JP2018015033A - Odor control method and odor radiation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique performing more effective odor control to various environments having a risk of generating unpleasant odor.SOLUTION: In an odor generation environment 1 having a risk of generating unpleasant odor, unpleasant odor is generated by an odor substance including a specified odor substance ODM having the characteristics that odor quality changes between low concentration and high concentration. In the odor generation environment 1, for performing odor control, the specified odor substance ODM is radiated to the odor generation environment, and the person placed in the odor generation environment is made to adapt to the specified odor substance ODM. When the specified odor substance ODM is radiated to the odor generation environment 1, the odor of the radiated specified odor substance ODM is made to the alteration concentration at which the odor quality changes in the specified odor substance ODM or lower.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for taking odor countermeasures in an environment where an unpleasant odor may occur.

  When caring for a patient or a care recipient in a room such as a medical facility, a care facility, or a home care home, excretion care may be required such as changing diapers or assisting excretion with a portable toilet. When excretion care is performed indoors in this way, unpleasant odors diffuse into the room due to odorous substances released into the room, making it difficult to maintain a good indoor environment. Therefore, a local deodorization device that deodorizes on the odor source side has been proposed so that odors can be captured and removed before diffusion, and unpleasant odors can be prevented from diffusing indoors (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

JP 2004-413 A

  However, even if the local deodorization device proposed in Patent Document 1 is used, it is not always easy to completely remove the odor generated from the odor source. It becomes difficult to suppress diffusion into the room. Therefore, depending on the local deodorization device proposed in Patent Document 1, it is not always easy to take effective odor countermeasures even in a medical facility, a care facility, or a home care home.

  Also, the problem of unpleasant odor does not stop at medical facilities, nursing homes or home care homes. For example, it is required to take measures against unpleasant odors in various facilities such as livestock facilities, waste and sewage treatment facilities, and various factories. In such facilities, even if adequate odor countermeasures are taken based on laws and regulations, local residents may feel unpleasant odors depending on weather conditions such as wind direction or differences in individual susceptibility to odors. It is difficult to treat a wide range of odors generated from these facilities by a method of chemically decomposing or physically removing odorous substances such as a deodorizing apparatus.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and provides a technique for more effective odor countermeasures in various environments where an unpleasant odor may occur. Objective.

  In order to achieve at least a part of the above object, the present invention can be realized as the following forms or application examples.

[Application Example 1]
In an odor generation environment where an unpleasant odor may occur, an odor countermeasure method for odor countermeasures, wherein the odor substance that generates the odor has a characteristic that the odor quality changes between a low concentration and a high concentration The odor generating environment, the specific odor substance is diffused below the altered concentration at which the odor quality changes in the specific odor substance, and a person placed in the odor generating environment is Odor control method that adapts to specific odor substances.

  In general, certain odorous substances that have the characteristic that the odor quality changes between low and high concentrations exhibit an unpleasant odor when the concentration is higher than the altered concentration, and when the concentration is lower than the altered concentration Presents an unpleasant smell or rather a pleasant smell. Accordingly, a person placed in an odor generating environment in which a specific odor substance is diffused at a concentration lower than the altered concentration adjusts to the specific odor substance with almost no unpleasant smell. By adapting to a specific odorous substance in this way, even if the concentration of the specific odorous substance becomes high enough to exhibit an unpleasant odor, the unpleasant sensation felt by a person placed in the odor generating environment is reduced. Such an effect of reducing discomfort is brought about regardless of the characteristics of the odor-generating environment such as indoors or outdoors, the release state of odorous substances, and the like. Therefore, the odor countermeasure method of this application example is more effective for various environments where an unpleasant odor may occur.

[Application Example 2]
The odor countermeasure method, wherein the concentration of the specific odor substance to be diffused is 1/100 or more of the detection threshold concentration of the specific odor substance. By setting the concentration of the specific odorous substance to be diffused to 1/100 or more of the detection threshold concentration, a person placed in the odor generating environment can be adapted to the specific odorous substance more reliably. Therefore, the discomfort felt by a person placed in an odor generating environment due to a specific odor substance can be more reliably reduced.

