KR20190090450A - Air cleaner capable of self regenerating using photocatalyst - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a refrigerator air cleaner with a self-regeneration function using a photocatalyst, which is configured to adsorb a foul material, and to dissolve and remove the same. The refrigerator air cleaner with a self-regeneration function using a photocatalyst comprises: a main body comprising a housing of which front and rear surfaces are penetrated to form a filter mounting hole, a battery stored in the housing to supply power, and a control panel formed in the housing; a fan disposed at one side of the filter mounting hole of the housing to circulate the air through the filter mounting hole; a filter case disposed at the other side of the filter mounting hole; an adsorption filter including a filter fiber of an activated carbon material and a photocatalyst of a nano biomaterial submerged in the filter fiber to be mounted on the filter case to adsorb the foul material; and an LED light source provided around an outer circumference of the filter case to irradiate light to the adsorption filter.

Description

AIR CLEANER CAPABLE OF SELF REGENERATING USING PHOTOCATALYST}

The present invention relates to an air cleaner, and more particularly, to an air cleaner for a refrigerator equipped with a self-renewal function using a photocatalyst, which is installed in a refrigerator and absorbs and removes odors and microorganisms.

The main odorous substances of the refrigerator include hydrogen sulfide generated from vegetables and eggs and trimethylamine generated from fish. And in Korea, odors are more severe because fermented foods such as kimchi are stored together in the refrigerator. In addition, since the food is stored in the refrigerator, microorganisms (E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, pneumococci, etc.) may be introduced and expanded.

In order to remove odorous substances, an air cleaner equipped with an adsorption filter manufactured using components having excellent adsorption functions such as palm activated carbon or zeolite is widely used.

The adsorption filter mounted on the air cleaner has a limit on the adsorption capacity. Therefore, after a certain period of time, the odor is saturated and the adsorption capacity is drastically reduced. When the adsorption capacity is saturated, it can no longer adsorb odorous substances, and the adsorption filter itself may cause odor and contamination. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the adsorption filter periodically so that odorous substances can be adsorbed smoothly.

A typical adsorption filter does not have a long service life, and its life may be drastically reduced depending on the use environment. In order to solve such a problem and increase the service life, an adsorption filter carrying a catalyst for decomposing adsorbents has been proposed.

The catalyst supported on the adsorption filter decomposes odorous substances adsorbed on the adsorption filter, so that the adsorption capacity of the adsorption filter is not lowered, thereby extending the life of the adsorption filter. That is, the adsorption filter can function for a long time without frequent replacement.

However, the adsorption filter in which the catalyst is loaded also has a problem that the decomposition ability of odorous substances of the catalyst decreases over time. In other words, the self-renewal capacity of the adsorption filter gradually decreases, so that the malodorous substance is not rapidly decomposed, and as a result, the malodorous substance is saturated and the adsorption filter loses its function.

Therefore, an air cleaner that effectively adsorbs various odorous substances to prevent odors and contamination, and quickly decomposes adsorbed odorous substances to prevent deterioration of adsorption capacity of the adsorption filter should be developed.

Republic of Korea Utility Model Registration No. 20-0117180 "Sterilizer and deodorizer of refrigerators" (registered on February 2. 1998)

The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, decomposition of odorous substances to decompose the adsorption capacity is superior to the adsorption capacity of the prior art, and the odorous substances adsorbed on the adsorption filter so that the adsorption capacity is not lowered An air cleaner for a refrigerator having a means is presented.

In particular, the present invention proposes a compact air cleaner for a compact structure that does not occupy a large space when installed in an existing refrigerator.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an air cleaner for adsorbing and decomposing and removing odorous substances: a housing in which a filter mounting hole is formed through a front and rear surface, and housed inside the housing to supply power. A main body including a battery and an operation panel provided in the housing; A fan provided at one side of the filter mounting hole of the housing to circulate air through the filter mounting hole; A filter case provided on the other side of the filter mounting hole; An adsorption filter mounted on the filter case, the filter filter comprising activated carbon material for adsorbing malodorous substances and a photocatalyst made of nano biomaterials for decomposing malodorous substances adsorbed on the filter fibers; An LED light source provided around an outer circumference of the filter case to irradiate light to the adsorption filter; And a control unit.

In the above, the LED light source is a UV LED light source for irradiating ultraviolet light, the photocatalyst of the nano-bio material is titanium oxide (TiO2) to silver (Ag), copper (Cu), platinum (Pt), gold (Au) It is preferable to be prepared by fusing any one of the Ecklonia cava extract, lysozyme (lysozyme), polyphenol (polyphenol), green tea extract.

In the above, the LED light source is a visible light LED light source for irradiating visible light, the photocatalyst of the nano-bio material is copper tungsten (Cu) supported on tungsten oxide (WO3) and Ecklonia cava extract, lysozyme, polyphenol ( polyphenol), green tea extract is preferably produced by fusing any one.

