JP2010207425A - Air sterilizing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air sterilizing apparatus capable of removing airborne microorganisms such as bacteria, virus, and fungi, and inhibiting water splashing. <P>SOLUTION: In the sterilizing apparatus which brings indoor air into contact with a gas-liquid contact member to which electrolytic water is supplied to remove airborne microorganisms, the gas-liquid contact member 53 is stored in an arch-shaped case comprising an upper case body 100 and side case bodies 102, and the upper case body 100 has a supply section 51 of the electrolytic water and diffusion sheets 104, 105, 106 which contact the upper end of the gas-liquid contact member and diffuse the electrolytic water on the widthwise whole area of the gas-liquid contact member, and each of the side case bodies 102 has a water discharging path 108 for downwardly flowing the electrolytic water which leaks from both ends of the diffusion sheets bypassing through the gas-liquid contact member, and both ends of diffusion sheets are bent inward the water discharging path 108. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air sterilization apparatus capable of removing airborne microorganisms (hereinafter simply referred to as “virus etc.”) such as bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Conventionally, an air sterilization apparatus has been proposed in which room air is brought into contact with a gas-liquid contact member supplied with electrolyzed water to sterilize airborne microorganisms (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this type, the gas-liquid contact member is housed in a gate-shaped case consisting of an upper case body and both side case bodies, and the upper case body is in contact with the electrolytic water supply unit and the upper end of the gas-liquid contact member. A diffusion sheet for diffusing water over the entire width of the gas-liquid contact member, and a drainage channel for flowing the electrolytic water leaking from both ends of the diffusion sheet to both sides of the gas-liquid contact member downward by bypassing the gas-liquid contact member There is something. In this configuration, an appropriate amount of water is supplied into the gas-liquid contact member using a diffusion sheet, but excess electrolyzed water is led to a drainage channel and drained into a water tray. Also, when scales adhere to the diffusion sheet and clogging occurs, the electrolyzed water does not pass through the diffusion sheet, but flows from both ends of the diffusion sheet to the drainage channel, bypasses the gas-liquid contact member, and enters the water tray. Flowing.
JP 2008-109983 A

However, conventionally, excess electrolyzed water does not flow into the drainage channel, but slightly enters the side portion of the gas-liquid contact member, and this electrolyzed water forms a water film on the lattice portion of the gas-liquid contact member, There was a problem that water blown out by a blower fan provided on the back.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an air sterilization apparatus that solves the problems of the above-described conventional techniques and suppresses water splashing.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an air sterilization apparatus for sterilizing airborne microorganisms by bringing indoor air into contact with a gas-liquid contact member supplied with electrolyzed water, and the gas-liquid contact member is disposed in an upper case body. A diffusion sheet that is housed in a gate-shaped case consisting of case bodies on both sides, is in contact with the supply portion of the electrolyzed water on the upper case body and the upper end of the gas-liquid contact member, and diffuses the electrolyzed water over the entire width of the gas-liquid contact member And a drainage channel that causes the electrolyzed water leaking from both ends of the diffusion sheet to flow downward by bypassing the gas-liquid contact member, respectively, on both side case bodies, and both ends of the diffusion sheet are directed into the drainage channel. It is characterized by being bent.
In this case, a plurality of diffusion sheets may be laminated, and both ends of the lowermost diffusion sheet may be bent toward the drainage channel.

In the present invention, an appropriate amount of water is supplied into the gas-liquid contact member using a diffusion sheet, but excess electrolyzed water is led to a drainage channel and drained downward. Moreover, even when scales or the like adhere to the diffusion sheet and clogging occurs, the diffusion sheet flows from both ends of the diffusion sheet to the drainage channel, and flows downward by bypassing the gas-liquid contact member.
In this case, since both ends of the diffusion sheet are bent toward the drainage channel, the electrolyzed water directed to the drainage channel is accurately guided by the bent portion and flows almost certainly into the drainage channel. Since water is prevented from entering the side of the gas-liquid contact member, this substantially suppresses the occurrence of water splash.

  In the present invention, since both ends of the diffusion sheet are bent toward the drainage channel, the electrolyzed water that is directed to the drainage channel due to clogging is accurately guided by the bent portion, and flows into the drainage channel reliably. However, since entry into the side portion of the gas-liquid contact member is suppressed, the occurrence of so-called water splash is substantially suppressed.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the air sterilization apparatus 1 has a box-shaped housing 11 formed in a vertically long shape, and is installed on the floor, for example. A suction grill 12 is formed in the lower portion of both side surfaces of the casing 11, and a suction port 15 is formed in the lower end portion of the front surface of the casing 11. Further, an air outlet 13 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 11, and the air outlet 13 is provided with a louver 20 for changing the direction in which air is blown out. The louver 20 is configured to close the air outlet 13 when the operation is stopped.

