JP5602210B2 - Adherent odor removing apparatus and adhering odor removing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an attached odor removing apparatus and an attached odor removing method for removing odor attached to an object such as clothing.

  In recent years, people's desire for cleanliness has increased rapidly, and in particular, there has been an increasing need for effective removal of odors. Typical examples of odors that adhere to objects such as clothing and hats are cigarette odors (mainly ammonia-based, acetic acid-based, aldehyde-based, and nicotine-based), and odors emitted from the human body include sweat odors ( Mainly fatty acid components such as valeric acid), aging odors (mainly nonenal), food odors such as cooking odors (mainly trimethylamine), stool odors (mainly hydrogen sulfide) ) And the like.

  As the most common conventional method for removing such odors, there is a method of washing an object such as clothing using water and a detergent. According to this method, odors can be removed from an object by washing the object and removing odor components from the object.

  However, removal of odor by washing with water or detergent takes time, and it is necessary to dry objects such as clothes after washing. Further, depending on the type of the object, there are some types of objects that are difficult to wash, such as leather products, fur coats, and decorated clothes and hats.

  Therefore, various methods have been conventionally used to remove odors attached to the object as a method for replacing the conventional washing method using water. In recent years, in order to remove odors attached to an object, an apparatus has been developed that obtains a new effect by mounting a member that generates a gaseous substance.

  For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2007-195896 (Patent Document 1) describes a washing machine with a drying function provided with an ozone generator for supplying ozone to a drying air passage. In this washing machine, as a process independent of washing using water and a detergent, an air wash operation is performed in which clothes are sterilized and deodorized with air containing ozone.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-36302 (Patent Document 2) describes a deodorization method for deodorizing clothes and the like by using both of an odor diffusion removal method using air blowing and an odor oxidative decomposition method using ozone. An apparatus is described.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-129841 (Patent Document 3) introduces positive ions and negative ions into the rotating drum when the dryness of the clothes stored in the rotating drum reaches 90 to 100% or more. Thus, there is described a clothes dryer that neutralizes static electricity or deodorizes clothes and the inside of a rotating drum with negative ions.

  As another example of an apparatus equipped with a member for generating a gaseous substance, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-105144 (Patent Document 4) has a discharge unit and a transformer for generating negative ions arranged in a main body. Hair setters are listed. An attachment such as a blow brush or a roll brush can be attached to the body of the hair setter as an attachment. The negative ions are blown out from the main body of the hair setter by dry air and supplied to the hair.

In Japanese Patent No. 3680121 (Patent Document 5), an ion generator is mounted, and H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary natural number) as positive ions and O as negative ions in indoor air. _{^{2 - (H 2 O) n}} (n is an arbitrary natural number) emits an air purifier or air conditioner to perform the cleaning of the air is described by the effect of ions. These positive ions and negative ions released into the air chemically react between the positive ions and the negative ions to become hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) or a hydroxyl radical (.OH) as an active substance. . It is known that hydrogen peroxide or hydroxyl radicals can inactivate suspended particles or sterilize suspended bacteria by performing an oxidation reaction that extracts hydrogen from suspended particles or suspended bacteria.

JP 2007-195896 A JP 2008-36302 A JP 2004-129841 A JP 2007-105144 A Japanese Patent No. 3680121

  However, in the washing machine described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-195896 (Patent Document 1) and the air conditioner described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-36302 (Patent Document 2), ozone having a specific odor is present. Is generated. Therefore, even if the odor adhered to the object can be removed by ozone, the odor of ozone itself cannot be ignored. In addition, when the concentration of ozone is high, there is a risk of adversely affecting the human body, and therefore it is difficult to manage ozone.

  In the clothes dryer described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-129841 (Patent Document 3), static electricity of clothes is removed by positive ions and negative ions, and odor molecules are decomposed and deodorized by negative ions. However, the odor cannot be removed sufficiently. In this clothes dryer, since ions are supplied to the entire object in the rotating drum, the ions are dispersed in a wide range. When ions are dispersed in a wide range, sufficient ions cannot be supplied to a specific portion of the object, and odors attached to the object cannot be sufficiently deodorized.

  In the hair setter described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-105144 (Patent Document 4), since ions are supplied to the hair by an air flow, the ions are dispersed. Because ions are dispersed over a wide range, sufficient ions cannot be supplied to a specific part of the hair. In addition, although negative ions can increase the moisture of the hair and scalp, negative ions cannot remove odors.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an attached odor removing apparatus and an attached odor removing method capable of efficiently removing odors attached to an object.

The adhering odor removing apparatus according to the present invention has H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary integer) as positive ions and O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n is an arbitrary integer) as negative ions. In the attached odor removal apparatus, which includes an ion generation unit that generates gas, a blowing unit that sends gas in a certain direction, and a heating unit that heats the gas sent by the blowing unit, By releasing the positive ions and the negative ions together with the gas to the target, the odorous substance that is a source of sweat odor adhering to the target is separated from the target, and the odorous substance and the positive ions The odor is removed by reacting with the active species generated by the interaction of the negative ions.

The method for removing attached odor according to the present invention includes H as positive ions. ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (M is an arbitrary integer) and O as a negative ion ₂ ^- (H ₂ O) _n (N is an arbitrary integer) generating an attached odor removing device, an air blowing unit for sending gas in a fixed direction, and a heating unit for heating the gas sent by the blowing unit In the method for removing attached odor using the odor substance, the positive ions and the negative ions are released together with the gas sent out by the air blower to the object, thereby generating an odor substance that is a source of sweat odor attached to the object. The odor is removed by leaving the object and reacting the odorous substance with the active species generated by the interaction of the positive ion and the negative ion.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an attached odor removing apparatus and an attached odor removing method capable of efficiently removing odors attached to an object.

It is a figure (A) which shows typically the state of the hair of the user of short hair, and a figure (B) which shows the adhesion state of the moisture in the inner surface of the hat which the user shown in (A) of Drawing 1 wore. It is the figure (A) which shows typically the state of the hair of the user of long hair, and the figure (B) which shows the adhesion state of the water | moisture content in the inner surface of the hat which the user shown to (A) of FIG. 2 wore. The figure (A) which shows the state of the head hair of the user who has hair loss on the head, and the figure which shows the adhesion state of the water | moisture content in the inner surface of the hat which the user shown to (A) of FIG. 3 wore ). It is a figure which shows the oxidation degree of the substance adhering to the cloth by a chemiluminescence method (chemical luminescence). Figure (A) showing concentration dependence of acetic acid re-release amount of test cloth and acetic acid re-release amount of test cloth blown without irradiating ions, when air was blown in an atmosphere of each ion concentration It is a figure (B) which shows the density | concentration dependence of the reduction | decrease amount of acetic acid re-release calculated | required by subtracting the acetic acid re-release amount of a test cloth. It is a figure which shows the ion concentration dependence of time required in order to remove 0.1 mg of acetic acid adhering to a test cloth. It is a figure showing typically the whole adhesion odor removal device as a 1st embodiment of this invention. The perspective view (A) which shows the whole of the ion generation element with which an attached odor removal apparatus is equipped, The perspective view (B) which shows the inside of the main body of an ion generation element, The inside of the ion generation element shown to (B) of FIG. It is sectional drawing (C) when it sees from the direction of CC line. It is a block diagram which shows the structure relevant to the control which concerns on the attached odor removal apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the whole adhering odor removal apparatus as 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the whole adhering odor removal apparatus as 4th Embodiment of this invention.

