KR20170100732A - Plasma humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plasma humidifier which is able to adjust the humidity in a large space and to kill viruses causing influenza, MERS, SARS, etc. by plasma treatment. To this end, the present invention provides a plasma humidifier which emits electrons, ions, and various radicals (electrons + ions + various radicals), which compose plasma, into a space together with steam to make a chemical reaction with pathogens in the atmosphere and to sterilize it. According to the present invention, the plasma humidifier has an outlet, through which steam is emitted, to be narrow from a body and an electrode to generate plasma inside near an exit of the outlet. Plasma is generated by discharging the atmosphere. The electron to generate plasma may be composed of one of a needle electrode method, which installs a high-voltage electrode in a tungsten needle shape and a ground connection electrode for the high-voltage electrode, a needle tube electrode method, which uses a syringe needle electrode as a high-voltage electrode, and forms a ground connection electrode in a flat plate shape with a hole, and a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) method. According to the present invention, the plasma humidifier comprises: a vibrator; an outlet nozzle; an electrode to generate plasma; and a power supply unit.

Description

Plasma humidifier {PLASMA HUMIDIFIER}

The present invention relates to a plasma humidifier capable of blowing a plasma with a water vapor in a space to perform a humidity control sterilization treatment on a space.

Plasma has been regarded as a technology that takes the lead in semiconductor manufacturing. Recently, a lot of researches have been conducted on fusion technology that applies plasma for biological use. Various plasma generating apparatuses are being developed to obtain the effect of treating the human body with plasma to treat skin diseases, promote hair growth, or sterilize air or objects. In such a bio-plasma application, conventional plasma adopts a method of directly contacting a glow plasma emitting light to an object surface or skin. That is, conventional plasma devices are a method of directly irradiating a plasma beam or a plasma plume to a skin or a device. In this case, the length of the plasma or the diameter of the irradiation is several millimeters. Therefore, there is a space limitation in their use. There is an inconvenience that these devices should be used close to the skin or the surface, and when a large area is to be treated, there is a time limit because the plasma having a small irradiation diameter needs to be moved while being moved.

 Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0097961 proposes an air purification apparatus using plasma, but no specific plasma generation apparatus and power source are described.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0026551 shows a combination of a humidifier, a plasma generator, and an air purifier. In this publication, a humidifier device is included at the upper end and a plasma device beneath it is coupled to the air purifier, and a needle-shaped cathode and a positive electrode are provided on the net. Such an electrode configuration requires a high voltage and thus has poor electrical stability.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma humidifier capable of sterilizing respiratory disease viruses such as cold influenza, MERS, SARS and the like by plasma treatment together with humidity control in a wide space.

According to the above object, the present invention provides a plasma humidifier which blows electrons, ions, and various radicals (electrons + ions + various radicals) constituting a plasma into a space together with water vapor to cause a chemical reaction with pathogens in the air to sterilize .

In the plasma humidifier, a discharge port through which water vapor is discharged is narrowly provided from the body, and an electrode for generating plasma is provided inside the outlet of the discharge port. The plasma generation is a method of discharging the air, A needle electrode method in which a high voltage electrode of a tungsten needle bed and a ground electrode are provided thereon, a needle electrode method of a syringe needle electrode of a high voltage electrode and a ground electrode in a flat plate, or a DBD And a barrier discharge method.

In addition, the plasma humidifier of the present invention can show the cosmetic effect and the sterilizing effect by bringing the radicals and the water vapor coming from the plasma humidifier into contact with hair, skin, and object surface.

The present invention does not directly touch the plasma or the object to be processed but takes a few seconds to several tens of microseconds to shorten the life time of the particles of the plasma, A considerable number of plasma particles are spread by the vibrator of the humidifier to a wide space, and the effects such as sterilization, disinfection, and treatment can be obtained for a wide space.

According to the present invention, there is provided an indoor humidity control device for preventing infectious respiratory diseases such as cold influenza, SARS and MERS, and a combined device for sterilizing pathogens in indoor air.

When the plasma humidifier of the present invention is installed in a room such as an in-patient room, sterilization and disinfection of the indoor wall surface and the object surface are performed together with air sterilization, and the plasma particles are applied to human skin or hair, It activates, sterilizes the skin to keep it clean, and shows the therapeutic effect through activation of skin cells.

