JPH03279720A - Deodorizer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to prepare an unused pressure vessel before a pressure vessel is emptied by announcing that the quantity of deodorization liquid in the pressure vessel has decreased when the quantity of vapor of liquefied gas is found to have exceeded a predetermined quantity by means of a detecting means. CONSTITUTION:A deodorizer is of a wall type, in which the air introduced through a suction port 10 by means of a fan 2 is deodorized while it passes through a deodorizing filter 3 on which deodorization liquid has been sprayed, after which the air is discharged out of a casing 1 through a blowoff port 11. When the quantity of the deodorization liquid in a pressure vessel 41 has decreased after actuation of the deodorizer, pressure gas blows off together with the deodorization liquid from a blowoff part when a valve 41a is opened, so that the pressure gas together with the deodorization liquid 62 flows into a liquid pipe 42. Hence resistance values between electrodes 53, 54, when the deodorization liquid is sprayed, increase and output signals of a detection circuit 66 are lowered. When the output signals of the circuit 66 have become lower than threshold voltage Vth, a control circuit 70 judges that the quantity of deodorization liquid in the vessel 41 has decreased and causes an indicating lamp 68 to flicker.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a deodorizing machine that uses a deodorizing filter impregnated with a deodorizing liquid to remove odors from the air passing through the deodorizing filter.

<Conventional technology> Conventionally, deodorizing machines have generally been provided using a dry deodorizing method in which odors are adsorbed to a deodorizing filter, such as an activated carbon filter. A wet deodorizing method is provided in which deodorizing is performed using a deodorizing liquid (for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-7761).
(See Publication No. 4). This wet deodorizing machine has a structure in which the deodorizing filter is repeatedly impregnated with the deodorizing liquid by periodically spraying the deodorizing liquid into the deodorizing filter placed in the air flow path. It has the advantage of superior deodorizing ability compared to other products.

This wet type deodorizing machine uses a pressure vessel called an aerosol filled with deodorizing liquid and liquefied gas, and uses the pressure generated as the liquefied gas vaporizes to apply the deodorizing liquid near the deodorizing filter. It is common to have a configuration in which the liquid is sprayed at high speed from a spray nozzle. When the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel runs out, deodorization can be continued by replacing the empty pressure vessel with another new pressure vessel.

However, with conventional deodorizing machines, it is not possible to know whether there is deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel, so there are cases where the machine is operated without realizing that the deodorizing agent has run out and the deodorizing ability has been lost. There was a problem. Moreover, if the pressure vessel is replaced before the deodorizing liquid runs out in an attempt to obtain a constantly stable deodorizing ability, economic efficiency will deteriorate.

In order to solve this problem, the inventor of the present invention proposed a deodorizing machine having a configuration for detecting when the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel has run out in the previously filed Japanese Patent Application No. 63-288112. . In this proposed technology, the deodorizing liquid is placed in the middle of the liquid pipe from the nozzle of the pressure vessel containing the deodorizing liquid and liquefied gas to the spray nozzle for spraying the deodorizing liquid onto the deodorizing filter placed in the air flow path. A liquid sensor is arranged to detect the presence or absence. The liquid sensor detects whether or not the deodorizing liquid passes through the liquid sending pipe during the spraying operation, thereby detecting whether or not the pressure vessel is empty. That is, after the pressure vessel is emptied, only vaporized liquefied gas passes through the liquid sending pipe, so the liquid sensor cannot detect the deodorizing liquid. In response to the detection output of the liquid sensor, an indicator light placed at an easily visible position, such as on the front of the deodorizing machine, is turned on/off.

Therefore, the user of the deodorizing machine can replace the pressure vessel by knowing that the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel has run out, for example by turning on the indicator light. This eliminates the above problem.

<Problem to be solved by the invention> However, with the above-mentioned proposed technology, this is only noticed after the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel is used up, so it is necessary to purchase a new pressure vessel after the pressure vessel is empty. The deodorizer cannot be used during this period. Also,
In order to immediately replace the pressure vessel and continue using the deodorizer even after the pressure vessel has been emptied, the user of the deodorizer must prepare an unused pressure vessel in advance, such as by stocking up. There is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a deodorizing machine that solves the above-mentioned problems by making it possible to know that the amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel has decreased before the pressure vessel is emptied.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, the deodorizing machine of the present invention is capable of transporting air between a spray nozzle for spraying a deodorizing liquid and a pressure vessel filled with liquefied gas together with the deodorizing liquid. Connected via liquid tube,
In a deodorizing machine that sprays the deodorizing liquid from the spray nozzle using the pressure of the liquefied gas, a detection means for detecting the amount of the vaporized liquefied gas in a flow path in the middle of the liquid sending pipe; and means for notifying that the remaining amount of the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel is low when the detection means detects that the vaporized liquefied gas is greater than a predetermined amount. .

