JP2001224676A - Deodorizing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a malodor generated when a deodorizing material is regenerated under heating. SOLUTION: An inlet valve 6 and an outlet valve 12 are provided to a main air channel 5 having a suction port 2 and a discharge port 3 and a closing valve 14 is also provided in an auxiliary air channel 13 short-circuited to the main air channel in the vicinity of the insides of both valves 6, 12. When a blow fan 7 is rotated in the direction reverse to that at a time of deodorizing operation at a time of the regeneration operation of the deodorizing material 1 under heating, the valves 6, 12 are closed and the valve 14 is opened. Therefore, a circulating flow channel is formed by the main air channel 5 and the auxiliary air channel 13. The malodorous component separated from the deodorizing material 10 in the initial stage of heating is circulated to return to the deodorizing material 10 and, when the oxidative decomposition of the malodorous component becomes dominant by the continuation of heating, the malodorous level in the circulating flow channel lowers. By this constitution, the deodorizing material 10 can be regenerated without leaking a malodor to the outside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a deodorizing apparatus using a deodorizing material which can be regenerated by heating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In addition to being used as a single unit, a deodorizer is often used as an air washer in combination with a dust collector or the like, and further incorporated into a cooling machine or a heating machine. As a deodorizing device, a device using a deodorizing material that adsorbs odor components such as activated carbon is the most common. However, if the adsorption of the odor components is saturated, the effect of removing the odor is lost.

On the other hand, various odor components adsorbed on the deodorizing material by heating the deodorizing material by using a deodorizing material obtained by mixing an adsorbent such as zeolite and an oxidation catalyst (this is called "adsorbate") Oxidative decomposition of odorless components to remove them from deodorants (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
227420). According to this, since the deodorizing material can be reused repeatedly, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to replace the deodorizing material.

[0004]

However, in such oxidative decomposition of odor components, at a relatively low temperature in the early stage of heating, desorption of the adsorbate from the deodorizing material is more dominant than decomposition of the adsorbate by oxidative decomposition. Therefore, there is a problem that odor is generated.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a deodorizing apparatus which prevents generation of odor at the time of heating and regenerating a deodorizing material.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a deodorizing apparatus comprising: a main ventilation path connecting an intake port and an exhaust port; and a deodorizing material disposed in the main ventilation path. Heating means for heating the deodorizing material, a sub-ventilation path connecting the upstream side and the downstream side of the deodorizing material in the main ventilation path, a non-circulating flow path only passing through the main ventilation path, and A flow path switching means for switching a circulation flow path for circulating the air in the main ventilation path through the sub ventilation path without discharging the air from the exhaust port, and switching to a non-circulation flow path by the flow path switching means Control means for executing a deodorizing operation for deodorizing air and a regeneration process for heating the deodorizing material by the heating means and switching to a circulation flow path by the flow path switching means to regenerate the deodorizing material while circulating air; The control means comprises:
In the regeneration process, the process is terminated when it is determined that the adsorbate adsorbed by the deodorizing material has been sufficiently decomposed.

The flow path switching means includes first and second valves provided in the vicinity of an intake port and an exhaust port, and a third valve provided in the auxiliary ventilation path. Opening the second valve while closing the third valve to form a non-circulating flow path;
In addition, the first and second valves are closed, and the third valve is opened to form a circulation flow path.

Further, an odor detecting means for detecting an odor is provided in the main ventilation path or the sub-ventilation path, and the control means controls the odor level detected by the odor detecting means during regeneration processing of the deodorizing material. The operation is terminated when the level falls below the level.

[0009] Further, there is provided a blowing means for blowing air to the main ventilation path and the sub ventilation path.

Further, a disinfecting filter is provided in a portion of the main ventilation passage which serves as both the non-circulation passage and the circulation passage.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the deodorizing apparatus of the present invention, a non-circulating flow path is switched by a flow path switching means during a deodorizing operation, and outside air passes through a deodorizing material from an intake port and is discharged from an exhaust port to the outside. I do. At this time, since the odor component contained in the outside air is adsorbed by the deodorizing material, air from which the odor has been removed is obtained from the exhaust port.

