LIGHTING APPARATUS FOR GENERATING ANIONS AND PURIFYING AIR
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a lamp for generating anions, and more particularly to a lamp having a function to generate anions and purify the air without generating ozone, which is an air pollutant.
Background Art Currently, the amount of pollutants in the air, emitted from mold, various microbes and auto exhaust, is increasing day by day. Thus, people are increasingly using products, such as an anion generator and an air purifier, for purifying indoor air by removing pollutants emitted from mold, various microbes, and auto exhaust, etc. General air purifiers on the market use a fan to circulate indoor air.
The fan is provided with its associated driving parts including a motor, which increase the size of the air purifier. As the size of the air purifier increases, the air purifier occupies a large space for installation, and it also requires individual installation and management, causing an inconvenience in using the air purifier. Korean Patent Application Nos. 2001-0018937 and 2001-0071131 have described a lighting apparatus having a function to generate anions and purify the air, which includes an electrode portion for receiving power from the outside, a body provided with one or more illuminating lamps, an amplifier provided in the body for generating a high voltage, and an anion generator provided between the lamps at the center thereof for receiving the high voltage from the amplifier and generating anions. The anion generator is provided on the body at a central upper portion thereof and protrudes between the lamps to generate anions and purify the air. The conventional lighting apparatus mostly uses an anion generator that is provided on lamps and uses conventional spark discharge to generate anions. The conventional lighting apparatus has failed to meet expectations, and generates a small amount of ozone.
Disclosure of the Invention
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a three-band lamp having a function to generate anions and purify the air, wherein the generated anions are prevented from being neutralized due to electromagnetic signals generated from the lamps, an air purification function is obtained using three-band light emitted from the lamp without a UV lamp, and the occurrence of ozone, an air pollutant, is prevented. In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a three-band lamp having a function to generate anions and purify the air, the three-band lamp comprising a body; a socket provided on the body at a lower portion thereof; a lamp provided on the body at an upper portion thereof; and an anion generator provided on the body at a central upper portion thereof, wherein an outer surface of the anion generator is coated with a photocatalyst including titanium oxide to have an air purification function for sterilization and deodorization, and wherein an MF3 (metal fiber) brush is provided in the anion generator, and a large number of sharp-pointed projections are formed on outer surfaces of elements of the brush to generate ozone-free anions. The anion generator having a function to generate anions and purify the air prevents the generated anions from being neutralized due to electromagnetic signals generated from the lamps. In addition, since the outer surface of the anion generator is coated with titanium oxide, which is a photocatalyst, an air purification function is obtained using three-band light emitted from the lamps without a UV lamp. Further, since the anion generator is provided with the MF3 (metal fiber) brush, the occurrence of ozone, an air pollutant, is prevented.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1a is a perspective view showing the configuration of a
conventional three-band lamp having an anion generation function; Fig. 1b is a sectional view showing the configuration of the conventional three-band lamp having the anion generation function; Fig. 2a is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a three-band lamp having an anion generation/air purification function according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2b is a perspective view showing the configuration of the three-band lamp having the anion generation/air purification function according to the embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2c is a sectional view showing the configuration of the three- band lamp having the anion generation/air purification function according to the embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2d is a sectional view showing the configuration of a three- band lamp having an anion generation/air purification function according to another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a main part of the three-band lamp having an anion generation/air purification function according to the present invention; and Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of the three- band lamp having an anion generation/air purification function according to the present invention.
Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the annexed drawings. Fig. 1a is a perspective view showing the configuration of a conventional three-band lamp having an anion generation function; Fig. 1b is a sectional view showing the configuration of the conventional three-band lamp having the anion generation function; Fig. 2a is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a three-band lamp having an anion generation/air purification function according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2b is a perspective view showing the configuration of the three-band lamp having the anion generation/air purification function according to the embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2c is a sectional view showing the configuration of
the three-band lamp having the anion generation/air purification function according to the embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2d is a sectional view showing the configuration of a three-band lamp having an anion generation/air purification function according to another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a main part of the three-band lamp having an anion generation/air purification function according to the present invention; and Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of the three- band lamp having an anion generation/air purification function according to the present invention. As shown in Figs. 1a and 1b, a conventional three-band lamp having a function to generate anions includes a cylindrical body 10, a plurality of lamps 30, a power supply, and an anion generator 20. The lamps 30 are provided on the body 10 at an upper portion thereof. The power supply is provided in the body 10 at a lower portion thereof and is coupled to a conventional socket 40 to supply power to an amplifier. The amplifier is stably mounted on an inner wall of the body 10 through fixing means provided on the inner wall. The anion generator 20 is provided on the body 10 at a central upper portion thereof to emit anions and provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The amplifier amplifies a voltage received from the power supply to a high voltage. The amplifier, which includes a transformer and its associated driving parts mounted on a printed circuit board, is stably mounted on the inner wall of the body 10 by the fixing means formed on the inner wall thereof. The amplifier is also provided with an inverter for applying a voltage to the lamps. As described above, the anion generator 20 is mounted on the body 10 at a central upper portion thereof. The anion generator 20 includes an anion generation panel, a number of electron guns 1 , an electrode panel 2 having a number of holes, and an anion collection panel 3. The anion generator 20 receives a high voltage from the amplifier and emits electrons using the electron guns 1 formed inside the anion generator 20. Electrons emitted from the electron guns 1 collide with the electron panel 2 to generate anions, and the generated anions are discharged to the outside through the holes formed in the electron panel 2.
