JP2009283168A - Ion generating element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact ion generating element capable of efficiently generating both positive and negative ions. <P>SOLUTION: The ion generating element 1 includes a positive ion generating electrode 20 formed on a substrate 1 of a film-like conductor and equipped with a pointed part 22 for generating positive ions with high voltage impressed, a negative ion generating electrode 30 formed on the substrate 10 of a film-like conductor and equipped with a pointed part 32 for generating negative ions with impression of high voltage, and a separating electrode 50 formed on the substrate 10 and grounded. The pointed part 22 of the positive ion generating electrode 20 and the pointed part 32 of the negative ion generating electrode 30 are opposed to each other with an interposition of the separating electrode 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ion generating element.

  Conventionally, as a method for generating ions, there are a method using a Leonard effect for generating ions by giving an impact to water and a method for generating ions electrically by applying a high voltage to an electrode. The ions generated in this way are used for static elimination, inactivation treatment of bacteria and viruses, or for increasing comfort by ions. In addition, air can be purified by discharge energy when ions are generated, or an air flow can be generated by moving ions in the air.

  In a method in which a high voltage is applied to the electrode to discharge and ions are generated by dissociating molecules in the air, the ion is generated by applying a high voltage between the needle-like electrode or the fine wire electrode and the counter electrode. Can be generated. An ion generating element using this method is generally used because the element structure is relatively simple.

  As another method of discharging by applying a high voltage to the electrode, a dielectric paste is printed and fired on the induction electrode as in a solid-state discharge device described in JP-A-1-2075 (Patent Document 1). There is a creeping discharge method in which after a dielectric layer is formed, a discharge electrode is formed on the dielectric layer, and a voltage is applied between the electrodes formed with the dielectric layer interposed therebetween. In the creeping discharge method, since a dielectric is interposed between the electrodes, ions can generally be generated at a lower voltage than when a voltage is applied between the electrodes in the air.

  The ion generating element that generates ions in this way is applied to fields such as inactivation of microorganisms, inactivation of allergens, or static elimination in a semiconductor manufacturing process.

  For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-58731 (Patent Document 2), by applying an AC voltage to electrodes such as stainless meshes arranged to face each other with an insulator interposed therebetween, positive ions and negative ions can be obtained. An ion generator that generates both simultaneously is described, and it is described that a sterilization effect is obtained by a chemical reaction of positive ions and negative ions. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-251696 (Patent Document 3) discloses a voltage between a positive electrode and a negative electrode on an electrode in order to deactivate the antigenic substance by causing positive ions and negative ions to act on the antigenic substance. Are applied alternately to generate both positive and negative ions. On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-273858 (Patent Document 4) describes that an AC voltage is applied to a static elimination electrode to generate positive and negative ions, and the charged object is neutralized by the ions. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-298196 (Patent Document 5) describes a static eliminator that generates positive ions and negative ions simultaneously by applying a DC voltage to a positive discharge needle and a negative discharge needle, respectively. ing.

  Thus, in order to perform static elimination and microorganism removal using ions, it is necessary to generate both positive ions and negative ions.

  As a method for simultaneously generating positive and negative ions, as described in JP-A-8-273858 (Patent Document 4), a method of applying a high-voltage AC voltage to the electrode, or JP-A-8-298196 is disclosed. As described in the gazette (Patent Document 5), a positive ion generation electrode and a negative ion generation electrode are separately provided, and a voltage having a different polarity is applied to each to generate both positive and negative ions. it can. In the method of applying an alternating voltage to one electrode, the electrode part of the ion generating element can be made small.

