JP2015047173A - Deodorizing and sterilizing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact deodorizing and sterilizing device which can suppress pressure loss to efficiently perform deodorization and sterilization.SOLUTION: In a deodorizing and sterilizing device, a fan is provided which can be rotationally driven and has arms radially mounted about a rotary shaft, a first electrode is formed on an arm surface, a second electrode is arranged separated from an arm tip part and concentrically with the rotational orbit of the fan where the rotary shaft is a center of circle, and a dielectric layer is formed on at least one of the first and second electrodes. In the deodorizing and sterilizing device, preferably, a deodorizing part is formed on an air inflow surface side of each of the arm surfaces of the fan capable of being rotationally driven and having the arms, and the first electrode is formed in a region different from a deodorizing part forming region of the arm surface. The deodorizing part is preferably a deodorizing part containing a photocatalyst and preferably provided with a light source on the air inflow-side arm surface. The deodorizing part preferably contains a porous material.

Description

  The present invention relates to a deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus.

  Conventionally, as a deodorization technique, it is known to decompose an organic substance that becomes an odor component by bringing it into contact with a photocatalyst. Further, as a sterilization technique, it is known to decompose by putting floating bacteria in a plasma generation region. When an odor component or airborne bacteria are brought into contact with a photocatalyst or a plasma generation region, an air flow created by rotating a fan is generally used.

  As a conventional example of such a device, Patent Document 1 discloses that a bamboo fiber filter coated with black light and titanium dioxide is alternately flowed from the upstream side to the downstream side in the air flow direction by a blower. A structure in which a plasma discharge tube is arranged further downstream is disclosed.

  In Patent Documents 2-4, a blower that forms a main air flow, a plasma ionization unit, a photocatalytic filter, and a plasma catalytic filter are arranged from the upstream side toward the downstream side, and the main air flow is allowed to pass through. An air purifier is disclosed that includes a first passage and a second passage that allows the fluid after passing through the first passage to pass a bypass air flow from the downstream side to the upstream side.

  Patent Document 5 includes a discharge part having a discharge electrode that discharges when a high voltage is applied and a counter electrode, and uses at least one of ozone, heat, and ultraviolet light generated by the discharge in the discharge part. Disclosed is a deodorizing apparatus comprising a functional material that performs adsorptive decomposition. The deodorizing apparatus obtains a deodorizing action by decomposing the gas component in the discharge part and further adsorbing the undifferentiated gas component on the surface of the functional material.

  In the conventional deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus, air is made to flow using a blowing unit, and the deodorizing unit, the sterilizing unit, and the blowing unit are independently and serially arranged from the upstream side to the downstream side of the air flow. . In such a serial apparatus configuration, the apparatus becomes large and the pressure loss increases. For this reason, the energy utilization efficiency of the blower is not good. Moreover, when the deodorizing part using a photocatalyst is arrange | positioned in an upstream, since the flow velocity of air is slow in the upstream of an air flow, air cannot be made to contact a deodorizing part efficiently. Further, on the downstream side of the air, the upstream deodorizing part becomes a resistance of the air flow path, and the air cannot be efficiently contacted with the sterilizing part. That is, in the conventional deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus, both the deodorizing effect and the sterilizing effect are not sufficient.

  The air cleaner disclosed in Patent Document 6 breaks down the air existing in the purification treatment space between the needle electrode and the flat plate electrode to generate plasma. Further, by attaching a photocatalytic element to the needle-like electrode, it is possible to obtain a photocatalytic action using ultraviolet rays generated by plasma excitation. However, since the above air cleaner generates atmospheric pressure plasma using the air flow by natural convection, ozone is inevitably generated. The formation and deodorizing action of the air flow in the above air cleaner is largely due to the contribution of ozone generated by atmospheric pressure plasma, and it is assumed that the contribution of the photocatalyst is small.

JP 2007-325706 A JP 2008-12060 Gazette JP 2008-167901 A JP 2009-285654 JP-A-8-266854 JP 2012-139452

However, due to recent improvements in hygiene concepts, there is a need for higher performance deodorizing and sterilizing devices. In particular, there is an increasing demand for small deodorizing and sterilizing apparatuses for general household use such as automobiles and refrigerators.
An object of the present invention is to provide a high-performance and compact deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus.