  On the upper surface of the housing 11, an operation lid 16A disposed on the front surface side of the air outlet 13 and a tank opening / closing lid 14A disposed side by side on the operation lid 16A are formed. When the operation lid 16A is opened, the operation panel 16 (FIG. 2) for performing various operations of the air sterilization apparatus 1 is exposed, and when the tank opening / closing lid 14A is opened, a water supply tank 41 (to be described later) via the tank outlet 14 ( Figure 2) can be taken in and out. In addition, gripping portions 17 are formed on the upper portions of both side surfaces of the housing 11. These gripping portions 17 are concave portions for holding the case 11 by hand, and the air sterilizer 1 can be lifted and moved by one person during transportation. An upper cover member 18 and a lower cover member 19 arranged in the vertical direction are detachably disposed on the front surface (one side surface) of the housing 11, and the housing is removed when the upper cover member 18 and the lower cover member 19 are removed. The internal structure of the body 11 is exposed. The lower cover member 19 includes an arc portion 19A that is curved toward the back side of the housing 11 at the lower end of the lower cover member 19, and the suction port 15 is formed in the arc portion 19A. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 11 is provided with a support plate 21 that divides the interior of the housing 11 into upper and lower portions, and is divided into an upper chamber 22 and a lower chamber 23. A blower fan 31 and a fan motor 32 are disposed in the lower chamber 23, and a drainage tank 57 having a handle portion 57 </ b> A is housed in the front side of the housing 11 through the partition plate 24 so as to be drawable. Yes. The blower fan 31, the fan motor 32, and the drain tank 57 are arranged side by side. A prefilter 34 is detachably disposed between the blower fan 31 and the suction port 15, that is, at a position facing the lower cover member 19 (FIG. 1) in the lower chamber 23. The pre-filter 34 collects a large particle size such as dust in the air sucked through the suction grill 12 and the suction port 15, and passes through the first filter 25, for example, a particle size of 10 (μm ) And a second filter 26 for collecting the above-described objects. Pollen and dust floating in the air are removed by the prefilter 34, and the removed air is supplied to the upper chamber 22 via the blower fan 31.

  On the other hand, in the upper chamber 22, an electrical box 39 is disposed above the blower fan 31 and the fan motor 32, and a gas-liquid contact member 53 is disposed above the electrical box 39. Between the gas-liquid contact member 53 and the electrical equipment box 39, a water tray 42 for receiving water dripped from the gas-liquid contact member 53 is disposed. The water receiving tray 42 includes a storage portion 42 </ b> A formed at a deep bottom, and the storage portion 42 </ b> A extends above the drainage tank 57. In the electrical box 39, there are various electrical components such as a control board on which various devices constituting a control unit (not shown) for controlling the air sterilizer 1 are mounted, and a power supply circuit for supplying a power supply voltage to the fan motor 32. Contained.

  A water supply tank 41 is disposed on the storage part 42A, and water can be supplied from the water supply tank 41 to the storage part 42A. Specifically, a float valve is provided at the water supply port formed at the lower end of the water supply tank 41, and when the water surface of the storage portion 42A is below the water supply port, the float valve is opened to thereby provide the water supply tank 41. Thus, a necessary amount of water is supplied, and the water level of the reservoir 42A is kept constant.

  FIG. 3 shows the circulating part of the electrolyzed water. An electrolyzed water generation unit 45 that generates electrolyzed water to be supplied to the gas-liquid contact member 53 is disposed on the reservoir 42A. The electrolyzed water generation unit 45 includes a circulation pump 44 and an electrolyzer 46, and the circulation pump 44 operates so that the amount of circulation can be changed by changing the number of rotations according to the control of the control unit. A supply pipe 71 that pumps up water stored in the storage section 42A and supplies it to the gas-liquid contact member 53 is connected to the discharge port of the circulation pump 44. The supply pipe 71 and the gas-liquid contact member are connected to the supply pipe 71. An electrolytic cell 46 is connected through a branch pipe 72 that branches from the terminal 53. As will be described later, the electrolytic bath 46 includes a plurality of electrodes, and a voltage supplied from the control unit is applied between the electrodes to electrolyze water to generate electrolyzed water. A discharge port 46A for discharging the electrolyzed water generated in the electrolyzer 46 is formed on the upper surface of the electrolyzer 46, and a return pipe 73 for returning the electrolyzed water to the storage part 42A is connected to the discharge port 46A. .

