JP5683247B2 - Virus inactivation apparatus, method thereof and air conditioner using the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a virus inactivation apparatus that inactivates a virus floating in space without being captured and passes through a discharge field, a method thereof, and an air conditioner using the same.

Conventionally, there are floating microorganism / floating virus removal devices that remove microorganisms and viruses floating in the space. As such, from the windward side, the corona charging section, the high voltage electrode, the filter, and the electrode in contact with the filter are arranged in this order, counteracting the effects of charge accumulation during operation and providing high removal efficacy over a long lifetime. An apparatus for removing airborne microorganisms / airborne viruses that can be provided is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
In addition, as a device for purifying gas such as chemical substances scattered in the space, it comprises a honeycomb structure adsorbent that adsorbs chemical substances, a supply electrode provided in close contact with the adsorbent, and a discharge electrode, A gas purification device that can effectively capture and decompose gaseous chemical substances has been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Special table 2007-512131 gazette Japanese Patent No. 4457603

In the floating microbe / floating virus removal apparatus as described in Patent Document 1, the floating microbe / floating virus is removed from the space by adhering to the filter and capturing it. Therefore, in the floating microorganism / floating virus removal apparatus described in Patent Document 1, if the virus is continuously captured, pressure loss in the filter increases, energy consumption increases, noise is generated, and the virus capturing effect There was a problem that would decrease. In addition, in the floating microorganism / floating virus removal apparatus described in Patent Document 1, in order to prevent re-scattering of microorganisms and viruses captured by the filter, and proliferation on the filter, the filter is cleaned, etc. There was also a problem that it was necessary to perform maintenance work.
In the gas purification apparatus as described in Patent Document 2, since only the plasma discharge is performed on the gas (air), the chemical substance can be adsorbed and effectively decomposed. As a matter of course, there is a problem that the virus cannot be inactivated transiently.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. By passing the heating space and the discharge space between the electrodes without trapping the virus, the virus is transiently and efficiently transmitted. In addition, in the virus inactivation step, there is no pressure loss and a silent virus inactivation device, a method thereof, and an air conditioner using the same are provided.

The virus inactivation apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus that inactivates without trapping viruses floating in the air, and a blower that takes in the floating viruses together with air into the air path, and an air path through which the floating viruses pass disposed, the heating apparatus for heating a floating virus, high-voltage electrode to the floating virus plasma treatment, and a ground electrode disposed to face the high voltage electrode, a second electrode composed of a positive electrode and a negative electrode A high-voltage power source connected to apply a high voltage to the high-voltage electrode, the air heating temperature by the heating device is 30 ° C. or more, and in order from the windward side of the air passage, The high-voltage electrode, the ground electrode, and the second electrode are arranged.

Further, the virus inactivation method according to the present invention is a method for inactivation without trapping viruses floating in the air, the step of taking the floating viruses together with air into the air passage, and the incorporation into the air passage I to the floating viruses and the air, and performing heat treatment to 30 ° C. or higher, possess a step of performing a plasma treatment, in sequence, after the plasma treatment, at least silver, copper to inactivate floating viruses, The method includes a step of attaching any one metal ion of zinc to the suspended virus .

In the present invention, a virus refers to a fine particle that is parasitic on a living organism and grows only in living cells. The size is about 20 to 260 millimicrons, and it is chemically composed of nucleoprotein as a main body, and large ones also contain lipids and polysaccharides. Nucleic acids in nucleoprotein function in a manner similar to organismal genes during growth.
Moreover, inactivation of a virus means deactivating the infectivity of a virus.
The air passage does not mean only a tubular air passage, but a passage through which air flows widely, including when passing through a housing.

