosure.

Referring toFIGS. 1 and 2, the embodiments of the disclosure provide an electrolysis apparatus2which includes two electrode plates22, one of the electrode plates22is an anode plate222and the other of the electrode plates22is a cathode plate221, when the anode plate222and the cathode plate221are energized, then the anode plate222and the cathode plate221may begin to electrolyze water. In an embodiment, the electrolysis apparatus2further includes a cathode conductive connector24and an anode conductive connector25, the cathode conductive connector24is in conductive connection with the cathode plate221, exemplarily, the cathode conductive connector24is welded to the cathode plate221, and the anode conductive connector25is in conductive connection with the anode plate222, exemplarily, the anode conductive connector25is welded to the anode plate222.

The cathode conductive connector24and the anode conductive connector25are configured to connect a power supply, and specific structures of the cathode conductive connector24and the anode conductive connector25are not limited, as long as connection to the power supply is facilitated. In an embodiment, the cathode conductive connector24and the anode conductive connector25are cylindrical.

The embodiment of the disclosure is described with respect to an example of the application of the electrolysis apparatus2to a laundry treatment device, and it may be understood that the electrolysis apparatus2may also be used in other fields.

The specific type of the laundry treatment device is not limited, and for example, may be a washing machine, a laundry dryer, an all-in-one washing and drying machine.

Water for washing laundries in the laundry treatment device is electrolyzed by the electrode plate22to generate .OH with strong oxidation activity, .OH have an extremely high oxidation potential (2.80 eV), so that .OH have extremely strong oxidation capacity, may generate a rapid chain reaction with most of organic pollutants, and may realize sterilization and disinfection at a low temperature and does not damage laundries, a part of .OH react with chlorine molecules in tap water to generate active chlorine, and the active chlorine may exist for a long time and has a long-term bacteriostatic effect; and a large number of .OH oxidize and destroy chromophoric groups of dye molecules of colored laundries dissociated into water during washing to decolorize dyes, so that the dissociated dyes are prevented from staining light-color laundries to induce cross-color, and the dye molecules are decomposed into harmless carbon dioxide, water and inorganic salt through continuous reaction. Furthermore, a large number of microbubbles may be generated by the electrode plate22, since a diameter of each of the microbubbles is small, generally smaller than 50 um, the microbubbles may well enter an interior of laundry fibers during washing, circulating flushing of the microbubbles is continuously generated through blasting, adsorption and floating effects of the microbubbles, to assist a detergent to thoroughly remove sebum, grease, tiny dust and other dirt accumulated in the laundry fibers, and thus the washing effect may be improved.

In order to improve the washing effect, abundant .OH, active chlorine, microbubbles and the like need to be contained in electrolyzed water, therefore according to the embodiment of the disclosure, referring toFIG. 3, multiple through holes22apenetrating the electrode plate22in a thickness direction of the electrode plate22are formed in the electrode plate22, and a distribution density of the through holes22ain the electrode plate22is 1-10/cm2, 1-10 through holes22aare distributed per square centimeter of the electrode plate22, for example, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, or ten through holes22amay be distributed per square centimeter of the electrode plate22. On one hand, because a charge density at the junction of an inner wall of the through hole22aand a surface of the electrode plate22is relatively large, and an electric field intensity nearby is relatively high, an electrolysis efficiency may be greatly improved, more active substances such as .OH, active chlorine and the like may be generated, while more microbubbles may also be generated, which may improve the sterilization and washing effects; on the other hand, water flow may flow from one side of the electrode plate22to the other side of the electrode plate22through the through hole22a,and may take away the microbubbles on the surface of the electrode plate22and a surface of the inner wall of the through hole22ain time, to prevent the microbubbles from gathering to form large bubbles.

The shape of the through hole22ais not limited, and for example, may be circular, oval, polygonal or the like. Exemplarily, in an embodiment of the disclosure, referring toFIG. 3, each of the through holes22ais circular and has a diameter of 2 mm to 5 mm, that is, the diameter of the through hole22ais in a range of 2 mm to 5 mm, that is, the range of the diameter of the through hole22ais 2 mm to 5 mm, and for example, may be 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm or the like. The through holes22ain this dimensional range facilitate the formation of the microbubbles at the through holes22aon one hand, and facilitate the detachment of the microbubbles from the surface of the electrode plate22on the other hand. Specifically, when the diameter of the through hole22ais too large, the number of the through holes22amay be very small without changing the area and shape of the electrode plate22, and the number of the microbubbles may also be small; and when the diameter of the through hole22ais too small, a tip area of an edge of the through hole22ais small, which is not conducive to the generation of the microbubbles, furthermore, the generated microbubbles are difficult to quickly overflow in the through hole22aand easily gather in the through hole22ato form large bubbles.

