JP2006281025A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner recovering moisture capable of making recovered water harmless for reuse. <P>SOLUTION: The recovered contaminated water is withdrawn to a recovery regeneration vessel coated with a photocatalyst for a specified time, while the recovery regeneration vessel is irradiated with UV rays from a UV-ray generator. The operation allows the photocatalyst to act on the contaminated water so as to decompose harmful substances in the recovered water and thereby make them harmless. After a specified time, the resultant harmless water is replenished automatically to the humidifying water of the humidifier for reuse. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an air purifier that adsorbs pollutants with generated moisture by humidifying harmful substances in room air, removes pollutants with a dehumidifier, and supplies purified air to the room. is there.

In wet air purifiers, the polluted indoor air is mixed with the moisture generated by the humidifier to adsorb the harmful substances to the moisture, and then the moisture adsorbing the harmful substances is collected by the dehumidifier. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the concentration of harmful substances such as ammonia and formaldehyde in the room.

The recovered water contains indoor harmful substances in a concentrated form. Therefore, there is no choice but to always discharge outside or provide a collection container, take out the collection container when it is full, and discard the collected water.

In the case of the method as described above, maintenance is difficult, and there is also a problem in terms of the environment.
Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a maintenance-free device that is collected by a dehumidifier in an air purifier using moisture recovery, detoxifies water containing harmful substances, and reuses this recycled water, and is harmless to the environment. And

  In order to solve the above problems, take in indoor air containing harmful substances from the air inlet, humidify them to a predetermined humidity with a humidifier, mix them so that the harmful substances are absorbed in water, and then use a dehumidifier to remove them. By collecting the moisture, purified air from which harmful substances have been removed is released into the room. On the other hand, recovered water containing harmful substances is recovered into a recovery container.

  The inside of the collection container is coated with a photocatalyst, and water containing harmful substances is rendered harmless by photocatalysis by irradiating it with an ultraviolet ray from an ultraviolet ray generator.

At this time, the recovered water already stored in the recovery container at that time is mixed by the impact of the dehumidifying water that falls intermittently, and harmful substances in the recovered water are efficiently decomposed.

However, if the amount exceeds a certain amount, mixing cannot be expected only by the impact of falling water, and the decomposition rate of harmful substances due to photocatalytic action decreases. Therefore, when the amount of water exceeds a certain value, the regenerated water is automatically discharged and replenished to the humidifying water tank of the humidifier, thereby providing an air cleaner that is maintenance-free and harmless to the environment.

According to the present invention, harmful substances in the air containing harmful substances are adsorbed to humidified moisture, and the moisture is separated into purified air and water by dehumidification, and the water decomposes the harmful substances by irradiating the photocatalyst with ultraviolet rays. By purifying and using it as humidifying water for the humidifier, it becomes maintenance-free and harmless to the environment.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, moisture generated from the humidifier in the housing humidifies the air containing harmful substances taken in by the blower and adsorbs the harmful substances. The moisture is removed by a dehumidifier, and the air is purified and discharged out of the housing. At this time, the water removed by the dehumidifier is stored in a recovery container, and the inner surface of the recovery container is coated with a photocatalyst. By irradiating the photocatalyst with ultraviolet rays, harmful substances are decomposed and water is removed. Detoxify. This detoxified water is automatically supplied to the humidified water of the humidifier, making it maintenance-free and harmless to the environment.

The second form of the present invention is a form dependent on the first form, and by attaching a dustproof filter to the air intake port of the case, the inside of the case is soiled and the air passage is blocked by dust, dust, etc. To prevent it.

The third aspect of the present invention is a form subordinate to the first or second aspect, and includes a humidity sensor, senses indoor humidity, and adjusts the humidity by a microcomputer to automatically maintain a comfortable humidity at any time. be able to.

The fourth aspect of the present invention is a form subordinate to any one of the first to third aspects, and is provided with a mold-proofing process or device in the mixing space in the housing so that mold is generated in advance by humidification. Therefore, clean air can be discharged at any time without secondary air pollution.

Example 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a dehumidifying device.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1a denotes an air intake port which is an air intake port. There is a humidifier 2 in the housing, and humidifies air containing harmful substances taken in from the air inlet 1a. 2a is a humidifier outlet, and 2b is a humidified water container. Note that it is desirable to use a steam-type humidifier for the humidifier 2. This is because in the steam method, water is boiled by heating to generate steam, so even if miscellaneous bacteria are generated in the humidifying container at the time of operation stop, it is sterilized by heating again and can be humidified cleanly. It is.

Humidification is performed in 3 mixing rooms. The humidifier outlet 2a is in the mixing chamber. This is because the moisture generated by the humidifier 2 and the air containing the harmful substances taken in are well mixed and the moisture adsorbs more harmful substances, so that the moisture generated by the humidifier 2 is 5 directly. The humidifying device 2 and the dehumidifying device 5 are separated by four partition walls so as not to be taken in. The partition wall 4 has a vent hole 4 a, and the air that has been humidified through the vent hole 4 a is sucked into the dehumidifying device 5.

