JP2009081015A - Negative ion generating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact and highly efficient negative ion generating apparatus having a simple structure capable of efficiently generating negative ions at low voltage/low consumption power and capable of reducing ozone generation. <P>SOLUTION: The negative ion generating apparatus includes: a negative ion generating part having at least one set of a suction port and an exhaust port; and a flow rate control part for controlling a gas flow rate supplied to the negative ion generating part; and a power supply part for applying voltage to the negative ion generating part. In this apparatus, the negative ion generating part includes: a cylindrical casing having the suction port and the exhaust port; a ring-shaped electrode circularly installed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical casing; a needle-like electrode projectingly installed toward inside of the cylindrical casing; an insulating cylinder externally fitted to the circumference except for the tip part of the needle-like electrode; an electron suppression electrode disposed inside the cylindrical casing and expanded between the suction port and the needle-like electrode tip part, having air permeability; and at least one pair of magnetic poles to form a magnetic field including an electric field in the vicinity of the tip part of the needle-like electrode, and the electron suppression electrode has a structure which is also insulated from any electrode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a discharge device that generates negative ions. More specifically, the present invention relates to a negative ion generation device that generates negative ions by attaching electrons released by a discharge phenomenon to neutral particles such as air molecules. It is about.

  Conventionally, negative ions are generated by charging electrically neutral particles such as air molecules and paint molecules to a negative potential for purposes such as air purification, prevention of growth of microorganisms such as mold, or electrostatic coating. Various devices have been developed (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  Generally, these negative ion generators according to the prior art take an external gas into the apparatus, generate an arc corona discharge by a high voltage in the gas, and discharge electrons emitted during the discharge to the air. It is a mechanism that generates negative ions, which are negatively charged particles, by attaching them to electrically neutral particles such as molecules.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-199655 JP 11-342192 A JP 2006-340740 A

  However, electrons emitted from the discharge electrode due to the discharge phenomenon have a very high energy level and move at a high speed in the atmosphere. Therefore, the probability that the electrons emitted by the discharge phenomenon adhere to neutral particles such as air molecules is extremely small, and the negative ion generation efficiency by the conventional negative ion generator is very low.

  In addition, in the conventional negative ion generator, electrons are released into the space by arc / corona discharge in the gas, so a large amount of active particles such as ozone are generated in the atmosphere by the arc at the time of discharge. It was said that there was a problem from the viewpoint of environmental conservation including adverse effects.

  In addition, since the conventional negative ion generator emits electrons by arc / corona discharge, it is essential to apply a high voltage between the discharge electrodes, and a discharge current for maintaining the arc / corona after the start of discharge is required. It was necessary to flow a lot. For this reason, an increase in size, complexity, and cost of the apparatus is inevitable, and there is a demerit that power consumption during discharge is large.

  In addition, it is dangerous to handle high voltage and high power in the equipment, and combined with the above-mentioned problem of harmful ozone generation, it is difficult to easily mount and divert to household appliances used daily. There was also a problem of being.

  The present invention aims to solve such problems in the prior art. More specifically, the present invention can efficiently generate negative ions with relatively low voltage and low power consumption. Another object of the present invention is to provide a negative ion generator with a simple structure and a small size and high efficiency, which can reduce the amount of ozone generated.

  In order to achieve the above object, a negative ion generator according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a negative ion generator having at least one pair of an inlet and an exhaust, and a gas supplied to the negative ion generator In the negative ion generation device including a flow rate control unit that controls a flow rate and a power source unit that applies a voltage to the negative ion generation unit, the negative ion generation unit has the intake port on one bottom surface, and a side surface thereof. A cylindrical casing having the exhaust port, a ring-shaped electrode provided around the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical casing, and the other bottom surface facing the one bottom surface into the cylindrical casing. A needle-like electrode projecting toward the tip and penetrating the ring-shaped electrode; an insulating cylinder fitted around the electrode except for the tip of the needle-like electrode; and the cylindrical shape Ventilation provided inside the housing and stretched between the air inlet and the tip of the needle electrode An electron suppressing electrode having at least one pair of magnetic poles which are provided around the cylindrical housing and form a magnetic field including an electric field in the vicinity of the tip of the needle-like electrode, and are supplied from the power supply unit The applied voltage is applied between the ring electrode and the needle electrode, and the electron suppressing electrode is insulated from both the ring electrode and the needle electrode.