<Function> When the remaining amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel decreases due to the use of the deodorizing machine, vaporized liquefied gas (hereinafter referred to as "pressure gas") becomes mixed with the deodorizing liquid and distributed. In other words, the inside of the liquid delivery pipe is filled with deodorizing liquid immediately after the pressure vessel starts being used, but at the end of the pressure vessel's use when the remaining amount of deodorizing liquid has decreased, the pressure vessel along with the deodorizing liquid flows out. The liquefied gas is vaporized and ejected, and therefore pressure gas is present in the liquid pipe.

In the present invention, the amount of pressure gas in the flow path in the middle of the liquid feeding tube is detected by the detection means. When the detection means detects that the pressure gas has become more than a predetermined amount, it is notified that the remaining amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel is low, and the user of the deodorizing machine can You can tell when the amount of liquid remaining is getting low. That is, in the present invention, by detecting that pressure gas is mixed into the deodorizing liquid flowing through the liquid sending pipe, it is possible to detect that the remaining amount of the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel is small, and to notify this. I have to.

The above predetermined amount is the amount determined by taking into account the detection error in the detection means and the difficulty of detection in the initial state when pressure gas starts to mix with the deodorizing liquid, and the amount of pressure gas exceeding this predetermined amount is By making a notification when the presence is detected, highly reliable notification becomes possible.

<Example> Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing examples.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a deodorizing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. This deodorizer has a wall-mounted structure, and has a casing l with a suction port 10 formed on the bottom surface and an air outlet 11 formed on the top surface, and a fan 2 for air circulation.
, a deodorizing filter 3, a spray nozzle 4 for spraying a deodorizing liquid onto the deodorizing filter 3, and a control board 5 are built in. The air sucked in from the suction port 10 by the action of the fan 2 is deodorized when passing through the deodorizing filter 3 sprayed with deodorizing liquid, and the deodorized air is discharged from the outlet 11 to the outside of the casing 1. .

The deodorizing filter 3 is disposed in the middle of an air flow path A in which air flows upward due to the action of the fan 2. This deodorizing filter 3 is composed of an upper element 31 and a lower element 32.
1.32 are arranged in upper and lower two stages separated by a predetermined distance. Further, the fan 2 is, for example, a multi-base type in which two sirocco-shaped fans are connected to each rotating shaft of a double-shaft motor, and its blowing portion faces the blowing outlet 11 of the casing l. It is set in.

Each element 31.3 that constitutes the deodorizing filter 3
2 is a corrugated material having multiple rows and stages of parallel narrow passages obtained by alternately stacking flat paper and corrugated paper made of porous water-absorbing paper, etc., into a roughly rectangular parallelepiped. The bottom element 32 has a boat bottom shape.

The deodorizing liquid is supplied to the spray nozzle 4 from a pressure vessel 4 filled with the deodorizing liquid through a liquid supply pipe 42. Spraying of the deodorizing liquid from the nozzle 4 and stopping of the spraying are performed by an opening/closing device 44.

The spray nozzle 4 sprays the deodorizing liquid at an acute angle, and is located between the upper element 31 and the lower element 32, and sprays the deodorizing liquid at the center of each element 31, 32 in the width direction (front and back direction of the casing 1). This spray nozzle 4, which is arranged in a corresponding position (see especially FIG. 3), sprays the deodorizing liquid.
The entire bottom surface of the upper element 31 and the lower element 32
can be sprayed over the entire top surface.

The pressure vessel 41 is a cylindrical container generally called an aerosol, and is provided with an on-off valve 41a having a push rod urged to protrude by a spring at its nozzle port. By pushing against the urging force of the deodorizing liquid, the deodorizing liquid can be ejected from the spout.

