JP4877173B2 - Electrostatic atomizer and heated air blower equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrostatic atomizer and a heated air blower including the same.

  Conventionally, as an electrostatic atomizer, a discharge electrode having a sharp tip and a flat ground electrode are provided, and a voltage is applied between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode to form an electric field between the electrodes. As a result, the liquid supplied to the tip of the discharge electrode is charged and split to generate liquid fine particles having a charge of nanometer size, and the Coulomb force acting between the electric field formed on the ground electrode and the charged liquid fine particles Is known to fly toward the ground electrode by using (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  By the way, it is known that nanometer-sized liquid fine particles are formed in a larger amount as the electric field formed by the discharge electrode and the ground electrode is increased (see FIG. 4).

Therefore, in order to generate more liquid fine particles, it is necessary to generate a high electric field between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode.
JP-A-11-300975

  However, in the above prior art, since a flat ground electrode having a corner portion substantially perpendicular to the end is used, a voltage is applied between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode to form an electric field between both electrodes. Electric field concentration occurs at the corner. Therefore, when a high electric field is generated between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode, a leak current may be generated between adjacent electrodes, so that the electric field strength between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode can be increased. was difficult.

  Then, an object of this invention is to obtain the electrostatic atomizer which can produce | generate a liquid microparticle of nanometer size more, and a heating air blower provided with the same.

In the invention of claim 1, an electrostatic atomization comprising a discharge electrode and a ground electrode, wherein the liquid supplied to the discharge electrode is atomized by applying a voltage between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode. In the apparatus, a curved surface portion with rounded corners is formed at an end portion of the ground electrode, and the curved surface portion is convex on the discharge electrode side end portion of the ground electrode in a sectional view. The ground electrode is a wire-like member having a substantially circular cross section, and the wire-like member is formed in a substantially annular shape having the discharge electrode as a center in plan view. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic atomizer according to the first or second aspect, the curved surface portion is, in a sectional view, from the surface on the discharge electrode side of the ground electrode to the discharge electrode side. It is characterized by being formed in a substantially semicircular arc shape over the surface on the opposite side of the surface.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electrostatic atomizer according to the first or second aspect, the ground electrode is substantially centered on the discharge electrode in plan view, and the discharge electrode of the ground electrode. A substantially circular opening having an end on the side as an outer periphery is provided.

In the invention of claim 4 is the hot air blower, characterized in that it comprises an electrostatic atomization device according to any one of claims 1-3.

  According to the invention of claim 1, by forming a curved surface portion with rounded corners at the end portion of the ground electrode, there is no edge portion at the end portion of the ground electrode, and local electric field concentration occurs in the ground electrode. Can be relaxed.

Further, according to the invention of claim 1, the discharge electrode side of the end portion of the ground electrode, by forming a convex curved portion on the electrode side discharge in sectional view, an end portion of the discharge electrode side of the ground electrode It is possible to alleviate the occurrence of electric field concentration at a portion close to the discharge electrode that has a higher electric field. As a result, the electric field strength between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode can be increased. In addition, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the edge portion can be eliminated over the entire circumference by making the ground electrode substantially circular in cross-sectional view, electric field concentration locally occurs in the ground electrode. Can be relaxed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the curved surface portion has a substantially semicircular arc shape in cross-sectional view, the edge portion at the end of the ground electrode opposite to the surface on the discharge electrode side can be eliminated. Further, local concentration of the electric field in the ground electrode can be alleviated.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ground electrode is provided with a substantially circular opening having an end on the discharge electrode side as an outer periphery, and the ground electrode is disposed so that the discharge electrode is substantially centered in plan view. Thus, since the region of the ground electrode that is closest to the discharge electrode can be substantially annular, it is possible to suppress the formation of a portion where the electric field value is increased locally. As a result, it is possible to further suppress the occurrence of leak current between adjacent electrodes.

According to invention of Claim 4 , the heating air blower provided with the electrostatic atomizer which can produce more ion mist can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrostatic atomizer according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the electrostatic atomizer, and FIG. 3 is capable of avoiding leaks of the present invention and the conventional example. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the electric field value and the current value, FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the electric field and the amount of fine particles generated, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a dryer which is an example of a heating blower.

