JP2742377B2 - Ozone generator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ozone generator having a compact shape and capable of efficiently generating an appropriate amount of ozone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ozone (O ₃ ) has been known for a long time to have a strong oxidizing action and various actions such as sterilization, deodorization, and decolorization, and is already widely used industrially in various fields. ing. Even if ozone is decomposed, it only converts to oxygen (O ₂ ). Therefore, it is a great advantage that no harmful by-products are left after the use of the above-mentioned action.

[0003] In an ordinary room such as a living room, an office, a warehouse, etc., if an appropriate amount of ozone is present in the air, indoor germicidal and insecticide as well as removal of odors derived from animals (pets) and smoking, pollen and pollutants are eliminated. It has also been confirmed that it has a remarkable effect in preventing allergy caused by dust.

[0004] Ozone has the above-mentioned excellent effects, but if its concentration is too high, it harms humans and animals. Therefore, the safety standard in Japan is that the ozone concentration in the air in the living room must be kept below 0.1 ppm.

[0005] Ozone generators include a plasma discharge (silent discharge) system and an ultraviolet (UV) lamp system. However, when to perform the plasma discharge in the air, nitrogen oxides (NO _X) is generated together with ozone. In the case of the ultraviolet lamp system, short-wave ultraviolet rays emitted from the lamp act only on oxygen to generate ozone, and there is no possibility that nitrogen oxides are by-produced.

[0006] As an ozone generator used indoors,
It is required that the device be compact and have high ozone generation efficiency, and that the ozone concentration be easily controlled so as to satisfy the above safety standards. However, at present, there is no device that satisfies such demands and that is inexpensive and can be easily used in ordinary households.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ozone generator which has a relatively simple structure, can be manufactured at low cost, has a high ozone generation efficiency, and can easily adjust the ozone concentration.

[0008]

The gist of the present invention is the following ozone generator (see FIGS. 1 to 3).

That is, the apparatus of the present invention comprises a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case (1) and a partition plate (4) for dividing the case into a first chamber (2) and a second chamber (3) in the longitudinal direction. And an ultraviolet lamp (5) for ozone generation housed in the first chamber (2).

The above-mentioned first and second chambers are ventilated only by the vent holes (6) provided below one end of the partition plate (4), and the vent holes in the outer wall of the first chamber (2) are provided. There is an air supply port (7) at a position diagonal to (6), an exhaust fan (8) at a part of the top plate of the second chamber, and a counterpart to the exhaust fan at the bottom plate of the second chamber. One or more adjustable holes that can be opened and closed
(9) is provided.

[0011]

The following is a detailed description of the features of the structure of the ozone generating apparatus according to the present invention, and the functions and effects thereof, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective perspective view showing the appearance and internal structure of an ozone generator according to one embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA 'of FIG. 3, and FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along the line BB' of FIG. However, the ultraviolet lamp is omitted in FIG.

As shown in these figures, a case 1 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a partition plate 4 for dividing the case 1 into substantially the same size in the longitudinal direction are provided. One of the chambers separated by the partition plate 2 is called a first chamber 2, and the other is called a second chamber 3. In addition, "substantially rectangular parallelepiped" means not only a rectangular parallelepiped in a strict sense, but also a slight protrusion such as an indicator lamp or an air supply port,
This means that there may be an attached handle for transportation.

An ultraviolet lamp 5 for generating ozone is accommodated in the first chamber 2, and an air supply port 7 is provided at one end of an outer wall thereof.

An exhaust fan 8 is provided on a part of the top plate of the second chamber 3. Further, one or more (five in this example) adjustment holes 9 are provided at positions directly below the exhaust fan on the bottom plate. The adjustment hole 9 is a hole that can be closed or opened from outside the case by a plug (not shown) or the like.

The partition plate 4 has holes (vent holes) 6 for ventilating the first chamber and the second chamber. The vent hole is provided at a position farthest from the air supply port 7, that is, at a position diagonal to the air supply port 7.

The above is the main structural feature of the device of the present invention. Reference numeral 10 denotes a power on / off switch, and reference numeral 11 denotes a power on / off indicator. In addition, there are terminals connected to a power supply, wiring from the terminals to the ultraviolet lamp 5 and the exhaust fan 8, and the like, but these may be installed based on common sense of those skilled in the art, and are not shown.

