JPS60235658A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute cleaning of a counter electrode of an air cleaner with ease and to maintain stable corona discharge by causing, if necessary, heat generation from the counter electrode to remove sticking dust by burning. CONSTITUTION:A counter electrode 20 is provided to a position confronting a discharge electrode 10 provided by arranging plural numbers of thin electroconductive discharging wire 11 in parallel and at regular intervals. A material 41 of a high voltage source 40 is connected to an electrode plate 12 of the discharge electrode 10, and another terminal is connected to an electrode plate 22 of the counter electrode 20. A terminal 51 of a power source 50 for heater is connected to the electrode plate 22 of the counter electrode 20, and a terminal 52 to an electrode plate 22'. By causing the counter electrode to generate heat as occasion demands to burn the sticking dusts, stable corona discharge can be maintained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is an air system that uses ionic wind (ventilation) generated when a high voltage is applied between a discharge electrode and a counter electrode built into an electrostatic precipitator. Regarding purifiers.

(Problems with the Prior Art) Conventional air purifiers have been devised that utilize ionic wind generated during corona discharge as a blowing means.

This is because when the ions adhere to the dust in the air and charge the dust, the dust is attracted to the dust collection electrode and adheres to the dust collection electrode, so that wind generation and dust collection can be performed at the same time.

By the way, the charged dust also adheres to the counter electrode. For this reason, when used for a long time, abnormal discharge called reverse ionization may occur due to dust adhering to the counter electrode, and there is a risk that wind raising performance due to corona discharge and charging performance for dust collection may deteriorate.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide an ion wind air cleaner that can sustain stable corona discharge by removing dust deposited on a counter electrode.

[Structure of the invention]

The present invention provides a case having an intake port and an outlet, a discharge electrode provided on the intake port side in the case, and an opposing electrode provided opposite to the discharge electrode with a discharge gap therebetween to induce an ionic wind. It is composed of an electrode, a high voltage source that generates a potential difference between the discharge electrode and the counter electrode, and a heater power source that heats the counter electrode by passing a current through the counter electrode.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. 1st
The figure is a schematic configuration diagram of a first embodiment according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a plurality of thin electrically conductive discharge wires 11 made of metal or the like are arranged in parallel at equal intervals on the same plane, and are soldered to electrode plates 12 provided at both ends of an insulating frame 13. , Brazing is fixed by fixing means such as. In other words, the discharge electrode 10 in this example has a plurality of discharge wires 11
It is characterized by having the following. A counter electrode 20 is provided at a position facing the discharge electrode 10 with a certain discharge gap in between. 21 is a counter electrode wire (hereinafter referred to as "counter wire") made of metal such as nichrome or white wire, which is thicker than the discharge wire 11 and arranged in parallel, and is electrically conductive. It is fixed to an electrically insulating rectangular frame 24. At this time, one of the opposing wires 21 is fixed to the electrode plate 22 with screws 23 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, and the electrode plate 22 is fixed to both ends of the frame 24 with adhesive or fixing means such as screws. . Further, the other side of the opposing wire 21 is fixed to a spring 25.
is fixed to the electrode plate 22' by screws 26. Also 4
0 is a high voltage power supply, one terminal 41 is connected to the electrode plate 12 of the discharge electrode 10, and the other terminal 42 is connected to the electrode plate 22 of the counter electrode 20 and is grounded. 50 is a power source for the heater, one terminal 51 is connected to one electrode plate 22 of the counter electrode 20 and grounded, and the other terminal 52 is connected to the other electrode plate 22' of the counter electrode 20. ing. Reference numeral 30 denotes a dust collection electrode in which flat plate electrodes 31 and 32 are alternately arranged and attached to an insulating electrode frame 33. 60 is a high voltage power supply, one terminal 61 is connected to the flat plate electrode 32 of the dust collecting electrode 30, and the other terminal 62 is connected to the flat plate electrode 31 of the dust collecting electrode 30 and is grounded.