  According to such a configuration, electrons emitted from the tip of the needle-like electrode due to a discharge phenomenon generated between the needle-like electrode and the ring-like electrode adhere to the electron suppression electrode placed in front of the tip. Then, the electrode is charged to a negative potential. As a result, when electrons emitted from the tip of the needle electrode are diffused in the direction of the electron suppression electrode, the negatively charged electrons are repelled by the negative potential of the electrode and reflected in the direction of the needle electrode. It will be. Therefore, at the point where the electrons are reflected (hereinafter simply referred to as “reflection point”), the velocity of the electrons becomes 0 (zero). It can be attached very easily to the particles.

  Furthermore, since the magnetic field generated by the magnetic pole pair provided around the cylindrical housing includes the electric field near the tip of the needle electrode, electrons are confined near the tip of the electrode, and the tip A high-density electron region is formed in the vicinity of the portion. As a result, the ionization efficiency at the tip of the needle electrode is increased, and the discharge voltage can be reduced.

  The negative ion generator according to the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the negative ion generator according to the first aspect, the electron suppression electrode is a mesh electrode made of a metal lattice.

  Therefore, according to such a configuration, the gas flowing in from the air inlet of the cylindrical housing can easily pass through the electron suppression electrode, and the neutral particles of the gas passing through the electrode and the above It is possible to promote the coupling with electrons whose speed is extremely reduced in the vicinity of the reflection point.

  Moreover, the negative ion generator according to the third aspect of the present invention is the negative ion generator according to the first or second aspect, wherein the ratio of the inner diameter a of the ring electrode to the diameter b of the needle electrode ( a / b) is a Napier constant (e = 2.718...) or more.

  Therefore, according to such a configuration, the electric field lines concentrate on the tip of the needle electrode to form a strong electric field, and a so-called unbalanced electric field is formed between the needle electrode and the ring electrode. This makes it easy to generate a so-called glow corona discharge current between the tip of the needle electrode and the ring electrode.

  A negative ion generator according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the negative ion generator according to any one of the first to third aspects, and is generated between the needle electrode and the ring electrode. The discharged phenomenon is a glow corona discharge phenomenon.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to efficiently emit electrons from the discharge electrode to the atmosphere by a glow corona discharge phenomenon that suppresses a short circuit during discharge.

  The present invention is characterized in that the velocity of electrons emitted into the atmosphere by glow corona discharge is reduced, and the bonding between electrons and neutral particles in the atmosphere is facilitated. Therefore, a large amount of negative ions can be generated with a small amount of electric power, and a small-sized and low power consumption negative ion generator can be realized. Therefore, if this apparatus is used, it will become easy to inject | pour a high density negative ion in the paint spray of electrostatic coating, and it will become possible to raise the adhesive force of a paint dramatically.

The negative ion production | generation apparatus 1 which is one Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.
First, the structure of the negative ion generation part 10 which is the principal part of the negative ion production | generation apparatus 1 is shown to (1a) schematic perspective view of FIG. Moreover, the front view seen from the direction of the inlet 12 provided in one bottom face of the negative ion generation part 10 is shown to (1b), and sectional drawing of the AA 'direction in the figure is shown to (1c).

  As is clear from the drawings (1a) to (1c), the negative ion generation unit 10 is mainly provided on the cylindrical casing 11 whose both ends are closed, and on one bottom surface of the casing. A suction port 12, an exhaust port 13 provided in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side surface of the housing, and a needle projecting toward the inside of the housing through the other bottom surface of the cylindrical housing 11. A cylindrical electrode 16, an insulating cylinder 17 fitted around the periphery of the cylindrical electrode 11 except for the tip thereof, and an N-pole magnet 18 and an S-pole magnet 19 provided through the side wall of the cylindrical housing 11. It is constituted by a magnetic pole pair.