In an embodiment, a distance d2between the through hole22aclosest to an edge of the electrode plate22and the edge of the electrode plate22is 2 mm to 10 mm, that is, the distance d2has a value in a range of 2 mm to 10 mm, and for example, may be 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm, or 10 mm. Therefore, processing of the through holes22ais facilitated in case that more through holes22aare formed in the electrode plate22. Specifically, when the through holes22aare too close to the edge, the through holes22aclose to the edge may be broken in the process of processing the through holes22a,sharp thorns may be formed in the edge of the electrode plate22, and when the electrode plate22is applied to the laundry treatment device, the thorns at the edge of the electrode plate22easily hook fluffs mixed in water, so that the fluffs are easily to accumulate on the electrode plate22.

In an embodiment, a distance d1between adjacent two of the through holes22ais 2 mm to 10 mm, that is, the distance d1has a value in a range of 2 mm to 10 mm, and for example, may be 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm, or 10 mm. That is, it is necessary to guarantee a suitable distance between adjacent two of the through holes22afor facilitating processing. Specifically, during processing, a material of the electrode plate22is pressed by a die to form the above-described through holes22ain the electrode plate22. When the distance between two through holes22ais too small, the through holes22amay be broken, thorns may be formed in the electrode plate22, and easily hook fluffs mixed in water, so that the fluffs are easily to accumulate on the electrode plate22. When the distance between two through holes22ais too large, the utilization rate is relatively low and the number of the through holes22amay be reduced. It should be noted that the distance between adjacent two of through holes22arefers to a distance between a reference through hole and an edge of an adjacent through hole, by taking any one of the through holes as the reference through hole, and taking the through hole of the remaining through holes closest to the reference through hole as the adjacent through hole.

The embodiments of the disclosure also provide the laundry treatment device as described above, referring toFIGS. 4 and 5, the laundry treatment device includes a cylinder assembly60and the electrolysis apparatus2of any of the above descriptions. Here the cylinder assembly60includes an outer cylinder61and an inner cylinder62rotationally arranged within the outer cylinder61.

It may be understood that the inner cylinder62as described above may be a perforated inner cylinder or a non-perforated inner cylinder. Responsive to the inner cylinder62being the perforated inner cylinder, the outer cylinder61is configured to contain water; and responsive to the inner cylinder62being the non-perforated inner cylinder, the inner cylinder62itself is configured to contain water, that is, the inner cylinder62may contain both water and laundries, and during washing, the water in the inner cylinder62does not enter the outer cylinder61.

It should be noted that the position of the electrolysis apparatus2in the laundry treatment device is not limited, as long as the water for washing laundries in the laundry treatment device may be electrolyzed.

The laundry treatment device according to several specific embodiments will be described in detail below.

First Embodiment

Referring toFIG. 4, according to the laundry treatment device of the first embodiment of the disclosure, the inner cylinder62is a perforated inner cylinder, two electrode plates22are arranged between the outer cylinder61and the inner cylinder62, an end, away from the anode plate222, of the anode conductive connector25is located outside of the outer cylinder61, and an end, away from the cathode plate221, of the cathode conductive connector24is located outside of the outer cylinder61. Further, the two electrode plates22are arranged on an inner wall, in a height direction, of the outer cylinder61. According to the laundry treatment device of the embodiment, the density of the through holes22ain the electrode plates22enables the electrode plates22to generate more active substances such as .OH, active chlorine and the like on one hand, and fluffs are not easily to block the electrode plates22on the other hand.

Second Embodiment

Referring toFIG. 5, the laundry treatment device according to the second embodiment of the disclosure is identical to the first embodiment as described above with respect to most of their structures, except that in the second embodiment, two electrode plates22are arranged on a bottom wall, in a height direction, of the outer cylinder61, that is, the two electrode plates22are arranged at the lowest position of the outer cylinder61, therefore even when there is only a small amount of water in the outer cylinder61, the electrode plates22are still able to contact the water in the outer cylinder61.

