JP2000042333A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner capable of prolonging the service life of a main filter and also capable of eliminating the cleaning work of a pre-filter. SOLUTION: In the air cleaner P, a main body case 1 having an air blow out port 12a and an air suction port 13a, a fan 2, a fan motor 3 and the main filter 4 are provided. The pre-filer 5 is mounted detachably at an inner surface side of a front case 13. The pre-filter 5 is composed of a frame body and a wire net and has elasticity, and the pre-filter 5 is abutted to an unbalance weight 72. In the air cleaner P, a weight 72 is rotated by turning on a weight motor 8 at a prescribed time. The pre-filter 5 is vibrated to almost back and froth direction by its elasticity and the dust being captured is shaken off from the pre-filter 5.

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 purifier, which has a built-in filter for dust collection, a fan for air suction and blow-off, 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 Conventionally, as this type of air purifier, there has conventionally been provided a main body case having an air inlet and an air outlet, and provided in the main body case, sucking air from the air inlet and passing air from the air outlet. A fan for blowing air, a fan motor for driving this fan, and a filter arranged upstream of the fan to collect dust in the air that has been sucked in (replaced regularly with new ones) ) Are 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.

[0005] In the latter case, the life of the main filter can be extended as compared with the former case. However, since dust is attached to or entangled with the wire mesh pre-filter, it is necessary to clean the dust with a brush and suction or wash it with a vacuum cleaner. It was such a thing.

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 a body disposed in the main body case, sucking air from the air inlet and blowing out the air to the air outlet. A fan for driving the fan, and a main filter disposed upstream of the fan for collecting dust in the air taken in. A pre-filter for collecting dust in the air before being drawn into the main filter by suction from the air suction port, and disposed near the pre-filter. A vibrating body for shaking off the collected dust from the pre-filter by vibrating using
An air cleaner including a driving unit for driving the vibrator is provided.

The body case forms an outer shell of the air purifier, and includes, for example, a rear case and a front case detachably combined with the rear case and having an air inlet. The main case may optionally further include an upper case combined with the rear case and / or the front case. Also,
The air outlet is provided somewhere in the rear case, the front case, and the upper case.

In the main body case, a fan, a fan motor, and a main filter are provided.

The fan sucks external air from the air suction port and blows purified air to the air outlet. The fan 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 collects dust, mainly fine dust, in the air taken in. 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.

A pre-filter, a vibrating body, and a driving unit are further provided in the main body case.

The pre-filter has, for example, a rectangular wire mesh shape and elasticity, and is arranged on the inner surface side of the front case. Then, dust, mainly dust, in the air before being sucked through the air inlet and entering the main filter is collected. The vibrator is disposed in the vicinity of the pre-filter, and is provided at a desired time after the start of use of the air cleaner (for example, 1-2 times a month).
In this case, the pre-filter is vibrated substantially in the front-rear direction (in a direction substantially perpendicular to the filter surface of the pre-filter) by utilizing its elasticity, so that the collected dust is shaken off the pre-filter.

[0013] In the air purifier according to the present invention, the vibrator preferably includes a rotating shaft and an unbalanced weight attached to the rotating shaft, and the drive unit controls the weight of the vibrating member via the rotating shaft. When the weight motor of the drive unit is turned on when desired, the weight of the vibrating body is rotated in a state in which the weight of the vibrator is in contact with a part of the pre-filter so that the pre-filter vibrates. It is composed of

The size, weight, and shape of the weight are appropriately determined according to the material, size, and arrangement position of the prefilter. It is more preferable that the rotating shaft of the vibrator also serves as the rotating shaft of the weight motor, in order to save the installation space and the constituent members. The size and number of rotations of the weight motor are appropriately determined according to the size and weight of the weight and the prefilter. The weight motor is turned on / off by a user, for example, by a switch of an operation unit provided on an upper outer surface of the main body case.

[0015] The air purifier according to the present invention preferably further includes a detachable dust box for storing dust shaken off from the pre-filter. The dust box is configured to be detachably attached to the front case below the front case, for example.

In the air purifier according to the present invention, it is preferable that the weight and the weight motor are disposed at a substantially upper central position in the main body case with the rotation axis being substantially vertical, and the pre-filter is disposed at a substantially upper central position on the rear surface. It is arranged detachably in a state where it abuts on the weight at the location.

The arrangement of the weight, the weight motor and the pre-filter in such a positional relationship saves the space for disposing the weight and the pre-filter by bringing the weight into contact with a substantially upper central portion of the pre-filter. This is because the dust is efficiently removed without leaving the collected dust.

[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 an embodiment of the present invention includes a plastic main body case 1, a fan 2 provided in the main body case 1, and a fan 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 fan 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,
The fan 2 is disposed in front of the fan case 6 on the upstream side of the fan case 6 for housing the fan 2 and the fan motor 3, and is detachably fixed to two sets of upper and lower locking claws 6a. The main filter 4 removes dust in the sucked air.
It mainly collects 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, as shown in FIG. 4, the pre-filter 5 has a frame 51 made of a square lattice and a wire mesh 52 fixed to the frame 51, and has elasticity. Then, the dust, mainly dust, in the air before being sucked through the air suction port 13a and entering the main filter 4 is collected.

In the vicinity of the pre-filter 5, a vibrating body 7 and its driving section are provided. The vibrating body 7 includes a rotating shaft 71
And an unbalance weight 72 attached to the rotating shaft 71. The drive unit includes a weight motor 8 for rotating a weight 72 of the vibrating body 7 via a rotation shaft 71.