[Application Example 3]
The odor countermeasure method according to Application Example 1 or 2, wherein the specific odor substance is at least one of skatole and indole. Skatole and indole have a very unpleasant odor at high concentrations, whereas they have a pleasant scent at low concentrations. For this reason, it is more strongly desired to reduce discomfort at a high concentration, and comfort can be given to a person placed in an odor generating environment when adapting at a low concentration. Therefore, according to this application example, odor countermeasures are more effective.

[Application Example 4]
The odor countermeasure method according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 3, wherein the specific odor substance is diffused into the odor generation environment by generating a flower bud having the specific odor substance as a floral scent component. An odor countermeasure method, which is performed by planting in the environment and dissipating the specific odorous substance to the flower of the planted flower. According to this application example, by using a flower to disperse a specific odorous substance into the odor generating environment, it is possible to make the person placed in the odor generating environment feel comfortable in a state where the smell presented by the odorous substance is not unpleasant. be able to. In addition, by using flowers as the source of odorous substances, it is possible to visually feel comfort in people who are placed in an odor-generating environment.

  Note that the present invention can be realized in various modes. For example, the present invention can be realized in the form of an odor countermeasure method or an odor diffusion device for realizing the odor countermeasure method.

Explanatory drawing which shows the mode of the odor countermeasure in the medical facility as one Embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the result of having evaluated the odor intensity | strength and the pleasantness / discomfort degree about the presentation sample which contains skatole as an odor substance. The graph which shows the result of having evaluated the odor intensity | strength and pleasantness / discomfort degree about the presentation sample which contains indole as an odor substance. The graph which shows the SD profile of the odor quality in the presentation sample of the high concentration odor containing skatole. The graph which shows SD profile of the odor quality in the presentation sample of the high concentration odor containing indole. The graph which shows the result of having evaluated the odor quality by the factor score about the presentation sample of the high concentration odor containing skatole. The graph which shows the result of having evaluated the odor quality by the factor score about the presentation sample of the high concentration odor containing indole.

Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described in the following order.
A. Embodiment:
B. Example:

A. Embodiment:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of odor countermeasures in a medical facility as one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a situation where two patients PT1 and PT2 are in a hospital room 1 in a medical facility. FIG. 1A shows a state where a care worker CRP has entered the hospital room 1, and FIG. 1B shows a state where the care worker CRP is performing excretion care for the patient PT2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an odor diffusing device 10 that disperses the odorous substance ODM is installed in the hospital room 1. The odor diffusion device 10 diffuses skatole or indole as the odorous substance ODM at a concentration (described later) set according to the characteristics of the odorous substance ODM. Both skatole and indole are odorous substances contained in many odorous substances that cause the odor of excreta, and have the property that the odor quality (odorous quality) changes between low and high concentrations. Yes. In this embodiment, skatole or indole is diffused at a concentration equal to or lower than the concentration at which the odor quality changes (hereinafter also referred to as “altered concentration”). The altered concentration can be determined by evaluating the odor quality by a sensory test or the like. In this embodiment, skatole or indole is diffused as the odorous substance ODM, but both skatole and indole can be diffused. In this case, the upper limit of the concentrations of skatole and indole to be diffused can be the altered concentrations of skatole and indole, respectively. It is also possible to evaluate and determine the odor quality of the odor mixed with skatole and indole in consideration of the change in odor quality due to mixing of skatole and indole. In addition, the suitable range of the density | concentration of the odorous substance ODM diffused is mentioned later.

