JP2022165099A - air purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a novel air purifier that can be manufactured at a lower cost than before and has excellent long-lasting antibacterial and antiviral actions.SOLUTION: A container 10 is formed by a net having strength and air permeability, the inside of the container is filled with shavings 20 generated when a copper material is cut by a milling machine or a lathe, and a decorative body 30 is arranged on the upper surface of the container. An air purifier can have a structure in which the container 10 has a rectangular shape, a crossbar 11 having a downwardly bent end portion is placed on the upper end of the container 10, and a mounting hole 13 for the decorative body 30 is formed in the crossbar.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an indoor air purifier that utilizes the antibacterial and antiviral action of copper.

It has long been known that copper has antibacterial and antiviral effects. The mechanism is thought to be that copper ions perforate the envelope membrane of the virus and that free radicals produced by copper ions degrade genetic material. Also, according to a research team at the National Institutes of Health (NHI) in the United States, the new coronavirus can survive for 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel surfaces, and 24 hours on cardboard, but on copper surfaces. It is said that it is 4 hours, and it has been confirmed that copper has an antiviral effect against the new coronavirus.

Antibacterial materials utilizing such antibacterial/antiviral effects have also been proposed in the past, and Patent Document 1 discloses that very fine copper alloy powder with a particle size of 1 nm to 1 μm is dispersed on the surface of an article. Have been described. Further, Patent Document 2 describes an antibacterial fabric using composite fibers containing copper alloy yarns. Patent Document 3 discloses an antibacterial composition in which copper powder is mixed with Portland cement. However, in order to increase the surface area of these conventional antibacterial/antiviral materials, copper is processed into fine powders or fine fibers, which causes the problem of high manufacturing costs.

Moreover, in Patent Document 3, by spraying antibacterial material or creating artificial flowers with resin or fiber into which antibacterial material is kneaded, and placing them indoors, they exhibit deodorant and antibacterial effects as well as aesthetic effects as interior decorations. is described. However, it is inevitable that the deodorizing effect and the antibacterial effect thereof gradually decrease with the lapse of time.

JP 2019-65375 A JP 2019-143272 A Utility Model Registration No. 3135466

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a novel air purifying device which can be manufactured at a lower cost than conventional ones and which has excellent long-lasting antibacterial and antiviral effects. .

The present inventor is in the business of processing copper products, and paid attention to a large amount of shavings generated when cutting a copper material with a lathe or a milling machine. This shavings had been disposed of as waste until now, but I came up with the idea that it would be possible to manufacture air purifiers using the antibacterial and antiviral properties of copper at a very low cost.

The present invention has been made based on the above findings. A container is formed of a net having strength and air permeability, and the inside of the container is filled with shavings generated when a copper material is cut. It is characterized by arranging a decoration on the upper surface of the container.

Note that the net can be a stainless steel net. Alternatively, the container may be of a rectangular shape, and a crossbar having a downwardly bent end portion may be placed on the upper end of the container, and a mounting hole for the ornament may be formed in the crossbar. Also, the shavings can be shavings generated when a copper material is cut with a milling machine or a lathe. Alternatively, these shavings may be packed into the container in a compressed state. Furthermore, the decorative body is an artificial flower, and its central axis can be inserted into the mounting hole of the crossbar.

The air purifier of the present invention can be manufactured at extremely low cost because it uses shavings generated when cutting copper material, which has conventionally been disposed of as waste, as a raw material. The shavings are fine and have a large surface area. Moreover, by filling the shavings into a container made up of a strong and breathable net, the shavings are prevented from scattering while allowing air to circulate. is not scattered.

When the air purifier of the present invention is placed indoors, when bacteria and viruses floating in the air in the room come into contact with the surface of copper shavings, the activity of the bacteria and viruses is reduced by the antibacterial and antiviral action of the copper ions. can be done. In addition, since copper has an anti-mold effect and a deodorant function, it can suppress the mold that is generated in the room and deodorize the room. Moreover, the effect of the air purifier of the present invention lasts semipermanently and does not deteriorate. Furthermore, since the air purifier of the present invention has a decorative body arranged on the upper surface of the container, it also has a function as an indoor decoration, and is of practical value as an air purifier that also serves as an indoor decoration. is high.

1 is an external perspective view showing a first embodiment; FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows 2nd Embodiment. It is the top view which removed the decoration. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which the crossbar is moved; It is a top view which shows 3rd Embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention are described below.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and 10 is a container formed of a net having strength and air permeability. The material of this net is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of strength and rigidity, it is preferably made of metal. In the embodiment, this stainless steel net was used to form the side and bottom surfaces of the cubic container 10 with one side of 10 to 15 cm. The upper surface of the container 10 is open, and the bottom surface does not necessarily need to be a net. Thus, the interior of 10 is filled with copper shavings 20 .

The air purifier of the present invention captures bacteria and viruses floating in the air on the copper surface by bringing the indoor air into contact with the copper shavings 20 through the side of the container 10, and reduces the activity of the bacteria and viruses. It is something that makes For this reason, it is preferable that the opening of the net is large enough not to hinder the circulation of air, but it should be fine enough so that the copper shavings 20 do not fly out.

