KR102496056B1 - Portable Sterilizer with a Thin Type Air Purifying Function with UV LED Applied - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a thin film type portable sterilizing apparatus applied with an UV LED and having an air purification function. According to one aspect of the present embodiment, provided is the portable sterilization apparatus which includes is the UV LED while being miniaturized so as to have an excellent air purification function. The portable sterilization apparatus includes: an air inlet; an air outlet; a suction motor; a first filter; an optical module; a sterilization unit; a first air guide unit; a second filter; a control unit; and a battery.

Description

Portable Sterilizer with a Thin Type Air Purifying Function with UV LED Applied}

The present invention relates to a portable sterilization device having an air cleaning function including a UV LED while having a fairly small size.

The contents described in this part merely provide background information on the present embodiment and do not constitute prior art.

An air purifier is a device for forcibly inhaling polluted external air, filtering it, and then discharging the filtered air to the outside, and its use is increasing as interest in air pollution and health increases in recent years.

The air purifier includes a housing having a suction port for sucking in air from the outside and an outlet for discharging the filtered air, and a filter disposed in the housing to filter foreign substances in the sucked air. Conventionally, in order to improve the filtering performance of the filter, the filter has to have a size of at least a certain size, and accordingly, the size of the conventional air purifier has to be increased accordingly.

However, in recent years, the inflow of fine dust into Korea has increased indiscriminately, and the need for a miniaturized air purifier has emerged. For example, there is no need to use a conventional large air purifier in a vehicle or in a relatively narrow space, and it is often difficult to actually use it. Accordingly, the need for a miniaturized air purifier is on the rise.

However, in the prior art, since the size of the filter is proportional to the performance of the filter, there is a problem in that the miniaturized air purifier cannot fully filter foreign substances. Accordingly, it is difficult to expect filtering performance of contaminants in the air completely with a miniaturized air purifier.

An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a portable sterilization device having an excellent air cleaning function including a UV LED while being miniaturized.

According to one aspect of the present invention, in a portable sterilization device having a cross-sectional area and height equal to or less than a predetermined size, an air inlet formed at one end of a housing of the portable sterilization device and receiving air into the portable sterilization device Formed at the other end of the housing of the portable sterilizer, an air outlet for discharging air into the portable sterilizer and a suction motor for sucking air from the outside into the housing of the portable sterilizer and discharging it toward the air outlet through the air inlet A first filter disposed between the air inlet and the suction motor to filter foreign substances in the air sucked into the air inlet and irradiating light of an ultraviolet wavelength band in a direction in which the air sucked by the suction motor travels The surface of the optical module is coated with a photocatalyst, and a sterilization unit that receives light irradiated from the optical module and causes a photocatalytic reaction to perform a sterilization action, and is disposed at both ends of the sterilization unit in the direction in which the air proceeds. air is introduced into the sterilization unit so that air is discharged in the other direction of the sterilization unit, and a first air guide unit for guiding the air introduced into the sterilization unit to pass through the sterilization unit multiple times and the air passing through the sterilization unit A second filter for filtering out components having a size less than a set reference value, a control unit for controlling the operation of the suction motor and the optical module, and a battery for providing power for the operation of the suction motor, the optical module, and the control unit. It provides a portable sterilizer, characterized in that.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the optical module is characterized in that it includes a substrate, a fixing part for fixing the substrate to the housing of the portable sterilization device, and a light source for irradiating light in a UV wavelength band.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the substrate is implemented with the same cross-sectional area as the cross-sectional area of the housing of the portable sterilization device, and has a groove at one end to allow air to pass through.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the groove is characterized in that formed at a position identical to or corresponding to a direction in which air flows into the first air guide part.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the sterilization unit is characterized in that it includes a plurality of partition walls and has a plurality of air passages.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the first air guide part is formed at one end so that the air flowing through the air outlet/inlet and one air passage through which air can be introduced or discharged comes into contact with itself and into another air passage. It is characterized in that it comprises a guide for converting the direction of air to proceed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the guide portion is characterized in that it has a 'c' shape.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the first air guide unit is characterized in that it is disposed at both ends of the sterilization unit so as to be point symmetric with respect to the center point of the sterilization unit.