  In addition, there is a method in which ions are sent out by generating ion wind by moving the generated ions by electric potential in an electric field without using a blower fan for sending out the generated ions to the outside. Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 6-31099 (Patent Document 6) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-109274 (Patent Document 7) describe an ion generating device including an ion generating electrode formed in a sawtooth shape and a counter electrode. Has been. Ions generated at the ion generating electrode are accelerated by the potential difference between the ion generating electrode and the counter electrode, and an ion wind is generated.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-340391 (Patent Document 8) prevents positive ions generated from each electrode from recombining by separating the positive ion generating electrode and the negative ion generating electrode in separate cases. Describes a static eliminator that utilizes both positive and negative ions.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-2075 JP 2002-58731 A JP 2004-251696 A Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 8-273858 JP-A-8-298196 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-31099 JP-A-6-109274 JP 2000-340391 A

  However, the method of generating ions by the Leonard effect has a problem that only negative ions are generated and positive ions cannot be generated. Moreover, since water is used, there is a problem that air is humidified and the apparatus becomes large.

  Further, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-58731 (Patent Document 2), Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-25196 (Patent Document 3), and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-273858 (Patent Document 4), In the case where both positive and negative ions are generated from one electrode at almost the same time, that is, at the same time, positive and negative ions are generated at the same place. And negative ions are likely to bond and disappear in the air. Therefore, it is difficult to increase the amount of ions. Further, in order to send ions from the vicinity of the electrode to the outside, it is necessary to blow with a fan or blow with compressed air. Therefore, there exists a problem that the dimension of the whole ion generator including a ventilation mechanism becomes large. In addition, by providing a fan as a blower mechanism, power for driving the fan is required, so that power consumption increases.

  On the other hand, as described in JP-A-8-298196 (Patent Document 5), a positive ion generation electrode and a negative ion generation electrode are formed separately, and the positive ion and the negative ion are simultaneously formed. When generating them separately, it is necessary to apply a DC voltage to each ion generating electrode. Thus, when positive and negative ion electrodes are separately formed, ions can be moved by a potential difference. Even in this case, positive and negative ions are generated when positive and negative ions are generated at the same time. When the electrode and the negative ion generating electrode are close to each other, positive and negative ions are combined to greatly reduce the amount of ions, and it is difficult to send the ions to the outside. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the interval between the ion generating electrodes, and there is a problem that the size of the ion generating element is increased.

  Even when the positive ion generating electrode and the negative ion generating electrode are put in separate cases as in the static eliminator described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-340391 (Patent Document 8), the apparatus becomes large.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ion generating element that is small and can efficiently generate both positive and negative ions.

  An ion generating element according to the present invention includes a positive ion generating electrode formed on a substrate by a film-shaped conductor and having a tip for generating positive ions by applying a high voltage, and the film-shaped conductor. A positive ion generating electrode comprising a negative ion generating electrode having a tip for generating negative ions by applying a high voltage and a separation electrode formed on the substrate and grounded The tip portion of the negative electrode and the tip portion of the negative ion generating electrode are disposed so as to face each other with the separation electrode interposed therebetween.

  By providing the positive ion generation electrode, the negative ion generation electrode, and the separation electrode, the generated positive ions and negative ions can be sent to the outside of the ion generation element without a blower fan.

  The electrode composed of a film-like conductor is formed into an acute pattern with a thin film having a film thickness of 20 μm or less by using a technique such as screen printing or etching. With such a thin film conductor, an electrode having a small tip diameter can be easily formed. By reducing the tip diameter, ions can be generated at a low voltage.

  In addition, when an electrode is constituted by a film-like conductor, it is easy to form a plurality of electrodes in a precise position on a substrate, so that an ion generating element can be produced efficiently and at low cost. Can do.

  By providing a separation electrode between the positive ion generation electrode and the negative ion generation electrode, even if the interval between the positive ion generation electrode and the negative ion generation electrode is narrowed, the generated positive ions and negative ions collide with each other. Can be prevented from disappearing. Moreover, the balance of the amount of positive and negative ions is not greatly lost.

  By doing in this way, the small ion generator which can generate | occur | produce both positive and negative ions efficiently can be provided.

  In the ion generating element according to the present invention, the positive ion generating electrode and the negative ion generating electrode are preferably formed on the same substrate.

  By doing in this way, the precision of the positional relationship of a positive ion generation electrode and a negative ion generation electrode can be made high. Thus, by increasing the accuracy of the positional relationship between the positive ion generation electrode and the negative ion generation electrode, it is possible to reduce variations in the ion delivery amount characteristics of the ion generation element.