The pressure vessel 41 is filled with a liquefied gas 82 that functions as a propellant, such as liquefied petroleum gas (liquefied propane gas), in addition to the deodorizing liquid 81 whose main component is a plant essential oil such as green tea. When the on-off valve 41a is opened, the pressure increases (3 to 4 kg/m2) due to evaporation of the liquefied gas in the pressure vessel 41, and the deodorizing liquid is ejected from the nozzle at high speed. 83 is pressure vessel 4
It is a liquefied gas that is vaporized within the 1.

The pressure vessel 41 is removably fixed to a compartment 14 that is partitioned from the air flow path A by the partition member 13 with the nozzle facing downward.

Then, the deodorizing liquid spouted from the nozzle is transferred to the on-off valve 41a.
The liquid is sprayed in the form of fine droplets from the spray nozzle 4 through a liquid sending pipe 42 made of a small diameter resin tube or the like that communicates with the spray nozzle 4 .

When vaporized gas (hereinafter referred to as "pressure gas j") is mixed into the deodorizing liquid flowing through the liquid sending pipe 42, this is detected and the liquid is removed from the pressure vessel 41. A sensor unit 50 is provided for detecting that the amount of deodorizing liquid is running low (details will be described later).

The opening/closing device 44 is located adjacent to the pressure vessel 41,
It is composed of a rotating lever 44a whose one end is supported by a shaft and whose middle part is connected to a push rod of an on-off valve 41a, and a solenoid 44b whose other end is connected to a plunger via a spring. By energizing the solenoid 44b and moving the plunger upward, the other end of the rotary lever 44a is pulled up and the on-off valve 41 is opened.
You can push the push rod a. Solenoid 44b
is excited by a current from a drive circuit 71 that operates in response to a control signal from a control circuit 70. Control circuit 70
The solenoid 44b is connected to the drive circuit 71 for a predetermined period of time (for example, approximately 1.5 minutes) at regular intervals (for example, 22 to 23 minutes).
5 seconds) Give a control signal for excitation. As a result, the on-off valve 41a is opened periodically for a predetermined period of time, so that the deodorizing liquid is regularly sprayed from the nozzle 4.

In addition, the reference numeral 16 in the drawing indicates a remote control device for performing operation at a position apart from the main body, and 45 indicates the pressure vessel 4.
1 is set at a predetermined position. The output of this microswitch 41 is monitored by a control circuit 70.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing the detailed configuration of the sensor unit 50. As shown in FIG. The deodorizing liquid from the pressure vessel 41 is
The liquid is supplied to the spray nozzle 4 from the liquid feed pipe 42a, via the sensor unit 50, and further from the liquid feed pipe 42b.

The sensor unit 50 includes a horizontally arranged cylindrical body 51 that is airtightly connected to the liquid sending pipes 42a and 42b. A constricted portion 52 is formed in the center of the cylindrical body 51, and a pair of electrodes 53 and 54 passing through the cylindrical body 51 are disposed in this constricted portion 52. The electrodes 53, 54 can be made of, for example, gold-plated brass rods. The base ends of the pair of electrodes 53 and 54 are fixed by a molded resin 55 that is fixed to the constricted part 52, and the molded resin 55 makes the penetration part of the electrodes 53 and 54 in the constricted part 52 airtight. The space inside the body 54 is kept airtight.

The liquid sending tubes 42a and 42b are inserted into openings 56.57 formed at both ends of the cylinder 51, and their tips are elastically clamped by O-rings 60.61 wound around spring cylinders 58 and 59, respectively. Can be attached.

In this way, the liquid feeding pipes 42a, 42b and the cylindrical body 5 are airtightly connected.

The openings 56 and 57 of the cylinder body 51 are provided with sliding cylinders 64 and 65 that are fitted into the inlets of the spring cylinders 58 and 59 to spread the spring cylinders 58 and 59. Liquid feeding pipes 42a, 4
2b and the cylinder 51, the sliding cylinder 64.6
5 to expand the spring cylinders 58 and 59, and then the liquid sending pipe 4
Insert the tips of 2a and 42b into the cylinder 51 through the opening 56.57, and open the sliding cylinder 64.65 to remove the spring cylinder 58.
Due to the spring force of ゜59, the liquid sending pipe 42 is connected to the O-ring 60.61.
What is necessary is to sandwich the tips of a and 42b.

In this way, the liquid feeding pipes 42a, 42b and the cylindrical body 51 can be connected with one touch.

