JPH11319631A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sterilize a filter at the upstream side of a corona discharge electrode at a lower cost, and also to prevent discharge of ozone outside the device at a reopening time of an air cleaner. SOLUTION: This air cleaner is provided with a device main body 11 having a sucking port 14 and a discharge port, a dust collection filter 16 provided on a sucking port side of the device main body, a gas treatment functional material 17 provided on a discharge port side of the device main body and deodorizing a malodorous component in approximately parallel with the dust collection filter and also decomposing the ozone, a corona discharge electrode 21, for deodorizing the malodorous component, arranged in a wind passage 20 formed between the dust collection filter 16 and the gas treatment functional material 17 in the device main body 11, and a blast fan 22 provided at the discharge port side nearer than the gas treatment functional material 17 in the device main body 11. The corona discharge electrode 21 is arranged such that ionic wind is blown toward the dust collection filter 16 side, and the corona discharge electrode 21 is constituted to be energized for a specific time after a stop of the blast fan 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air purifier, and more particularly to an air cleaner utilizing corona discharge for decomposing odor components.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional air purifier with a sterilizing function disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-243432. In the drawing, 1 is a casing, 2 is an air inlet provided in the casing 1, 3 is a pre-filter provided on the side of the air inlet 2 in the casing 1, 4 is a pre-filter 3 in the casing 1 An ionizer / ozonizer 5 comprising a corona discharge electrode provided on the downstream side, a dust collecting electrode 5 provided downstream of the ionizer / ozonizer 4 in the casing 1, and a dust collecting electrode 5 provided in the casing 1.
An ozone decomposition catalyst provided further downstream, 7 is a blower fan provided downstream of the ozone decomposition catalyst 6 in the casing 1, 8 is a shutter provided in the casing 1 and opens and closes the air intake port 2, and 9 is a shutter. This is a shutter driving device.

Next, the operation of a conventional air purifier with a sterilizing function will be described. First, when the air introduced into the casing 1 from the air suction port 2 by the blower fan 7 passes through the pre-filter 3, large dust and the like are removed. Next, when passing through the ionizer / ozonizer 4, fine dust and tobacco smoke are subjected to a charging action, and ozone is generated here. Charged fine dust,
Tobacco smoke and the like are adsorbed and removed by the dust collecting electrode 5 having the opposite polarity. Odor components in the air react with ozone generated from the ionizer / ozonizer 4 in the air to be deodorized. Ozone remaining in the deodorized air is decomposed by the ozone decomposition catalyst 6. Part of the odor component is adsorbed on the surface of the ozone decomposition catalyst 5, where it reacts with oxygen atoms generated when ozone is decomposed and is deodorized.

[0004] As described above, the ozonolysis catalyst 6 is a gas processing material having not only ozonolysis but also a deodorizing action.
Next, the sterilizing operation of the prefilter-3 will be described. After stopping the air cleaning operation, the shutter driving device 9 operates,
The shutter 8 moves to close the air inlet 2. Further, the pre-filter 3 is sterilized by rotating the blower fan 7 in the reverse direction and applying ozone generated by the ionizer / ozonizer 4 to the pre-filter 3.

[0005]

In the conventional air purifier constructed as described above, in order to apply ozone generated by the ionizer / ozonizer 4 to the pre-filter 3, the air fan 7 is stopped after the air cleaning operation is stopped. It is necessary to reversely rotate the motor, and there is a problem that an inexpensive induction motor cannot be used. When the air cleaning operation is restarted, the blower fan 7 is started at a high speed as usual, so that high-concentration ozone passes through the ozone decomposition catalyst 6 at a high flow rate. There is also a problem that the processing capacity is exceeded, the ozone is not completely decomposed, and ozone harmful to the human body is discharged outside the apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can sterilize a filter on the upstream side of a corona discharge electrode at a lower cost. An object of the present invention is to obtain an air purifier that can prevent ozone from being discharged outside the apparatus.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air purifier having an apparatus main body having an intake port and an exhaust port, a dust collecting filter provided on an intake port side of the apparatus main body, and an apparatus main body. The gas treatment functional material that is provided on the exhaust port side of the gas turbine and is substantially parallel to the dust collection filter, deodorizes odor components, and decomposes ozone, and is formed between the dust collection filter and the gas treatment functional material in the device body. A corona discharge electrode disposed in the air passage for deodorizing odor components, and a blower fan provided on the exhaust port side of the gas processing functional material in the apparatus main body, and the corona discharge electrode collects ionic wind. The corona discharge electrode is disposed so as to blow toward the dust filter, and is energized for a predetermined time after the blower fan is stopped.

