KR20160093819A - Sterilizing apparatus using photocatalyst - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a sterilizing and purifying apparatus using a photocatalyst. The sterilizing and purifying apparatus using a photocatalyst enables the removal of organic materials with an offensive odor from an indoor space and the disinfection of bacteria or viruses by using solar energy.

Description

{STERILIZING APPARATUS USING PHOTOCATALYST}

The present invention relates to a sterilizing and purifying apparatus using a photocatalyst, and more particularly, to a sterilizing and purifying apparatus using a photocatalyst, which uses sunlight collected through a sunlight collecting unit as an energy source, The present invention relates to a photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus capable of sterilizing and purifying a photocatalyst.

Recently, well-being is prevalent and much attention and investment are being made to improve the quality of life. This means that the awareness of the problems related to the internal living environment such as buildings or vehicles has increased. Among the various living environmental problems, pollutants due to environmental pollution are directly introduced into the room without special purification device. These pollutants include volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, bacteria and odors. This causes diseases such as allergies to occupants or occupants, respiratory illnesses, eyes, skin irritation and headaches, as well as bacterial and fungal breeding and odor problems. In order to solve such a problem, air purification apparatuses are widely used. However, in order to remove pollutants, the conventional air filter has no ability to remove itself, so that it can not be removed after a certain period of time. As a result, the pollutant saturated in the filter is desorbed again, which raises a problem that the degree of pollution inside the building or the vehicle can be increased. In addition, the bacteria filtered by the filter proliferate in the filter, causing a malodor, resulting in a problem that the air is blown off due to strong wind pressure and contaminates the air inside the building or the automobile. In order to sterilize bacteria or virus, conventionally, a device for removing sterilization and contaminants by ultraviolet rays and ozone is used by using a plasma or UV-C (Ultraviolet-C) lamp. It has the advantages of easy installation and good sterilizing power and organic removal ability. However, since ozone is a harmful substance to the human body which has a good sterilizing power, it should not be allowed to enter into the indoor space more than a certain concentration. If the indoor ozone concentration is higher than 50PPM, the person may die within 1 hour. Therefore, the use of ozone in buildings or automobiles can be very dangerous.

For example, automobiles can be used as a means of transportation essential to modern man. These cars have become one of the indoor spaces for many years to come. A variety of chemical products are used in the manufacturing process of such automobiles, and pollutants resulting from the use of these products are discharged for a long period of time after production. Significant problems in the automobile interior are the volatile organic compounds (VOC) materials emitted from dashboards, ceilings, and sheets, formaldehyde emitted from artificial leather and adhesives, germs and odors from air conditioners, heaters, and contaminated sheets to be.

The interior of the car is equipped with an antibacterial filter in the vehicle as a way to improve indoor air quality. However, these antibacterial filters only have the function of filtering dust or adsorbing certain organic matter, so if you replace with a new filter, you can get a very short time effect. In general, the antimicrobial filter does not exhibit its re-function in most of the time, and bacterial and fungal growth occurs here, which causes odor and pollutant increase. In order to improve the function of the antibacterial filter, carbon or silver is added to the filter itself to raise the adsorption power or increase the self-antibacterial power, but the effect is insignificant. In some vehicles, an air purification apparatus using a low temperature plasma is adopted It is difficult to control the concentration of ozone generated in the low-temperature plasma and the ozone in the room is adversely affected to the human body. There are drivers who install other air cleaners, but there are space restrictions on the installation of separate air cleaners due to the nature of the car.

Accordingly, there is a need for a sterilizing apparatus capable of simultaneously removing contaminants contained in air in a building or an automobile room and sterilizing bacteria.

The present invention provides a photovoltaic sterilizing apparatus including a solar collecting unit, a filter unit including a photocatalyst, and a housing.

As an embodiment of the present invention, a photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus is provided. The photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus includes a sunlight collector for collecting sunlight, a filter for sterilizing or purifying the air passing through the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying device, and a housing for accommodating the sunlight collector and the filter unit , The filter unit includes a filter of a certain type including a photocatalyst and a fan for assisting circulation of the air, and the fan can be driven by using the solar light collected by the solar collector as an energy source.

