WO2023136401A1

WO2023136401A1 - Air purifier using photocatalyst

Info

Publication number: WO2023136401A1
Application number: PCT/KR2022/007438
Authority: WO
Inventors: 기윤종; 박희주
Original assignee: (주)벤텍프런티어
Priority date: 2022-01-12
Filing date: 2022-05-25
Publication date: 2023-07-20
Also published as: KR102514815B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air purifier using a photocatalyst and, more specifically, to an air purifier capable of removing various volatile organic compounds, viruses, and bacteria, as well as fine dust, in indoor air.

Description

Air purifier using photocatalyst

The present invention relates to an air purifier using a photocatalyst, and more particularly, to an air purifier capable of removing various volatile organic compounds, viruses, and bacteria as well as fine dust in indoor air.

In order to maintain the cleanliness of indoor air quality, proper ventilation is required, but recently, due to fine dust, ventilation often deteriorates indoor air.

Air purifiers for purifying indoor air are classified into filter type and centrifugal type. The filter type is a method in which a filter is installed on an air flow path so that foreign substances in the air are filtered by the filter when the air passes through the filter.

As a filter used in the conventional filter method, a HEPA filter or an electrostatic filter of an electrostatic precipitate method is used. However, in the case of using only a filter, the removal efficiency for fine dust is excellent, but there is a limit to removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), viruses, and bacteria.

Since various infectious diseases are newly occurring due to various harmful viruses and bacteria, it is necessary to remove viruses and bacteria in the air. The transmission method of the virus that causes acute respiratory diseases in recent years is droplet infection transmitted by bodily fluids such as saliva or nasal mucus, which is the main transmission route, but in addition to this, airborne infection and contact infection are also spread.

An air purifier that removes volatile organic compounds, viruses, and bacteria using a photocatalyst is being developed. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2017-0096664 discloses an air purifying device using a photocatalyst.

Since the air purifier has a low suction pressure, there is a limit to inhaling air relatively far away. Therefore, there is a problem that the indoor air purification effect is not high. In addition, since a large number of photocatalyst balls are housed in a densely fixed state inside the casing, not only a large amount of photocatalyst balls are required, but also the oxidation and decomposition effect of the photocatalyst is not high compared to the amount used.

The present invention has been created to improve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier with improved suction power by improving the air intake structure.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier capable of increasing the removal effect of volatile organic compounds, viruses and bacteria by photocatalyst by increasing the contact efficiency between air and photocatalyst ball by allowing the photocatalyst ball to flow. .

An air purifier using a photocatalyst of the present invention for achieving the above object is a housing including a front cover having a first opening on the front side and a rear cover having a second opening on the rear side and coupled to the rear side of the front housing ; a supporting portion coupled to a lower portion of the housing; an intake unit installed inside the housing to suck in air through the first opening; a filter module installed inside the housing to remove fine dust from the air introduced into the housing; a photocatalyst module installed inside the housing to decompose organic substances in the air passing through the filter module; a light source unit installed inside the housing to irradiate ultraviolet rays to the photocatalyst module; and an exhaust unit installed inside the housing to discharge air passing through the photocatalyst module through the second opening.

The air intake unit forcibly blows air inside the housing to the outside through an edge of the first opening to suck outside air into the housing through a central portion of the first opening.

The intake unit includes a centrifugal fan installed inside the front cover, the centrifugal fan installed inside, and discharging wind generated when the centrifugal fan rotates to the outside of the front cover through the edge of the first opening. A fan casing which induces the internal pressure of the front cover to be lowered, and a motor installed in the fan casing and coupled to the centrifugal fan, wherein air is blown through the center of the first opening when the centrifugal fan rotates. The centrifugal fan is formed to be hollow inside so that the inside of the cover can be sucked in. The centrifugal fan includes an annular ring frame through which air sucked through the center of the first opening passes inward, and an outer circumferential surface of the ring frame. blades installed at regular intervals, a rear blocking plate formed on an outer circumferential surface of the ring frame and coupled to a rear surface of the blades, a hub installed in the inner center of the ring frame and coupled to the drive shaft of the motor, and the hub and a connecting rod connecting the ring frame, and the fan casing is installed in front of the motor mounting panel to which the motor is coupled and the motor mounting panel, and the centrifugal fan is located inside and passes through the inside of the ring frame. A shroud through which air passes through the center, and a support connecting the shroud and the motor mounting panel.