  The inventor of the present application first investigated from what part the surface of the object is likely to generate odor. A hat was used as the object, and the odor inside the hat was examined in detail.

(Verification experiment 1)
As a result of examining the odor inside the hat in detail, it was found that the odor generation part changed with time as follows.

  Immediately after removing the used hat, odors from the top area (the bottom part of the hat) were released relatively strongly. As time passed after the hat was removed, the odor of the edge of the hat (the part that surrounds the forehead when worn) was rather strong, rather than the parietal region. That is, when odor adheres to the fabric fibers constituting the hat, odor is released from the removed hat, but in the situation where the fibers are sufficiently wet and wet immediately after the sweat is attached, the odor intensity Was found to be relatively small. Moreover, it became clear that odor became easy to be released as the moisture dried, and the odor intensity increased.

  Such a result is based on the same principle as that a long-term deodorizing effect cannot be obtained by a commercially available deodorizing liquid.

  Deodorant liquids are widely marketed, and for example, those that can be deodorized by spraying the deodorant liquid with a spray are on the market. Most commercially available deodorizing liquids contain an aroma component in an aqueous solvent, and in addition to the aroma component, a deodorizing component such as alcohol is contained. The principle of deodorization is that when a deodorant solution is applied or sprayed on the surface of clothing or cloth, the deodorant component such as moisture or fragrance component of the deodorant solution wraps the odor and exhibits the deodorant effect. Let That is, it is a method of making odors difficult to perceive by human olfaction by wrapping odor components with deodorant liquid.

  However, the deodorant generally does not have an effect of decomposing odors attached to clothes and cloth. Therefore, even if the odor substance is wrapped with the component of the deodorant liquid, the odor substance itself exists without being decomposed. Over time, the deodorizing substance enclosing the odorous substance is detached from the odorous substance. When the deodorizing substance is detached from the odorous substance, odor is generated again. Thus, although the short-term odor suppression effect is obtained by using the deodorizing substance, it is difficult to maintain the long-term odor removal effect.

  Although there are deodorant liquids that use chemicals that break down odorous substances, this type cannot generally be used because it may damage the clothing itself.

  Although it is possible to obtain a short-term odor suppressing effect with a commercially available deodorant, it is considered that this is the reason why a long-term odor suppressing effect cannot be obtained. As described above, in the verification experiment 1, the odor is easily released as the moisture is dried, and the odor intensity is increased for the same reason.

  In other words, a short-term odor suppression effect can be obtained by attaching moisture to an object such as clothing or cloth. That is, when moisture adheres to the object, the timing at which odors are released into the space can be delayed.

  Further examination of this effect revealed that the inventor of the present application delays the generation of odor even when sprayed with pure water that does not contain a fragrance component on the surface of clothes and fabrics to which odor is attached, rather than a commercially available deodorant. I confirmed that I was able to.

(Verification experiment 2)
About the white cloth to which the tobacco odor was made to adhere, the sensory evaluation test by the six-step odor intensity display method by 6 panelists (subjects) was conducted. The 6-level odor intensity display method is a method for quantifying the level of odor, dividing the odor intensity into 6 levels and expressing it with a numerical value from 0 to 5. In order to establish regulatory standards in the Odor Control Law It is used as a basic standard.

  First, a cigarette (mild seven) was burned on a commercially available white cloth (JIS standard polyester cloth) to attach a smell of tobacco. Similarly, three white cloths with the same amount of odor attached thereto were prepared. Different amounts of moisture were attached to each white cloth. Moisture was adhered to the white cloth as described in the following (1) to (3).

(1) Moisture is not intentionally attached (only the odor of tobacco is attached)
(2) Moisture was adhered to both sides of the white cloth using a commercial spray (a small amount of water was adhered)
(3) The both sides of the white cloth were immersed in water to attach water (a large amount of water was attached).
The amount of odor adhering to each white cloth was the same, only the amount of water was different.

  Next, air was sent to each of the white cloths to which moisture was attached as in the above (1) to (3). The odor of the white cloth that was blown was compared by a sensory test using a six-step odor intensity display method. The sensory test by the 6-step odor intensity display method was performed in the following five steps (a) to (e).

(A) Immediately after treatment (immediately after moisture is attached)
(B) After being left for 1 hour in the wind at a wind speed of 0.3 m / sec. (C) After being left for 3 hours in the wind at a wind speed of 0.3 m / sec. After standing for 6 hours (e) After being left for 24 hours by applying a wind of 0.3 m / sec, positively charged white cloth with odors is H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary integer) ) And negative ions, O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n is an arbitrary integer), that is, atmospheric ions were not irradiated, and only blowing was performed.

  Table 1 is a table | surface which shows the result of the sensory test by a 6-step odor intensity display method about said white cloth.

As shown in Table 1, (1) In the white cloth on which moisture was not intentionally attached, (a) the odor intensity immediately after the treatment was the strongest, (b) → (c) → (d) → (e) The odor intensity decreased as the standing time increased. This is because the odor component adhering to the white cloth is volatilized by the flow of wind.

  However, (2) with a white cloth where water is applied to both sides of the white cloth using a commercial spray, (a) rather than the odor intensity immediately after the treatment, (a) after being left for 1 hour in a wind with a wind speed of 0.3 m / sec. The odor intensity of became stronger. The odor intensity decreased as the standing time increased from (c) to (d) to (v).

  In addition, (3) the white cloth in which both surfaces of the white cloth were soaked in water to which water was attached had the strongest odor intensity after being left for 3 hours by being exposed to the wind of 0.3 m / sec.

  Note that when the odor intensity display value is different by 1, the actual odor is 10 times different. That is, when the odor intensity display is changed from 4 to 3, the odor becomes 1/10. From this result, it can be determined that the positive ions and the negative ions have a deodorizing effect.

  As described above, the white cloth (1) to which moisture is not attached has the strongest odor intensity immediately after blowing, and the white cloth (2) and (3) to which moisture is attached has passed a certain amount of time after blowing. The reason why the odor intensity is increased is that, as described above, an effect similar to the short-term deodorizing effect obtained by a commercially available deodorizing liquid is obtained.

  When a liquid substance is applied to an object with odor on the surface of an object such as clothing or cloth, the liquid component (water in this verification experiment) surrounds the odor component, thereby suppressing the odor release. , Odor intensity decreases. Thereafter, as the moisture dries, the odor component adhering to the surface of the object such as clothing or cloth is easily released, and the odor intensity is increased. (2) The amount of moisture adhering is different between the case where water is applied to both sides of a white cloth using a commercial spray and the case where (3) the water is attached by soaking both sides of the white cloth in water. Different. Therefore, the time that elapses until the odor is released changes, and the time that elapses until the odor intensity increases.

  As described above, the inventor of the present application has confirmed a phenomenon that when moisture adheres to clothes and fabrics to which odors are attached, the time until the odors are released into the space is delayed. Moreover, it confirmed that it took time until odor was discharge | released, so that there was much water | moisture content which adhered.

  From this, for example, when the object is a head covering such as a hat, the odor emitted from the inside of the hat or the like worn by the user is emitted from a dry region with little moisture immediately after wearing. It will be. That is, the odor from the vicinity of the top of the head is strong. On the other hand, when time elapses after the end of wearing, odors from edges such as hats are strongly observed.

  In order to confirm this phenomenon, the inventor of the present application made a detailed evaluation on the occurrence of odor in the hat.

