JP2003090571A - Air refining unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a filter provided exchangeably from being damaged externally in an air refining unit including an air fan for circulating indoor air, and simply install an ion generator without disturbing the flow of blow-off air. SOLUTION: An air cleaner 1 comprises in a body 10 an air fan 20 for circulating indoor air and a filter unit 30 for removing dust in air. A shielding member 34 provided on a filter press frame 33 is interposed between a front panel 50 for covering a filter containing section 13 and the filter unit 30, to prevent any substance entering from an air suction hole 51 in the front panel 50 from going straightly toward the filter unit 30. An ion generator apparatus 60 is mounted on a fan casing 25 with the aid of a mounting tool 70 such that the longitudinal direction of an ion generator device 62 intersects the flow direction of air. There is further provided on the mounting tool 70 a guard 74 for protecting the ion generator device 62.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air reformer equipped with a blower for circulating indoor air. The air reforming device mentioned here is a device that changes various factors that determine the properties of the air, such as temperature, humidity, and contained substances, so that they are more comfortable or healthier for the human body. Specific examples include air conditioners, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, air purifiers,
A refrigerator, a fan heater, a microwave oven, a washer / dryer, a vacuum cleaner, and the like can be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Needless to say, air plays an important role in human living environment. Air has various parameters such as temperature, humidity, and substances contained therein, and their values affect comfort or health. In addition to general dust, contained substances include various substances such as industrial pollutants such as dust and exhaust gas, pollen, spores, microorganisms, odorous components, carbon dioxide in exhaled breath.

In an area blessed with a natural environment, comfortable air can be obtained only by natural ventilation. However, in areas where the external environment is poor, it is necessary to artificially reform the air in some form in order to obtain comfortable air. Furthermore, since the housing in recent years has become highly airtight, there is an increasing need for reforming indoor air.

In reforming air, in order to remove unpleasant or harmful substances floating in the air, it is common to filter, adsorb and decompose these substances with a filter. Since the performance of the filter deteriorates if it is used for a long period of time, maintenance such as replacement is performed to maintain the performance.

An important factor that determines the quality of air is the presence of ions in the air. Among the ions, negative ions have been found to have the effect of relaxing people. However, negative ions are reduced when bound to a specific substance. For example, in the presence of cigarette smoke, the negative ions may be reduced to about 1/2 to 1/5 of the normal amount. Therefore, in order to artificially increase the amount of negative ions in the air, a negative ion generator has been developed and put on the market.

In Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 7-23777, an alternating high voltage is applied to a discharge needle unit provided in a blower circuit to generate negative ions, and the negative ions are replenished with the decrease of pollutant particles in the room. The air conditioner designed to do so is described. The aim is to obtain a relaxation effect with negative ions and to prevent the product itself from becoming negatively or positively charged by the use of high AC voltage, and to prevent dust from adhering to indoor air in the product. .

In the air conditioner described in the above publication, the discharge needle unit is arranged near the outlet on the downstream side of the heat exchanger. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to prevent the discharge needles and electrodes from being frosted and short-circuited by the cold air during the cooling operation. Even if the short circuit can be prevented, the air flow from the air outlet will still be disturbed by the discharge needle unit, which will cause uneven air flow and decrease in air flow, which may have an unfavorable effect on the air conditioner. There is.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to prevent a replaceable filter from being damaged from the outside in an air reforming device equipped with a blower for circulating indoor air. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily install an ion generator in an air reforming device equipped with a blower for circulating indoor air without disturbing the flow of blown air.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to solve the above-mentioned object, in the present invention, an air reformer equipped with a blower for circulating indoor air and a filter for removing dust in the sucked air in the main body is opposed to the filter. Further, an air suction hole is provided in the outer shell of the main body which constitutes the outer shell, and a shield for preventing the rod-shaped body inserted from the air suction hole between the air suction hole and the filter from reaching the filter. The members are arranged.

Since the shielding member is arranged between the air suction hole and the filter as described above, even if the rod-shaped member enters through the air suction hole, it is blocked by the shielding member and does not reach the filter, and the filter is damaged. Avoided.

Further, in the present invention, the filter holding frame arranged in front of the filter is also used as the shielding member. This facilitates the configuration and arrangement of the shielding member.

Further, according to the present invention, in the air reforming apparatus in which the blower for circulating the indoor air is provided in the main body, the ion generator is arranged in the fan casing of the blower.

Since the ion generator is arranged in the fan casing as described above, it is not necessary to prepare a special space for arranging the ion generator, and the fan casing is not a blowout port but is windward rather than the air outlet. Since the position where the ion generator is arranged is, the flow of air blown out from the air outlet is not disturbed.

