JP2923116B2 - Odor control device for vehicle air conditioners - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for preventing odors generated from a vehicle air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The odor of air conditioners for vehicles is caused by:
It is known that it is a metabolite of microorganisms (mold, bacteria, etc.) that propagate on the evaporator surface. Therefore, odor generation can be suppressed by sterilizing the evaporator surface.

Various techniques for sterilizing evaporators are already known. Of these, ozone used for sterilization is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No.
-96519 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-40411.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
No. 0 performs sterilization by generating ozone after the operation of the air conditioner is stopped. However, considering the application to an air conditioner for a vehicle, it is inconvenient because ozone generation is limited only after operation is stopped, and since it does not have an ozone decomposition catalyst, it cannot be put into operation immediately after ozone generation. There is a problem.

In Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-96519, an ozone generator is disposed upstream of an evaporator, and an ozone decomposition catalyst is provided downstream. However, this is because, under normal operating conditions, since the air volume is considerably large, the amount of generated ozone must be limited within the range of the ozone decomposition capability.
There is a problem that the ozone concentration cannot be sufficiently increased, and satisfactory deodorization and sterilization effects cannot be obtained.

In Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-40411, an ozone water spray nozzle is provided upstream of an evaporator. However, this requires a mechanism that cannot be said to be inexpensive, such as a pump, an ozone water producing machine, and a nozzle section, and there are many problems in terms of securing a space therefor and maintenance.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a deodorizing apparatus for an air conditioner for a vehicle, which can effectively sterilize and deodorize by generating ozone having a sufficiently high concentration and does not require a complicated mechanism. It is in.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for preventing odor from being emitted from an evaporator of a vehicle air conditioner having a blower for generating an air flow and an evaporator disposed downstream of the blower. Ozone generating means provided on the upstream side and a humidity sensor for detecting that the surface of the evaporator is wet with condensed water
And, when wetness of the evaporator surface is detected by the humidity sensor, for a required time interval, the air flow of the blower is reduced to a predetermined value, and ozone is generated by the ozone generator. To provide a deodorizing device for a vehicle air conditioner. Invention according to claim 2
Is the evaporator according to claim 1,
Having an ozone decomposition catalyst downstream of the vehicle
Provided is a deodorizing device for a dual-use air conditioner.

[0009]

When the surface of the evaporator is wet with condensed water, the air volume of the blower is reduced for a necessary time interval, and at the same time, ozone is generated upstream of the evaporator.
Thereby, the ozone is carried to the evaporator by a weak wind, and is absorbed by the condensed water on the surface thereof to generate ozone water. The ozone water sterilizes and deodorizes the evaporator surface. Ozone that has passed through the evaporator without becoming ozone water is decomposed by the ozone decomposition catalyst.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the deodorizing device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, during operation of an air conditioner, outside air 1 or vehicle interior air is selected by an intake door 5 and introduced into a blower 7 to be blown. After passing through the evaporator 9, the blown air from the blower 7 is sent to the heat core 13 by the mixing door 11 or bypasses the heat core 13, and the three-way outlets 19 and 21 selected by the outlet switching doors 15 and 17. , 23 is blown into the vehicle interior.

In such an air conditioner, an ozone generating element 25 is provided on the upstream side of the evaporator 9, a humidity sensor 27 is mounted on the downstream surface of the evaporator 9, and further, the downstream side of the evaporator 9. Is provided with a honeycomb-shaped ozone decomposition catalyst 29 over the entire cross section of the ventilation duct. Here, the ozone generating element 25
A creeping discharge type using a ceramic plate, a corona discharge type, or the like is used.

The ozone generating element 25 and the humidity sensor 27 are connected to a control unit 31 using, for example, a one-chip microcomputer. The control unit 31 further includes a blower 7
And connected to the sterilization / deodorization switch 33.

The humidity sensor 27 outputs a detection signal when condensed water is generated on the surface of the evaporator 9 after the start of the air conditioning operation and the surface becomes wet. The control unit 31 includes a sterilization / deodorization switch 3
When 3 is on, based on the output of the humidity sensor 27,
The operation of the ozone generating element 25 and the blower 7 is controlled.

FIG. 2 shows a processing flow performed by the control unit 31.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the sterilization / deodorization switch is turned on (step S1), control unit 31 first periodically takes in the output of humidity sensor 27 to determine whether the surface of evaporator 9 is wet. (Step S
2).

If the check result is yes, blower 7
The number of rotations is decreased to reduce the air volume to a predetermined value (step S3). The predetermined value is, for example, 50 m3 / hour to 1
A range of 00 m3 / hour is appropriate. During a normal air-conditioning operation, when the air volume is low, the air volume is about 210 to 220 m3 / hour, so that the air volume is reduced to less than half of the air volume. At the same time, the ozone generating element 25 is energized to generate ozone.

As a result, the generated ozone is carried to the evaporator 9 by the weak wind. On the surface of the evaporator 9, the conveyed ozone is absorbed by the condensed water to generate ozone water. This ozone water is supplied to the evaporator 9
It sterilizes microorganisms on the surface and decomposes odor substances trapped in condensed water.

Ozone not passing through the condensed water and passing through the evaporator 9 is decomposed by the ozone decomposition catalyst 29. For example, if the ozone concentration at the inlet of the catalyst 29 is about 1 to 20 ppm at an air flow rate of 50 m3 / hour, almost 1
It is quite possible to obtain an ozone decomposition rate of 00%.

If the sterilization / deodorization mode is continued for a predetermined time (step S5), the generation of ozone is stopped, and at the same time, the number of rotations of the blower is returned to the normal mode (steps S6 and S7). Here, the duration of the sterilization / deodorization mode is suitably, for example, about 10 minutes. According to an experiment for examining the eradication effect of various microorganisms by ozone, the eradication rate in water was 9%.
It is known that the time required to reach 9.9% is about 5 to 10 seconds for bacteria, about 1 to 5 minutes for yeast, and about 10 to 30 minutes for molds. From this fact, it is considered that the duration of the sterilization / deodorization mode of 10 minutes is an appropriate time that can provide a considerable sterilization / deodorization effect and is not too long.

The ozone water generated on the evaporator surface is discharged from a drain hose (not shown). Ozone in the ozone water is immediately decomposed, so that it does not adversely affect the environment.

[0022]

As described above, according to the first aspect,
According to the invention, the condensed water on the evaporator surface is used to
Generate zoning water and reduce the air volume to a sufficient concentration.
Since ozone water can be generated, a relatively simple structure
High sterilization and deodorization effects can be obtained. Claim 2
According to the invention described in (1), the excess ozone is converted into an ozone decomposition catalyst.
Almost completely disassembly is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an odor control device according to the present invention together with the overall configuration of an air conditioner for a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of a control unit in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Blower 9 Evaporator 25 Ozone generation element 27 Humidity sensor 29 Ozone decomposition catalyst 31 Control unit 33 Sterilization / deodorization switch

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An apparatus for preventing an odor emitted from the evaporator of a vehicle air conditioner having a blower for generating a blower and an evaporator disposed downstream of the blower, wherein ozone generating means provided on an upstream side of the evaporator; A humidity sensor for detecting that the surface of the evaporator is wet with condensed water, and when the humidity sensor detects that the surface of the evaporator is wet, the air volume of the blower is reduced to a predetermined value for a required time interval. Control means for causing the ozone generation means to generate ozone. 2. Ozone decomposition downstream of the evaporator
The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a catalyst.
Air conditioner deodorant device.