(Verification experiment 3)
As an example of the head covering worn by the user, the present inventor investigated the moisture distribution (sweat adhesion distribution) in the hat worn by the user.

  As a result, it was found that more moisture was attached to the edge of the hat, that is, the region surrounding the forehead than the region covering the hair.

  FIG. 1A is a diagram schematically showing the state of hair of a user with short hair, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the state of moisture adhesion on the inner surface of the hat worn by the user shown in FIG. ).

  2A schematically shows the state of the hair of the user with long hair, and FIG. 2B shows the state of moisture adhesion on the inner surface of the hat worn by the user shown in FIG. ).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram (A) schematically showing the state of the hair of the user whose hair is removed from the crown, and the moisture adhesion state on the inner surface of the hat worn by the user shown in (A) of FIG. It is a figure (B) shown.

  In the figure, a portion where the hair is present is shown surrounded by a broken line. A portion where the amount of moisture attached is relatively small is indicated by A, and a portion where the amount of moisture attached is relatively large is indicated by B.

  Hats 201 and 202 worn by a user with a head having hair as shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A, and a user having a hair loss at the top as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1B, FIG. 2B, and FIG. 3B, the worn cap 203 has a slight difference in moisture adhesion.

  A hat 201 worn by a short hair user shown in FIG. 1 and a hat 202 worn by a long hair user shown in FIG. 2, that is, a user with a lot of hair (including women with long hair), There was little moisture in the area. On the other hand, a relatively large amount of moisture adhered to the edges (regions surrounding the forehead) of the hats 201 and 202.

  In the hat 203 worn by the user with the hair removed from the top of the head shown in FIG. 3, the adhesion of sweat was observed in an area where there was no hair, that is, a place where the scalp was in direct contact. However, there was also a lot of moisture adhering to the edge of the cap 203 (area surrounding the forehead).

  For this reason, immediately after removing the hat worn by the user from the user's head, the hat has a strong odor generated from the area covering the hair (area A with little moisture adhesion), and the hat is removed. After that, when the region of the edge portion of the hat dries with time, it was confirmed that the odor from the edge portion (region B where moisture was originally attached) became strong.

  Next, the odor removal effect by ions will be described.

  The inventor of the present application, as an activated gas released into the space, generally called atmospheric ions, ions generated by ionizing oxygen and water vapor in the air by plasma discharge are objects such as clothing and cloth. It has been found that it has a deodorizing effect on odors adhering to the surface.

An ion generator for generating such ions has already been put into practical use. This ion generator is a positive ion H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary integer) and negative ions O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n is an arbitrary integer). generate. These positive ions and negative ions have a form in which a plurality of water molecules are attached around a hydrogen ion (H ⁺ ) or an oxygen ion (O ₂ ⁻ ), that is, a so-called cluster ion.

  Conventionally, as products equipped with such ion generating elements that emit positive and negative ions, there are many white goods for general households such as air conditioners and air purifiers. An air purifier or an air conditioner equipped with a conventional ion generator emits ions into the space in order to enhance the effect of inactivation and sterilization of the suspended particles or suspended bacteria in the space.

  However, in an air cleaner equipped with a conventional ion generator, even if the ions released into the air are the above positive ions and negative ions that have the effect of inactivating or sterilizing the suspended bacteria, The deodorizing effect of the adhering odor adhering to the thing was not acquired. This is because the lifetime of the ions generated by the ion generator is short, so the amount of positive ions and negative ions released into the air from the air purifier or air conditioner reaches the surface of clothing, cloth, etc. This is because of a decrease in As mentioned above, the odor source is attached to clothing and fabrics, so if the ions do not reach the clothing and fabrics in the amount necessary to decompose the odor components, the deodorizing effect by the ions Cannot be obtained. That is, even if the above positive and negative ions are generated, it is insufficient to obtain the effect of removing and decomposing odors.

For example, when positive and negative ions are released into the indoor space, the concentration of ions that can exist constantly in the indoor space is about 5000 / cm ³ even if the highest performance apparatus is used at present. The substance that causes the odor generated by the object is attached to the object such as clothing and cloth, so that the ions reach the clothes and cloth in the amount necessary to decompose the odor component and are not irradiated. The deodorizing effect by ions cannot be obtained.

  Therefore, in order to enhance the effect of removing odors attached to clothes and cloth, it is necessary to irradiate clothes and cloth directly with ions in a high ion concentration state. By doing in this way, the effect | action of an ion appears notably and it becomes possible to remove and decompose | degrade odor by the chemical effect which a positive ion and a negative ion exert on an odor component.

  In this way, in order to enhance the effect of removing odors attached to clothes and cloths of positive ions and negative ions, rather than releasing ions to the space as in the case of cleaning indoor air, It is more effective to spray positive ions and negative ions on clothes and fabrics.

In order to remove and decompose the adhering odor by spraying positive ions and negative ions on an object such as clothing or cloth, it is effective to continuously irradiate the object with a high concentration of ions. Specifically, it is effective to irradiate the portion where the odor is attached under a high concentration condition of 2,000,000 ions / cm ³ . However, in an ion generating element currently used in an air conditioner or an air cleaner, a region where high concentration ions equivalent to 2,000,000 ions / cm ³ are observed is in the vicinity of the ion generating element, that is, an ion The distance from the generating element is limited to a region up to about 10 cm. Therefore, in the ion generating element currently used, a wide area such as an indoor space cannot be uniformly made into a high concentration ion environment equivalent to 2,000,000 ions / cm ³ .

  In order to quickly remove odors from objects such as clothes, it is conceivable to effectively irradiate all areas of the object with high-concentration ions, but as described above, they are generated by the ion generating element. There is a limit to the concentration of ions. Therefore, even if high concentration ions are generated by the ion generating element, if ions are dispersed and irradiated over the entire object, the concentration of ions irradiated to a specific portion where odor is likely to be generated is kept sufficiently high. And there is a possibility that the odor cannot be effectively removed.

  If the odor is released from the surface of clothing or cloth before the odor is removed by ions, it will be felt as an unpleasant odor. In particular, when the object is a head covering such as a hat, fat odor and dust odor from the scalp are attached in addition to sweat odor, so that unpleasant odor is noticeable.

  From the above, there is a need for an attached odor removing device that effectively releases ions having the effect of removing odors to an object.

  Here, the effect of positive ions and negative ions on odors attached to clothes and fabrics will be described.

Both ions, positive ion H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m and negative ion O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n , react chemically to generate active species • OH (OH radical) or H ₂ O ₂ . Since H ₂ O ₂ or .OH exhibits a very strong activity, it is possible to remove odors attached to clothes and fabrics. Here, .OH indicates a kind of radical OH. Generation of H ₂ O ₂ or _.OH from H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m and O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n is represented by the following chemical formula.

