JP6896200B1 - Ozone generator - Google Patents

Abstract

A plurality of discharge modules (101 to 104) including a plurality of discharge units (201 to 204) that generate ozone by discharging from the raw material gas are stacked and arranged in the stacking direction (Y), and each discharge module (101 to 104) is arranged. In 104), discharge control units (401 to 404) that control the discharge of all the discharge units (201 to 204) in each discharge module (101 to 104) are installed, and the discharge units (201 to 204) have a voltage. A power supply unit (3) for forming a discharge by applying a discharge unit and a cooling unit (5) for delivering a discharge to cool each discharge unit (201 to 204), and the cooling unit (5) is provided in a stacking direction (5). It is installed on one end side of Y) and delivers the refrigerant in the same direction as the stacking direction (Y) of the discharge modules (101 to 104).

Description

The present application relates to an ozone generator.

Ozone (O3) has a strong oxidizing power, and is used in a wide range of fields such as water environment purification such as water and sewage treatment, sterilization and sterilization, deodorization, and semiconductor cleaning by utilizing the strong oxidizing power. With the recent increase in environmental awareness and the increase in demand for electronic devices, the demand for compact ozone generators capable of generating a large amount of ozone is increasing. As a method of industrially generating ozone, oxygen (O2) or a raw material gas containing oxygen is supplied to a discharge void, a high voltage is applied to the discharge void to generate silent discharge, and ozone is generated by this discharge energy. The method of doing is common.

However, in the conventional ozone generator, about 10% of the input power contributes to ozone generation, and the remaining 90% is released as heat to the discharge void. Here, when the discharge void becomes high in temperature due to the released heat, the generated ozone is thermally decomposed and the ozone generation efficiency is lowered. Therefore, a method of cooling the discharge voids using a refrigerant such as water or air is used.

Since the temperature of the discharge void is determined by the balance between the cooling capacity of the refrigerant and the electric power input to the discharge, there is an upper limit to the discharge electric power and the amount of ozone generated per unit volume of the void. Therefore, in order to obtain a desired ozone generation amount, a plurality of discharge units are generally provided in the ozone generator. Further, the cooling performance of the discharge unit depends on the contact area between the discharge unit and the refrigerant. Therefore, in order to obtain high cooling performance, it is preferable to space the discharge units, which leads to an increase in the size of the device. That is, there is a trade-off relationship between device dimensions and cooling performance.

Conventionally, an ozone generator including a plurality of discharge units, a high-voltage power source that applies a high voltage to the discharge unit, and a cooler that sends out a refrigerant to cool the discharge unit, and a plurality of ozone generation modules are provided. A multi-module ozone generator is disclosed. Then, a plurality of cylindrical discharge units are arranged in an arrangement direction parallel to the axis of the cylinder, and the refrigerant is delivered in the arrangement direction of the discharge units. A plurality of discharge units are connected to a high voltage power supply in parallel. As a result, even when the number of discharge units is increased in order to increase the amount of ozone generated, the size of the ozone generator is suppressed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent No. 6608571 (Claims, FIGS. 1 to 10)

In the conventional multi-module ozone generator, each module is equipped with a high-voltage power supply and a cooler, and ozone generation and discharge unit cooling are performed independently for each module. Therefore, for example, when one module is stopped, the amount of ozone generated by the stopped module is reduced without affecting the operation of the other modules. That is, there is a problem that the space utilization rate of the ozone generator as a whole is lowered.

The present application discloses a technique for solving the above-mentioned problems, and in an ozone generator including a plurality of discharge modules, suppresses a decrease in the amount of ozone generated even when a certain discharge module is stopped. The purpose is to provide an ozone generator that can effectively utilize the space of the device.

The ozone generator disclosed in the present application is
A plurality of discharge modules containing a plurality of discharge units that generate ozone by discharging from the raw material gas are stacked and arranged in the stacking direction.
Each of the discharge modules is provided with a discharge control unit that controls the discharge of all the discharge units.
A power supply unit that applies a voltage to the discharge unit to form the discharge,
It is provided with a cooling unit that sends out refrigerant to cool each of the discharge units.
The cooling unit is installed on one end side in the stacking direction, and delivers the refrigerant in the same direction as the stacking direction of the discharge module.

