JPH11276563A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner which is most appropriate, especially for circumstances at a low temperature, e.g. in a freezer and the like, equiped with deodorant and anti-bacterium function, has high performance and is compact. SOLUTION: In this air cleaner, photocatalyst parts 6 and 7, which surround straight pipe-shaped light sources 4 and 5 and are excited by the light emitted from light sources 4 and 5, are arranged cylindrically, or, as in a shape of rectangular parallelepiped, preferably. At least a part of cylindrical photocatalyst, or, preferably, two sides of the rectangular parallelepiped that do not contact each other should be permeable. It is preferable for the air cleaner to have fan 8 which blows on at least one part of the photocatalyst parts 6 and 7, and, if necessary, cleans the air in cooperation with the ozones generated in the air cleaner. Thus, as the fan can adjust the amount of the blowing air according to the ability of the photocatalyst, it is possible to clean air at its maximum efficiency.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air purifying apparatus having a deodorizing and antibacterial function, which is used for deodorizing odors in various containers such as refrigerators and refrigerated containers, homes, business offices, and passenger compartments and in buildings. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The components of malodor such as food odor, tobacco odor, pet odor, and toilet odor are various, and typical ones are ammonia, amines, nitrogen compounds such as indole and skatole, hydrogen sulfide, There are sulfur compounds such as methyl mercaptan, methyl sulfide, methyl disulfide and dimethyl disulfide, aldehydes such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, ketones such as acetone, and alcohols such as methanol and ethanol.

Heretofore, as a method of deodorizing such malodor, a method of chemically reacting a malodorous substance with a medicine, a method of masking a malodorous substance with an aromatic agent, and adsorption of a malodorous substance by an adsorbent such as activated carbon and zeolite have been proposed. There has been a method or a method of combining these methods. Although various such deodorizing methods have been used, it is almost impossible to regenerate both the drug and the fragrance after reacting with the malodorous substance. Also, in the case of an adsorbent, when the adsorption capacity is saturated, the deodorizing performance is significantly reduced. Therefore, any replacement must be periodically replaced with a new one.

Therefore, a deodorizing apparatus has been developed which uses a photocatalyst and a lamp to perform a deodorizing function. The photocatalyst is a substance that converts light energy into chemical energy, and is specifically a semiconductor made of a metal oxide such as tungsten oxide, titanium oxide, yttrium oxide, zinc oxide, or a mixture thereof.

[0005] In this deodorizing device, a photocatalyst is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from a lamp to activate the photocatalyst with the light energy, thereby promoting an oxidation reaction and converting a malodorous substance into an odorless substance. When the photocatalyst is excited by the ultraviolet radiation, attacking the oxygen electrons from the photocatalyst is adsorbed on the surface popping O ₂ ^-
And the holes attack the moisture in the air to form OH
Radicals are generated, and the oxidation reaction of malodorous substances is promoted by these active species, and various malodorous substances, specifically, water,
It is finally decomposed to odorless substances such as carbon dioxide.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an air purifying apparatus having a deodorizing and antibacterial function, which is characterized by exhibiting high performance in spite of its compact shape. An object of the present invention is to provide an air purifying device that is optimal for use in a low-temperature environment such as a refrigerator.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The present inventors have made intensive studies to solve the above problems, and as a result, have reached the present invention.

(1) A photocatalyst member which is encircled on all sides around a straight tube type light source and which is excited by receiving a light beam emitted from the light source is disposed in a cylindrical shape, and at least a part of the cylindrical photocatalytic member is provided. Is an air purifier characterized by having air permeability.

(2) In the above invention (1), the photocatalyst member is in the form of a cylinder formed by the side surfaces of a rectangular parallelepiped, and two non-adjacent surfaces of the rectangular parallelepiped cylindrical photocatalyst member have air permeability. Air purifier.

(3) In the above invention (1) or (2), at least two of the cylindrical photocatalyst members which have two or more straight tube light sources and surround four sides of the light sources are provided. An air purifying apparatus, wherein a part is shared, and at least a part of the shared part has air permeability.

(4) An air purifying apparatus according to the invention (1), (2) or (3), further comprising a blower, wherein the air is passed through a portion of the photocatalytic member having air permeability.

(5) The above inventions (1), (2) and (3)
Or in (4), the ratio (A / B) of the excitation light intensity (A) of the light source at a temperature of 5 ° C. to the excitation light intensity (B) at a temperature of 20 ° C. is 0.65 or more. An air purifier characterized by the above.