  The odor diffuser 10 only needs to be able to disperse the odorous substance ODM at a concentration equal to or lower than the altered concentration, and the specific structure of the odor diffuser 10 is appropriately selected from various structures known as fragrance diffusers and the like. Is possible. For example, a solution in which the odorous substance ODM is sufficiently diluted is placed in a storage container, and the odorous substance ODM is sucked up by an absorption core extending outward from the storage container so that the odorous substance ODM is diffused from the absorption core. May be. As such an odor diffusing device, for example, a device having the same structure as the fragrance diffuser disclosed in JP-A-2001-261080 can be used. Further, like the blower disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-120118, it is possible to disperse the odorous substance ODM using the solidified odorous substance ODM. In this case, since the concentration of the odorous substance ODM alone may be excessively high with the odorous substance ODM alone, the odorous substance ODM is adsorbed on a porous material such as silica gel or porous metal, or the odorous substance ODM is absorbed in the gel. The odorous substance ODM is preferably solidified by adding the substance ODM. Furthermore, the odor diffusing device 10 does not have to be an independent device disposed in the hospital room 1 or the like. For example, the odor diffusing device is provided in an air conditioning facility that air-conditions the hospital room 1, and It is good also as what supplies the odorous substance ODM in the ventilation flow path which sends.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the odor releasing device 10 dissipates the odorous substance ODM at a concentration equal to or lower than the altered concentration into the inside of the hospital room 1, so that the odorous substance ODM below the altered concentration is present inside the hospital room 1. To charge. Usually, the odor substance ODM whose odor quality changes according to the concentration exhibits an unpleasant odor or rather a pleasant odor (fragrance) when the concentration is lower than the altered concentration. Specifically, skatole exhibits an unpleasant odor called a so-called skunk odor at a high concentration, but exhibits a refreshing scent at a low concentration. Similarly, indole exhibits an unpleasant odor called so-called fecal odor at high concentrations, but exhibits a scent reminiscent of white flowers at low concentrations. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), the caregiver CRP who entered the hospital room 1 filled with the odorous substance ODM at a concentration equal to or lower than the altered density, and the patients PT1 and PT2 who entered the hospital room 1, The smell of the odorous substance ODM is hardly felt unpleasant.

  In this state, the patients PT1 and PT2 who have entered the bed are in a state of adapting to the odorous substance ODM since they have been in the hospital room 1 filled with the odorous substance ODM for a sufficiently long time. Further, the care worker CRP who has entered the hospital room 1 is also adapted to the odorous substance ODM after a certain amount of time (for example, about 1 minute) has passed since the care worker CRP entered the room.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, when the care worker CRP performs excretion care for the patient PT2, the odorous substance ODM contained in the excrement is released into the hospital room 1. Therefore, the concentration of the odorous substance ODM in the inside of the hospital room 1 increases. However, as described above, the care worker CRP or the patients PT1 and PT2 are adapted to the odorous substance ODM by the odorous substance ODM diffused by the odor diffusion apparatus 10, and therefore, the smell of the odorous substance ODM is exhibited. This reduces the discomfort felt by the caregiver CRP or the patients PT1, PT2.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, in the hospital room 1 where an unpleasant odor due to the odor substance ODM may occur, the odor dispersal device 10 has a concentration equal to or lower than the altered concentration at which the odor quality changes, that is, a caregiver Disperses odorous substance ODM at a concentration at which CRP and patients PT1, PT2 do not feel uncomfortable. As a result, the hospital room 1 is filled with the odorous substance ODM at a concentration equal to or lower than the altered concentration, so that the caregiver CRP and the patients PT1 and PT2 adapt to the odorous substance ODM without feeling uncomfortable. Therefore, even when the care worker CRP performs excretion care, the concentration of the odorous substance ODM increases, and even if the odorous substance ODM has an unpleasant odor, the caregiver is in charge due to the smell of the odorous substance ODM. Discomfort felt by the person CRP and the patients PT1, PT2 is reduced.

  In addition, in FIG. 1, although the example which has applied this invention to the odor countermeasure in the hospital room 1 of a medical facility is shown, in addition to the room provided in medical facilities, such as the hospital room 1, this invention is a nursing facility, It can also be applied to odor countermeasures in various places where excretion care may be performed, such as in a room such as a home-care home where a cared person is present. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only indoors but also for odor countermeasures outdoors. For example, odorous substances ODM are diffused around equipment that may generate odor due to skatole or indole, such as livestock facilities or rubber factories, or at the periphery of sites such as livestock facilities or rubber factories. It is also possible to reduce the unpleasant sensation that the odor generated in factories and the like gives to the surrounding residents.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where skatole or indole is included in the odor substance, that is, the case where the source of odor is human excrement, animal dung or rubber has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to various odor substances as long as the odor substance that causes odor changes in odor quality depending on the concentration. In general, an odor substance that causes an unpleasant odor may be diffused at a concentration equal to or lower than the altered concentration in an odor generating environment that may cause an unpleasant odor. As described above, the odor substances whose odor quality (that is, odor quality) varies depending on the concentration include substances shown in Table 1 below. However, skatole and indole exhibit a very unpleasant smell at high concentrations, whereas they exhibit a pleasant scent at low concentrations. For this reason, it is more strongly desired to reduce discomfort at a high concentration, and comfort can be given to a person placed in an odor generating environment when adapting at a low concentration. Therefore, the odor countermeasure method as one embodiment of the present invention is a more effective method when skatole or indole is contained in an odor substance causing unpleasant odor.