According to the ozone generator disclosed in the present application
In an ozone generator including a plurality of discharge modules, even when a certain discharge module is stopped, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the amount of ozone generated and effectively utilize the space of the device.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the ozone generator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the ozone generator shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the ozone generator shown in FIG. 2A. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the discharge module of the ozone generator shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the structure of the discharge module shown in FIG. 3A. It is a figure which shows the structure of the ozone generator according to Embodiment 2. It is a figure which shows the structure of the ozone generator according to Embodiment 3. It is a figure which shows the structure of the ozone generator according to Embodiment 4. It is a figure which shows the flow of the raw material gas in the ozone generator shown in FIG.

The present application relates to, for example, an ozone generator that industrially generates ozone gas used in water treatment equipment and the like. In the following embodiment, the case where the ozone generator supplies oxygen (O2) gas as a raw material gas and generates ozone (O3) gas by electric discharge will be described, but other ozone generators, for example, Similarly, the present application can be applied to an exhaust gas treatment device.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ozone generator according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the ozone generator shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction AA. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a configuration seen from the direction of arrow B of the ozone generator shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing the configuration of one discharge module of the ozone generator shown in FIG. FIG. 3B is a top view showing the configuration of the discharge module shown in FIG. 3A.

In FIG. 1, the ozone generator 100 has a plurality of discharge modules 101, 102, 103, 104 (hereinafter, when these are collectively referred to, referred to as discharge module 1) in the stacking direction Y. It is arranged in a laminated manner. Each discharge module 1 is a plurality of discharge units 201, 202, 203, 204 arranged in the orthogonal direction X orthogonal to the stacking direction Y, and in the figure, four discharge units 201, 202, 203, 204 (hereinafter, when these are collectively shown, they are referred to as a discharge unit 2). Shown.). The four discharge units 201, 202, 203, and 204 are arranged side by side with a preset interval in the orthogonal direction X. Further, although the discharge units 201, 202, 203, and 204 will be described later, they are formed in a cylindrical shape, and the axes of the cylinders are arranged in the coaxial direction. The number of stacked discharge modules 1 and the number of discharge units 2 of the discharge module 1 are not limited to four, and the same can be performed if there are a plurality of them.

Further, in each discharge module 1, high voltage power supplies 301, 302, 303, 304 (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to) as a power supply unit for forming a discharge by applying a voltage to the discharge units 201, 202, 203, 204. In the following embodiments, it is referred to as a high-voltage power supply 3 even when there is only one high-voltage power supply), and all discharge units 201 and 202. The switch elements 401, 402, 403, and 404 (hereinafter, collectively referred to as the switch element 4) are provided as discharge control units for controlling the discharge of 203 and 204. Then, all the discharge units 201, 202, 203, and 204 in the discharge modules 101, 102, 103, and 104 are connected in parallel to the switch elements 401, 402, 403, and 404. The blower fan 5, which is a cooling unit, is installed at one end side Y1 of the ozone generator 100 in the stacking direction Y, here at the uppermost portion. Therefore, the blower fan 5 sends the cooling air 6 as a refrigerant from the one end side Y1 to the other end side Y2 in the stacking direction Y to the discharge unit 2 to cool the air.

In FIG. 2, the discharge unit 2 generates ozone by electric discharge from oxygen gas as a raw material gas. Specifically, the discharge unit 2 includes a glass tube 10, an outer peripheral electrode 8, a heat sink 7, a conductive layer 11, and a power feeding unit 12. The glass tube 10 is formed in a columnar shape having an axis in the axial direction Z orthogonal to the stacking direction Y and the orthogonal direction X, and is formed by closing one end. Further, a conductive layer 11 is formed on the inner surface of the glass tube 10, and a feeding portion 12 is installed near the other end of the axial direction Z on the unblocked side. The outer peripheral electrode 8 is installed while holding the glass tube 10 and the discharge gap 9. The heat sink 7 is installed so as to cover the outer surface of the outer peripheral electrode 8. One of the outputs of the high voltage power supply 3 is connected to the power feeding unit 12 via the switch element 4, and the other is connected to the outer peripheral electrode 8. The oxygen gas exposed to the discharge flows from one end of the axial Z of the discharge gap 9 to the other end.