In addition, a filter member 74 that collects solid matter mixed in the water flowing into the storage section 42A is disposed on the storage section 42A at the inlet portion of the storage section 42A. The filter member 74 removes solid matter (insoluble matter) such as scale contained in the water that has flowed down from the gas-liquid contact member 53. In this configuration, the return pipe 73 is disposed above the filter member 74, and the water discharged from the return pipe 73 flows into the storage portion 42 </ b> A of the water tray 42 through the filter member 74. The filter member 74 collects solids (for example, scale discharged from the electrolytic cell 46) contained in the water circulated through the gas-liquid contact member 53 and the electrolyzed water generating unit 45 through the water tray 42. Therefore, the solid material flows into the gas-liquid contact member 53, and the gas-liquid contact member 53 is prevented from being clogged.
Further, since the filter member 74 is disposed in the storage portion 42A of the water receiving tray 42 in a state where the upper portion is open, the replacement time of the filter member 74 can be easily determined visually. Further, when the filter member 74 is replaced, the filter member 74 disposed at the inlet portion of the storage portion 42A may be removed and replaced with fingers, so that maintenance can be easily performed without using a tool or the like. it can.

The gas-liquid contact member 53 is housed in a gate-shaped case 103 including an upper case body 100 and both side case bodies 101 and 102.
Inside the upper case body 100, a watering box (supply unit) 51 for uniformly diffusing electrolytic water on the gas-liquid contact member 53 is assembled, and the watering box 51 is a tray for temporarily storing the electrolytic water. A plurality of water spray holes (not shown) are provided on the side surface of the tray member, and electrolyzed water can be dropped from the water spray holes to the gas-liquid contact member 53. The gas-liquid contact member 53 is a filter member having a honeycomb structure, and has an element portion that comes into contact with air. The element portion is formed by laminating a corrugated plate member and a flat plate member. Thus, a large number of substantially triangular openings are formed between the corrugated plate member and the flat plate member.
And the gas contact area at the time of letting air pass to an element part is ensured widely, electrolytic water dripping is enabled, and it is hard to clog.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an end portion of the upper case body 100. Note that the upper case body 100 has a bilaterally symmetric shape, only the right end portion is illustrated, and the left end portion is illustrated in the same shape, and thus the description thereof is omitted. Inside the upper case body 100, the above-mentioned watering box 51 and three diffusion sheets 104, 105, 106 arranged in contact with the lower surface of the watering box 51 are assembled. Each of the diffusion sheets 104 to 106 is a sheet that extends over the entire length of the upper case body 100 and efficiently diffuses the electrolyzed water dropped from the water spray box 51 to the element portion. The sheet is a sheet (woven fabric, non-woven fabric, etc.) made of a fiber material having liquid permeability, and a plurality of sheets are provided along the cross section in the thickness direction of the gas-liquid contact member 53. Note that the number of sheets is not limited, and a single sheet may be used.

Here, each part (including the frame, the element part, and the diffusion sheet) of the gas-liquid contact member 53 is made of a material that is hardly deteriorated by electrolyzed water, such as polyolefin resin (polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, etc.), PET (polyethylene). -Materials such as terephthalate) resin, vinyl chloride resin, fluorine resin (PTFE, PFA, ETFE, etc.) or ceramic material are used. In this configuration, PET resin is used.
Further, each part of the gas-liquid contact member 53 is subjected to a hydrophilic treatment to enhance the affinity for the electrolyzed water, whereby the water retention (wetability) of the electrolyzed water of the gas-liquid contact member 53 is maintained. The contact between the active oxygen species (active oxygen substance) and the room air is maintained for a long time. Electrolyzed water having fungicidal action is dripped onto the gas-liquid contact member 53, so that propagation of fungi can be avoided without taking anti-fungal measures (such as application of fungicides) on the gas-liquid contact member 53.

  Inside the side case body 102, a partition plate 107 is provided that is disposed with the end surface of the gas-liquid contact member 53 being regulated. The partition plate 107 is supported on the inner wall surface of the side case body 102, and an electrolyzed water drainage path 108 is formed between the partition plate 107 and the both side case bodies 102.

