KR20160018915A

KR20160018915A - Fluid sterilization apparatus using ultraviolet light-emitting diode

Info

Publication number: KR20160018915A
Application number: KR1020140101708A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 서용곤; 윤형도; 박재현
Original assignee: 전자부품연구원
Priority date: 2014-08-07
Filing date: 2014-08-07
Publication date: 2016-02-18

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fluid sterilizing apparatus using an ultraviolet light-emitting diode. The fluid sterilizing apparatus of the present invention comprises: a substrate; an ultraviolet light-emitting diode mounted on a bottom side of the substrate; a tube positioned on a lower part of the substrate so as to cover the ultraviolet light-emitting diode and forming a flowing space which allows fluid to flow between the substrates; a fluid adjustment guide formed to be extended toward the tube from a direction of the substrate so as to adjust the amount of fluid flowing through the flowing space; and a water level sensor disposed on the fluid adjustment guide so as to measure the water level of the fluid flowing through the flowing space. According to the present invention, the fluid adjustment guide regulates the area covering a cross section of the flowing space, based on the measured outcome from the water level sensor. Thus, sterilization efficiency is maximized, as the fluid is directly irradiated with ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light-emitting diode.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a fluid sterilizing apparatus using ultraviolet light emitting diodes,

The present invention relates to an apparatus for sterilizing a fluid, and more particularly, to a fluid sterilizing apparatus using an ultraviolet light emitting diode capable of sterilizing by irradiating ultraviolet rays to a fluid flowing using an ultraviolet light emitting diode.

Most cities are polluted by various pollutants emitted from automobiles and industries, and various pollutants emitted from civilized society are mixed in waters such as rivers, lakes and seas. As a result, contamination of fluids such as water and air has been intensified. Methods for removing bacteria, viruses, protozoans, parasites, yeast and fungi by sterilizing such fluids are being considered.

Conventionally, in order to sterilize a fluid, a fluid is passed through a quartz tube, and a sterilization operation is performed by irradiating ultraviolet rays outside the quartz tube. However, currently commercialized ultraviolet light emitting diodes have a low ultraviolet output, and there is a disadvantage that light irradiation for a long period of time is required to irradiate a flowing liquid or gas with ultraviolet rays to achieve a sterilizing effect. In addition, there is a problem that ultraviolet rays transmitted through the outer wall of the quartz tube are absorbed by the outer wall, thereby reducing the amount of ultraviolet rays used for sterilizing the fluid.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2008-0100048 (published on November 14, 2008) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0069400 (published on June 23, 2011)

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [8] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid sterilizing apparatus using the ultraviolet light emitting diode, which can improve sterilization efficiency by directly irradiating ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light emitting diode.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluid sterilizing apparatus using an ultraviolet light emitting diode, comprising: a substrate; an ultraviolet light emitting diode mounted on a lower surface of the substrate; A fluid regulating guide extending in the direction of the tube from the substrate direction to regulate the amount of fluid flowing through the fluid space, And a fluid level sensor for measuring a level of fluid flowing through the fluid space, the fluid level guide being adapted to adjust an area covering a cross section of the fluid space according to a measurement result of the fluid level sensor, do.

In the fluid sterilizing apparatus using the ultraviolet light emitting diode of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a heat sink disposed on the upper surface of the substrate, wherein the tube is formed of an aluminum material and both ends thereof are in contact with the heat sink .

In the fluid sterilizing apparatus using the ultraviolet light emitting diode of the present invention, a coating film for ultraviolet reflection is formed on the inner surface of the tube in contact with the fluid.

In the fluid sterilizing apparatus using the ultraviolet light emitting diode according to the present invention, the tube is formed such that the depth from the substrate to the lower end of the tube is gradually deeper toward the portion from which the fluid flows to the portion from which the fluid flows. do.

In the fluid sterilizing apparatus using the ultraviolet light emitting diode of the present invention, the tube has a plurality of flow protrusions protruding from the inner surface toward the flow space.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluid sterilizing apparatus using an ultraviolet light emitting diode, including: a substrate; an ultraviolet light emitting diode mounted on a lower surface of the substrate in a U shape or an e shape; A tube disposed at a lower portion of the substrate in a U-shape or an R-shape to form a fluid space for fluid flow between the substrate and the substrate, And a level sensor for measuring a level of a fluid flowing through the fluid space and positioned in the fluid control guide, And an area of the cross section of the flow space is controlled according to a measurement result of the sensor.