Further, in the present invention, the ion generating elements of the ion generating device are arranged such that the longitudinal direction thereof is orthogonal to the air flow direction. As a result, the generated ions are uniformly and quickly mixed into the air.

Further, in the present invention, a guard for protecting the ion generator is provided. This protects the ion generator even if something falls into the fan casing.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings by taking an air cleaner as a specific example. The air purifier 1 has a main body 10 shaped like a vertical flat box. The main body 10 constitutes an outer shell portion by combining a front shell 11 and a rear shell 12, a filter housing portion 13 is provided in front of the front shell, and a handle 15 and an outlet 16 are provided above the rear shell 12 (see FIG. 2). ) Is provided. The air outlet 16 has a shape in which a plurality of vertically elongated slits are arranged side by side. The front panel described later also constitutes part of the outer shell.

The filter housing portion 13 is a rectangular recess provided in the front shell 11 and has a filter inlet / outlet opening 14 opened toward the outside of the main body 10. Filter storage 13
A blower 20 including a motor 21 and a fan 22 is disposed on the back surface of the inner wall of the fan (see FIG. 3). A turbo fan is adopted as the fan 22 in the figure, but the type of fan is not limited to this. It is possible to use a propeller fan or a cross flow fan. In the case of the turbo fan shown in the figure, the thickness is made larger than the fan diameter, and the number of revolutions is reduced to reduce the noise level. The motor 21 is a direct-current motor with an emphasis on controllability.

As shown in FIG. 4, the wall is formed with a ventilation port 23 having a large number of holes and a guide wall 24 surrounding the fan 22. The guide wall 24 is joined to the inner surface of the rear shell 12 to form a fan casing 25. The guide wall 24 is formed so as to form an involute curve, and guides the air sent from the fan 22 toward the upper discharge part 26. This discharge part 26 is the outlet 1 of the rear shell 12.
Join to 6.

The filter unit 30 housed in the filter housing 13 is composed of a combination of a deodorizing filter 31 and a dust collecting filter 32. The deodorizing filter 31 is a rectangular frame to which a polyester non-woven fabric is attached, on which activated carbon is uniformly dispersed and further covered with a polyester non-woven fabric, and acetaldehyde and ammonia which are odorous components in the air. Adsorbs acetic acid, etc. The dust-collecting filter 32 is a so-called HEPA filter, and an aggregate made of a polyester / vinylon non-woven fabric and a melt-blown non-woven fabric (trade name "Tremicron": manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.) processed with a stone are used as a filter medium and folded. Fine dust is collected by stacking an antibacterial sheet made of a hydroxyapatite-processed non-woven fabric on the upper and lower surfaces and thermocompression-bonding it, and welding a frame made of the non-woven fabric with hot melt.

A cushion (not shown) for receiving the dust collecting filter 32 is provided on the four inner walls of the filter housing portion 13. Dust collection filter 32 on this cushion
After putting on the deodorizing filter 31 on it,
A filter holding frame 33 is attached to the filter inlet / outlet port 14 to prevent the filter unit 30 from falling out of the filter housing 13.

The filter holding frame 33 arranged on the front surface of the filter unit 30 has a substantially rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 6, and has a rectangular convex portion projecting forward in the center thereof. . This convex portion functions as a shielding member 34 whose operation will be described later. That is, the filter holding frame 33 also serves as the shielding member. Shielding member 34
A plurality of circular ventilation holes 35 are formed so as to form an array of 6 rows × 6 columns. A large number of rectangular ventilation holes 36 are formed on the side surface of the shielding member 34 and a frame-shaped portion surrounding the shielding member 34.

On the upper edge of the filter holding frame 33, one left and right
A pair of protrusions 37 are formed, and a pair of left and right elastic legs 38 are also formed on the lower edge. The elastic leg 38 has a U-shaped side surface, and has a finger hook 39 formed at the tip thereof. The protrusion 37 is inserted into a hole 40 (see FIG. 7) formed in the upper part of the inner surface of the filter inlet / outlet port 14, and the elastic leg 38 is inserted into a hole 41 (see FIG. 8) formed in the lower part of the inner surface of the filter inlet / outlet port 14. Is inserted. Due to the elasticity of the elastic legs 38, the protrusion 37 has a force for maintaining the engagement with the holes 40, and the elastic leg 38 itself has a force for maintaining the engagement with the holes 41. The state of being attached to the access port 14 is maintained.