Also, since the plasma humidifier of the present invention provides a dedicated power source device having a DC-AC inverter, it can be used as a general domestic power source, can be used as a separate DC power source battery, And can be used as a portable plasma device, so that it is convenient to perform operation regardless of a place.

1 is a block diagram showing the basic structure of a plasma humidifier according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing a method of installing an electrode on the inner surface of a plasma humidifier discharge port, in which (a) a direct discharge plasma generation method is used, and (b) a dielectric barrier discharge method Fig.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a method of installing an electrode on the inner surface of a discharge port of a plasma humidifier. FIG. 3 (a) shows a direct discharge plasma generating method using a needle electrode of a syringe, Fig.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows a basic configuration of a plasma humidifier. It shows the basic form of a plasma humidifier with a water bottle, a vibrator and a plasma generator. The plasma generating part includes an electrode, and is installed on the inner surface of the water vapor outlet housing of the plasma humidifier. The preferable position of the plasma bar generating portion can be referred to as the inside of the end portion of the humidifier nozzle. In FIG. 1, the position of the plasma generating part is indicated at the nozzle end and the position inside the plasma generating part is shown at once, but it can be selectively configured.

The configuration of the plasma generator included in such a plasma humidifier will be described in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

Plasma generation basically uses DC or low frequency alternating current to discharge the atmosphere. Generally, a DC-AC inverter with a frequency of several tens Hz to several tens of kHz is used. In addition, plasma may be generated by discharging the atmosphere itself by high frequency RF and / or microwave discharge using a semiconductor oscillation element.

The plasma generation amount is controlled by a drive switch provided outside the housing.

The plasma generator is installed at the end of the water vapor outlet nozzle, and the nozzle is installed narrowly and long from the humidifier body to maintain the speed of the airflow rapidly. It is a feature of the present invention that the plasma generator is provided with a plasma generating device inside the outlet nozzle. When the plasma generator is installed in the inner space of the humidifier body, plasma particles easily lose energy and become neutralized in the inner space of the body. Therefore, it is preferable to install the plasma generator on the narrow outlet side in order to maximize the energy of the plasma particles.

The working principle is that the plasma generated inside the steam discharge nozzle is discharged by the vibrator in the form of wind in the form of plasma particles (electrons + ions + various radicals) through the discharge port.

The amount of plasma particles generated by the atmospheric discharge can be controlled by controlling the voltage applied to the electrode and the plasma current.

2 illustrates a method in which electrodes are provided on the inner surface of the plasma discharge nozzle. The generation of the plasma is in various ways, and FIGS. 2 and 3 present some examples of the plasma source structure for the plasma humidifier.

2 (a) shows an electrode configuration of a direct discharge plasma generation method. And the plasma electrode 500 is provided at four places on the inner surface of the discharge port nozzle. The electrodes are preferably arranged in a radial direction.

An annular ground electrode 520 is secured with a tungsten needle 510 secured to the inner surface of the outlet nozzle of the housing and with a slight spacing d (1-10 mm, but not limited) at the tip of the needle. A high voltage is applied to the tungsten needle 510 and the annular ground electrode 520 is grounded to generate plasma between the tungsten needle 510 and the annular ground electrode 520. The diameter of the tungsten is several millimeters (may be from 1 to 10 mm, but is not limited) and is acuminate with a sharp tip. The power through the inverter is applied to the tungsten pin 510 through the safety capacitor C _B. The distance d between the end of the tungsten needle 510 and the ground electrode 520 is preferably about 1 mm. A voltage of 1 to 3 kV having a frequency of several tens kHz is applied to the tungsten needle 510 to cause a discharge between the tip of the tungsten needle 510 and the ground electrode 520 to generate a high density glow plasma. These plasmas come out from the outlet nozzle together with moisture by the plasma wind by the vibrator inside the housing. The tungsten needles 510 may be deformed to four or more when arranged radially. In addition to tungsten, the needle electrode may be made of a discharge-resistant alloy or platinum, titanium, or the like.

2 (b) shows application of a plasma source of a dielectric barrier discharge method using a dielectric such as a glass plate. And the plasma generator is installed at four places on the inner surface of the discharge port. A metal electrode 530 is provided on the lower surface of the dielectric 535 made of a glass or quartz and a ground electrode 540 is provided on the upper surface of the dielectric 535 in the longitudinal direction. In this embodiment, a glass plate is used, a ground electrode 540 is grounded, and a power is applied to the metal electrode 530 to generate a dielectric barrier discharge in the vicinity of the ground wire. The thickness of the dielectric 535 is preferably about 1 mm, and the voltage applied to the metal electrode 530 plate is 1 to 3 kV at several tens of kHz.