As described above, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is an advantage of having an excellent air cleaning function including a UV LED while being miniaturized.

1 is a perspective view of a portable sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view of a portable sterilization device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a plan view of an optical module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an enlarged view of a cross section of a sterilization unit and a first air guide unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an enlarged view of an optical module and a sterilization unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can make various changes and have various embodiments, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. Like reference numerals have been used for like elements throughout the description of each figure.

Terms such as first, second, A, and B may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The terms and/or include any combination of a plurality of related recited items or any of a plurality of related recited items.

It is understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle. It should be. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another element, it should be understood that no intervening element exists.

Terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should be understood that terms such as "include" or "having" in this application do not exclude in advance the possibility of existence or addition of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification. .

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in the present application, they should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. don't

In addition, each configuration, process, process or method included in each embodiment of the present invention may be shared within a range that does not contradict each other technically.

1 is a perspective view of a portable sterilization device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2a is a front sectional view of a portable sterilization device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2b is a portable sterilization device according to an embodiment of the present invention A cross-sectional side view of the device.

1 and 2, a portable sterilizer (100, hereinafter abbreviated as 'sterilizer') according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an air inlet 110, an air outlet 115, an input unit 120, Suction motor 130, first filter 140, optical module 150, sterilization unit 160, first air guide unit 165, second filter 170, controller 180, battery 190 , a second air guide unit 194 and a cover 198.

The portable sterilizer 100 sucks in air to remove and discharge foreign substances or harmful components contained in the air. The portable sterilization device 100 operates in this way and purifies the air in the space in which it is placed. However, the portable sterilizer 100 does not have a large volume like a conventional air purifier, but has a height of several tens of cm and a cross-sectional area of several to several tens of cm ² , so it can be considerably miniaturized. The portable sterilization device 100 has excellent sterilization or purification ability by maximizing the contact area with the inhaled air during sterilization and filtering, even though it is miniaturized.

The air inlet 110 is formed at one end of the housing of the sterilizer 100, mainly at the lower end, to allow air to flow into the housing of the sterilizer 100.

The air outlet 115 discharges air that has been sterilized or purified through the sterilizer 100 to the outside. The air outlet 115 is formed at one end, mainly at the upper end, of the housing so that more purified air can more efficiently circulate in the space (where the sterilizer is disposed).

The input unit 120 receives inputs related to motion and the degree (strength) of air intake from the user. The input unit 120 is formed at one end of the housing of the sterilization device 100, mainly at an upper end of the housing so that the user can easily input, and receives an input from the user. The input unit 120 separately receives an input for operating or stopping the sterilizer 100 and an input for adjusting the degree of air intake when the sterilizer 100 is in operation. The input unit 120 receives such an input from the user and transfers it to the control unit 180 .

The suction motor 130 sucks air into the sterilizer 100 and discharges it toward the air outlet 115. The suction motor 130 is disposed adjacent to the air inlet 110 in the housing of the sterilizer 100, sucks air into the housing of the sterilizer 100 (in the +x-axis direction), and transfers the sucked air to the air outlet. (115) direction (+z-axis direction). The suction motor 130 allows air requiring purification to be sucked into the sterilizer 100 and purified through each component before being discharged.

The first filter 140 is disposed between the air inlet 110 and the suction motor 130 to filter foreign substances in the air sucked into the air inlet 110 . A foreign substance having a volume greater than a predetermined reference value and a hardness greater than a predetermined reference value may be introduced into the air sucked in by the suction motor 130 . When such foreign substances are introduced into the sterilizer 100, various components in the sterilizer 100 may be damaged. The first filter 140 prevents breakage of various components in the sterilization device 100 by filtering the aforementioned foreign substances at the corresponding location.