The overall appearance and configuration of the lighting apparatus according to the present invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 2a to 2d. As shown in Figs. 2a to 2d, a body 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape as usual, a plurality of lamps 30 are mounted on the body 10 at an upper portion thereof, and an anion power supply 50 is mounted in the body 10 at a lower portion thereof. The anion power supply 50 is coupled to a conventional socket 40 to amplify and provide a voltage to an anion generator 20. The anion power supply 50 is stably mounted inside the body 10 at a lower portion, and is formed through a case molding process so that electromagnetic signals generated from the anion power supply 50 have no influence on a lamp power supply 60 for supplying power to the lamps. The lamp power supply 60 receives a power supply voltage from the socket 40 and amplifies it to a high voltage. The lamp power supply 60, which includes a transformer and its associated driving parts mounted on a printed circuit board, is stably mounted in the body 10 through fixing means provided on an inner wall of the body 10. The anion generator 20 is provided on the body at a central upper portion thereof, and the surface of the anion generator 20 is coated with titanium oxide 22, a photocatalyst, to have an air purification function such as sterilization and deodorization. An MF3 (metal fiber) brush 21 for generating ozone-free anions is provided in the anion generator 20. Elements (i.e., bristles) of the MF3 (metal fiber) brush 21 for generating ozone-free anions are formed by mixing a conductive alloy, formed by mixing 8 types of metallic substances, with conductive and non-conductive resins, and a large number of sharp-pointed projections are formed on outer surfaces of the elements of the brush 21. When airborne organic substances or pollutants are attached to the surface of the anion generator 20, the titanium oxide 22, which is a photocatalyst, is activated by light emitted from the lamps, so that the attached pollutants are chemically decomposed. As described above, the conventional air purification lighting apparatus generally includes a body 10, a lamp 30 provided on the body 10 at an upper portion thereof, a socket 40 provided on the body 10 at a lower portion thereof, and an anion generator 20. The anion generator 20 includes an electron panel 2, a number of electron guns 1 , and a number of holes, and emits anions using the electron guns 1 with a high voltage
applied thereto. However, the anion generator 20 in the conventional lighting apparatus generates not only anions but also ozone, which is harmful to human bodies. According to the present invention, the surface of the anion generator 20, which is provided on the body 10 at a central upper portion thereof, is coated with the titanium oxide 22, a photocatalyst, to have an air purification function such as sterilization and deodorization, and the MF3 (metal fiber) brush 21 for generating ozone-free anions is provided in the anion generator 20, so that the air is purified by removing airborne organic substances by the titanium oxide 22 without generating air pollutants such as ozone, thereby providing a more improved air purification function. As shown in Fig. 4, a circuit 100 for the lighting apparatus according to the present invention receives an AC voltage, and rectifies the AC voltage to a DC voltage, and applies the rectified DC voltage to a ballast for voltage amplification and constant voltage maintenance to light three-band lamps. The circuit 100 includes an interference prevention unit 100 and an anion generation voltage induction unit 120. The interference prevention unit 100 receives the AC voltage and prevents interference between the ballast and the anion generator. The anion generation voltage induction unit 120 converts the AC voltage received from the interference prevention unit 100 into a DC voltage of -5kV through a transformer, and generates pulses having a frequency, which is an integral multiple of the input frequency, through a diode-capacitor frequency- multiplier circuit. Current output from the anion generation voltage induction unit is applied to the MF3 (metal fiber) brush 21.
Industrial Applicability As apparent from the above description, the lighting apparatus according to the present invention has the following advantages. The anion generator having a function to generate anions and purify the air is mounted on the body at a central upper portion thereof, which prevents the generated anions from being neutralized due to electromagnetic signals generated from the lamps. In addition, the outer surface of the anion generator is coated with titanium oxide, a photocatalyst, so that an air
purification function is obtained using three-band light emitted from the lamps without a UV lamp. Further, the anion generator is provided with the MF3 (metal fiber) brush, which prevents the occurrence of ozone, which is an air pollutant.