  In the ion generating element according to the present invention, the separation electrode is preferably formed of a film-like conductor, and the positive ion generation electrode, the negative ion generation electrode, and the separation electrode are preferably formed on the same substrate.

  By doing in this way, the precision of the positional relationship of a positive ion generation electrode, a negative ion generation electrode, and a separation electrode can be made high. Thus, by increasing the accuracy of the positional relationship between the positive ion generation electrode, the negative ion generation electrode, and the separation electrode, it is possible to reduce variations in the ion delivery amount characteristics of the ion generation elements.

  In the ion generating element according to the present invention, it is preferable that the positive ion generating electrode, the negative ion generating electrode, and the separation electrode are formed so as to extend in substantially the same direction.

  By doing so, the ion generating element can be further downsized.

  In the ion generating element according to the present invention, the separation electrode has a tip, and the tip of the separation electrode protrudes 4 mm or more from the tip of the positive ion generation electrode and the tip of the negative ion generation electrode. preferable.

  By doing in this way, it can suppress more effectively that ion quantity reduction by the collision of a positive ion and a negative ion, and ion balance collapse | crumble.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a small ion generating element that can efficiently generate both positive and negative ions.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows, as one embodiment of the present invention, a front view (A) showing the whole of an ion generating element and a power supply, and a side view when the ion generating element shown in (A) is viewed from the right side (B). ).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ion generating element 1 includes a substrate 10, a positive ion generating electrode 20 formed on the substrate 10 by a printing method, a negative ion generating electrode 30, and a separation electrode 50. Has been. The positive ion generation electrode 20, the negative ion generation electrode 30, and the separation electrode 50 are formed on the same substrate 10. The separation electrode 50 is grounded. The positive ion generation electrode 20 and the negative ion generation electrode 30 are connected to a high voltage power supply device 40.

  The positive ion generation electrode 20 includes a discharge portion 21 having a pointed portion 22 and a lead wire connection terminal 24. The negative ion generating electrode 30 includes a discharge part 31 having a tip part 32 and a lead wire connection terminal 34.

  In this embodiment, the substrate 10 is a 96% alumina substrate. The discharge part 21 of the positive ion generation electrode 20 and the discharge part 31 of the negative ion generation electrode 30 are thick on the substrate 10 using a gold (Au) conductor (manufactured by Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo, product number: TR-1534) as a conductor. It is formed by a thick film printing / firing method in which a film is printed and baked at 850 ° C. for 10 minutes. The tip angle of the tip portion 22 of the discharge portion 21 and the tip portion 32 of the discharge portion 31 is formed at an acute angle of 23.5 °.

  The lead wire connecting terminal 24 and the lead wire connecting terminal 34 are formed by printing and baking on the substrate 10 using a silver palladium (AgPd) conductor (manufactured by DuPont, product number: # 5164N). After the discharge part 21 and the discharge part 31 are printed so as to form an overlap part 23 and an overlap part 33 that overlap a part of the lead wire connection terminal 24 and the lead wire connection terminal 34 that are printed and fired in advance. Fired.

  The separation electrode 50 is formed in a film shape by printing and baking on the substrate 10 using a silver palladium (AgPd) conductor (manufactured by DuPont, product number: # 5164N). The separation electrode 50 has a strip shape extending in a rectangular shape, and one end of the rectangle forms a tip portion.

  The positive ion generation electrode 20, the negative ion generation electrode 30, and the separation electrode 50 are arranged in parallel so as to extend in substantially the same direction. With the separation electrode 50 in the center, the positive ion generation electrode 20 and the negative ion generation electrode 30 are arranged side by side with the separation electrode 50 interposed therebetween.

  The pointed portion 22 of the positive ion generating electrode 20 and the pointed portion 32 of the negative ion generating electrode 30 are arranged apart from each other by a distance B, and are arranged so as to face each other with the separation electrode 50 interposed therebetween.

