JP2000015029A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner in which the life of the main filter can be prolonged and the cleaning work of the prefilter can be omitted. SOLUTION: This air cleaner is provided with a main body case 1 having an air blowing outlet 12a and an air suction inlet 13a, a fan 2, an electric motor 3, and a main filter 4. The main filter 4 is a square plate-like shape and collects powder dust, mainly fine dust, in sucked air. A prefilter 5 is installed in the inner face side of a front case 13 in a detachable manner. The prefilter 5 is constituted of a frame 51 for holding and a changeable sheet 52 for filtration having a square shape and for which a commercially avoidable, so-called, kitchen paper is employed. The sheet 52 is held in the frame 51 in a changeable manner and collects powder dust, mainly coarse dust, in air sucked through the air suction inlet 13a and before the main filter 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air purifier, and more particularly, to an air cleaner, which has a built-in filter for collecting dust, a fan for sucking / blowing air, and a motor for driving a fan. The present invention relates to a structure of an air purifier for removing dust in air by passing through a filter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air purifier of this type is conventionally provided with a main body case having an air inlet and an air outlet, and provided in the main body case to suck air from the air inlet and blow out the air from the air outlet. Fan, an electric motor for driving the fan, and a filter provided at the upstream side of the fan for collecting dust in the sucked air (replaced periodically with a new one). What is provided is known.

[0003] Such an air purifier is further configured to collect both coarse dust (dust composed of relatively large particles) and fine dust (dust composed of relatively small particles) in the air by the filter. In addition to the above-mentioned filter (main filter), a wire mesh-shaped coarse dust collecting filter (pre-filter) (which is periodically cleaned) is provided on the upstream side thereof. Is firstly collected, and then configured to collect fine dust in the air by a main filter.

[0004]

In the former case, since one type of filter is used to collect coarse dust and fine dust, it is suitable for use in a dusty environment such as a room with a lot of fibers such as cotton dust. When installed, the fibers are laminated on the surface of the filter, and fine dust adheres to the fibers. Then, before a predetermined amount of dust is collected on the filter (before the life of the filter), the air flow passing through the filter may be extremely reduced, and the filter may need to be replaced or cleaned.

In the latter, the life of the main filter can be extended as compared with the former, and the main filter can be replaced with a new filter when it is time to replace it. Is attached or entangled, so brush off the dust with a brush,
Cleaning work such as suctioning with a vacuum cleaner or washing with water was required, which was quite troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier that can extend the life of a main filter and can omit a cleaning operation of a pre-filter. Make it an issue.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a main body case having an air inlet and an air outlet, and provided in the main body case for sucking air from the air inlet and blowing the air to the air outlet. And a motor for driving the fan, and a main filter provided on the upstream side of the fan and configured to collect dust in the sucked air. A front case having an air suction port, which is detachably combined with the rear case, and further detachably attached to an inner surface side of the front case, before being sucked from the air suction port and entering the main filter. Equipped with a pre-filter for collecting dust in the air, the pre-filter can be replaced with a frame that is detachably attached to the front case Air cleaner is provided comprising a held and filtration sheet.

The main body case forms an outer shell of the air purifier, and has a rear case and a front case detachably combined with the rear case and having an air suction port. The body case may also be
It may have an upper case combined with a rear case and / or a front case. The air outlet is provided somewhere in the rear case, the front case, and the upper case.

A fan, an electric motor, and a main filter are provided in the main body case. The fan sucks external air from the air inlet and blows purified air to the air outlet. The electric motor is connected to the fan and drives the fan to rotate. The main filter is provided on the upstream side of the fan, and removes dust and dirt contained in the air.
It mainly collects fine dust. Then, when a certain period (for example, 1 to 1.5 years) elapses after the start of use of the air purifier, it is determined that a predetermined amount of dust has been collected and replaced with a new one.

The pre-filter is detachably attached to the inner surface of the front case by, for example, elastic fitting or simple fixing with metal fittings. Then, dust, mainly dust, in the air before being sucked through the air inlet and entering the main filter is collected.