The solar collector may include a condenser for condensing the sunlight and a converter for converting the sunlight obtained through the condenser into an electric signal.

Further, the housing may be formed of a transparent material capable of transmitting sunlight.

Further, the filter may be in the form of a hexahedron, a circular column, a plate, a mesh, a sphere or a honeycomb, and at least one of the inside and the outside of the filter may include or be coated with a photocatalyst.

Further, the housing is separable into a first housing part, a second housing part and a third housing part, wherein the first housing part includes a first ventilation hole and a solar collector accommodation space, and the second housing part includes a second ventilation hole and a filter part And the third housing part may be inserted and disposed between the first housing part and the second housing part when the first housing part and the second housing part are coupled, and the third housing part may be formed of a transparent material .

In the case of OH radicals generated by the photocatalytic filter, oxidizing power is higher than ozone, which can remove organic substances, sterilize bacteria and viruses, and is harmless to the human body because it is not toxic. In addition, it has self-removing ability, so that there is no problem that pollutants are removed from the filter again.

When the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus according to the present invention is used, it is possible to remove odor-emitting organics and sterilize bacteria or viruses by using solar energy.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a method of purifying air using a photocatalytic filter.
FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing an overall shape of the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is viewed from the front, the plane, and the left side.
FIG. 2B is a bottom view of the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is an exploded schematic view of a photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The terms used in this specification will be briefly described and the present invention will be described in detail.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Also, in certain cases, there may be a term selected arbitrarily by the applicant, in which case the meaning thereof will be described in detail in the description of the corresponding invention. Therefore, the term used in the present invention should be defined based on the meaning of the term, not on the name of a simple term, but on the entire contents of the present invention.

When an element is referred to as "including" an element throughout the specification, it is to be understood that the element may include other elements as well, without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Also, the terms "part," " module, "and the like described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function or operation, which may be implemented in hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In order to clearly illustrate the present invention, parts not related to the description are omitted, and similar parts are denoted by like reference characters throughout the specification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a method of purifying air using a photocatalytic filter.

1, the contaminated air can be purified through the photocatalytic filter. Such a photocatalytic filter can be activated through an ultraviolet lamp or the like. Air flow can be generated using a fan or the like in order to smooth the flow of purified air. In other words, the contaminated air passes through the photocatalytic filter and is purified, and the purified air passes through the air stream generating device such as a fan and can be circulated inside a building or a vehicle.

FIG. 2A is a perspective view showing an overall shape of the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is viewed from the front, the plane, and the left side. 2B is a bottom view of the photocatalyst disinfection apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a solar collector 100 for collecting sunlight, a filter unit 200 for sterilizing or purifying the air passing through the apparatus, And a housing 300 for receiving the sunlight collecting part and the filter part. The filter part 200 may include a filter of a certain type including a photocatalyst, and a fan for assisting circulation of the air. Also, the fan can be driven using the sunlight collected by the solar collector 100 as an energy source.

The photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be manufactured so that the volume is not too large so as not to interfere with the driving of the driver and may be manufactured in a predetermined shape or material . For example, the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying device 10 may be manufactured in the form of a miniature automobile or the like, or may be made of a transparent material or the like so as to increase solar absorption, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the photocatalyst disinfection apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be manufactured in various sizes, shapes, or materials.

3 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The solar collector 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a light collecting unit for collecting sunlight and a converting unit for converting sunlight obtained through the light collecting unit into an electric signal. Further, the light condensing unit may include a solar cell. The solar cell may be at least one selected from the group consisting of a silicon solar cell, a dye sensitized solar cell, a silicon thin film solar cell, an organic thin film solar cell, an organic polymer solar cell, an organic solar cell and a perovskite solar cell, If electricity can be generated using light, it can be used as the solar collector 100 according to the present invention, and is not limited to the above-described examples.