According to the fluid sterilizing apparatus using the ultraviolet light emitting diode of the present invention, ultraviolet rays irradiated from the ultraviolet light emitting diode are directly irradiated to the fluid, thereby maximizing sterilization efficiency. At this time, the level of the fluid to be sterilized can be automatically adjusted in order to prevent the liquid from contacting the ultraviolet light emitting diode or the substrate.

The heat dissipation effect can be improved by connecting the heat sink and the aluminum material tube, and the sterilizing efficiency can be improved by reflecting the ultraviolet light irradiated from the ultraviolet light emitting diode in the fluid direction using the aluminum material or the coating film on the inner surface of the tube.

In addition, the tube is formed so that the depth of the lower end point gradually increases from the point where the fluid is introduced to the point where the fluid flows out, thereby allowing the fluid to move spontaneously.

Also, a flow protrusion can be formed on the inner surface of the tube through which the fluid flows to form a turbulent flow, whereby the fluid to be sterilized is mixed, the moving speed is lowered, and the sterilizing effect is improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing a fluid sterilizing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the fluid sterilizer according to the embodiment of Fig. 1. Fig.
3 is a cross-sectional view of the fluid sterilizer according to the embodiment of FIG.
4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fluid sterilizer according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view showing a fluid sterilizing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention as viewed from below.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II 'of the fluid sterilizing apparatus according to the embodiment of FIG.

In the following description, only parts necessary for understanding the embodiments of the present invention will be described, and the description of other parts will be omitted so as not to obscure the gist of the present invention.

The terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings and the inventor is not limited to the meaning of the terms in order to describe his invention in the best way. It should be interpreted as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention, so that various equivalents And variations are possible.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for sterilizing fluid using ultraviolet rays. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a view showing a fluid sterilizing apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fluid sterilizing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of Fig. 1, Sectional view of a fluid sterilization apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 3, the fluid sterilizing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment includes a substrate 1, an ultraviolet light emitting diode 2, a tube 3, a fluid adjustment guide 4, a water level sensor 5, (6).

The substrate 1 is a plate-like configuration such as a printed circuit board (PCB) on which the ultraviolet light emitting diode 2 is mounted. The substrate 1 is provided with a configuration for controlling the respective parts of the fluid sterilization apparatus 10 including the ultraviolet light emitting diode 2 so that electric power for driving the ultraviolet light emitting diodes 2 is transferred using internal conductors .

The ultraviolet light emitting diode (UVLED) 2 is configured to irradiate ultraviolet rays to the fluid introduced into the fluid sterilizing apparatus 10 to perform sterilization of bacteria or viruses contained in the fluid . The ultraviolet light emitting diodes 2 may be arranged in a line on the substrate 1 along the flow direction of the fluid, or arranged in an array form.

The ultraviolet rays included in sunlight generally include UV-A (320 to 360 nm), UV-B (280 to 320 nm) and UV-C (250 to 280 nm) The ultraviolet light of the wavelength has a powerful sterilizing effect that can burn bacteria and viruses. The reason why UV-C (250 ~ 280nm) is characterized by sterilized ultraviolet light is because DNA in cells absorbs UV-C (250-280nm) well.

Among these UV-C (250-280 nm) wavelengths, 253.7 nm (about 254 nm) wavelength is best absorbed by DNA, and this wavelength is known to permanently damage and kill DNA, the microorganism gene material. In addition, the wavelength showing the highest germicidal effect is 265 nm. Although the 254 nm wavelength emitted by a low-pressure or high-output amorphous lamp has a very high ultraviolet sterilization effect, it is known that the wavelength of 254 nm is the most effective because the lamp emits only a wavelength of 254 nm. Efficiency. &Lt; / RTI >

The ultraviolet light-emitting diode 2 can irradiate UV-C (250 to 280 nm) ultraviolet rays to sterilize all the bacteria in the fluid in a simple manner without giving resistance to the ultraviolet-irradiated bacteria.

