KR20190011889A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, an air cleaner comprises: an air inflow unit; a filter unit removing a fine particle in air flowing from the air inflow unit; a discharge unit removing microorganism by generating a discharge in the air passing through the filter unit; and a water electrolysis unit emitting oxygen generated by electrolyzing water indoors.

Description

[0001] Air cleaner [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air cleaning apparatus, and more particularly, to an air cleaning apparatus having an air purifying function, a humidifying function, a sterilizing function, and an oxygen supplying function.

As the energy consumption has soared since industrialization, the amount of air pollutants generated increases and the insulation and closure of the buildings are progressing to increase the energy efficiency. As a result, the contaminated air from the outside is continuously circulated in the building, and the air quality of the room is deteriorated. In urban life, the time spent living indoors is rather more than the time of outside activity. In addition to the polluted air from the outside, the health of the human body is seriously threatened by the volatile organic compounds emitted from indoor interior objects.

It is known that an increase in pollutant concentration of indoor pollutants leads to a disease called Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) such as headache, dizziness, eye quality and laryngitis. Contaminant dusts in the indoor space caused by various causes vary widely in size from sub-micron to tens of microns, and have very different physical and microbiological properties. These include allergic diseases, respiratory diseases And may even cause carcinogenicity.

In order to solve these problems, air cleaners have been widely used for the purpose of purifying indoor air. In addition to basic functions of filtering fine particles in the air, air cleaners evolve to perform various functions such as removing harmful gases, releasing anions, and controlling humidity. Air purifiers are classified into mechanical air purifiers and wet air purifiers according to the air purification method. Mechanical air cleaners include a filter system using a dust filter or an adsorption filter, and a water filter system for removing dust and harmful gas using water. Wet air cleaners include an electric dust collection system that attaches charged particles to a collecting plate using a high voltage, an anion system that discharges the generated anions into the air using high voltage, a plasma that generates anions by plasma treatment, And a method of removing odors by a redox reaction by a hydroxyl radical generated by irradiating a photocatalyst with ultraviolet rays.

A prior art document on air purifiers is Korean Patent No. 526103. The prior art discloses an air purifier including an air purifier and an anion generator. The air purifier includes a plurality of buttons for allowing the user to select the number of anions per unit area discharged through the discharge port of the air purifier A sensor for sensing the number of anions per unit area outside the air purifier; and a controller for comparing the previously stored information selected by one of the buttons with the information provided by the sensor, If the information selected by the button is smaller than the number of the anions per unit area than the information selected by the button, the anion generator is maintained in the on state to continue the generation of negative ions, and if the information sensed by the sensor is negative If the number of the negative ion generators is larger than the number And a fragrance generation unit for discharging fragrance according to the stored information of the control unit selected by one of the buttons of the input unit, wherein the control unit, the input unit, The sensor, the negative ion generating part and the incense generating part are electrically connected to each other.

What is problematic in air cleaners that have the function of decomposing harmful gases into plasma or emitting anions are active species such as ozone generated by high voltage. Among them, ozone has a positive function of sterilizing harmful microorganisms in the air, but when discharged into the indoor space, it has harmful effects on the human body. Therefore, there is a great need to develop an air purifier which does not release the remaining active species such as ozone to the outside while maintaining functions such as sterilization function and anion release.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air purification apparatus capable of removing dust from contaminated air in a room, and capable of sterilizing, supplying oxygen, and adjusting humidity, will be.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air filtering apparatus comprising: an air inflow section; a filter section for removing fine particles in the air introduced from the air inflow section; And an electrolytic dissolving unit for discharging the oxygen generated by electrolyzing the water into the room.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the filter unit may be a porous filter, an adsorption filter, or a water film filter.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the ionizer system, the ozone generator system, the arc discharge system, the corona discharge system, and the dielectric barrier discharge system may be applied to the discharge unit.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus may further include an active species removing unit for removing the active species in the air released to the room by reacting the hydrogen produced in the electrolytic dissolution unit with the active species generated in the discharge unit.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the active species removing unit may include an ultraviolet lamp for inducing a reaction between hydrogen and ozone.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the active species removing unit may include means for forming a vortex so as to increase the frequency of collision between hydrogen and active species, which is provided at the downstream of the discharging unit.

