JP2002253658A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner capable of stably obtaining discharge. SOLUTION: A photocatalyst filter 22 is arranged between a discharge electrode 18 and an opposed electrode 20 through frame-shaped fire retardant cushioning materials 28 and 30 made of a nonmetal and the photocatalyst filter 22 is fixed to a case 26 so as to separate the discharge electrode 18 and the opposed electrode 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air purifying apparatus for purifying air by decomposing odor components and harmful substances contained in air.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for air quality improvement in living spaces due to the development of highly airtight homes and steady outdoor air pollution. Among air quality, reduction of tobacco smoke odor and metabolic odor in nursing care environment, harmful gas components emitted from building materials (for example, VOC; volati)
The need for removal of le organic compounds is growing.

[0003] In response to these demands, there has conventionally been adopted a method of reducing odor by changing the quality of odor by deodorizing with an adsorbent represented by activated carbon or reacting an odor component with another chemical component.

[0004]

The deodorization and the removal of harmful gas components by the adsorbent as described above have a limit in the amount of adsorption, and therefore, when used for a long period of time, the replacement of the deodorization filter is indispensable. Further, even within the life of the deodorizing filter, there is a problem that odor is generated at the end of the life due to re-release of the adsorbed components.

[0005] On the other hand, a method of reducing the odor by changing the quality of the odor by reacting the odor component with another drug component involves complicated replacement of the adsorbed drug due to exhaustion of the drug component and release of the drug component into the odor environment. There is a problem that it is difficult to control the release amount in such a case.

Further, in order to decompose and remove harmful gas components such as formaldehyde, a catalytic reaction having a high oxidation-reduction potential is required. However, oxidative decomposition using ozone does not lead to complete decomposition but stops at intermediate decomposition products. It cannot be completely harmless.

By irradiating a photocatalyst using titanium oxide with ultraviolet rays, it is possible to completely decompose harmful gas components. However, conventionally, a fluorescent tube lamp has been used as an ultraviolet light source, and the inside of this lamp has been known. Since mercury is contained, there is a problem that it is not preferable from the viewpoint of environmental load at the time of product disposal.

In order to solve these problems, an air purifying apparatus has been proposed in which ozone and ultraviolet rays are generated by high-voltage discharge of a discharge member, and the ultraviolet rays are used to activate a photocatalytic filter of an optical module for deodorization. (Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-352885, Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-1)
No. 79793).

This photocatalyst filter is used by forming a thin film on an inorganic material such as glass or ceramics since it has a very strong action of decomposing organic substances and degrades most organic materials. Further, in order to further enhance the effect of the photocatalyst, it is necessary to increase the surface area of the catalyst film, and further, it is necessary to increase the porosity in order to allow air containing odorous substances to pass therethrough. It has a smaller cross-sectional area, such as a fibrous or foamed shape.

However, if a photocatalytic filter is arranged between the discharge members, the voltage difference between the corona discharge start voltage and the spark discharge start voltage becomes small, and there is a problem that stable discharge cannot be performed.

Another problem is that the discharge member itself is damaged by the spark discharge.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an air purification device capable of obtaining a stable discharge.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method comprising: a pair of net-like discharge members arranged in an air passage for generating ozone and ultraviolet rays by high-pressure discharge; Arranged, a photocatalytic filter that decomposes odor components and harmful substances contained in the air by a photocatalytic action activated by the ultraviolet rays of the discharge member, and an ozone decomposing member that decomposes ozone generated by the discharge member,
In the air purifying apparatus having the above, the pair of discharge members and the photocatalyst filter are housed inside a case, and a non-metallic and flame-retardant buffer material is disposed between the photocatalyst filter and the discharge members. And fixing the photocatalyst filter separately from the discharge member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the pair of discharge members are disposed inside the case, and the cushioning member is disposed between the photocatalytic filter and the case. It is an air purification device.

According to the air purifying apparatus of the present invention, by arranging the cushioning material, a planar discharge is generated along the surface of the photocatalytic filter installed in the space discharge field, and the corona discharge starting voltage and the spark discharge The voltage difference from the start voltage increases, and stable discharge can be performed.

Further, by providing the cushioning material, there is little possibility that the discharge member is damaged by the spark discharge.

Further, since the cushioning material is made of a non-metallic material and is nonflammable, the influence on the formed electric field is reduced, and even when spark discharge occurs, combustion and ignition can be prevented.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An air purifying apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the air purification device 10, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a photocatalyst module 14 for purifying air in the air purification device 10.

The air purifying device 10 is provided, for example, in a refrigerator. As shown in FIG. 1, a blower fan 12, a photocatalyst module 14, and an ozone decomposition catalyst filter provided in the refrigerator are provided. The photocatalyst module 14 and the ozone decomposition catalyst filter 16 are
It is arranged in a ventilation passage of the ventilation fan 12.