  Further, in the inside of the cylindrical housing 11, an electron suppression electrode 14 is stretched at the rear part of the air inlet 12, and further at the rear part, a ring electrode 15 along the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical housing 11. Is installed. Further, the tip of the needle electrode 16 projecting through the other bottom surface of the cylindrical housing 11 passes through the substantially central portion of the ring electrode 15, and the electron suppression electrode 14 and the ring electrode 15 is located between.

  The cylindrical housing 11, the intake port 12, and the exhaust port 13 have good electrical insulation characteristics, are nonmagnetic, and have excellent heat resistance and impact resistance, such as acrylic and polycarbonate. It is preferable to comprise an organic resin material. In the case shown in FIG. 1, the shape of these parts has a cylindrical structure, but the implementation of the present invention is not limited to such a case. For example, these parts may be square or other It may be a polygonal cylinder.

  Further, the attachment position, the size, the number of installations, and the like of the intake port 12 and the exhaust port 13 are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1 and control of the gas flow rate of the flow rate control unit 20 described later. Depending on the capability, for example, the inner diameters of the intake port 12 and the exhaust port 13 may be changed, or a plurality of exhaust ports 13 may be provided on the side surface of the cylindrical housing 11.

  The electron suppression electrode 14 is a planar electrode that is made of a conductive material and has air permeability, and is stretched on the rear portion of the air inlet 12 inside the cylindrical housing 11. The structure of the electron suppression electrode 14 is preferably, for example, a mesh-like circle or rectangle using a stainless steel wire as shown in (2a) or (2b) of FIG. 2 or other polygonal shapes. Alternatively, a stainless steel plate-like electrode as shown in FIG. 2C may be provided with a large number of small holes for ensuring air permeability. As described above, since the cylindrical casing 11 is a good insulator, the electron suppression electrode 14 stretched inside the cylindrical casing 11 is always kept floating or negatively biased. .

  The ring-shaped electrode 15 is, for example, a stainless steel ring-shaped member as shown in FIG. 3A and is provided along the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical housing 11. Needless to say, the ring-shaped electrode 15 is connected to a lead wire for passing through the side wall of the cylindrical housing 11 and applying a voltage to the electrode.

  On the other hand, the needle-like electrode 16 is a needle-like member using, for example, stainless steel, and penetrates through the substantially central portion of the other bottom surface facing the bottom surface of the cylindrical housing 11 provided with the air inlet 12. Projecting toward the inside of the housing. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, an insulating cylinder 17 is fitted around the electrode except for the vicinity of the tip of the electrode. In addition, as a material of the insulating cylinder 17, it is preferable to use, for example, a robust material having excellent electrical insulation, such as ceramic or glass.

The structures and dimensions of the ring electrode 15 and the needle electrode 16 are not particularly limited to the example shown in FIG. 1, but the inner diameter a of the ring electrode 15 and the diameter b of the needle electrode 16 As for the ratio (a / b), as shown in FIG. 3C, it is necessary to satisfy the relationship of the following equation.
a / b> e (where e = Napier constant; 2.718 ...)
This is an essential condition for generating a so-called unbalanced electric field between the ring-shaped electrode 15 and the tip of the needle-shaped electrode 16, and in order to maintain a good glow / corona discharge between the two electrodes. The ratio value is preferably extremely large.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the N-pole magnet 18 and the S-pole magnet 19 are magnetic pole pairs provided through the side wall of the cylindrical housing 11, and the needle electrode 16 and the inside of the cylindrical housing 11. It forms a vertical magnetic field. Note that the magnetic pole pairs are not limited to one set, and a plurality of magnetic pole pairs may be provided around the side surface of the cylindrical housing 11. Further, the N-pole magnet 18 and the S-pole magnet 19 may be configured using electromagnets instead of permanent magnets.

