JP2002323242A - Negative ion generator for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a negative ion generator for vehicle which ensures safety of the crew. SOLUTION: When a strong impact is applied to a vehicle, upon the occurrence of an accident and the inner board 2, grill 9 and cover 8 of the vehicle are damaged and a discharge electrode 6 is exposed to the inside of the cabin, a bracket 7 provided integrally with a housing 4 can receive the crew, thus ensuring safety of the crew. Since a part of electrons, discharged from the discharge electrode 6 flows via the bracket 7 toward the earth, negative ions can be prevented from standing on the periphery of the discharge electrode 6 as much as possible, even if the discharge electrode 6 is covered with an insulator cover 8. Consequently, generation of negative ions can be prevented from being lowered in the cabin.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a negative ion generator for a vehicle which generates negative ions in vehicle interior air by corona discharge from a discharge electrode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a high voltage of a negative potential is applied to a discharge electrode having a sharp tip such as a needle electrode, and a corona discharge is generated from the tip of the discharge electrode. 2. Description of the Related Art A negative ion generator for generating ions is known.

[0003]

By the way, the present inventors have provided the above-mentioned negative ion generator between an inner plate of a vehicle and an outer plate of a vehicle, and placed a discharge electrode in a vehicle interior air through a design component or the like. A negative ion generator for a vehicle that generates negative ions in the cabin air by exposure is under study.

[0004] In a vehicle, for example, when a strong impact is applied to the vehicle such as at the time of an accident, it is assumed that design parts and the like are damaged and the discharge electrode is exposed in the vehicle interior. Since the tip of the electrode is sharpened so that corona discharge is easily generated, the safety of the occupant cannot be secured simply by using the conventional negative ion generator in a vehicle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a negative ion generator for a vehicle in which occupant safety is ensured in view of the above problems.

[0006]

The present invention uses the following technical means to achieve the above object.

That is, the invention according to the first to fifth aspects comprises a housing (4) fixed to a vehicle, and a discharge electrode (6) protruding toward a vehicle interior, wherein the discharge electrode (6) is provided. A negative ion generator for a vehicle that generates negative ions in vehicle interior air by corona discharge from the vehicle, wherein the discharge electrode (6) is provided on the housing (4) in a direction in which the discharge electrode (6) projects. A bracket (7) protruding higher than the protruding height is provided.

According to the above technical means, when a strong impact is applied to the vehicle, for example, at the time of an accident, even if the discharge electrode (6) is exposed in the vehicle interior, the occupant is held by the bracket (7). The occupant can be prevented from coming into contact with the discharge electrode (6). As a result, the safety of the occupant can be secured.

In particular, the invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a plurality of the brackets (7) are provided, and the discharge electrodes (6) are located between these brackets (7). By appropriately setting the distance between (7), it is possible to more reliably prevent the occupant from contacting the discharge electrode (6) as compared with the case where only one bracket (7) is provided.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the discharge electrode (6) and the bracket (7) are covered with a cover (8) made of an insulator around the discharge electrode (6) and the bracket (7). The conductor and the cover (8)
It is characterized by being made of a material having higher rigidity and being electrically grounded.

When the periphery of the discharge electrode (6) is covered with a cover (8) made of an insulator, the electrons emitted from the discharge electrode (6) are charged by the cover (8), and the discharge electrode (6) is charged. (6) Since negative ions stay around, it is difficult for electrons to be emitted from the discharge electrode (6), and the amount of negative ions generated in the vehicle cabin may be reduced.

On the other hand, in the invention according to claim 3,
By making the bracket (7) a conductor and electrically grounding, some of the electrons flow toward the ground, and the stagnation of the negative ions can be prevented as much as possible. As a result, it is possible to prevent the decrease in the amount of negative ions generated.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the rigidity of the bracket (7) is higher than the rigidity of the cover (8).
Even if the cover (8) is damaged when a strong impact is applied to the vehicle, the safety of the occupant can be ensured by the bracket (7).

Further, in the invention described in claim 4, the housing (4) is made of the same material as the bracket (7) and is integrally formed with the bracket (7). Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the housing (4) and the bracket (7) are provided separately.

Further, in the invention according to claim 5, the discharge electrode (6) is a flat plate having a sharp tip, and is configured to bend when a stress acts on the tip. Therefore, safety can be further improved.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an installation form of the negative ion generator 1, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the negative ion generator 1, and FIG.

First, the configuration of this embodiment is shown in FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The negative ion generator 1 is provided in a space 3 between a vehicle outer plate (not shown) and a vehicle inner plate 2 at a vehicle ceiling portion. Specifically, the housing 4 is fastened and fixed to a vehicle reinforcing member (not shown) by bolts.

The housing 4 is formed by bending an iron plate into a desired shape. And a plastic box 5 containing a rectifier circuit (not shown), and a part of the box 5 is exposed to the outside. In addition, the housing 4 of the present embodiment is directly fixed to the vehicle reinforcing member, is in contact with the circuit board to which a ground terminal (not shown) is connected, and is electrically grounded.

A needle-shaped discharge electrode 6 is provided on the exposed surface of the box 5 so as to project toward the vehicle interior.
Is made of a flat copper plate having a sharp tip, and generates a corona discharge when a negative high voltage is applied as described later. The discharge electrode 6 is formed to have a very small thickness, and is configured to be easily bent when a stress is applied to the tip.

The two brackets 7 are formed integrally with the housing 4 by bending a part of the housing 4 into a substantially U-shape.
Project in the direction of projection of the discharge electrode 6 higher than the projection height of the discharge electrode 6. The bracket 7 is electrically grounded via the housing 4.