Third Embodiment

The laundry treatment device according to the third embodiment of the disclosure is provided with a water inlet channel communicating with the cylinder assembly60, and the electrolysis apparatus2is arranged on the water inlet channel to electrolyze water in the water inlet channel. According to the laundry treatment device of the third embodiment, the electrolysis apparatus2is arranged on the water inlet channel, no additional water pump is used, the electrolysis apparatus2may be normally used regardless of presence or absence of water in the outer cylinder61or the inner cylinder62, and water entering the outer cylinder61or the inner cylinder62may be electrolyzed.

It may be understood that according to the laundry treatment device of the third embodiment, the inner cylinder62may be a perforated inner cylinder or a non-perforated inner cylinder.

In an embodiment, referring toFIGS. 12 to 14, the electrolysis apparatus2further includes a shell21in which an electrolysis cavity21a,as well as a to-be-electrolyzed water inlet21cand an electrolyzed water outlet21dcommunicating with the electrolysis cavity21aare formed, and the cathode plate221and the anode plate222are arranged within the electrolysis cavity21a,and an end, close to the cathode plate221, of the cathode conductive connector24is located inside of the shell21, while an end, away from the cathode plate221, of the cathode conductive connector24is located outside of the shell21, and an end, close to the anode plate222, of the anode conductive connector25is located inside of the shell21, while an end, away from the anode plate222, of the anode conductive connector25is located outside of the shell21, and the electrolysis cavity21ais located in the water inlet channel, that is, water in the water inlet channel may flow through the electrolysis cavity21a.

When the electrolysis apparatus2is assembled, corresponding pipelines may be connected to the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet21cand the electrolyzed water outlet21drespectively, what need to do only is install the electrolysis apparatus2in a proper space, and excessive structural changes do not need to be made on the laundry treatment device.

In an embodiment, referring toFIG. 9, the laundry treatment device includes a water inlet valve3and a detergent box5provided with a storage tank5afor containing a detergent. The type of the detergent contained in the storage tank5ais not limited, for example, the detergent may be a granular substance such as washing powder or a viscous substance such as liquid laundry detergent, and there is no limitation thereto. The to-be-electrolyzed water inlet21ccommunicates with the water inlet valve3, the electrolyzed water outlet21dcommunicates with the storage tank5ato guide electrolyzed water within the electrolysis cavity21ato the storage tank5a,exemplarily, the electrolyzed water outlet21dcommunicates with the storage tank5athrough a second pipeline43.

When the laundry treatment device works, tap water enters the electrolysis cavity21afrom the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet21c,the electrolyzed water electrolyzed by the cathode plate221and the anode plate222contains a lot of microbubbles and .OH, the electrolyzed water enters the storage tank5aand dilutes the detergent stored in the storage tank5a,the microbubbles may accelerate the dissolution of the detergent, and the dissolved detergent enters the outer cylinder61or the inner cylinder62together with the electrolyzed water; moreover, the electrolysis apparatus2is arranged on the water inlet channel, since water in the water inlet channel is tap water, fluffs are not mixed in the water in the water inlet channel, therefore the situation that the fluffs block the electrode plates22may be avoided.

In an embodiment, the water inlet valve3is provided with a water inlet3a,a first water outlet3band a second water outlet, here the first water outlet3bcommunicates with the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet21c,exemplarily the first water outlet3bcommunicates with the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet21cthrough a first pipeline4; and the second water outlet communicates with the storage tank5a,and the water inlet valve3may selectively communicate the water inlet3awith the first water outlet3bor the second water outlet.

When sterilization and disinfection need to be carried out through the electrolyzed water, the water inlet3acommunicates with the first water outlet3b,tap water enters the electrolysis cavity21athrough the water inlet valve3, and the electrolyzed water electrolyzed through the cathode plate221and the anode plate222enters the storage tank5aand finally enters the outer cylinder61or the inner cylinder62. When sterilization and disinfection are not needed, the water inlet3acommunicates with the second water outlet, tap water directly enters the storage tank5athrough the water inlet valve3and finally enters the outer cylinder or the inner cylinder62, that is, in case that sterilization and disinfection are not needed, the tap water directly enters the storage tank5athrough the water inlet valve3and does not need to pass through the electrolysis cavity21a,therefore, in case that sterilization and disinfection are not needed, a water flowing speed may be accelerated, and the washing time is shortened.

