JP2002233727A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ecofriendly air cleaner wherein the amount of active carbon used can be easily adjusted according to the environment of use, the recycling of active carbon is possible, the power consumption is reduced, and the amount of difficultly treatable wastes formed can be reduced. SOLUTION: In an air cleaner consisting of a cylindrical drum (7) packed with active carbon, nets (8a and 8b) disposed on both ends of an active carbon layer (4) in the drum (7), and an air blowing fan (2), the active carbon is the one in the form of particles with an average length of 2-20 mm, and at least either of the nets (8a and 8b) is capable of moving along the axial direction of the drum (7) so as to adjust the thickness of the layer (4).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air purifier. In particular, it relates to an environmentally friendly natural circulation type air purifier.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an air purifier having a structure in which air is passed through an activated carbon layer using a fan has been widely used in order to adsorb and remove harmful substances contained in indoor air by activated carbon.

[0003] Most of them use a filter having a structure in which activated carbon, particularly powdered or granular activated carbon having a small particle size, is fixed to a support. For example, JP-A-2000-
The filter described in No. 70645 has a flat sheet-like structure in which activated carbon is attached to a net with an adhesive and covered with a nonwoven fabric. Then, such an activated carbon filter is arranged in the apparatus frame and can be easily replaced.

[0004]

However, most of the conventional activated carbon filters have a structure in which air passes through an activated carbon layer having a fixed thickness, and the air contains a large amount of substances to be adsorbed. If the room to be purified is large, there is a problem that its life is short. However, it was not easy to adjust the amount of activated carbon according to the usage environment.

[0005] Further, in order to obtain a compact filter structure, it is necessary to increase the adsorption area in a filter having a constant thickness. As a result, activated carbon of powder or relatively fine particles has been used. In order to contain such activated carbon so as not to spill, it is necessary to cover it with a fine nonwoven fabric, etc.As a result, the resistance of the air passing through the activated carbon increases, and the power consumption for rotating the fan used increases. Had become.

[0006] On the other hand, a filter processed into a sheet or the like cannot be reused, and when the adsorption performance is reduced, it has to be discarded. At that time, a part of the material constituting the sheet was usually plastic, which was not easy to treat as waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is easy to adjust the amount of activated carbon according to the use environment. An object of the present invention is to provide an environmentally friendly air purifier that can reduce the amount of waste that is difficult to treat.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems The object of the present invention is to provide activated carbon,
An air purifier comprising a tubular body filled with the activated carbon, nets disposed at both ends of an activated carbon layer in the tubular body, and a fan for blowing air, wherein the activated carbon is an average. To provide an air cleaner characterized by being granular activated carbon having a length of 2 to 20 mm, wherein at least one of the nets is movable along an axial direction of a cylindrical body and the thickness of an activated carbon layer can be adjusted. Achieved by

In the air purifier of the present invention, the activated carbon is filled directly into the cylindrical body without being processed into a sheet or the like, so that the activated carbon can be taken out from the body and regenerated. . The average length of activated carbon used is 2-20.
Since the activated carbon is a granular activated carbon having a diameter of mm, fine particles do not easily flutter when the activated carbon is put in and taken out, and the regeneration operation at the time of recycling is easy.

[0010] Further, since the activated carbon is granular activated carbon having an average length of 2 to 20 mm, it is not necessary to make the meshes arranged at both ends of the activated carbon layer fine, and the resistance of air passing through the activated carbon is small. Therefore, power consumption by the fan can be suppressed, and noise can be suppressed.

Further, at least one of the nets arranged at both ends of the activated carbon layer is movable along the axial direction of the cylindrical body and can adjust the thickness of the activated carbon layer. It is easy to adjust the amount. Because the shape of the part to be filled with activated carbon is cylindrical,
It is easy to move the position of the net.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of an example of the air purifier of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the air purifier of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the air purifier of FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.
It is sectional drawing.