As described above, the refrigerator air cleaner having the self-regeneration function using the photocatalyst according to the present invention is equipped with an adsorption filter loaded with a photocatalyst to quickly decompose malodorous substances adsorbed on the adsorption filter, thereby reducing the adsorption capacity of the adsorption filter. Do not.

In addition, the LED light source for activating the photocatalyst is also provided so that odorous substances are adsorbed and decomposed quickly, so the life of the adsorption filter is very long.

In addition, since the adsorption filter is manufactured using a bio material, it is possible to remove not only odorous substances that cause odors, but also microorganisms harmful to the human body.

1 is a perspective view of an air cleaner for a refrigerator having a self-renewing function using a photocatalyst according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is an exploded perspective view of an air cleaner for a refrigerator having a self-renewing function using the photocatalyst of FIG. 1;
3 is a graph showing the results of hydrogen sulfide and trimethylamine removal using an air cleaner for a refrigerator having a self-renewal function using the photocatalyst of FIG. 1.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the present invention. 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 in the drawings, portions not related to the description are omitted, and like reference numerals are given to similar portions throughout the specification. Whenever a component is referred to as "including" an element throughout the specification, it is to be understood that the element may include other elements, not the exclusion of any other element, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

1 is a perspective view of an air cleaner for a refrigerator having a self-renewal function using a photocatalyst according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an air cleaner for a refrigerator having a self-renewal function using the photocatalyst of FIG. 1.

An air cleaner for a refrigerator having a self-renewal function using a photocatalyst according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 100, a fan 200, a filter case 300, an adsorption filter 400, an LED light source 500, and a filter. It comprises a mounting hole cap 600.

First, the main body 100 is provided. The main body 100 has a housing 110 through which the filter mounting hole 111 is formed through the front and rear surfaces at the center, a rechargeable battery (not shown) built in the housing 110, and an operation panel for the user to operate. 120 is made.

A battery (not shown) is connected to a charging micro-usb port (not shown) for easy charging using a mobile phone charger. In addition, the operation panel 120 is provided with an indicator light for informing the charging state, the operation state, the filter replacement time, and the like, and a reset button for initializing the setting in case of malfunction.

As can be seen in the drawing, one side of the filter mounting hole 111 of the main body 100 is provided with a fan 200 for circulating air through the filter mounting hole 111. The fan 200 is a silent fan of a sleeve bearing type that rotates at a high speed by receiving a DC power. The fan 200 is not limited to the type because it only needs to circulate the air through the filter mounting hole 111.

The filter case 300 is mounted on the other side of the filter mounting hole 111 of the main body 100. The filter case 300 of this embodiment has a structure that can be separated from the main body 100. The filter case 300 is a rectangular frame in planar shape, and is manufactured to insert and fix the adsorption filter 400 inside.

Since the structure for inserting and fixing the adsorption filter 400 to the filter case 300 has been variously presented in the related art, the structure thereof is not particularly limited. For example, a protrusion is formed on the outer edge of the filter case 300 inward to fix the outer end of the adsorption filter 400.

The adsorption filter 400 mounted on the filter case 300 includes a filter fiber made of activated carbon and a photocatalyst made of nano biomaterial supported on the filter fiber. Filter fibers are manufactured by fusing activated carbon components to a nonwoven fabric or polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The filter fiber is manufactured to maximize the contact area with air so that the activated carbon component can effectively adsorb odorous substances from the air passing through the filter fiber. To this end, nanotechnology is applied to form fine pores in the filter fibers.

The photocatalyst of the nano biomaterial of the adsorption filter 400 is to decompose and remove odor substances adsorbed on the filter fiber, and is presented in two forms in this embodiment.

One is a titanium oxide (TiO 2) based catalyst activated by ultraviolet light, and the other is a tungsten oxide (WO 3) based catalyst activated by visible light.

Titanium oxide-based photocatalyst is one of silver (Ag), copper (Cu), platinum (Pt), gold (Au) on titanium oxide, Ecklonia cava extract, lysozyme, polyphenol, green tea It is produced by fusing any one of the extracts.

The tungsten oxide-based catalyst is prepared by supporting copper ions (Cu) on tungsten oxide and fusing any one of Ecklonia cava extract, lysozyme, polyphenol, and green tea extract.

The photocatalyst of the nano-biomaterial of the present embodiment adds components extracted from natural materials such as Ecklonia cava extract, lysozyme, polyphenol, and green tea extract to enable microorganisms to inhibit proliferation and to decompose and remove them.

Ecklonia cava is an algae with seaweed and contains a large amount of fucoidan and phlorotannin, which have antibacterial effects. Lysozyme is an enzyme that dissolves bacterial membranes as a component contained in human saliva and biological tissues. Polyphenols are widely known as antioxidants and have the effect of inhibiting the growth of microorganisms. Green tea extract contains catechin, a kind of polyphenol, and has a bactericidal effect.