The tube 3 is formed at a lower portion of the substrate 1 along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 1 and forms a fluid space 7 for fluid flow with the substrate 1. At this time, the tube 3 is formed so as to surround the ultraviolet light-emitting diode 2 on the substrate in an opened form, so that ultraviolet rays can be directly irradiated to the fluid flowing through the flow space 7. This is to increase the sterilizing effect by irradiating ultraviolet rays of UV-C (250 ~ 280nm) wavelength, which has a weak sterilizing power but a short wavelength because of its weak penetration power, directly to the fluid without passing through other objects.

At this time, the tube 3 is formed such that the depth of the tube 3 becomes gradually deeper as the fluid flows from the fluid inflow portion into the fluid sterilizer 10 to the portion where the fluid exits from the fluid sterilizer 10. That is, the depth from the substrate 1 to the lower end of the tube 3 at the inflow portion of the fluid is formed shallower than the depth from the substrate 1 to the lower end of the tube 3 at the outflow portion of the fluid.

This means that the tube 3 is formed so that the sectional area of the flow space 7 is gradually widened along the flow direction of the fluid. When the substrate 1 is placed horizontally, It means that the altitude of the bottom point gradually decreases. Through this structure, the fluid flowing along the flow space 7 is gradually lowered from the fluid inflow point to the fluid outflow point, thereby automatically moving from the inflow point to the outflow point.

On the other hand, the tube 3 can be made of a metal material such as aluminum. The aluminum tube 3 may be formed on the lower surface of the substrate 1 in contact with the heat sink 6 disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 1 to improve the heat radiation performance of the heat sink 6. [ have. In this case, the inner surface of the tube 3 made of an aluminum material reflects the ultraviolet light irradiated from the ultraviolet light-emitting diode 2 back to the fluid side, thereby increasing the sterilization efficiency according to light irradiation.

According to the embodiment, a coating film for ultraviolet reflection is formed on the inner surface of the tube 3 in contact with the fluid, and ultraviolet rays irradiated from the ultraviolet light emitting diode 2 are reflected back toward the fluid side to increase the sterilization efficiency according to the light irradiation . In this case, the coating layer on the inner surface of the tube 3 can be formed using, for example, a colloid of an oxygen-containing substance having a particle size of less than 400 nm in diameter, and ultraviolet light having a short wavelength is scattered.

The fluid adjustment guide 4 is a structure for adjusting the amount of fluid flowing in the flow space 7. The fluid control guide 4 is elongated in the direction of the tube 3 from the direction of the substrate 1 and adjusts the flow rate by adjusting the cross-sectional area of the flow space 7 through which the fluid can flow in a shutter manner.

The fluid regulation guide 4 is provided at the inlet side of the fluid space 7 into which the fluid is introduced and may be provided on the fluid space 7 as required, And may be provided on the inlet side and the outlet side of the space 7.

The water level sensor 5 is located in the fluid regulation guide 4 and serves to measure the level of the fluid flowing in the fluid space 7.

The tube 3 is positioned at the bottom of the substrate 1 so as to surround the ultraviolet light emitting diode 2 in a state that the top side thereof is opened and the flow of the fluid in the space between the tube 3 and the substrate 1 The fluid may contact the substrate 1 or the ultraviolet light emitting diode 2 if the level of the fluid flowing along the flow space 7 is increased.

In order to prevent this, when the level sensor 5 for measuring the level of the fluid is installed in the fluid control guide 4 and the level of the fluid passing through the fluid space 7 is detected to be equal to or higher than the reference value, Adjusts the area of the fluid adjustment guide 4 covering the cross section of the flow space 7.

For example, the water level sensor 5 may be, for example, an electroconductive water level sensor using a current flowing property when a conductive liquid touches an electrode, or a capacitive water level sensor using a property of changing capacitance according to a change in water level .

The heat sink 6 is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 1 facing the ultraviolet light emitting diode 2 so as to prevent the various elements on the substrate 1 from being heated by releasing the heat of the substrate 1 into the air. do. If the tube 3 is made of a metal material such as aluminum, the heat dissipating plate 6 can transmit heat through the portion in contact with the tube 3 to improve heat dissipation performance.

