Abstract:
An apparatus for generating a mixture of oxygen gas and hydrogen gas is provided with an electrolytic cell in which electrolysis of electrolyte therein is performed to generate the mixture of the oxygen and the hydrogen gas by electricity being applied from an electrical conversion device and having a plurality of electrode plates arranged with separation, a insulating materials attached to inner wall surfaces of the electrolytic cell and having at least one surface grooves formed thereon into which the electrode plates are inserted, a water supply device for supplementing the water into the electrolytic cell, the water supply device connected to the electrolytic cell, a gas reservoir for restoring the mixture generated in the electrolytic cell, the gas reservoir connected to the electrolytic cell, and a cooling unit for maintaining temperature inside the electrolytic cell constant connected to the electrolytic cell.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an apparatus for generating a mixture gas of oxygen and hydrogen, more particularly, to an apparatus for generating a mixture gas of oxygen and hydrogen wherein an improved configuration of an electrolytic cell is provided for an efficient use of a current supplied thereto and a cooling unit for preventing a temperature of electrolyte from being increased is also provided, thereby producing the mixture of oxygen and hydrogen in a reduced cost. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     In general, in a conventional gas generation apparatus of a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen, the oxygen and the hydrogen are obtained by electrolysis of water, wherein the water containing a small amount of an electrolyte is supplied to an electrolytic cell provided with a positive electrode and a negative electrode and then a direct current is applied to generate the mixture of the oxygen and the hydrogen of an energy source without being accompanied by any pollution factors. A mole fraction of the oxygen and the hydrogen in the mixture is 2:1. The gas generation apparatus described above is newly in the limelight due to an increase of an interest on the environmental problems. 
     In this regard, many studies have been made on the gas generation apparatus and a number of gas generation apparatus for generating efficiently much more oxygen/hydrogen have been proposed. 
     As one of the prior art oxygen/hydrogen generation apparatuses, Korean Utility Model application No. 1998-117445 discloses an electrolytic cell which will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 through 2 c . As shown, the apparatus taught by the Korean Utility Model application comprises an electrolytic cell  100 , wherein a plurality of electrode plates  101  of a rectangular shape and spacers  102  made of a synthetic resin are alternately laminated and a pair of termination plates  103  are attached to both ends of the electrolytic cell and finally stay bolts  104  and nuts  105  are mounted through. 
     An O-ring  106  made of rubber is inserted onto an inner peripheral surface of the spacer  102 . The space where the O-ring  106  and the electrode plates  101  take up becomes a gas generation chamber  110 . The electrode plate  101  has a gas passing hole  101   a  and an electrolyte passing hole  101   b  which are formed through one portion and another portion of the plate  101 , respectively. The termination plate  103  has a gas connection nipple  107  and an electrolyte connection nipple  108  which communicate with the gas passing hole  101   a  and the electrolyte passing hole  101   b , respectively, and a current connection bolt  109  mounted thereto. 
     In the electrolytic cell  100  constructed in this manner, when the electric power is connected to the current connection bolt  109 , the oxygen and the hydrogen gases are generated from the electrolyte within the gas generation chamber  110  by the electrolysis of the water. The mixture gas is exhausted through the gas passing hole  101   a  to be charged within a gas reservoir mounted externally. The water is supplied through the electrolyte passing hole  101   b  for a supplement for the water consumed during the electrolysis. 
     In the electrolytic cell  100 , however, since the gas generation chamber  110  is formed in the space defined with the electrode plates  101  and the O-rings  106 , with a radially outer portion of the electrode plate  101  serving as a radiating plate, the gas generation chamber  110  is too smaller with respect to an area of the electrode plate  101 , causing the speed of the gas generation to be limited. 
     Further, since the electrolytic cell  100  scatters the heat generated during the electrolysis by using an air-cooling manner, it does not have an efficient cooling effect. Furthermore, leakage between the O-ring  106  and the electrode plate  101  may degrade the quality of the oxygen and hydrogen mixture gas being produced. 
     Meanwhile, Korean Utility Model No. 0196437 teaches an apparatus for generating an oxygen/hydrogen mixture gas, which will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. 
     An electrolytic cell  200  for the apparatus shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, comprises an external housing  201  having a plurality of radiating fins  201   a  for dissipating a heat during an electrolysis formed parallel in a longitudinal direction, an internal housing  202  being contacted to a lower wall of the external housing  201 , a negative and a positive electrodes  203  and  204  mounted inside right and left side walls of the internal housing  202 , being parallel in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of negative and positive plates  205  and  206  electrically parallel connected to the negative and the positive electrodes  203  and  204 , respectively to perform the electrolysis of electrolyte charged within the internal housing  202  so as to generate the oxygen/hydrogen mixture gas. 