H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m + O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n
→ OH + (1/2) O ₂ + (m + n) H ₂ O (1)
_{^{H + (H 2 O) m}} + H + (H 2 O) m '+ O 2 - (H 2 O) n + O 2 - (H 2 O) n'
→ 2 · OH + O ₂ + (m + m ′ + n + n ′) H ₂ O (2)
_{^{H + (H 2 O) m}} + H + (H 2 O) m '+ O 2 - (H 2 O) n + O 2 - (H 2 O) n'
→ H ₂ O ₂ + O ₂ + (m + m ′ + n + n ′) H ₂ O (3)
The inventor of the present application, by irradiation of these ions, tobacco odor (mainly ammonia-based, acetic acid-based, aldehyde-based, nicotine-based), odor emitted from the human body, sweat odor (mainly valeric acid and Fatty acid components such as butyric acid), aging odors (mainly nonenal), food odors such as cooking odors (mainly trimethylamine), stool odors (mainly hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan), etc. It was discovered by various verifications that odors can be removed. Below, the verification experiment which concerns on the deodorizing effect of the ion which the inventor of this application performed is demonstrated.
(Verification experiment 4)
Oxidation experiment of the odor component adhering to the test cloth was performed by chemiluminescence method (chemical luminescence).

  The purpose of this verification experiment is to verify how ions act on odors (odorous substances) adhering to clothing and fabrics, that is, the mechanism of odor removal and decomposition by positive ions and negative ions. That is.

The principle of the chemiluminescence method will be described. A substance to be evaluated (for example, an odor substance) emits energy as light when returning from an excited state to a ground state. The chemical luminescence method is a method for observing the phenomenon in which the target substance returns from the excited state to the ground state by measuring the intensity of the light emitted at this time. The emitted light is observed as fluorescence or phosphorescence, for example, when ultraviolet light is used as a method for forming an excited state. In this verification experiment 4, the target material is irradiated with ions to form an excited state. However, since chemiluminescence has an extremely weak emission intensity compared to fluorescence and phosphorescence, a liquid-cooled ultrasensitive photomultiplier tube was used for detection of chemical luminescence. Therefore, in this verification experiment 4,
(Degree of oxidation of the substance attached to the cloth) ∝ (Chemical luminescence intensity)
It becomes the relationship.

  As an evaluation test, linoleic acid was applied and adhered to a polyester test cloth as an odor substance. The test cloth was irradiated with the above positive and negative ions under the following three conditions. Each condition was performed three times, and reproducibility was also confirmed.

(1) 600,000 ions / cm ³ + air blowing (2) 60,000 ions / cm ³ + air blowing (3) Air blowing only (the ion generating element is not operated)
When ion irradiation was performed, irradiation was performed for 12 hours. The reason for the long irradiation time is to increase the measurement accuracy of chemiluminescence. As the number of ions, the numbers of positive ions and negative ions are shown.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the degree of oxidation of a substance attached to a cloth by a chemiluminescence method (chemical luminescence).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the light emission intensity increases as the number of ions to be irradiated increases. The vertical axis represents the photomultiplier tube count associated with chemiluminescence. As described above, this count reflects the degree of oxidation of the attached linoleic acid. The emission intensity of chemical luminescence increases with a positive correlation with the ion concentration irradiated onto the test cloth. That is, it shows that the oxidation reaction of the substance (linoleic acid) adhering to the cloth is proceeding by ion irradiation. In addition, when only the air is blown without operating the ion generating element, the chemical luminescence intensity is hardly changed even after 12 hours, and in the absence of ions, the oxidation reaction of linoleic acid occurs. I knew it was n’t there.

  As described above, the inventor of the present application confirmed that the positive and negative ions described above oxidatively decompose the substance attached to clothing and cloth.

(Verification experiment 5)
Next, the ion concentration dependency of the removal property of the ions on odors attached to clothing and cloth was evaluated.

First, JIS standard cloth (polyester (product code: 670110)) is used as a test cloth, washed with a commercially available detergent, cut into a size of 10 cm × 10 cm = 100 cm ² , and 10 sheets of acetic acid are attached together as 10 sheets. I let you. 1 mg of acetic acid adhered to each test cloth. This test cloth was suspended in a 1 m ³ test box and left for 2 hours while blowing air. The test cloth was left under the following conditions (1) to (8). Under the conditions (2) to (8), the ion generating element was driven and the test cloth was exposed to ions for 2 hours. Thereafter, the test cloth was sealed in an aluminum pack and allowed to stand at 60 ° C. for 30 minutes, and then the amount of acetic acid re-released from the test cloth was measured. In addition, the measurement of acetic acid concentration was performed using a detector tube NO. 81L (in this verification experiment, 0.488 μg can be identified) was used.

(1) No generation of ions (only ventilation)
(2) Ion concentration 5,000 / cm ³
(3) Ion concentration 20000 / cm ³
(4) Ion concentration 25,000 / cm ³
(5) Ion concentration 88,000 / cm ³
(6) Ion concentration 500,000 / cm ³
(7) Ion concentration 1,000,000 / cm ³
(8) Ion concentration 2,000,000 / cm ³
That is, the odor removal characteristics under eight conditions with different ion concentrations are evaluated.

  FIG. 5 is a graph (A) showing the concentration dependency of the acetic acid re-release amount of the test cloth and the acetic acid re-release amount of the test cloth that was blown without irradiating the ions. It is a figure (B) which shows the density | concentration dependence of the reduction | decrease amount of acetic acid re-release calculated | required by subtracting the acetic acid re-release amount of a test cloth when performing.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the amount of acetic acid re-released from the test cloth blown while irradiating with ions decreased as the concentration of irradiated ions increased. From this result, it was found that the above positive ions and negative ions can suppress the re-release of acetic acid and prevent the odor component of acetic acid from detaching from the test cloth and causing odor. That is, it was found that the positive ions and the negative ions have an effect of removing acetic acid adhering odor.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, since the concentration of ions irradiated on the test cloth and the reduction amount of acetic acid re-release are positively correlated, the effect of removing acetic acid adhering odor is due to the action of ions. I understand that.

  FIG. 6 is a graph showing the ion concentration dependence of the time required to remove 0.1 mg of acetic acid adhering to the test cloth. In FIG. 6A, the required time on the vertical axis is shown logarithmically, and in FIG. 6B, the result shown in FIG. 6A is obtained only in the range of required time 0 to 2.5 hours. Enlarged view.

As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the time required to remove 0.1 mg of acetic acid adhering to the test cloth is shortened as the ion concentration increases. For example, when the ion concentration was 2 million ions / cm ³ , it was found that 0.1 mg of acetic acid adhered to the test cloth could be removed in 0.003 hours, that is, about 10 seconds.

From the results of the verification experiment 4 and the verification experiment 5 described above, H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary integer) and negative are positive ions that chemically interact to generate H ₂ O ₂ or OH radicals. O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n is an arbitrary integer) as ions is to remove odor of the object by oxidative decomposition of odor components adhering to the object such as clothing and cloth. Was confirmed.

That is, the ion generating element generates H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m as positive ions and O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n as negative ions. OH (OH radical) is generated by the interaction between the generated positive ions and negative ions (chemical formulas (1) to (3)). This OH acts on the odor component, that is, the C—C bond, C═C bond, C═O bond, etc. of the organic compound that is the source of the odor, thereby breaking these bonds, thereby eliminating the odor. An effect is obtained.

  In the following, the chemical action of the decomposition action of .OH on a typical odor source is shown.

Chemical reaction formula of acetic acid decomposition:
CH ₃ COOH + 8 · OH → 2CO ₂ + 6H ₂ O (4)
Chemical equation for the decomposition of acetaldehyde:
CH ₃ CHO + 10 · OH → 2CO ₂ + 7H ₂ O (5)
(Verification Experiment 6)
As an odor generated from the human body, we verified the deodorizing effect of positive and negative ions on odor caused by isovaleric acid, a representative substance of sweat odor. The test cloth to which isovaleric acid was adhered was subjected to a sensory evaluation test by a 10-step odor intensity display method by 10 panelists (subjects).