100 and 53 are switches for the high voltage power supply 40 and the heater power supply 50, respectively. Further, the power switch 63 of the dust collection electrode 30 is linked to the switch 100, and the switch 1
When 00 is on, switch 63 is also on.

Next, a case will be described in which each electrode having the above configuration is incorporated into a specific air purifier.

Fifth. FIG. 6 shows the air purifier of the present invention as a ceiling-mounted type.

FIG. 5 shows the discharge electrode 10, the counter electrode 20, and the dust collection electrode 3.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an automobile ceiling-mounted air purifier incorporating the air purifier 0, and FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view thereof. In Figure 5, 6 is the air purifier body case made of insulating material;
In the figure, 61 is a discharge electrode fixing holder for fixing the discharge electrode frame 13 to the main body case, 62 is a counter electrode fixing holder for fixing the counter electrode frame 24 to the main body case 6, and 63 is a holder for fixing the counter electrode to the main body case 6. This is a dust collecting electrode holder for fixing the dust electrode frame 33. 64 and 65 are side plates and a bottom plate of the main body case 6. A hole is made between the upper part of the side plate 64, that is, the position where the discharge electrode 1 is fixed, and the plate in contact with the ceiling of the main body case 6, and serves as an intake port 6a for taking in dirty air from the vehicle interior. . A hole is also made in the bottom plate 65 to serve as a clean air outlet 6b. Reference numeral 66 denotes a partition plate that partitions the ion wind generating section 14 to which electrodes and the like are fixed, the high voltage power source, 40.60, and the heater power source 50. The partition plate 66 is provided with holes or connectors for passing lead wires connecting the discharge electrode 10, counter electrode 20, and dust collecting electrode 30 to the high voltage power source 40, 60, and the heater electrode #SO. The ion wind generating units 14 described above are installed at symmetrical positions with the high voltage power source 40.60 and the heater power source 50 interposed therebetween.

Next, the operation of this embodiment with the above configuration will be explained. Fifth. In Figure 6, high voltage #! 40 high voltage terminals 41
Connect the discharge type 1lllO with a high voltage lead wire,
Similarly, the ground side terminal 42 and the counter electrode 20 are connected with a lead wire, and a voltage of several KV to +@KV is applied. As a result, an electric field is concentrated in the space near the discharge electrode 10 whose shape is sharply changing, and a corona discharge occurs. This corona discharge generates ions at both the positive and negative electrodes, but the discharge electrode 1
Ions with a polarity opposite to the polarity of 0 are absorbed by the discharge electrode 1°, and only ions with the same polarity are attracted to the counter electrode 20. In the process of being attracted to the counter electrode 20, the ions collide with many neutral gas molecules, and by giving kinetic energy to these gas molecules and driving them, both the ions and the neutral gas molecules are directed toward the counter electrode. It generates wind. The direction in which the wind flows at this time is shown by the arrow in Figure 5.6. Furthermore, in the process of being attracted to the counter electrode 2o, the ions also collide with collected dust in the air, and most of the charged dust and dirt are provided downstream of the counter electrode 2o. The dust is captured by the dust collecting electrode 30. In the dust collecting electrode 30, since an electric field is formed perpendicularly to the flow direction of the ion wind by the flat plate electrodes 31 and 32, the charged particles receive a strong Ron force in the direction perpendicular to the flow. It adheres and deposits on either one of 32. At this time, the width of the flat plate electrodes 31 and 32 is large enough for the charged particles to reach, resulting in high dust collection efficiency.

By the way, some of the charged particles are attracted to the opposing line 21 when passing through the opposing electrode 20, and are attached and deposited thereon. This is because the polarity of the charged particles is opposite to the polarity of the opposing wire, so they are pulled together by the Coulomb force. By the way, when an air cleaner is used for a long time, the amount of dust that adheres to and accumulates on the opposing wire 21 increases, and eventually abnormal discharge called reverse ionization occurs. This abnormal discharge deteriorates the ion wind blowing performance and dust charging performance, and normal air purification is no longer possible.