The shavings 20 generated when a copper material is cut by a milling machine are almost in the form of small pieces although they vary depending on the cutting conditions and the type of the copper material. It is preferable to perform sieving as necessary and fill the container 10 with substantially constant sizes. The shavings 20 generated when cutting with a lathe have a fine spiral shape, and the inner space of the spiral is large, so there is an advantage that the contact area with the air increases. These shavings 20 may be put into the container 10 as they are, but they can also be compressed into a certain shape by a press machine so that they fit well in the container 10 . The pressing pressure at this time is preferably such that the shavings 20 are brought into close contact with each other while maintaining the shape of the shavings. In addition, the air permeability is also impaired, which is not preferable. Therefore, it is preferable that the compression ratio is about 1/3 to 2/3.

The copper material used in the present invention may be pure copper or a copper alloy. Various copper alloy shavings 20 may be utilized, such as, for example, alumina dispersion strengthened copper, silver-containing copper, beryllium-containing copper, chromium-zirconium-containing copper, and cobalt-containing copper. These copper materials are widely used as industrial materials and generate a large amount of shavings 20, so they are readily available. Although the alloy components do not have antibacterial/antiviral effects, they do not interfere with the antibacterial/antiviral effects of copper.

Since the shavings 20 filled in the container 10 have numerous gaps between them, the contact area between the copper surface and the air becomes very large. Moreover, since the shape of the space formed inside the shavings 20 is complicated and intricate, it is possible to reliably capture bacteria and viruses floating in the air on the copper surface, as with the mask. Therefore, the effect of reducing the activity of bacteria and viruses floating in the air is also increased. Moreover, such shavings 20 do not scatter in the air like copper powder or copper fibers, nor are they accidentally inhaled. Copper is a safe metal that is also used in pots and frying pans, so even if an infant accidentally touches or licks it, it will not harm the human body.

The effect of purifying the air in the room is exhibited even if the inside of the container 10 is simply filled with the copper shavings 20. However, in the present invention, the decorative body 30 is arranged on the upper surface of the container 10 to form an interior decoration. and In this embodiment, a crossbar 11 is spanned between two opposite sides of a rectangular container 10 . The crossbar 11 is formed by bending the end portion 12 of a metal plate such as stainless steel downward, and also has the function of preventing deformation of the container 10 .

As shown, the crossbar 11 is formed with a large number of mounting holes 13 for inserting the decorations 30 therein. The position of the crossbar 11 may be the stop position of the container 10 as shown in FIG. 3, or it may be slid to any position as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1 , an artificial flower is used as the decorative body 30 , and the center shaft 31 of the artificial flower is inserted into the mounting hole 13 of the crossbar 11 . However, as shown in FIG. 2, the central shaft 31 of the artificial flower can also be inserted into the gap between the shavings 20 from a portion where the crossbar 11 is absent. By arranging the artificial flowers on the upper surface of the container 10 in this way, it is possible to make the appearance as if flowers were planted in a pot. However, the ornamental body 30 is not necessarily limited to artificial flowers, and can be appropriately changed to dolls, national flags, or the like.

The shape of the container 10 may be rectangular as in the above embodiment, or may be cylindrical as shown in FIG.

It is assumed that the air purifying device of the present invention constructed in this manner is placed in a corner of a room, but it is also possible to hang it by attaching a hanging string. In addition, by circulating air, bacteria and viruses floating in the air are captured on the copper surface, and the effect of reducing the activity of bacteria and viruses is enhanced. Furthermore, an electric fan or a small fan can be arranged nearby to further enhance the air contact effect.

As described above, the air purifier of the present invention uses shavings of copper materials that have been disposed of as waste so far, so the manufacturing cost is low, and moreover, it has excellent antibacterial and antiviral effects. and antifungal and deodorant effects can be obtained. Moreover, since the air purifying device of the present invention utilizes the antibacterial and antiviral effects of copper, the effects are permanent. Furthermore, the air purifier of the present invention is suitable for use as an interior decoration because the decorative body 30 is arranged on the upper surface.

10 container 11 crossbar 12 end 13 mounting hole 20 shavings 30 decorative body 31 central axis

Claims (6)

An air purification characterized by forming a container with a net having strength and air permeability, filling the inside of the container with shavings generated when cutting a copper material, and arranging a decoration on the upper surface of the container. equipment. 2. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the net is a stainless steel net. 3. An air purifier according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the container has a rectangular shape, a crossbar having an end portion bent downward is placed on the upper end of the container, and a mounting hole for the decoration is formed in the crossbar. . 4. The air cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the shavings are shavings generated when a copper material is cut with a milling machine or a lathe. 5. The air purifier according to claim 4, wherein the shavings are packed in the container in a compressed state. 4. The air purifying device according to claim 3, wherein the ornamental body is an artificial flower, the central axis of which is inserted into the mounting hole of the crossbar.

Images