JP3435485B2 - Antibacterial filter material for air conditioning - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an office, a hospital,
The present invention relates to an antibacterial filter material used for air-conditioning filters in houses and other facilities.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air-conditioning filter contains an antibacterial agent to prevent bacteria, viruses, and other germs from accumulating or propagating in dust accumulated by filtration and to supply clean air. Filter materials are often used. Conventionally, as this antibacterial agent, a quaternary ammonium salt,
An inexpensive and easy-to-produce organic antibacterial agent such as a phenylamide compound has been used. However, organic antibacterial agents have low persistence of antibacterial effect due to volatilization of antibacterial components,
In addition, there is a drawback that it lacks safety because it contains toxic components to the human body.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional filter material using the fiber containing an antibacterial agent and to provide a long-lasting antibacterial effect and a high safety for human body for air conditioning. It is intended to provide an antibacterial filter material.

[0004]

The above objects of the present invention are as follows:
This is achieved by an antibacterial filter material for air conditioning, which comprises a sheath core type composite fiber as a filter material constituting fiber, and an antibacterial agent in which a silver complex is supported on a silica gel carrier is dispersed in the sheath of the composite fiber.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a fiber which constitutes an antibacterial filter material for air conditioning according to the present invention. This fiber is a sheath core type composite fiber in which an antibacterial agent is dispersed in a sheath, and in the figure, 1 is a sheath and 2 is a core. As this antibacterial agent, a silica gel particle carrying a silver complex salt is known. For example, silver is converted into a thiosulfato silver complex and carried on a silica gel particle carrier, and the surface thereof is subjected to a reactive organic silicon by a sol-gel method. It is known that at least a part of the surface of the compound is coated by hydrolysis of the compound, and it is excellent in transparency and has an average particle size of about 5 to 20 μm. Such a silver-based antibacterial agent is commercially available, for example, as Anime Top (manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.). The sheath core type composite fiber is formed of a polyolefin thermoplastic resin, and most preferably, polypropylene is used for the sheath, polypropylene is used for the core, polypropylene is used for the sheath, and polyamide (nylon 6) is used for the core. You can

The sheath core type composite fiber can have the same linearity (denier number) as that of a normal filter fiber,
For example, it is about 3d to 1000d. Further, the ratio of the sheath to the core is appropriately determined depending on the use and purpose of use of the filter, but is usually about 1: 1 to 1: 2 in diameter.

In order to produce this fiber, a spinning machine for producing sheath core type composite fiber is used, and the above-mentioned antibacterial agent is mixed in advance with only the sheath resin or the sheath resin and the core resin, and spinning is performed. It may be performed in a normal form. When the antibacterial agent is mixed in the core resin, the amount of the antibacterial agent mixed is smaller than that in the sheath resin.
The amount is not more than 10% by weight, preferably not more than 10% by weight. The amount of the antibacterial agent mixed is appropriately determined depending on the use and purpose of use of the filter, but is usually 0.1 to 10% by weight, preferably 0.5 to 3% by weight of the entire filter material.

In order to manufacture the filter material, one or both of the warp yarn and the weft yarn, or a part of the warp yarn or the weft yarn, can be produced by the woven or knitted fabric which is usually used, using the above fibers. Further, the filter material may be composed of a non-woven fabric, and the fibers may be used for a part or all of the non-woven fabric.

The filter is manufactured by providing a frame for attachment to an air flow path such as a duct on the filter material. The form of the frame is similar to that of the conventional filter. Further, the frame body can be subjected to antibacterial treatment.

[0010]

In the present invention, as the antibacterial agent, a silver antibacterial agent in which a silver complex is supported on a silica gel carrier is used. Since silver is in the form of a silver complex, it becomes an anion in an aqueous solution when it is ionized. Therefore, the antibacterial effect is not lost by combining with anions such as chlorine ions. In particular, since chlorine is volatilized from the sweat of the human body, it is easily accumulated in the filter material, which causes a serious problem if the antibacterial effect is reduced. In addition, since the silver-based antibacterial agent is an inorganic type, it has a low vapor pressure, is hardly ingested by the human body due to evaporation, is excellent in safety, and is excellent in resistance to discoloration against ultraviolet rays, chlorine and the like. Further, when at least a part of the surface of the silica gel carrier supporting the silver complex is coated with silica, the antibacterial component can be sustainedly released, and the sustainability of the antibacterial effect can be enhanced. This silver-based antibacterial agent has excellent heat resistance and is approximately 230
It can maintain a transparent or white state with respect to a high temperature up to ℃.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned silver-based antibacterial agent has an average particle size of about 5 to 20 μm, which is significantly larger than that of the conventional organic antibacterial agent (1 μm or less). When mixed with the resin, there arises a problem that the strength of the fiber is lowered. However, in the present invention, the fiber is a sheath core type composite fiber, and more antibacterial agent is mixed only in the sheath or in the sheath. Therefore, the core in which the antibacterial agent is not mixed or in which the amount of the antibacterial agent is smaller is sufficient to maintain sufficient fiber strength, and the antibacterial action works efficiently from the sheath to the outside.

Although the above silver-based antibacterial agent is excellent in heat resistance, the exposure temperature is preferably about 230 ° C. or lower, and therefore, the sheath core type composite fiber has a relatively low melting temperature during spinning. It is preferably formed of a polyolefin-based thermoplastic resin so as not to increase the temperature.