In addition, the conversion unit can convert the light energy into electric energy by generating a current based on the potential difference generated in the light collecting unit by the sunlight. Such a conversion unit may further include a battery. For example, the battery may be at least one selected from the group consisting of maintenance free (MF) batteries, internal-cycle batteries, vibration-resistant storage batteries, AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) accumulators, HD (Heavy Duty) accumulators and S- So long as the electric energy can be stored.

In addition, the housing 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be formed of a transparent material capable of transmitting sunlight. For example, the transparent material may be selected from the group consisting of acrylic, quartz, general purpose polystyrene (GPPS), transparent acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate (PC), styrene butadiene copolymers , Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA), Polyethylene Imine (PEI), Polyether Sulfone (PES), Poly Sulfone (PSU), Poly Phenylene Sulfone (PPSU), Styrene Acrylonitrile Plastic (SAN) And may be at least one selected from the group consisting of A-PET, Polyethylene Terephthalate-Glycol (PET-G), Poly Cyclohexylenedimethylene Terephthalate-Glycol (PCT-G), and Polyarylate The housing 300 can be used as a constituent material. In other words, the material of the housing 300 is not limited to the examples described above. The housing 300 may be made of a material having a minimized ultraviolet shielding property. Ultraviolet rays can enter and exit through the housing 300 so that the photocatalyst in the housing 300 can be activated and the sunlight collector 100 included in the housing 300 can effectively collect sunlight .

In addition, the filter 240 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be in the form of a hexahedron, a circular column, a plate, a mesh, a sphere, or a honeycomb, but is not limited thereto. In other words, the filter 240 may be implemented in various forms. Also, at least one of the inside and outside of the filter 240 may include or be coated with a photocatalyst.

In addition, a photocatalyst such as a sphere or a cube may be accommodated in the filter 240. The inside of the filter 240 may be partitioned into a honeycomb form such as a ceramic material, and each honeycomb may be filled with a photocatalyst. In addition, the photocatalyst in powder form may be coded on the honeycomb inside the filter 240. At least one nonwoven fabric may be accommodated in the filter 240, and a photocatalyst may be coated on the surface of the nonwoven fabric.

As used herein, the term "photocatalyst" is a catalyst that is acted upon by light energy and may be one or more selected from the group consisting of titanium dioxide (TiO2), Apatide, nonamic, and Pure Sent , But is not limited thereto.

The photocatalytic filter 240 according to an embodiment of the present invention generates OH radicals as an oxidant by receiving light energy and can remove organic materials such as trimethylamine, ammonia, methyl mercaptan, hydrogensulfide, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde in the air. In addition, bacteria or viruses such as Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli, Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Staphylococcus aureus, Serratia marcescens and influenza (influenza) virus A which may be contained in the air can be sterilized.

The housing 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention is separable into the first housing part 310, the second housing part 320 and the third housing part 330, and the first housing part 310, The second housing part 320 includes a space for accommodating the second ventilation hole 220 and the filter part 200 and the second housing part 320 includes the second ventilation hole 220 and the space for receiving the sunlight collecting part 100, The first housing part 310 and the second housing part 320 can be inserted between the first housing part 310 and the second housing part 320 when the first housing part 310 and the second housing part 320 are coupled, The portion 330 may be formed of a transparent material.

In addition, the second ventilation hole 220 can suck ambient air, and the air sterilized or purified through the catalyst 240 can be discharged to the first ventilation hole 210 through the fan 230. The second ventilation hole 220 may be located on at least one of the bottom surface and one side surface of the second housing part 320 as shown in FIG. In other words, since the second ventilation hole 220 is provided in at least one of the bottom surface and the side surface of the second housing part 320 for sucking the air to be cleaned, the air cleaning efficiency can be enhanced. For example, if the second ventilation hole 220 is provided on the bottom surface of the second housing part 320, the flow of air by the fan 230 may be formed vertically in the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying device 10. If the second ventilation hole 220 is provided on the side surface of the second housing part 320, the flow of air by the fan 230 may be formed in the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying device 10 to the left and right. The flow of air in the photocatalytic sterilizing apparatus 10 may be variously formed according to the shape of the fan 230 or the position of the second ventilation hole 220.