The weight 72 and the weight motor 8 are disposed at a substantially upper central position in the front case 13 with the rotating shaft 71 substantially vertical. The weight 72 has a substantially rhombic shape in plan view, and is connected at the center to the rotating shaft 71 extending upward. The rotating shaft 71 also serves as the rotating shaft of the weight motor 8. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the weight motor 8 is attached to the front of the upper case 12 above the weight 72 and is protected by the motor cover 9. The weight motor 8 is turned on / off by a user by a switch (not shown) of an operation unit provided on an upper outer surface of the front case 13.

The pre-filter 5 has an upper edge protruding rearward, and a weight 72 at a substantially upper central portion of the rear surface of the filter.
And is detachably arranged in a state of being always in contact with a part thereof.

That is, the left and right side edges of the pre-filter 5 are bent and fitted inside a pair of left and right locking projections 13b provided on the inner surface side of the front case 13, and are removable by the projections 13b. It is locked to. As shown by the solid lines in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pre-filter 5 has one obtuse ridge portion of the weight 72 in contact with a substantially upper central portion of the rear surface, and a substantially central portion of the upper edge has a weight. 72 is mounted on the upper surface of the obtuse ridge portion.

The air purifier P further includes a dust box 10 provided immediately below the pre-filter 5. That is, the dust box 10 includes a pair of left and right locking ribs 13 c provided below the front case 13.
And a locking claw portion 10a provided on itself, which is detachably attached to a lower portion of the front case 13. Note that reference numeral 10b in FIG. 1 denotes a detachable handle.

In the air cleaner P configured as described above, a desired time after the start of use (for example, 1-2 times a month).
When the weight motor 8 is turned on in the second rotation, the weight 72 rotates, and the obtuse ridge and the acute ridge alternately contact the pre-filter 5. Then, pre-filter 5
Vibrates substantially in the front-back direction due to its elasticity—in a direction substantially perpendicular to the filter surface of the pre-filter 5.

Thus, the dust collected by the pre-filter 5 is shaken off from the pre-filter 5. The dust that has been shaken off is stored in the dust box 10.

The dashed lines of the pre-filter 5 and the weight 72 in FIGS. 2 and 3 indicate that the pre-filter 5 vibrates due to the rotation of the weight 72, and the substantially central portion of the sharp edge of the weight 72 is pushed forward most. It shows the position occupied by these at the moment.

[0033]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as described above, the main body case, the fan, the fan motor, and the main filter are provided. A pre-filter for collecting dust in the air before being sucked and entering the main filter; and a pre-filter disposed near the pre-filter, and vibrating the pre-filter by using its elasticity when desired, thereby collecting the dust. A vibrating body for shaking off the collected dust from the pre-filter,
And a driving unit for driving the vibrating body. 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, when desired, the pre-filter is vibrated substantially in the front-rear direction by utilizing its elasticity, and the collected dust is shaken off from the pre-filter, whereby the cleaning operation of the pre-filter can be omitted.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the vibrating body includes a rotating shaft and an unbalanced weight attached to the rotating shaft, and the driving unit controls the weight of the vibrating body via the rotating shaft. A weight motor for rotation is provided. When the weight motor of the drive unit is turned on when desired, the weight of the vibrating body rotates in a state of contacting a part of the pre-filter to vibrate the pre-filter.
Therefore, with the simple and cost-effective configuration, it is possible to secure the above-mentioned effects achieved by the first aspect of the present invention.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
A detachable dust box is provided for storing dust shaken off from the pre-filter. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, it is possible to easily perform disposal processing of dust shaken off from the pre-filter.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the weight and the weight motor are disposed at a substantially upper central position in the main body case with the rotation axis substantially vertical, and the pre-filter is disposed at a substantially upper central position on the rear surface. It is disposed so as to be detachable while being in contact with the weight at the location. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the space for disposing the weight, the weight motor and the prefilter is saved, and the dust collected by the prefilter is not left. And it can be shaken off efficiently.

[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 side sectional view of the air purifier of FIG. 1;

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

FIG. 4 is a configuration explanatory view showing a positional relationship among a pre-filter, a vibrating body, and a driving unit that constitute the air cleaner of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 2 Fan 3 Fan motor 4 Main filter 5 Pre-filter 6 Fan case 6a Locking claw part 7 Vibration body 8 Weight motor 9 Motor cover 10 Dust box 11 Rear case 12 Upper case 12a Air outlet 13 Front case 13a Air inlet 13b Locking ridge 13c Locking rib 51 Frame 52 Wire mesh 71 Rotating shaft 72 Unbalance weight

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A main body case having an air inlet and an air outlet, a fan disposed in the main body case for sucking air from the air inlet and blowing out the air to the air outlet, and driving the fan Motor and a main filter disposed upstream of the fan for collecting dust in the air taken in. A pre-filter for collecting dust in the air before being sucked and entering the main filter; and a pre-filter disposed near the pre-filter, and vibrating the pre-filter by using its elasticity when desired, thereby collecting the dust. An air cleaner including a vibrator for shaking off collected dust from a pre-filter and a drive unit for driving the vibrator. 2. The vibrating body includes a rotating shaft and an unbalance weight attached to the rotating shaft, and the driving unit includes a weight motor for rotating a weight of the vibrating body via the rotating shaft. 2. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein when the weight motor of the drive unit is turned on when desired, the weight of the vibrating body rotates while abutting on a part of the pre-filter to vibrate the pre-filter. 3. The air purifier according to claim 1, further comprising a removable dust box for storing dust shaken off from the pre-filter. 4. A weight and a weight motor are arranged with a rotation axis substantially vertical at a substantially upper central position in the main body case, and the pre-filter is in contact with the weight at a substantially upper central position on a rear surface thereof. The air purifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is detachably disposed.