JP5118241B1 - Ion generator and air purifier equipped with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an ion generator capable of efficiently discharging ions into a target space, and an air purifier provided with the same.
SOLUTION: In an ion generating apparatus including a discharge means including a discharge electrode and an induction electrode, a repulsion electrode, and a voltage application means, the repulsion electrode is on the opposite side to the direction in which ions generated by the discharge means are conveyed. The repulsion electrode is close to the ground state by the voltage application means for a period of three quarters or more of the discharge period by the discharge means, and a voltage having the same polarity as the ions is applied to the repulsion electrode during the non-discharge period It is characterized by doing.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an ion generator that includes an induction electrode and a discharge electrode and generates ions by corona discharge, and an air cleaning device including the ion generator.

  In recent years, many ion generators that generate positive ions or negative ions by corona discharge have been mounted and put into practical use in air cleaning devices and the like. There are roughly two types of ion generators: one that generates only negative ions and one that generates positive ions and negative ions. The former ion generator can produce a relaxing effect, and the latter ion generator can produce effects such as decomposition of molds and viruses floating in the air, removal of odors, and dust collection.

  In order to promote the above effect, the amount of ions released into the target space may be increased. However, if the voltage applied to the discharge electrode is made higher in order to increase the amount of ions, there is a problem that the discharge noise generated with the ions and the amount of ozone harmful to the human body also increase. Therefore, methods have been studied for efficiently releasing ions into the target space without increasing the voltage applied to the discharge electrode.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an efficient negative ion generator. Negative ions are generated when electrons are liberated from the electrode surface by applying a voltage to the electrodes, and the electrons are adsorbed on moisture or gas molecules. However, when negative ions increase and stay on the electrode surface, the electric field on the electrode surface is relaxed, making it difficult for electrons to be released from the electrode, and as a result, the production of negative ions is hindered.

  In order to improve the problem, for example, Patent Document 1 includes auxiliary electrodes. FIG. 7 shows a configuration diagram thereof. The front opening of the cylindrical insulator 71 serves as an outlet 72 for negative ions, and the rear opening serves as an air intake 73. An annular electrode A74 to which a low voltage is applied is held in the vicinity of the outlet 72 inside the cylindrical insulator 71, and free to generate negative ions at a substantially intermediate position in the axial direction of the cylindrical insulator 71. An acicular electrode B75 that emits electrons is held, and an annular electrode C76 to which a higher voltage is applied is held behind the acicular electrode B75. The needle electrode B75 is held at the center position of the cylindrical insulator 71 by an electrode holding insulator 77. According to Patent Document 1, negative ions generated by the needle electrode B75 move from the periphery of the needle electrode B75 by the action of an electric field formed between the annular electrode A74 and the annular electrode C76. Therefore, the negative ions around the needle electrode B that have been generated conventionally do not stay and the electric field at the tip of the needle electrode B75 does not relax, so that free electrons can be easily emitted from the surface of the needle electrode B75. Thus, negative ions are generated smoothly.

JP 2004-31145 A (released January 29, 2004)

  However, in the technique shown in Patent Document 1, since the annular electrode A74 is disposed at the outlet 72 of the cylindrical insulator 71, negative ions generated by the needle-like electrode B75 are directed in the direction opposite to the outlet 72. It will be pushed back. In addition, since a high voltage is applied to the annular electrode C76, the electric field on the surface of the needle-like electrode B75 is relaxed, which has a problem of negatively affecting the amount of negative ions generated.

  Therefore, the present invention includes an auxiliary electrode for discharging the generated ions into the target space, and further recovers the induction electrode and other components by devising a voltage waveform applied to the electrode. An object of the present invention is to realize an ion generator capable of suppressing the amount and improving the ion emission efficiency.