Reference numeral 50 denotes a front panel arranged outside the filter inlet / outlet port 14 so as to face the filter unit 30. The front panel 50 has a rectangular front shape similar to the filter housing portion 13, is larger in size than the filter housing portion 13, and completely covers the filter unit 30. When viewed from above, the front panel 50 has a curved shape with the center protruding outward.
An array of air suction holes 51 is provided in the center of the front panel 50. The air suction hole 51 is circular like the ventilation hole 35, but has a larger diameter than the ventilation hole 35, and also has 5 rows ×
It is an array of 5 columns.

The front panel 50 is attached to the main body 10 as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 7, a pair of left and right panel receivers 42 is made to project from just above the filter storage portion 13 in the front shell 11. The upper surface of the panel receiver 42 is recessed in an inverted trapezoidal shape when viewed from the front, and a recess 43 is provided at the bottom of the recess. On the back surface of the front panel 50, an engaging protrusion 52 corresponding to the panel receiver 42 is formed (see FIG. 9). The engagement protrusion 52 has a hook shape facing downward. By engaging the tip of the engaging projection piece 52 with the recess 43 of the panel receiver 42, the front panel 50 becomes the engaging projection piece 5.
2 is supported on the front surface of the main body 10 while supporting its weight.

At the lower part of the front panel 12, a pair of left and right elastic engagement pieces 53 which are engaged with and disengaged from the main body 10 are arranged. As shown in FIG. 8, the elastic engagement piece 53 has an inward engagement claw 54 having a triangular cross section at its tip. Claw receivers 44 for receiving the engaging claws 54 are provided on the left and right sides of the filter storage portion 13. The claw receiver 44 has a recess 4 for receiving the engaging claw 54.
5 is formed so as to face the side surface of the main body 10, and after engaging the engaging projection 52 with the recess 43 of the panel receiver 42 as described above, the lower portion of the front panel 50 is fixed to the front shell 11.
And push the engaging claw 54 toward the concave portion 4 of the claw receiver 44.
The front panel 50 is attached to the main body 10 by engaging with 5.

The front panel 50 is held at a distance from the main body 10, and there is a gap between the front panel 50 and the main body 10 as shown in FIG. This gap becomes the side suction port 17. Further, in this mounted state, the array of the air suction holes 51 and the array of the ventilation holes 35 are not aligned in the positions of the holes as shown in FIG. 5, and the air suction holes 51 and the ventilation holes 35 are not aligned. They are in a position where they have been removed from each other.

An ion generator 60 shown in FIG. 10 is arranged in the fan casing 25. The ion generating device 60 has the ion generating element 62 exposed from one side surface of the case 61 and has an AC high voltage generating circuit inside. Next, the structure of the ion generating element 62 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13.

The ion generating element 62 is a flat plate-shaped dielectric 63.
The surface electrode 64 is provided on the front surface of the dielectric body 63, and the internal electrode 65 is provided inside.

As the dielectric 63, an organic material having excellent oxidation resistance such as polyimide or glass epoxy can be used. Further, inorganic materials such as high-purity alumina, crystallized glass, and ceramics such as forsterite and steatite can be used.

The surface electrode 64 is made of a material that is not melted by electric discharge, and has a shape such as a linear shape or a grid shape in which electric field concentration is likely to occur. In this embodiment, it has a lattice shape. The internal electrode 65 is arranged so as to be parallel to the surface electrode 64 and have a constant distance from the surface electrode 64.

The ion generator 60 is a fan casing 2
5 is attached to the notch 27 provided in the guide wall 24
Mounted by. The attachment 70 is shown in FIGS.
The flat main part 7 has a shape as shown in FIG.
On the back side of 1, a D-shaped ring 72 holding the ion generator 60 is formed. A slit 73 exposing the ion generating element 62 is formed in the main portion 71, and a guard having a shape in which a plurality of arches are arranged at predetermined intervals on the front side of the slit 73 (the side facing the inside of the fan casing 25). 74 are provided.

The main part 71 of the fitting 70 is located outside the guide wall 24, but the guard 74 projects into the fan casing 25 through the notch 27. The gap between the arches forming the guard 74 is parallel to the airflow flowing along the inner surface of the guide wall 24. The surface of the ion generating element 62 is substantially flush with the inner surface of the guide wall 24 (so-called “Tsuraichi”). The guard 74 may be integrally molded with the main portion 71 or may be separately molded and fixed. At the end of the main portion 71, a stopper 75 is formed, which is a final contact when the ion generator 60 is inserted into the ring 72 from the entrance of the slit 73.