Since the ozone generator 100 of the first embodiment has four discharge modules 1, a total of 16 discharge units 2 having the same shape are provided. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the appearance of one discharge module 1 including the four discharge units 2 is formed as shown in the figure. Then, the discharge modules 1 as shown in FIG. 3 are stacked and arranged in the stacking direction Y as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the discharge units 2 adjacent to the orthogonal direction X are arranged at a preset interval, and the discharge units 2 adjacent to the orthogonal direction X are arranged in the stacking direction Y. It is formed through. Therefore, the cooling air 6 can pass between the discharge units 2 adjacent to the orthogonal direction X in the stacking direction Y.

Next, the operation of the ozone generator 100 of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. First, oxygen gas is supplied to each of the discharge units 2 from the outside. Next, the blower fan 5 is operated to flow the cooling air 6 from one end side Y1 in the stacking direction Y to the other end side Y2 in the ozone generator 100. Then, by driving all the high voltage power supplies 3 and turning on all the switch elements 4, a high voltage is applied to all the discharge units 2 and a discharge is generated in the discharge gap 9. As a result, a part of oxygen gas, which is a raw material gas, is converted into ozone.

In this way, the discharge of the discharge unit 2 included in each discharge module 1 is generated and controlled by the high voltage power supply 3 and the switch element 4 provided in the same discharge module 1. For example, in the discharge module 101, by driving the high voltage power supply 301 and turning on the switch element 401, discharge is generated in all of the discharge units 201, 202, 203, and 204 in the discharge module 101. By removing a part of the heat generated by the discharge from the heat sink 7 by the cooling air 6, overheating of the discharge units 201, 202, 203, and 204 in the discharge module 101 is suppressed.

Then, the cooling air 6 forms a series of flows from the discharge module 104 located on the one end side Y1 toward the discharge module 101 on the other end side Y2. Therefore, the temperature of the cooling air 6 when passing through the discharge module 104 is the lowest, the temperature rises as it goes downstream, and the temperature when passing through the discharge module 101 becomes the highest. Therefore, the cooling capacity by the cooling air 6 is the highest in the discharge module 104, and decreases as the discharge module is located in the lower stage.

Next, ozone generation when the operation of any of the discharge units 2 is stopped will be described. For example, it is assumed that the discharge module 104 is stopped due to a malfunction of any of the discharge units 2 in the discharge module 104 or a decrease in ozone demand. In this case, even if the temperature of the cooling air 6 passes through the discharge module 104, the temperature does not rise because there is no heat source because the discharge unit 2 in the discharge module 104 is not driven. Therefore, the temperature of the cooling air 6 passing through the discharge modules 103, 102, and 101 located in the lower stage is lower than that in the case where the discharge module 104 is driven.

Therefore, the cooling of the discharge modules 103, 102, and 101 when the discharge module 104 is stopped is improved, and thus the ozone generation performance is higher than that when the discharge module 104 is in operation. As a result, in the ozone generator 100 as a whole, the decrease in the amount of ozone generated due to the stoppage of the discharge module 104 is suppressed as compared with the case where the first embodiment is not applied.

In the first embodiment, independent high-voltage power supplies 301, 302, 303, 304 are connected to the discharge modules 101, 102, 103, 104. Therefore, the operating conditions of the high-voltage power supplies 301, 302, 303, and 304 can be individually controlled. For example, it is possible to operate so that the electric power supplied to the discharge module 1 decreases from one end side Y1 to the other end side Y2 of the flow of the cooling air 6. In this case, overheating of the discharge units 201, 202, 203, 204 of the discharge module 101 at the other end side Y2 of the cooling air 6 can be suppressed, and the ozone generation performance of the ozone generator 100 as a whole can be improved.

The high voltage power supply 3 is not limited to a sine wave as long as it can stably generate an AC high voltage, and may have a waveform such as a rectangle, a triangle, or a pulse. Further, the voltage wave height value and the duty ratio of the AC high voltage can be appropriately determined according to various conditions such as the structure of the discharge unit 2 such as the width of the discharge gap 9 or the thickness of the glass tube 10 and the composition of the raw material gas. Generally, the voltage peak value is preferably 1 kV to 20 kV. If it is 1 kV or less, a stable discharge is not formed, and if it exceeds 50 kV, it is necessary to increase the size of the power supply and the sophistication of electrical insulation, and the manufacturing and maintenance costs are significantly increased.