Next, the reason why the apparatus having the above structure can generate ozone at a constant concentration will be described. When using ultraviolet lamps such as xenon lamps, mercury lamps, deuterium lamps, etc., when ultraviolet light having a wavelength shorter than 200 nm emitted from these lamps passes through the atmosphere, oxygen molecules are decomposed, and the nascent oxygen (O) is released. Make (reaction below). This nascent oxygen combines with oxygen molecules to generate ozone (reaction described below).

O ₂ + (ultraviolet light) → O + O... O ₂ + O → O ₃ ... On the other hand, ozone absorbs ultraviolet light having a wavelength longer than 200 nm and separates nascent oxygen and oxygen molecules. Reverse reaction). For example, ultraviolet rays emitted from a mercury lamp
A certain amount of ozone concentration in air saturates at a certain value due to the coexistence of ultraviolet light having wavelengths of 85 nm and 254 nm. Therefore,
If the output of the UV lamp is constant, the ozone generated
The amount of (O ₃ ) depends on the amount of air passing through the ultraviolet irradiation area. For example, if the first chamber is a closed structure, the amount of air therein is constant because the amount of air therein is constant, and the amount of ozone therein is saturated at a certain value. Ozone never increases. However, if new air is introduced into the first chamber, ozone is generated according to the flow rate.

In the apparatus of the present invention, by operating the exhaust fan 8, air is introduced from the air supply port 7 into the first chamber, and
Through the second chamber, and is blown out of the apparatus by an exhaust fan. The air is irradiated with ultraviolet rays when passing through the first chamber, and ozone is generated by the reaction with the above.
At this time, if there is air stagnation (stagnation) in the first chamber, the ozone concentration is immediately saturated in that portion, and the ozone generation efficiency is significantly reduced. As described above, the air supply port 7 and the ventilation hole 6 of the partition plate are arranged at the farthest positions to prevent the stagnation of the air and to allow the air to flow uniformly in the entire ultraviolet irradiation area in the first room. To do that. With this structure, the size of the first chamber may be slightly larger than that of the ultraviolet lamp, and the efficiency of ozone generation is high while the apparatus is compact.

The air containing ozone generated in the first chamber enters the second chamber through the vent hole 6, flows in the opposite direction to that in the first chamber, and flows from the exhaust fan 8 to the outside of the apparatus (for example,
It is released into the living room where this device is located. At this time,
If the output of the fan is kept constant, the amount of air passing through the first chamber will be constant, and the amount of generated ozone (ie, the ozone concentration) will also be constant.

As described above, the use range of ozone is wide. For example, in the case of use for sterilization or deodorization in a living room, the ozone concentration in the living room must be adjusted to a certain range.

If the concentration is too low, there is no effect, and if it is too high, it is dangerous. This density adjustment can also be performed by adjusting the output of the ultraviolet lamp and adjusting the number of revolutions of the fan. However, in order to perform these, a control device for that is necessary, and the device becomes complicated and expensive. On the other hand, a method of absorbing the generated excess ozone by an adsorbent such as activated carbon can be considered, but it is practically impossible to finely adjust the ozone concentration by this method.

The adjustment hole 9 of the device of the present invention is used for making this fine adjustment. That is, even if the output of the ultraviolet lamp is constant, the adjustment hole 9 is adjusted according to the conditions in which the device is used, for example, the size of the living room, the main purpose of use, the temperature in the living room, and the like.
If some of the holes are closed, the air sucked from the holes 9 reduces the ozone concentration in the second chamber, so that the ozone concentration of the air discharged from the fan 8 can be easily changed by adjusting the number of the holes closed. be able to.

In the case where a plurality of adjusting holes 9 are provided, the range of concentration adjustment becomes wider as the number of the adjusting holes 9 increases. However, in the case of an apparatus used in a general household, about 4 to 8 holes having a diameter of about 8 mm are provided. It's enough. The hole can be closed by a simple means such as inserting a plug (plug) from outside the apparatus. When the number of the adjusting holes 9 is one, it may be made slightly larger so that the opening (closed area) thereof can be adjusted.