Fig. 3 shows an electrode installation method configured to pass through the inner end surface of the plasma discharge nozzle.

3 (a), a direct discharge type plasma source using a syringe needle electrode 550 is applied. A syringe needle electrode 550 is disposed at four places in the body of the discharge port nozzle and a plate-shaped ground electrode 560 having a hole at the end of the needle electrode 550 is disposed. That is, the syringe needle electrode 550 is disposed such that a body 555 filled with an insulator is injected through the nozzle hole of the syringe needle electrode 550, and the syringe needle electrode 550 is disposed at a distance of about 1 mm from the end of the syringe needle electrode 550 A plate-shaped ground electrode 560 having a hole (four holes as a whole) at a position where it can communicate with the through hole is assembled. Plasma is generated between the tip of the needle electrode 550 having an inner diameter of several mm or less and the ground electrode 560 plate. To this end, a voltage of 1 to 3 kV, typically tens of kHz, is applied to the needle electrode 550 of the syringe. The syringe needle electrode 550 and the hole of the ground electrode plate may be modified to four or less.

FIG. 3 (b) shows application of a dielectric barrier discharge plasma source employing a dielectric 575 such as a glass plate or a quartz plate. 2 (b), two plate-shaped dielectrics 575 in the form of slits are provided on the end face of the discharge port nozzle, and high-voltage electrode plates 570 And a ground electrode plate 580 is installed in a space defined by the front surface of the dielectric 575. [ A voltage of 1 to 3 kV, typically tens of kHz, is applied to the high voltage electrode plate 570 to generate a dielectric barrier discharge type plasma.

Figure 5 is a Desk Top plasma humidifier. Fig. 5 is a box-shaped desk-top type. This box type is suitable for use as an apparatus for sterilizing indoor air.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described. It is therefore to be understood that the embodiments described above are in all respects illustrative 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.

510: (tungsten) needle
520: annular ground electrode
530: metal electrode
535: Dielectric
540: ground electrode
550: Syringe needle electrode
555: Body
560: ground electrode
570: High voltage electrode plate
575: Dielectric
580: Ground electrode plate

Claims (5)

As a plasma humidifier,
Inside the housing with the water vapor outlet nozzle,
A vibrator for emitting water vapor;
An outlet nozzle extending from the housing body space to a diameter smaller than the housing body space;
An electrode for plasma generation provided in a discharge nozzle; And
And a power supply device for applying a voltage to the electrode,
Plasma generation takes the form of discharging the atmosphere,
The electrode for plasma generation,
A nozzle provided at the inside of the discharge port nozzle end,
A high-voltage electrode of a metal needle and a needle electrode system provided with a ground electrode therefor,
A syringe needle tube system in which a syringe needle electrode is a high voltage electrode and a ground electrode is a flat plate having a hole,
Or a DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge) method in which a high voltage electrode is attached to one surface of a dielectric and a ground electrode is provided on a back surface of the dielectric. The needle electrode system according to claim 1, wherein the needle electrode system is provided with an annular ground electrode along the inner wall of the discharge port nozzle end, and spaced apart from the annular ground electrode, Plasma humidifier. A syringe needle tube method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the syringe needle tube method comprises filling an interior portion of an outlet nozzle end with an insulative body, radially inserting a plurality of syringe needles into the body, A flat plate ground electrode is disposed within the outlet port such that the holes are aligned with one another to communicate with the aperture of the needle of the syringe and the ground electrode is positioned further forward in the outlet nozzle than the needle end of the needle A plasma humidifier. The DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge) method according to claim 1, wherein a high voltage electrode is attached to one surface of a dielectric, an electrode module formed by attaching a ground electrode in the form of an electrode line to the dielectric surface is disposed inside the plurality of discharge port nozzles, Wherein the electrodes are arranged so as to face the wall surface of the discharge port nozzle. The DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge) method according to claim 1, wherein the two dielectrics are arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other with a slit-like clearance, a high voltage electrode is attached to the back surface of each dielectric, And an electrode is disposed on the surface of the plasma humidifier.

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