  The electrostatic atomizer 1 according to the present embodiment includes a columnar discharge electrode 2 to which water (liquid) is supplied, a ground electrode 3 disposed to face the discharge electrode 2 at a predetermined interval, and leads The discharge electrode 2 and the ground electrode 3 are connected via a wire 4, and a voltage application unit 5 that applies a voltage between the discharge electrode 2 and the ground electrode 3, and the surface of the discharge electrode 2 by cooling the discharge electrode 2. And a cooling device 6 for condensing moisture in the atmosphere.

  The discharge electrode 2 is a substantially cylindrical member formed of a material having good thermal conductivity such as brass, and a substantially spherical liquid replenishing portion 2a for regulating the amount of liquid supplied to the tip is provided at the tip. Is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ground electrode 3 has a flat plate shape and a substantially ring shape, and a central portion of the ground electrode 3 has the discharge electrode 2 substantially at the center in plan view. 3 is provided with a substantially circular opening 3b having an outer peripheral side end 3c (end on the discharge electrode side of the ground electrode) 3c as an outer periphery.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a convex curved surface portion 3a is formed on the side of the discharge electrode 2 having a quadrangular arc shape in a cross-sectional view on the inner peripheral side end portion 3c side of the facing surface 3d of the ground electrode 3 facing the discharge electrode 2. Has been.

  That is, in the present embodiment, the curved surface portion 3a is formed in a substantially annular shape having the discharge electrode 2 as the center in plan view.

  The cooling device 6 is composed of a Peltier element that is a semiconductor electronic heat exchange element. Specifically, the cooling device 6 is interposed between the heat absorbing plate 6b that absorbs heat, the heat radiating plate 6d that releases heat, the heat absorbing plate 6b and the heat radiating plate 6d, and the temperature and heat dissipation on the side of the heat absorbing plate 6b. A heat transfer element 6c for appropriately setting a temperature difference from the temperature on the plate 6d side. Furthermore, in this embodiment, an insulating plate 6a that electrically insulates between the discharge electrode 2 and the heat absorption plate 6b is interposed between the discharge electrode 2 and the heat absorption plate 6b, so that the discharge electrode 2 and the ground electrode 3 When a voltage is applied between them, no leak current is generated between the discharge electrode 2 and the heat absorbing plate 6b. Further, heat radiating fins 7 are provided on the heat radiating plate 6 d side of the cooling device 6. The amount of heat generated when the discharge electrode 2 is cooled by the cooling device 6 is radiated by the radiation fins 7 to prevent a decrease in the cooling effect of the discharge electrode 2. The heat absorbing plate 6b and the heat radiating plate 6d are electrically connected to the voltage applying unit 5 through lead wires (not shown).

  According to the electrostatic atomizer 1 having the above configuration, when a voltage is applied between the discharge electrode 2 and the ground electrode 3, the discharge electrode 2 is first cooled by the cooling device 6. By cooling the air and lowering it to a temperature below the dew point, water vapor in the air forms water droplets on the surface of the discharge electrode 2 and condenses.

  At this time, the water droplet supplied to the liquid replenishing part 2a at the tip of the discharge electrode 2 jumps out into the air with electric charge, and repeats Rayleigh splitting while drifting in a high electric field to finally reach about 3 to 100 nm. Ion mist M is generated and released to the ground electrode 3 side.

  Next, a heating blower provided with the above-described electrostatic atomizer will be described by taking a dryer as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the dryer 10 according to the present embodiment has a grip 28 foldably attached to a lower portion of a housing 16 formed in a cylindrical shape. A suction port 15 is formed at the rear end portion of the housing 16, while a discharge port 14 is formed at the front end portion of the housing 16. Air sucked through the suction port 15 is appropriately heated inside the housing 16. It is blown out from the discharge port 14. In the present embodiment, a nozzle 25 that adjusts the direction of the wind blown from the discharge grid 24 and the discharge port 14 is provided in the discharge port 14. In the present embodiment, the electrostatic atomizer 1 described above is attached to the inside of the housing 16, and a discharge port 21 that is released in the same direction as the discharge port 14 is formed at the upper end of the housing 16. Has been. And the air containing the ion mist M produced | generated by the electrostatic atomizer 1 from this discharge port 21 is blown out.