  The present invention includes a fan that can be driven to rotate and has an arm that is mounted radially about a rotation axis, a first electrode is formed on the surface of the arm, and is concentric with a rotation trajectory of the fan centered on the rotation axis. A deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus in which a second electrode is disposed apart from an arm tip and a dielectric layer is formed on the surface of at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode. In the deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus described above, a deodorizing portion is formed on the air inflow side of the arm surface of the rotationally driven fan having an arm, and the first electrode is formed in a region different from the deodorizing portion forming region on the arm surface. Is preferred. The deodorization part preferably contains a photocatalyst or a porous body. When a photocatalyst is used, it is also preferable to provide a light source near the deodorization part.

  In the present invention having the above-described configuration, plasma is generated in an annular region that is concentric with the rotation trajectory of the fan by rotating the fan. The present invention can obtain a bactericidal action by the plasma generated in the generation region. Further, it is preferable to form a deodorizing part such as a photocatalyst in the fan. The present invention includes a compact deodorizing and sterilizing device in which a sterilizing unit and a deodorizing unit are integrated with a fan.

  In the present invention, when the fan is rotated, air flows toward the rotation surface of the fan. The air that has flowed into the fan uniformly contacts the plasma generation region while being agitated by the fan. For this reason, the action of plasma causes the decomposition of organic substances in the air and the killing of airborne bacteria, so that deodorization and sterilization are performed simultaneously. In addition, when the sterilization unit and the deodorizing unit are integrated with the fan, the air flowing into the fan can be uniformly contacted with the plasma generation region and the deodorizing unit while being stirred by the fan. With the integrated structure, the deodorizing effect can be further improved while maintaining the compactness of the apparatus.

  In the present invention, since the deodorizing part and the sterilizing part are provided in parallel along the rotation surface of the fan, the pressure loss is small and the energy efficiency is good. Moreover, since the deodorizing part and the sterilizing part do not become resistance of the flow path, air can be efficiently contacted with any functional part.

  In the present invention, since the deodorizing part is integrated with the fan, the deodorizing part can be brought into contact with the air at a high flow rate. Therefore, a good deodorizing action can be obtained. By obtaining an annular plasma generation region, the present invention can generate plasma in a wider region than in the prior art. Therefore, this invention can improve the bactericidal effect.

It is the schematic which shows an example of the deodorizing sterilizer of this invention. It is a side section schematic diagram showing an example of a deodorizing sterilizer of the present invention. It is the schematic which shows an example of the deodorizing sterilizer of this invention.

  The configuration of the present invention will be described based on the first embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Fig.1 (a) is the schematic which shows the air discharge surface of the deodorizing sterilizer of this invention. FIG.1 (b) is the upper cross-section one side schematic which shows an example of the deodorizing sterilizer of this invention. The upper cross section of the present invention has a contrasting configuration around the rotation axis. Therefore, the upper cross section on the opposite side to the rotating shaft (not shown in FIG. 1B) has the same configuration. FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view showing an example of the deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus of the present invention.

1 and 2, 10 is a deodorizing and sterilizing device, 11 is a rotating shaft, 12 is a housing, 20 is a fan, and 21 is an arm. The air is caused to flow by rotating the fan 20. In each figure, the arrows indicate the direction of air flow. Air flows from the air inflow surface 13 of the deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus 10 and is discharged from the air discharge surface 14. As shown in FIG. 1B, a deodorizing portion 24 and a light source 25 are provided on the arm surface on the air inflow surface 13 side. A dielectric layer 23 is formed. A second electrode 32 and a second dielectric layer 33 are formed on the inner wall of the housing 12.
As the first electrode 22 moves as the fan 20 rotates, plasma is generated in the entire annular plasma generation region 40. The air flowing in from the air inflow surface 13 is deodorized and sterilized while being stirred inside the apparatus, and then flows out of the apparatus from the air discharge surface 14.

[fan]
The deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus 10 of the present invention includes a fan 20 having a plurality of arms 21 that are attached radially about a rotating shaft 12. A deodorizing portion 24 is formed on the air inflow surface side 13 of the arm surface, and a first electrode 22 is formed in a region different from the deodorizing portion forming region. The first electrode 22 can be covered with a dielectric layer. As the arm material, a material capable of forming an electrode material and a deodorizing component, which will be described later, is used. Specific examples include metal systems such as plastic, ceramics, and aluminum, and ceramics are preferably used.