  The diffusion sheets 104 to 106 are fitted inside the upper case body 100, and when assembled, the uppermost diffusion sheet 104 contacts the lower surface of the water spray box 51, and the lowermost diffusion sheet 106 is a gas-liquid contact member. 53, the end portions of the diffusion sheets 104 to 106 are in contact with the inner end of the upper case body 100. The upper case body 100 and the side case body 102 are coupled by screws (not shown) that pass through the screw holes 100A and 102A. At this time, a part of the upper end of the gas-liquid contact member 53 is fitted inside the upper case body 100. At both ends of the diffusion sheets 104 to 106, substantially U-shaped grooves 104A, 105A, and 106A are cut out, and the grooves 104A to 106A communicate with the drainage passage 108 of the electrolytic water. At both ends of the lowermost diffusion sheet 106, a bent portion 106B connected to the inner end of the groove 106A is integrally provided, and the bent portion 106B is formed on the partition plate 107 when the upper case body 100 and the side case body 102 are assembled. It extends to the outside, that is, the drainage passage 108 side of the electrolyzed water.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the air sterilization mechanism, and FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the configuration of the electrolytic cell 46 in detail. With reference to this FIG. 5, the supply of the electrolyzed water with respect to the gas-liquid contact member 53 is demonstrated. In the present embodiment, a case where tap water is put into the water supply tank 41 and the air sterilizer 1 is operated will be described.
When the water supply tank 41 containing the tap water is set in the air sterilizer 1, the tap water is supplied from the water supply tank 41 to the water tray 42 as described above, and the water level of the water tray 42 reaches a predetermined level. . The water in the water receiving tray 42 is pumped up by the circulation pump 44 and a part thereof is supplied to the electrolytic cell 46. As shown in FIG. 5B, the electrolytic cell 46 includes a pair of electrodes 47 and 48, one of which is positive and the other is negative. By applying a voltage between these electrodes 47 and 48, The flowing tap water is electrolyzed to generate electrolyzed water containing active oxygen species. Here, the reactive oxygen species are oxygen having higher oxidation activity than normal oxygen and related substances, such as superoxide anion, singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, or hydrogen peroxide, in a narrow sense. The active oxygen includes so-called broad active oxygen such as ozone and hypohalous acid.

The electrodes 47 and 48 described above are, for example, electrode plates in which the base is made of titanium (Ti) and the coating layer is made of iridium (Ir) and platinum (Pt). The current density is set to be several mA (milliampere) / cm ² (square centimeter) to several tens of mA / cm ² , and a predetermined free residual chlorine concentration (for example, 1 mg (milligram) / l (liter)) is set. generate.
Specifically, when the tap water is energized by the electrodes 47 and 48, the cathode electrode
4H ⁺ + 4e ⁻ + (4OH ⁻ ) → 2H ₂ + (4OH ⁻ )
And the anode electrode
2H ₂ O → 4H ⁺ + O ₂ + 4e ⁻
As soon as the reaction of
Chloride ions contained in water (Cl ⁻ : pre-added to tap water)
2Cl ⁻ → Cl ₂ + 2e ⁻
As a result, chlorine (Cl ₂ ) is generated. Furthermore, this chlorine reacts with water,
Cl ₂ + H ₂ O → HClO + HCl
Hypochlorous acid (HClO) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) are generated.

  Hypochlorous acid generated at the anode electrode is included in the active oxygen species in a broad sense and has a strong oxidizing action and bleaching action. The aqueous solution in which hypochlorous acid is dissolved, that is, the electrolyzed water generated by the air sterilizer 1 exhibits various air cleaning effects such as inactivation of viruses, sterilization, and decomposition of organic compounds. Thus, when electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid is dropped from the water spray box 51 onto the gas-liquid contact member 53, the air blown out by the blower fan 31 comes into contact with hypochlorous acid at the gas-liquid contact member 53. . This inactivates viruses or the like floating in the air, and the odorous substance contained in the air reacts with hypochlorous acid to be decomposed or ionized and dissolved. Accordingly, the air is sterilized and deodorized, and the purified air is discharged from the gas-liquid contact member 53. An example of influenza virus is given as an action mechanism for inactivating viruses and the like by reactive oxygen species.

The above-mentioned reactive oxygen species have the action of destroying and eliminating (removing) the surface protein (spike) of influenza virus, which is essential for influenza infection. When this surface protein is destroyed, the influenza virus and a receptor (receptor) necessary for the infection of the influenza virus are not bound, and the infection is prevented.
For this reason, the influenza virus floating in the air loses infectivity by contacting the electrolyzed water containing active oxygen species in the gas-liquid contact member 53, and the influenza infection is prevented.