That is, as described above, the photocatalyst of the nano biomaterial to which the natural extract is added is not only a foreign substance causing bad smell, but also a strong deodorant, deodorant, It has antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral effects.

As mentioned above, the photocatalyst of the nano biomaterial is activated by being supplied with light. Therefore, an LED light source 500 for irradiating light to the adsorption filter 400 in which the photocatalyst of the nano biomaterial is fused is provided.

The LED light source 500 is provided at the outer circumference of the filter case 300. In the present embodiment, the filter case 300 is square in planar form, and the LED light sources 500 are provided in pairs on two sides facing each other.

Although not shown in the drawing, the LED light source 500 is operated by receiving power from a battery (not shown) built in the main body 100.

After the filter case 300 equipped with the adsorption filter 400 is mounted in the filter mounting hole 111 of the main body 100, the filter case 300 does not leave the filter mounting hole 111 of the main body 100. The filter mounting hole cap 600 is coupled to the main body 100 so as not to. Filter mounting hole cap 600 is fixed to the main body 100 by a locking projection (not shown) protruding on one side.

Two types of photocatalysts of nano biomaterials of the adsorption filter 400 were presented.

Since the titanium oxide-based photocatalyst is activated by ultraviolet light, when the photocatalyst of the nano biomaterial is adopted, the LED light source 500 should be a UV LED light source generating ultraviolet light.

And since the tungsten oxide-based photocatalyst is activated to visible light, when adopting such a photocatalyst of the nano-bio material, the LED light source 500 should be a visible light LED light source for generating visible light.

Since the photocatalyst receives light from the LED light source 500 and decomposes the foreign matter adsorbed on the adsorption filter 400, the adsorption filter 400 has a self-renewal ability to keep its function constant.

In other words, the adsorbed foreign matter is decomposed by the photocatalyst of the nano-bio material, so that the adsorption capacity is not degraded and maintains its function for a long time and can be used semi-permanently according to the use environment.

In particular, since the photocatalyst is activated by receiving light from the LED light source 500 embedded in the main body 100, an additional device for irradiating the light is not required. It is not necessary to make the adsorption filter 400 large. That is, it can be manufactured in a compact size.

3 is a graph showing the results of hydrogen sulfide and trimethylamine removal using an air cleaner for a refrigerator having a self-renewal function using the photocatalyst of FIG. 1.

In this experiment, the hydrogen sulfide and trimethylamine solution was volatilized in a 100 L reactor at a concentration of 400 pp, and the ability to remove odorous substances of the adsorption filter 400 was tested at a temperature of 20 degrees and a humidity of 60%.

As shown in the figure, the concentration of hydrogen sulfide and trimethylamine is drastically reduced after 30 minutes from the start of the experiment, it can be seen that completely removed after a time of about 90 minutes.

As can be seen from the experimental results, the air cleaner for a refrigerator having a self-renewal function using a photocatalyst according to an embodiment of the present invention can quickly remove and remove odorous substances such as hydrogen sulfide and trimethylamine, and natural extracts. Because it can effectively remove microorganisms and pathogens, it is very suitable for refrigerators storing food.

It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims .

It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects but are not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single entity may be distributed and implemented, and components described as being distributed may also be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present invention is shown by the following claims rather than the above description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

100: main body 110: housing
111: filter mounting hole 120: operation panel
200: fan 300: filter case
400: adsorption filter 500: LED light source
600: Filter Mounting Cap

Claims (3)

In the air cleaner for adsorbing odorous substance and decomposing and removing it:
A main body including a housing penetrating through the front and rear surfaces to form a filter mounting hole, a battery accommodated in the housing to supply power, and an operation panel provided in the housing;
A fan provided at one side of the filter mounting hole of the housing to circulate air through the filter mounting hole;
A filter case provided on the other side of the filter mounting hole;
An adsorption filter mounted on the filter case, the filter filter comprising activated carbon material for adsorbing malodorous substances and a photocatalyst made of nano biomaterials for decomposing malodorous substances adsorbed on the filter fibers;
An LED light source provided around an outer circumference of the filter case to irradiate light to the adsorption filter;
Refrigerator air cleaner with a self-renewal function using a photocatalyst comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The LED light source is a UV LED light source for irradiating ultraviolet rays, the photocatalyst of the nano-bio material is any one of silver (Ag), copper (Cu), platinum (Pt), gold (Au) to titanium oxide (TiO2). The air cleaner for a refrigerator having a self-renewal function using a photocatalyst, which is prepared by fusing any one of Ecklonia cava extract, lysozyme, polyphenol, and green tea extract.
The method of claim 1,
The LED light source is a visible light LED light source for irradiating visible light, the photocatalyst of the nano-bio material is a copper ion (Cu) supported on tungsten oxide (WO3), Ecklonia cava extract, lysozyme, polyphenol (polyphenol), green tea Refrigerator air cleaner with a self-renewal function using a photocatalyst, characterized in that the fusion of any one of the extracts.

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