  According to the virus inactivation apparatus and the method thereof according to the present invention, transiently and efficiently inactivating viruses without capturing viruses floating in the air, and in the virus inactivation step, There is no pressure loss, and silent virus inactivation can be performed.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematic structure of the virus inactivation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the virus inactivation method which the virus inactivation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention performs. It is the graph showing the result of having investigated the survival rate of the virus by the plasma processing at each temperature. It is the graph which added the plot which simply added the inactivation effect by the heat processing in each temperature, and the inactivation effect by a plasma processing in addition to the survival rate of the virus by the plasma processing at each temperature. When the heat treatment and plasma treatment were not performed (no treatment), only the plasma treatment was performed, only the heating was performed, and the results of examining the survival rate of the virus when both the plasma treatment and the heat treatment were performed are shown. It is a graph. It is the graph which performed the comparison of the virus survival rate at the time of performing the heat processing after performing the heat processing with respect to a virus, and when performing the heat processing after performing the plasma processing. As a comparison object, the result of adding the effects of heat treatment and plasma treatment alone is also described. It is the block diagram which added the neutralization part to the virus inactivation apparatus of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematic structure of the virus inactivation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the virus inactivation method which the virus inactivation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention performs. It is the graph showing the result of investigating the virus survival rate at the time of plasma processing with respect to the liquid survival rate in the aqueous solution which copper melt | dissolved. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the example which installed the virus inactivation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention in the air conditioning machine which has an air conditioning function. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the virus inactivation method which the air conditioner which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention performs. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other example which installed the virus inactivation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention in the air conditioning machine which has an air conditioning function.

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

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a virus inactivation apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as apparatus 100) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The configuration and operation of the apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, in the following drawings including FIG. 1, the relationship of the size of each component may be different from the actual one. Moreover, in FIG. 1, the flow of air is shown by the arrow.
The apparatus 100 does not capture the virus floating in the space, and temporarily inactivates the virus efficiently. The apparatus 100 includes a blower 1, a heating device 2, a high-voltage electrode 3, and a ground electrode 4 from the upwind (upstream) side inside a housing (hereinafter referred to as an airway housing) 10 that forms an air passage 9. They are arranged in order.

The blower 1 takes in air into the air passage housing 10 and sends it out.
As a heating means in the heating unit, for example, a heating element composed of a plate-like, lot-like, or wire-like electric heater is used, and the heating element may be installed in close contact with the outer peripheral portion of the air passage 9. . Such a heating element is not limited to an electric heater as long as it can heat air.

The high-voltage electrode 3 is composed of, for example, an electrode in which a large number of fine wires having a wire diameter of about 0.1 mm to 0.3 mm are stretched, and a DC high voltage is applied from a variable high-voltage power supply 5 connected thereto. ing.
The ground electrode 4 is composed of, for example, an electrode made of a metal mesh or the like, and is connected to the ground. The high voltage electrode 3 and the ground electrode 4 constitute a plasma part. In the following embodiments, the ground electrode is described. However, it is only necessary to apply a voltage between the high-voltage electrode 3 and the ground electrode 4, and the ground electrode 4 is not necessarily grounded and used. Also good. Further, the same effect can be obtained even if the high-voltage electrode 3 is configured by a ribbon having a cross-sectional area of 0.1 mm × 0.5 mm or a ribbon having a similar shape (thickness: 0.1 mm). In this case, it is possible to charge more efficiently if the surface having a cross-sectional area of 0.1 mm × 0.1 mm is directed to the ground electrode 4, and the effect of reducing the influence of disconnection due to electrode wear due to sputtering during discharge. There is.

Next, the operation of the apparatus 100 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the virus inactivation method executed by the apparatus 100. The feature of the apparatus 100 is that it combines a part for heating the virus and a part for applying a high voltage to the virus. That is, the virus can be efficiently inactivated by performing heat treatment and plasma treatment on the virus.

When the apparatus 100 starts operation, the blower 1 is first operated. At the same time, the heating device 2 is operated (S1). The temperature near the high voltage electrode is measured by a temperature determination unit provided on a control board (not shown). The measured temperature is compared with a preset temperature set in advance by the temperature determination unit (S2). If there is no problem, the process proceeds to the next step.
If the measured temperature is lower than the set temperature value, the heating device 2 further heats. In this way, it is confirmed that the floating virus is always heated efficiently.

  Next, a virus inactivation step by discharge is started (S3). That is, a high voltage is applied to the high voltage electrode 3 from the variable high voltage power source 5 (S4). As a result, discharge occurs between the high-voltage electrode 3 and the ground electrode 4 (S5), and a discharge current flows to the ground electrode 4. Here, the current flowing through the ground electrode 4 is measured by a current determination unit provided on a control board (not shown). The measured current value is compared with a set current value set in advance by the current determination unit. If there is no problem, the inactivation process is started as it is.