[Deodorization part]
It is preferable to form a deodorizing part on the arm surface on the air inflow side of the fan rotation surface. The deodorization part contains a material capable of decomposing or adsorbing odor components in the air. A deodorizing action can be obtained by bringing an odor component in the air into contact with such a material. In the present invention, since the deodorizing part is integrated with the arm, the flow velocity of the air when contacting the deodorizing part is fast. Further, the air is agitated in the apparatus by the rotation of the fan. Therefore, a large amount of air can be uniformly contacted with the deodorizing portion in a short time, and a good deodorizing action can be obtained.

  As a material capable of decomposing or adsorbing odor components, a photocatalyst and a porous material are preferably contained. As the photocatalytic material, titanium dioxide, barium titanate, silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, strontium titanate, zinc oxide, cadmium sulfide, and tungsten oxide are preferably used, and titanium dioxide and tungsten oxide are more preferably used.

  By irradiating the photocatalytic material with ultraviolet light or visible light, holes and electrons are generated, and the holes and water react to generate hydroxy radicals. Odor components such as acetaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan and trimethylamine can be decomposed by the action of the hydroxy radical.

  When using a photocatalyst material, it is also preferable to contain Pt, Cu, Fe, or the like as a promoter in the deodorization part. By collecting electrons in the cocatalyst, recombination of holes and electrons generated in the photocatalytic material is suppressed, and a decrease in the amount of hydroxy radicals generated can be suppressed. As a result, the photocatalytic activity can be improved. The present invention can improve the deodorizing action by about 30 to 50% as compared with the prior art.

  As a light source for exciting the photocatalytic material, it is preferable to provide a black light, an LED, or the like in the vicinity of the photocatalyst formation region on the arm surface. When using an ultraviolet responsive photocatalytic material such as titanium oxide, it is preferable to provide a UV LED or the like. When a visible light responsive photocatalytic material such as tungsten oxide is used, fluorescent lamp illumination, visible light LED, or the like can be used.

  From the viewpoint of uniformly irradiating light to the photocatalytic material formed on the surface of each arm, the light source is preferably disposed in the vicinity of the rotation axis. 1 and 2 show an example in which the light source 25 is arranged in the vicinity of the rotation shaft 11. The deodorizing part 24 formed on the arm surface is arranged radially around the light source 25. The photocatalytic material can also be excited by plasma generated between a first electrode and a second electrode described later.

When using a porous body for a deodorizing part, a deodorizing effect | action can be acquired by making an odor component adsorb | suck to the hole. As the porous body used in the present invention, silica gel, porous ceramic, zeolite, activated carbon, mesoporous silica or the like is preferable, and porous silica is more preferable.
The deodorizing part-containing components such as the photocatalyst and the porous body may be used alone, or different materials may be used for each arm. The deodorizing part of the present invention is allowed to contain other components such as a thickener and an inorganic binder as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired.

  The deodorizing part forming region on the arm surface is preferably provided on the air inflow surface where the flow velocity of air is the fastest. The formation area is preferably as large as possible from the viewpoint of securing a large number of contact surfaces with air. However, the first electrode is formed on the arm surface of the present invention in addition to the deodorizing portion. In order to achieve both proper plasma generation and deodorizing action between the first electrode and the second electrode, the area ratio between the first electrode and the deodorizing portion on the air inflow surface of the arm is preferably about 20:80. From the viewpoint of increasing the surface area of the deodorizing portion, it is preferable to provide a level on the surface of the deodorizing portion, but a flat surface may also be used.

  When a photocatalyst is used for the deodorizing part, it is preferable to adjust the number of arms, the mounting angle, and the like as appropriate from the viewpoint of satisfactorily irradiating the photocatalytic material with light. As a preferred example of arm attachment, 6 to 8 arms are arranged radially at equal intervals around the rotation axis, and the deodorizing part forming surface of each arm is inclined 45 degrees with respect to the surface orthogonal to the rotation axis. And attached structure.

  The rotational speed of the fan is preferably set so that the wind speed is 1 m / s or more and 300 m / s or less. Thereby, air can be satisfactorily brought into contact with the deodorizing portion, and an effective deodorizing action can be obtained. Furthermore, pressure loss can be further reduced by setting it to 50 m / s or more and 200 m / s or less. The preferable wind speed also contributes to stabilization of plasma discharge described later.

[Sterilization function part]
In the present invention, the first electrode 22 formed on the arm surface of the fan 20 and the second electrode 32 arranged concentrically with the rotation trajectory of the fan 20 centered on the rotation shaft 11 and spaced from the arm tip. The airborne bacteria in the air can be killed by the plasma generated between them. Moreover, said plasma also has the effect | action which decomposes | disassembles an odor component.