  For example, in dental clinics where halitosis may be released as an odor-generating environment, discomfort caused by bad breath can be reduced by releasing bad breath odor substances such as hydrogen sulfide and dimethyl sulfide at concentrations below the altered concentration. can do. Further, as an odor generation environment, for example, around a garbage collection site, a waste treatment facility, a sewage treatment facility, or the like, hydrogen sulfide and dimethyl sulfide that cause the odor may be diffused at a concentration equal to or lower than the altered concentration. Thereby, even when the odor substance has an unpleasant smell in the odor generating environment, it is possible to reduce the uncomfortable feeling felt by a person placed in the odor generating environment.

  Note that the concentration of the odorous substance diffused in the odor generating environment is preferably lower in order to reduce the possibility of discomfort caused by the diffused odorous substance. However, when the concentration of the odorous substance is lowered, the time required for adaptation by the odorous substance is increased. Furthermore, if the concentration of the odorous substance becomes too low, adaptation hardly occurs and it becomes difficult to reduce discomfort. The concentration of the odorous substance diffused into the odor generating environment is determined in consideration of such characteristics. Specifically, the concentration of the odorous substance to be diffused may be equal to or less than the altered concentration, but is preferably 30% or less of the altered concentration. Further, the upper limit of the concentration of the odorous substance can be determined by the unacceptable rate. In this case, the concentration of the odorous material is preferably set so that the unacceptable rate is 20% or less. On the other hand, the concentration of the odorous substance to be diffused may be higher than the concentration at which a person can adapt to the odorous substance. Whether or not a person adapts to an odor substance can be determined by a sensory test. Specifically, after presenting a sample with a low concentration of odorous substances on the panel, a sample with a concentration (detection threshold concentration) that can be finally detected in a state in which the odorous substances are not adapted is presented to the panel, It can be determined by evaluating whether or not it can be sensed. Further, by presenting a sample having a low concentration of odorous substance, it is possible to determine whether or not the evaluation value of the odor intensity of a sample having a higher concentration of odorous substance than the detection threshold concentration is lowered. However, the concentration of the odorous substance is preferably at least 1 / 100th of the detection threshold concentration, and 1 / 10th of the detection threshold concentration, in order to adapt the person placed in the odor generating environment more reliably to the odorous substance. More preferably. Furthermore, in order to shorten the time required for adaptation by the odorous substance, the concentration of the odorous substance is preferably not less than the detection threshold concentration, and more preferably not less than twice the detection threshold concentration. Moreover, it is preferable to change suitably the density | concentration of the odorous substance diffused according to the characteristic of an odor generating environment. For example, in a medical facility, a care facility, or a home with a cared person, it is preferable to set the concentration of the odorous substance to be released higher in order to sufficiently shorten the time required for adaptation. On the other hand, in the surroundings of facilities such as livestock facilities, rubber factories or sewage treatment facilities, the time required for adaptation can be made longer, so it is preferable to set the concentration of the odorous substance to be released lower. Furthermore, it is preferable to set a higher concentration of odorous substances to be diffused indoors where ventilation is well performed or outdoors, and in rooms where ventilation is not sufficient, the concentration of odorous substances to be diffused is higher. It is preferable to set a low value.

  In the present embodiment, the odorous substance ODM is diffused to the odor generating environment (patient room 1) by the odor diffusing apparatus 10, but the odorous substance ODM can be diffused into the odor generating environment by other methods. is there. For example, instead of the odor diffusing device 10, it is possible to plant a floret having the odorous substance ODM as a component of the fragrance of the flower and to diffuse the odorous substance ODM to the flower of the floret. In this case, a lily may be planted as a floret having skatole as a floral scent component, and jasmine or orange may be planted as a floret having an indole as a floral scent component. . In this way, by using the flowers to disperse the odorous substance ODM to the odor generating environment, it is possible to make the person placed in the odor generating environment feel comfortable in the state where the smell presented by the odorous substance ODM is not unpleasant. . Further, by using flowers as the source of the odorous substance ODM, it is possible to visually make people feel comfortable in an odor-generating environment.