Next, the structure of the negative ion generator 1 which is one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the explanatory diagram of FIG.
First, as shown in FIG. 4A, the negative ion generation apparatus 1 includes the above-described negative ion generation unit 10, a flow rate control unit 20, and a power supply unit 30.

  The flow rate control unit 20 is, for example, a small electric blower, and freely controls the flow rate of the gas fed into the intake port 12 by applying predetermined control to a motor (none of which is shown) that drives the blower fan. can do. In this example, the flow rate control unit 20 is provided on the inlet side of the intake port 12, but the flow rate control unit 20 may be provided on the outlet side of the exhaust port 13. Alternatively, the flow rate control unit 20 may be provided on both the inlet side of the intake port 12 and the outlet side of the exhaust port 13, and these blower fans may be controlled in conjunction with each other.

  The power supply unit 30 is a power supply circuit for applying a discharge voltage to the ring electrode 15 and the needle electrode 16 of the negative ion generation unit 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the anode side of the power supply unit 30 is connected to the needle electrode 16, and the cathode side thereof is connected to the ring electrode 15. In addition, it is preferable that the value of the voltage supplied to the negative ion generation part 10 from the power supply part 30 is a voltage value of about 2.0 kV to 3.5 kV.

  As will be described later, since the discharge phenomenon that occurs between the ring-shaped electrode 15 and the needle-shaped electrode 16 is glow corona discharge, the current that flows with the discharge is very small, and the power consumption in the negative ion generator 1 is low. Is extremely small. Therefore, the power supply unit 30 can be constituted by, for example, a normal dry battery and a simple DC / DC converter (DC voltage converter). Therefore, the entire structure of the negative ion generation apparatus 1 can be made very compact in combination with the features of the simple and small negative ion generation unit 10 described above.

  Next, a specific operation of the negative ion generation apparatus 1 will be described based on each diagram shown in FIG.

  First, when a voltage from the power supply unit 30 is applied to the ring-like electrode 15 and the needle-like electrode 16 of the negative ion generator 10, electric lines of force are generated between the needle-like electrode 16 and the ring-like electrode 15. Since the lines of electric force are emitted from a positive charge and reach a negative charge, they are emitted from the needle-like electrode 16 connected to the anode side (positive side) of the power supply unit 30 and are connected to the cathode side (negative side) of the power supply unit 30. ) To the ring-shaped electrode 15 connected thereto. Further, since the needle-like electrode 16 is covered by the insulating cylinder 17 except for the vicinity of the tip portion thereof, the electric force lines are emitted only from the tip portion of the needle-like electrode 16, and the electric force lines between the two electrodes. The distribution of is substantially a so-called dome shape as shown in FIG.

  As is clear from the figure, in the needle-like electrode 16, many electric lines of force are concentrated on a minute portion at the tip of the needle-like electrode 16, so that a strong electric field having an extremely high electric line density is formed. On the other hand, in the ring-shaped electrode 15, electric field lines emitted from the tip of the needle-shaped electrode 16 are diffused over the entire circumference of the ring, so that a weak electric field having a low electric field line density is formed. In general, such a state in which the electric field between the two electrodes is not balanced is referred to as an unbalanced electric field. Under such an unbalanced electric field, glow corona discharge can be generated between the two electrodes.

  Unlike the arc corona discharge, the glow corona discharge does not generate an arc over the entire length of the discharge path, and the glow corona discharge is formed near the electrode on the strong electric field side in the unbalanced electric field, that is, near the tip of the needle electrode 16. Only fine light emission due to is visible. Therefore, in the negative ion generator 1 according to the present embodiment, there is no possibility that a large amount of active particles such as ozone is generated by the arc during discharge when the needle electrode 16 and the ring electrode 15 are discharged.