On the other hand, at the time of the deodorizing material regeneration process, the flow is switched to the circulation flow path by the flow path switching means, and the air that has passed through the deodorizing material returns to the deodorizing material again through the sub-ventilation passage and circulates. Simultaneously with this circulation, the deodorizing material is heated by the heating means, and the regeneration process is executed.

In the initial stage of heating the deodorizing material, desorption is more dominant than oxidative decomposition of the adsorbate (odor component) by the deodorizing material, so that the odor component is released as it is. Then, it returns to the deodorizing material and is adsorbed. Then, when the temperature of the deodorizing material rises and oxidative decomposition becomes more dominant than desorption, the odor component is reduced by the decomposition, and finally the odor component is almost completely decomposed.
At this time, the control means ends the deodorizing material regeneration processing.

As described above, in the deodorizing apparatus of the present invention, the air circulates in the circulation passage formed by the ventilation path and the sub-ventilation path provided with the deodorizing material during heating for the regeneration of the deodorizing material. The separated odor component does not leak to the outside, and the generation of offensive odor can be prevented. In addition, by circulating the air in the circulation channel in this manner, the odor component released from the deodorizing material to the air in the circulation channel in the initial stage of heating surely returns to the deodorizing material. The level can be reliably and evenly reduced.

Further, in the deodorizing apparatus, when the deodorizing material is regenerated, the first and second valves are closed to shut off the circulating flow path composed of the main ventilation path and the sub ventilation path. It is possible to completely prevent the separated odor component from leaking to the outside.

In the deodorizing device, the control unit continues the regeneration process based on the odor level detected by the odor detecting unit until the odor level of the air in the circulation channel becomes equal to or lower than the reference value. Therefore, the deodorizing material can be reliably regenerated.

Further, the deodorizing apparatus includes a sterilization filter in a portion of the main ventilation path that serves as both the non-circulation flow path and the circulation flow path. Becomes high temperature and can kill attached mites and bacteria.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A deodorizing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the deodorizing apparatus of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the deodorizing apparatus, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is an operation state diagram during the deodorizing operation, FIG. 4 is an operation state diagram during the heating / regenerating operation of the deodorizing material, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the control during the heating / regenerating operation, and FIG. FIG.

In FIG. 1, an intake port 2 is provided at a lower portion of the front surface of a housing 1. External air sucked from the intake port 2 is internally deodorized and discharged from an exhaust port 3 on the upper surface.
An operation panel 4 provided with an operation switch and a display lamp is provided on an upper part of the front surface of the housing 1. The user instructs the operation of the deodorizing device by operating the operation switch, and the operation lamp is displayed by the display lamp. You can check the operation.

The internal configuration of the deodorizing device will be described with reference to FIG. A main ventilation path 5 connecting the intake port 2 and the exhaust port 3
, An inlet valve 6, a blower fan 7 rotated by a fan motor 8, a cavity 9 containing a deodorizing material 10, and a sterilization filter 11 from the intake port 2 side to the exhaust port 3 side. And an outlet valve 12 are provided. Further, a sub-air passage 13 for short-circuiting the vicinity of the inside of the inlet valve 6 and the vicinity of the inside of the outlet valve 12 in the main air passage 5 is provided, and a sub-air passage closing valve 14 is provided on the inlet valve 6 side. Radiation fins 19 are attached to the side wall of the sub ventilation passage 13.

A magnetron 17 is provided on the side wall of the cavity 9 as a heating means. The cavity 9 has a partition made of a metal plate having a large number of holes of a predetermined diameter so that microwaves do not leak from the inside. I have. For this, those generally used in microwave ovens and the like can be used. In addition, a thermocouple 15 inserted into a metal cylindrical body 16 for microwave shielding is used to remove the deodorizing material 10 from outside the cavity 9.
It is inserted up to the inside, so that the temperature of the deodorizing material 10 can be monitored. Further, an odor sensor 18 is mounted above the cavity 9 in the main ventilation path 5,
The detection signal of the odor sensor 18 is input to the control unit 20 together with the detection signal of the thermocouple 15.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inlet valve 6, the outlet valve 12 and the sub-ventilation closing valve 14 are formed by two valve plates which share a shaft fixed to the main ventilating passage 5 or the sub-ventilating passage 13, respectively. The valve plate is urged by a spring (not shown) wound around a shaft and pressed against a valve stop protruding into the main air passage 5 or the sub air passage 13 to close the valve plate. It is in. The spring constants of the valves 6, 12, and 14 are set to values suitable for performing opening and closing operations as described below.