  When the fan 20 is driven to rotate, the first electrode 22 formed on the arm surface moves on a circle with the rotation axis 11 as the center. The second electrode 32 is formed on a concentric circle in which the orbit of the first electrode 22 and the center of the circle are common. By applying the first electrode 22 and the second electrode 32 to rotationally drive the fan 20, the present invention generates plasma over the entire annular region between the first electrode 22 and the second electrode 32. . When air passes through the annular plasma generation region 40, airborne microbes in the air can be killed by radicals, ultraviolet rays, and discharge current.

In the present invention, since the first electrode 22 is integrated with the fan 20 and moved, the plasma generation region can be increased as compared with the conventional case. Further, since the second electrode 32 serving as the counter electrode is disposed so as to surround the outer periphery of the rotation region of the fan 20, the device configuration is compact.
In the present invention, by rotating the fan 20, a large amount of air can be sent to a wide plasma generation region in a short time. Thereby, the favorable sterilization effect and deodorizing effect can be acquired efficiently.

  At the time of application, either an AC voltage or a DC voltage is appropriately selected. The voltage waveform is preferably a sine, square, or bipolar pulse. A preferable voltage peak value is 100 V or more and 5000 V or less. When a bipolar pulse shape is selected as the voltage waveform, the pulse width is preferably within the range of 0.1 μsec to 300 μsec.

  By applying both electrodes under the above-mentioned conditions while the fan 20 is rotating, dielectric breakdown occurs sequentially with the second electrode 32 along the trajectory of the first electrode 22, and as a result, over the entire plasma generation region 40. Discharge occurs and plasma is generated.

  The second electrode 32 of the present invention is preferably formed on the inner wall of the housing 12 that houses the fan 20. The second electrode 32 is preferably provided with a distance of 0.05 mm or more and 2.0 mm or less from the first electrode 22, and more preferably with a distance of 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less. When the above-mentioned separation distance exceeds 2.0 mm, high energy is required to generate a stable plasma discharge, and the discharge tends to become unstable due to the generation of sparks. On the other hand, if the distance is less than 0.1 mm, the electric field strength becomes weak and the discharge tends to become unstable.

  The film thickness of the first electrode 22 and the second electrode 32 is preferably 0.15 mm or more. Dielectric layers 23 and 33 are formed on one or both surfaces of the first electrode 22 and the second electrode 32. The film thicknesses of the first dielectric layer 23 and the second dielectric layer 33 are preferably 0.15 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less. By forming the film with the above thickness, charges are appropriately charged and the discharge voltage can be lowered. Moreover, wear of the electrode can be suppressed.

  As a material of the first electrode 22 and the second electrode 32, a conventionally known metal electrode used for atmospheric pressure glow discharge or the like can be used. Specifically, copper, silver, gold, platinum, aluminum, stainless steel, titanium and the like are exemplified. Materials for the first dielectric layer 23 and the second dielectric layer 33 are quartz, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, magnesium oxide, strontium titanate, silicon oxide, silver phosphate, lead zirconate titanate, barium titanate, silicon Examples thereof include carbide, indium oxide, cadmium oxide, bismuth oxide, zinc oxide, iron oxide, and carbon nanotube.

  The first electrode 22 of the present invention can be formed in any region of the arm surface as long as the deodorizing portion 24 is not shielded. The shape of the 1st electrode 22 will not be restrict | limited especially if it is a shape which can obtain sufficient plasma production amount in order to exhibit the bactericidal action of this invention between the 2nd electrodes 32. FIG.

  The first dielectric layer 23 formed on the first electrode 22 is provided at least at the tip of the arm. The shape of the first dielectric layer 23 is not particularly limited as long as it functions as a fan blade and contributes to good plasma generation. Preferred shapes include a rectangular pyramid shape, a spindle shape, a sector shape, and the like. From the viewpoint of generating plasma in a wide area, the first dielectric layer 23 formed on the first electrode 22 is expanded from the arm tip toward the rotation axis on the air discharge surface 14 side of the device 10. It is preferable.

A second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 has the same basic structure as FIG. 1, but the shape of the first dielectric layer 23 is different, and the deodorization of the present invention in which the first dielectric layer 23 is also formed on the arm surface on the air discharge surface side. It is the schematic which shows the example of a sterilizer. As shown in FIG. 3, by forming the first dielectric layer 23 from the tip of the arm to the vicinity of the rotation axis, the plasma generation region 40 can be formed in almost the entire area of the fan rotation surface.
Other adjustment elements that expand the plasma generation region include the cross-sectional area of the fan, that is, the area of the fan rotation surface, the thickness of the fan, that is, the distance from the air inflow surface to the air outflow surface, and the like.