According to still another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an ozone sensor for measuring the concentration of ozone, the ozone sensor measuring the concentration of ozone, The amount can be adjusted.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus may further include a hydrogen discharge pipe for discharging part of the hydrogen generated in the electrolytic dissolution unit to the outside.

The air purifier of the present invention has the following effects.

1. The filter part can remove the fine particles contained in the room air, and in the embodiment in which the water film filter is applied, the humidifying function can be secured at the same time.

2. The discharge part functions to sterilize microorganisms in the air by anion or activated oxygen or oxygen compound.

3. The electrolytic dissection part can supply the oxygen generated by the electrolysis of water to the room, so that the concentration of oxygen in the room air consumed by respiration can be maintained at a constant level.

4. The active species elimination unit can prevent harmful ozone from being released to the room by discharging the ozone generated by the discharge unit by changing it to water and oxygen, and the unreacted trace amount of hydrogen can be reduced by the reduction reaction, It is possible to obtain a beneficial effect in the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a process of purifying air in the air purifier of the present invention.
2 schematically shows a configuration of an air purifying apparatus of the present invention.

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

The air purifier of the present invention comprises an air inlet, a filter for removing fine particles in the air introduced from the air inlet, a discharger for discharging the air passing through the filter to remove microorganisms, And dissolving oxygen generated by electrolysis into the room.

The air purifier of the present invention is applied to an energy-managed building that is shielded from the outside air, and has functions of oxygen supply and humidity control in addition to basic air purifiers such as fine particle removal and sterilization for air circulating inside Feature. When the air purifier of the present invention is applied to a ceiling embedded type air conditioner, the indoor air can be continuously purified and the indoor living environment such as oxygen concentration and humidity can be improved.

Another feature of the air purifying apparatus of the present invention is that an active species such as ozone is not emitted to the outside although the discharge unit is provided. The discharging unit of the air purifier induces an electric field in the air to cause a gas phase reaction of the air to remove bacteria, viruses and the like by active species such as anion, active oxygen, hydroxyl radical, hydroperoxyl radical, , Molds and other harmful microorganisms. At this time, a small amount of active species among the generated active species can not be prevented from being discharged to the outside. In the present invention, air having passed through the discharge unit is discharged to the outside through the active species removing unit, so that even a small amount of active species can be prevented from being released into the air.

FIG. 1 shows a process of purifying air in the air purifier of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the air purifier of the present invention includes a process S1 for sucking outside air, a process S2 for filtering fine particles in the sucked air, a step S2 for inducing a discharge to the air, A step S4 of removing a small amount of residual active species generated while passing through the discharge part, and a step S5 of discharging oxygen generated by electrolysis of water to the room, . Each of the above processes may occur sequentially in the air passing through the air purifier. At this time, the sterilization process and the removal of the remaining active species must be sequentially performed, but the order of the other processes may be changed.

The process of sucking outside air may be performed by air circulation means installed inside the air purifier. The air circulation means may be a motor-driven fan-shaped air circulation device. The air circulation device may include a structure for the object Internet so that the air circulation device can operate at a proper time in cooperation with a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an ozone concentration sensor, and the like installed in a city space.

The process of filtering the fine particles can be realized by various means, specifically, a porous filter such as a HEPA filter, an adsorption filter composed of a material capable of adsorbing a volatile organic compound or the like, An electrostatic precipitator for adsorbing the fine particles on the surface of the electrode, and a membrane filter for adsorbing fine particles on the surface of the circulating water. The membrane type filter has the advantage of being able to carry out the humidity control function together with the fine particle removal function, and it has the advantage that the filter is not required to be replaced and the fine dust can be adsorbed.

