JPH09150077A - Air purifying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To chieve thickness reduction and miniaturization. SOLUTION: A discharge electrode 11, an ionizer part 16 equipped with a plurality of opposed electrodes 13 arranged on both sides of the discharge electrode 11 in apposed relationship, a dust collection part 21 attracting ions or ionized dust by coulomb force and a float electrode 18 applying voltage to the electrode 17 on the high voltage side of the dust collection part 21 are provided and the float electrode 18 is arranged in the size corresponding to a part of the ionizer part 16 opposed to the dust collection part 21. By this constitution, an air purifier can miniaturized and thinned.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle or household air cleaner, and more particularly to an electric dust collector type air cleaner for collecting dust by charging dust.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, heater and ventilated
An air conditioner type air cleaner has a charging part (ionizer part) that charges dust particles entering the upstream side of the air flow path by corona discharge to clean the air. It is known that a dust collecting portion (collector) for collecting particles by electrostatic force is arranged on the downstream side.

For example, FIG. 8 shows Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-270.
The air purifier is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 744. The air purifier includes an ionizer unit 100 that charges dust and molecules, and a dust collecting unit 120 that electrically sucks and collects charged dust and the like.
Then, the dust or the like passing therethrough is cationized by the discharge, and the cationized dust is attracted and captured by the electric Coulomb attraction by the negative electrode arranged on the downstream side.

In such an air purifier, ions generated in the counter electrodes 110, 110 constituting the ionizer section 100 and charged dust are moved to the dust collecting section 120 by Coulomb attraction, so that air is generated. Ion wind is generated.

[0005]

By the way, in this type of so-called auto-bias type air cleaner, the dust collecting section 12 is used.
The voltage is applied to 0 by supplying the discharge energy of the ionizer unit 100 to the metal part called the float electrode 130.

In this type of air cleaner, by applying, for example, 5 KV from the high-voltage power supply 150 to the counter electrode 110, the float electrode 130 is discharged to, for example, 2 KV.
KV is given.

However, in the conventional air cleaner, since the ionizer section 100, the float electrode 130, and the dust collecting section 120 are arranged in this order, the distance t between the counter electrode 110 and the dust collecting section 120 can be reduced. Can not. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the thickness and size of the air purifier and to reduce the cost.

An object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier capable of reducing the thickness or size of the device.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a discharge electrode, and a plurality of opposed electrodes arranged on opposite sides of the discharge electrode to generate ions. An ionizer unit including an electrode, a dust collecting unit that attracts ions or ionized dust by Coulomb attraction, and a float electrode that applies a voltage to an electrode on the high voltage side of the dust collecting unit are provided. It is arranged so as to face a part of the ionizer section. According to the present invention, since the float electrode has a size corresponding to a partial region of the ionizer portion, cost reduction can be achieved by downsizing the float electrode, and the air purifier can be downsized, thinned, and lightened. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the air cleaner according to the first aspect, the float electrode is a partial region of 1/20 to 1/2 of the area of the ionizer portion corresponding to the dust collecting portion. It is arranged and configured. According to the present invention, if the float electrode is arranged in a partial region of 1/20 to 1/2 of the area of the ionizer portion, the voltage value applied to the dust collecting portion can be reduced even if the float electrode is downsized. It does not need to be lowered, and the dust collection capacity of the dust collection part can be maintained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the air cleaner according to the first aspect, the float electrode is arranged at a portion where the flow velocity of air is low. According to the present invention, since the float electrode is located in the portion where the flow velocity of air is low, it does not hinder the flow of air in the air duct.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the air cleaner according to the first aspect, the float electrode is arranged in the counter electrode of the ionizer section and faces the discharge electrode. According to this invention, since the float electrode is arranged in the counter electrode of the ionizer section and faces the discharge electrode, the distance between the ionizer section and the dust collecting section can be further reduced, and the air cleaner Can be made smaller, thinner, and lighter.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 show an example in which the air purifier of the present invention is applied to an air purifier for automobiles. 1 and 2
In the air purifier 1, the intake door switching device 3 is provided on the most upstream side of the air duct 2. The intake door switching device 3 includes an inside air inlet 4 and an outside air inlet 5.
The intake door 6 is arranged in the part where the is divided.
By operating the intake door 6 with an actuator, the air introduced into the blower duct 2 can be selected from inside air and outside air. In other words, intake door 6
When the outside air inlet 5 is opened by switching from the position indicated by the solid line to the position indicated by the broken line, the outside air can be introduced into the blower duct as indicated by the arrow X while the vehicle is running.