(6) The above inventions (1), (2),
(3) The air purifier according to (4) or (5), wherein the light source emits, in addition to the light beam for exciting the photocatalyst, ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less for generating ozone in air.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an air purifying apparatus having a deodorizing and antibacterial function, and in particular, despite its compact shape.
It is characterized by exhibiting high performance and further provides an air purifying device which is optimal for use in a low temperature environment such as a refrigerator.

In the air purifying apparatus of the present invention, a photocatalyst member which is encircled around a straight tube type light source and which is excited by receiving light emitted from the light source is disposed in a cylindrical shape. Is characterized in that at least a part of the air-permeable member is air-permeable, preferably the photocatalyst member is a cylindrical shape consisting of a rectangular parallelepiped side surface, and two non-adjacent surfaces of the rectangular parallelepiped cylindrical photocatalyst member have air-permeability. Characteristic, and 2
When having at least two straight tube light sources, at least two of the cylindrical photocatalyst members surrounding the four sides of the light source share a part thereof, and at least a part of the shared part has air permeability. It is preferable to have

The photocatalyst according to the present invention is 0.5 to 5 e
V, preferably a photoreactive semiconductor that provides a photocatalytic reaction with a band gap of 1-4 eV. Examples of such a photocatalyst according to the present invention include metal oxide particles such as zinc oxide, tungsten oxide, titanium oxide, and cerium oxide. In particular, titanium oxide has structural stability and photoreactive harmful substance removal. The photocatalyst according to the present invention is most suitable for use in a living space because of its performance and safety in handling, and is advantageously used as a photocatalyst according to the present invention.

The photocatalyst member according to the present invention is preferably a member carrying a photocatalyst or a member comprising a photocatalyst, which contains an adsorbent such as activated carbon and zeolite in addition to the photocatalyst. It is preferably a member made of a sheet.

As a specific shape of the photocatalyst member having air permeability according to the present invention, a porous material such as a honeycomb shape, a corrugated shape, and a foam shape can be exemplified.

The cylindrical shape of the cylindrical photocatalyst member according to the present invention means the arrangement of the photocatalyst, and the cylindrical photocatalyst member does not need to be an integral cylindrical body. For example, in the case of a rectangular parallelepiped cylindrical photocatalyst member, it may be constituted by four independent photocatalyst members.

The air purifying apparatus of the present invention is capable of ventilating the air-permeable portion of the photocatalyst member in order to increase the chance of harmful substances such as odorous substances and bacteria coming into contact with the photocatalyst to enhance the effect. It is preferable to have a blower.

The ratio (A / B) of the excitation light intensity (A) of the light source used at the air temperature of 5 ° C. to the excitation light intensity (B) at the air temperature of 20 ° C. of the light source used in the air cleaning apparatus of the present invention is 0. 0.65 or more, and is suitable for use in a low-temperature environment such as in a refrigerator. If the above ratio (A / B) is less than 0.65, sufficient deodorizing effect cannot be obtained due to insufficient excitation light in a low temperature environment such as in a refrigerator.

A specific example of the light source according to the present invention wherein the ratio (A / B) of the excitation light intensity (A) at a temperature of 5 ° C. to the excitation light intensity (B) at a temperature of 20 ° C. is 0.65 or more. As
Cold cathode tubes, hot cold cathode tubes, semi-hot tubes and the like can be mentioned. In general, a cold cathode tube, a semi-hot tube, and the like are particularly preferable because a normal cold cathode tube may cause discharge failure in a low temperature environment.

In the air purifying apparatus of the present invention, the light source preferably emits ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less for generating ozone in the air, in addition to the light beam for exciting the photocatalyst,
Deodorization and antibacterial action by both ozone and photocatalyst and high antibacterial action by disinfection line are exhibited. Furthermore, ozone generated in the device is deodorized and detoxified by the action of a photocatalyst in the device after locally deodorizing and exerting an antibacterial action in the device, thereby preventing harmful ozone from leaking out of the device. It becomes possible.

The air purifying apparatus of the present invention has a blower,
In the case where two or more straight tube light sources are provided, the light source located on the windward side has a wavelength of 20 to generate ozone in the air.
Ozone can be adjusted so that ozone does not leak out of the apparatus by appropriately combining a light source that emits ultraviolet light of 0 nm or less and a light source located on the lee side that does not emit ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 200 nm or less.