The sterilization process for removing pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi, and the like can be realized by inducing discharge in the air. Specifically, an anion system in which a high voltage is applied to a microelectrode to induce a discharge in the air and an anion is released, a plasma treatment produces an active species such as an anion, active oxygen, a hydroxyl radical, a hydroperoxyl radical, ozone, A plasma method in which a gas is decomposed, and the like, and has a sterilizing function of reacting and removing the active species generated in the process by reacting with microorganisms. Either the ionizer system, the ozone generator system, the arc discharge system, the corona discharge system or the dielectric barrier discharge system can be applied to the configuration of the discharge unit for inducing the discharge in the air. Among them, the dielectric barrier method has an advantage that the amount of generated ozone is relatively low as compared with other methods.

When the water film type filter is applied in the filtering process, the humidity of the air introduced into the discharge part is increased and various active species are generated during the discharge process. The water (H ₂ O) present in the air is separated into hydrogen ions (H ⁺ ), oxygen anions (O ₂ ^- ) and electrons (e ^- ) during the discharge process, A hydroxyl radical, a hydroperoxyl radical, or the like. The radicals react with viruses, bacteria, fungi and the like present in the air to remove their activity. The attack mechanism of active ions and free radicals is that the highly reactive ions and free radicals (O ₂ ^- , OH ^- , OOH ^- , OH, OOH) are adsorbed on the surfaces of bacteria, viruses and fungi in the air It is known that the cells that have been deprived of hydrogen ions by the reaction with the hydrogen ions of the cell membrane are reduced to water and are not able to function due to DNA damage. The effects of antimicrobial, deodorizing, and viral inhibition on anions and free radicals produced during the discharge process are summarized in Table 1 below.

 Table 1

The process of removing a small amount of residual active species generated while passing through the discharge part includes a step of changing ozone generated in the discharge part into oxygen molecules and water in an ultraviolet environment. The reaction consists of a first-step reaction in which ozone is decomposed into oxygen molecules and oxygen radicals by ultraviolet rays, and a second-step reaction in which oxygen radicals generated in the first-step reaction react with hydrogen molecules to form water. Both the first-step reaction and the second-step reaction can occur in the gas phase, and the second-step reaction is an exothermic reaction with ΔH = -241.8 kJ / mol, so that the entire reaction can occur spontaneously in the ultraviolet environment. The first reaction scheme and the second reaction scheme are shown below.

Step 1:

: O ₃ (g) + hv (240-310 nm UV) -> O ₂ (g) + O (g)

Step 2:

: H ₂ (g) + O (g) - > H ₂ O (g)

In the ultraviolet irradiation environment such as the first step reaction, the following side reactions may occur in which oxygen molecules are decomposed into oxygen radicals and oxygen radicals react with oxygen molecules to generate ozone. This side reaction is a reaction to regenerate ozone, but in the presence of hydrogen molecules, oxygen radicals are consumed and reaction of oxygen radicals and oxygen molecules can be suppressed. Considering the reaction conditions where ozone generation and removal are competitively taking place, an ozone sensor for measuring the ozone concentration at the downstream of the discharge part is installed, the hydrogen supply amount can be controlled by taking into account the concentration of ozone measured by the ozone sensor, The flow control valve of the supply device can be operated in conjunction with the ozone sensor.

Sub-reaction

: O ₂ (g) + hv (240-310 nm UV) -> 20 (g)

_{O (g) + O 2 (} g) -> O 3 (g)

Another reaction that can occur during the removal of active species is the reaction of hydroxyl radicals with hydrogen molecules. Hydroxyl radicals are produced during the discharge of moisture-containing air and are known to be highly active against harmful substances. Hydroxyl radicals have a relatively short survival time compared to ozone, but they are known to have various harmful effects when inhaled into the human body. Hydrogen reacts with hydroxyl radicals through the following reaction scheme, and the active hydroxyl radicals can be removed during this process. A study of the reaction of hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals is described in J. Phys. Chem., 1995, 99 (37), pp 13627-13636.