The optical module 150 radiates light in a UV (ultraviolet) wavelength band to the sterilization unit 160 . The optical module 150 radiates light to the sterilization unit 160 by including one or more light sources disposed in a direction of irradiating light toward the sterilization unit 160 . At this time, the light source included in the optical module 150 irradiates light in the UV wavelength band so that the sterilization unit 160 can proceed with sterilization. The optical module 150 may have the structure of FIG. 3 .

3 is a plan view of an optical module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , an optical module 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate 310 , a fixing part 320 and a light source 330 .

The substrate 310 supports each component in the optical module 150 and receives a control signal from the controller 180 so that the light source 330 can operate.

The substrate 310 is implemented with the same cross-sectional area as that of the housing of the sterilizer 100, and has a groove 315 at one end to allow air to pass through. The groove 315 is formed at the same or corresponding position as the inlet part 310a (described later with reference to FIG. 4 ) of the first air guide part 165a to be described later on the axis in the height direction. Accordingly, air passing through the optical module 150 can only pass through the groove 315, so most of the air passing through the groove 315 flows into the inlet 310a in the first air guide part 165a. allow inflow.

The fixing part 320 allows the substrate 310 in the optical module 150 to be fixed to the housing of the sterilizer 100.

The light source 330 outputs light in a UV wavelength band. The light source 330 is disposed on the substrate 310 in a direction facing the sterilization unit 160 and outputs light in a UV wavelength band toward the sterilization unit 160 . Accordingly, the sterilization unit 160 to be described later receives light in the UV wavelength band and performs a photocatalytic reaction, thereby performing sterilization.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, since the substrate 310 in the optical module 150 has a groove 315 at one end, the light source 330 disposed on the substrate 310 is a sterilization unit 160. ) It is inevitable to be disposed in a position biased to one side (direction away from the groove 315) based on the center of the. When the light source 330 is disposed biased to one side and irradiates light without additional adjustment, the light is uniformly distributed and irradiated, so the illuminance of the light reaching the sterilization unit 160 is inevitably relatively non-uniform. does not exist. To solve this problem, the light source 330 in the optical module 150 emits light as shown in FIG. 5 .

5 is an enlarged view of an optical module and a sterilization unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the light source 330 radiates light while non-uniformly distributing light to the left and right sides with respect to the central axis of the light source 330 itself. This may adjust the optical path by arranging lenses (not shown) having different magnifications in front of the light source 330 or by adjusting the presence or absence of the lens (not shown). When the light is vaguely dispersed and irradiated from the light source 330 without adjusting the light path, there is a high probability that an area where the illuminance of light incident to the sterilization unit 160 is relatively significantly low occurs. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, when the light source 330 intentionally radiates light non-uniformly to the left and right sides with respect to its center, a difference in illuminance occurs between the left and right sides, but the illuminance is relatively marked. A lowered area may not occur.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the sterilization unit 160 sterilizes incoming air. The sterilization unit 160 includes a photocatalyst coating on its surface and receives UV light from the optical module 150 to perform a sterilization action.

The first air guide unit 165 allows air that has passed through the first filter 140 and the optical module 150 to flow in one direction, pass through the sterilization unit 160 over a maximum surface area, and be discharged in the other direction. .

The structures of the sterilization unit 160 and the first air guide unit 165 are shown in FIG. 4 .

4 is an enlarged view of a cross section of a sterilization unit and a first air guide unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the sterilization unit 160 includes a plurality of partition walls 430 and has a plurality of air passages 435 . As described above, as the photocatalyst layer is coated on the surface of the sterilization unit 160, when light in the UV wavelength band is incident from the optical module 150, it performs a sterilization action.

At this time, first air guide parts 165a and 165b are respectively disposed at both ends (in the height direction) of the sterilization part 160 . The first air guide parts 165a and 165b allow air to be introduced in only one direction, and allow the introduced air to proceed from one air passage to another. When air passes through only one air passage and passes through the sterilization unit 160, the contact area between the air and the sterilization unit 160 is significantly reduced. Moreover, since the air introduced into the housing of the sterilizer 100 is discharged by the suction motor 130, it proceeds at a fairly high speed. Accordingly, in the absence of a separate configuration, it is difficult to expect a complete sterilization effect because the air and the sterilization unit 160 come into contact with a very narrow surface area in a fairly short time.