  The separation electrode 50 is formed such that the tip protrudes from the tip portion 22 and the tip portion 32 by a distance A. It is assumed that the protruding amount of the separation electrode 50 and the distance A from the tip 22 and the tip 32 to the tip of the separation electrode 50 are 4 mm or more.

  A positive high voltage is applied to the discharge portion 21 of the ion generating element 1 by the high voltage power supply device 40. A high voltage of negative polarity is applied to the discharge unit 31 by the high voltage power supply device 40. When a high voltage is applied, discharge occurs in the discharge part 21 and the discharge part 31, molecules in the air around the discharge part 21 dissociate, and positive ions are generated. Similarly, negative ions are generated in the discharge part 31. The ions generated in this way are used for static elimination, inactivation of bacteria and viruses, or for increasing comfort by ions. Further, it is possible to purify the air by the discharge energy at the time of ion generation, or to generate an air flow by moving ions in the air in an electric field.

  As described above, the ion generating element 1 is formed on the substrate 10 with a film-like conductor, and has a positive ion generating electrode 20 having a pointed portion 22 for generating positive ions by applying a high voltage, A negative ion generating electrode 30 having a tip 32 for generating a negative ion by applying a high voltage, and a separation electrode formed on the substrate 10 and grounded. 50, and the tip portion 22 of the positive ion generation electrode 20 and the tip portion 32 of the negative ion generation electrode 30 are arranged so as to face each other with the separation electrode 50 interposed therebetween.

  By providing the positive ion generation electrode 20, the negative ion generation electrode 30, and the separation electrode 50, the generated positive ions and negative ions can be sent to the outside of the ion generation element 1 without a blower fan. it can.

  The electrode composed of a film-like conductor is formed into an acute pattern with a thin film having a film thickness of 20 μm or less by using a technique such as screen printing or etching. With such a thin film conductor, an electrode having a small tip diameter can be easily formed. By reducing the tip diameter, ions can be generated at a low voltage.

  In the case where the electrode is formed of a film-like conductor, it is easy to form a plurality of electrodes side by side on the substrate 10, so that the ion generating element 1 can be manufactured efficiently and at low cost. can do.

  By providing the separation electrode 50 between the positive ion generation electrode 20 and the negative ion generation electrode 30, even if the interval between the positive ion generation electrode 20 and the negative ion generation electrode 30 is narrowed, the generated positive ions and negative ions Can be prevented from colliding with each other and disappearing. Moreover, the balance of the amount of positive and negative ions is not greatly lost.

  By doing in this way, the ion generating element 1 which is small and can generate both positive and negative ions efficiently can be provided.

  Further, in the ion generating element 1, the positive ion generating electrode 20 and the negative ion generating electrode 30 are formed on the same substrate 10.

  By doing in this way, the precision of the positional relationship of the positive ion generation electrode 20 and the negative ion generation electrode 30 can be made high. In this way, by increasing the accuracy of the positional relationship between the positive ion generation electrode 20 and the negative ion generation electrode 30, it is possible to reduce variations in the ion delivery amount characteristics of the ion generation element 1.

  In the ion generating element 1, the separation electrode 50 is formed of a film-like conductor, and the positive ion generation electrode 20, the negative ion generation electrode 30, and the separation electrode 50 are formed on the same substrate 10.

  By doing in this way, the precision of the positional relationship of the positive ion generation electrode 20, the negative ion generation electrode 30, and the separation electrode 50 can be made high. Thus, by increasing the accuracy of the positional relationship among the positive ion generation electrode 20, the negative ion generation electrode 30, and the separation electrode 50, it is possible to reduce variations in the ion delivery amount characteristics of the ion generation element 1.

  Further, in the ion generating element 1, the positive ion generating electrode 20, the negative ion generating electrode 30, and the separation electrode 50 are formed so as to extend in substantially the same direction.

  By doing in this way, the ion generating element 1 can be further reduced in size.

  In the ion generating element 1, the separation electrode 50 has a tip, and the tip of the separation electrode 50 protrudes from the tip 22 of the positive ion generation electrode 20 and the tip 32 of the negative ion generation electrode 30 by 4 mm or more. ing.