The outer peripheral electrode 8 is made of a conductive material, and it is particularly desirable to use a metal material having excellent corrosion resistance such as stainless steel or titanium. The outer peripheral electrode 8 can be made thin as long as its mechanical strength can be maintained. By making the outer peripheral electrode 8 thinner, heat conduction in the thickness direction of the outer peripheral electrode 8 can be promoted, and the cooling performance of the discharge unit 2 can be improved. Further, the range of the outer peripheral electrode 8 facing the discharge void 9 can be covered with an insulating material having excellent corrosion resistance. By coating the outer peripheral electrode 8 with an insulating material having excellent corrosion resistance, a general-purpose conductive material having inferior corrosion resistance can be used for the outer peripheral electrode 8, and the manufacturing cost of the discharge unit 2 can be reduced.

Further, by applying thermal grease or conductive grease between the outer peripheral electrode 8 and the heat sink 7, it is possible to suppress the formation of minute gaps between the outer peripheral electrode 8 and the heat sink 7, and the outer peripheral electrode 8 and the heat sink are used. The heat conduction with 7 can be improved.

As the glass tube 10, for example, quartz or borosilicate glass can be used. Further, it does not necessarily have to be glass, and ceramics having excellent corrosion resistance such as alumina can be used.

The conductive layer 11 is made of a conductive material, and it is particularly desirable that the conductive layer 11 is a conductive thin film formed on the inner surface of the glass tube 10 by a method such as wet coating or plating, thermal spraying, vacuum deposition, or sputtering. By forming the conductive layer 11 by these methods, the glass tube 10 and the conductive layer 11 can be brought into close contact with each other, and the occurrence of abnormal discharge between the glass tube 10 and the conductive layer 11 can be suppressed. Further, by using the conductive layer 11 of the thin film, the weight of the conductive layer 11 can be reduced.

The power feeding unit 12 is made of a conductive material, and it is particularly desirable to use a metal material having excellent corrosion resistance such as stainless steel or titanium. In particular, by forming the tip of the feeding portion 12 into a brush shape having a plurality of bristles, when the feeding portion 12 is inserted into the glass tube 10, the conductive layer 11 and the feeding portion 12 come into contact with each other at a plurality of places, and electricity is more reliably performed. It is preferable because it can secure a specific connection. In the connection between the discharge unit 2 and the high voltage power supply 3, when a high voltage is applied to the conductive layer 11 and the outer peripheral electrode 8 is grounded, the conductive layer 11 (high voltage application portion) is covered with the outer peripheral electrode 8, which is preferable. However, there is no problem in operation even if the connection is reversed.

The width of the discharge gap 9 is preferably 0.1 mm to 10 mm. If it is 0.1 mm or less, it becomes difficult to keep the width of the discharge gap 9 uniform in the circumferential direction of the discharge unit 2, and the manufacturing cost of the discharge unit 2 increases. Further, if it is 10 mm or more, a high voltage is required to form a discharge, which increases the manufacturing cost. The width of the discharge gap 9 is particularly preferably 0.2 mm to 0.6 mm. By setting the width of the discharge gap 9 to 0.6 mm or less, the specific surface area of the discharge gap 9 can be increased, and the cooling efficiency of the discharge gap 9 can be improved.

In the above example, oxygen gas is shown as an example as the raw material gas, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the raw material gas contains at least oxygen, and air, oxygen, or a rare gas or carbon dioxide. A mixed gas of an inert gas such as oxygen and oxygen is used. The pressure of the raw material gas supplied to the discharge gap 9 is preferably 0.05 MPaG to 0.2 MPaG. At 0.05 MPaG or less, the number of oxygen molecules is small and the amount of ozone generated decreases. Further, when the pressure is 0.2 MPaG or more, the discharge pressure required for the raw material gas supply device installed outside becomes high, and the ozone generation cost increases.

By setting the pressure of the raw material gas to 0.05 MPaG to 0.2 MPaG, the ozone generation efficiency can be economically improved. In addition, even when the ozone generator 100 is enlarged, by setting it to less than 0.2 MPaG, the ozone generator 100 does not fall under the "Type 2 pressure vessel regulation", and the legal restrictions are reduced for handling. There are also advantages such as easy operation.