The prefilter comprises a frame and a sheet for filtration. The frame is made of, for example, a flexible rectangular grid made of plastic. This frame may be provided with several types having predetermined plane dimensions according to the plane dimensions of the sheet to be used. For example, a part of the peripheral edge of the frame body is bent into the inside of a locking ridge provided on the inner surface side of the front case and is fitted and locked by the ridge. The sheet is made of, for example, filter paper, filter cloth, a sheet-like filter material such as a non-woven fabric sheet, is held exchangeably by a frame, and dust in air before being sucked in from an air inlet and entering the main filter-mainly Collect dust. In addition, when a predetermined period (for example, several months) has elapsed after the start of use, a sheet of the pre-filter is replaced with a new one assuming that a predetermined amount of dust has been collected.

[0012] In the air purifier according to the present invention, preferably, the frame has a plane area substantially equal to an integral multiple of the size of one sheet to be used, and the frame has a peripheral edge of the sheet. A holding portion for holding the sheet by holding all or a part of the sheet is provided in a facing shape or a lattice shape. For example, the frame body is configured so as to have a plane area consisting of a width several mm larger than the width of one sheet to be used and a length several mm larger than the length of two sheets,
Separately from the frame, a grid-shaped pressing member for holding a part of the periphery of the two sheets and holding these sheets is provided.

In the air cleaner configured as described above, when the sheet is held by the frame, a part of or the entire periphery of the sheet is pressed by using the pressing portion, so that the sheet is reliably held. In addition, when the sheet is removed from the frame, the sheet can be easily removed and replaced by exposing the peripheral edge of the sheet using the pressing portion.

[0014] In the air purifier according to the present invention, preferably, the frame body is provided with a rib for abutting the front surface of the main filter so as to form a constant gap between the surface and the sheet. The ribs are provided, for example, on the left and right sides and the upper and lower ends of the rear surface of the frame so as to protrude rearward.

In the air purifier thus configured, when the sheet is held by the frame, a fixed interval is formed between the front surface of the main filter and the sheet. Most can block the front surface of the main filter and prevent the amount of air passing through the filter from decreasing. The ribs can also improve the strength of the frame.

[0016] In the air purifier according to the present invention, the sheet is preferably one or more selected from the group of kitchen towels, kitchen paper, tissue paper, and toilet paper. Here, "kitchen towel" or "kitchen paper" refers to a disposable product for kitchen, which is made of a nonwoven fabric sheet or a paper sheet and is commercially available in the form of a roll or a laminate.

Such a sheet is used by arranging only one sheet without overlapping one specific kind, or by overlapping or arranging several sheets, or by overlapping or arranging several sheets of plural kinds. Can be With such a sheet,
When a new one is replaced after a certain period of time from the start of use, inexpensive daily necessities can be used at all times, so that the replacement is simple and the running cost can be reduced.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by this.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an air purifier P according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a plastic main body case 1, a fan 2 provided in the main body case 1, and an electric motor 3. And a main filter 4.

The main body case 1 is a vertically long box-like body forming an outer shell of the air purifier P, and includes a rear case 11, an air outlet 12a which is combined with the rear case 11 and has a number of slits, and an operation section. An upper case 12 having an upper surface (not shown) and a front case 1 removably combined with the rear case 11 and the upper case 12 and having an air inlet 13a formed of a number of slits on the front surface.
And 3.

The fan 2 sucks outside air from the air inlet 13a and blows purified air to the air outlet 12a. The electric motor 3 is disposed in front of the fan 2 and connected to the fan 2, and drives the fan 2 to rotate.

The main filter 4 has a rectangular plate shape,
Fan case 6 for housing fan 2 and electric motor 3
Is disposed upstream of the fan case 6 and is detachably fixed at two locking claw portions 6a. The main filter 4 collects dust in the air that has been sucked in-mainly fine dust. Then, when a certain period (for example, 1 to 1.5 years) elapses after the use of the air purifier P is started, it is determined that a predetermined amount of dust has been collected and replaced with a new one.