By energizing the electric motor 1 and rotating the fan 2, the air sucked from the back opening 3 passes through the activated carbon layer 4 and covers the electric motor 1.
Purified air is released from the opening 6 at the lower end.

By using granular activated carbon having an average length of 2 mm or more as the activated carbon constituting the activated carbon layer 4, it is not necessary to make the meshes arranged at both ends of the activated carbon layer fine.
Also, the resistance of the air passing through the activated carbon is reduced, so that the power consumed by the fan can be suppressed and the noise can be suppressed.

The activated carbon used in the present invention has an average length of 2 to 2
0 mm granular activated carbon. When the average length is 2 mm or less, fine powder is apt to fly at the time of charging, taking out, and regenerating the activated carbon, resulting in poor workability. Preferably, the average length is 3 mm or more. On the other hand, if the average length exceeds 20 mm, the filling of the activated carbon becomes coarse, and the air cleaning function deteriorates. Preferably, the average length is 12 mm or less. Here, the average length refers to an arithmetic average value of the longest length of one activated carbon, but is calculated by excluding mixed fine powder.

The type of activated carbon used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and activated carbon made from coconut shell, tree, bamboo or the like can be used. Among them, from the viewpoint of effective use of domestic resources, it is preferable to use activated carbon produced by chipping various kinds of trees such as bamboo, cedar, pine, and kunugi. It is also said that bamboo forests, if left unchecked, will widen their horizons and destroy plant ecosystems, so it is best to use bamboo, a material with relatively little use value, as a raw material in terms of environmental considerations.

Using the above-mentioned raw materials, the raw materials are carbonized and then subjected to an activation treatment to produce activated carbon. At this time, it is possible to produce activated carbon of a large size and then cut it into granular activated carbon of the size specified in the present invention,
It is preferable that the raw material is cut into chips in advance and then subjected to carbonization and activation treatments from the viewpoint of manufacturing equipment and handling. Such a manufacturing method is disclosed in JP-A-11-343.
No. 107 is exemplified.

The activated carbon layer 4 is filled in the cylindrical body 7. The shape of the body may be a rectangular tube or the like, but is preferably cylindrical as in this embodiment from the viewpoint of uniform air passage. In this embodiment, the cylindrical body 7 is made of a paper tube having a thickness of 4 mm. The material of the cylindrical body 7 is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use a natural material such as paper, wood, bamboo or the like in consideration of the easiness of processing when disposing of the unnecessary air cleaner. In particular, since the paper tube can be obtained in a suitable size at low cost and has an appropriate friction coefficient, it is also suitable for moving the nets (8a, 8b) as described later. ,preferable. Note that a wooden exterior frame 9 is arranged outside the cylindrical body 7. The material of the exterior frame 9 is not particularly limited, but a wooden or bamboo material can be used. In addition, the rope may be wound around the cylindrical body 7, or the cylindrical body 7 made of a paper tube or the like may be used as it is at the outermost side and the outer frame 9 may not be used. In addition, it is preferable that it is made of a natural material including the material of the exterior frame 9 from the viewpoint of environmental protection.

Nets (8a, 8b) are arranged at both ends of the activated carbon layer 4 so that activated carbon can be filled therein. In this embodiment, the nets (8a, 8b) are honeycomb woven meshes made of polypropylene. Net (8a, 8
The type of b) is not particularly limited, and nets, wire nets, woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, papers and the like made of natural fibers or synthetic fibers can be used. It is preferable to use a mesh having a large mesh size as long as the activated carbon does not spill, since the resistance of the passing air is small.