  By doing in this way, it can suppress more effectively that ion quantity reduction by the collision of a positive ion and a negative ion, and ion balance collapse | crumble.

  FIG. 2: is the front view (A) which shows the whole of the ion generating element of another form of this invention and a power supply, and a side view (B) when the ion generating element shown to (A) is seen from the right direction. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ion generating element 2 is different from the ion generating element 1 in that the positive ion generating electrode 20 is connected to a high voltage power supply device 41 and is applied with a positive high voltage. The negative ion generating electrode 30 is connected to a high voltage power supply device 42 and is applied with a negative high voltage. Other configurations and effects of the ion generating element 2 are the same as those of the ion generating element 1.

  As one effect of the ion generating element of the present invention, in order to investigate the ion generation amount, the ion amount at a distance of 30 cm from the ion generating element 1 was measured.

  In the ion generating element 1 shown in FIG. 1, the ion generating element 1 in which the interval B between the tip 22 of the positive ion generating electrode 20 and the tip 32 of the negative ion generating electrode 30 is 1 cm is shown in Embodiment A, and the interval B is 2 cm. The ion generating element is referred to as Embodiment B.

  In the embodiment A and the embodiment B, the protruding amount of the separation electrode 50, that is, the distance A from the tip portion 22 of the positive ion generation electrode 20 and the tip portion 32 of the negative ion generation electrode 30 to the tip portion of the separation electrode 50 is 5 mm.

  FIG. 3 is a front view (A) showing the whole of the ion generating element and the power source as a comparative form, and a side view (B) when the ion generating element shown in (A) is viewed from the right direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ion generating element 9 of the comparative form has a positive ion generating electrode 920 and a negative ion generating electrode 930 formed in a needle shape and arranged on a substrate 910. As the positive ion generation electrode 920 and the negative ion generation electrode 930, tungsten needles having a tip radius of 2 μm formed by electrolytic polishing were used. The positive ion generation electrode 920 and the negative ion generation electrode 930 are connected to a high voltage power supply device 940. The ion generating element 9 does not include a separation electrode. Let B be the distance between the needle-like tip portion of the positive ion generating electrode 920 and the needle-like tip portion of the negative ion generating electrode 930.

  In the comparative example of the ion generating element 9, the negative ion generating electrode 930 with the needle-shaped tip portion having a distance B of 1 cm is comparative form A, the distance B is 2 cm, comparative form B, and the distance B is 3 cm. This is referred to as Comparative Form C.

  For each of the ion generating elements of Embodiment A, Embodiment B, Comparison A, Comparison B, and Comparison C, connect the output terminal of the high-voltage power supply to the lead wire connection terminal and apply a voltage of DC-2.8 kV did. An ion counter (manufactured by Asahi System, model number: MY1210II) was installed at a position 30 cm away from the tip of the ion generating electrode, and the amount of ions was measured.

  Table 1 is a table showing the measurement results of the amount of ions generated by the ion generating elements of Embodiment A, Embodiment B, Comparative Form A, Comparative Form B, and Comparative Form C.

As shown in Table 1, in Embodiment A and Embodiment B, 80,000 ions / cm ^{3 of} both positive ions and negative ions were measured. On the other hand, in the comparative form A, positive ions were measured at 100,000 / cm ³ and negative ions were measured at 80,000 / cm ³ . In comparative form B, positive ions were measured at 55,000 / cm ³ and negative ions at 80,000 / cm ³ . In comparative form C, 80,000 ions / cm ³ of both positive ions and negative ions were measured.

  From this, the ion generating electrode is formed by a film-shaped conductor, and the positive ion generating electrode is provided with a separation electrode formed by the film-shaped conductor between the positive ion generating electrode and the negative ion generating electrode. It has been found that even if the distance between the negative ion generation electrode and the negative ion generation electrode is relatively narrow, the generation amount of ions is not reduced and the balance between the generation amount of positive ions and the generation amount of negative ions can be maintained.