[0013]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention and test results thereof will be described below.

Test 1: Test of antibacterial effect Specifications of antibacterial filter material According to the following specifications, an antibacterial filter material according to one example of the present invention and a filter material of a comparative example were manufactured as a woven fabric.

Warp: 300 denier monofilament driving density 40 filaments / inch Weft: 300 denier monofilament driving density 45 filaments / inch ・ Case core type composite fiber core: polypropylene, sheath: low density polypropylene core The diameter of the fiber is about 65% of the fiber diameter. 5% of the antibacterial agent (Amenitop) is dispersed only in the sheath. ・ Comparative example Normal fiber test method of single structure with no antibacterial agent mixed in both warp and weft. The above filter material (woven cloth) is put into a polyethylene bag containing 1 ml of bacterial solution of the number of bacteria and sealed, and the bacterial solution is impregnated with the bacterial solution. After leaving this for 18 hours under conditions of a temperature of about 37 ° C. and a humidity of 90 to 95% RH, the bacterial solution is taken out from the polyethylene bag. Further, this bacterial solution was poured into an agar medium and cultured, and the number of colonies formed was counted to calculate the number of viable bacteria per 1 ml.

Test results are shown in Table 1. As is clear from Table 1, in the comparative example, (Escherichia coli (E. coli))
And Staphylococcus. Aureus (S.aureu
s, Staphylococcus aureus) was slightly decreased, but in the Examples, none of them survived, showing an excellent antibacterial effect. In Table 1, “> 10 ⁶ ” indicates that the growth on the agar medium was extremely large and the colonies were continuous with each other, making it impossible to count.

[0017]

[Table 1]

Test 2: Sustainability test of antibacterial effect Specifications of antibacterial filter material and test method About 15 woven fabrics (Examples and Comparative Examples) having the same specifications as in Test 1 were used.
The antibacterial effect after washing with tap water at ℃ was tested. The filter material of the example was prepared by washing with water from 0 times to 10 times, and for each of them, as in test 1, left in the bacterial solution-impregnated state, culturing after taking out the filter material, and counting colonies. . 10 times of washing with water
This is once every two to three months, which is standard for use in air conditioning filters, and corresponds to the number of washings with water for about two years. For washing with water, tap water at room temperature was used, and after washing, it was air dried.

Test results are shown in Table 2. As is clear from Table 2, in the comparative example, both E. coli (E. coli) and S. aureus (staphylococcus aureus) remarkably increased, whereas in the example, the survival of both bacteria was observed even after washing with water 10 times. And the antibacterial effect was not impaired by washing with water.

[0020]

[Table 2]

Test 3: Test of antibacterial effect under chlorine ion Specifications of antibacterial filter material and test method Woven cloths (Examples and Comparative Examples) having the same specifications as in Test 1 were used, and a suspension of MRSA bacteria was used. Was dripped. These were placed in an environment in which chloride ions were present and in an environment in which they were not present, and the number of living bacteria was counted after 18 hours.

Test results are shown in Table 3. As is clear from Table 3, in the comparative example, MRSA survived in a considerable number, whereas in the examples of the present invention, no bacteria survived in all environments. As described above, the examples of the present invention showed excellent antibacterial effect even in the presence of chloride ion, which is easily affected by the silver antibacterial agent.

[0023]

[Table 3]

[0024]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, in the present invention, a silver antibacterial agent having high safety, heat resistance and discoloration resistance is used, and its form is assumed to be a silica gel carrier carrying a silver complex. There is. Therefore, the antibacterial effect is less likely to decrease due to the reaction with chlorine ions, the effect is excellent in sustainability, and discoloration due to oxidation is less likely to occur. On the other hand, this silver-based antibacterial agent
Although the particle size must be relatively large, since the antibacterial agent is mixed only in the sheath or in a large amount in the sheath, the core in which the antibacterial agent is not mixed or the mixed amount is small keeps sufficient fiber strength, and The antibacterial effect is efficiently exerted from the sheath to the outside.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a fiber constituting an antibacterial filter material for air conditioning according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 sheath core type composite fiber sheath 2 Cores of sheath core type composite fiber

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toru Orisaka 270 Taga-cho, Inoue-gun, Shiga Prefecture Dynic Co., Ltd. Shiga factory (72) Inventor Masayuki Suga 2-6-10 Koraibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Dynic stock Company Osaka Branch (72) Inventor Toshikazu Tomioka 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Atsushi Nishino 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 72) Inventor Osamu Katagiri 4-5 Takaidahondori, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Refrigerator Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-1-95235 (JP, A) JP-A-1-95236 (JP, A) JP-A-6-228823 (JP, A) JP-A-63-175117 (JP, A) JP-A-2-292201 (JP, A) Registered utility model 3003818 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int .Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F24F 3/16 F24F 1/00 B01D 39/14 B01D 46/00 A61L 9/01

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheath core as a fiber constituting a filter material
Type composite fiber, silver complex is supported on silica gel carrier.
Antibacterial agent dispersed in the sheath of the composite fiber
A bacterium filter material, wherein the sheath-core type composite fibers of the core, air-conditioning for antimicrobial filter material you characterized in that it contains a small amount of the antimicrobial agent from the sheath. 2. The antibacterial air-conditioning filter material according to claim 1, wherein the sheath core type composite fiber is formed of a thermoplastic polyolefin resin.