The photocatalyst module includes a plate-shaped support body having circular perforated holes penetrating the front and back, photocatalyst balls inserted into each of the perforated holes and movable in the perforated holes, and installed on the front and rear surfaces of the support, respectively. The photocatalyst balls are provided with cover nets to prevent separation of the photocatalyst balls, and the diameter of the photocatalyst balls is formed to be smaller than the diameter of the perforated holes so that air can pass through the perforated holes.

The photocatalyst module further includes a vortex inducing panel coupled to a rear surface of the support to gradually reduce the diameter of the perforated hole in order to induce rotation of the photocatalyst ball by the flow of air passing through the perforated hole.

A sensor unit for detecting indoor air quality, a control unit for controlling the operation of the intake unit, the exhaust unit, and the light source unit based on the measured values detected by the sensor unit, and a communication network under the control of the control unit. A communication unit for transmitting and receiving data with an external device is further provided.

As described above, the present invention can improve the air intake force by improving the intake structure to strongly intake air using a centrifugal fan.

In addition, the present invention allows the photocatalyst ball to flow in the perforated hole to increase the contact efficiency between the air and the photocatalyst ball, thereby improving the removal effect of volatile organic compounds, viruses and bacteria by the photocatalyst.

1 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an example of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a cutaway perspective view of Figure 1,

5 is a perspective view of an excerpt of one part applied to FIG. 1;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of another main part applied to Figure 1,

7 is an exploded perspective view of another main part applied to FIG. 1;

8 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7;

9 is a cross-sectional view of a main part applied to an air purifier according to another example of the present invention;

10 is a block diagram showing main parts of an air purifier according to another example of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an air purifier using a photocatalyst according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

1 to 8, the air purifier of the present invention has a housing 10 having a first opening 12 formed on the front side and a second opening formed on the rear side, and a supporting portion coupled to the lower portion of the housing 10 20, an intake unit installed inside the housing 10 to suck air through the first opening 12, and an air intake unit installed inside the housing 10 and introduced into the housing 10 A filter module 60 for removing fine dust in the air, a photocatalyst module 70 installed inside the housing 10 to decompose organic matter in the air that has passed through the filter module 60, and the housing 10 A light source unit 80 installed inside to irradiate ultraviolet rays to the photocatalyst module 70, and an exhaust unit installed inside the housing 10 to discharge air passing through the photocatalyst module 70 through the second opening. (90) is provided.

The housing 10 has a structure divided into a front cover 11 and a rear cover 170 .

The front cover 11 is formed in a cylindrical shape with an open rear surface and a hollow inside. A circular first opening 12 is formed on the front surface of the front cover 11 . A front grill 13 is installed on the front of the front cover 11 . The front grill 13 is installed to be spaced apart from the end of the front cover 11.

The rear cover 17 is detachably coupled to the rear surface of the front cover 11.

The rear cover 17 is formed in a cylindrical shape with an open front and a hollow inside. Although not shown, a circular second opening is formed on the rear surface of the rear cover 17 . A rear grill 18 is installed on the rear side of the rear cover 17 .

Support portion 20 is coupled to the lower portion of the housing (10). The supporting portion 20 is formed with a wide lower portion to facilitate installation on a flat surface such as a desk, table, or structure.

The intake unit is installed inside the front cover (11).

The air intake unit forcibly blows the air inside the housing 10 to the outside through the edge of the first opening 12 to suck outside air into the inside of the housing 10 through the central portion of the first opening 12. play a role This intake unit is different from the intake structure of a typical air purifier.