The air purifier according to claim 2 of the present invention is configured such that a voltage obtained by adding a pulsed high voltage to a direct current high voltage is applied to the corona discharge electrode.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the air purifier, the blower fan is started at a low rotation level when the operation is restarted after stopping, and is shifted to a high rotation level after rotating for a predetermined time.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a main part of an air purifier according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a box-shaped apparatus main body having an exhaust port 12 on the side rear side, 13 denotes a suction panel detachably attached to the apparatus main body 11 and has an intake port 14, and 15 denotes an intake port 14 of the suction panel 13. Reference numeral 16 denotes a dust filter provided on the suction panel 13 and pleated with a glass fiber filter provided substantially on the entire device body 11 side from the prefilter 15 to the suction panel 13.

Numerals 17 are attached to mounting plates 18 projecting inward from the exhaust port side of the apparatus main body 11, respectively.
A gas treatment functional material composed of an adsorbent such as activated carbon and an ozone decomposition catalyst in parallel with the dust collecting filter 16, and 19 is a device main body 11
Inside, a partition is provided between the dust collecting filter 16 and the gas processing functional material 17 so that the air passing through the dust collecting filter 16 is diverted to the end face side in the apparatus main body 11 and flows to the gas processing functional material 17. Reference numeral 20 denotes an air passage formed between the dust collecting filter 16 and the gas processing functional material 17 in the apparatus main body 11.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a corona discharge electrode disposed in the air passage 20 for deodorizing odor components, and includes a discharge line 21a and a counter electrode 21.
b. And the corona discharge electrode 2
The first discharge wire 21a is shifted from the counter electrode 21b so that the ion wind blows to the left electrode portion in FIG. Here, the ion wind is a wind generated by simultaneously pushing surrounding air when ions generated around the discharge wire 21a move toward the counter electrode 21b due to Coulomb force. The corona discharge electrode 21 is connected to the air passage 20.
The longitudinal direction of the electrode 21 is perpendicular to the flow of the wind, and the electrode 21 is disposed at a distance L where the fire does not burn from the gas processing functional material 17. And the part in which the corona discharge electrode 21 is arrange | positioned among the wind paths 20 becomes a reaction chamber.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a gas processing functional material 1 in the apparatus main body 11.
7, an opening provided at the center of the partition plate 19 except for a portion covering the corona discharge electrode 21; 25 is attached to the opening 24;
This is a gas processing functional material maintenance door that allows the opening 24 to be freely opened and closed. This gas treatment functional material maintenance door 25 has a hinge 2 at the bottom.
5a, a hook (not shown) is provided on the upper part of the apparatus main body 11, and the hook is locked to a locking portion of the apparatus main body 11.

Next, the operation of the air purifier according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, air introduced into the apparatus main body 11 from the intake port 14 by the blower fan 22 passes through the pre-filter 15 and the dust collecting filter 16 and is dust-removed. The odor component in the air reacts with plasma, radicals and ozone generated in the corona discharge electrode 21 in the air to be deodorized, and a part of the odor component is adsorbed on the surface of the gas treatment functional material 17, where the ozone is decomposed. Reacts with oxygen atoms generated in the water and is deodorized.

The high voltage applied to the corona discharge electrode 21 is preferably a pulsed high voltage having a large voltage change per time as shown in FIG. 2 in order to generate a large amount of plasma and radicals having a strong deodorizing action. At a high voltage, the driving force of the air works only intermittently, and ionic wind is not generated much. Therefore, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the high voltage applied to the corona discharge electrode 21 is a pulsed high voltage on a DC high voltage so that a large amount of plasma and radicals are generated and an ion wind is also strongly generated. It was added. This waveform is shown in FIG.

After the air cleaning operation is stopped and the blower fan 22 is stopped, a high voltage having the waveform shown in FIG. 3 is applied to the corona discharge electrode 21 for a predetermined time. Then, fan 2
Air movement due to ion wind, which was negligible compared to the air driving force of No. 2, appeared, and the plasma, radicals, and ozone generated at the corona discharge electrode 21 moved toward the dust collection filter 16 and finally. It reaches the upstream side of the dust filter 11 where bacteria are captured,
Sterilize this.