Therefore, the present invention removes the dust attached to the opposing wire 21 from the opposing wire 21.
It removes dust by heating with electricity and maintains high air blowing performance and dust charging performance. 0 In normal operating conditions, the switch 100 of the high-voltage power supply 40 is turned on to purify the air, and the opposite wire is removed. When removing dust, use heater type S for a few seconds before or after generating ion wind.
Turn on the SO switch 53 and the temperature of the opposing wire surface is 800°C.
Electrify and heat to the above temperature. At this time, since the switch 100 is turned off, no air is generated and the temperature rises on the opposing wire, so that the dust can be removed effectively. Further, if the switch 100 and the switch 300 are always turned on and the temperature of the surface of the opposing wire is maintained at 200 to 400° C., part of the dust adhering to the opposing wire is decomposed and the amount of adhesion is reduced, resulting in an ozone removal effect.

That is, the generation of ions due to corona discharge is always accompanied by the generation of ozone. This is due to the fact that oxygen molecules 02 dissociate from the ionization energy of gas molecules in the air, resulting in atomic oxygen
Since the dissociation energy is smaller than the ionization energy, if an energy greater than the dissociation energy is given, the 02 of the oxygen molecule is dissociated and becomes atomic oxygen 0.
This is because oxygen molecules 02 are oxidized to become ozone O3. If the electrode is operated only as an electrostatic precipitator, the electric power is small and the amount of ozone generated is small, but a large amount of electric power is required only to generate the ion wind, and as a result, the amount of ozone generated is large. Become. Ozone is not only harmful to the human body, but also causes discomfort due to its characteristic odor even at low concentrations. Ozone is mainly generated near the discharge electrode 10, but a small amount of ozone is also generated at the opposing electrode. This is because the opposing wire 21 is made of a metal wire that is thicker than the discharge wire 11 in order to improve ventilation of the ion wind. Because it is not a perfectly flat electrode and has a certain curvature, a weak electric field is concentrated, and the electrostatic energy generates ozone. This ozone gradually decomposes into oxygen at room temperature, but as the temperature increases, the decomposition reaction accelerates. Therefore, by heating the opposing wire 21 with electricity, the ozone generated can be decomposed and the ozone concentration in the air can be reduced. Further, the opposing wire 21 expands slightly due to heating, but in this example, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the opposing wire 21 is constantly pulled by the elastic force of the spring 25, so the opposing wire 21 is loosened and the discharge electrode 10 will not change.

Further, the voltage applied from the heater power source to both ends of the opposing wire 21 varies depending on the resistance value of the opposing wire 21 and the set power consumption (set temperature), but it is several tens of V at most, and is applied between the discharge electrode 10 and the opposing electrode 20. Voltage (several KV to tens of KV)
), it is less than 1%. Therefore, the applied voltage from the heater power source has very little influence on corona discharge.

Next, other embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 7.8 shows a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the counter electrode of the present invention.

This embodiment is characterized in that instead of using a wire for the counter electrode 20 in the first embodiment, a round rod made of a heat-resistant material such as ceramic is coated with a conductive resistance material such as a metal that is difficult to oxidize such as nichrome or platinum. It is something. In Fig. 7.8, 210 is a ceramic round rod whose surface is coated with metal, 211 is a metal portion, and 212 is a ceramic portion. The round rods 211 are inserted into large holes 24a equally spaced at both ends of the heat-resistant and insulating frame 24, and at the same time electrode plates 2 are fixed to both ends of the insulating frame 24 with adhesive or the like.
2 while being electrically conductive with a conductive adhesive or the like. By connecting the electrode plates 22 at both ends and the terminals of the heater electrode s50 and turning on the switch 53, the conductive resistance material 211 on the surface of the round bar is heated by electricity, and the same dust removal effect as in the first embodiment is obtained. Further, in the second embodiment, the diameter of the opposing wire 210 and the thickness of the conductive resistance material 211 can be arbitrarily selected, which is advantageous in manufacturing.

Furthermore, if the round rod 212 is made of a heat-resistant material such as ceramic, it will expand less due to temperature rise and will not loosen as much.