If the measured current value is lower than the set current value, the voltage applied to the high voltage electrode 3 is increased. If the measured current value is higher than the set current value, the voltage applied to the high voltage electrode 3 is low. It will be lost. In this way, it is confirmed that the virus is always inactivated efficiently. When the virus inactivation process by discharge starts, a timer is activated, and the processing time (operation time of the process) in these series of processes is measured (S6).
When the processing time in these series of steps reaches the set time, the high voltage application to the high voltage electrode 3 is stopped, and the inactivation step ends (S7).
Thereafter, when virus inactivation becomes necessary again, the heating step is started, and the above operation is repeated.

  As described above, the apparatus 100 has a process of heating a virus and a process of applying a high voltage to the virus, thereby temporarily inactivating the virus without capturing the suspended virus. Can do. Further, since the virus inactivating apparatus does not capture viruses or the like, it can be kept hygienic at all times, and can be silently inactivated without pressure loss.

  Next, virus inactivation by the heat treatment step and the plasma treatment step, which are characteristic items of the apparatus 100, will be described. In the virus inactivation test, E. coli phage φX174 is used as the test virus.

FIG. 3 shows virus viability by plasma treatment at each temperature. The horizontal axis shows temperature, and the vertical axis shows survival rate. As a comparison object, the virus survival rate when the plasma treatment is not performed is also described. When the plasma treatment was not performed, the virus survival rate was 30 to 40% or higher until the temperature was about 15 to 40 ° C., and the virus was hardly inactivated. On the other hand, when the plasma treatment was performed, the survival rate was 10% until the temperature was 30 ° C., whereas when the temperature was higher than 30 ° C., the survival rate rapidly decreased, and at 40 ° C., the survival rate was 9%. 8 × 10 ⁻³ , and 9.9 × 10 ⁻⁵ at 60 ° C.

  When plasma treatment is not performed, the survival rate is 90% or more, and when plasma treatment is performed at 15 ° C. and 20 ° C., which are not inactivated by temperature, the survival rate decreases to 10%. Therefore, it can be said that this decrease in the virus survival rate is an inactivation effect by plasma treatment.

FIG. 4 shows the inactivation effect by the heat treatment at each temperature and the inactivation effect by the plasma treatment (effect when the survival rate is assumed to be 10% based on the above) in addition to the virus survival rate by the plasma treatment at each temperature. ) Is a graph in which a plot is simply added. The horizontal axis shows temperature, and the vertical axis shows survival rate.
As can be seen from FIG. 4, when the temperature is 30 ° C. or higher, the virus survival rate by the heat treatment and the plasma treatment is actually higher than the survival rate obtained by simply adding the effects of the heat treatment and the plasma treatment. It can be seen that the virus inactivation effect is significantly increased.

In the plasma treatment process, oxygen and water are present in the air, so that electrons and positive and negative ions such as hydrogen ions (H ⁺ ) and oxygen ions (O ₂ ⁻ ) coexist. Further, when negative ions react with water, radicals with high activity such as hydroxyl radicals are generated. They directly attack and physically damage viruses composed of proteins and nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA. If the damage effect is high, the virus is inactivated. However, since microorganisms such as viruses have a self-regenerating function, if their damage effect is small, they self-repair, and as a result, regain activity and return to the original infectable state.

  It has been found that the self-renewal function of microorganisms decreases when placed at a high temperature above a certain temperature. When the self-regenerating function is lowered, the virus that regains its activity and returns to an infectable state is inactivated as it is.

  In this process, the self-regeneration function of the virus is reduced by the heating process, and the plasma treatment is performed thereon. Therefore, when these are combined, by combining the heating process and the plasma process, in addition to the action of inactivating the virus in each process, each process also combines the virus to regain infectivity by the self-regenerative function in each process alone. It is considered that the virus was able to be synergistically inactivated by inactivation.

  FIG. 5 shows that when the heating temperature is set to 40 ° C., neither heat treatment nor plasma treatment is performed (no treatment), only plasma treatment is performed, only heating is performed, both plasma treatment and heat treatment are performed. It shows the result of examining the survival rate of the virus when it is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the virus survival rate is 95% for the case of no treatment, 10% for the plasma treatment alone, 40% for the heat treatment alone, and 0 for both the plasma treatment and the heat treatment. It was found that the virus inactivation effect increased synergistically by performing both plasma treatment and heat treatment. In other words, it can be said that the virus inactivation effect is increased by the heat treatment, the plasma treatment, and the combined effect of both.