In the state shown in FIG. 1 in which the cylindrical body 51 and the liquid sending pipes 42a and 42b are thus coupled, the constriction 52 of the cylindrical body 51 becomes a part of the flow path through which the deodorizing liquid passes.

A pair of electrodes 53 and 54 arranged in the constriction 52 are connected by a deodorizing liquid flowing through the constriction 52. "
In the technology previously proposed by the inventor described in ``Prior Art'', the presence or absence of the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 41 was detected based on whether or not the electrodes 53 and 54 were connected by the deodorizing liquid. However, through subsequent research, the inventor of the present invention found that when pressure gas becomes mixed into the deodorizing liquid flowing through the liquid sending pipe 42 at the end of the use of the pressure vessel 41, the electrode It was found that the electrical resistance value changes between 53 and 54. That is, since the electrical conductivities of the deodorizing liquid and the pressure gas are different, if the flow path in the constriction 52 is filled with the deodorizing liquid, the electrical resistance value between the electrodes 53 and 54 is constant; When pressurized gas enters the channel, the electrical resistance value between the electrodes 53 and 54 increases by 14 corresponding to the amount of pressurized gas. Therefore, by detecting the electrical resistance value between the electrodes 53 and 54, it is possible to detect that the deodorizing liquid is mixed with pressure gas and is flowing within the liquid sending pipe 42.
This makes it possible to detect that the amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 41 is low.

The resistance value between the electrodes 53 and 54 is detected by a detection circuit 66, and a voltage value corresponding to the resistance value is output. In this embodiment, the detection means includes the detection circuit 66 and the sensor unit 50. Electrode 53.
Since the resistance value between 54 corresponds to the amount of pressure gas in the liquid sending pipe 42, the output voltage of the detection circuit 66 naturally corresponds to the amount of pressure gas.

The output of this detection circuit 66 is given to a control circuit 70. The control circuit 70 performs level discrimination on the signal from the detection circuit 66, and when it is detected that the electrical resistance between the electrodes 53 and 54 has become higher than a predetermined value (i.e., the amount of pressure gas When the amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 41 is detected to be less than the fixed amount), it is determined that the amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 41 has become low, and the indicator light 68 is blinked to notify the user of this fact. When the electrodes 53 and 54 are open, the indicator light 68 is turned on continuously to notify that the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 41 has run out.

That is, the indicator light 68 is turned off during the period from immediately after the pressure vessel 41 starts to be used until the amount of deodorizing liquid becomes low.
When the deodorizing liquid is running low, the lamp will blink, and when the deodorizing liquid is running out, it will be lit continuously.

However, since it is necessary to monitor whether or not pressure gas is ejected from the pressure vessel 41, the control circuit 70 has a predetermined control signal immediately after deriving the control signal for exciting the solenoid 44b and spraying the deodorizing liquid. time (e.g. 10
The output signal of the detection circuit 66 is monitored only during the period (seconds), and is not monitored during the remaining period.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing measurement results of changes in the output signal of the detection circuit 66 as the deodorizing machine is used. For example, deodorizing liquid is 22
It is sprayed for about 1.5 seconds every time T of ~23 minutes, and the control circuit 70 starts spraying the detection circuit 66 for about 10 seconds immediately after that.
monitor the output of

When the remaining amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 4I is sufficiently large, the constriction 52 of the cylindrical body 51 of the sensor unit 50
is filled with deodorizing liquid. Therefore, in this state, the electrodes 53 and 54 are connected with low resistance via the deodorizing liquid, and the output signal of the detection circuit 66 at this time is stable at the level V1 shown in FIG.

As time passes after the deodorizer starts to be used, the pressure vessel 4
When the deodorizing liquid in the deodorizing liquid 62 decreases, pressure gas will be ejected from the nozzle part together with the deodorizing liquid when the on-off valve 41a is opened. Become. As a result, the resistance value between the electrodes 53 and 54 increases when the deodorizing liquid is sprayed, and as a result, the output signal of the detection circuit 66 decreases as indicated by reference symbol P1 (in the direction of increase in voltage value in Fig. 4). Note that it is taken facing downwards).