The heat sink 7 is made of a material having excellent thermal conductivity, and it is preferable to use a conductive material having excellent thermal conductivity such as aluminum. In particular, the manufacturing cost of the heat sink 7 can be reduced by using aluminum which is inexpensive and has excellent workability. Further, when the heat sink 7 is made of a conductive material, the outer peripheral electrode 8 and the heat sink 7 are electrically connected and kept at the same potential, so that the ground potential of the high voltage power supply 3 is connected to the heat sink 7. The outer peripheral electrode 8 can be set to the same potential as the ground potential of the high voltage power supply 3.

The surface of the heat sink 7 may be treated with black coating or black alumite processing. By making the surface of the heat sink 7 black, heat radiation on the surface can be promoted and the cooling performance of the discharge unit 2 can be improved. Further, by forming the heat sink 7 with a conductive material having excellent corrosion resistance, the outer peripheral electrode 8 and the heat sink 7 can be integrally formed. By integrally forming the outer peripheral electrode 8 and the heat sink 7, the heat conduction between the outer peripheral electrode 8 and the heat sink 7 can be enhanced, the number of parts of the ozone generator 100 can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Even when a general-purpose conductive material having inferior corrosion resistance is used for the heat sink 7, the outer peripheral electrode 8 and the heat sink 7 are covered by covering the range of the surface facing the discharge void 9 with an insulating material having excellent corrosion resistance. Can also be used as.

The switch element 4 only needs to be able to open and close the electrical connection between the high-voltage power supply 3 and the discharge unit 2, and a mechanical switch, a semiconductor switch, or a fuse can be used. Further, the high voltage power supply 3 and the switch element 4 do not necessarily have to be provided independently, as long as the discharge generation can be controlled. For example, the discharge generation can be controlled by operating the inverter included in the high voltage power supply 3. Although the columnar configuration in which the discharge unit 2 of the first embodiment is arranged in the coaxial direction is shown, the shape of the discharge unit 2 is not limited to this, and may be configured as, for example, a parallel flat plate type. It is possible.

Further, the glass tube 10 may be provided so as to be in contact with the inner surface of the outer peripheral electrode 8. In this case, the conductive layer 11 is installed as an independent tube, and a discharge is formed between the voids formed between the outer surface of the tube of the conductive layer 11 and the inner surface of the glass tube 10.

According to the ozone generator of the first embodiment configured as described above,
A plurality of discharge modules containing a plurality of discharge units that generate ozone by discharging from the raw material gas are stacked and arranged in the stacking direction.
Each of the discharge modules is provided with a discharge control unit that controls the discharge of all the discharge units.
A power supply unit that applies a voltage to the discharge unit to form the discharge,
It is provided with a cooling unit that sends out refrigerant to cool each of the discharge units.
Since the cooling unit is installed on one end side in the stacking direction and delivers the refrigerant in the same direction as the stacking direction of the discharge module,
Since the stacking direction of a plurality of discharge modules and the flow direction of the refrigerant are the same, even if a certain discharge module is stopped, the amount of heat generated is reduced accordingly, so that the amount of temperature rise of the refrigerant is reduced. However, the cooling characteristics of the discharge units of other discharge modules are improved, the space of the ozone generator is effectively utilized, and the decrease in the amount of ozone generated by the ozone generator as a whole is suppressed.

Further, since the power supply unit is installed in each of the discharge modules,
It becomes easier to control each discharge module.

Further, since the operation of each of the discharge control units is performed individually between the discharge modules, the operation of each discharge control unit is performed individually.
The operation of each discharge module can be controlled individually, and the optimum operation according to the cooling condition becomes possible.

Further, since all the discharge units in each of the discharge modules are connected in parallel to the discharge control unit,
Each discharge control unit can control the discharge of all the discharge units in one discharge module.

Further, since the discharge units of one discharge module are arranged side by side at a preset interval in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the stacking direction, the discharge units are arranged side by side.
Refrigerant can pass between adjacent discharge units in the orthogonal direction, and cooling efficiency can be improved.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the ozone generator according to the second embodiment. In the figure, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. A power supply module 13 including one high-voltage power supply 3 as a power supply unit is provided on the other end side Y2 of the stacking direction Y. Switch elements 401, 402, 403, and 404 are installed outside the four discharge modules 101, 102, 103, and 104, respectively. The switch elements 401, 402, 403, and 404 are connected in parallel to the high-voltage power supply 3, and the electrical connection between one high-voltage power supply 3 and the discharge modules 101, 102, 103, and 104 can be opened and closed. Be controlled.