B. Example:
As an example of the present invention, in order to confirm that it is possible to reduce discomfort given by a high concentration of odor by adapting with a low concentration of odor not causing discomfort, low concentrations of skatole and indole are used. The effect of adaptation by odor on the sensory intensity and odor quality of high concentration odor was evaluated. Specifically, a low-concentration odor presentation sample and a high-concentration odor presentation sample were prepared, and the subject (panel) was presented with the low-concentration odor and adapted, and the panel was not presented with the low-concentration odor. In each of the unadapted (non-adapted) state, a high-concentration odor was presented on the panel, and a sensory test of sensory intensity and odor quality was performed.

[Preparation of odor display sample]
The low-concentration odor presentation sample was set to a concentration at which it does not feel uncomfortable on the 9-level comfort / discomfort evaluation scale. On the other hand, the sample presenting high-concentration odor is “scent that can be easily detected” (odor intensity: 3) on the 6-level odor intensity evaluation scale, and “unpleasant” (comfort / uncomfortable) on the 9-level pleasurable / discomfort degree evaluation scale. Degree of discomfort: −2). Specifically, for skatole, a low-concentration presentation sample adjusted to have an odor concentration of 2 and a high-concentration odor presentation sample adjusted to have an odor concentration of 100 were prepared. For indole, a low-concentration presentation sample adjusted so that the odor concentration was 3 and a high-concentration odor presentation sample adjusted so that the odor concentration was 100 were prepared. Here, the odor concentration refers to a dilution ratio when the sample is diluted to a state where the odor of the sample cannot be detected.

In preparing the presented sample, first, an original odor sample was prepared. The original odor sample was prepared by placing 0.05 g of skatole and 0.5 g of indole reagent in an odor bag, enclosing odorless air in the odor bag and leaving it for 30 minutes. Next, the obtained original odor sample was diluted to prepare an original odor diluted sample. Original odor dilution samples were prepared twice for each of skatole and indole. In addition, the dilution rate at the time of preparing the original odor diluted sample was 10 times for skatole and 3 times for indole. After preparing the original odor diluted sample, the obtained original odor diluted sample was quantitatively analyzed by gas chromatography, and the concentration of the odorous substance (skatole or indole) contained in each of the original odor diluted samples was measured. Next, in a predetermined amount (presented sample amount) of odorless air, an amount of the original odor diluted sample (sample injected amount) calculated based on the concentration measurement result of the odorous substance is injected. Prepared. The amount of sample presented was 10 L for low concentration odors and 3 L for high concentration odors. In addition, when preparing the presentation sample of high concentration odor, the injection amount of the original odor diluted sample was corrected based on the recovery rate of the odor substance. Table 2 and Table 3 below show the odor substance concentration (sample concentration) of the original odor diluted sample, the injection amount (sample injection amount) of the original odor diluted sample, respectively, when the skatole and indole presentation samples were prepared. The amount of the presented sample and the concentration of the odorous substance in the presented sample (presented sample concentration) are shown.

[Method of sensory test]
To present the sample to adapt to the low concentration odor, place the nose pad at a position about 1 cm away from the face of the panel, and supply the low concentration odor display sample to the nose pad at a flow rate of 7 liters per minute for one minute. It was done by doing. In addition, the flow rate of the presented sample was determined based on an adult male's breathing volume per minute (6 to 8 L). The presentation sample for the sensory test was presented by attaching a nose pad to a bag containing the presentation sample and allowing the panel to self-suck the presentation sample by two nasal breaths.

  The test items of the sensory test for high-concentration odor were odor intensity, comfort / discomfort, acceptability, and odor quality according to the Semantic Differential (SD) method. The test items of the low concentration odor sensory test were odor intensity, comfort / discomfort, and acceptability. The evaluation scale for each test item was 11 levels for odor intensity, 9 levels for comfort / discomfort, 2 levels for acceptability, and 7 levels for adjective term pairs of odor quality. In addition, the 11-step odor intensity evaluation scale is a commonly used 6-step odor intensity evaluation scale in 0.5 increments.

  As a panel for performing a sensory test of high concentration odor, a panel of 10 men and women who passed the panel selection test was adopted. As a panel for performing a sensory test for low-concentration odor, a panel of six men and women among the panels subjected to a sensory test for high-concentration odor was employed. The sensory test was performed in a laboratory where the temperature of the air conditioning equipment was set to 22 ° C. and the odorless state was maintained by sufficient ventilation.

[Sensory test results (odor intensity and comfort / discomfort)]
Table 4 below shows the results of evaluating the odor intensity, pleasantness / discomfort, and unacceptable rate for each of the low-concentration odor and the high-concentration odor.

  As shown in Table 4, in both skatole and indole, the odor intensity of the low-concentration odor is almost the same as the “scent that can be finally detected” (odor intensity: 1), and the pleasantness / discomfort level is clearly unpleasant. The degree of comfort / discomfort (-1) was not reached. The unacceptable rate was 17% in all cases, which was lower than the odor standard of the Building Standard Law, 20%. From this, it was confirmed that the presented sample having a low concentration odor hardly gives unpleasant feelings to humans.

  FIG. 2 is a graph showing the results of evaluating the odor intensity and the degree of comfort / discomfort for the presented sample containing skatole as the odor substance. In the graph of FIG. 2, the evaluation result of the six panel which performed the sensory test of the low concentration odor as an evaluation result of the high odor density | concentration in a non-adaptation state and an adaptation state is shown. In the graph of FIG. 2, the numbers shown in the graph indicate the average value of the evaluation values, and the error bars indicate the range (± σ) obtained by adding or subtracting the standard deviation of the evaluation values to the average value.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the low-concentration odor presentation sample had an odor intensity of 1.2, which is about a “scent that can be finally detected”. On the other hand, in the sample with high concentration odor, the odor intensity is 3.7 and 3.3 in the non-adapted state and the adapted state, respectively. The odor intensity was higher than The odor intensity of the high concentration odor with respect to the low concentration odor was significant at the 1% level. Therefore, it was confirmed that the odor intensity of the high-concentration odor was significantly higher than the odor intensity of the low-concentration odor in both the non-adapted state and the adapted state. However, since the odor intensity in the adapted state is lower than that in the non-adapted state, it was confirmed that the sensory intensity of the odor can be lowered by adapting with the low concentration odor.

  As shown in FIG.2 (b), in the presentation sample of the low concentration odor, the pleasantness / discomfort degree was -0.3, which was sufficiently smaller than the pleasantness / discomfort degree (-1) showing clear discomfort. On the other hand, in the sample with high concentration odor, the pleasantness / discomfort degree was −2.5 and −2.0 in the non-adapted state and the adapted state, respectively, indicating that it was unpleasant. In addition, the pleasantness and discomfort of the high-concentration odor with respect to the low-concentration odor was significant at the 1% level in the non-adapted state and at the 5% level in the acclimatized state. Therefore, it was confirmed that the pleasantness / discomfort level of the high-concentration odor was significantly more unpleasant than the comfort / discomfort degree of the low-concentration odor in both the non-adapted state and the adapted state. However, the pleasantness / discomfort level of the high-concentration odor in the acclimatized state is lower than the comfort / discomfort level in the non-adapted state, and the significance level has decreased to the 5% level. It was confirmed that it was possible to reduce discomfort by adapting with.

  FIG. 3 is a graph showing the results of evaluating the odor intensity and the degree of comfort / discomfort for the presented sample containing indole as the odor substance. Also in the graph of FIG. 3, the evaluation result of the panel of six persons who performed the sensory test of the low concentration odor is shown as an evaluation result of the high odor concentration in the non-adapted state and the adapted state similarly to the graph of FIG. . Also in the graph of FIG. 3, the numbers shown in the graph indicate the average value of the evaluation values, and the error bar indicates a range (± σ) obtained by adding or subtracting the standard deviation of the evaluation values to the average value.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the low-concentration odor presentation sample had an odor intensity of 1.1, which was about a “finally detectable odor”. On the other hand, in the sample with high concentration odor, the odor intensity is 3.0 and 2.7 in the non-adapted state and the adapted state, respectively. "It was about the same level." The odor intensity of the high concentration odor with respect to the low concentration odor was significant at the 5% level. Therefore, it was confirmed that the odor intensity of the high-concentration odor was significantly higher than the odor intensity of the low-concentration odor in both the non-adapted state and the adapted state. However, since the odor intensity in the adapted state is lower than that in the non-adapted state, it can be confirmed that the odor sensory intensity can be lowered by adapting the indole with a low concentration odor. It was.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, even in the indole, the average value of the pleasantness / discomfort degree is sufficiently smaller than the pleasantness / discomfort degree (−1) that clearly shows the discomfort in the sample having a low concentration odor −0. .3. On the other hand, in the sample with high concentration odor, the comfort / discomfort level was −1.5 and −0.8 in the non-adapted state and the adapted state, respectively, indicating that it was more unpleasant than the low-concentration odor. . However, there was no significant difference in the comfort / discomfort level of the high-concentration odor with respect to the low-concentration odor in either the non-adapted state or the adapted state. This is probably because the odor intensity was lower than the odor intensity (FIG. 2 (a)) when skatole was used, as shown in FIG. 3 (a). However, since the pleasantness / discomfort level of the high-concentration odor in the adapted state is lower than the pleasantness / discomfort degree in the non-adapted state, the discomfort is reduced by adapting the indole with the low-concentration odor. It was confirmed that it was possible.

  From the above results, in both skatole and indole, by adjusting with a low concentration odor that does not cause discomfort, the sensation intensity is reduced with respect to the high concentration odor that gives discomfort, and discomfort It was confirmed that it was possible to reduce.

[Sensory test results (odor quality)]
In order to evaluate changes in odor quality perceived in the non-adapted state and the acclimated state, the odor quality of each of the adjective term pairs used in the SD method was determined for the high-concentration odors of skatole and indole. The pattern similarity rate corresponding to the similarity was calculated. And based on the calculated pattern similarity rate, the change of the odor quality in a non-adaptation state and an adaptation state was evaluated. In addition, by performing factor analysis on the evaluation values in the adjective term pairs, the adjective term pairs are divided into four factors (factor I: comfort, factor II: impression, factor III: calmness, and factor IV: warmth. The score for each factor was calculated. And based on the score about each calculated factor, the change of the odor quality in a non-adaptation state and an adaptation state was evaluated.

The pattern similarity rate S (A, B) includes an evaluation value group A (a ₁ , a ₂ ,... A _n ) of an adjective term pair in the non-adapted state and an evaluation value group B (b ₁ ) of the adjective term pair in the adapted state. , B ₂ ,..., B _n ) and the following equation. Here, n represents the number of adjective term pairs.

  The pattern similarity rate S (A, B) calculated in this way indicates that the pattern is more similar as it approaches 1. When the pattern similarity S (A, B) is 0.9 or more, the sensory similarity expressed on a scale of 10 levels (“not similar” to “similar so much that the difference is not known”). ) 4.5 (between “slightly similar” and “somewhat similar”) to 6.5 (“very similar” and “very similar”) (Osako, Nishida, “Study on Evaluation Method of Complex Odor by Odor Pattern (2nd Report)”, Journal of Japan Society for Air Pollution, 1990, Vol. 25, No. 1 No., p. 56-65). In the evaluation of the odor quality performed in the present example, the components and concentrations of the presented samples presented in the non-adapted state and the adapted state are the same, and thus the odor quality is essentially similar. Therefore, whether or not a difference in odor quality is felt based on the pattern similarity rate S (A, B) of 0.95 as a standard so that the similarity is higher than “very similar”. It was judged.

  FIG. 4 is a graph showing an SD profile of odor quality in a sample having a high concentration odor containing skatole. Here, the SD profile is a so-called line graph showing the average value of the evaluation values of each adjective term pair used in the SD method. As shown in FIG. 4, in the high-concentration odor containing skatole, the shape of each SD profile in the non-adapted state and the adapted state is similar as a whole, so the odor quality in the non-adapted state and the adapted state is similar. it seems to do. However, the pattern similarity S (A, B) was 0.929, and it was found that the panel of the sensory test felt that there was a difference in odor quality between the non-adapted state and the adapted state.

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing an SD profile of odor quality in a sample having a high concentration odor containing indole. As shown in FIG. 5, even in the high-concentration odor containing indole, the shape of each SD profile in the non-adapted state and the adapted state is similar as a whole. It is considered similar. However, the pattern similarity S (A, B) is 0.882, and even in the case of indole, the panel of the sensory test feels that there is a difference in odor quality between the non-adapted state and the adapted state. I understood that.

  From the above results, it was found that in both skatole and indole, the odor quality perceived with respect to the high concentration odor can be changed by adapting with the low concentration odor.