The blower 7, which is a blower, includes a blower duct 2
Air is sucked into the inside and blown to the air cleaner 30 on the downstream side. The air cleaner 30 is provided on the downstream side of the blower 7.
An evaporator 9 is provided.

Although not shown, the downstream side of the blower duct 2 is divided into, for example, a defrost outlet, a vent outlet, and a heat outlet, each opening into the vehicle compartment, and a mode door is provided at each of the divided portions.
By operating the mode door with an actuator or manually, a desired blowing mode can be obtained.

A prefilter (not shown) for removing coarse dust and dirt mixed in the air is provided on the downstream side of the blower 7. An air cleaner 30 is arranged between the prefilter and the evaporator 9.

The air cleaner 30 has an ionizer section (charging section) 16, a dust collecting section 21, and a deodorizing activated carbon filter (not shown).

FIG. 2 shows the ionizer section 16, the float electrode 18, the dust collecting section 21, and the high-voltage power supply 40 in detail.

In FIG. 2, the ionizer section 16 is
It is provided with a plurality of discharge electrodes 11 and a plurality of counter electrodes 13 and 13a alternately arranged so as to face each discharge electrode 11. Each set of discharge electrode 11 and counter electrodes 13, 13a
Discharges the dust particles passing between them by electric discharge. The discharge electrode 11 and the counter electrodes 13 and 13a of the ionizer portion 16 are connected to a high voltage power supply 40 via an overcurrent breaker (not shown). The high-voltage power supply 40 is connected to a power supply of an automobile, for example, a 12V power supply (or a 24V power supply in the case of a large vehicle) via a power supply input circuit.

In the dust collecting portion 21, the collector plate electrode 17 which is the high voltage side electrode and the collector plate electrode 19 which is the low voltage side (earth side) electrode are opposed to each other. The dust collecting section 21 absorbs dust, particles and the like charged in the ionizer section 16 by electric attraction (Coulomb attraction) to collect dust and clean the air.

The ionizer portion 16 imparts electric charges to passing dust and particles by corona discharge, and in the embodiment of the present invention, positive charges are imparted. The discharge electrode 11 is formed by arranging a wire made of a material such as tungsten, and the plurality of discharge electrodes 11 are the counter electrodes 13.
It is located between.

Each counter electrode 13 is formed in a plate shape and is provided so as to face the discharge electrode 11.

In the discharge electrode 11, cations are generated, and the cations are added to molecules in the air passing therethrough to be ionized, or dust or the like is ionized. At this time, the discharge electrode 11 ionizes oxygen in the air to generate ozone.

As shown in FIG. 2, a part of the counter electrode 13a of the ionizer portion 16 has a short length along the air flow direction, and the recess 3 is formed in a part of the ionizer portion 16.
3 are formed. A small float electrode 18 is arranged in the recess 33. The plate electrode 18 is, for example, punching metal.

Since the float electrode 18 is disposed in the recess 33, the rear portion of the ionizer portion 16 and the dust collecting portion 21 with respect to the direction of air flow in the air duct 2.
The interval T of the front portion of the air cleaner can be reduced, and the air cleaner can be made thinner and smaller. 3 shows the ionizer section 16
Area portion S1 perpendicular to the direction of air flow, and the recess 33
The comparative example of the area portion S2 of the float electrode 18 arranged in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows an experimental example showing the relationship between the area size of the float electrode 18 and the generated voltage generated in the dust collecting portion 21. In the figure, the dust collecting portion 2 for the area S2 of the float electrode 18 according to the embodiment of the present invention is based on the area (0.044 m ² ) of the float electrode of the conventional example.
The generated voltage of 1 is shown.

For example, when the area S2 of the float electrode 18 of the embodiment of the present invention is 1/2 (0.022 m ² ) of the area of the float electrode of the conventional example, the dust collecting portion 21 The generated voltage generated is 2.1 [kV], which is the same as the generated voltage 2.1 KV in the dust collecting unit of the conventional example. When the area S2 of the float electrode 18 is 1/20 of the area of the conventional float electrode,
The generated voltage generated in the dust collector 21 is 2.0 KV, which is almost the same as the generated voltage 2.1 [kV] in the conventional dust collector.

As a result, the area ratio S2 / S1 between the area portion S2 and the area portion S1 is preferably 1/20 to 1/2 as shown in the experimental example of FIG. If the area ratio is smaller than 1/20, it becomes difficult to maintain the generated voltage in the dust collecting part 21 at a predetermined value. If the area ratio is larger than 1/2, the plate electrode 18 cannot be downsized and cost reduction is difficult.