The illustrated air intake unit includes a centrifugal fan 30 installed inside the front cover 11, and the centrifugal fan 30 installed inside, and the wind generated when the centrifugal fan 30 rotates is passed through a first opening 12. The fan casing 40, which is discharged to the outside of the front cover 11 through the edge of the front cover 11 to induce the internal pressure of the front cover 11 to be lowered, and installed in the fan casing 40 to be coupled with the centrifugal fan 30 A motor 49 is provided.

When the centrifugal fan 30 rotates, the inside of the centrifugal fan 30 is hollow so that external air can be sucked into the front cover 11 through the center of the first opening 12 .

The centrifugal fan includes an annular ring frame 31 through which air sucked through the center of the first opening 12 passes inward, blades 33 installed at regular intervals on the outer circumferential surface of the ring frame 31, and a ring frame 31. A rear blocking plate 35 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the frame 31 and coupled to the rear surface of the blades 33, and a hub 37 installed in the inner center of the ring frame 31 and coupled to the drive shaft of the motor 49 ) and a connecting rod 39 connecting the hub 37 and the ring frame 31.

The ring frame 31 is formed in a cylindrical shape with open front and rear surfaces and a hollow inside.

The blade 33 is formed in a rectangular plate shape. The blades 33 are installed on the outer circumferential surface of the ring frame 31 at regular intervals. These blades 33 are radially arranged from the center of the ring frame 31 . The blade 33 serves to push air outward of the ring frame 31 during rotation.

The rear blocking plate 35 is formed one turn along the outer circumferential surface of the ring frame 31 . The rear blocking plate 35 is formed at right angles to the ring frame 31 . The rear surface of the blade 33 is coupled to the front surface of the rear blocking plate 35 . The ring frame 35 blocks the wind generated by the blade 33 from moving backward.

The hub 37 is installed at the inner center of the ring frame 31 and the drive shaft of the motor 49 is coupled. The hub 37 is positioned to be spaced apart from the inner circumferential surface of the ring frame 31 by the connecting rod 39 . Three connectors 39 are installed at intervals of 120 degrees. One side of the connecting rod 39 is fixed to the hub 37, and the other side is fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the ring frame 31.

Since the connecting rods 39 are empty, air can pass through the inside of the ring frame 31 .

The fan casing 40 is installed in front of the motor mounting panel 41 to which the motor 49 is coupled, and the motor mounting panel 41, and the centrifugal fan 30 is located inside, and the inside of the ring frame 31 is installed. A shroud 43 through which air passes through the center, and a support 45 connecting the shroud 43 and the motor mounting panel 41 are provided.

The fan casing 40 is coupled to the front surface of the first inner cover 50 installed inside the front cover 11 .

The first inner cover 50 has a tubular structure with a narrow front surface and a wide rear surface. The filter module 60 is coupled to the rear surface of the first inner cover 50 . The first inner cover 50 serves as a passage through which air sucked into the front cover 11 passes.

The motor 49 is coupled to the rear surface of the motor mounting panel 41 . A driving shaft of the motor 49 is coupled with the centrifugal fan 30 .

When the motor 49 operates, the centrifugal fan 30 rotates, and air inside the front cover 11 is pushed out of the centrifugal fan 30 by the rotation of the centrifugal fan 30, and wind is generated. The wind hits the inner circumferential surface of the shroud 43 and is pushed forward. The wind moves through the edge of the first opening 12 and is discharged through the gap between the front grill 13 and the front cover 11 as shown in FIG. 2 . Accordingly, a strong suction power is generated while the pressure in the center of the first opening 12 is lowered. External air is sucked into the inside of the front cover 11 through the center of the first opening 12 by this suction force.

The filter module 60 is coupled to the rear surface of the first inner cover 50 . The filter module 60 removes fine dust from the air introduced into the housing 10 .

The filter module 60 includes a filter case 61 and a filter 63 installed inside the filter case 61 . As the filter 63, a conventional HEPA filter or an activated carbon filter may be used.