Accordingly, the first air guide parts 165a and 165b include an air outlet/inlet 410 at one end and are arranged to be introduced only through the corresponding inlet. At this time, the first air guide units 165a and 165b are disposed at both ends of the sterilization unit 160 so as to be point symmetric with respect to the central point of the sterilization unit 160 . For example, the air introduced into the air outflow/inlet 410a located at the end of the +y-axis based on FIG. 2 or 4 passes through the sterilization unit 160 and the end of the -y-axis based on FIG. 2 or 4 It is discharged through the air outflow/inlet 410b located in the part.

As described above, the sterilization unit 160 includes a plurality of air passages 435 separated by a plurality of partition walls 430 . At this time, the first air guide parts 165a and 165b arranged as described above at both ends of the sterilization part 160 include the guide parts 420a and 420b, respectively, so that the air going through one air passage 435 is passed through itself and It touches and converts the direction of air flow to the opposite direction so that it proceeds to the other air passage. For example, the guide parts 420a and 420b may be implemented in the form of a 'c'-shaped groove in the first air guide parts 165a and 165b, so that air passes through one air passage 435, for example, FIG. 4), if all of them are introduced to the end of the rightmost air passage), guide to proceed to another passage adjacent to the passage. When air is introduced into a plurality of air passages through the guide parts 420a and 420b, the guide parts 420a and 420b guide the air to proceed to each adjacent air passage spaced apart by the number of the air passages introduced thereinto. To this end, the grooves formed in the guide parts 420a and 420b may have a width equal to an integer multiple of the width of the air passage.

The air introduced into the air outlet/inlet 410a is guided by the guide parts 420a and 420b, and is discharged through the air outlet/inlet 410b. Accordingly, the air introduced into the sterilization unit 160 passes through the sterilization unit 160 with a maximum surface area by the plurality of air passages formed in the sterilization unit 160 and the first air guide unit 165 . Accordingly, the sterilization unit 160 can secure the maximum sterilization effect. 4 shows that only one guide part 420a, 420b is included in each of the first air guide parts 165a and 165b, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and the cross-sectional area of the sterilization part 160 increases, When the number of air passages 435 increases, the number of guide parts 420a and 420b may also increase.

Meanwhile, the first air guide units 165a and 165b are disposed at both ends of the sterilization unit 160 for the above reasons, but the light in the UV wavelength band emitted from the optical module 150 is irradiated to the sterilization unit 160. should be able to Accordingly, the first air guide parts 165a and 165b are made of a transparent material or a material that transmits incoming light so that the light emitted from the optical module 150 can be irradiated to the sterilization part 160. do.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the second filter 170 is disposed on the sterilization unit 160 and the first air guide unit 165 based on the direction in which air is discharged. The second filter 170 filters fine-sized components (eg, fine dust or ultra-fine dust) remaining in the air. The second filter 170 may be implemented as, for example, a HEPA filter.

The controller 180 controls the operation of the suction motor 130 and the optical module 150 according to the input of the input unit 120 .

When the user inputs the operation of the sterilizer 100 using the input unit 120, the controller 180 directs the optical module 150 toward the sterilizer 160 so that the suction motor 130 sucks in air. Control to irradiate light.

When the user adjusts the discharge amount of the sterilizer 100 using the input unit 120, the control unit 180 adjusts the amount of air purified and discharged by adjusting the suction force of the suction motor 130.

When the user inputs to stop the operation of the sterilizer 100 using the input unit 120, the controller 180 controls the suction motor 130 and the optical module 150 to stop operation.

The battery 190 is disposed on one side of the sterilizer 100 and provides power to enable the suction motor 130, the optical module 150, and the control unit 180 to operate. The battery 190 may be replaced, or a means (eg, a USB port or a plug) may be formed in the housing to be connected to an external power source and may be charged from the external power source.