  Further, the discharge current due to the arc does not flow between the needle-like electrode 16 and the ring-like electrode 15, and the current flowing between the two electrodes is almost weak caused by the unbalanced electric field formed between the two electrodes. Only dark current. Further, since the discharge phenomenon due to glow corona is generated by a relatively low voltage compared to arc corona discharge, the negative ion generator 1 according to the present embodiment is coupled with a weak dark current flowing between both electrodes. The power consumption is extremely small.

  When glow corona discharge is started between the needle-like electrode 16 and the ring-like electrode 15, the emission of the electron e starts from the tip of the needle-like electrode 16, and the emitted electron e has high energy. Therefore, it moves and diffuses sequentially from the tip of the electrode to the surrounding space.

  By the way, in the embodiment according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4A, the lines of magnetic force that are emitted from the N-pole magnet 18 and reach the S-pole magnet 19 in a direction perpendicular to the cylindrical axis direction inside the cylindrical housing 11. A magnetic field is formed. For this reason, due to the influence of the magnetic field, the electrons e emitted from the tip of the needle electrode 16 are confined in the space near the tip with a certain restraining force. Incidentally, the strength of the binding force of electrons by such a magnetic field can be freely adjusted by the strength of the magnetic field (magnet) and the relative position between the magnetic field and the tip.

  In the present embodiment, a high-density electron region is generated in the vicinity of the tip of the needle electrode 16 due to the aggregate of electrons confined by the magnetic field. And by generating such a high-density electron region, the ionization efficiency at the tip of the needle electrode 16 increases, and the discharge voltage between the electrodes can be further reduced.

  On the other hand, the electrons e emitted from the tip of the needle-like electrode 16 have extremely high energy as described above, and thus are restricted by the magnetic field, but a large number of electrons are restricted by the magnetic field. Then, it diffuses further around the high-density electron region. Then, the electrons e diffused in the forward direction of the tip of the needle electrode 16 are attached to the electron suppression electrode 14 to charge the electrode to a negative potential.

  Since the periphery of the electron suppression electrode 14 is carried by the cylindrical casing 11 which is a good insulator, once charged, the potential can be maintained for a long time. Therefore, when the electron suppression electrode 14 is charged to a negative potential, the electron suppression electrode 14 is thereafter scattered even if the electrons e emitted from the tip of the needle electrode 16 diffuse toward the electron suppression electrode 14. And the negative charge of the electron e repel each other, and the electron e is reflected from the electron suppression electrode 14 (see FIG. 4A).

  As described above, the electron e emitted by the discharge phenomenon has high energy and moves at a high speed, but the velocity of the electron e is 0 at the reflection point where the electron e is reflected from the electron suppression electrode 14. (Zero). For this reason, the electron e whose speed has been reduced can very easily adhere to the neutral particles n in the atmosphere floating around the electron e. Thus, the neutral particles n to which the electrons e are attached are charged to a negative potential by the negative charges of the electrons e and become negative ions ne.

  The negative ions ne formed in this way are discharged to the outside of the negative ion generator 10 through the exhaust port 13. Needless to say, the flow rate and flow rate of the gas containing the negative ions ne can be easily adjusted by controlling the rotational speed of a fan (not shown) in the flow rate control unit 20.

  Next, FIG. 6 shows data relating to the correlation between the discharge voltage measured by the measurement circuit of FIG. 5 and the amount of negative ions generated. Incidentally, in the measurement circuit shown in FIG. 5, a metal mesh of about 3 cm × 3 cm is arranged in parallel with the blowout port at a distance of about 10 mm from the exhaust port 13, and the potential Vc of the mesh is observed with an oscilloscope having a high input impedance. It is.

  According to such a measurement circuit, the metal mesh placed immediately below the exhaust port 13 is charged to a negative potential by the negative ions released from the exhaust port 13 of the negative ion generator 10, and the potential Vc is lowered. Therefore, the amount of negative ions generated in the negative ion generator 10 can be estimated by measuring the fluctuation of the potential Vc of the metal mesh.