  From the above, it was found that in order to enhance the virus inactivating effect, it is necessary to perform both heat treatment and plasma treatment.

Next, the influence of the order of the heat treatment and plasma treatment steps on virus inactivation will be described.
FIG. 6 is a graph comparing the virus viability when the virus is subjected to the heat treatment after the heat treatment, and when the virus is subjected to the heat treatment after the plasma treatment. As a comparison object, the result of adding the effects of heat treatment and plasma treatment alone is also described. Virus survival is the result of simply adding the combined treatment whereas a 4.14 × 10 ^-2, virus survival in the case of performing plasma treatment after the heat treatment is 9.81 × 10 ^{- 3. When} the heat treatment was performed after the plasma treatment, the virus survival rate was 2.91 × 10 ⁻² .

  From this, it was found that the virus inactivating effect was higher than the mere addition effect when either the heat treatment or the plasma treatment was performed first. At the same time, the plasma treatment after the heat treatment has a lower virus survival rate than the heat treatment after the plasma treatment, and thus it can be seen that the plasma treatment after the heat treatment can inactivate the virus more synergistically. It was.

  From the above, in this apparatus, the virus inactivation effect is enhanced in either order of the processing steps of the heating unit and the plasma unit. However, in order to inactivate the virus most efficiently, the plasma unit is placed after the heating unit. It turned out that it is good to install.

  From the above, it becomes possible to temporarily inactivate a virus without capturing the virus by adopting a structure of a virus inactivation apparatus that performs a plasma treatment step after the heating step. . Thereby, in the apparatus 100, it is possible to inactivate the virus transiently and highly efficiently without trapping the virus by performing plasma treatment on the virus after the heating step, and floating in the air. It is possible to inactivate the virus at low cost and silently without reducing the pressure loss.

Although the filter for removing coarse dust in the air before charging the floating microorganisms is not described in the first embodiment, the dust in the air is removed before the air flows into the charged portion that charges the floating microorganisms. It goes without saying that an efficient virus inactivating effect can be obtained by providing such a filter.
Moreover, in Embodiment 1, the virus particle charged in the plasma part has a structure that passes through the apparatus while maintaining the charge as it is. For this reason, a structure for neutralizing the electric charge of the virus particles may be added by disposing a neutralization part after the heating part and the plasma part.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram in which a neutralization unit is added to the virus inactivation apparatus of the first embodiment. The details of the neutralization part are shown in the figure. In the neutralization section, a discharge electrode (high voltage electrode 3) in the plasma section and a neutralization section electrode 6 having a reverse potential and then a neutralization section electrode 7 having the same potential are arranged. Each neutralization part electrode 6 and 7 is comprised with the electrode which consists of metal meshes. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 8 denotes a neutralization unit voltage power source for applying a predetermined voltage between the neutralization unit electrode 6 and the neutralization unit electrode 7.
According to this configuration, most of the charged virus particles floating from the plasma part come into contact with the neutralizing part electrode 6 having the reverse potential, lose the charge, and then pass through the apparatus 100. Further, even if it does not come into contact with the reverse potential neutralization portion electrode 6, the subsequent neutralization portion electrode 7 with the same potential returns to the direction of the neutralization portion electrode 6 with the reverse potential. Contact with the neutralization electrode 6 and lose the charge. In this way, the virus particles have a structure that loses charge in the neutralization part.

  Moreover, in Embodiment 1, although the air blower 1 was installed in the windward side, and the case where air was pushed in into a virus inactivation part was described, it installed so that a air blower might be installed in the leeward side and inhale air from a virus inactivation part. However, it goes without saying that the same bactericidal effect can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the discharge electrode (high voltage electrode 3) is constituted by a thin line (line electrode) is shown, but the discharge electrode (high voltage electrode 3) is a needle electrode having a needle-like projection. Alternatively, a brush-like electrode in which a metal wire is implanted like a brush may be used. However, if the needle electrode is too close or the applied voltage is increased too much, a spark discharge will occur and a large amount of current will flow.Therefore, an output current control device will be incorporated into the high voltage power supply, or the output voltage waveform of the high voltage power supply will be pulsed. Therefore, it is necessary to devise a method for preventing a large current from flowing.