The second air guide unit 194 is disposed at the lower end of the optical module 150 in the height direction so that the air sucked into the housing by the suction motor 130 enters the groove 315 of the optical module 150. guide so that The second air guide unit 194 is implemented in the shape of an oblique plane toward the groove 315 at the lower end in the height direction of the optical module 150, and flows in all directions based on the cross-sectional direction of the sterilization device 100. The air is concentrated into the groove 315 of the optical module 150. Accordingly, the second air guide unit 194 improves sterilization or purification efficiency per hour of the sterilizer 100 .

The cover 198 is formed at one end of the housing of the sterilizer 100 in the height direction (toward the air outlet) to protect components inside the housing from external forces. Also, the cover 198 may be detachably coupled to the housing. Accordingly, when replacement of each component of the sterilizer 100, in particular, the first filter 140, the optical module 150, the second filter 170 or the battery 190 is required, the cover 198 is a housing It is separated from the component so that the user can easily replace only the corresponding component.

The above description is merely an example of the technical idea of the present embodiment, and various modifications and variations can be made to those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present embodiment. Therefore, the present embodiments are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present embodiment, but to explain, and the scope of the technical idea of the present embodiment is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of this embodiment should be construed according to the claims below, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the scope of rights of this embodiment.

100: portable sterilizer
110: air inlet
115: air outlet
120: input unit
130: intake motor
140: first filter
150: optical module
160: sterilization unit
165: first air guide unit
170: second filter
180: control unit
190: battery
194: second air guide unit
198 cover
310: substrate
315 home
320: fixing part
330: light source
410: air outflow / inlet
420: guide unit
430: bulkhead
435 air passage

Claims (8)

In a portable sterilizer having a cross-sectional area and height of a predetermined size or less,
an air inlet formed at one end of the housing of the portable sterilizer and receiving air therein;
an air outlet formed at the other end of the housing of the portable sterilizer and discharging air into the portable sterilizer;
a suction motor that sucks air into the housing of the portable sterilizer from the outside through the air inlet and discharges it toward the air outlet;
a first filter disposed between the air inlet and the suction motor to filter foreign substances in the air sucked into the air inlet;
an optical module for irradiating light of an ultraviolet wavelength band in a direction in which the air sucked in by the suction motor travels;
a sterilization unit having a surface coated with a photocatalyst, including a plurality of barrier ribs and having a plurality of air passages therein, and performing a sterilization action by generating a photocatalytic reaction by receiving the light irradiated from the optical module;
It is disposed at both ends of the sterilization unit in the direction in which the air travels, is made of a material that transmits light, and includes an air outlet/inlet and a guide at one end so that air is introduced in one direction of the sterilization unit, so that the sterilization unit a first air guide unit for guiding the air to be discharged in one direction and changing the air flow direction by the guide unit so that the air introduced into the sterilization unit passes through the sterilization unit a plurality of times;
a second filter filtering out components having a size equal to or less than a predetermined reference value in the air that has passed through the sterilization unit;
a control unit controlling operations of the suction motor and the optical module; and
A battery providing power for the suction motor, the optical module, and the control unit to operate,
The optical module,
It is implemented with the same cross-sectional area as the housing, but has a groove at one end to allow air to pass through, a fixing part for fixing the substrate to the housing of the portable sterilizer, and irradiating light in the UV wavelength band Including a light source, but the groove through which the air can pass is formed at a position corresponding to the position where the air is introduced into the first air guide unit,
The guide part of the first air guide part,
A portable sterilization device, characterized in that the air introduced along one of the plurality of air passages is formed in a 'c' shape so that the air introduced into the other adjacent air passage is converted to the opposite direction. delete delete delete delete delete delete According to claim 1,
The first air guide part,
Disposed at both ends of the sterilization unit, portable sterilization device, characterized in that arranged so that the position of the air outlet / inlet of one end and the air outlet / inlet of the other end are point symmetrical with respect to the center point of the sterilization unit.

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