Hydrogen and hydroxyl radicals

Reaction 1: H ₂ + OH (radical) → H ₂ O + H

Reaction 2: H + OH (radical) → H ₂ O

It is preferable that the region where the active species elimination reaction takes place is provided at the rear end of the discharge portion. Since the discharging part is a space where sterilization by the active species occurs, it is necessary to spatially separate the discharging part and the area where the active species removing reaction occurs to maintain the sterilizing effect. In the case of the active species removal, it is advantageous to secure the reaction time in order to effectively cause the first-step reaction and the second-step reaction. To this end, it is necessary to increase the frequency of collision between hydrogen and active species, and it is desirable to add means for changing the flow of air into vortex. The vortex forming means can be constituted by forming a curved passage of air or by installing a plurality of metal meshes in the middle of the moving passage.

A water electrolytic bath is used in the process of releasing oxygen generated by electrolysis of water into the room. Techniques for producing oxygen include pressure swing adsorption using zeolite as an adsorbent, membrane using membrane, and electrolysis. The pressure cyclic adsorption system uses oxygen, which is the most recently absorbed oxygen, by selecting the zeolite, which is a special porous material called zeolite. Oxygen can be generated in the space. The membrane type is also called a gas separation membrane type. It is a method of producing oxygen by using a separation membrane capable of separating only a specific gas component from a gas mixture. Oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and methane Separately, oxygen is generated. However, the pressure cycling adsorption method and the membrane method have a problem that the oxygen generating efficiency and the purity of generated oxygen are lowered after a certain period of time. In particular, the use of the pressure cycling adsorption type compressor causes a problem of noise generation.

In order to solve the above problems and utilize hydrogen molecules to remove active species generated in the discharge part, the present invention applies an oxygen generation method using electrolysis. In the electrolysis process of water, oxygen and hydrogen are generated. In the air purification apparatus of the present invention, a diaphragm electrolysis tank is used because oxygen and hydrogen must be separated. Oxygen generated in the diaphragm electrolysis tank is released into the air and functions to maintain the oxygen concentration in the indoor air at a certain level by supplementing the exhausted oxygen during the breathing process. Hydrogen generated in the electrolysis process can be used as a reactant for the reaction to remove the active species by being transferred to the active species removal unit. However, if the concentration of hydrogen released into the room becomes too high, there is a risk of ignition, so it can be discharged outdoors through a separate discharge pipe. The amount of hydrogen introduced into the room without reacting in the active species removal is very small, which can lead to beneficial biological effects such as the antioxidative effect of hydrogen through the in vivo reduction reaction as recently known.

2 schematically shows a configuration of an air purifying apparatus of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the air purifying apparatus of the present invention includes a filter unit, a discharging unit, an active decontamination unit, and a water receiving unit. At this time, the air introduced into the air purifier is discharged to the room through the filter unit, the discharge unit, and the active species removal unit sequentially. Oxygen generated from the dissected section is released into the room to keep the oxygen concentration in the room space constant. Some of the hydrogen generated in the anhydrous part can be supplied to the active species removal part, and some can be discharged to the outside.

It is preferable that the filter portion, the discharge portion, and the active species removing portion are housed in one housing, but the water receiving portion may be housed in the housing or may be installed in a separate space and connected to the active species removing portion through the hydrogen moving pipe.

The filter part primarily functions to remove fine particles such as dust contained in the air, and may be applied to any one of a porous filter, an adsorption filter, an electrostatic dust collecting filter, and an aqueous membrane filter, or a combination thereof.

The discharge part applies a high voltage to the electrode to form an electric field in the air, and induces a discharge in such a manner that a charged particle is generated in the process of colliding free electrons with neutral molecules. The discharge unit may have an electrode configuration in which any one of an ionizer system, an ozone generator system, an arc discharge system, a corona discharge system, and a dielectric barrier discharge system is applied. At the discharge site, highly reactive active species such as anions, ozone, oxygen radicals, hydroxyl radicals and hydroperoxyl radicals can be produced, and these active species remove pathogenic contaminants such as bacteria, viruses and fungi .