On the inner surface side of the front case 13, a pre-filter 5 which faces almost the entire surface of the air inlet 13 a is detachably attached to the front case 13. That is, the pre-filter 5 is a flexible frame 5 made of plastic.
1 and a sheet 52 for filtration. The left and right peripheral edges of the frame body 51 are provided on the inner surface side of the front case 13 and
It is bent and fitted inside a pair of left and right locking projections 13b having a U-shaped cross section and is locked by the projections 13b. The sheet 52 is a rectangular sheet obtained by cutting two commercially-available cutting-type “kitchen papers”, which are nonwoven sheets, into one unit.

As shown in FIG. 4, the frame 51 is formed of a square lattice, and the size is determined according to the size of the sheet 52 to be used. That is, the frame 51 is
The sheet 52 has a plane area including a width several mm larger than the width of one sheet and a length several mm larger than the length of two sheets. In addition, filter pressing plates 51a as pressing portions for pressing and holding the peripheral edge of the sheet 52 are provided at both upper and lower ends of the frame body 51 so as to face each other. The sheet 52 is exchangeably held by the frame 51, and collects dust in the air before entering the main filter 4 by suction from the air suction port 13 a-mainly dust. After a certain period (for example, several months) has elapsed after the start of use, the sheet 52 is replaced with a new one assuming that a predetermined amount of dust has been collected.

More specifically, the filter pressing plate 51a holds the upper and lower peripheral edges of the sheet 52 in a holding position (the position illustrated in the upper part of FIG. 4) and rotates 90 degrees from the holding position. Let me seat 52
It is configured to be rotatable so as to be able to take an exchange position (a position drawn in the lower part in FIG. 4) for attaching / detaching the. Reference numeral 51b in FIG. 4 denotes a rotation axis of the filter pressing plate 51a. In the frame 51,
Wall portions 51c into which the rotating shafts 51b are fitted are provided upright at the upper and lower ends on both the left and right sides.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a locking claw 51d is provided on the wall 51c of each frame 51 so as to protrude inward. These locking claws 51d lock the sides of the filter pressing plate 51a when the filter pressing plate 51a takes the holding position, and act so that the filter pressing plate 51a presses the sheet 52.

As shown in FIG. 2, ribs 51e projecting rearward are provided on both left and right sides of the rear surface of the frame 51, respectively. These ribs 51e make contact with the front surface of the main filter 4 to form a fixed space between the surface and the sheet 52. Thus, it is possible to prevent a part or most of the sheet 52 from blocking the front surface of the main filter 4 and reducing the amount of air passing through the filter. Further, the strength of the frame body 51 can be improved by the rib 51e.

When the air purifier P constructed as described above is used, the relationship between the amount of air blown out to the air outlet 12a and the service period is determined only by the main filter which is the same as the main filter 4 of the air purifier P. This will be described in comparison with the conventional air cleaner A.

That is, in FIG. 6, a curve A drawn by connecting ▲ marks shows a change in air volume in the conventional air purifier A to which only the main filter is attached. A curve B drawn by connecting a circle indicates a change in the air volume in the air purifier P. The solid line portion of the curve B indicates the change in the air flow from the use period 0 to t ₁ . In the use period 0, the air volume is reduced by F by the air resistance by the pre-filter 5 compared to the curve A.

A straight line C represented by a dashed line represents air
Use period t in the purifier P₁The sheet 52 is
Shows the recovery status of the air flow by replacing with a new one
You. Straight lines D and E represented by dashed lines are the same, respectively.
Use period t_TwoAnd use period t _ThreeWhen the seat 52
Shows the recovery of the air flow due to the replacement of
You.

Further, the curve P drawn by connecting the marks ◎
This shows a virtual air volume change in the air purifier P when it is assumed that the pre-filter 5 without clogging is always used (this is not possible in practice).