The operation of the ozone generator 100 of the second embodiment configured as described above will be described focusing on the differences from the first embodiment. First, in the second embodiment, one high-voltage power supply 3 drives the discharge units 2 in all the discharge modules 1. At that time, the operations of the discharge modules 101, 102, 103, and 104 are independently controlled by the switch elements 401, 402, 403, and 404. Therefore, for example, the operation of the discharge module 104 can be stopped by operating the switch element 404 to stop the power supply to the discharge module 104.

According to the ozone generator of the second embodiment configured as described above, the same effect as that of the first embodiment is obtained, and each of the discharge modules is connected in parallel to the power supply unit.
It is not necessary to provide a power supply unit for each of the plurality of discharge modules, resulting in low cost.

Embodiment 3.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ozone generator according to the third embodiment. In the figure, the same parts as those in each of the above embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the third embodiment, unlike each of the above-described embodiments, the discharge units 2 provided in the discharge modules 1 adjacent to the stacking direction Y are arranged at positions shifted from each other in the orthogonal direction X.

In the first embodiment, the discharge units 2 of the discharge modules 1 adjacent to the stacking direction Y are arranged at the same positions in the orthogonal direction X. Therefore, the cooling air 6 heated by the discharge unit 2 on one end side Y1 in the stacking direction Y passes through the discharge unit 2 on the other end side Y2, and the temperature of the cooling air 6 rises locally. Cooling performance is reduced.

On the other hand, according to the third embodiment, the discharge unit 2 of the discharge module 1 adjacent to the stacking direction Y is arranged at a position shifted in the orthogonal direction X. Therefore, the cooling air 6 is heated uniformly as a whole, and the deterioration of the cooling performance can be suppressed. In this case, the third embodiment can be easily configured by preparing a plurality of types of discharge modules 1 having different arrangements of the discharge units 2 and arranging them alternately in the stacking direction Y.

According to the ozone generator of the third embodiment configured as described above, the same effect as that of each of the above-described embodiments is obtained, and between the discharge modules adjacent to each other in the stacking direction, each of the above-mentioned discharge modules Since the discharge units are located offset from each other in the orthogonal direction,
It is possible to suppress a decrease in cooling performance.

Embodiment 4.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of the ozone generator according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of a raw material gas in the ozone generator shown in FIG. In the figure, the same parts as those in each of the above embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In each of the above embodiments, the stacking direction Y of the discharge module 1 is configured in the vertical direction, but in the fifth embodiment, the stacking direction Y of the discharge module 1 is configured in the horizontal direction. An example is shown.

In FIG. 6, in the ozone generator 100, the discharge modules 101, 102, 103, and 104 are laminated in the stacking direction Y, here in the left-right direction. Then, the discharge units 2 of each discharge module 1 are installed at intervals in the orthogonal direction X, here in the vertical direction. Further, one end side Y1 in the stacking direction Y, here, on the left side, a plurality of blower fans 501, 502, 503, 504 as cooling portions (hereinafter, when these are collectively shown, they are referred to as blower fans 5. ) Is arranged at a position corresponding to each discharge unit 201, 202, 203, 204 in the orthogonal direction X.

Further, fuses 141, 142, 143, and 144 as discharge control units are installed in the four discharge modules 101, 102, 103, and 104, respectively. The output of one high-voltage power supply 3 is divided into four parallel circuits, and fuses 141, 142, 143, and 144 are connected to each of them. Each parallel circuit is further divided into four parallel circuits, each of which is connected to the discharge unit 2. Therefore, the electrical connection to each of the discharge modules 101, 102, 103, 104 is controlled by the normality or breakage of one high voltage power supply 3 and the fuses 141, 142, 143, 144.

In FIG. 7, the raw material gas is supplied to the ozone generator 100 from the supply device 16 installed outside. Valves 151, 152, 153, and 154 are installed in each of the four branched systems in the ozone generator 100. Each of the branched pipes is further branched into four systems, and oxygen gas as a raw material gas is supplied to the 16 discharge units 2. The ozone gas generated by each discharge unit 2 is merged and transported to the outside of the ozone generator 100.