     The negative plates  205  and the positive plates  206  are alternately mounted, being connected to the negative electrode  203  and the positive electrode  204 , respectively. 
     The electrolytic cell  200  is also provided with a temperature sensor for detecting temperature of the electrolyte, an electronic valve which opens when the temperature of the electrolyte is increased above a predetermined value, and an electrolyte circulation pump, thereby maintaining the electrolyte under the predetermined level. 
     However, the electrolytic cell  200  constructed in this manner must have an operating power source having a lower voltage level and a higher current level, since the negative and the positive plates  205  and  206  are electrically connected to the negative and the positive electrodes  203  and  204 , respectively, in a parallel connection. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is, therefore, a primary object of the invention to provide an apparatus for generating a mixture gas of oxygen and hydrogen wherein a cooling unit for actively regulating temperature of an electrolyte is provided and electrolysis is made on overall surface of electrode plates connected in series manner, thereby having an increased productivity of the mixture of the oxygen/hydrogen and removing a possibility of leakage problem of the electrolyte. 
     In order to achieve the object, the present invention provides an apparatus for generating a mixture of oxygen gas and hydrogen gas is provided with an electrolytic cell in which electrolysis of electrolyte therein is performed to generate the mixture of the oxygen and the hydrogen gas by electricity being applied from an electrical conversion device and having a plurality of electrode plates arranged with separation, a insulating materials attached to inner wall surfaces of the electrolytic cell and having at least one surface grooves formed thereon into which the electrode plates are inserted, a water supply device for supplementing the water into the electrolytic cell, the water supply device connected to the electrolytic cell, a gas reservoir for restoring the mixture generated in the electrolytic cell, the gas reservoir connected to the electrolytic cell, and a cooling unit for maintaining temperature inside the electrolytic cell constant connected to the electrolytic cell. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects and features of the instant invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an electrolytic cell of one of the prior art gas generation apparatuses; 
     FIG. 2 a  shows a partial assembled view of the cell shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIGS. 2 b  and  2   c  show partial enlarged views of FIG. 2 a , respectively; 
     FIG. 3 depicts a perspective view of an electrolytic cell of another of the prior art gas generation apparatuses; 
     FIG. 4 depicts a sectional view of inside of the cell shown in FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 presents a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of an apparatus for generating a mixture gas of oxygen and hydrogen in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 a  illustrates a frontal sectional view of a preferred embodiment of an electrolytic cell of the inventive apparatus; 
     FIG. 6 b  represents a top sectional view of FIG. 6 a.    
     FIG. 7 shows an exploded perspective view of arrangements of electrode plates of the electrolytic cell shown in FIG. 6 a;    
     FIG. 8 a  depicts a top sectional view of another embodiment of the electrolytic cell of the inventive apparatus; and 
     FIG. 8 b  depicts a side sectional view of FIG. 8 a.   
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to accompanying drawings. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the inventive apparatus comprises an electrical conversion device  316  provided with a negative electrode and a positive electrode  345  and  346 ; an electrolytic cell  301  in which a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen gases is generated by electrolysis of water and is restored, when electricity is applied by the electrical conversion device  316  through the negative and the positive electrodes  345  and  346 ; a water supply device  314  for supplementing the water to the electrolytic cell  301 ; a gas supply device  319  for restoring and consuming the mixture gas supplied from the electrolytic cell  301 ; and a cooling unit  342  for maintaining temperature within the electrolyte cell  301  constant. 
     The electrical conversion device  316  includes a control board and a control panel  344  and  343  for controlling the whole operation of the components described above. 
     As shown in FIGS. 6 a  and  6   b , the electrolytic cell  301  includes a main body  357  of a box-shape; corrosion-resistant insulating material  355   a  through  355   f  positioned on frontal, rear, right-side, left-side, upper and bottom surface inside the main body  357  and made of rubber or synthetic resin; an electrolytic chamber  302  defined with a lower inner space of the main body  357  and charged with the electrolyte  360  having a predetermined level; a plurality of fixing grooves  355   g  through  355   i  formed on inner surface of the insulating materials  355   c ,  355   d  and  355   f , respectively which are positioned on the right-side surface, the left-side surface and the bottom surface of the electrolytic chamber  302 ; a plurality of electrode plates  348  fixed in such a manner that both lateral ends and a bottom end of each of the electrode plates  348  are inserted into the fixing grooves  355   g ,  355   h  and  355   i  of the insulating materials  355   c ,  355   d  and  355   f , respectively; a mixing chamber  303  defined with a space above the electrolytic chamber  302  in which the oxygen gas and the hydrogen gas are mixed; a stabilizing plate  353  mounted on an upper portion of the mixing chamber  303  and having a plurality of exhaust holes  354 ; and a collecting chamber  304  for collecting the oxygen/hydrogen mixture gas mixed in the mixing chamber  303  defined with a space between the stabilizing plate  353  and an upper surface of the main body  357 . 