In an embodiment, the electrolyzed water outlet21dis located at an end, close to the detergent box5, of the shell21, and the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet21cis located at an end, away from the electrolyzed water outlet21d,of the shell21. In case that the position of the electrolysis apparatus2is not changed, the distance between the electrolyzed water outlet21dand the electrolysis cavity21ais smaller than the distance between the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet21cand the electrolysis cavity21a,so that the electrolyzed water in the electrolysis cavity21amay enter the storage tank5aby going through a shorter distance, and microbubbles in the electrolyzed water may accelerate dissolution of the detergent more effectively.

The electrolysis apparatus2is installed in a proper space in the laundry treatment device. In an embodiment, referring toFIGS. 8 and 9, the laundry treatment device includes a workbench1which is used as a main body frame at the top of the laundry treatment device and is provided with a laundry feeding opening la facing upward, through which laundries are fed into the inner cylinder62. The electrolysis apparatus2is fixedly connected to a bottom side of the workbench1, i.e., the electrolysis apparatus2is located on the side, facing the cylinder assembly60, of the workbench1. According to the laundry treatment device of the embodiment of the disclosure, the electrolysis apparatus2and the workbench1are integrated together, so that assembling may be facilitated, and specifically, during assembling, the electrolysis apparatus2and the workbench1may be assembled into a whole firstly, the workbench1is relatively simple in structure and is of an open structure, which facilitates the electrolysis apparatus2to be installed therein, and then the workbench1and the cylinder assembly60are assembled, so that the assembly difficulty may be reduced, the assembly speed may be improved, the production time may be saved, and the production cost may be reduced. Furthermore, space at the bottom side of the workbench1is fully utilized through installation of the electrolysis apparatus2, therefore the laundry treatment device may be more compact in structure. Moreover, the electrolysis apparatus2according to the embodiment of the disclosure does not affect the sealing performance of the outer cylinder61, and does not affect the mounting structure of the outer cylinder61.

In an embodiment, the detergent box5is fixedly connected to the bottom side of the workbench1. The detergent box5may be arranged on any side, along the laundry feeding opening1a,of the workbench1, for example, on a rear side or a front side, along the laundry feeding opening1a,of the workbench1, or on any transverse side, along the laundry feeding opening1a,of the workbench1. In the embodiment of the disclosure, referring toFIG. 7, the detergent box5is arranged on the rear side, along the laundry feeding opening1a,of the workbench1. In general, a water inlet pipe is arranged on a rear side of the laundry treatment device, so that in the embodiment of the disclosure, the detergent box5is arranged on the rear side, along the laundry feeding opening1a,of the workbench1, a length of the water inlet pipe communicating with the detergent box5may be reduced, distribution of the pipe is facilitated, and the workbench1may be compact in structure. Furthermore, the rear side and the front side of the workbench1generally have large space, the front side of the workbench1may facilitate the arrangement of an operation panel so that the operation panel is closer to the user, then the user may use the operation panel more conveniently, thus the detergent box5may be arranged on the rear side, along the laundry feeding opening1a,of the workbench1.

Referring toFIG. 9, the workbench1is provided with a detergent feeding opening1bpenetrating the workbench1in a height direction of the laundry treatment deceive, and the detergent box5is hermetically arranged around the detergent feeding opening1b. When a detergent needs to be fed, the detergent is directly fed into the detergent box5from the detergent feeding opening1b. It may be understood that in some embodiments, a shield cover may also be arranged at the detergent feeding opening1bto cover the detergent feeding opening1bto prevent debris from entering the detergent box5.

It should be noted that in the embodiment of the disclosure, the front side, the rear side, or the transverse side, along the laundry feeding opening1a, of the workbench1is defined by referring to the orientation with the laundry feeding opening1aused as the reference in the projection on a horizontal plane, and taking a paper surface shown inFIG. 6as the horizontal plane.

The electrode plates22and the detergent box5are located on different sides, along the laundry feeding opening1a, of the workbench1, therefore installation space at the bottom side of the workbench1may be fully utilized.