[0032] As can be seen from FIG. 6, the conventional air cleaner A is the air volume in the use period t ₂ (%) is runs out very little made the life of the filter. In contrast, in the air purifier P according to one embodiment of the present invention, the air volume (%) that exhausted is extremely small becomes the life of the main filter 4 is about twice the service life t ₂ which is the point of use period t ₄ it is. Therefore, the life of the main filter 4 of the air purifier P is about twice that of the filter of the conventional air purifier A.

[0033]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as described above, the main body case, the fan, the electric motor and the main filter are provided, and the main body case is detachably combined with the rear case. And a front case having an air suction port. The front case is detachably attached to the inner surface side of the front case and collects dust in the air before being sucked from the air suction port and entering the main filter. A pre-filter is provided with a filter. The pre-filter comprises a frame detachably attached to the front case, and a filtering sheet held exchangeably by the frame. Therefore, the air sucked in from the air suction port first collects coarse dust mainly by the pre-filter, and then the fine dust is mainly collected by the main filter, so that the life of the main filter can be extended more than before. In addition, the pre-filter sheet can be removed from the frame by a simple operation and replaced at an appropriate time, so that the pre-filter cleaning operation can be omitted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the frame body is
It has a plane area substantially equal to an integral multiple of the size of one sheet to be used, and the frame has a pressing portion for holding a sheet by pressing a part or all of the periphery of the sheet or holding the sheet. They are provided in a grid. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 1, when the frame is held by the sheet, the sheet is securely held by pressing a part or all of the peripheral edge of the sheet using the pressing portion. In addition, when the sheet is removed from the frame, the holding portion is used to expose the peripheral edge of the sheet, so that the sheet can be easily removed and replaced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the frame body includes
A rib is provided to form a fixed space between the main filter and the sheet by contacting the front surface of the main filter. Therefore, when the sheet is held by the frame, a fixed interval is formed between the front surface of the main filter and the sheet, and in addition to the effect of the invention according to claim 2, a part of the sheet is provided. Alternatively, it is possible to prevent most of the filter from blocking the front surface of the main filter and to reduce the amount of air passing through the filter, and the ribs can improve the strength of the frame.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the sheet is at least one selected from the group consisting of kitchen towels, kitchen paper, tissue paper, and toilet paper. In addition to the effects of the invention described in one aspect, when a certain period of time has elapsed after the start of use and the seat is replaced with a new one, it is possible to always use inexpensive daily necessities which are at hand. It is simple and the running cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an air purifier according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top sectional view of the air purifier of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the air purifier of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a part of a pre-filter constituting the air cleaner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a part of the pre-filter of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a graph for explaining the relationship between the amount of blown air and the use period when the air purifier of FIG. 1 is used, in comparison with a conventional air purifier.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 2 Fan 3 Electric motor 4 Main filter 5 Pre-filter 6 Fan case 6a Locking claw part 11 Rear case 12 Upper case 12a Air outlet 13 Front case 13a Air suction port 13b Locking ridge 51 Holding frame 51a Filter holding plate (holding portion) 51b Rotating shaft 51c Wall 51d Locking claw 51e Rib 52 Filtration sheet

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A main body case having an air inlet and an air outlet, a fan provided in the main body case for sucking air from the air inlet and blowing out the air to the air outlet, and a fan for driving the fan And a main filter provided on the upstream side of the fan for collecting dust in the air taken in.The main body case is detachably combined with the rear case and the rear case is provided. And a front case having a suction port, further detachably attached to the inner surface side of the front case, for collecting dust in the air before being sucked from the air suction port and entering the main filter. A pre-filter is provided. The pre-filter is composed of a frame detachably attached to the front case and a filtering sheet held exchangeably by the frame. Become an air purifier. 2. The frame has a plane area substantially equal to an integral multiple of the size of one sheet to be used, and holds the sheet by holding a part or all of the periphery of the sheet on the frame. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the pressing portions for performing the operation are provided in an opposed shape or a lattice shape. 3. The air purifier according to claim 2, wherein the frame body is provided with a rib for abutting on a front surface of the main filter to form a constant interval between the surface and the sheet. 4. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the sheet is at least one selected from the group consisting of kitchen towel, kitchen paper, tissue paper, and toilet paper.