  As is apparent from the measurement results shown in FIG. 6, the electron emission from the tip of the needle electrode 16 starts when the discharge voltage Vd between the ring electrode 15 and the needle electrode 16 exceeds about 2.5 kV. Becomes active and negative ions start to be generated, and accordingly the potential Vc of the metal mesh also decreases. Thereafter, as the discharge voltage increases, the number of negative ions generated by the negative ion generator 10 also increases. As a result, it can be seen that the number of negative ions contained in the gas discharged from the exhaust port 13 is increased, and the negative potential of the metal mesh is further decreased accordingly.

  In addition, according to the negative ion generator according to the present invention, a relatively low discharge voltage of about 2.5 kV to 3.5 kV compared to a conventional negative ion generator using arc / corona discharge that requires a high discharge voltage. It is also worth noting that a large amount of negative ions is generated efficiently.

  The present invention is not limited to each embodiment described above. For example, the shape and arrangement of each part constituting the present invention, or its material, etc., do not depart from the spirit of the present invention. Needless to say, it can be changed as appropriate according to the actual implementation.

The configuration of the present invention described above can be applied to environmental hygiene fields such as air purification using negative ions and prevention of microbial growth, industrial manufacturing fields such as electrostatic coating and electrostatic adhesion, and hairdressing sprays and hair dyeing sprays. It can also be used in barber and beauty fields such as negative ion implantation.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the negative ion generation part 10 which is the principal part of the negative ion production | generation apparatus 1 by this invention. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the electron suppression electrode 14 incorporated in the negative ion generation part 10 of FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the ring-shaped electrode 15 and the needle-shaped electrode 16 which were incorporated in the negative ion generation part 10 of FIG. It is a figure explaining the structure and operation | movement of the negative ion production | generation apparatus 1 by this invention. In the negative ion production | generation apparatus 1 by this invention, it is a figure which shows the measurement circuit for measuring the relationship between the discharge voltage and the generation amount of a negative ion. It is the graph which showed the measurement result by the measurement circuit of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Negative ion production | generation apparatus 10 ... Negative ion generation part 11 ... Cylindrical housing 12 ... Intake port 13 ... Exhaust port 14 ... Electron suppression electrode 15 ... Ring-shaped electrode 16 ... Needle-shaped electrode 17 ... Insulating cylinder 18 ... N-pole magnet 19 ... S pole magnet 20 ... Flow rate control unit 30 ... Power source unit n ... Neutral particle e ... Electron ne ... Negative ion

Claims (4)

A negative ion generator having at least one pair of an intake port and an exhaust port, a flow rate controller for controlling a flow rate of gas supplied to the negative ion generator, and a power supply unit for applying a voltage to the negative ion generator In a negative ion generator including:
The negative ion generator is
A cylindrical housing having the intake port on one bottom surface and the exhaust port on the side surface;
A ring-shaped electrode provided around the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical housing;
A needle-like electrode projecting from the other bottom surface facing the one bottom surface toward the inside of the cylindrical housing, and having a tip portion penetrating the ring-shaped electrode;
An insulating tube fitted around the electrode except for the tip of the needle electrode;
An electronic suppression electrode having air permeability, which is inside the cylindrical housing and is stretched between the air inlet and the needle electrode tip,
Including at least one pair of magnetic poles that are provided around the cylindrical housing and form a magnetic field including an electric field in the vicinity of the tip of the needle electrode;
A supply voltage from the power supply unit is applied between the ring electrode and the needle electrode, and the electron suppression electrode is insulated from both the ring electrode and the needle electrode. Negative ion generator.   The negative ion generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electron suppression electrode is a mesh electrode made of a metal lattice.   The negative ion generator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a ratio (a / b) between an inner diameter a of the ring electrode and a diameter b of the needle electrode is a value equal to or greater than a Napier constant. 4. The negative ion generation device according to claim 1, wherein a discharge phenomenon that occurs between the needle electrode and the ring electrode is a glow corona discharge phenomenon. 5. .

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