  In order to discharge between the high-voltage electrode 3 and the ground electrode 4, it is necessary to provide a predetermined interval. The longer this interval, the higher the discharge voltage required for starting the discharge, which increases the addition of a high-voltage power supply and may cause abnormal discharge from the high-voltage electrode 3 to the apparatus housing, so that an insulation measure is necessary. It becomes. Therefore, it is desirable that the distance between the high voltage electrode and the ground electrode be as short as possible. However, if the distance is shortened, dielectric breakdown of the gas occurs and spark discharge to the ground electrode is induced. For this reason, care must be taken in setting the distance between the high-voltage electrode 3 and the ground electrode 4.

  The high-voltage power source that shares a high voltage between the high-voltage electrode 3 and the ground electrode 4 for discharging may be any voltage that can generate discharge and purify active species such as electrons, ions, and ozone. The waveform may be any form such as a positive or negative DC voltage, AC voltage, pulse, short wave (rectangular wave), or the like.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a virus inactivation apparatus (hereinafter referred to as apparatus 100a) according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Based on FIG. 8, the configuration and operation of the apparatus 100a will be described. In the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. Further, in FIG. 8, the air flow is indicated by arrows.

  The device 100a according to Embodiment 2 faces the blower 1, the heating device 2, the high voltage electrode (high voltage application electrode) 3, and the high voltage electrode 3 from the windward (upstream) side inside the air passage housing 10. As the ground electrode 4 and the second electrode, ion adhering portion electrodes 11 and 12 in which positive and negative electrodes are alternately arranged in parallel to the air flow are sequentially arranged. That is, the apparatus 100a is different from the apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment in that the second electrode (ion attachment part electrodes 11 and 12) is formed in the subsequent stage of the plasma part of the high-voltage electrode 3 and the ground electrode 4. doing. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 13 denotes an ion attachment portion voltage power source for applying a predetermined voltage between the ion attachment portion electrodes 11 and 12.

The material of the second electrode is a metal having an effect of inactivating viruses, such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), silver (Ag), etc., and its surface is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment. It is characterized by. Here, the metal hydrophobization process will be described.
The electrode surface must be hydrophobic and have a bare metal. Therefore, it is desirable to treat the metal at a high temperature of about 300 ° C. In addition, as long as the same hydrophobic treatment can be performed by other methods, those methods may be used.

Next, the operation of the apparatus 100a will be described.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the virus inactivation method executed by the apparatus 100a. The feature of the apparatus 100a is that it has a part for heating the virus, a part for applying a high voltage to the virus, and a part for dissolving ions in the virus particles. That is, the virus can be inactivated efficiently by performing heat treatment, plasma treatment, and metal ion adhesion treatment on the virus.

When the apparatus 100a starts operation, the blower 1 is first operated. At the same time, the heating device 2 operates (S11). The temperature near the high voltage electrode is measured by a temperature determination unit provided on a control board (not shown). The measured temperature is compared with a preset temperature set in advance by the temperature determination unit (S12). If there is no problem, the process proceeds to the next step.
If the measured temperature is lower than the set temperature value, the heating device 2 further heats. In this way, it is confirmed that the floating virus is always heated efficiently.

  Next, the virus inactivation process by discharge is started (S13). That is, a high voltage is applied to the high voltage electrode 3 from the variable high voltage power supply 5 (S14). As a result, discharge occurs between the high-voltage electrode 3 and the ground electrode 4 (S15), and a discharge current flows to the ground electrode 4. Here, the current flowing through the ground electrode 4 is measured by a current determination unit provided on a control board (not shown). The measured current value is compared with a set current value set in advance by the current determination unit. If there is no problem, the inactivation process is started as it is.

  If the measured current value is lower than the set current value, the voltage applied to the high voltage electrode is increased, and if the measured current value is higher than the set current value, the voltage applied to the high voltage electrode is decreased. In this way, it is confirmed that the virus is always inactivated efficiently.

  Next, the virus inactivation process by metal ion attachment is started (S16). A voltage is applied from the ion attachment portion voltage power supply 13 to the second electrode (ion attachment portion electrodes 11 and 12) (S17). As a result, the electrodes of the second electrode (ion adhering portion electrodes 11 and 12) are charged to the positive electrode and the negative electrode, respectively (S18). Here, the current flowing between the second electrodes (ion adhering portion electrodes 11 and 12) is measured by a current determining portion provided on a control board (not shown) or the like. The measured current value is compared with a set current value set in advance by the current determination unit. And if there is no problem, the inactivation process by metal ion attachment will be started as it is.