     The electrolytic chamber  302  is provided with a level gage  305  having a sensor for detecting the level of the electrolyte. Mounted on one side of the upper surface of the collecting chamber  304  is a pressure sensor  310  for detecting pressure of the mixture of the oxygen and the hydrogen gases within the electrolytic cell  301 . Mounted on the other side of the upper surface of the collecting chamber  304  is a temperature sensor  309  for detecting the temperature of the electrolytic cell  301 . 
     The electrolytic chamber  302  communicates with the cooling unit  342  via a circulation tube  327  and a return tube  347  and has a drain valve  306  at its bottom portion and a water supply sensor  358  at its upper portion. 
     A water supply tube  311  for supplying the water and a gas supply tube  318  for sending the mixture of the oxygen/hydrogen gases to a gas consumption portion  319  are connected to the upper portion of the collecting chamber  304 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 6 a  and  7 , the electrode plates  348  and the O-ring  351  are alternately positioned and fixed by clamping the nut  352  around the bolt  350 . The pair of termination plates  348   a  and  348   b  positioned externally of both ends of the electrode plates  348  are connected to the negative and the positive electrodes  345  and  346  via a negative and a positive terminals  307  and  308 . 
     The electrode plates  348  has an electrolyte passing hole  361  formed through the electrode plate  348 . A protect ring  349  having a corrosion-resistant property is mounted along an inner periphery of the electrolyte passing hole  361 . 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the cooling unit of one of conventional units includes a circulation pump  330  for circulating the electrolyte  360  in the electrolytic chamber  302 , a circulation valve  329  for controlling a flow rate of the circulating electrolyte  360 , a cooling chamber  331  for cooling the circulating electrolyte  360  by the circulation pump  330 , a compressor  336  for compressing the coolant vaporized in the cooling chamber  331 , a cooling fan  338  for condensing the compressed coolant, a filter drier  341  for separating the condensed coolant into a gaseous component and the liquid component, and an auto-expansion valve  340  for performing a rapid expansion of the liquid coolant into a spray condition. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the gas supply device  319  is connected to the collecting chamber  304  and is provided with a gas tank  359  having a flame-trap function, a combustor  326  for performing a combustion of the mixture gas of the oxygen/hydrogen from the gas tank  359 , a plurality of flame traps  322  and  324  and a plurality of valves  320 ,  323  and  325  mounted on a supply line connecting the gas tank  359  and the combustor  326 . 
     The operation of the inventive gas generation apparatus constructed in this manner will be described hereinbelow in detail. 
     When the power switch is turned on, the electricity is supplied to the electrical conversion device  316  and the control board  344  starts to operate. Then, via setting the operative environment by using a variety of switches mounted on the control panel  343 , the apparatus is operated in the following manner. 
     When the electricity is applied to the negative terminal  307  and the positive terminal  308 , the oxygen gas and the hydrogen gas are generated in a ratio of 2:1 on a molal basis. The mixture of the oxygen and the hydrogen gases are evenly mixed in the mixing chamber  303  and then are introduced into the collecting chamber  304 . At this time, since the mixture of the oxygen and the hydrogen gases is introduce into the collecting chamber  304  via the exhaust holes  354  formed through the stabilizing plat  353 , bubble occurring when the oxygen gas and the hydrogen gas are mixed may be reduced and introducing the bubble into the collecting chamber  304  may be prevented. Further, the insulating materials  355  of the rubber or synthetic resin positioned inside the electrolytic cell  301  may reduce the consumption of the electricity and prevent the corrosion of the electrolytic cell  301 . 
     The pressure of the mixture gas collected in the collecting chamber  304  is detected by the pressure sensor  310 . When the pressure exceeds the predetermined level, a gas valve  317  mounted to the gas supply tube  318  is opened and the mixture of the oxygen and the hydrogen gases is charged in the gas tank  359 . The charged mixture gas is sent to the gas combustor  326  to be consumed whenever the valves  320  are opened. In this situation, since the flame trap  322  and  324  are mounted between the gas tank  359  and the gas combustor  326 , a reversed flame movement to the gas tank  359  may be prevented. 