Specifically, in the embodiment of the disclosure, the electrolysis apparatus2is located on the transverse side, along the laundry feeding opening la, of the workbench1, that is, in case of reasonable structural distribution and arrangement, the distance between the electrolysis apparatus2and the detergent box5may be shortened, so that the length of pipelines may be reduced, and the structural arrangement is more reasonable.

In an embodiment, two electrode plates22both extend in the horizontal plane, referring toFIG. 14, the two electrode plates22are arranged to be stacked in a vertical direction. Therefore, the size, in the height direction of the laundry treatment device, of the workbench1is basically not affected in case that the two electrode plates22have large electrolytic surface areas.

In an embodiment, referring toFIG. 13, the shell21is provided with a water outlet21fpositioned lower than the electrolyzed water outlet21dand configured to evacuate the water in the electrolysis cavity21a.When the laundry treatment device does not need to use sterilization and disinfection functions, that is, when the electrolysis apparatus2does not need to be activated, water in the electrolysis cavity21amay be evacuated through the water outlet21f,therefore the water in the electrolysis cavity21ais prevented from being deteriorated and smelly in case that the laundry treatment device is not used for a long time.

It should be noted that water drained from the water outlet21fmay be drained to the outside of the laundry treatment device, or may also be directly or indirectly drained into the outer cylinder61or the inner cylinder62. In the embodiment of the disclosure, referring toFIG. 8, the water outlet21fand the electrolyzed water outlet21dare arranged on the same side of the shell21, i.e., the water outlet21fis also arranged on the side, close to the detergent box5, of the shell21; the water outlet21fcommunicates with the storage tank5a,exemplarily, the water outlet21fcommunicates with the storage tank5athrough a third pipeline43, that is, water drained from the water outlet21fflows to the detergent box5through the third pipeline43; and a passage area of the water outlet21fis smaller than a passage area of the electrolyzed water outlet21d.Specifically, the water outlet21fand the electrolyzed water outlet21dare arranged on the same side of the shell21, that is, water drained from the water outlet21fis also the electrolyzed water electrolyzed by the electrolysis electrode, and thus it is ensured that water entering the storage tank5afrom the water outlet21fis also the electrolyzed water after electrolysis. Furthermore, since the passage area of the water outlet21fis smaller than the passage area of the electrolyzed water outlet21d,a flow resistance of liquid flowing from the electrolyzed water outlet21dto the storage tank5ais smaller than a resistance of the liquid flowing from the water outlet21fto the storage tank5a,so that most of the electrolyzed water may still flow from the electrolyzed water outlet21dto the storage tank5aand a small part of the electrolyzed water may flow from the water outlet21fto the storage tank5a.

When the electrolyzed water does not need to be used, no water enters the electrolysis cavity21a,a height of a liquid level in the electrolysis cavity21ais reduced, and when the height of the liquid level is lower than a height of the electrolyzed water outlet21d,water in the electrolysis cavity21ais not drained from the electrolyzed water outlet21d,but is drained from the water outlet21funtil water in the electrolysis cavity21ais evacuated. In the embodiment of the disclosure, both the electrolyzed water outlet21dand the water outlet21fare arranged as described above, to basically guarantee that water flowing into the storage tank5ais electrolyzed water which is fully electrolyzed, and also to guarantee that water in the electrolysis cavity21amay be evacuated, water in the water outlet21fmay be guided into the storage tank5athrough a short pipeline only, the structure is simple, a valve is not needed, and thus the production and manufacturing cost may be reduced.

In an embodiment, referring toFIG. 12, the shell21includes a shell body211, as well as a first end cover212and a second end cover213hermetically arranged at two ends, opposite in a length direction, of the shell body211, a hollow containing space is enclosed by the shell body211, the first end cover212and the second end cover213together, the electrolysis cavity21ais formed by at least a part of the containing space, the electrolyzed water outlet21dis formed in the first end cover212, and the to-be-electrolyzed water inlet21cis formed in the second end cover213. It may be understood that at the connection of the first end cover212and the shell body211, it requires a sealed connection to prevent water leakage, and at the connection of the second end cover213and the shell body211, it requires a sealed connection to prevent water leakage.

The embodiments/implementations provided in the disclosure may be combined with each other without conflict.