  First, after isovaleric acid was adhered to a test cloth (JIS polyester cloth), air was blown to the test cloth.

The air blowing uses H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary integer) as positive ions generated from the ion generating element and O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n is an arbitrary integer) as negative ions. The air blower was operated for 4 hours for each of the two cases of irradiating the test cloth and not irradiating the test cloth with ions. The odors of the test cloths blown under each condition were compared by a sensory test using a six-step odor intensity display method. The concentration of ions irradiated to the test cloth was 5,000 ions / cm ³ or 2,000,000 ions / cm ³ for positive ions and negative ions, respectively, and the irradiation time for irradiation with ions was 4 hours. The wind speed was 0.1 m / sec.

  Table 2 is a table | surface which shows the result of the sensory test by a 6-step odor intensity display method about said test cloth.

As shown in Table 2, the odor intensity of the test fabric was 4.9 immediately after the odor of isovaleric acid, which is an odor of sweat, was attached. When this test cloth was blown for 4 hours without irradiating with ions, the odor intensity was 3.8. On the other hand, when a test cloth having an odor intensity of 4.9 was blown while irradiating positive ions and negative ions having an ion concentration of 5,000 ions / cm ³ for 4 hours, the odor intensity was 3.4. That is, a decrease corresponding to 0.5 as the odor intensity index is confirmed with an ion concentration of 5,000 ions / cm ³ . On the other hand, when a test cloth having an odor intensity of 4.9 was blown while irradiating positive ions and negative ions having an ion concentration of 2,000,000 / cm ³ for 4 hours, the odor intensity was greatly reduced to 1.9. Thus, it was confirmed that sweat odor adhering to the cloth was removed by the interaction of positive and negative ions.

  In addition, if the value of the odor intensity display is different by 1, the actual amount of the odor component attached is roughly 10 times different. That is, when the odor intensity display is changed from 4 to 3, the odor is reduced to 1/10. From this result, it can be determined that the positive ions and negative ions have a deodorizing effect on isovaleric acid which is an odor of sweat.

Therefore, for example, even for odors of sweat adhering to the inside of a hat after the user has used it as an object, positive and negative ions are applied to the object at a high concentration equivalent to 2,000,000 ions / cm ^3. By intensively irradiating, the odor component of sweat adhering to the object can be effectively removed and decomposed.

(Verification experiment 7)
With respect to the effect of positive and negative ions on isovaleric acid, which is a representative substance of sweat odor, the wind speed irradiated on the cloth surface was changed, and a sensory evaluation test was conducted by 10 panelists (subjects) by a 6-step odor intensity display method. Although the test method itself is the same as the above-described verification experiment 6, the sensory evaluation test is also performed when the wind speed is increased from 0.1 m / sec to 0.5 m / sec by adjusting the voltage applied to the blower fan. It was.

The concentration of positive ions and negative ions irradiated on the test cloth was 2,000,000 ions / cm ³ , and the irradiation time when irradiating the ions was 4 hours or 2 hours.

  Table 3 is a table | surface which shows the result of the sensory test by a 6-step odor intensity display method about said test cloth.

As shown in Table 3, the odor intensity of the test cloth was 4.9 immediately after the odor of isovaleric acid, which is a sweat odor, was attached. When odor intensity of 4.9 is blown while irradiating positive ions and negative ions of 2,000,000 ions / cm ^{3 at} a wind speed of 0.1 m / sec for 4 hours, the odor intensity becomes 1.9. became. On the other hand, when the wind speed is increased to 0.5 m / sec, the odor intensity becomes 2.2 even if the irradiation time of positive and negative ions is shortened to 2 hours, and the effect of removing odors can be obtained even with short-time ion irradiation. It was. Thus, the effect of removing the attached odor increased by increasing the wind speed.

  Therefore, by increasing the wind speed, the degree of removing the attached sweat odor can be increased.

(Verification Experiment 8)
Regarding the effect of positive and negative ions on isovaleric acid, which is a representative substance of sweat odor, by changing the temperature dependence of the air blown on the surface of the cloth, a sensory evaluation test by a 10-stage odor intensity display method by 10 panelists (subjects) was conducted. I did it.

  The test method itself is the same as in the verification experiment 6 described above, but a heating part (a nichrome wire heater in this verification experiment) is attached between the ion generating element that generates positive ions and negative ions and the blowing part, and the blowing temperature. To be able to increase.

The temperature of the blast was 18.9 ° C. for normal (no heating) blast. On the other hand, when the air was blown while energizing the heating unit, the temperature of the blown air was 41 ° C. The wind speed was 0.1 m / sec. The concentration of positive ions and negative ions irradiated on the test cloth was 2,000,000 ions / cm ³ , and the irradiation time when irradiating the ions was 4 hours or 1.5 hours.

  Table 4 is a table | surface which shows the result of the sensory test by the 6-step odor intensity display method about said test cloth.

As shown in Table 4, the odor intensity of the test cloth was 4.9 immediately after the odor of isovaleric acid, which is an odor of sweat, was attached. When odor intensity of 4.9 is irradiated with positive ions and negative ions of 2,000,000 ions / cm ^{3 at} a wind speed of 0.1 m / sec for 4 hours without blowing, odor The intensity was 1.9. On the other hand, when positive and negative ions were irradiated while heating to 41 ° C. and blowing air, the odor intensity was 2.1 even when the ion irradiation time was shortened to 1.5 hours. As described above, when the air is blown while heating, the effect of removing odors is obtained even in a short time, and the effect of removing odors attached to the object is increased. It should be noted that the ion concentration of 2,000,000 pieces / cm ³ and the wind speed of 0.1 m / second were the same in the case of blowing while heating and the case of blowing without heating.

  As described above, it was confirmed that the effect of removing the attached sweat against odors can be enhanced by increasing the blowing temperature.

  In view of the above, the inventor of the present application, when irradiating the object with positive and negative ions (atmospheric ions) capable of removing odors attached to the object at a high concentration, the object is relatively free of moisture. It has been found that odors generated from an object can be most effectively suppressed by releasing positive ions and negative ions in a small amount region.

  Based on such considerations, embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the entire attached odor removing apparatus as the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the attached odor removing apparatus 1 mainly includes a main body 101, a support column 102, an ion emission direction changing unit 103, a support unit 104 that supports a cap 200 as an object, a housing 105, The ventilation part 110, the heating part 120, the ion generation element 130 as an ion generation part, a control part, and a ventilation volume adjustment part are provided.

  Inside the housing 105, the air blowing unit 110, the heating unit 120, and the ion generating element 130 are accommodated and attached. The housing | casing 105 is formed in the cylinder shape by which both ends were opened.

  As the blowing unit 110, a conventionally used blowing method can be used. The air blowing unit 110 sends out gas in a certain direction.

  As the air flow rate adjustment unit, a known method can be used to adjust the wind speed. For example, it is possible to increase the wind speed by increasing the voltage applied to the blower 110, increasing the frequency, or increasing the duty ratio.

  As the heating unit 120, a conventionally used heating method can be used. For example, a nichrome wire heater can be used as the heating unit 120.

  The ion emission direction changing unit 103 is a movable unit configured to rotate the housing 105 around the support column 102 so that the opening of the housing 105 can be freely adjusted. Further, the ion emission direction changing unit 103 is configured to be able to move the housing 105 in the vertical direction.