     Meanwhile, when the temperature sensor  309  detects an excess of the temperature increase beyond the predetermined level after the electrolysis has been started, the circulation pump  330  starts to operate to circulate the electrolyte in the electrolytic chamber  302 . Since the electrolyte is cooled in the cooling chamber  331  and then is supplied again to the electrolytic chamber  302 , the temperature of the electrolytic cell  301  is maintained under the predetermined level. 
     In this regard, in the inventive gas generation apparatus, the mixture gas can be continuously generated regardless of the operation time period. Further, the efficiency of the electrolysis may be increased and life time of the components of the apparatus may be lengthened, since a proper temperature can be always provided. 
     When the level of the electrolytic cell  301  is lowered than the predetermined value due to the water consumption during the electrolysis, it is detected by the water supply sensor  358  and then the water supply valve  312  is opened to allow the water contained within the water supply tank  314  to be automatically supplied to the electrolytic cell  301 . When the level gage  305  having the sensor detects the completion of the water supply by a predetermined value, the water supply is stopped by the water supply valve  312  to maintain the level of the electrolytic cell  301  constant. 
     On the other hand, although, since both lateral ends and the bottom end of each of the electrode plates  348  are inserted into the fixing grooves  355 , the plurality of the electrolyte passing holes  361  are formed through the electrode plate  348  for the circulation of the electrolyte in the preferred embodiment described above, changing the arrangements of the electrode plates may enable the circulation of the electrolyte without forming the electrolyte passing hole  316  through the electrode plate. 
     FIGS. 8 a  and  8   b  depict a top sectional view and a side sectional view of another embodiment of the electrolytic cell of the inventive apparatus, respectively, wherein the electrode plates are mounted in such a manner that, e.g., the first electrode plate is biased in one direction, with the second one biased in the opposite direction. 
     As shown, the electrolytic cell in this embodiment includes a main body  801  of a box-shape; corrosion-resistant insulating materials  802   d ,  802   e  and  802   f  positioned on right-side, left-side and bottom surface inside the main body  801  and made of rubber or synthetic resin, a plurality of fixing grooves  802   a ,  802   b  and  802   c  formed on inner surfaces of the insulating materials  802   d ,  802   e  and  802   f , respectively; a plurality of electrode plates  803  fixed in such a manner that one lateral end of each of the electrode plates  348  is alternately inserted into the fixing groove  802   a  of the insulating material  802   d  or the fixing groove  802   b  of the insulating material  802   e , with a bottom end of each of the electrode plates  348  being inserted into the fixing groove  802   c  of the insulating material  802   f ; and a negative terminal  804  and a positive terminal  805  for applying the current to the electrode plates  803 . 
     The electrode plate  803  and an O-ring  806  are alternately laminated and fixed by clamping the nuts  808  around the plurality of bolts  807 . 
     The main body  801  is connected to a return tube  809  at its bottom portion, through which the electrolyte cooled in the cooling unit(not shown) is supplied and is connected to a circulation tube  810  at its upper portion, through which the electrolyte is supplied to the cooling unit. 
     In the electrolytic cell constructed in this manner, when the temperature within the electrolyte is increased due to the electrolysis, the cooled electrolyte is supplied through the return tube  809  to the electrolytic cell, with the electrolyte in the electrolytic cell being supplied to the cooling unit via the circulation tube  810  at the same time. 
     Since a passage or a gap is made between one of the electrode plates  803  and one of the insulating materials  802   d  and  802   e , the electrolyte introduced via the return tube  809  can properly circulate within the electrolytic cell. Since the electrolyte flows into all spaces between the electrode plates  803 , the temperature inside the electrolytic cell can be maintained constant. 
     In accordance with the present invention, the plurality of electrode plates are mounted inside the electrolytic cell insulated with the insulating materials, being submerged under the electrolyte, the cooling unit being provided to maintain the temperature of the electrolytic cell constant, thereby enabling an efficient use of the area of the electrode plate, reducing the energy consumption and preventing the corrosion of the electrolytic cell. The inventive gas generation apparatus is simple in configuration and is not expensive, enabling a mass production. Further, the capacity of the inventive gas generation apparatus can be easily increased. Furthermore, in the inventive gas generation apparatus, the efficiency of the electrolysis and the amount of the generated mixture gas may be increased. 
     Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.