The float electrode 18 is preferably arranged in the ionizer section 16 at the location WP in FIG. 1 where the flow velocity of air is the smallest (the flow of air is the smallest).
By doing so, it is possible to prevent the flow of air in the blower duct 2 from being obstructed and to reduce clogging of dust and the like in the float electrode.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment of the present invention will be described.

When the driver turns on the A / C switch to activate the air purifier 30 shown in FIG. 1, the blower 7 is activated.
Accordingly, when the intake door 6 is at the position shown by the solid line and the inside air inlet 4 is connected to the blower duct 2, the air inside the vehicle is blown into the blower duct 2 by the blower 7.

When the blower 7 is operating while the vehicle is operating, the control unit gives a command to the high-voltage power supply 40 of the air purifier 30 to apply a high voltage to the ionizer unit 16 of the air purifier 30. give. As a result, the dust particles of the air sent in pass through between the plurality of discharge electrodes 18 and the plurality of counter electrodes 19 of the ionizer section 16 and are charged by corona discharge, and the charged dust particles are collected by the dust collecting section 21. Dust is collected. Furthermore, the air is cleaned through an activated carbon filter. The purified air passes through the evaporator 9 and the temperature of the air is controlled, and the purified air is divided into a defrost outlet, a vent outlet, and a heat outlet and blows into the vehicle.

Unlike the prior art, in the present embodiment, since the float electrode is positioned so as to be incorporated in the ionizer portion 15, the air purifier can be made smaller, thinner, and lighter, and the float can be made. Since the area of the electrode 18 itself is small, the cost can be reduced and the resistance of the air flow in the air duct 2 can be reduced.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 will be described.

The difference between the embodiment of FIG. 5 and the embodiment of FIG. 2 is that the float electrode 18 has a discharge receiving portion 18a for receiving the discharge from the discharge electrode 11. The discharge receiving portion 18a faces the discharge electrode 11 and is separated by a required distance.

Further, the difference between the embodiment of FIG. 6 and the embodiment of FIG. 2 is that the length of a part of the counter electrode 13b of the ionizer portion 16 along the air flow direction is short. A concave portion 63 is formed on the front side (upstream side of the air flow) of the ionizer portion 16. The float electrode 108 is arranged in the recess 63.

Further, the difference between the embodiment of FIG. 7 and the embodiment of FIG. 2 is that the float electrode 18f is the counter electrode 1
It is arranged between the electrodes 3 and 13 and faces the discharge electrode 11 at a predetermined distance. By doing so, the distance between the ionizer portion 16 and the dust collecting portion 21 can be reduced.

In other respects, the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7 is the same as the embodiment of FIG. 2, so the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof is omitted.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the air purifier of the present invention is
Not only for vehicles but also for ships or households.

[0041]

According to the invention of claim 1, since the float electrode has a size corresponding to a partial region of the ionizer portion, the float electrode can be downsized to reduce the cost.
The size, thickness, weight and cost of the air purifier can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, if the float electrode is arranged in a partial region of 1/20 to 1/2 of the area of the ionizer portion, the dust electrode is provided in the dust collecting portion even if the float electrode is downsized. It is not necessary to lower the applied voltage value. Therefore, even if the float electrode is downsized, the dust collecting capability of the dust collecting portion can be maintained.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the float electrode is located in the portion where the flow velocity of air is small, it does not hinder the flow of air in the air duct.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the float electrode is arranged in the counter electrode of the ionizer section and faces the discharge electrode, the distance between the ionizer section and the dust collecting section should be further reduced. As a result, the air cleaner can be made smaller, thinner and lighter.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an air cleaner for a vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing an air cleaner of the air cleaner shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a comparative example of an area portion of an ionizer portion and an area portion of a float electrode.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the size of the area of the float electrode and the voltage.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a conventional air cleaner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Discharge electrode 13, 13a, 13b Counter electrode 15 Ionizer part 18, 18f Float electrode 21 Dust collecting part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An ionizer section comprising a discharge electrode and a plurality of counter electrodes arranged opposite to each other to generate ions, and a collector for attracting ions or ionized dust by Coulomb attraction. A dust part and a float electrode for applying a voltage to the high-voltage side electrode of the dust collecting part;
An air purifying device, comprising: the float electrode and a size that faces the part of the ionizer. 2. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the float electrode is arranged in a partial region of 1/20 to 1/2 of the area of the ionizer portion corresponding to the dust collecting portion. A characteristic air purifier. 3. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the float electrode is arranged at a portion where the flow velocity of air is low. 4. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the float electrode is arranged in the counter electrode of the ionizer section and faces the discharge electrode.