The ion generating element 130 is formed by an electrical method using a plasma discharge phenomenon, and positive ions H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary integer) and negative ions O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n is Any integer). Since the size of the ion generating element 130 is, for example, about 7 cm × 2 cm × 1 cm, it can be easily installed inside the housing 105. The power consumption of the ion generating element 130 is very small, for example, about 0.1 W. As a method for supplying power to the ion generating element 130, a battery system can be adopted, and wiring can be omitted. When wiring is omitted, a general battery (primary battery, secondary battery) can be used effectively. It is also possible to use a general AC 100V.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view (A) showing the whole of the ion generating element provided in the attached odor removing device, a perspective view (B) showing the inside of the main body of the ion generating element, and the ion generation shown in (B) of FIG. It is sectional drawing (C) when the inside of an element is seen from the direction of CC line.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, the ion generating element 130 is accommodated in a synthetic resin main body 131 formed in a flat, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In the main body 131 of the ion generating element 130, two substantially circular openings 132 are formed side by side in the longitudinal direction on one wide surface. The ion generating element 130 emits positive ions from one of the two openings 132 and emits negative ions from the other. In addition, a metal terminal portion 133 to which a high voltage for operating the ion generating element 130 is supplied is provided on one side surface of the main body 131. The approximate dimensions of the ion generating element 130 are about 7 cm × 2 cm × 1 cm.

  As shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C, the ion generating element 130 includes a substrate 134 in the main body 131, a positive electrode 135 as a positive ion generating portion provided on the substrate 134, and a negative ion generating portion. As a negative electrode 136 and a ground electrode 137. The substrate 134 is a substantially rectangular plate and is made of an insulating material. The positive electrode 135 and the negative electrode 136 are round bar-shaped electrodes with sharpened tips. The positive electrode 135 and the negative electrode 136 are respectively passed through two through holes 134a formed in the substrate 134, protruded to one surface of the substrate 134, and fixed to the substrate 134 using solder or an adhesive.

  The ground electrode 137 is a plate-like electrode having a surface area slightly smaller than that of the substrate 134, and is fixed to the substrate 134 at a predetermined interval so as to face the substrate 134. The ground electrode 137 is fixed to the substrate 134 with four legs 137a (only three legs 137a are shown in FIG. 8B) provided to extend in the four directions of the ground electrode 137 at substantially right angles. The four leg portions 137a of the ground electrode 137 are respectively inserted into the four through holes 134b formed in the substrate 134, and the leg portions 137a are fixed with solder or adhesive.

  The ground electrode 137 has two substantially circular openings 137b. When the ground electrode 137 is fixed to the substrate 134, the positive electrode 135 and the negative electrode 136 are fixed at a substantially central position of the opening 137 b of the ground electrode 137. An edge 137c of the opening 137b of the ground electrode 137 is bent toward the substrate 134 side. When the positive electrode 135, the negative electrode 136, and the ground electrode 137 are fixed to the substrate 134 and accommodated in the main body 131, the two openings 132 formed in the main body 131 and the two openings 137 b formed in the ground electrode 137. Are arranged almost concentrically.

The ground electrode 137 of the ion generating element 130 is connected to the ground potential, a positive high voltage is applied to the positive electrode 135, and a negative high voltage is applied to the negative electrode 136. When a high voltage is applied to each of the positive electrode 135 and the negative electrode 136, the edge 137 c of the opening 137 b of the ground electrode 137 becomes a strong electric field, and plasma discharge is generated from the ground electrode 137. Oxygen and water vapor in the air are ionized by plasma discharge to generate ions. Control is performed so as to suppress the generation of ozone, which is a harmful substance, as much as possible by optimizing the electrode structure and applied voltage. The ions that are most stably generated at this time are positive ions H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m and negative ions O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n . As a result of analyzing the generated ions by mass spectrometry and the like, the generation of ions other than these has hardly been confirmed. Of the two openings 132 formed in the main body 131 of the ion generating element 130, positive ions H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m are emitted from the opening 132 provided with the positive electrode 135, and the negative electrode 136 is provided. From 132, negative ions O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n are released.

  When such an ion generating element 130 is operated, ions are generated from the positive electrode 135 and the negative electrode 136 which are ion generating electrodes (needle-type electrodes). In order to irradiate the cloth, it is effective to combine an air blowing unit that generates an air flow.

As described above, ions of H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m and O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n generated in the ion generating element are chemically reacted with each other as an active species. • OH (OH radical) or H ₂ O ₂ is generated. As shown in the verification experiments 4 to 8 described above, H ₂ O ₂ or .OH exhibits extremely strong activity, and therefore, it is possible to remove odors attached to clothes and cloths. Therefore, both positive ions and negative ions are generated and irradiated. In the case of the release of negative ions alone, no interaction occurs, so that no chemical reaction occurs to generate H ₂ O ₂ or .OH (OH radical) which is an active species. Therefore, the removal characteristic with respect to the attached odor becomes very small.

  In the above description, both the positive electrode 135 and the negative electrode 136 of the ion generating element 130 have a needle-type electrode structure, but each electrode is a plate as long as it generates positive ions and negative ions independently. It may be a mold electrode or any other shape.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a control-related configuration according to the attached odor removal apparatus of the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the attached odor removing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment includes, as a control-related configuration, an ion emission direction changing unit 103, an air blowing unit 110, an air blowing amount adjusting unit 111, and a heating unit 120. The ion generating element 130, the input unit 140, and the control unit 150 are provided.

  The control unit 150 receives a signal from the input unit 140. In addition, the control unit 150 transmits a control signal to the blowing unit 110, the blowing amount adjusting unit 111, the heating unit 120, the ion generating element 130, and the ion emission direction changing unit 103.

  The user can adjust the amount of air blown by the blower unit 110 and the heating temperature of the gas by the heating unit 120 through the input unit 140. The control unit 150 that has received the signal from the input unit 140 controls the heating unit 120 so as to heat the gas delivered by the blower unit 110 at the heating temperature input by the user. Further, the air flow rate adjusting means 111 is controlled so that the air blowing unit 110 blows with the air flow rate input by the user.

  Further, in this embodiment, the control unit 150 controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so as to release ions sequentially from the top of the cap 200 (FIG. 7) toward the edge, thereby removing the attached odor. The ion emission direction is changed with the passage of time from the start of driving of the apparatus 1.

  Operation | movement of the adhering odor removal apparatus 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.

  First, when the air blowing unit 110 is driven, an air flow is generated inside the housing 105. The air flow generated inside the housing 105 flows out from the inside of the housing 105 to the outside and hits the cap 200 supported by the support portion 104. As described above, the air inside the housing 105 is sent out toward the cap 200 by the air blowing unit 110.

  Next, by driving the heating unit 120, the gas sent from the housing 105 to the cap 200 is heated by driving the air blowing unit 110.

  Furthermore, by driving the ion generating element 130, positive and negative ions can be sent toward the cap 200 together with the gas sent out by the blower 110.

By adjusting the wind speed of the blower and optimizing the installation method of the ion generating element, the ion concentration can be satisfied at about 5,000 / cm ^{3 in} an indoor space equivalent to 6 tatami mats in a general home. . In this embodiment, the concentration of positive and negative ions generated by the ion generating element 130 is set to a high concentration of 2,000,000 / cm ³ or more, for example, 100 million / cm ³ . By doing in this way, the attached odor can be removed effectively. When high concentration of 2,000,000 / cm ³ or higher, for example, 100 million / cm ³ of positive / negative ions are generated in the ion generating element 130, the attached odor removing apparatus 1 in this embodiment is used. Then, the positive and negative ions can be irradiated so that the concentration of positive ions and negative ions on the inner surface of the cap 200 is 2,000,000 ions / cm ³ or more.