The control unit 20 includes a control circuit composed of a microcomputer and the like, and a drive circuit for the fan motor 8 and the magnetron 17, and includes a thermocouple 15 and an odor sensor 1.
8, and controls the operation of the magnetron 17 and the blower fan 7 according to a predetermined processing procedure described later.

The deodorizing material 10 is formed, for example, by molding a base such as a metal oxide which absorbs microwaves and generates heat so that air flows through the base. The adsorbent such as zeolite and the oxidation of platinum and the like are used. The mixture of the catalyst and the catalyst is supported on the substrate.

First, the operation of the deodorizing apparatus having the above configuration during the deodorizing operation will be described with reference to FIG. At this time, the blower fan 7 is rotated in a predetermined rotation direction (the rotation direction at this time is referred to as “forward rotation”). When the blower fan 7 rotates in the normal rotation direction, an air flow that moves upward from below in FIG. Then, the inlet valve 6 and the outlet valve 12 are butterfly-opened by the wind pressure while being opened, while the auxiliary air passage closing valve 14 is opened.
Does not open while being pressed against the valve stop because large wind pressure is not applied. For this reason, the outside air is sucked from the intake port 2 and is discharged from the exhaust port 3 after passing through the deodorizing material 10 and the sterilization filter 11. The odor components contained in the outside air are adsorbed by the deodorizing material 10, and fine suspended matters and the like are trapped by the sterilization filter 11, so that clean air from which the odor has been removed is discharged from the exhaust port 3.

The air blown by the blower fan 7 is strong on the outer periphery and weaker on the inner periphery.
As shown in (1), the deodorizing material 10 has a shape in which the central portion is open, and the partition of the cavity 9 is closed at the central portion, so that the air flow generated on the wall surface side of the main ventilation passage 5 is blocked. It passes through the deodorizing material 10 without any change.

Next, the operation of the deodorizer 10 during the heating and regeneration operation will be described with reference to FIGS. At this time, the blower fan 7 is rotated "weakly" in the direction opposite to the normal rotation by the control unit 20 (step S1). As a result, an airflow that moves downward from above in the main ventilation path 5 is generated, which is opposite to that during the deodorizing operation. Then, a force is applied to the inlet valve 6 so as to be pressed against the valve stop, and the inlet valve 6 is closed. On the other hand, the sub-ventilation passage closing valve 14 is opened by butterfly movement by wind pressure. The outlet valve 12 is closed because a large force is not applied to the outlet valve 12 in the upward direction. As a result, as shown by arrows in FIG. 4, the outlet valve 12 circulates in the main ventilation passage 5 and the sub-ventilation passage 13, and is shielded from the outside. The formed circulation channel is formed.

The control unit 20 monitors the temperature of the deodorizing material 10 based on the detection signal from the thermocouple 15, and determines whether the monitored temperature is equal to or higher than the reference temperature T0 (step S2). The reference temperature T0 is set to a temperature at which oxidative decomposition of odor components is smoothly performed as described later.
About 00 ° C. is appropriate. When the monitored temperature is lower than the reference temperature T0, the magnetron 17 is driven (step S3), and when it is higher than the reference temperature T0, the driving of the magnetron 17 is stopped (step S4). By such control, as shown in FIG. 6, the temperature rapidly rises in the early stage of heating, and when the temperature reaches the reference temperature T0, the temperature is maintained in the vicinity.

Thereafter, the control unit 20 controls the odor sensor 18
The odor level is monitored based on the detection signal from, and it is determined whether or not the odor level is equal to or less than the reference value (step S5). Until the heating temperature is sufficiently increased, the oxidative decomposition reaction hardly occurs or is extremely weak.
The elimination of the odor component from the deodorizing material 10 is more dominant than the oxidative decomposition of the 0 adsorbate. Therefore, the odor component released from the deodorizing material 10 passes through the circulation channel and returns to the deodorizing material 10 to be adsorbed. Therefore, at the beginning of heating, the odor level of the air in the circulation flow path temporarily increases, and it is usually determined in step S5 that the odor level is equal to or higher than the reference value.