Next, the operation of the ozone generator 100 according to the fourth embodiment configured as described above will be described. The cooling air 6 is sent from the blower fan 5 in the stacking direction Y to cool the discharge units 2 arranged therein. A blower fan 5, which is a cooling unit, is installed on one end side Y1 of the ozone generator 100 in the stacking direction Y, here on the left side. The blower fan 5 sends out the cooling air 6 which is a refrigerant from one end side Y1 in the stacking direction Y toward the other end side Y2, that is, from the left side to the right side.

When a short circuit occurs in one discharge unit 2 (for example, the one located at the upper leftmost part) due to an electrode breakage or the like, the fuse 144 is blown and the four discharge units 201, 202, 203 of the discharge module 104 are used. , 204 stops supplying power. Then, the discharge units 2 of the other discharge modules 101, 102, and 103 continue to operate. Further, in conjunction with this operation, by closing the valve 154, the supply of the raw material gas to the discharge units 201, 202, 203, and 204 of the discharge module 104 whose power supply has been stopped is stopped.

At this time, the blower fans 501, 502, 503, and 504 continue to operate. As a result, the cooling capacity of the discharge unit 2 that continues the operation is improved as compared with the case where the entire discharge unit 2 is in operation, and the decrease in the ozone generation amount of the ozone generator 100 as a whole is suppressed. Further, since the supply of the raw material gas to the discharge unit 2 whose operation has stopped is stopped, the consumption of the excess raw material gas is suppressed.

According to the ozone generator of the fourth embodiment configured as described above, the same effect as that of each of the above embodiments is obtained, and all the discharges in the discharge module are linked with the operation of the discharge module. Since the raw material gas is supplied to the unit,
The raw material gas can be used effectively.

Although the present application describes various exemplary embodiments and examples, the various features, embodiments, and functions described in one or more embodiments are applications of a particular embodiment. It is not limited to, but can be applied to embodiments alone or in various combinations.
Therefore, innumerable variations not illustrated are envisioned within the scope of the techniques disclosed in the present application. For example, it is assumed that at least one component is modified, added or omitted, and further, at least one component is extracted and combined with the components of other embodiments.

1 discharge module, 101 discharge module, 102 discharge module, 103 discharge module, 104 discharge module, 10 glass tube, 100 ozone generator, 11 conductive layer, 12 power supply unit, 13 power supply module, 141 fuse, 142 fuse, 143 fuse, 144 fuse, 151 valve, 152 valve, 153 valve, 154 valve, 16 supply device, 2 discharge unit, 201 discharge unit, 202 discharge unit, 203 discharge unit, 204 discharge unit, 3 high voltage power supply, 301 high voltage power supply, 302 High-voltage power supply, 303 high-voltage power supply, 304 high-voltage power supply, 4 switch elements, 401 switch elements, 402 switch elements, 403 switch elements, 404 switch elements, 5 blower fans, 6 cooling air, 7 heat sinks, 8 outer peripheral electrodes, 9 Discharge void, X orthogonal direction, Y stacking direction, Z-axis direction.

Claims (8)

A plurality of discharge modules containing a plurality of discharge units that generate ozone by discharging from the raw material gas are stacked and arranged in the stacking direction.
Each of the discharge modules is provided with a discharge control unit that controls the discharge of all the discharge units.
A power supply unit that applies a voltage to the discharge unit to form the discharge,
It is provided with a cooling unit that sends out refrigerant to cool each of the discharge units.
The cooling unit is installed on one end side in the stacking direction, and is an ozone generator that delivers a refrigerant in the same direction as the stacking direction of the discharge module. The ozone generator according to claim 1, wherein the power supply unit is installed in each of the discharge modules. The ozone generator according to claim 1, wherein each of the discharge modules is connected in parallel to the power supply unit. The ozone generator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation of each of the discharge control units is individually performed between the discharge modules. The ozone generator according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein all the discharge units in each of the discharge modules are connected in parallel to the discharge control unit. The ozone generation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each of the discharge units of the discharge module is arranged side by side at a preset interval in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the stacking direction. apparatus. The ozone generator according to claim 6, wherein each of the discharge units of each of the discharge modules is arranged at positions displaced from each other in the orthogonal direction between the discharge modules adjacent to each other in the stacking direction. The ozone generator according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the raw material gas is supplied to all the discharge units in the discharge module in conjunction with the operation of the discharge module.

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