For the metal coating, in addition to coating and baking with metal paste, it is also possible to use vacuum techniques such as vacuum evaporation and sputtering. 9th. 10. FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of the counter electrode of the present invention. In this example, instead of using a wire for the counter electrode 20 in the first example, a conductive resistance material such as a metal that does not easily oxidize such as nichrome or platinum is coated on both surfaces of a plate made of an insulating heat-resistant material such as ceramic. It is characterized by the use of In FIG. 9, 213 is an insulating heat-resistant plate coated with a resistor on both surfaces, 24 is an insulating heat-resistant frame, and 22 is an electrode plate. At both ends of the frame 24 are provided 1i24b into which the heat-resistant plates 213 are inserted, and the electrode plates 22 are fixed with a conductive adhesive or the like so as to be electrically conductive. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the heat-resistant plate 213, where 213a is an insulating heat-resistant plate;
213b is the heat-resistant plate, and resistors printed and baked on both surfaces of 213a. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a modified heat resistor 213 in FIG. 10, in which 213C is an insulating plate, 213d is a heater wire embedded inside the insulating plate 213c, and 213e is coated on the inner surface of the insulating plate 213C. It is a conductive film made of metal, etc. The counter electrode plate 213 shown in FIG. 10 or 11 is set on the frame 24, and the electrode plates 22 at both ends and the terminals of the heater power source 50 are connected to the switch 5.
3, the electrically conductive resistance material on the surface of the counter electrode plate or the internal heater is heated by electricity, and there is a dust removal effect similar to that of the first embodiment of the counter electrode. The metal coating is done by applying metal paste as in the second embodiment of the counter electrode.
In addition to baking, it is possible to use vacuum techniques.

FIG. 12 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the air cleaner of the present invention. In FIG. 12, 10 is a discharge electrode, 20 is a counter electrode, 200 is an accelerating electrode having the same configuration as the counter electrode 20, 30 is a dust collection electrode, 40 is a high voltage power source for discharge,
70 is a high-voltage power source for acceleration, 60 is a high-voltage power source for dust collection, and 50 is a heater power source for opposing and accelerating beam heating. In this example, the ozone concentration generated at the discharge electrode 10 is You can hold it low. Note that the switch of the discharge electrode 10 is linked to the switch 71 of the acceleration electrode 200 and the switch 63 of the dust collection electrode 30, and when the switch 100 is turned on, the switches 71 and 63 are also turned on. Ion wind is generated by driving ions generated near the discharge electrode by corona discharge with a DC electric field. Therefore, an accelerating electrode is provided downstream of the opposing electrode, and an accelerating electrode is provided downstream of the opposing electrode. If an electric field is formed between the opposing electrodes and the floating electrodes, the ions passing through the opposing electrodes will be further accelerated by the electric field, and the overall ion wind speed will be increased. However, in the above configuration, dust collection occurs not only on the counter electrode but also on the accelerating electrode. Therefore, the counter electrode 2o
And accelerating electrode 2°O! As shown in the first embodiment, an electric heating mechanism is provided to remove collected dust. At this time, since there is a potential difference between the counter electrode 20 and the accelerating electrode 200, the potential difference between the counter electrode and the accelerating electrode is removed before heating the counter and accelerating electrodes by applying current to one heater power source 5o. There is a need.