On the back side of the guide wall 24, a pair of ribs 28 are formed so as to sandwich the notch 27. The ribs 28 are formed.
The protrusions 76 protruding on both sides of the main portion 71 are engaged with the slits 29 formed at the ends of the main portion 71. Then, a screw 79 is screwed into a boss 78 projecting to the back side of the front shell 11 through a fork portion 77 projecting from the ring 72, so that the fixture 70 holds the ion generator 60 and the fan casing 25.
It is fixed to. In this fixed state, the longitudinal direction of the ion generating element 62 is orthogonal to the air flow direction, and the surface electrode 64 serving as the ion generating portion is exposed to the space inside the fan casing 25 through the gap of the guard 74.

When the ion generator 60 is attached to the main body 10 via the fixture 70 as described above, since the tightening force of the screw 79 is not applied to the ion generator 60 itself, the case 61 is distorted and the internal structure is changed. There is no risk of adverse effects on the element. Further, if the screw 79 is loosened, the ion generator 60 can be easily removed, and the maintenance is easy.

Although not shown in the figure, a light receiving section for receiving a control signal from the remote controller 80, operation keys for manually setting the operation, a display lamp for displaying the operation state, etc. are arranged on the upper front portion of the main body 10. Has been done.

Next, the operation and function of the air purifier 1 will be described. When the air purifier 1 is operated with the filter unit 30 set, the fan 22 is rotated by the motor 21 and the air suction hole 51 of the front panel 50 and the side suction port 17 between the front panel 50 and the front shell 11 are discharged. Room air is sucked in. The sucked air reaches the filter unit 30 through the ventilation holes 35 and 36 of the filter holding frame 33, and the deodorizing filter 31 adsorbs odorous components such as acetaldehyde, ammonia and acetic acid, and then the dust collecting filter 32 captures even fine dust. The collected air becomes clean air free of odor and dust and is sucked into the center of the fan 22 through the ventilation port 23.

The air sucked into the center of the fan 22 passes between the fan blades and is discharged from the outer periphery of the fan 22 into the fan casing 25. Fan casing 25
The air discharged into the inside of the guide wall 24 is guided to the inner surface of the guide wall 24, advances to the discharge portion 26, and is connected to the discharge portion 26.
It is blown out more indoors.

Here, the ion generator 60 is operated. When the surface electrode 64 is set to the ground potential and an AC high voltage having a peak voltage of 6.5 to 7.0 kVp-p is applied to the internal electrode 65,
Plasma discharge is generated on the surface electrode 64, and water molecules contained in the air are converted into positive ions composed of H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _n (hereinafter, referred to as
It describes abbreviated as "positive ions") and _{^{O 2 - (H 2 O)}} m
To negative ions (hereinafter abbreviated as “negative ions”). Here, both n and m represent arbitrary natural numbers.

[0040] Mixing time and the positive and negative ions in a predetermined space, on the surface of microorganisms such as airborne bacteria present in the air in this _{^{space, H + (H 2 O)}} n and O ₂ ^- ( H ₂ O) _m surrounds microorganisms such as airborne bacteria, and both ions chemically react as in the following formulas (1) to (3) to generate active species [.OH] (hydroxyl radical) or H ₂ O. Generates ₂ (hydrogen peroxide). The generated active species extracts hydrogen atoms from bacterial cells and kills them. Such action and effect are due to the fact that the airborne bacteria are small, so that H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _n
And O2 ^- (H ₂ O) _m are those that take place because it can be aggregated, therefore, for a very large material than are human as airborne fungi, not that this effect can be exerted, Therefore, there is no adverse effect on the health of the human body. ^{_{H + (H 2 O) n}} + O 2 - (H 2 O) m → · OH + 1 / 2O 2 + (n + m) H 2 O ··· (1) H + (H 2 O) n + H + (H _{2 O) n '+ O 2} - (H 2 O) m + O 2 - (H 2 O) m' → 2 · OH + O 2 + (n + n '+ m + m') H 2 O ··· (2) ^{_{H + (H 2 O) n}} + H + (H 2 O) n '+ O 2 - (H 2 O) m + O 2 - (H 2 O) m' → H 2 O 2 + O 2 + (n + n '+ m + m ') H ₂ O ・ ・ ・ (3)

The positive ions and the negative ions generated from the ion generator 60 immediately mix with the air flowing inside the fan casing 25. The ion generating element 62 then rides on a strong air flow blown out from the air outlet 16 to diffuse positive ions and negative ions into the room. As a result, positive ions and negative ions are added to the deodorized air by collecting the dust, and the airborne bacteria in the indoor air are sterilized. Moreover, the relaxation effect is brought about by the negative ions.