  A holding cylinder 23 is provided inside the housing 16, and a motor 19 attached to the holding cylinder 23, a fan 17 that is rotationally driven by the motor 19, and the fan 17 is sucked from the suction port 15. The air blowing section 20 is formed by the rectifying blade 18 that rectifies the generated air. And the heater 22 as a heating part which heats air is provided in the downstream of the ventilation part 20. As shown in FIG. That is, the air sucked from the suction port 15 by the rotation of the fan 17 is heated by the heater 22 and blown out from the discharge port 14.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 27 denotes a main switch, and reference numeral 29 denotes a power cord.

  In the dryer 10 of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the fan 17 is driven and the heater 22 is energized so that warm air can be blown from the discharge port 14 and is generated by the electrostatic atomizer 1. The ion mist M can be discharged from the discharge port 21.

  According to the above-described embodiment, the curved surface portion 3a that protrudes toward the discharge electrode 2 that has a quadrangular arc shape in cross-sectional view on the inner peripheral side end portion 3c side of the facing surface 3d that faces the discharge electrode 2 of the ground electrode 3. Since the edge portion can be eliminated on the discharge electrode 2 side of the ground electrode 3, it is possible to alleviate the occurrence of local electric field concentration when a voltage is applied.

  Here, FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the leakage avoidable electric field value and the current value of the present embodiment and the conventional example. In FIG. 3, f1 is a graph when the ground electrode according to the present embodiment is used, and f2 is a graph when the conventional ground electrode is used. In FIG. 3, as a conventional example, a flat electrode and a substantially ring shape are used, and a ground electrode having a substantially rectangular shape in cross section is used. That is, FIG. 3 is a diagram comparing a conventional ground electrode having a corner portion on the discharge electrode side and a ground electrode of the present embodiment in which a convex curved surface portion is formed on the discharge electrode side. According to this graph, the leakage avoidable electric field value when the current value is constant (when a predetermined voltage is applied) is greater than that of the conventional example (point A in FIG. 3) in this embodiment (in FIG. 3, Point B) has a higher value.

  That is, by providing a convex curved surface portion 3 a on the discharge electrode 2 side at the inner peripheral side end portion 3 c on the facing surface 3 d side of the ground electrode 3, a voltage applied between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode is a predetermined value. In this case, the allowable electric field value that can avoid the occurrence of leakage current can be made higher than that of the conventional electrostatic atomizer.

  As a result, since the electric field strength between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode can be increased, as shown in FIG. 4, the amount of nanometer-sized finely divided ion mist M can be increased.

  In addition, since the allowable electric field value increases, the distance between the ground electrode and the discharge electrode can be reduced, and the electrostatic atomizer can be downsized.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the ground electrode 3 is provided with the substantially circular opening 3b having the inner peripheral side end 3c as the outer periphery, and the discharge electrode 2 is substantially centered in the plan view. By disposing the first electrode, the region of the ground electrode 3 that is closest to the liquid replenishing portion 2a at the tip of the discharge electrode 2 can be formed into a substantially annular shape, and a region where the electric field value becomes high is locally formed. Can be suppressed. As a result, leakage current can be further suppressed.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the ion mist M which moisturizes hair etc. is provided by providing the dryer 10 with the electrostatic atomizer 1 which can increase the quantity of the ion mist M made into the fine particle of nanometer size. It becomes possible to obtain a dryer that can produce more.

  (Second Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an electrostatic atomizer according to this embodiment. In addition, the electrostatic atomizer concerning this embodiment has the same component as the electrostatic atomizer concerning the said 1st Embodiment. Therefore, the same constituent elements are given common reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the electrostatic atomizer 1A according to the present embodiment basically has the same configuration as the electrostatic atomizer 1 of the first embodiment, and the ground electrode 3A is released. This is different from the first embodiment in that the curved surface portion 3aA formed on the inner peripheral side end portion 3c side of the facing surface 3d facing the electrode 2 has a substantially semicircular arc shape in a sectional view.

  Specifically, the curved surface portion 3aA is formed in a substantially semicircular arc shape from the facing surface 3d to the surface 3e opposite to the facing surface 3d on the inner peripheral side end portion 3c side of the ground electrode 3A in a cross-sectional view. ing.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the curved surface portion 3aA is formed in a substantially annular shape having the discharge electrode 2 as the center in plan view.