The air purifying apparatus of the present invention may incorporate a deodorizing member using an adsorbent such as activated carbon or a dust removing component such as a dust removing filter and a dust collecting electrode unit, and is particularly more windward than a photocatalyst or an excitation light source. It is preferably installed in

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, an air purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a casing 3 provided with an intake port 1 and an exhaust port 2, and a straight-tube ultraviolet lamp incorporated in the casing 3. 4 and 5, a photocatalyst member 6 and a gas-permeable photocatalyst member 7 arranged in a rectangular parallelepiped cylindrical shape so as to surround the four sides of each of the two ultraviolet lamps 4 and 5, and provided downstream of the photocatalyst member. It comprises a blower 8 composed of a cross flow fan, an adsorption / deodorization member 9 carrying activated carbon provided on the windward side of the photocatalyst member, and a dust filter 10 provided outside the intake port 1.

A photocatalyst member 6, which is arranged in a rectangular parallelepiped cylindrical shape so as to surround four sides around each of the two ultraviolet lamps 4, 5, is a fibrous sheet containing titanium oxide as a photocatalyst and an inorganic adsorbent as a carrier. (Radit photocatalyst sheet, trade name, manufactured by Mitsubishi Paper Mills) is formed into a corrugated sheet, and the photocatalyst member 7 having air permeability is a corrugated molded product of the above-mentioned fibrous sheet (trade name: Radit Photocatalyst Corrugate, Mitsubishi Paper Mills) Made).

By arranging the photocatalyst members around the straight tube-type ultraviolet lamps 4 and 5 so as to surround the four sides, the photocatalyst receives the photocatalyst excitation light emitted from the ultraviolet lamp without leaving any excess, so that the light energy can be efficiently used. It can often be converted to oxidative decomposition to remove odorous substances and harmful substances such as bacteria.

In particular, the photocatalyst member 7 is arranged in a rectangular parallelepiped cylindrical shape, and the two non-adjacent surfaces are provided with a gas permeable photocatalyst member 7.
By performing the treatment while passing air containing harmful substances such as odorous substances and bacteria through the photocatalytic member, removal of harmful substances such as deodorization and sterilization can be achieved with high ventilation efficiency.

Further, the cylindrical photocatalyst member around the ultraviolet lamp 4 and the cylindrical photocatalyst member around the ultraviolet lamp 5 share a part thereof, and the three air-permeable photocatalyst members 7 shown in FIGS. Among them, the one located at the center corresponds to this shared part. By sharing a part of the photocatalyst member in this way, it is possible to finish the air purifying device compactly while mounting a plurality of light sources. In addition, since the photocatalyst member of the above-mentioned common portion receives light from at least two or more light sources, in order to increase the photocatalyst so that the photocatalyst excitation light can be sufficiently used, for example, a porous material such as a corrugate or the like having an increased thickness is used. If so, adjustments such as making the eyes finer may be made.

The air purifying apparatus of the present invention purifies the air while ventilating at least a part of the photocatalyst member. The air purifying apparatus may be ventilated inside the apparatus by utilizing an airflow generated outside the apparatus. It is preferable to have the blower 8 like the air purifying apparatus of the embodiment, and the air volume can be adjusted according to the capacity of the photocatalyst, so that the air can be cleaned at the maximum efficiency.

[0033]

Reference Example Next, when the two ultraviolet lamps 4 and 5 of the air purifying apparatus of the embodiment were changed to three different types of lamps and the adsorption / deodorization member 9 was removed, the air temperature
The ratio (A / B) of the UV intensity (A) at 20 ° C. to the UV intensity (B) at 20 ° C., and the deodorizing performance in an environment of 5 ° C. (acetaldehyde removal rate:% / min) )
Was measured, and the results are shown in Table 1.

[0034]

[Table 1]

From the results shown in Table 1, in order to ensure sufficient deodorizing performance in a low temperature environment such as a refrigerator, the excitation light intensity (A) of the light source at a temperature of 5 ° C. and the excitation light at a temperature of 20 ° C. It is understood that the ratio (A / B) to the strength (B) is preferably 0.65 or more.

In the air cleaning apparatus of the embodiment, the ultraviolet lamp 4 located on the windward side is a germicidal lamp emitting ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less for generating ozone in the air, and the ultraviolet lamp 5 located on the leeward side is a black light. After doing
Oxidative decomposition by ozone was added to the action of the photocatalyst, and a more excellent deodorizing effect was obtained. Furthermore, since the generated ozone is decomposed by the reducing action of the photocatalyst, the air discharged outside the apparatus has been rendered harmless.