The active species elimination unit is installed at the downstream of the discharge unit, and includes a hydrogen supply unit and an ultraviolet lamp to induce the reaction of the ozone and the hydrogen molecule generated in the discharge unit. The hydrogen supply section has a configuration for supplying hydrogen separated from the electrolytic dissolution section and regulating the flow rate. The hydrogen supply part may be composed of a plurality of injection nozzles. The injection nozzle may be provided in a spaced apart relationship with a plurality of spray nozzles so as to function to uniformly mix the air and the hydrogen that have passed through the discharge unit. It is preferable that the injection nozzle is disposed in a region adjacent to the ultraviolet lamp so that the hydrogen molecule can suppress the generation of ozone generated by the ultraviolet ray, and more preferably, it is disposed downstream of the ultraviolet lamp along the air flow. The active species elimination section preferably includes a vortex inducing means in which the ozone and the liver form a vortex in the gas flow so as to increase the collision frequency between the active species and the hydrogen molecules. The vortex inducing means may be a gas flow tube having a zigzag-like flow path, and a mesh-type diaphragm in which a plurality of holes are formed may be stacked. A metal catalyst may be installed in the space where the vortex inducing means is formed. The metal catalyst can function to absorb extra energy (exothermic reaction) generated in the process of collision of ozone, oxygen radical and hydrogen molecules, so that the reaction efficiency can be improved. An ozone sensor for measuring the concentration of ozone may be provided at the rear end of the discharge unit. The hydrogen supply unit of the active species removal unit can control the amount of hydrogen molecules injected into the active species removal unit in accordance with the ozone concentration of the air discharged from the discharge unit in conjunction with the ozone sensor.

The electrolytic dissection unit performs the function of replenishing the oxygen consumed by breathing by supplying the oxygen generated by electrolysis of water to the room and supplying the generated hydrogen to the active species removing unit. A diaphragm type electrolysis tank is used because it is necessary to separate oxygen and hydrogen from the electrolytic solution. A part of the hydrogen generated in the dissipation part can be discharged to the outside through a separate discharge pipe.

The air purification apparatus of the present invention has all the functions necessary for the indoor air quality management such as air purification, humidity control, oxygen concentration control, decomposition and disinfection of harmful substances, Suitable. In order to maximize such effects, the functions can be operated and controlled in cooperation with a sensor or an internet device worn in a wearable manner to a structure or a human body in the room. To this end, the air purification apparatus of the present invention may include a sensor, an information processing system, an Internet communication means, and the like, and may further include a configuration related to the object Internet to communicate with surrounding objects.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, . Therefore, the embodiments described in the present invention are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention but to limit the scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

An air inlet;
A filter unit for removing fine particles in the air introduced from the air inlet;
A discharger for discharging air from the filter unit to remove microorganisms; And
And an electrolytic dissolving unit for electrolyzing the water and discharging the generated oxygen to the room. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the filter unit is a porous filter, an adsorption filter, or a water film filter. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein at least one of an ionizer system, an ozone generator system, an arc discharge system, a corona discharge system, and a dielectric barrier discharge system is applied to the discharge unit. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising an active species removing unit for reacting the hydrogen generated in the electrolytic dissolving unit with the active species generated in the discharge unit to remove active species in the air discharged into the room. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the active species removing unit includes an ultraviolet lamp for inducing a reaction between hydrogen and ozone. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the active species removing unit is provided at a downstream end of the discharge unit and includes means for forming a vortex so as to increase the frequency of collision between hydrogen and active species. The method of claim 4,
And an ozone sensor for measuring the concentration of ozone is disposed at a rear end of the discharge unit, and the amount of hydrogen released to the active species removal is controlled in conjunction with the concentration of ozone measured by the ozone sensor. Device. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a hydrogen discharge pipe for discharging a part of the hydrogen generated in the electrolytic dissolution part to the outside of the room.

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