The electrolyzed water dropped from the sprinkling box 51 onto the gas-liquid contact member 53 moves downward along the gas-liquid contact member 53 and falls to the water tray 42.
The electrolyzed water that has fallen in the water receiving tray 42 is again pumped up by the circulation pump 44 and supplied to the gas-liquid contact member 53 through the electrolytic bath 46.
Thus, in the structure in this embodiment, water becomes a circulation type, and air can be sterilized efficiently for a long time by effectively using a small amount of water. Further, when the amount of water circulating through the electrolyzed water circulation unit 2 is reduced due to evaporation or the like, an appropriate amount of water in the water supply tank 41 is supplied to the water receiving tray 42.

  Referring to FIG. 4, an appropriate amount of water is supplied into gas-liquid contact member 53 using diffusion sheets 104 to 106, but excess electrolyzed water is guided to drainage channel 108 and drained to water tray 42 (downward). . In addition, when scales or the like adhere to the diffusion sheets 104 to 106 and clogging occurs, the diffusion sheets are passed from both ends of the diffusion sheet 108 to the drainage channel 108.

  In this case, when the upper case body 100 and the side case body 102 are assembled, the bent portion 106B connected to the lowermost diffusion sheet 106 extends to the outside of the partition plate 107, that is, to the drainage channel 108 side of the electrolytic water. Therefore, the electrolyzed water flowing from the diffusion sheets 104 to 106 toward both ends is almost certainly guided to the drainage channel 108 by the bent portion 106B. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the electrolytic water from entering between the side portion of the gas-liquid contact member 53, that is, the end surface of the gas-liquid contact member 53 and the partition plate 107 as in the related art. Therefore, the electrolyzed water does not form a water film on the lattice portion of the gas-liquid contact member 53, and the occurrence of water splash due to the operation of the blower fan 31 is substantially suppressed.

The air sterilization apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is an aspect of the present invention, and it is needless to say that the air sterilization apparatus 1 can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, the bent portion 106B is provided in the lowermost diffusion sheet 106, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the bent portion may be provided in all sheets.
For example, ozone (O ₃ ) or hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) may be generated as the active oxygen species. In this case, when a platinum tantalum electrode is used as the electrode, active oxygen species can be stably generated with high efficiency by electrolysis even if the ion species is dilute water.
At this time, in the anode electrode,
2H ₂ O → 4H ⁺ + O ₂ + 4e ⁻
At the same time as
3H ₂ O → O ₃ + 6H ⁺ + 6e ⁻
2H ₂ O → O ₃ + 4H ⁺ + 4e ⁻
Ozone reaction occurs and ozone (O ₃ ) is generated. In the cathode electrode,
4H ⁺ + 4e ⁻ + (4OH ⁻ ) → 2H ₂ + (4OH ⁻ )
O ₂ ⁻ + e ⁻ + 2H ⁺ → H ₂ O ₂
As described above, O ₂ ⁻ generated by the electrode reaction and H ⁺ in the solution are combined to generate hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ).

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the air sanitization apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of an air sanitizer. It is a perspective view which shows a gas-liquid contact member and an electrolyzed water production | generation unit. It is an enlarged view of the edge part of an upper case body. It is a figure explaining the mode of supply of electrolyzed water, A is a mimetic diagram showing the composition of an air sanitization mechanism, and B is a figure showing the composition of an electrolytic cell in detail.

1 Air sanitizer 51 Watering box (supply unit)
53 Gas-liquid contact member 100 Upper case body 101, 102 Side case body 103 Case 104, 105, 106 Diffusion sheet 106B Bending portion 107 Partition plate 108 Drainage channel

Claims (2)

  In an air sterilization apparatus that sterilizes airborne microorganisms by bringing indoor air into contact with a gas-liquid contact member supplied with electrolyzed water, the gas-liquid contact member comprises an upper case body and a gate-shaped case comprising both side case bodies. In the upper case body, and a diffusion sheet that contacts the upper end of the gas-liquid contact member and diffuses the electrolyzed water over the entire width of the gas-liquid contact member. Air having a drainage channel for flowing electrolyzed water leaking from both ends of the diffusion sheet downward, bypassing the gas-liquid contact member, and both ends of the diffusion sheet being bent into the drainage channel Disinfection device. A plurality of the diffusion sheets are laminated,
The air sterilizer according to claim 1, wherein both ends of the lowermost diffusion sheet are bent toward the drainage channel.

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