  If the measured current value is lower than the set current value, a voltage is applied between the second electrodes (ion attachment part electrodes 11 and 12), and a virus inactivation effect due to metal ion attachment is obtained. If the measured current value is higher than the set current value, it is regarded as abnormal and the voltage application is interrupted. In this way, it is confirmed that the virus is always inactivated efficiently.

When the whole virus inactivation process is started, a timer is activated, and the processing time (operation time of the process) in these series of processes is measured.
When the processing time (operation time of the process) in these series of processes reaches the set time (S19), the high voltage application to the high voltage electrode 3 and the voltage application to the second electrode (ion adhesion part electrodes 11 and 12) are stopped. Then, the inactivation step is completed (S20).
Thereafter, when virus inactivation becomes necessary again, the heating step is started, and the above operation is repeated.

  Here, the reason why virus particles are not captured by the second electrode (ion attachment part electrodes 11 and 12) will be described. Virus particles are contained in suspended water having a particle size of submicron to several microns and are floating. Since these particles are made of moisture, the surface is hydrophilic. Therefore, when the virus particles pass through the plasma part between the high-voltage electrode and the ground electrode and come to the second electrode part while being charged, they are attracted to the opposite polarity of the virus particles of the second electrode and contact To do. However, the virus particles do not adhere to the electrodes even when the electrons are exchanged with the electrodes because the electrode material is hydrophobic. As a result, the virus particles come into contact with the electrode, exchange electrons, and after being newly charged, they are attracted to the counter electrode having the opposite polarity opposite the electrode. As described above, by setting the electrode surface to be hydrophobic and placing the positively and negatively charged electrodes facing each other, the virus particles pass between the electrodes without adhering to them while contacting the electrodes.

  By such a configuration and voltage application, in Embodiment 2, the virus particles charged by the high-voltage electrode 3 are in contact with the second electrode (ion adhering portion electrodes 11 and 12) but move without adhering, As a result, since it passes through the second electrode, it can pass through the apparatus without being captured by the electrode.

  Next, the virus inactivation effect produced when contacting with the second electrode (ion attachment part electrodes 11 and 12) will be described. Since the water particles containing the virus are suspended in the air, the carbon dioxide is dissolved to some extent, and the pH tends to be acidic at about 5.6. Therefore, when contacting the second electrode, metal ions such as Cu and Zn as electrode materials are dissolved. Since metals such as Cu and Zn have an action to inactivate the virus, the inactivation of the virus is promoted when these metal ions are dissolved.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the results of examining the virus survival rate in an aqueous solution in which Cu is dissolved, and the virus survival rate when plasma treatment is performed on the solution. In FIG. 10, the horizontal axis represents various processes including no treatment, and the vertical axis represents the virus survival rate in various processes.
As shown in FIG. 10, in the solution in which Cu was dissolved, the virus survival rate was about 20% as compared with the case of no treatment. However, when plasma treatment was further performed, 9.3 × 10 ⁻³ It was found that the virus was inactivated by Cu dissolution and plasma treatment with high efficiency.

From the above, it was found that virus inactivation is promoted when a metal having an action of inactivating viruses such as Cu, Zn and Ag is present.
According to such a configuration, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, when the second electrode (ion attachment part electrodes 11 and 12) is contacted, the metal dissolves in the moisture containing the virus, and the virus is The activation effect can be further increased.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 11: is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the example which installed the virus inactivation apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention in the air conditioning machine which has an air conditioning function. In the air conditioner 20 according to the third embodiment, a pre-filter 24, a heat exchanger 22, a fan 21, and a plasma unit 23 are arranged from the windward side. Reference numeral 29 denotes an air conditioner body. In FIG. 11, the air flow is indicated by arrows.

  Since viruses such as influenza viruses are prevalent from autumn to spring, the air conditioner 20 is basically in a heating operation. During the heating operation, the heat exchanger 22 is heated to 40 ° C. or higher because the Cu tube and the Al fin are warmed by the medium in order to create warm air. Then, the heat exchanger 22 and cold air from the outside come into contact with each other, the air is warmed, and the air is blown to the outside of the air conditioner (indoor space) by the force of the fan 21.