  When the control unit 150 controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 to change the direction of the housing 105, the flow direction of the gas containing ions delivered from the housing 105 is changed. In this way, the portion of the cap 200 that is irradiated with positive and negative ions can be changed.

  Since the amount of moisture adhering to the inside of the hat varies depending on the portion, the degree of drying varies depending on the portion, and the region where the most odor is emitted changes with the passage of time.

  Therefore, immediately after the start of driving of the attached odor removing apparatus 1, the control unit 150 first controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so as to irradiate the top of the cap 200 with ions as a predetermined region. In many cases, the top of the cap 200 has a small moisture adhesion amount. Therefore, by first irradiating the top of the cap 200 with ions, positive and negative ions can be released to a region with relatively little moisture in the cap 200. In this way, it is possible to irradiate positive and negative ions intensively on the portion where odor is likely to occur from the hat 200.

  After a predetermined time has elapsed, the control unit 150 controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so that positive and negative ions are emitted to the edge of the cap 200. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the predetermined time is 4 hours.

  In this way, the control unit 150 changes the emission direction of positive and negative ions with time so that positive and negative ions are sequentially irradiated from the relatively dry portion on the inner surface of the cap 200. By doing so, it is possible to concentrate and irradiate high-concentration positive and negative ions in order from the portion where odor is likely to occur, so that the entire odor of hat 200 can be effectively removed and decomposed.

  In addition, the user inputs the air flow rate or heating temperature to the input unit 140 to increase the air flow rate or increase the heating temperature, thereby shortening the time required to remove the sticking odor of the cap 200. can do.

  It is also possible to provide a guide for inducing an ion air flow inside the housing 105. The deodorizing effect can be obtained more efficiently by controlling the flow of the air flow and guiding the air flow to a portion where ions are to be increased.

As described above, the attached odor removing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment has H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary integer) as positive ions and O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n as negative ions). Is an arbitrary integer), and the positive and negative ions generated by the ion generating element 130 are released to a predetermined region with a relatively small amount of moisture in the cap 200. An ion emission direction changing unit 103 that changes the direction.

  Positive ions and negative ions generated in the ion generating element 130 are released to a predetermined region of the cap 200 by the ion emission direction changing unit 103.

On the surface of the hat 200, positive ions and negative ions come into contact with the odor component adhering to the hat 200 and react to form hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) or a hydroxyl radical (.OH) as an active substance. Decomposes odor components. By decomposing the odor component, the odor adhering to the cap 200 is deodorized.

  Instead of emitting positive and negative ions to the entire surface of the cap 200, the ion emission direction changing unit 103 changes the ion emission direction so that the cap 200 emits to a predetermined region with a relatively small amount of water. In this way, the concentration of positive and negative ions in a region where odor is likely to occur can be kept high, and odor can be preferentially removed from the portion where odor is likely to occur.

  By doing in this way, the adhesion odor removal apparatus which can remove efficiently the odor adhering to the cap 200 can be provided.

In addition, in the attached odor removing apparatus 1, the ion generating element 130 has positive ions such that the concentration of positive ions and negative ions on the surface of the cap 200 is 2,000,000 / cm ³ or more. And negative ions are generated.

  By generating ultra-high concentrations of ions in this manner and irradiating the regions where odors are likely to occur in the cap 200 in a concentrated manner, the odors attached to the cap 200 are quickly decomposed and removed. can do.

  Further, the attached odor removing apparatus 1 includes a blower unit 110 that sends positive ions and negative ions generated by the ion generating element 130 together with a gas to the cap 200, and a blower amount adjusting unit 111 that adjusts the blower amount of the blower unit 110. Is provided.

  The drying of the surface of the cap 200 can be speeded up or slowed down by adjusting the air flow rate of the air blowing unit 110 that sends positive and negative ions together with the gas to the cap 200.

  As described above, the odor adhering to the cap 200 becomes strong in a portion where the moisture is relatively low and is relatively dry, and is suppressed in a portion where the moisture is relatively contained. This is considered to be because the odorous substance is easily detached from the surface of the hat 200 in a relatively dry portion with relatively little moisture.

  Therefore, for example, by increasing the amount of air blown by the air blowing unit 110, the surface of the cap 200 can be quickly dried, and the odorous substance can be easily separated from the cap 200. By making the odorous substance easily detached from the cap 200, the odorous substance and the active species such as OH radicals can easily react. By doing in this way, the time which removes the odor adhering to the cap 200 can be shortened.

  In addition, for example, by reducing the amount of air blown from the air blowing unit 110, drying of the surface of the cap 200 can be delayed, and the odorous substance can be made difficult to be detached from the cap 200. By doing so, the hat 200 can be deodorized over time.

  Moreover, the attached odor removing apparatus 1 includes a heating unit 120 that heats the gas sent out by the air blowing unit 110.

  By heating the gas sent out by the blower 110, the drying of the surface of the cap 200 can be accelerated. By accelerating the drying of the surface of the hat 200, the odorous substance adhering to the hat 200 can be easily detached from the hat 200. By making the odorous substance easily detached from the cap 200, the odorous substance and the active species such as OH radicals can easily react. By doing in this way, the time which removes the odor adhering to the cap 200 can be shortened.

(Second Embodiment)
As a head covering odor removal apparatus of the second embodiment, the hat adhesion odor removal apparatus is different from the adhesion odor removal apparatus 1 (FIG. 7) of the first embodiment in that the user can input part 140 (FIG. 9). ), The user's hair state (short hair or long hair, hair distribution state, hair removal state, etc.) can be entered and registered in advance. The control unit 150 (FIG. 9) controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 (FIG. 7) based on the input hair state, and the direction of positive and negative ions irradiated by the ion generating element 130 (FIG. 7). To change.

  Further, by providing the control unit 150 with a setting unit, it is also possible to set the hair distribution state (hair removal state).

  For example, in a hat worn by a user with short hair, the amount of moisture attached to the top of the head is relatively small and the amount of moisture attached to the edge is relatively large. Therefore, the control unit 150 controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so that positive and negative ions are first irradiated to the top of the cap having a relatively small amount of water.

  On the other hand, in the hat worn by the user whose hair is removed from the top of the head, the amount of moisture adhering to the top of the head is larger than that of the person whose hair is not removed from the top of the head. The amount is relatively small. Therefore, the control unit 150 controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so that positive and negative ions are first irradiated to the edge of the cap having a relatively small amount of water.

  By doing so, it is possible to decompose and remove the adhering odor by irradiating concentrated ions first in a region where odor is likely to occur and the amount of water is relatively small. Odor generated from 200 can be suppressed.

  As time passes, the other parts of the hat 200 also dry. After the elapse of the predetermined time, the control unit 150 controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so as to irradiate positive and negative ions to the next portion having a relatively small water content.