The photocatalytic module 70 is installed inside the rear cover 17 . The photocatalyst module 70 decomposes organic matter in the air that has passed through the filter module 60 . That is, the photocatalyst module 70 decomposes odors and volatile organic compounds by strong oxidizing power, and kills bacteria and viruses.

The photocatalyst module 70 includes a plate-shaped support 71 having circular perforated holes 73 penetrating the front and back, and a photocatalyst that is inserted into each of the perforated holes 73 and can flow in the perforated holes 73. The balls 75 and cover nets 77 and 79 are installed on the front and rear surfaces of the support 71 to prevent the photocatalyst balls 75 from leaving.

The support 71 is formed in a circular plate shape. A plurality of perforated holes 73 are formed in the support 71 at regular intervals. The perforated hole 73 is formed to pass through the front and rear of the support 71 .

The photocatalyst ball 75 may be manufactured by molding photocatalyst powder into a sphere. In addition, the photocatalyst ball 75 may be manufactured by coating the surface of the spherical ceramic ball with a photocatalyst. As a ceramic ball, a light weight porous ceramic such as pearlite or zeolite can be used.

The photocatalyst is a material that is photoactivated by ultraviolet light and has a strong redox ability, and titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ) can be used as the photocatalyst. Titanium dioxide does not change itself even when exposed to light, so it can be used semi-permanently. In addition, titanium dioxide has high oxidizing power and has strong sterilizing power and organic matter decomposition ability.

The photocatalyst ball 75 may be formed in a spherical shape with a diameter of 5 to 30 mm. The diameter of the photocatalyst ball 75 is smaller than the diameter of the perforated hole 73 . Therefore, the photocatalyst ball 75 can flow within the perforated hole 73 . Also, air may pass through the perforated hole 73 . In addition, when air passes through the perforated hole 73, the photocatalyst ball 75 can flow within the perforated hole by the flow of air. Accordingly, the contact efficiency between the air and the photocatalyst ball 75 can be increased. In addition, if the photocatalyst ball 75 continues to flow, it is possible to suppress foreign matter from being attached to the surface of the photocatalyst ball 75 .

The light source unit 80 is installed inside the rear cover 17 and is located behind the photocatalyst module 70 . The light source unit 80 irradiates ultraviolet light to the photocatalyst module 70 to photoactivate the photocatalyst. A UV LED is used as the light source.

The light source unit 80 includes a substrate 81 and ultraviolet LEDs 83 mounted on the front surface of the substrate 81 at regular intervals. A plurality of holes are formed in the substrate 81 so that air can pass through the substrate 81 .

The photocatalyst module 70 and the light source unit 80 are mounted inside the first inner cover 85 . The second inner cover 85 is installed inside the rear cover 17. The second inner cover 85 has a cylindrical structure with open front and rear surfaces. The front surface of the second inner cover 85 is coupled to the rear surface of the first inner cover 50 .

The exhaust unit 90 is installed inside the second inner cover 85 to discharge the air passing through the photocatalyst module 70 through the second opening.

The exhaust unit (90) is composed of a motor (91) and an axial flow fan (93). When the motor 91 operates, the axial fan 93 rotates to move the air inside the housing 10 toward the second opening. The exhaust unit 90 serves to blow the air sucked into the housing 10 by the intake unit toward the second opening. Air is discharged to the outside of the housing 10 through the second opening by the exhaust unit 90 .

The air purifier of the present invention described above can improve the air suction power by improving the suction structure to strongly suck air using a centrifugal fan. In addition, the present invention allows the photocatalyst ball to flow, thereby increasing the contact efficiency between the air and the photocatalyst ball, thereby increasing the removal effect of volatile organic compounds, viruses and bacteria by the photocatalyst.

Meanwhile, the photocatalyst module may further include a vortex induction panel.

Referring to FIG. 9 , the vortex induction panel 100 is coupled to the rear surface of the support 71 and serves to gradually reduce the diameter of the perforated hole 73 .