  In the air conditioner 20 according to the third embodiment, a plasma unit 23 (comprising the high-voltage electrode 3, the ground electrode 4, and the variable high-voltage power supply 5 described above) is mounted on the leeward side of the heat exchanger 22. Yes. Therefore, the air that has entered the air conditioner 20 is heated by the heat exchanger 22 and then passes through the plasma unit 23.

  According to such a configuration, a heating unit and a plasma unit having a highly efficient virus inactivation effect can be obtained simply by installing the plasma unit 23 in a conventional apparatus (prefilter, heat exchanger, fan) of an air conditioner. The air conditioner through which the virus passes is designed, and as a result, the virus can be inactivated efficiently by the air conditioner.

  The air conditioner is equipped with a pre-filter 24. The filter 24 serves to remove coarse dust in the air sucked into the air conditioner, so that an efficient virus inactivating effect is obtained. Needless to say.

  In the third embodiment, the air conditioner having a virus inactivating function according to the structure of the first embodiment has been described. However, the ion adhering portion and the like described above are added, and the air conditioner conforms to the structure of the second embodiment. It goes without saying that an air conditioner having a virus inactivating function is an air conditioner having a more efficient virus inactivating effect than that of the third embodiment.

Next, the operation of the air conditioner will be described.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the virus inactivation method executed by the air conditioner.
The apparatus is characterized in that a high voltage is applied to the plasma unit 23 only when the air conditioner 20 is operated and warm air is blown into the room. That is, by linking the operation of the air conditioner 20 and virus inactivation, it is possible to perform an energy-saving virus inactivation operation.

When the air conditioner 20 starts operation, the fan 21 is first activated (S21). At the same time, the outdoor unit operates and heating of the heat exchanger 22 starts. The temperature sensor installed in the air conditioner 20 measures the temperature of air blown from the air conditioner 20. The measured temperature is compared with a preset temperature (room temperature) preset by the temperature determination unit (S22). If there is no problem, the process proceeds to the next step.
If the measured temperature is lower than the set temperature value, it means that 22 parts of the heat exchanger is not sufficiently heated, so that it stands by. In this way, it is confirmed that the floating virus is always heated efficiently.

  Next, the virus inactivation process by the plasma part is started (S23). That is, a high voltage is applied to the high voltage electrode from the variable high voltage power supply (S24). Thereby, discharge occurs between the high-voltage electrode and the ground electrode, and a discharge current flows to the ground electrode. Here, the current flowing through the ground electrode is measured by a current determination unit provided on a control board (not shown). The measured current value is compared with a set current value set in advance by the current determination unit. If there is no problem, the inactivation process is started as it is.

If the measured current value is lower than the set current value, the voltage applied to the high voltage electrode is increased, and if the measured current value is higher than the set current value, the voltage applied to the high voltage electrode is decreased. In this way, it is confirmed that the virus is always inactivated efficiently (S25).
When the room temperature reaches the set temperature, the air conditioner 20 enters a standby state. This is detected and the application of high voltage to the high voltage electrode is stopped. By doing so, virus inactivation is executed only when the fan 21 is operated and blown from the air conditioner 20, so that useless energy is not consumed.

When the virus inactivation process by discharge starts, a timer is activated, and the processing time (operation time of the process) in these series of processes is measured (S26).
When the processing time (process operation time) in the series of steps reaches the set time, the high voltage application to the high voltage electrode 3 is stopped, and the inactivation step ends (S27).
Thereafter, when the air conditioner 20 is operated again and air is blown, the heating process in the heat exchanger 22 is started, and the above operation is repeated.