The air containing ozone released from the apparatus is:
When entering the apparatus again, the ozone generation efficiency decreases. FIG.
As shown in the figure, in the device of the present invention, the fan 8 is provided on the top plate of the device, and the air supply port 7 is provided on the side wall. Therefore, the air containing ozone blown out from the fan 8 diffuses upward,
It is unlikely that the gas will enter the device again from the air supply port 7.

In the apparatus of the present invention, an ultraviolet lamp is used for generating ozone because no harmful substances such as nitrogen oxides are generated as described above. In addition, the ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 254 nm generated from the ultraviolet lamp includes:
It has a germicidal action in itself and helps to purify the air.

The size of the first chamber 2 may be any size as long as it accommodates the ultraviolet lamp 5 and has a sufficient space above the upper part for air circulation. The second chamber 3 may be substantially the same as or slightly larger than the first chamber. Therefore, the size of the entire apparatus is determined by the output (size) of the ultraviolet lamp, that is, the ozone generating ability required of the apparatus.

[0029]

EXAMPLE An apparatus having the structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 (both cases and partition plates made of a steel plate having a thickness of 1.6 mm) was manufactured. The dimensions of each part are as follows.

Overall length (L in FIG. 3): 280 mm Overall width (W in FIG. 3): 170 mm Overall height (H in FIG. 2): 90 mm Width of the first chamber (W _{1 in} FIG. 3): 85 mm Second chamber width (W ₂ in FIG. 3): 85 mm vent (1): 12 mm [phi] adjustment hole (5): 8 mm [phi] air supply port: the 50 mm phi ultraviolet lamps, use mercury lamp output 6W Was.

The exhaust fan has a size of 62 × 62 × 25.4 (m
m) with a capacity (air volume) of 0.37 m ³ / min.

The above apparatus was operated in a room at a temperature of 22 ° C. and a humidity of 60% with the number of adjusting holes opened and closed, and the change in the ozone concentration in the air at the outlet of the exhaust fan was examined. Table 1 shows the results.

[0033]

[Table 1]

As can be seen from Table 1, when the number of opened adjustment holes is 0 (ie, fully closed), the ozone concentration is 0.0153.
ppm, but as the number of open units increases, the ozone concentration decreases almost in proportion to the number of open units.
The concentration is 0.0025 ppm.

From the above test results, it is clear that the ozone concentration can be controlled by a simple means of opening and closing the adjustment hole. The maximum concentration of the apparatus of this embodiment when the adjustment hole is fully closed is about 0.015 ppm.
It goes without saying that an ozone generator having a higher or lower concentration can be obtained by changing the capacity of the ultraviolet lamp, the size of the air supply port, the capacity of the exhaust fan, and the like.

[0036]

The apparatus of the present invention is designed so that air having an arbitrary ozone concentration can be obtained efficiently in consideration of an ozone generation mechanism. Since this device does not have a complicated control system, it can be manufactured at a low cost, and maintenance is easy. Moreover, since the ozone concentration can be easily adjusted according to the use conditions, it is extremely safe and suitable for use in a living room of a general household.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective perspective view showing an example of an ozone generator of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line A-A 'of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line B-B 'of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Case, 2: First room, 3: Second room,
4: partition plate 5: ultraviolet lamp, 6: vent hole, 7: air supply port,
8: Exhaust fan 9: Adjustment hole, 10: Switch, 11: Indicator lamp

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A substantially rectangular parallelepiped case (1), a partition plate (4) for dividing the case into a first chamber (2) and a second chamber (3) in the longitudinal direction, and a first chamber (2). UV lamp housed in (5)
The first chamber and the second chamber are ventilated only by the ventilation holes (6) provided below one end of the partition plate (4),
There is an air supply port (7) at a position diagonal to the vent hole (6) on the outer wall of the first chamber (2), and there is an exhaust fan (8) at a part of the top plate of the second chamber, The ozone generator further comprises one or more adjustment holes (9) that can be opened and closed at a position of the bottom plate of the second chamber facing the exhaust fan.