  Moreover, the control part 150 may change the part irradiated with positive / negative ion for every predetermined time. For example, when it is input through the input unit 140 that there is a lot of hair on the top of the head, the amount of water is relatively small at the top of the cap 200 and the amount of water is relatively large at the edge. First, 150 irradiates the top of the cap 200 with positive and negative ions. Thereafter, the portions of the cap 200 irradiated with positive and negative ions may be alternately changed every predetermined time, such as the top of the cap 200 → the edge → the top → the edge → the top → the edge. When irradiating positive and negative ions in this way, the total ion irradiation time of each part is set to be the ion irradiation time required for each part.

  The control unit 150 may control the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so as to lengthen the irradiation time of positive and negative ions in a strong odor part.

  As described above, the hat-attached odor removing apparatus according to the second embodiment uses the attached odor removing apparatus described above, the control unit 150 that controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103, and the hat 200. An input unit 140 for the user to input the state of the person's hair, and the control unit 150 generates positive ions and negative ions generated by the ion generating element 130 based on the state of the hair input to the input unit 140. The ion emission direction changing unit 103 is controlled to change the direction in which ions are emitted.

  The inventor of the present application has found that the moisture distribution on the surface of the cap 200 varies depending on the state of the hair of the user who uses the cap 200.

  Therefore, the state of the user's hair, that is, the length of the hair, the distribution of the hair, and the state of hair removal are input to the input unit 140 in advance, and the control unit 150 is based on the state of the hair input to the input unit 140. By controlling the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so as to change the direction in which positive ions and negative ions generated by the ion generating element 130 are emitted, odors attached to the cap 200 can be efficiently removed.

  By doing in this way, the hat adhesion odor removal apparatus which can remove efficiently the odor adhering to the hat 200 can be provided.

  Other configurations and effects of the hat-attached odor removing device of the second embodiment are the same as those of the attached odor removing device 1 of the first embodiment.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the entire attached odor removing apparatus as a third embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the adhering odor removing device 3 of the third embodiment is different from the adhering odor removing device 1 of the first embodiment in that the adhering odor removing device 3 has a humidity detecting unit 160 as a moisture detecting unit. Prepare.

  The humidity detector 160 detects moisture on the inner surface of the hat 200. The humidity detection unit 160 outputs the detected moisture amount to the control unit 150. The control unit 150 controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so as to irradiate positive and negative ions intensively to a region where it is determined that the amount of moisture is small based on the output value of the humidity detection unit 160.

  It is also possible to set a threshold value in advance in the control unit 150 and increase the amount of air blown by the blower unit 110 when the value detected by the humidity detector 160 exceeds a predetermined value.

  In the adhered odor removing apparatus 3 according to the third embodiment configured as described above, for example, when removing the adhered odor of the cap 200 worn by the user whose hair is removed from the top of the head, the humidity detecting unit 160 causes the head to be removed. It is detected that the amount of moisture adhering to the top is relatively small. Therefore, the control unit 150 first controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so that positive and negative ions are first irradiated to the edge of the cap 200 having a relatively small amount of water. By doing so, it is possible to decompose and remove the adhering odor by irradiating concentrated ions first in a region where odor is likely to occur and the amount of water is relatively small. Odor generated from 200 can be suppressed.

  As time passes, the other parts of the hat 200 also dry. When the humidity detection unit 160 detects that the moisture content in other parts is relatively small, the control unit 150 releases ions so as to irradiate positive and negative ions to the next part with relatively little moisture content. The direction changing unit 103 is controlled.

  In this way, by detecting the amount of moisture on the surface of the cap 200, it is possible to determine the region to be irradiated with positive and negative ions more precisely, so that the generation of odor from the cap 200 can be suppressed more efficiently. Can do.

  In addition to the humidity detection unit 160, a known method can be used as the moisture detection unit. Specifically, for example, by detecting moisture from the reflection state of light in a long wavelength region such as infrared rays as an optical method, it is possible to detect moisture with a very high response speed without contact. Therefore, by installing such a moisture detection unit, it is possible to accurately grasp the amount of moisture caused by sweat inside the hat 200, and it is possible to further suppress odor release.

  As described above, the attached odor removal apparatus 3 according to the third embodiment includes the humidity detection unit 160 that detects the amount of moisture on the surface of the cap 200, and the ion emission direction change unit 103 is detected by the humidity detection unit 160. As a result, the ion emission direction is changed so that positive ions and negative ions are emitted to a predetermined region where the amount of water determined in the cap 200 is relatively small.

  By doing in this way, positive / negative ions can be efficiently emitted to a portion of the cap 200 where odor is likely to occur.

  Other configurations and effects of the attached odor removing apparatus 3 of the third embodiment are the same as those of the attached odor removing apparatus 1 of the first embodiment.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing the entire attached odor removing apparatus as a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the adhered odor removing apparatus 4 according to the fourth embodiment is different from the adhered odor removing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment in that the adhered odor removing apparatus 4 includes an odor detector 170.

  The odor detection unit 170 detects odor on the inner surface of the hat 200 and outputs it to the control unit. The control unit selects a particularly strong odor part.

  The degree of decomposition of the odor distribution area can be arbitrarily determined according to the number of odor detectors 170. Like the attached odor removal apparatus 1 (FIG. 7) of 1st Embodiment, combining with the form which changes an ion discharge | release direction based on the elapsed time from the drive start of the attached odor removal apparatus 4, of the odor detection part 170 The number can be reduced.

  The control unit controls the ion emission direction changing unit 103 so that the high-concentration ions are irradiated mainly or repeatedly in a region where the odor detected by the odor detection unit 170 is strong. Can deodorize well. In this way, odor released to the outside of the hat 200 can be suppressed.

  Further, by setting a threshold value for the output value of the odor detection unit 170 in advance, when the odor is stronger than a predetermined strength, it is possible to control to increase the amount of air blown by the blower unit 110.

  Other configurations and effects of the attached odor removing apparatus 4 of the fourth embodiment are the same as those of the attached odor removing apparatus 1 of the first embodiment.

  The embodiment disclosed above should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the scope of claims, and includes all modifications and variations within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 3, 4 Adherent odor removal apparatus 103 Ion discharge | emission direction change part 110 Blower part 120 Heating part 130 Ion generating element 140 Input part 150 Control part 160 Humidity detection part 200 Hat

Claims (2)

An ion generator that generates H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary integer) as positive ions and O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n is an arbitrary integer) as negative ions;
A blower that sends gas in a fixed direction;
A heating unit for heating the gas delivered by the blower unit;
Formed in a cylindrical shape having both ends opened, a housing containing the ion generating part, the air blowing part, and the heating part,
In the attached odor removal apparatus,
By spraying the object with the positive ion and the negative ion with gas delivered by the blower unit, the odor substance is a source of perspiration odor adhering to the object is detached from the object, wherein the odorant An odor removing apparatus that removes odor by reacting the active species generated by the interaction between the positive ions and the negative ions. An ion generator that generates H ⁺ (H ₂ O) _m (m is an arbitrary integer) as positive ions and O ₂ ⁻ (H ₂ O) _n (n is an arbitrary integer) as negative ions;
A blower that sends gas in a fixed direction;
A heating unit for heating the gas delivered by the blower unit;
Formed in a cylindrical shape having both ends opened, a housing containing the ion generating part, the air blowing part, and the heating part,
In the method for removing attached odors using the attached odor removing apparatus comprising:
By spraying the object with the positive ion and the negative ion with gas delivered by the blower unit, the odor substance is a source of perspiration odor adhering to the object is detached from the object, wherein the odorant An odor removal method characterized by removing odor by reacting the active species generated by the interaction between the positive ions and the negative ions.