  Thus, according to the ion generating element 1, even when the positive ion generating electrode and the negative ion generating electrode are brought close to each other, a certain amount of positive ions and negative ions can be obtained with a good balance. Therefore, by using the small ion generating element 1, the effect of ions, that is, neutralization, bacteria or virus inactivation treatment, or comfort is increased by ions, ions in the air The effect of generating an air flow by moving the can be expected.

  Next, by using the ion generating element 1 shown in FIG. 1, the protruding amount of the separation electrode 50, that is, the tip 22 of the positive ion generating electrode 20, the tip 32 of the negative ion generating electrode 30, and the tip of the separation electrode 50. The amount of ions when the distance A was changed was investigated. The amount of ions was measured at a distance 30 cm away from the ion generating element 1.

  An ion generating element 1 having a distance A of 4 mm is referred to as an embodiment C, an ion generating element 1 having a distance A of 3 mm is an embodiment D, and an ion generating element 1 having a distance A of 2 mm is an embodiment E. Using the ion generating element 1 of Embodiment C, Embodiment D, and Embodiment E, the amount of ion generation was measured at a distance of 30 cm from the tip of the ion generating electrode, as in Example 1.

  Table 2 is a table showing the measurement results of the amount of ions generated by the ion generating elements of Embodiment C, Embodiment D, and Embodiment E.

As shown in Table 2, in Embodiment C, 80,000 ions / cm ^{3 of} both positive ions and negative ions were measured. In Embodiment D, 50,000 positive ions / cm ³ and 80,000 negative ions / cm ^{3 were} measured. In Embodiment E, 20,000 positive ions / cm ³ and 80,000 negative ions / cm ^{3 were} measured.

  Thus, as in Embodiment C, positive ions and negative ions are generated in a well-balanced manner by setting the distance A between the tip portion 22 of the positive ion generating electrode 20 and the tip portion 32 of the negative ion generating electrode 30 to 4 mm or more. Can be made. In addition, even if the distance A between the apex portion 22 and the apex portion 32 is set to a value of 4 mm or less as in the embodiment D and the embodiment E, as compared with the comparative embodiment A to the comparative embodiment C of the embodiment 1, Positive and negative ions can be generated in a balanced manner.

  It should be considered that the embodiments and examples disclosed above are illustrative and non-restrictive in every respect. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments and examples but by the scope of the claims, and includes all modifications and variations within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

As one embodiment of this invention, they are the front view (A) which shows the whole of an ion generating element and a power supply, and the side view (B) when the ion generating element shown to (A) is seen from the right direction. It is the front view (A) which shows the whole of the ion generating element and power supply of another form of this invention, and the side view when the ion generating element shown to (A) is seen from the right direction. As a comparative form, it is a front view (A) showing the whole of the ion generating element and the power source, and a side view (B) when the ion generating element shown in (A) is viewed from the right direction.

Explanation of symbols

  1, 2: ion generating element, 10: substrate, 20: positive ion generating electrode, 22: apex portion, 30: negative ion generating electrode, 32: apex portion, 50: separation electrode.

Claims (5)

A positive ion generating electrode formed on a substrate by a film-like conductor and having a tip for generating positive ions by applying a high voltage;
A negative ion generating electrode formed on a substrate by a film-like conductor and having a tip for applying a high voltage to generate negative ions;
A separation electrode formed on the substrate and grounded,
The ion generating element, wherein the tip portion of the positive ion generating electrode and the tip portion of the negative ion generating electrode are arranged to face each other with the separation electrode interposed therebetween.   The ion generating element according to claim 1, wherein the positive ion generating electrode and the negative ion generating electrode are formed on the same substrate. The separation electrode is formed of a film-like conductor,
The ion generating element according to claim 1, wherein the positive ion generating electrode, the negative ion generating electrode, and the separation electrode are formed on the same substrate.   4. The ion generating element according to claim 1, wherein the positive ion generating electrode, the negative ion generating electrode, and the separation electrode are formed so as to extend in substantially the same direction. 5. The separation electrode has a tip;
5. The ion generating element according to claim 4, wherein the tip of the separation electrode protrudes 4 mm or more from the tip of the positive ion generating electrode and the tip of the negative ion generating electrode.

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