  In an ion generating apparatus including a discharge means including a discharge electrode and an induction electrode, a repulsion electrode, and a voltage application means, the repulsion electrode is disposed on the opposite side to the direction in which ions generated by the discharge means are conveyed. The repelling electrode is applied to the grounding state by a voltage applying means, and a voltage having the same polarity as that of ions is applied to the repelling electrode during a non-discharge period during a period of 3/4 or more of the discharge period by the discharging means. And

  Alternatively, the repulsion electrode may be brought close to the ground state almost simultaneously with the occurrence of discharge, and a voltage having the same polarity as the ions generated at the repulsion electrode may be applied almost simultaneously with the stop of the discharge. Further, two or more sets of discharge electrodes and induction electrodes may be provided to generate both positive and negative ions. You may comprise the air purifying apparatus provided with the said ion generator.

  According to the present invention, a repulsive electrode that functions as an auxiliary electrode is disposed behind the discharge electrode and the induction electrode, and the voltage waveform to be applied is devised, whereby ions are more efficiently discharged into the target space. Can do.

It is sectional drawing of the ion generator in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the measuring apparatus of the ion generator which concerns on Example 1. FIG. 4 is a voltage waveform diagram applied to the discharge electrode 11, the induction electrode 12, and the repulsion electrode 13 according to Example 1. FIG. It is a voltage waveform figure applied to the discharge electrode 11, the induction electrode 12, and the repulsion electrode 13 which concern on a comparative example. It is a figure showing the relationship between the time difference which concerns on a comparative example, and a carbon rod electric current. 6 is a voltage waveform diagram applied to the discharge electrode 11, the induction electrode 12, and the repulsion electrode 13 according to Example 2. FIG. It is a block diagram of the conventional negative ion generator.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ion generator in one embodiment of the present invention. The ion generator 10 includes a discharge electrode 11, an induction electrode 12 having a hole, a repulsion electrode 13 that functions as an auxiliary electrode, a voltage application device 14 that is a voltage application unit connected to each electrode, and a blower fan 15. Is provided.

  The discharge electrode 11 is made of a needle-like conductor whose tip is sharply sharpened so that electric field concentration tends to occur. The discharge electrode 11 is held on an insulating substrate or the like and is connected to the voltage application device 14 through a lead wire or a wiring pattern. Is done.

  The induction electrode 12 is made of a conductor and has a thin, hollow, substantially circular shape, and is arranged so that the center of the circular shape and the center of the tip of the discharge electrode 11 substantially coincide. In this configuration, either a positive ion or a negative ion is generated by forming a uniform electric field around the discharge electrode 11 and generating a stable corona discharge. The induction electrode 12 is also held on an insulating substrate or the like and connected to the voltage application device 14 through a lead wire or a wiring pattern.

  The repulsive electrode 13 is made of a conductor, and is disposed at a position behind the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12 and substantially coincident with the centers of the discharge electrode needle 11 and the induction electrode 12. The repulsive electrode 13 is also connected to the voltage applying device 14 through a lead wire or a wiring pattern, and a voltage having the same polarity as ions generated by corona discharge between the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12 is applied. Therefore, ions can be repelled toward the opening and efficiently released. The repulsive electrode 13 is made of a conductor and can have any shape such as a disk shape, a donut shape, or a polygonal shape as long as it has an effect of repelling ions.

  Also, a fan 15 is arranged to create a flow toward the outside of the ion generator 10, and the generated ions are transported through the ion generator 10 and released into the target space. Hereinafter, specific examples using the above embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a measuring apparatus used for verifying the effect of the ion generating apparatus in the embodiment of FIG. In FIG. 2, the discharge electrode 11, the induction electrode 12 and the repulsion electrode 13 of FIG. 1 are described, and in addition to this, as a measuring device, the carbon rod 16 for measuring the discharge current, the weak current of the carbon rod is amplified. The state is described that includes a current-voltage conversion circuit 17 using an operational amplifier and a resistor and voltage measuring means 18 for measuring the voltage across the resistor.