That is, when turning on the switch 100 to induce an ion wind, one of the heating switches 54 and 55 is turned on, and the opposing electrode 2o heats one of the accelerating electrodes 200. Further, when the switch 100 is opened and the ion wind is not blowing, the heating switches 54 and 55 are both turned on to incinerate the dust attached to the counter electrode 20 and the accelerating electrode 200. In addition, in order to perform electrical heating while blowing ionic wind, two heater power supplies are used, one for the counter electrode and the other for the acceleration electrode, with the heater power supply for the acceleration electrode floating with respect to the ground. It is necessary to FIG. 13 shows a schematic configuration diagram of the third embodiment of the air purifier of the present invention. In this embodiment, instead of placing the counter electrode and the dust collection electrode separately, the counter electrode plays the role of the dust collection electrode. It has the following. Since the ion wind is caused by ionization of molecules in the air by corona discharge at the discharge electrode and the ions being driven along a DC electric field, one of the electrode plates 20a that is alternately incorporated in the counter electrode 20
If a high potential difference is provided between the discharge electrode 10 and the discharge electrode 10, an ion wind will blow from the discharge electrode 10 toward the counter electrode 20. Furthermore, if a voltage of the same polarity as that of the discharge electrode 10 is applied to the other electrode plate 20b of the counter electrode 20, an electric field is formed between the electrode plates 20a and 20b perpendicular to the flow direction of the ion wind, and the ionized dust is is efficiently adhered onto the electrode plate 2Oa. In other words, the counter electrode 20 has both the functions of generating ion wind and collecting dust. Further, since the electrode plate 20a is heated by the heater power source 50, dust attached and deposited on the electrode plate 20a can be removed by incineration. Further, the voltage of the power supply 60 applied to the electrode plate 20b is
By applying a voltage lower than the voltage applied to the discharge electrode 1
The DC electric field formed between the dust collecting electrode 20 and the dust collection electrode 20 can be reduced in intensity, and the ion wind can be blown efficiently.

Further, in the above embodiment, the operation switch for the heater of the counter electrode 20 is turned on and off by manual operation, but it may be turned on and off automatically. That is, the control includes a determining means for determining whether dust has adhered to an extent that affects the efficiency of the ion wind, and a driving means for automatically turning on and off the operation switch of the heating heater according to a signal from the determining means. By incorporating the device into an air purifier, dust on the counter electrode can be automatically removed.

In the above case, the determination means includes, for example, a timer circuit that integrates the operating time of the ion wind and outputs a signal when the integrated time reaches a certain set value.

In addition, various driving means such as relays and transistors can be used! ! ! It can be carried out by Mr. i.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the opposing electrode is made to generate heat as necessary to incinerate attached dust. This has the effect of making it easier to clean the electrodes.

Furthermore, since dust can be easily removed, maintenance of the counter electrode becomes easy, and by keeping the counter electrode clean, it has the excellent effect of sustaining stable corona discharge.

Furthermore, since the counter electrode is heated, ozone generated by corona discharge can be efficiently removed, which is extremely effective as an ion wind air purifier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings all show embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the air purifier, FIG. 2 is a front view of the counter electrode, FIG. 3 is a side view of the counter electrode, and FIG. 4 is a diagram of the second embodiment. A-A sectional view of 5th
The figure is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the air purifier, FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the air purifier, FIG. 7 is a front view of the second embodiment of the counter electrode, and FIG. 9 and 10 are perspective views of the third embodiment of the counter electrode, FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the third embodiment of the counter electrode, and FIG. 12 is a side view of the counter electrode of the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the air purifier according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of the air purifier according to the third embodiment. 6... Air purifier case, 6a... Suction port, 6b.
... Air outlet, 10... Discharge electrode, 20... Counter electrode, 21... Electrode wire, 213... Electrode wire, 30...
Dust collection electrode, 40... High voltage power supply for generating ion wind, 50...
...Power supply for heater heating. Representative Patent Attorney Takashi Okabe Figure 2 Figure 3 22' Figure 521! 1 Figure 6 9■ Figure 11 F11

Claims (1)

[Claims] +kl A case having an intake port and an outlet, a discharge electrode provided on the intake side in the case, and a discharge electrode provided opposite to the discharge electrode with a discharge interval therebetween to induce an ionic wind. 1. An air purifier comprising: a counter electrode for heating the counter electrode; a heater power source for energizing and heating the counter electrode; and a high voltage power source for generating a potential difference between the discharge electrode and the counter electrode. (2) The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the counter electrode is composed of one or more heat-resistant and oxidation-resistant counter wires. (3) The air purifier according to claim 2, wherein the opposing wire generates heat when energized by the heater power source.