  According to the present embodiment as described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the curved surface portion 3aA has a substantially semicircular shape when viewed in cross section, so that the end of the surface 3e opposite to the facing surface 3d as well as the end portion on the facing surface 3d side of the ground electrode 3A. Since the edge can be eliminated also on the part side, the occurrence of electric field concentration can be further alleviated.

  By the way, since the emitted ion mist M has an electric charge, when an electric field is generated in the ground electrode 3A, an electrostatic force attracted to the ground electrode 3A side works. Since the electrostatic force is proportional to the electric field, if an electric field concentration portion is generated in the ground electrode 3A, the released ion mist M is easily attracted to the electric field concentration portion. However, according to the present embodiment, since the electric field concentration on the end portion side of the surface 3e opposite to the facing surface 3d can be reduced, the released ion mist M is captured by the ground electrode 3A. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the release amount of the ion mist M.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an electrostatic atomizer according to this embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the electrostatic atomizer. In addition, the electrostatic atomizer concerning this embodiment has the same component as the electrostatic atomizer concerning the said 1st Embodiment. Therefore, the same constituent elements are given common reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the electrostatic atomizer 1B according to the present embodiment basically has a configuration substantially the same as that of the electrostatic atomizer 1 of the first embodiment, and includes a ground electrode. The point that 3B is a wire-shaped member having a substantially circular cross section is different from the first embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, the ground electrode 3B is formed in a substantially annular shape having the discharge electrode 2 as the center in plan view.

  The present embodiment described above can also provide the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the ground electrode 3B is substantially circular in cross-sectional view, so that the edge portion can be eliminated over the entire circumference, and the ground electrode 3B can reach the liquid supply portion 2a at the tip of the discharge electrode 2. Therefore, the occurrence of electric field concentration can be further alleviated.

  As a result, the discharge amount of the ion mist M can be further increased.

  Furthermore, since the ground electrode 3B is formed using the wire-like member, the manufacturing efficiency can be improved and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of the electrostatic atomizer concerning this invention and a heating air blower provided with the same was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from a summary, various embodiment is carried out. Can be adopted.

  For example, in the said 1st Embodiment, although the dryer was illustrated as a heating air blower, when not providing not only a drier but the electrostatic atomizer similar to what was mentioned above, other heating air blowers, such as a fan heater, are provided. The present invention can also be implemented.

  Moreover, this invention can be implemented also as a heating air blower provided with the electrostatic atomizer concerning 2nd and 3rd embodiment.

  Further, in the first to third embodiments, the case where the ground electrode is opposed to the discharge electrode has been illustrated, but the present invention can be implemented even if the ground electrode is not opposed to the discharge electrode.

It is a perspective view of the electrostatic atomizer concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the electrostatic atomizer concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the electric field value and current value which can avoid leak of this invention and a prior art example. It is a graph which shows the relationship between an electric field and a fine particle production amount. It is sectional drawing of the dryer which is an example of the heating air blower concerning 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the electrostatic atomizer concerning 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the electrostatic atomizer concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the electrostatic atomizer concerning 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1A, 1B Electrostatic atomizer 2 Discharge electrode 3 Ground electrode 3a, 3aA Curved surface portion 3b Opening portion 10 Dryer (heating air blower)

Claims (4)

An electrostatic atomizer that comprises a discharge electrode and a ground electrode, and atomizes the liquid supplied to the discharge electrode by applying a voltage between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode,
A curved surface with rounded corners is formed at the end of the ground electrode ,
The curved surface portion is formed in a convex shape on the discharge electrode side in a cross-sectional view at an end portion on the discharge electrode side of the ground electrode,
The ground electrode is a wire-like member having a substantially circular cross section,
The electrostatic atomizer according to claim 1, wherein the wire-like member is formed in a substantially annular shape having the discharge electrode as a center in plan view . The curved surface portion, according to claim 1, characterized in that in cross section is formed in a substantially semicircular arc shape toward the opposite side of the surface of the discharge electrode side surface of the discharge electrode side of the ground electrode Electrostatic atomizer. The ground electrode is provided with a substantially circular opening with the discharge electrode side end of the ground electrode as an outer periphery in a plan view. The electrostatic atomizer as described in 1 or 2 . Hot air blower, characterized in that it comprises an electrostatic atomization device according to any one of claims 1-3.

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