Next, it is determined whether the timer set time set by the user or automatically set as the heating regeneration operation time has expired (step S6). Until the timer set time ends, the process returns to step S2, and the above-described step S2
Steps S6 to S6 are repeated. As described above, at first, the odor level is high because the desorption of the adsorbate from the deodorizing material 10 is more dominant, but if the oxidative decomposition becomes dominant over the desorption of the adsorbate due to the continuation of heating, the circulation flow The odor level in the road gradually decreases. When the odor level falls below the reference value ("Y" in step S5), it is determined that the adsorbate has been sufficiently decomposed, and the driving of the magnetron 17 is stopped (step S7). Even if the odor level does not fall below the reference value, if the timer set time has elapsed (“Y” in step S6), the driving of the magnetron 17 is stopped.

During the heating and regeneration, the temperature of the circulating air rises to nearly 100 ° C., so that the high-temperature air passes through the sterilization filter 11 and adheres to the sterilization filter 11 during the deodorizing operation. Mites, bacteria and the like die. For this reason, it is preferable that the sterilization filter 11 be disposed in a flow path in which hot air circulates in the main ventilation path 5.

After the magnetron 17 is stopped, the speed of the blower fan 7 is increased to "strong" rotation (step S8). That is, while the deodorizing material 10 is being heated,
If the air volume in the circulation flow path is large, the deodorization of the odor component from the deodorizing material 10 is promoted. On the other hand, after the heating is completed, since the deodorizing material 10 needs to be rapidly cooled (because it is not possible to shift to the deodorizing operation without cooling), the blower fan 7 is rotated "strongly" to increase the air volume. The airflow flowing as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4 is mainly deprived of heat by the radiation fins 19 when passing through the sub-ventilation passage 13. Thereby, the temperature gradually decreases as shown in FIG.

Then, the circulation of the air in the circulation passage as described above is continued until a predetermined cooling time elapses (until "Y" in step S9). Is stopped (step S10). Thereby, the heating and regeneration operation of the deodorizing material 10 ends. Instead of stopping the rotation of the blower fan 7 when the cooling time has elapsed, the blower fan 7 detects that the monitor temperature of the thermocouple 15 has dropped below a predetermined temperature.
May be stopped. When the deodorizing material 10 is regenerated as described above, the deodorizing material 10 can again adsorb odor components.

Incidentally, the structure of the ventilation path of the deodorizing apparatus of the above embodiment can be variously modified. 7 and 8
FIG. 6 is a view showing a configuration of a ventilation path of a deodorizing device according to another embodiment. In any of the configurations, only the configuration of the ventilation path is different, and the basic control at the time of the deodorizing operation and the heating / regenerating operation can be the same as that of the above embodiment.

In the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the upper part is the intake port 2 and the lower part is the exhaust port 3, and the inlet valve 6 and the outlet valve 12 are downward (in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7). Open up,
The opening direction of the sub air passage closing valve 14 is also opposite to the configuration shown in FIG. Further, the rotation direction of the blower fan 7 is also set to the opposite direction to that in the above embodiment. That is, during the deodorizing operation, the inlet valve 6 and the outlet valve 12 are opened by the rotation of the blower fan 7, and the outside air sucked from the inlet 2 passes through the sterilizing filter 11 and the deodorizing material 10 in order and is discharged from the outlet 3. Is done.

On the other hand, when the blower fan 7 is rotated in the direction opposite to that during the deodorizing operation during the heating and regeneration operation of the deodorizing material 10,
The inlet valve 6 and the outlet valve 12 are closed, and the secondary air passage closing valve 14 is closed.
Is opened, and an air flow circulating downward in the sub ventilation passage 13 and upward in the main ventilation passage 5 is generated. In this configuration, since the odor component released from the deodorizing material 10 by heating rises by convection, there is an advantage that the circulating air flow can be generated as described above even if the rotation of the blower fan 7 is considerably reduced. .