As described above, the ion generating element 62 is arranged in such a manner that its longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the air flow direction. Therefore, the ion generating portion is widely exposed to the air, so that the ions are evenly distributed. Can be quickly mixed with air.

Further, since the guard 74 is provided on the front surface of the ion generator 62, even if something falls from the air outlet 16, it is blocked by the guard 74 and there is little risk of the ion generator 62 being damaged.

A shielding member 34 arranged between the air suction hole 51 of the front panel 50 and the filter unit 30.
Works as follows. First, even if a rod-shaped body enters from the air suction hole 51, it prevents the rod-shaped body from going straight to the filter unit 30, and
Do not let it hurt. Secondly, since the positions of the array of air suction holes 51 and the array of ventilation holes 35 are inconsistent with each other, the filter unit 30 cannot be seen through the air suction hole 51 and dust adheres to the filter unit 30. Even if it gets dirty, it doesn't get in your eyes and does not cause visual discomfort.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above by taking the air cleaner as a specific example, the application of the present invention is not limited to the air cleaner, and air provided with a blower for circulating indoor air is used. The reforming device can be applied to those equipped with a filter and those equipped with an ion generator. Further, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0046]

According to the present invention, in the air reforming device having the blower for circulating the indoor air and the filter for removing the dust in the sucked air in the main body, the air reforming device faces the filter and constitutes the outer shell. While providing an air suction hole in the outer shell of the main body, a rod-shaped body inserted from the air suction hole between the air suction hole and the filter is provided with a shielding member for preventing the filter from reaching the filter. Even if the rod enters through the air suction hole, it is blocked by the shielding member and does not reach the filter, and damage to the filter is avoided. Therefore, the function of the filter is not impaired. Further, since the dirt of the filter cannot be seen from the air suction hole, there is no visual discomfort.

Further, in the present invention, since the filter holding frame arranged on the front surface of the filter is also used as the shielding member, the structure and arrangement of the shielding member are facilitated. There is little risk of forgetting to insert the shielding member.

Further, according to the present invention, in the air reforming apparatus in which the blower for circulating the indoor air is provided in the main body, since the ion generator is arranged in the fan casing of the blower, it is special to arrange the ion generator. It is not necessary to prepare a space, and the structure of the air reforming device can be simplified. Moreover, since the fan casing on the windward side rather than the air outlet is disposed at the place where the ion generator is arranged, the flow of air blown out from the air outlet is not disturbed, and the air blowing efficiency is improved.

Further, in the present invention, since the ion generating element of the ion generating device is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the air flow direction, the generated ions are uniformly mixed into the air. And it can be done promptly.

Further, in the present invention, since the guard for protecting the ion generator is provided, the ion generator can be protected even if something falls into the fan casing. Not only to maintain the ion generating function,
This guard also plays an important role in terms of ensuring safety because it is a high voltage area.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an air cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing some components in a disassembled state.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the air cleaner.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the air cleaner.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the front shell of the air cleaner body.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a front panel and a shielding member in the air cleaner.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a filter holding frame used in the air cleaner.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of the air cleaner.

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of another portion of the air cleaner.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of the air cleaner.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an ion generator.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an ion generating element.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of an ion generating element.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the ion generating element, taken along the direction perpendicular to FIG.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a fixture.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ion generator is attached to the fan casing using the attachment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 air purifier 10 body 13 Filter storage 20 blower 24 guide wall 25 fan casing 30 filter unit 33 Filter holding frame 34 Shielding member 50 front panel 51 Air suction hole 60 ion generator 62 Ion generator 70 Fixture 74 Guard

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) B03C 3/82 B03C 3/82 (72) Inventor Taku Obama 22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture Sharp Corporation (72) Inventor Mamoru Morikawa 22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Prefecture F-term (reference) within Sharp Corporation 4C080 AA09 BB10 HH02 KK02 4D054 AA11 EA01 4D058 JA12 JB14 JB25 KC72 UA11 UA30

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An air reforming device having a blower for circulating indoor air and a filter for removing dust in sucked air in a main body, the main body outer shell facing the filter and forming an outer shell. A portion is provided with an air suction hole, and a shielding member for preventing the rod-shaped body inserted from the air suction hole from reaching the filter is provided between the air suction hole and the filter. Air reforming equipment. 2. The air reforming device according to claim 1, wherein a filter holding frame arranged in front of the filter is also used as the shielding member. 3. An air reforming device in which a blower for circulating indoor air is provided in a main body, wherein an ion generating device is arranged in a fan casing of the blower. 4. The air reforming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ion generating element of the ion generating device is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the flow direction of air. 5. The air reforming apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a guard that protects the ion generator.