The vortex induction panel 100 is made of a disc shape of the same size as the support 71. The vortex induction panel 100 is formed with a smaller thickness than the thickness of the support 71.

In the vortex induction panel 100, circular ventilation holes 101 are formed at positions corresponding to the perforated holes 73, respectively. Therefore, the air passing through the perforated hole 73 of the support 71 passes through the ventilation hole 101 of the vortex induction panel 100.

Ventilation holes 101 are formed in a shape that is gradually reduced from the front to the rear. Therefore, the inner circumferential surface 103 of the ventilation hole 101 is made of a curved surface.

Air passing through the perforated hole 73 passes through the ventilation hole 101 while being bent at the rear of the photocatalyst ball 75 . Accordingly, a vortex is formed at the rear of the photocatalyst ball 75 and the photocatalyst ball 75 rotates. Therefore, since the photocatalyst ball 75 rotates and flows in the perforated hole 73, the contact efficiency with air can be greatly improved.

When the vortex induction panel 100 shown in FIG. 9 is applied to the photocatalyst module, the cover net may be installed only on the front surface of the support 71 . That is, a cover net is installed on the front of the support 71, and a vortex induction panel 100 is installed on the rear of the support 71. In the vortex induction panel 100, since the ventilation holes 101 are formed smaller than the photocatalyst balls 101, the photocatalyst balls 75 do not escape toward the rear surface of the support 71.

On the other hand, the air purifier of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, includes a sensor unit 110 for detecting indoor air quality, and an intake unit and an exhaust unit 90 based on the measured values detected by the sensor unit 110. and a control unit 120 for controlling the operation of the light source unit 80 and a communication unit 121 for transmitting and receiving data with an external device through a communication network under the control of the control unit 120 .

The sensor unit 110 for detecting air quality may be formed of a conventional electronic sensor capable of detecting odors, harmful viruses, or fine dust. The sensor unit 110 may be installed in the housing. In addition, the sensor unit may be installed on a wall or ceiling of the room.

A display unit 95 may be provided in the housing so as to visually output the measurement value of the air quality detected by the sensor unit 110 . The air quality measurement value sensed by the sensor unit 110 is input to the controller 120 .

The control unit 120 receives the measured air quality measured in real time from the sensor unit 110, compares and analyzes it, and based on the result, the control unit 120 controls the intake unit motor, the exhaust unit 90 motor, and the light source unit. (80) to control the operation.

The controller 120 may be installed in the housing. A remote terminal unit can be used as the control unit 120 . A remote terminal unit (RTU) is a microprocessor-based control electronic device capable of interface. Even when communication is interrupted, the remote terminal unit observes, compares, and analyzes field data and controls the operation of the motor of the intake unit, the motor of the exhaust unit 90, and the light source unit 80 on its own to enable autonomous operation.

The communication unit 121 transmits and receives information with the mobile terminal 131 and the management server 133 as external devices by the control unit 120 . Accordingly, various types of information on air quality can be transmitted to the management server 133 or the mobile terminal 131 .

The mobile terminal 131 may be a device that a manager can carry. As the mobile terminal 9131), a smart phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a tablet computer (Tablet PC), and a notebook (note book) that can be applied to various wired and wireless environments can be used.

The communication unit 121 performs communication through a communication network. The communication unit 121 can communicate in a wired or wireless manner. As a wireless communication network, WLAN (Wireless LAN) (Wi-Fi), Wibro (Wireless broadband), Wimax (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), HSUPA, LTE, LoRa, etc. can be used. , Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like may be used as a short-range communication network for short-distance communication.

In particular, LoRa-based IoT communication is preferable as a wireless communication network. Since IoT based on LoRa (Long Range) can be implemented in relatively far and complex structures compared to Wi-Fi, it is suitable for use in relatively large and complex buildings such as multi-use facilities. By installing the LoRa IoT module, which has advantages of long transmission distance and ultra-low power due to the characteristics of frequency, it is possible to simultaneously control multiple air purifiers installed in a specific area without additional installation of a separate Wi-Fi router.