In the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the blower fan 7 is provided outside the inlet valve 6 of the intake port 2, and the auxiliary fan 21, which is rotationally driven by the auxiliary fan motor 22, is provided in the auxiliary ventilation passage 13. Is provided. Since the distance between the blower fan 7 and the deodorizing material 10 is farther than in the configuration of FIG. 2, the difference in the amount of air blown between the central portion and the outer peripheral portion in the main ventilation path 5 is not so large. Therefore, the deodorizing material 10 is also provided at the central portion although its thickness is thin, so that the air flow passes through the entire cross section of the main ventilation path 5.

During the deodorizing operation, the blower fan 7 is rotated and the auxiliary fan 21 is stopped. Thereby, the inlet valve 6 and the outlet valve 12 are respectively opened upward by the wind pressure generated by the blower fan 7, and the outside air sucked from the intake port 2 passes through the deodorizing material 10 and the sterilization filter 11 and passes from the exhaust port 3. Is discharged.

During the heating and regeneration operation of the deodorizing material 10, the blowing fan 7 is stopped and the auxiliary fan 21 is rotated. Pushed by the airflow generated by the auxiliary fan 21, the sub-airflow passage closing valve 14 is opened, and air flows from the sub-airflow passage 13 into the main airflow passage 5. The direction in which the air passes through the main ventilation path 5 is the same as that in the above-mentioned deodorizing operation, but since the air volume is weak, the outlet valve 12 is kept closed. In this way, the air flow circulates in the sub-air passage 13 and the main air passage 5.

In the configuration in which the blower fan 7 and the auxiliary fan 21 are provided as shown in FIG. 8, the intake port 2 is provided at the upper part and the exhaust port 3 is provided at the lower part as shown in FIG. May be configured to flow an air flow from above to below.

The above embodiment is merely an example, and it is apparent that changes and modifications can be made within the spirit of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a deodorizing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a deodorizer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation state diagram in the deodorizing operation of the deodorizing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an operation state diagram of the deodorizing apparatus according to the embodiment at the time of heating and regenerating operation of the deodorizing material.

FIG. 5 is a control flowchart during a heating regeneration operation.

FIG. 6 is a state diagram showing a change in the temperature of the deodorizing material during the heating regeneration operation.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a deodorizing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a deodorizing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 intake port 3 exhaust port 5 main ventilation path 6 inlet valve 7 ventilation fan 9 cavity 10 deodorizing material 11 sterilization filter 12 exit valve 13 sub ventilation path 14 sub ventilation path closing valve 15 thermocouple 16 metal cylinder 17 magnetron 18 odor sensor 20 control unit 21 auxiliary fan

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G01N 27/12 G01N 27/12 D

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A main ventilation path connecting an intake port and an exhaust port, a deodorizing material provided in the main ventilation path, a heating means for heating the deodorizing material, and A sub-ventilation path connecting the upstream side and the downstream side of the deodorizing material, a non-circulating flow path only passing through the main ventilation path, and the sub-ventilation path without discharging air in the main ventilation path from the exhaust port Flow path switching means for switching between a circulation flow path circulating through the air, a deodorizing operation of switching to a non-circulation flow path by the flow path switching means and deodorizing air, and heating the deodorizing material by the heating means. Control means for performing a regeneration process for regenerating the deodorizing material while circulating air by switching to the circulation flow channel by the channel switching device, and wherein the control means is configured such that at the time of the regeneration process, the deodorizing material is When it is judged that the adsorbate adsorbed has been sufficiently decomposed, A deodorizing device characterized by completing. 2. The flow path switching means includes first and second valves provided in the vicinity of an intake port and an exhaust port, and a third valve provided in the auxiliary ventilation path. While the second valve is open, the third valve is closed to form a non-circulating flow path, and the first and second valves are closed while the third valve is open to circulate A road is formed.
The deodorizing device according to 1. 3. An odor detecting means for detecting an odor in the main ventilation path or the sub-ventilation path, wherein the control means controls the odor level detected by the odor detection means during the regeneration processing of the deodorizing material. 3. The deodorizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation is terminated when the level becomes lower than the level. 4. The deodorizing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a blowing unit that blows air into the main ventilation path and the sub ventilation path. 5. The sterilization filter according to claim 1, further comprising: a disinfecting filter in a portion of the main ventilation path that serves as both the non-circulation flow path and the circulation flow path. The deodorizing device according to any one of the above.