4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a fluid sterilizer 20 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

4, an ultraviolet light emitting diode is disposed on the lower surface of the substrate 1, a heat sink 6 is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 1, 7 are formed. A fluid adjustment guide 4 extending in the direction of the tube 3 from the direction of the substrate 1 is positioned at the front end and the rear end of the fluid space 7 into which the fluid flows, A water level sensor 5 for measuring is located.

At this time, a flow protrusion 8 protruding toward the flow space 7 is formed on the inner surface of the tube 3 abutting against the fluid. This flow protrusion 8 supports turbulence in the fluid flowing in the flow space 7, so that the fluid is uniformly mixed and the flow velocity is slowed down. As a result, the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light emitting diode 2 is uniformly irradiated to each part of the fluid, thereby increasing the sterilizing efficiency.

5 is a view showing a fluid sterilizing apparatus 30 according to another embodiment of the present invention as viewed from below, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line II 'of the fluid sterilizing apparatus 30 according to the embodiment of FIG. Fig.

5 and 6, an ultraviolet light emitting diode is disposed on the lower surface of the substrate 1, a heat sink 6 is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 1, A flow space 7 is formed.

At this time, the tube 3 is located on the single substrate 1 in the form of "d", and the ultraviolet light emitting diode 2 is also located in the form of "d" on the substrate 1 covered with the tube 3, And irradiates ultraviolet rays to the fluid flowing along the flow path (7).

By forming the tube 3 into an 'e' shape, the fluid space 7 is also formed in an 'e' shape. As a result, the fluid flowing in the fluid space 7 meanders in the form of 'e' It is possible to increase the time to be irradiated with ultraviolet rays and to increase the sterilization efficiency.

Depending on the embodiment, the tube 3 may be formed in a U shape to achieve a similar effect.

It should be noted that the embodiments disclosed in the present specification and drawings are only illustrative of specific examples for the purpose of understanding, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention are possible in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein. Furthermore, although specific terms are used in this specification and the drawings, they are used in a generic sense only to facilitate the description of the invention and to facilitate understanding of the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

1: substrate 2: ultraviolet light emitting diode
3: Tube 4: Fluid adjustment guide
5: water level sensor 6: heat sink
7: flow space 8: flow projection
10, 20, 30: fluid sterilizer

Claims

Board;
An ultraviolet light emitting diode mounted on a lower surface of the substrate;
A tube positioned below the substrate to enclose the ultraviolet light emitting diode and forming a flow space for fluid flow between the tube and the substrate;
A fluid regulation guide extending from the substrate direction in the direction of the tube to regulate the amount of fluid flowing through the flow space; And
A level sensor located in the fluid regulation guide and measuring a level of fluid flowing through the fluid space;
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the fluid adjustment guide adjusts an area covering the cross section of the flow space according to the measurement result of the water level sensor.

The method according to claim 1,
A heat sink disposed on an upper surface of the substrate;
Further comprising:
Wherein the tube is made of an aluminum material, and both ends of the tube are in contact with the heat dissipation plate.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein a coating film for ultraviolet reflection is formed on an inner surface of the tube in contact with the fluid.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the tube is formed such that the depth from the substrate to the lower end of the tube becomes gradually deeper toward the portion where the fluid flows out from the portion into which the fluid flows.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the tube has a plurality of flow protrusions protruding from the inner surface toward the flow space.

Board;
An ultraviolet light emitting diode mounted on a lower surface of the substrate in a U-shape or an R-shape;
U 'or' d 'form on the lower part of the substrate to surround the ultraviolet light emitting diode and form a flow space for fluid flow with the substrate;
A fluid regulation guide extending from the substrate direction in the direction of the tube to regulate the amount of fluid flowing through the flow space; And
A level sensor located in the fluid regulation guide and measuring a level of fluid flowing through the fluid space;
Lt; / RTI >
Wherein the fluid adjustment guide adjusts an area covering the cross section of the flow space according to the measurement result of the water level sensor.