The photocatalyst module 14 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The photocatalyst module 14 has a discharge electrode 18 and a counter electrode 20 formed by etching a thin plate of stainless steel or the like to form a mesh, and the discharge electrode 18 and the counter electrode 20.
And the frame-shaped buffer members 28 and 30 and the photocatalytic filter 22.

The photocatalyst filter 22 includes a base made of a porous ceramic (for example, alumina or silica),
It is composed of a photocatalytic material such as titanium oxide which is applied to the surface of the base and fixed by drying or sintering.

The discharge electrode 18 and the counter electrode 2 are provided on both sides of the photocatalyst filter 22 through frame-shaped buffer members 28 and 30.
0 is arranged.

The cushioning members 28 and 30 are formed of a non-metallic flame-retardant material, for example, silicon rubber.

The photocatalyst module 14 has a positive pulsed DC high voltage (for example, between the discharge electrode 18 and the counter electrode 20).
A pulsed high voltage of about +10 kV is applied to the discharge electrode 18 and the counter electrode 20 is grounded.
4 is applied. The size of the mesh of the discharge electrode 18 is larger than the interval of the mesh of the counter electrode 20. Thereby, the discharge electrode 18
And a discharge occurs between the counter electrode 20 and ultraviolet rays (wavelength 380n).
m or less) occurs. That is, the discharge electrode 18 and the counter electrode 2
0 has a function as a discharge means for generating ultraviolet light.

When the discharge electrode 18 and the counter electrode 20 discharge, ozone is generated together with ultraviolet rays. Therefore, the photocatalyst module 14 also has a function as a discharge unit for generating ozone. Therefore, in order to absorb the generated ozone, the ozone decomposition catalyst filter 16 is provided with a predetermined space from the photocatalyst module 14.

The photocatalyst filter 22, the buffer members 28 and 30, the discharge electrode 18, and the counter electrode 20 are housed in a rectangular parallelepiped case 26 made of synthetic resin.

According to the air purifying apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, by disposing the cushioning materials 28 and 30, a planar discharge is generated along the surface of the photocatalytic filter 22 installed in the space discharge field, and the corona is discharged. The voltage difference between the discharge start voltage and the spark discharge start voltage increases, and stable discharge can be performed.

The provision of the cushioning materials 28 and 30 prevents the discharge electrode 18 and the counter electrode 20 from being damaged by spark discharge. Specifically, the air purification device 10 of the present embodiment,
The electrode corrosion occurrence frequency of an air purification device (hereinafter, referred to as a comparative example) in which the photocatalyst filter 22 and the discharge electrode 18 and the counter electrode 20 are directly contacted without providing the buffer materials 28 and 30 is compared with an experiment, as follows. become. That is, the usage time is 7
At 0 hours, the number of the present embodiment is 0 and the number of the comparative examples is 35, and the effects of the cushioning materials 28 and 30 are exhibited.

Further, since the cushioning members 28 and 30 are made of a nonmetal and are nonflammable, the influence on the formed electric field is reduced, and even when spark discharge occurs, combustion and ignition can be prevented. .

[0032]

According to the air purifying apparatus of the present invention, by disposing the cushioning material, a planar discharge is generated along the surface of the photocatalytic filter installed in the space discharge field, and the corona discharge starting voltage and The voltage difference from the spark discharge starting voltage increases, and stable discharge can be performed.

Further, by providing the cushioning material, when a spark discharge occurs, there is little possibility that the discharge member is damaged by the spark discharge.

Further, since the buffer material is made of a non-metallic material and is nonflammable, the influence on the formed electric field is reduced, and combustion and ignition can be prevented even when spark discharge occurs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an air purification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a photocatalyst module.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Air purification device 12 Blower fan 14 Photocatalyst module 16 Ozone decomposition catalyst filter 18 Discharge electrode 20 Counter electrode 22 Photocatalyst filter 24 High-voltage transformer power supply 26 Case 28 Buffer material 30 Buffer material

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Daishin Okada 1-6 Ota Toshiba-cho, Ibaraki-shi, Osaka F-term in the Toshiba Osaka Plant (reference) 4C080 AA07 AA10 BB02 HH02 JJ01 KK03 KK08 LL03 MM02 MM08 NN02 QQ11

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A pair of net-like discharge members that are disposed in a ventilation path and generate ozone and ultraviolet rays by high-pressure discharge, and are disposed between the pair of discharge members, and are activated by the ultraviolet rays of the discharge members. A photocatalytic filter that decomposes odor components and harmful substances contained in the air by a photocatalytic action, and an ozone decomposing member that decomposes ozone generated by the discharge member. And the photocatalyst filter is accommodated in a case, a nonmetallic and flame-retardant buffer material is disposed between the photocatalyst filter and the discharge member, and the photocatalyst filter is fixed separately from the discharge member. An air purification device characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The air purifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of discharge members are disposed inside the case, and the cushioning member is disposed between the photocatalytic filter and the case.