For example, when the output signal of the detection circuit 66 becomes lower than the threshold voltage vth, the control circuit 70 determines that the amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 41 is low. In this way, when more pressure gas than a predetermined amount flows into the liquid sending pipe 42, the control circuit 70 determines that the deodorizing liquid is running low. The threshold voltage vth is a value that should be determined in consideration of the detection error of the sensor unit 50 and the fact that reliable detection is difficult in the initial state when the pressure gas starts to mix with the deodorizing liquid. in this way,
By setting the threshold voltage vth and determining that the remaining amount of deodorizing liquid is very small when pressure gas exceeding a predetermined amount is detected, the influence of detection errors of the sensor unit 50 can be eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect that the remaining amount of the deodorizing liquid is small.

Considering the individual variations in sensor units 50, it is considered that the threshold voltage vth should be set approximately within the voltage value range Δ■ shown in FIG. 4.

The output signal of the detection circuit 66 exceeds the threshold voltage vth (V
th), the control circuit 70 causes the indicator light 68 to blink. Thereafter, as the deodorizing machine 8 continues to be used, the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 41 is exhausted, and after the deodorizing liquid in the liquid supply pipe 41 is also transported to the nozzle 4 by pressure gas and sprayed, the electrode 53
．． 54 is open, and the detection circuit 6 when deodorizing liquid is sprayed.
The output of 6 is stabilized at a voltage value of 2 which is higher than the threshold voltage vth.

In this state, the control circuit 70 switches the lighting state of the indicator light 68 from a blinking state to a continuous lighting state to prompt the user to replace the pressure vessel 41.

As described above, according to this embodiment, before the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 41 is completely exhausted, the user is notified that the deodorizing liquid is running low by blinking the indicator light 68. . As a result, the user only has to purchase a new pressure vessel 41 after visually confirming that the indicator light 68 is blinking. That is, if a new pressure vessel 41 is prepared when the indicator light 68 is in a blinking state, when the indicator light 68 is in a continuous lighting state and it is notified that the pressure vessel 41 is empty, , the pressure vessel 41 can be quickly replaced and the deodorizer can continue to perform the deodorizing action. Furthermore, even if you do not stock up on pressure vessels 41 in advance, if you purchase a new pressure vessel 41 only after the indicator light 68 starts flashing, you can have the deodorizer continue deodorizing operations. becomes possible.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the indicator light 68 blinks to notify that the remaining amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel 41 is low, but the display indicates that the pressure vessel 41 is empty. In addition to the light, an indicator light may be provided to indicate that the remaining amount of the deodorizing liquid is low. Further, in the above embodiment, a pair of electrodes 53 and 54 are provided in the flow path in the middle of the liquid sending pipe 42.
was arranged to detect the electrical resistance value between the electrodes 53 and 54 to detect the amount of pressure gas in the liquid feeding pipe 42. In order to detect the amount of pressure gas, teeth,
For example, other configurations such as a semiconductor gas sensor may be used, and any configuration capable of detecting the amount of geopressure gas may be applied. Further, in the above embodiments, a wall-mounted deodorizing machine was taken as an example, but the present invention can be broadly implemented in any deodorizing machine that supplies deodorizing liquid from a pressure vessel. Various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the claimed invention.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the deodorizing machine of the present invention, before the deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel runs out, it is notified that the remaining amount of the deodorizing liquid has decreased. Therefore, by preparing a new pressure vessel after this notification, the user can immediately replace the pressure vessel after the pressure vessel loaded in the deodorizer is emptied, and restart the deodorizing operation by the deodorizer. You can continue to do so.

Furthermore, there is no need to stock up on new pressure vessels in advance, unlike in the case of the technique previously proposed by the present inventor described in the "Prior Art" section.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing the configuration of the main parts of a deodorizing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the deodorizing machine, and FIG. 3 is an electrical FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the general structure of the present invention, and is a diagram showing changes over time in the output signal of the detection circuit 66.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A spray nozzle (4) for spraying the deodorizing liquid and a pressure vessel (41) filled with liquefied gas together with the deodorizing liquid are connected via a liquid sending pipe (42). In the deodorizing machine, the deodorizing liquid is sprayed from the spray nozzle (4) by the pressure of the liquefied gas, in which the vaporized liquefied gas is Detection means (50, 66) for detecting the amount
and means for notifying that the remaining amount of deodorizing liquid in the pressure vessel is low when the detection means (50, 66) detects that the vaporized liquefied gas is greater than a predetermined amount. (68, 70) A deodorizing machine characterized by comprising: