JP2018128212A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure voltage necessary for generation of hypochlorous acid, to prevent deterioration of a sterilization capacity.SOLUTION: An air cleaner includes notification means 31 of giving a notification given that a voltage value of an electrode unit 9 is not larger than a predetermined value when electrode current conducted to the electrode unit 9 is controlled to become constant. The air cleaner can notifies a user of drainage if the voltage value is not less than the predetermined value, and prevent operation at excessive conductivity, thereby securing voltage necessary for generation of hypochlorous acid to prevent deterioration of a sterilization capacity.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an air purifier that electrolyzes salt water to generate hypochlorous acid and inactivates airborne microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses.

  Conventionally, an air purifying apparatus relating to this type is known that electrolyzes tap water to generate hypochlorous acid, and then removes bacteria and viruses by bringing indoor air into contact therewith (for example, patents). Reference 1).

JP2012-052698A

  In such a conventional air purifying device, if the operation is continued or left for a long time, the tap water to be electrolyzed evaporates and the water for operation becomes insufficient. When the shortage of water is replenished with tap water, the mineral content of tap water is gradually accumulated and concentrated, and the conductivity of the water to be electrolyzed increases. In such a state, the voltage required for the electrolysis of water falls below and hypochlorous acid is not generated efficiently. As a result, the necessary hypochlorous acid is not generated, and there is a possibility that the sterilization ability may be reduced.

  Then, this invention solves the said subject, and it aims at ensuring the voltage required for the production | generation of hypochlorous acid, and preventing the fall of disinfection ability.

  In order to achieve this object, an air purifying apparatus according to the present invention is an air purifying apparatus for purifying air by contacting hypochlorous acid, the electrode unit for electrolyzing water, and the electrode unit An electrode current detecting means for detecting an electrode current at the time of energizing the electrode, an electrode voltage detecting means for detecting a voltage at the time of energizing the electrode unit, and a control for keeping the electrode current to the electrode unit constant Voltage adjusting means, and notification means for performing notification that the voltage value of the electrode unit has become a predetermined value or less when the electrode current to the electrode unit is controlled to be constant. It achieves the intended purpose.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the air purification apparatus which can ensure the voltage required for the production | generation of hypochlorous acid and can prevent the sterilization capability fall can be provided.

Overview of the air purifier according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention Block diagram for controlling the electrodes of the air purifier The figure which shows the electricity supply time chart to the electrode of the same air purifier Control flow chart of the air purifier

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments are examples embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, throughout the drawings, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the second and subsequent descriptions are omitted. Furthermore, in each drawing, the description of the details of each part not directly related to the present invention is omitted.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of the air cleaning device according to the first embodiment. The housing 1 of the air purifier includes a suction port 2, an air outlet 3, a fan 7, a filter 6, a tray 4, an electrode unit 9, a sterilization air path 8, a display / operation unit 10, and a notification means 31.

  The suction port 2 is an opening for allowing air to flow into the housing 1.

  The blower outlet 3 is an opening for discharging the air inside the housing 1.

  The sterilization air passage 8 communicates the suction port 2, the filter 6, and the air outlet 3.

  The fan 7 is connected to a motor (not shown), and generates an air current by the rotation of the fan 7. This airflow becomes an airflow from the suction port 2 to the air outlet 3, that is, the fan 7 guides indoor air to the air outlet 3 through the inside of the housing 1.

  The filter 6 has a disk shape and rotates by driving a motor different from the motor that rotates the fan 7. The filter 6 is exposed to an air path extending from the inlet 2 to the outlet 3 in a region where the electrolytic water is contained in the tray 4 by rotation to contain the electrolytic water and is not further immersed in the electrolytic water. The filter 6 passes the indoor air sucked from the suction port 2 in a state containing hypochlorous acid so as to inactivate bacteria contained in the air and decompose odorous substances.

  The tray 4 stores salt water 5 therein. The filter 6 is provided so as to partially penetrate the salt water 5 in the tray 4.

  The electrode unit 9 is installed inside the tray 4 and is immersed in water containing salt, that is, salt water 5. The electrode unit 9 applies a voltage while being immersed in the salt water 5. Then, by electrolysis of the salt water 5, hypochlorous acid is generated and electrolyzed water containing hypochlorous acid can be obtained.

  The display / operation unit 10 is provided on the side surface or top surface of the housing 1 and displays the operation and state of the housing 1. In addition, the control part 30 which controls operation | movement of an air purifier is provided in the display / operation part 10, for example.

  The notification means 31 is provided in the display / operation unit 10 as an LED, for example, and is turned on or off in response to a signal from the control unit 30. Note that the notification means 31 may output sound through a speaker.

  Next, the control unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The control unit 30 includes a microcomputer, that is, a microcomputer 11, an electrode power supply control circuit 12, an electrode power supply 13, a polarity switching unit 14, a current detection unit 15, and an electrode voltage detection unit 16.

  The electrode power supply control circuit 12 converts the PWM signal sent from the voltage adjusting means 32, which will be described later, into a linear electric signal, and controls the output voltage of the electrode power supply 13.

  The electrode power supply 13 applies a target voltage to the electrode unit 9 based on the electrical signal sent from the electrode power supply control circuit 12. The electrode power supply 13 receives an on / off signal from the energization means 33 and intermittently energizes the electrode unit 9.

  The polarity switching means 14 switches the polarity of the electrode A9a and the electrode B9b constituting the electrode unit 9 with a predetermined cycle by an internal timer. That is, the electrode A9a and the electrode B9b can be switched between the positive electrode and the negative electrode at a predetermined cycle.

  The current detection means 15 detects the value of the current flowing between the electrode A9a and the electrode B9b on the downstream side of the electrode unit 9. The detected current value is sent to the determination means 34. As an example of the configuration of the current detection means 15, there is a method of passing an electrode current through a shunt resistor and measuring a potential difference between the resistors as a current value. When a shunt resistor is used, it is better to correct so that the voltage of the shunt resistor is subtracted from the voltage value detected by the electrode voltage detection means 16 in the voltage determination by the determination means 34.

  The electrode voltage detection means 16 detects the voltage value applied between the electrode A9a and the electrode B9b. The detected voltage value is sent to the determination means 34.

  The microcomputer 11 causes the CPU to execute the voltage adjusting unit 32, the energizing unit 33, and the determining unit 34.

  As will be described in detail later, the voltage adjusting means 32 transmits a PWM (pulse) signal to the electrode power supply control circuit 12 and controls the magnitude of the voltage applied to the electrode unit 9.

  The energization means 33 controls on / off of voltage application of the electrode unit 9. Specifically, the energization means 33 transmits an on / off signal to the electrode power supply 13 to thereby energize the electrode unit 9 and non-energization time during which energization is not performed (voltage application is stopped). Perform intermittent energization to switch between and. The energization means 33 performs control to switch on / off at a predetermined cycle by an internal timer. As will be described later, in this embodiment, this cycle is on for 5 minutes and off for 30 minutes.

The determination unit 34 calculates the conductivity of the salt water 5 based on the current value detected by the current detection unit 15 and the voltage value detected by the electrode voltage detection unit 16 and determines whether or not the value is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. A specific order will be described later. First, it is confirmed that the current detection means 15 detects and outputs a target current value. The voltage value at this time is detected by the electrode voltage detection means 16. When the voltage value detected by the electrode voltage detecting means 16 is below a predetermined upper limit value V _max determines conductivity is equal to or more than a predetermined value. A specific value of the predetermined upper limit value V _max is 2.5 V where generation of hypochlorous acid starts to decrease. When the conductivity is determined to or more than the upper limit value V _max, it performs notification to the user through the notifying means 31.

  Then, operation | movement of an air purifying apparatus is demonstrated, referring FIG. FIG. 3 is a time chart for energizing the electrode unit 9.

  First, the electrode unit 9 is energized for a predetermined ON time (energization time) by the energization means 33 as described above. In the present embodiment, the predetermined on-time is, for example, 5 minutes. By this energization, the electrode unit 9 electrolyzes the salt water 5, and hypochlorous acid is generated. This ON time sets the time for electrolyzing the water in the tray 4 and purifying sufficient hypochlorous acid.

  Subsequently, energization of the electrode unit 9 is stopped (non-energization time) by the energization means 33 during a predetermined off time. During this non-energization time (off time), the air flow generated by the fan 7 is passed through the filter 6 containing hypochlorous acid, and contacted with virus or the like to inactivate. The off time is, for example, 30 minutes. The off time is set to a time during which hypochlorous acid generated in the tray 4 is consumed and sufficient inactivation ability cannot be obtained.

  The polarity switching unit 14 inverts (switches) the polarity between the electrode A9a and the electrode B9b after repeating the intermittent energization by the energization unit 33 a predetermined number of times. Thereby, there exists an effect which prevents that a metal substance etc. accumulate | store excessively in the electrode unit 9, and the fall of hypochlorous acid generation efficiency by scale adhesion can be prevented.

  Further, as the energization time to the electrode unit 9 is longer, the generation of hypochlorous acid increases, but the life of the electrode unit 9 is shortened. The time during which the electrode unit 9 is energized may be selected based on the effective concentration of hypochlorous acid and the life of the electrode unit 9, and it is desirable that the energization time be shorter than the non-energization time.

  Here, the characteristic part in this Embodiment is demonstrated.

  Conventionally, the above-described control has been performed to prevent a reduction in hypochlorous acid generation efficiency. However, if the salt concentration of the salt water 5 to be used increases, or minerals in tap water accumulate and the conductivity of the water to be electrolyzed increases, the voltage required for hypochlorous acid generation cannot be applied and hypochlorous acid is not applied. Chloric acid may not be generated. Therefore, in order to prevent such a reduction in generation efficiency of hypochlorous acid, the air purifying apparatus according to the first embodiment performs the processing shown in FIG. In addition, S in FIG. 4 means a step.