  The discharge electrode 11 in FIG. 2 is made of a conductive metal, and has a needle-like shape with a shaft portion with a diameter of 1 mm and a length of 5 mm and sufficiently sharpness. The induction electrode 12 was made of a conductive metal, and a wire-shaped one having a diameter of 13 mm was used. Further, the repelling electrode 13 is also made of a conductive metal, and has a hollow disk shape having an inner diameter of 8 mm, an outer diameter of 20 mm, and a thickness of 0.5 mm. The center axis | shaft of each electrode was made to correspond and the repulsion electrode 13 was fixed to the back 5 mm position of the induction | guidance | derivation electrode 12. FIG. The amount of ions generated is measured by the magnitude of the current flowing through the carbon rod 16 arranged 40 mm away from the tip of the discharge electrode 11.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing voltage waveforms applied to the electrodes shown in FIG. 2 in order to verify the effect of the ion generator according to the present embodiment. V1 represents a voltage waveform applied to the discharge electrode 11, V2 represents a voltage waveform applied to the induction electrode 12, V3 represents a voltage waveform applied to the repulsion electrode 13, and FIG. 3A shows a case where positive ions are generated. (B) shows the case where negative ions are generated.

  In FIG. 3A, T1 is a discharge period in which a potential difference is created between the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12 to cause discharge, and T2 is a positive voltage applied to the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12, This is a non-discharge period in which no discharge occurs. In the discharge period T1, the repulsion electrode 13 maintains the ground state almost simultaneously with the discharge so as not to affect the electric field of the discharge between the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12. Note that the ground state means that the ground state is approached, and a potential may be applied as long as it does not substantially affect the amount of ions generated by discharge. Further, in the non-discharge period T2, in order to efficiently release the positive ions generated in T1, a positive voltage having the same polarity as the ions generated almost simultaneously is applied when the discharge is stopped. FIG. 3B shows the voltage applied to the discharge electrode 11, the induction electrode 12 and the repulsion electrode 13 having the opposite polarity to that shown in FIG.

  Here, the amount of positive ions generated was measured using the applied voltage waveform shown in FIG. V1 is a DC voltage of 4 kV, V2 and V3 are pulse voltages that become 0 kV in the discharge period T1 and 4 kV in the non-discharge period T2, V2 and V3 have a frequency of 2 kHz, and a duty ratio that causes discharge is 5%.

  In this configuration, when the current flowing through the carbon rod 16 was measured under conditions where ions were generated, it was 215 nA. The voltage applied to the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12 is approximately the same as that of the carbon rod current 108 nA measured when a DC voltage of 4 kV is applied to the repelling electrode. I understand that. This is because, by applying no voltage to the repulsive electrode 13 during the discharge period T1, the electric field formed between the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12 is not affected and ions can be generated stably. .

  From the above results, in order to more efficiently release ions into the target space using the repulsive electrode 13, the repulsive electrode 13 is brought close to the ground state in the discharge period T1, and is generated in the repellent electrode 13 in the non-discharge period T2. It turns out that it is good to apply the voltage of the same polarity to the ion to make.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the case where positive ions are generated has been described. However, in the case where negative ions are generated, voltages applied to the discharge electrode 11, the induction electrode 12, and the repulsion electrode 13 as shown in FIG. It goes without saying that the result of the same tendency can be obtained by setting the reverse polarity.

  In Example 2, the carbon rod current was measured with a time difference T20 between the pulse voltage V3 applied to the repulsive electrode 13 and the pulse voltage V2 applied to the induction electrode 12 shown in the voltage waveform diagram of Example 1. FIG. 4 shows a diagram of voltage waveforms applied to each electrode, and FIG. 5 shows measurement results showing the relationship between the time difference T20 between V2 and V3 and the carbon rod current. Note that the same measuring apparatus as in Example 1 shown in FIG. 2 was used.

  FIG. 4 shows voltage waveforms applied to the respective electrodes according to Example 2. Unlike Example 1, a time difference T20 of −16 μs to 16 μs was provided between V2 and V3, and the amount of positive ions generated was measured. The measurement result is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows that the carbon rod current increases as the time difference T20 decreases. For example, in the range of −6 μs to 6 μs, the carbon rod current is increased by 80% or more as compared with the carbon rod current of 108 nA measured when a DC voltage of 4 kV is applied to the repulsive electrode. 6 μs corresponds to almost a quarter of the discharge period. From this, it can be seen that if the discharge period T1 and the period in which the repulsive electrode 13 is brought close to the ground state overlap in a period of approximately three quarters or more of the discharge period T1, ions can be efficiently released to some extent. . Even when negative ions are generated, the tendency of the amount of generated ions is the same.