The distance between the brackets 7 is 100 mm so that the head of the occupant does not enter between the brackets 7.
It is preferable to set the distance to be 45 mm in the present embodiment. In addition, since the bracket 7 and the housing 4 are made of iron, which is a conductor, and are electrically grounded, the discharge electrodes 6 are formed by corona discharge as described later.
When electrons are emitted from the device, some of the electrons flow toward the ground. The distance between the discharge electrode 6 and the bracket 7 is preferably 15 mm or more because the ozone generation amount increases if the distance is too short. In the present embodiment, the distance is set to 25 mm.

The periphery of the discharge electrode 6 and the bracket 7 is covered with a cover 8 made of a resin (in the present embodiment, PP: polypropylene). Resin (in the present embodiment,
An ABS) grill 9 is provided via a packing (not shown) and the vehicle inner plate 2. It should be noted that since the cover 8 and the grill 9 are made of resin,
It is an insulator.

The packing is provided along the edge of the opening of the cover 8 on the vehicle interior side. In the present embodiment, the cover 8 and the packing insulate the air temperature in the space 3 from the air temperature in the vehicle cabin.

Next, the operation of the above-described configuration will be described.

When the occupant instructs the operation of the negative ion generator 1, a DC voltage is supplied from a battery (not shown) to the power supply circuit, and is converted into an AC voltage by the oscillation circuit. This AC voltage is boosted to a high voltage by the transformer, and then converted to a negative DC high voltage by the rectifier circuit. This negative DC high voltage is applied to the discharge electrode 6, whereby a corona discharge is generated from the tip of the discharge electrode 6, and electrons are emitted. Further, the electrons react with oxygen atoms in the air in the vehicle cabin to generate negative ions. Some of the electrons emitted from the discharge electrode 6 flow toward the ground via the bracket 7.

According to the above-described embodiment, when a strong impact is applied to the vehicle, for example, at the time of an accident, the vehicle inner plate 2, the grill 9, and the cover 8 are temporarily damaged, and the discharge electrode 6 is damaged. Even if the occupant is exposed to the room, the occupant can be received by the two brackets 7 and the occupant can be prevented from contacting the discharge electrode 6. As a result, the safety of the occupant can be secured.

Further, since each bracket 7 is bent in a substantially U-shape, even if an occupant collides with the bracket 7, the stress is dispersed at the bent portion of the bracket 7, thereby. The occupant can be reliably received by the bracket 7.

Since a part of the electrons emitted from the discharge electrode 6 flows toward the ground via the bracket 7, even if the discharge electrode 6 is covered with the insulating cover 8, It is possible to prevent the accumulation of negative ions in the periphery as much as possible, and to prevent a decrease in the amount of negative ions generated in the vehicle interior.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment is a modification of the above-described first embodiment in which the bracket 7 is installed. As shown in FIG. 4, the bracket 7 is configured to cover an arch in a horizontal direction.
The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the configuration of the discharge electrode 6 is changed from that of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the discharge electrode 6 has a needle shape with a sharp tip end of a cylinder. . Except for the configuration described above, the configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

(Other Embodiments) In the first to third embodiments, a part of the box 5 is exposed from the housing 7 and the discharge electrode 6 is protruded from the box 5 so that the discharge electrode 6 is mounted on the vehicle. Although exposed to room air, for example, when the housing 7 covers the entire box 5, a hole may be formed in the housing 7, and the discharge electrode 6 may protrude from the hole.

In each of the above embodiments, the negative ion generator 1 is connected to the vehicle outer plate and the vehicle inner plate 2 at the vehicle ceiling.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be provided, for example, in a door trim. In short, any location that can generate negative ions in the cabin air may be used.

In each of the above embodiments, the housing 7
Is directly fixed to the vehicle, but may be indirectly fixed via another member.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, two brackets 7 are provided which are bent in a substantially rectangular shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and one bracket 7 may be provided. The shape may be appropriately changed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an installation mode of a negative ion generator 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a negative ion generator 1 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a negative ion generator 1 according to the first embodiment.
FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3 in a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 3 in a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 ... housing, 6 ... discharge electrode, 7 ... bracket, 8 ... cover.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B03C 3/82 B03C 3/82 3/84 3/84 B60H 3/00 B60H 3/00 Z H01T 19/04 H01T 19/04 23/00 23/00 (72) Inventor Takao Okui 1-1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi F-term in DENSO Corporation (Reference) 4D054 BB06 EA01 EA06 EA08

Claims (5)

[Claims] An electric vehicle includes a housing fixed to a vehicle, and a discharge electrode protruding toward a vehicle interior. A vehicle negative ion generator for generating ions, comprising: a bracket (4) protruding from the housing (4) in a direction in which the discharge electrode (6) protrudes, higher than a protruding height of the discharge electrode (6). 7) A negative ion generator for a vehicle, comprising: 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said brackets (7) are provided, and said discharge electrode (6) is located between said brackets (7). For negative ion generator. 3. The discharge electrode (6) and the bracket (7) are covered by a cover (8) made of an insulator around the periphery, and the bracket (7) is a conductor and the cover (8). 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the material is made of a material having higher rigidity than that of (8) and is electrically grounded.
The negative ion generator for a vehicle according to claim 1. 4. The housing (4) is made of the same material as the bracket (7) and is integrally formed with the bracket (7). The negative ion generator for vehicles according to any one of the above. 5. The discharge electrode according to claim 1, wherein the discharge electrode is a flat plate having a sharp tip, and is configured to bend when a stress acts on the tip. The negative ion generator for vehicles according to any one of the above.