  First, when the power of the air cleaning device is turned on, energization to the electrode unit 9 is started, and at the same time, timer counting is started (S01, S02). In addition, when the power of the air cleaning device is turned on, the voltage adjusting unit 32 continues to adjust the voltage applied to the electrode unit 9 so that the current flowing between the electrode A9a and the electrode B9b becomes a predetermined current value. The predetermined current value is set according to the target amount of hypochlorous acid generated, and a specific numerical value in the present embodiment is 400 mA.

  The determination unit 34 determines whether the electrode current detected by the current detection unit 15 is stabilized at the target 400 mA. The condition for determining that the electrode current is stable at the target of 400 mA refers to a state in which the electrode current is 400 mA ± 5% and stable for several seconds. Until this electrode current is stabilized at 400 mA, it is in a standby state (the electrode current is monitored by the determination means 34).

When the electrode current becomes constant at 400 mA and is stable (S04 Yes), the voltage between the electrode A9a and the electrode B9b is measured by the electrode voltage detection means 16 (S05). Then, if the voltage value between the measured electrode A9a and the electrode B9b is equal to or greater than a predetermined upper limit value _{V max} (S06No), determining means 34, from the energization start to electrode unit 9 to the electrode unit 9 after a predetermined time A A command to turn off energization is transmitted to the electrode power source 13 through the energizing means 33 (S07). The upper limit value V _max of the voltage value between the electrode A9a and the electrode B9b sets a voltage at which hypochlorous acid is efficiently generated, and is specifically about 2.5V as described above. The timing (cutting time B) for turning off the energization of the electrode unit 9 is set based on the amount of hypochlorous acid generated, for example, 5 minutes after the start of energization.

  After the energization to the electrode unit 9 is cut off and the cutting time B has elapsed, the determination means 34 confirms the energization time to the electrode unit 9 (S08). At this time, when the cumulative energization time to the electrode unit 9, that is, the electrode energization time integrated value has not passed the set energization time (No in S09), the process proceeds to step S02. If the electrode energization time integrated value has passed the set energization time (Yes in S09), the polarity switching means 14 switches the polarity to reset the electrode energization time integrated value, and the process proceeds to S02. Here, the set energization time is set such that dirt does not adhere to the surfaces of the electrodes A9a and B9b. Specifically, it is a design matter determined by the amount of water stored in the tray 4.

The determination means 34, in step S06, if the voltage between the electrodes A9a and the electrode B9b is equal to or less than the upper limit value _{V max} (S06Yes) is the conductivity is determined to become excessively high. Then, after energization of the electrode is stopped, the user is informed of drainage through the display / operation unit 10 (S06 Yes → S07).

  After the notification, the user is urged to lower the conductivity by adding fresh water to the salt water 5, for example. When the tray 4 is set in the housing 1, the process is executed from the process S01 or the process S02.

  As described above, the voltage at the time when the current between the electrode A9a and the electrode B9b is stabilized is measured to prevent the use in the voltage region where the generation efficiency of hypochlorous acid is reduced, and the user is encouraged to drain the water appropriately. By operating at a salt concentration, it is possible to prevent the generation efficiency of hypochlorous acid from decreasing. In addition, since a special mechanism for measuring the salinity concentration is unnecessary, it can be realized at a low cost.

  The air purifying apparatus according to the present invention can suppress a decrease in generation efficiency of hypochlorous acid by preventing excessive concentration of supply water, and is useful as an air purifying apparatus used for a long period of time.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing | casing 2 Inlet 3 Outlet 4 Tray 5 Brine 6 Filter 7 Fan 8 Sanitization air path 9 Electrode unit 9a Electrode A
9b Electrode B
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Display / operation part 11 Microcomputer 12 Electrode power supply control circuit 13 Electrode power supply 14 Polarity switching means 15 Current detection means 30 Control part 31 Notification means 32 Voltage adjustment means 33 Current supply means 34 Determination means

Claims (3)

An air cleaning device that cleans air by contacting hypochlorous acid,
An electrode unit for electrolyzing water;
An electrode current detection means for detecting an electrode current flowing between the electrodes during energization of the electrode unit;
An electrode voltage detecting means for detecting an electrode voltage between the electrodes during energization of the electrode unit;
Voltage adjusting means for controlling the electrode current to the electrode unit to be kept constant;
Informing means for informing when the value of the electrode voltage of the electrode unit when the electrode current to the electrode unit is controlled to be constant is equal to or less than a predetermined value;
Air purifier with The air purifier according to claim 1, further comprising a polarity switching unit that switches between positive and negative voltages applied to the two electrodes constituting the electrode unit. A tray for storing the water and immersing the electrode unit in the water;
The air purifier according to claim 1, further comprising a filter that is immersed in the water and contacts air and hypochlorous acid generated by electrolysis.