  In the third embodiment, the plasma unit 23 is installed under the heat exchanger 22, and the prefilter 24, the heat exchanger 22, the fan 21, and the plasma unit 23 are arranged from the windward side. However, as shown in FIG. 13, an air conditioner 20 a in which a plasma part 25 is arranged in front or upper part of the heat exchanger 22 and a heating process in the heat exchanger 22 is performed after the plasma part 25. It may be. In this case, as shown by an arrow 30 in FIG. 13, by providing a suction fan (not shown) in the plasma unit 25, the virus is passed through the heating unit of the heat exchanger 22 so that plasma is generated, and the best mode Can inactivate the virus. Moreover, since the plasma part 25 is arrange | positioned in the front part or upper part of the heat exchanger 22, it can be set as the design in which the dew condensation water does not adhere at the time of air_conditionaing | cooling operation.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Blower, 2 Heating device, 3 High voltage electrode, 4 Ground electrode, 5 Variable type high voltage power supply, 6 Neutralization part electrode, 7 Neutralization part electrode, 8 Neutralization part voltage power supply, 9 Airway, 10 Airway housing , 11 Ion adhesion part electrode, 12 Ion adhesion part electrode, 13 Ion adhesion part voltage power supply, 20 Air conditioner, 20a Air conditioner, 21 Fan, 22 Heat exchanger, 23 Plasma part, 24 Pre-filter, 25 Plasma part (with fan 29) air conditioner body, 100 device, 100a device, 100b device.

Claims (8)

A device that inactivates without trapping viruses floating in the air,
A blower that takes airborne viruses with the air into the airway;
Placed in the air passage through which airborne viruses pass,
A heating device for heating the floating virus,
A high-voltage electrode for plasma treatment of airborne viruses, and a ground electrode installed opposite to the high-voltage electrode;
A second electrode composed of a positive electrode and a negative electrode;
A high voltage power supply connected to apply a high voltage to the high voltage electrode;
With
While the air heating temperature by the said heating apparatus shall be 30 degreeC or more,
A virus inactivating apparatus comprising: the heating device, the high-voltage electrode, the ground electrode, and the second electrode arranged in order from the windward side of the air passage. A device that inactivates without trapping viruses floating in the air,
A blower that takes airborne viruses with the air into the airway;
Placed in the air passage through which airborne viruses pass,
A heating device for heating the floating virus,
A high-voltage electrode for plasma treatment of airborne viruses, and a ground electrode installed opposite to the high-voltage electrode;
A second electrode composed of a positive electrode and a negative electrode;
A high voltage power supply connected to apply a high voltage to the high voltage electrode;
With
While the air heating temperature by the said heating apparatus shall be 30 degreeC or more,
An air passage housing forming the air passage;
Inside the air duct housing, from the windward side in order, and the heating device, and the high voltage electrode, said ground electrode, parallel to the air flow, and the positive and negative electrodes are alternately disposed first A virus inactivation apparatus characterized by comprising two electrodes. As the material of the second electrode, a metal material having an action of inactivating at least any one virus of silver, copper, and zinc is used, and the surface thereof is subjected to a hydrophobic treatment. The virus inactivation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A device that inactivates without trapping viruses floating in the air,
A blower that takes airborne viruses with the air into the airway;
Placed in the air passage through which airborne viruses pass,
A heating device for heat-treating the floating virus;
A high-voltage electrode for plasma treatment of airborne viruses, and a ground electrode installed opposite to the high-voltage electrode;
A neutralizing electrode for electrically neutralizing floating viruses charged by the plasma treatment;
A high voltage power supply connected to apply a high voltage to the high voltage electrode;
With
While the air heating temperature by the said heating apparatus shall be 30 degreeC or more,
A virus inactivating apparatus comprising: the heating device, the high-voltage electrode, the ground electrode, and the neutralizing portion electrode arranged in order from the windward side of the air passage. A method of inactivating without trapping viruses floating in the air,
Taking airborne virus with air into the airway;
A step of heat-treating the air and the airborne virus taken into the air passage to 30 ° C. or higher;
Performing a plasma treatment;
Have a in order,
A virus inactivation method characterized by comprising a step of electrically neutralizing a charged floating virus after the plasma treatment . A method of inactivating without trapping viruses floating in the air,
Taking airborne virus with air into the airway;
A step of heat-treating the air and the airborne virus taken into the air passage to 30 ° C. or higher;
Performing a plasma treatment;
Have a in order,
A virus inactivation method comprising a step of attaching at least one metal ion of silver, copper, or zinc to inactivate a suspended virus after the plasma treatment . An air conditioner comprising the virus inactivating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and having a function of inactivating viruses in room air sucked by an air conditioner body. It is an air conditioner provided with the virus inactivation apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4 , Comprising: The said heating apparatus is a heat exchanger which heats air, when the said air conditioner performs heating operation. An air conditioner characterized by that.

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