3 is an exploded schematic view of a photocatalytic sterilizing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Contaminated air can be introduced into the photocatalytic sterilization apparatus 10 through the second ventilation opening 220 of the second housing 320. The contaminated air introduced into the photocatalytic sterilization apparatus 10 can be purified through the filter 240. As described above, the filter 240 may include a photocatalyst in the filter 240, or a photocatalyst may be coated on the outside of the filter 240. The photocatalyst may be coated on the filter 240 by the sunlight passing through the housing 330, The photocatalyst of the photocatalyst 240 can be activated. In other words, the air contacted with the filter 240 including the photocatalyst activated by ultraviolet rays of sunlight can be purified. The inflow of sunlight into the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying device 10 can be conducted through the first housing part 310, the second housing part 320, or the third housing part 330. For example, even if the first housing part 310 and the second housing part 320 are made of a colored material, the third housing part 330 may be made of a transparent material capable of transmitting sunlight, Can be actively induced. The photocatalytic filter 240 receives the sunlight coming in through the third housing 330 made of a transparent material and generates OH radicals as an oxidant. The OH radicals generated are generated in the photocatalytic sterilization apparatus 10, The bacteria or viruses can be sterilized or purified.

The first housing part 310 may include a first ventilation hole 210 and a solar collector accommodation space. The first housing part 310 may serve as a cover for the top surface of the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying device 10. The second housing part 320 may include a space for accommodating the second ventilation hole 220 and the filter 240. In other words, the second housing part 320 may include a second ventilation hole 220 for sucking polluted air, and may be provided with a space for receiving the filter 240 that receives the photocatalyst. The third housing part 330 may be inserted between the first housing part 310 and the second housing part 320 when the first housing part 310 and the second housing part 320 are coupled to each other . Also, as described above, the third housing part 330 may be formed of a transparent material.

The sunlight collected by the solar collector 100 installed in the receiving space of the first housing part 310 may be converted into electric energy and used as a driving power source for the fan 230. [ The air sterilized or purified by the photocatalyst sterilization and purification apparatus 10 can be discharged to the outside of the photocatalytic sterilization apparatus 10 through the first ventilation hole 210 by the air flow generated by the fan 230.

The air flow for sterilizing and purifying contaminated air by the photocatalytic sterilizing and purifying device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be formed as shown by the dotted line in FIG. However, as described above, the airflow represented in FIG. 3 is illustrative and may be variously formed according to the positions of the first ventilation holes 210 and the second ventilation holes 220, and the shape of the fan 230.

The contents of the above-described method can be applied in connection with the apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the description of the same contents as those of the above-described method with respect to the apparatus is omitted.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing description of the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and that those of ordinary skill in the art can readily understand that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the present invention. will be. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

10: Photocatalytic disinfection device
100: Solar collector
200:
210: first vent
220: Second ventilation hole
230: Fan
240: filter
300: housing
310: first housing
320: second housing
330: third housing

Claims (5)

A photocatalyst sterilization purification apparatus comprising:
A solar collector for collecting sunlight;
A filter unit for sterilizing or purifying air discharged through the apparatus; And
And a housing for accommodating the solar collector and the filter unit,
Wherein the filter unit includes a filter of a predetermined type including a photocatalyst and a fan for assisting circulation of the air,
Wherein the fan is driven by using sunlight collected by the sunlight collector as an energy source.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the solar collector includes a light collecting part for collecting the sunlight and a converting part for converting sunlight obtained through the light collecting part into an electric signal.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the housing is formed of a transparent material capable of transmitting the sunlight.
The method according to claim 1,
The filter is in the form of a hexahedron, a circular column, a plate, a mesh, a sphere or a honeycomb,
Wherein at least one of the inside and the outside of the filter includes or is coated with a photocatalyst.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the housing is separable into a first housing part, a second housing part, and a third housing part, the first housing part including a first ventilation hole and the solar collector accommodation space, the second housing part including a second ventilation hole and Wherein the third housing part is insertable between the first housing part and the second housing part when the first housing part and the second housing part are coupled to each other, And the housing part is made of a transparent material.

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