  The third embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that a DC voltage is applied to the induction electrode 12, a pulse voltage is applied to the discharge electrode 11, and a pulse voltage is applied to the discharge electrode 11 in order to generate ions. Note that the same measuring apparatus as in Example 1 is used. As in Examples 1 and 2, the repulsive electrode 13 is grounded so as not to affect the electric field of the discharge in the discharge period T1, and in the non-discharge period T2, a voltage having the same polarity as the ions generated in T1. Applied. FIG. 6 is a diagram of voltage waveforms applied to the respective electrodes according to the third embodiment, where V1 is a voltage waveform applied to the discharge electrode 11, V2 is a voltage waveform applied to the induction electrode 12, and V3 is applied to the repulsive electrode 13. 6A shows a case where positive ions are generated, and FIG. 6B shows a case where negative ions are generated.

  Even if a pulse voltage is applied to the discharge electrode 11 to generate ions, the ions can be efficiently discharged into the target space by controlling the voltage applied to the repulsion electrode.

  In the first to third embodiments, the ion generation apparatus 10 that generates either positive or negative ions using one set of the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12 is shown. Positive ions and negative ions may be generated using a pair or more. In this case, a repulsive electrode 13 to which a positive voltage is applied is disposed behind the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12 that generate positive ions, and a negative electrode is disposed behind the discharge electrode 11 and the induction electrode 12 that generate negative ions. The repulsive electrode 13 to which a voltage of 1 is applied is disposed. By generating both ions, effects such as decomposition of fungi and viruses floating in the air, removal of odors, and dust collection can be produced.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, The range of this invention is shown by a claim, and the meaning and range equivalent to a claim All changes within are intended to be included.

  For example, the shapes and applied voltages of the discharge electrode 11, the induction electrode 12 and the repulsion electrode 13 used in the embodiments of the present invention are set according to the distance between the electrodes, the amount of ions to be generated, and the like. Moreover, although the ventilation fan 15 was used as a sending means, the effect by the ventilation fan 15 is for diffusing ion to a wider range, and the structure without the ventilation fan 15 may be sufficient according to the objective.

  Moreover, the ion generator which concerns on this invention can be mounted in an air purifying apparatus. Air purifiers here are air conditioners, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, air purifiers, fan heaters, etc., mainly in the interior of a house, a room in a building, a hospital room, a car cabin. It is a device that is used to adjust the air in an airplane cabin, a ship cabin, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ion generator 11 Discharge electrode 12 Induction electrode 13 Repulsion electrode 14 Voltage application apparatus 15 Blower fan 16 Carbon rod 17 Current voltage conversion circuit 18 Voltage measuring means 71 Cylindrical insulator 72 Outflow port 73 Inlet port 74 Ring electrode A
75 Needle electrode B
76 Annular electrode C
77 Insulator for electrode holding

Claims (4)

In an ion generator comprising a discharge means including a discharge electrode and an induction electrode, a repulsion electrode, and a voltage application means,
The repulsion electrode is disposed on the opposite side to the direction in which ions generated by the discharge means are conveyed,
The repulsion electrode is brought close to a ground state by the voltage application means for a period of three quarters or more of the discharge period by the discharge means,
In a non-discharge period, an ion generator is characterized in that a voltage having the same polarity as the ions is applied to the repulsion electrode.   2. The ion generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the repulsive electrode is brought close to a ground state almost simultaneously with discharge, and a voltage having the same polarity as that of ions generated on the repellent electrode is applied almost simultaneously with stopping the discharge. .   The ion generator according to claim 1, wherein two or more sets of the discharge electrode and the induction electrode are provided to generate both positive and negative ions.   An air cleaning device comprising the ion generator according to claim 1.