  FIG. 6 is a graph showing the results of evaluating odor quality based on a factor score for a high-concentration odor presentation sample containing skatole. In FIG. 6 (a) and FIG. 6 (b), the factor score given by the evaluation value of the adjective term pair is plotted as a score by panel and a score average value of all panels. FIG. 6A shows “comfort” (factor I) on the horizontal axis and “impression” (factor II) on the vertical axis. Further, in FIG. 6B, “tranquility” (factor III) is taken on the horizontal axis, and “warm feeling” (factor IV) is taken on the vertical axis. As shown in FIG. 6, the score of each factor varied from panel to panel. Therefore, the odor quality for each factor was evaluated by the average value of all panels.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, in skatole, the factor score of “comfort” in the adaptation state is closer to the “comfort” side than in the non-adaptation state. Further, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), with regard to the factors of “peacefulness” and “warmth”, the adaptation state was closer to the minus side than the non-adaptation state. From this, it was found that the odor quality changed and the “comfort” increased by adopting the adaptation state.

  FIG. 7 is a graph showing the results of evaluating odor quality based on a factor score for a high-concentration odor presentation sample containing indole. In the graph of FIG. 7, as in FIG. 6, the factor score given by the evaluation value of the adjective term pair is plotted as the score by panel and the score average value of all panels. As shown in FIG. 7, even in the indole, the score of each factor varied from panel to panel. Therefore, the odor quality for each factor was evaluated by the average value of all panels.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, in the indole, the factor score of “comfort” in the adaptation state is closer to the “comfort” side than the non-adaptation state, although it is not clearer than the skatole. In addition, the factor score of “impression” was closer to “Hana” than the non-adapted state. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7B, the conforming state is closer to the plus side than the non-adapting state for the factor of “peacefulness”. From this, it was found that, in the indole, the odor quality is changed and the “comfort” is increased by adopting the adaptation state.

  From the above results, it was found that, in both skatole and indole, it was possible to improve the "comfort" for high-concentration odor that causes discomfort by adapting with low-concentration odor. . Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the score for each panel and the score average value of all the panels hardly overlap in the non-adapted state and the adapted state. Therefore, it was found that the odor quality perceived with respect to the high concentration odor can be changed by adapting the skatole and indole with the low concentration odor.

  In this way, a high-concentration odor is presented to the panel in a state where the low-concentration odor is presented and adapted to the panel, and a low-concentration odor is not presented to the panel and is not adapted (non-conformity). As a result of sensory tests on sensory intensity and odor quality, both skatole and indole were adapted to low-concentration odors that did not cause discomfort, and the sensory intensity was reduced for high-concentration odors that caused discomfort. It is possible to reduce discomfort and reduce the odor quality that is felt against the high-concentration odor by adapting with the low-concentration odor in a more comfortable direction. It could be confirmed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hospital room 10 ... Odor diffuser CRP ... Care worker ODM ... Odor substance PT1, PT2 ... Patient

Claims (5)

In an odor generating environment where an unpleasant odor may occur, an odor countermeasure method for countermeasures against odor,
The odor substance that generates the odor includes a specific odor substance having a characteristic that the odor quality changes between a low concentration and a high concentration,
The specific odor substance is diffused in the odor generation environment at a concentration equal to or lower than the altered concentration at which the odor quality changes in the specific odor substance, and a person placed in the odor generation environment is adapted to the specific odor substance. Let
Odor control method.   The odor countermeasure method, wherein the concentration of the specific odor substance to be diffused is 1/100 or more of the detection threshold concentration of the specific odor substance.   The odor countermeasure method according to claim 1, wherein the specific odor substance is at least one of skatole and indole. The odor countermeasure method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Dispersion of the specific odorous substance into the odor generating environment is performed by planting a flower bud having the specific odorous substance as a component of the scent of the flower in the odor generating environment, and then specifying the specific flower in the planted flower. Done by dissipating the odorous substance of
Odor control method. An odor dissipating device that disperses a specific odor substance into an odor generating environment in which an unpleasant odor may be generated by the specific odor substance,
The specific odor has a characteristic that the odor quality changes between a low concentration and a high concentration,
The odor diffusion device disperses the specific odor substance at a concentration equal to or lower than an altered concentration at which the odor quality changes in the specific odor substance and a concentration equal to or higher than a concentration at which a person can adapt to the specific odor substance.
Odor diffuser.

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