The present invention may further include a control unit 125 and a power supply unit 127.

The control unit 125 is provided with various keys including a power button for turning the power on and off and an automatic/manual control key for switching to a manual mode when a manager wants to manually control the device. When the operation unit 125 is set to the automatic mode, the operation of the air purifier is controlled by the control unit 120, and when set to the manual mode, a manager can manually operate the air purifier.

In addition, a battery may be used as the power supply unit 127 for providing power. In addition, commercial power together with a battery may be used as the power supply unit 127 .

In the above, the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment, but this is only exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true protection scope of the present invention should be defined only by the appended claims.

Claims

a housing including a front cover having a first opening on the front side and a rear cover having a second opening on the rear side and coupled to the rear side of the front housing;

a supporting portion coupled to a lower portion of the housing;

an intake unit installed inside the housing to suck in air through the first opening;

a filter module installed inside the housing to remove fine dust from the air introduced into the housing;

a photocatalyst module installed inside the housing to decompose organic substances in the air passing through the filter module;

a light source unit installed inside the housing to irradiate ultraviolet rays to the photocatalyst module;

An air purifier using a photocatalyst, comprising: an exhaust unit installed inside the housing to discharge the air passing through the photocatalyst module through the second opening.
The method of claim 1 , wherein the air intake unit forcibly blows air inside the housing to the outside through an edge of the first opening to suck outside air into the housing through a central portion of the first opening. An air purifier using a photocatalyst.
The air intake unit according to claim 2, wherein the air intake unit comprises a centrifugal fan installed inside the front cover, and the centrifugal fan is mounted inside and directs wind generated when the centrifugal fan rotates through the edge of the first opening to the front surface. A fan casing that is discharged to the outside of the cover to induce a lower internal pressure of the front cover, and a motor installed in the fan casing and coupled to the centrifugal fan,

When the centrifugal fan rotates, the inner side of the centrifugal fan is hollow so that air can be sucked into the front cover through the center of the first opening.

The centrifugal fan includes an annular ring frame through which air sucked through the center of the first opening passes inwardly, blades installed at regular intervals on the outer circumferential surface of the ring frame, and formed on the outer circumferential surface of the ring frame to the blades. A rear blocking plate coupled to the rear surface of the ring frame, a hub installed at the inner center of the ring frame and coupled to the drive shaft of the motor, and a connecting rod connecting the hub and the ring frame,

The fan casing includes a motor mounting panel to which the motor is coupled, a shroud installed in front of the motor mounting panel, inside which the centrifugal fan is located, and through which the air passing through the inside of the ring frame passes through the center, and the shroud. An air purifier using a photocatalyst, characterized in that it has a support connecting the wood and the motor mounting panel.
The photocatalyst module of claim 1, wherein the photocatalyst module comprises: a plate-shaped support body having circular perforated holes penetrating the front and rear sides; photocatalyst balls inserted into each of the perforated holes and movable in the perforated holes; Cover nets are provided on the front and rear surfaces to prevent the photocatalyst balls from escaping,

An air purifier using a photocatalyst, characterized in that the diameter of the photocatalyst ball is formed smaller than the diameter of the perforated hole so that air can pass through the perforated hole.
[Claim 5] The vortex inducing panel of claim 4, wherein the photocatalyst module is coupled to the rear surface of the support to induce rotation of the photocatalyst ball by the flow of air passing through the perforated hole and gradually reduces the diameter of the perforated hole. An air purifier using a photocatalyst, characterized in that it is further provided.
The system of claim 1 , further comprising: a sensor unit for detecting indoor air quality; a control unit for controlling operations of the intake unit, the exhaust unit, and the light source unit based on measurement values detected by the sensor unit; An air purifier using a photocatalyst, characterized in that it further comprises a communication unit for transmitting and receiving data with an external device through a communication network.