The nets (8a, 8b) are stretched on net supports (10a, 10b) obtained by cutting a 4 mm thick paper tube. The net support (10a, 10b) is a net support moving guide (11).
a, 11b). The net support moving guides (11a, 11b) are formed by cutting a 4 mm thick paper tube smaller in diameter than the paper tube used for the cylindrical body 7. The outer diameter of the paper tube constituting the net support (10a, 10b) is the same as the inner diameter of the net support moving guide (11a, 11b), and the inside of the net support moving guide (11a, 11b) passes through the net support. (10a, 10b) are slidable. Stoppers (12a, 12b) are provided at the front fan side end of each net support moving guide (11a, 11b). In the present embodiment, a paper tube having the same diameter as the net support (10a, 10b) is cut into short lengths to cut the net support moving guides (11a, 1b).
1b) glued to the inside of the stopper (12a, 12b)
And

In this embodiment, any of the nets (8a, 8b) is movable, but usually the net (8b) on the front fan side.
Is disposed at a position pressed against the stopper (12b), and the thickness of the activated carbon layer 4 is adjusted by adjusting the position of the net (8a) on the back opening side. In this embodiment, both networks (8a, 8b) are movable, but only one of them may be movable.

The material is not limited as long as the net supports (10a, 10b) can move in the net support moving guides (11a, 11b). In addition, the net support moving guide (1)
The net support (10a, 10b) may slide directly on the inner surface of the cylindrical body 7 without providing the 1a, 11b). If the shape retention of the nets (8a, 8b) themselves is sufficient, the nets (8a, 8b) are connected to the net support (1).
0a, 10b), it is also possible to use directly.

Further, a pulling piece 13 is attached to the mesh support 10a on the back opening side for convenience of removal. After pulling this to remove the net 8a, the activated carbon can be taken out and filled. At this time, the activated carbon used in the present invention is a granular activated carbon having an average length of 2 to 20 mm, and uses relatively large particles. Few.

The activated carbon of the present invention can be easily regenerated, unlike the various types of processed activated carbon filters. Regeneration to some extent is possible by immersing in running water for several hours and then drying. In addition, it can be almost completely regenerated by heating it in a container made of metal or ceramics with a lid, until it becomes red, and cooling it in a closed state. Also, almost complete regeneration is possible by heating in a microwave oven until it becomes red and then cooling in a closed state.

When reproducing, the operation is easy because the average length is 2 mm or more. If a material having an average length of less than 2 mm is used, the material is liable to be washed away when immersed in running water for regeneration, and is likely to be burned out when regenerated due to red heat.

As described above, since the activated carbon can be easily taken out, regenerated and filled, the air purifier of the present invention is excellent from the viewpoint of effective use of resources. Moreover,
Activated carbon is not combined with other plastic materials, so that it does not pollute the surrounding environment at all after disposal after use.

In the present embodiment, four legs 14 arranged below the cylindrical body 7 can be placed on the floor. A projection 15 is provided above the side of the rear opening 3. In the present embodiment, the design is like a four-legged animal, with the tubular body 7 as the body, the hood 5 as the head, and the protrusion 15 as the tail. The air purifier of the present embodiment is not only designed to be environmentally friendly using environmentally friendly materials, but also aims to be warm in harmony with the environment in terms of design.

[0028]

As described above, the air purifier of the present invention is
It is environmentally friendly because it is easy to adjust the amount of activated carbon according to the use environment, the activated carbon can be recycled and used, the power consumption is small, and the emission of difficult-to-treat waste can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an example of an air purifier of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the air purifier of FIG.

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

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 electric motor 2 fan 3 back opening 4 activated carbon layer 5 hood 6 opening at bottom of hood 7 cylindrical body 8a, 8b net 9 exterior frame 10a, 10b net support 11a, 11b net support moving guide 12a, 12b stopper 13 Pull piece 14 Leg 15 Projection

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An air purifier comprising a tubular body filled with activated carbon, nets disposed at both ends of an activated carbon layer in the tubular body, and a fan for blowing air, An air purifier, wherein the activated carbon is granular activated carbon having an average length of 2 to 20 mm, and at least one of the nets is movable along the axial direction of the cylindrical body so that the thickness of the activated carbon layer can be adjusted. .