Since a large amount of the dust collecting filter 16 is capable of reacting with ozone, the amount of ozone discharged out of the apparatus is extremely small. After this, when restarting operation,
The blower fan 22 is started at a low rotation level, and after rotating for a predetermined time, is shifted to a high rotation level. Accordingly, the high-concentration ozone generated in the corona discharge electrode 21 when the blower fan 22 is stopped passes through the gas processing functional material 17 at a low speed, and does not exceed the ozone processing capability of the gas processing functional material 17. Does not decompose and ozone is discharged outside the apparatus.

When replacing the gas processing functional material 17, the suction panel 13 and the dust collecting filter 16 are removed.
After the gas processing functional material maintenance door 25 is rotated and opened, the gas processing functional material 17 is replaced. Further, the partition plate 19 has an opening 24 at a central portion except for a portion covering the corona discharge electrode 4.
The opening 24 can be opened and closed by the gas treatment functional material maintenance door 25, so that even when the gas treatment functional material 17 is replaced, the corona discharge electrode 21 remains hidden by the partition plate 19, and the corona discharge electrode There is no possibility that the discharge wire 4a made of 21 extremely thin wires will be damaged. Further, since there is almost no difference in air pressure between the front surface and the back surface of the gas processing functional material maintenance door 25, a special air seal is not required, and the cost can be reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described first embodiment, and it goes without saying that changes can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, the corona discharge electrode 21 may be a combination of a plate-like electrode having a plurality of locally sharp tips and a counter electrode. The apparatus body 11 and the suction panel 1
3 may be integrally formed.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a dust collection filter, a corona discharge electrode for deodorizing odor components, a gas treatment function for deodorizing odor components and decomposing ozone are provided from the upstream side of the flow of wind. Material is arranged, the corona discharge electrode is arranged so that the ion wind blows toward the dust filter side, and the corona discharge electrode is energized for a predetermined time after the blower fan stops, so it can be expensive reverse rotation Even if the blower fan is not used, when the blower fan stops, air movement due to ion wind appears, and plasma, radicals, and ozone generated at the corona discharge electrode can be supplied to the dust collection filter, and the dust collection filter where bacteria etc. are caught. There is an effect that it can be sterilized.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a voltage obtained by adding a pulsed high voltage to a DC high voltage is applied to the corona discharge electrode. There is an effect that it is possible to simultaneously generate plasma and radicals having a strong deodorizing power and generate a strong ion wind for sterilizing a dust collecting filter.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the blower fan is started at a low rotation level when the operation is restarted after being stopped, and is shifted to a high rotation level after rotating for a predetermined time. The high-concentration ozone generated at the corona discharge electrode when the blower fan is stopped is allowed to pass through the gas processing functional material at a low speed, and the gas processing functional material does not exceed the ozone processing capability, ozone is not completely decomposed, There is an effect that ozone is not discharged outside the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of an air purifier according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram of a voltage applied to a general corona discharge electrode.

FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram of a voltage applied to a corona discharge electrode according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a conventional air purifier with a sterilizing function.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 main unit, 12 exhaust port, 14 intake port, 15
Pre-filter, 16 dust filter, 17 gas treatment functional material, 19 partition plate, 20 air passage, 21 corona discharge electrode, 21a discharge wire, 21b counter electrode, 22 blower fan.

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI B03C 3/66 B01D 53/34 116F F24F 7/00

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus main body having an intake port and an exhaust port, a dust collection filter provided on an intake port side of the apparatus main body, and an odor component provided on an exhaust port side of the apparatus main body and substantially parallel to the dust collection filter. A gas treatment functional material for deodorizing and decomposing ozone, and a corona discharge electrode for deodorizing odor components disposed in an air passage formed between the dust collecting filter and the gas treatment functional material in the apparatus main body. And a blower fan provided on the exhaust port side of the gas processing functional material in the apparatus main body, the corona discharge electrode is arranged so that ionic wind blows toward the dust collection filter side, and the corona discharge electrode blows air. An air purifier characterized by being energized for a predetermined time after the fan stops. 2. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a voltage obtained by adding a pulsed high voltage to a DC high voltage is applied to the corona discharge electrode. 3. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the blower fan is started at a low rotation level when the operation is restarted after being stopped, and is shifted to a high rotation level after rotating for a predetermined time.