  In the present invention, the deodorizing part and the first electrode are integrated with the fan, and the second electrode is disposed so as to surround the outer periphery of the fan. That is, the deodorizing part and the plasma generation region are arranged in parallel along the fan rotation surface. Therefore, the air flowing into the apparatus by the rotation of the fan has almost no pressure loss until it comes into contact with the deodorizing part and the plasma generation region. For this reason, it is possible to use the air blowing capacity of the fan with high efficiency and to bring a large amount of air into contact with the deodorizing portion and the plasma generation region.

  Further, since the air is agitated by the rotation of the fan, the air can be brought into uniform contact with both the deodorizing portion and the plasma generation region. That is, according to the present invention, a deodorizing effect and a bactericidal action can be obtained instantaneously by simply rotating the fan. In the present invention, a sterilizing effect and a deodorizing effect can be obtained only in the plasma generation region, but the deodorizing effect can be further improved by providing a deodorizing part. Moreover, this invention can rotate a fan in the state which is not applied. Therefore, when the user wants to obtain only the deodorizing effect, the plasma generation can be stopped by switching the power supply for application.

  In a device in which a conventional deodorizing filter or plasma device is fixed in series, the deodorizing filter or the like becomes a resistance to air flow, and it is difficult to bring air into contact with a desired mechanism. In the present invention, there is no configuration that provides flow path resistance upstream of the airflow due to the parallel configuration described above. As a result, the flow velocity of the air flow and the design of the flow path are simple, and the apparatus can be downsized and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The present invention will be described using examples. The present invention is not limited to the following examples.
[Example]
A silver film having a film thickness of 0.2 mm was formed on the inner wall of a cylindrical casing having an inner diameter of 55 mm by screen printing as a second electrode. Further, as the second dielectric layer, barium titanate was formed to a thickness of 0.5 mm by screen printing.

A photocatalyst containing titanium oxide and Pt in a region 10 mm away from one end of each arm on eight 15 mm long polycarbonate arms was formed into a 15 mm x 30 mm, 0.5 mm film thickness by a kneading process. Filmed. In the other region of the arm, silver was formed into a film with a film thickness of 0.2 mm as a first electrode by screen printing. A rectangular pyramid-shaped first dielectric layer having a thickness of 0.5 mm was formed on the surface of the first electrode.
A fan was made by axially supporting eight produced arms at 45 degrees radially on the rotation axis. A black light was attached to the center of the created fan, and the fan was stored in the housing to obtain the deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus of the example.

  The deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus of the above example was applied at 3.0 kV and 20 kHz, the fan was rotated at a wind speed of 2.0 m / s, and the deodorizing effect and the bactericidal effect were evaluated.

  The sterilization effect of the present invention was evaluated using Escherichia coli as a sterilization target. Operate the device of the above example for 6 hours on a medium coated with E. coli in a 100 L container at room temperature to release active species, then culture the bacteria on the medium, and count the number of colonies formed did. As a result, a sterilization rate of 99% or more was confirmed. Acetaldehyde was used as a deodorization target gas, the target gas of acetaldehyde was injected into a 100 L container, and the device of the above example was operated to confirm a deodorization rate of 99% or more in 2 hours.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Deodorizing sterilizer 11 Rotating shaft 12 Case 13 Air inflow surface 14 Air exhaust surface 20 Fan 21 Arm 22 First electrode 23 First dielectric layer 24 Deodorizing part 25 Light source 32 Second electrode 33 Second dielectric layer 40 Plasma generation region

Claims (5)

  A fan that can be driven to rotate has an arm mounted radially about the rotation axis, the first electrode is formed on the surface of the arm, and the tip of the arm concentrically with the rotation trajectory of the fan centering on the rotation axis A deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus in which a second electrode is disposed so as to be spaced apart, and a dielectric layer is formed on the surface of at least one of the first electrode and the second electrode.   The deodorizing part according to claim 1, wherein a deodorizing part is formed on the air inflow side of the arm surface of the fan that can be driven to rotate, and the first electrode is formed in a region different from the deodorizing part forming region on the arm surface. Sterilizer.   The deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a deodorizing unit containing a photocatalyst.   The deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a light source is provided on the arm surface on the air inflow side. The deodorizing and sterilizing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a deodorizing unit containing a porous body.