In order to decompose excess ozone and render it harmless by the reducing action of the photocatalyst, the direction of ventilation may be important. Further, since the place where ozone is mainly present is limited to the inside of the air purifying apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to adjust the flow rate of the passing air so that the decomposed substance and the ozone can sufficiently contact each other. Therefore, the air purifying apparatus of the present invention preferably has a blower, and the direction of ventilation can be fixed by the blower, and the air volume can be adjusted, so that the above two problems are reliably achieved.

[0038]

According to the present invention, the photocatalyst member, which surrounds the periphery of the straight tube light source and is excited by receiving the light emitted from the light source, is arranged in a tubular shape, preferably a rectangular parallelepiped tubular shape. An air purifying apparatus characterized in that at least a part of the cylindrical photocatalyst member, preferably two non-adjacent surfaces of the rectangular parallelepiped cylindrical photocatalyst member have air permeability, the light energy can be efficiently converted to odorous substances, bacteria, etc. Harmful substances such as deodorization and sterilization can be achieved with high ventilation efficiency by converting the oxidative decomposition action to oxidative decomposition for removing harmful substances and treating while aerating the photocatalytic member. . In particular, when the air purifying apparatus of the present invention has two or more straight tube light sources, at least two of the cylindrical photocatalyst members surrounding four sides of the light source share a part thereof. In addition, it is preferable that at least a part of the common part has air permeability, and by sharing a part of the photocatalyst member, it is possible to finish the device compactly while mounting a plurality of light sources.

Further, the air purifying apparatus of the present invention preferably has a blower, and performs air purifying by using together with ozone generated in the apparatus as necessary while ventilating at least a part of the photocatalyst member. Therefore, the air volume can be adjusted by the blower in accordance with the capacity of the photocatalyst, so that the air can be cleaned with the maximum efficiency.

The air purifying apparatus of the present invention has a light source temperature of 5.
The ratio (A / B) of the excitation light intensity (A) at ℃ to the excitation light intensity (B) at a temperature of 20 ° C. is preferably 0.65 or more. Sufficient deodorizing performance can be ensured in a low-temperature environment such as a refrigerator.

The air purifying apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the light source emits ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less for generating ozone in air, if necessary, in addition to the light beam for exciting the photocatalyst. The oxidative decomposition effect of ozone is added to this, and a more excellent deodorizing effect is obtained. Furthermore, the generated ozone is decomposed by the reducing action of the photocatalyst,
Air discharged outside the device is rendered harmless.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing one embodiment of an air cleaning device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view showing one embodiment of the air cleaning device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Intake port 2 Exhaust port 3 Casing 4 Straight-tube ultraviolet lamp 5 Straight-tube ultraviolet lamp 6 Photocatalytic member 7 Photocatalytic member having air permeability 8 Blower 9 Adsorption and deodorization member 10 Dust removal filter

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI B01D 46/10 B01D 46/10 Z 53/38 B01J 35/02 J 53/74 C01B 13/10 D 53/86 B01D 53/34 116F B01J 35/02 53/36 H C01B 13/10 J

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A photocatalyst member which is encircled around a straight tube type light source and is excited by receiving a light beam emitted from the light source is arranged in a cylindrical shape, and at least a part of the cylindrical photocatalytic member is air permeable. An air cleaning device comprising: 2. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the photocatalyst member has a cylindrical shape formed of a side surface of a rectangular parallelepiped, and two non-adjacent surfaces of the rectangular parallelepiped cylindrical photocatalyst member have air permeability. Device. 3. A cylindrical photocatalyst member having two or more straight tube light sources and surrounding at least four sides of the light source.
The air purifier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the parts share a part thereof, and at least a part of the shared part has air permeability. 4. The air purifying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a blower, wherein the air is passed through a portion of the photocatalytic member having air permeability. 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the ratio (A / B) of the intensity (A) of the excitation light at a temperature of 5 ° C. to the intensity of the excitation light (B) at a temperature of 20 ° C. is 0.65 or more. The air purifying device according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein 6. The light source according to claim 1, wherein the light source emits ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 200 nm or less for generating ozone in air, in addition to the light beam for exciting the photocatalyst.
Or the air purifier according to 5.