The dehumidifying device 5 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 7 denotes a blower fan. The blower fan 7 controls the operating strength of the dehumidifier 5 and also controls the blowing of the entire air cleaner. After taking in the humidified air from the dehumidifying device suction port 5a and dehumidifying it by the dehumidifying mechanism 8, the purified air is discharged from the dehumidifying device discharge port 5b and discharged from the discharge port 1b of the housing 1 to the outside. The collected water is temporarily stored in 9 collection containers. The inside of the collection container 9 is coated with the photocatalyst 10, and the collected water falls on the coating surface. By irradiating the collection container 9 with ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet ray generator 11, the photocatalyst 10 exposed to ultraviolet rays causes photocatalysis and decomposes harmful substances in water.

However, only those on the surface of the photocatalyst can be decomposed, and agitation of recovered water is necessary for efficient treatment. This is possible due to the force when the recovered water falls into the water in the recovery container 9, but when the recovered water reaches a certain water level, the water falling force alone makes it difficult for sufficient mixing to occur, resulting in a decomposition rate. Decreases. Therefore, when a certain water level is reached, 12 lids provided at the bottom of the collection container are opened, and the collected water is discharged to 6 pipes. The pipe 6 is connected to the humidifying container 2b of the humidifying device 2, and the reclaimed water supplied to the humidifying container 2b is used again for humidification.

It is desirable to use titanium dioxide for the photocatalyst 10. This is because, among various photocatalysts, weak ultraviolet rays exhibit a sufficient decomposing ability, and therefore it is possible to use relatively inexpensive black light, sterilization, or the like for the ultraviolet ray generator 11. The installation position of the ultraviolet irradiation generator 11 is preferably the lower part of the collection container. This is because if it is at the upper part, the light gets wet, causing electric shock or corrosion. For this reason, a material having a high ultraviolet transmittance such as acrylic resin or quartz glass must be selected as the material for the collection container.

Further, it is desirable to use a dehumidifier comprising an adsorption / desorption regeneration type honeycomb rotor carrying zeolite fine particles as the dehumidifier 5. This is because zeolite has a function of adsorbing not only moisture but also ammonia and the like, and removes chemical substances such as ammonia and purifies air.

In FIG. 3, the dustproof filter 13 is attached to the suction port 1a of the housing to prevent the inside of the housing from becoming dirty and the air passage from being blocked by dust, dust, or the like. Reference numeral 14 denotes a humidity sensor. Based on the information from the humidity sensor 14, a microcomputer (not shown) can adjust the balance between the operating strengths of the humidifying device 2 and the dehumidifying device 5 to keep the indoor humidity appropriately.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a process for preventing mold generation in the mixing chamber 3. Since the mixing chamber 3 has high humidity and is likely to generate mold, processing is necessary to prevent the generation of mold. Further, when the operation is stopped, the humidifier 2 is stopped, only the dehumidifying mechanism 8 and the blower fan 7 of the dehumidifier 5 are operated for a certain period of time, the inside of the casing is ventilated, and the humidity of the mixing chamber 3 is reduced, thereby causing mold. Can be further suppressed.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied as an air cleaner for preventing nosocomial infections in hospitals, deodorizing various animal facilities, or preventing sick house syndrome.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing the configuration in Example 1 of the present invention Cross-sectional enlarged view of dehumidifier Main part sectional drawing which provided dustproof filter, humidity sensor, and mold prevention processing in Example 1 of the present invention The partial cross section perspective view in Example 1 of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing | casing 1a Inlet 1b Outlet 2 Humidifier 2a Humidifier outlet 2b Humidifier 3 Mixing room 4 Wall 4a Ventilator 5 Dehumidifier 5a Dehumidifier inlet 5b Dehumidifier outlet 6 Pipe 7 Fan 8 Dehumidifier Mechanism part 9 Collection container 10 Photocatalyst 11 Ultraviolet generator 12 Cover 13 Dust collection filter 14 Humidity sensor 15 Mold prevention process

Claims (4)

In a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet, a room for mixing the moisture generated by the humidifier, the dehumidifier, the blower, and the humidifier and the intake air is provided. Air is mixed in the room and harmful substances in the intake air are absorbed by moisture, and then the moisture is collected by the dehumidifier, thereby purifying the intake air and releasing it from the air outlet to the outside of the housing. In the air purifier, the collected contaminated water is collected in a collection / regeneration container coated with a photocatalyst, and the collected water is purified by irradiating the collection / regeneration container with ultraviolet rays by an ultraviolet ray generator, and the purified water is An air purifier that automatically supplies humidified water to a humidifier. 2. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the air suction port is provided with a dustproof filter. 2. The air purifier according to claim 1, further comprising a humidity sensor, wherein the indoor humidity is sensed and the indoor humidity can be adjusted by a microcomputer. 2. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein processing or a device for preventing generation of mold is applied in the housing.

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