JP2007236470A - Air purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air purifier which can eliminate floating bacteria which exist in the vicinity of a floor surface. <P>SOLUTION: This air purifier 10 includes an air suction port 12, a filter 15, an ion generator 16, a lower discharging port 14, an upper release port 13, a blade 13A and a damper 18. Air in a room 20 is taken in from the air suction port 12. The filter 15 filters dust and dirt in the air which has been taken in from the air suction port 12. The ion generator 16 generates a bactericidal ion in the air which has been taken in from the air suction port 12. The lower release port 14 is arranged in a vicinity of the floor surface 21, and discharges the air containing the bactericidal ion. The upper release port 13 is arranged facing upward, and releasing the air containing the bactericidal ion. The blade 13A and the damper 18 switch the ratio of the release amounts of the air containing the bactericidal ion from the lower release port 14 and the upper release port 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air cleaning device that discharges air taken in from a room together with ions having a sterilizing action.

In recent years, there are an increasing number of people who have dust and allergies against airborne bacteria such as mites (tick dung and death) and fungi. For this reason, conventionally, an air purifier for purifying indoor air has been used. In general, a conventional air cleaning device takes indoor air from the front surface, removes dust with a filter, and then discharges clean air from the upper surface (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Even in a conventional air cleaning device having a function of generating ions having a sterilizing action, clean air containing ions is discharged from the top surface, and the released ions sterilize floating bacteria floating in the air. It was.
JP 2005-6859 A

  However, if air that has been cleaned and contained ions is discharged from the top surface as in a conventional air cleaning device, even if there is a sterilizing effect on airborne bacteria in the air, Bacteria cannot be sterilized.

  Even if airborne bacteria in the air can be sterilized, it is difficult to suppress allergic symptoms unless airborne bacteria present in the vicinity of the floor can be sterilized.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an air cleaning device capable of sterilizing airborne bacteria present in the air and in the vicinity of the floor surface as necessary.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the air cleaning device of the present invention is configured as follows.

  (1) The air cleaning device of the present invention includes an air intake port, a first discharge unit, a second discharge unit, a fan, an ion generation unit, and a switching member. The first discharge part opens toward the vicinity of the floor surface. The 2nd discharge | release part is opened toward the apparatus upper direction. The fan blows air taken from the outside of the apparatus via the air intake port along the first flow path and the second flow path toward the outside of the apparatus via the first discharge section and the second discharge section. . The ion generator generates ions in the air taken from the air intake. The switching member switches the ratio of the air discharge amount between the first discharge portion and the second discharge portion.

  In this configuration, when ions are released from the second emission part, airborne bacteria in the air are sterilized, and when ions are released from the first emission part, the floating bacteria present near the floor surface are eliminated. It is sterilized. In addition to the second emission part, a first emission part is provided, and the ratio of the release amount of air containing ions is switched between them.

  (2) In the air cleaning device of the present invention, the switching member may include a first opening / closing member and a second opening / closing member. The first opening / closing member opens and closes the first flow path. The second opening / closing member opens and closes the second flow path.

  In this configuration, the first flow path from the outside of the apparatus to the outside of the apparatus via the air intake and the first discharge part, and the outside of the apparatus to the outside of the apparatus via the air intake and the second discharge part. Each of the second flow paths is individually opened and closed using the first opening and closing member and the second opening and closing member. According to the operation of the first opening / closing member and the second opening / closing member, the first channel and the second channel are opened, only the first channel is opened, the second channel Three air blowing states are realized by each of the open states.

  (3) The air cleaning device of the present invention may further include a louver and a drive unit. The louver is provided in the first discharge part so as to be swingable around a vertical axis. The drive unit swings the louver.

  In this configuration, the louver automatically swings around the vertical axis. For this reason, the air containing an ion is discharge | released toward the wide range of a floor surface according to the rocking | fluctuation direction of a louver.

  (4) The air cleaning leaving of the present invention may further include a filter. The filter filters out dust in the air taken in from the air intake.

  In this configuration, dust in the air taken into the device from the air intake port is filtered out by the filter before being discharged from the first discharge portion or the second discharge portion to the outside of the device.

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

  (1) In addition to the second release part, the first release part is provided, and the ratio of the amount of air released including ions from both is switched, so that not only the floating bacteria in the air but also the vicinity of the floor surface It is also possible to sterilize the floating bacteria present in

  (2) According to the operation of the two opening / closing members, the first flow path and the second flow path are opened, only the first flow path is opened, and only the second flow path is opened. The three air blowing states can be realized by each of the above, and the ratio of the air blowing amount to the air and the floor surface can be easily switched depending on the situation.

  (3) By automatically swinging the louver around the vertical axis, air containing ions can be discharged over a wide area of the floor. Therefore, it is possible to sterilize the floating bacteria existing on a wide range of floor surfaces.

  (4) Dust in the air taken into the device from the air intake can be filtered out by a filter before it is discharged from the first discharge portion or the second discharge portion to the outside of the device. High air can be released.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air cleaning device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The air cleaning device 10 includes a housing 11, an intake port (corresponding to an air intake port of the present invention) 12, an upper discharge port (corresponding to a second discharge unit of the present invention) 13, a lower discharge port (this (Corresponding to a first discharge part of the invention) 14, and a filter 15, an ion generator (corresponding to an ion generation part of this invention) 16, a fan 17, and a damper 18 in the housing 11. ing.

  The air inlet 12 is provided on the front surface of the air cleaning device 10. The filter 15 includes a prefilter, a deodorizing filter, and a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. The filter 15 is affixed to the inside of the air inlet, and filters out dust and the like in the air taken into the air cleaning device 10 from the room 20.

  The upper discharge port 13 is disposed on the upper surface of the housing 11. The upper discharge port 13 is provided with a plurality of vanes 13A. The wing plate 13A is the second opening / closing member of the present invention, and opens and closes the second flow path from the outside of the apparatus to the outside of the apparatus via the air inlet 12. The wing plate 13A is pivotally supported by the housing 11 so as to be swingable around a horizontal axis, and is displaced between an open position where the upper discharge port 13 is opened and a closed position where the upper discharge port 13 is closed.

  The upper discharge port 13 is not necessarily limited to being disposed on the upper surface of the housing 11, and may be disposed upward from the apparatus or at a position separated from the floor surface 21. .

  The lower discharge port 14 is disposed at the lower part of the front surface of the housing 11 and is formed to discharge air in a substantially horizontal direction. The lower discharge port 14 is provided with a louver 14A. The louver 14A defines the direction of the released air. The louver 14A is pivotally supported on the housing 11 so as to be swingable around a vertical axis, and is swung by a motor 14B as a drive unit. For this reason, air is discharged to a wide area of the floor surface 21 according to the direction of the louver 14A.

  Note that the lower discharge port 14 is not necessarily limited to being disposed at the lower part of the front surface of the housing 11, but releases air toward the floor surface 21, or the released air touches the floor surface 21. As long as it is arranged in the vicinity of the floor surface 21 as described above.

  The fan 17 is disposed inside the air inlet 12 and the filter 15. The fan 17 rotates in a direction in which the air in the room 20 is taken into the housing 11 from the air inlet 12 by a driving source (not shown).

  An ion generator 16 is disposed between the filter 15 and the fan 17. The ion generator 16 generates plasma cluster ions (registered trademark, hereinafter referred to as sterilization ions). The sterilizing ions include positive ions and negative ions, and have a sterilizing action on airborne bacteria such as mites (tick dung and death) and fungi.

  The ion generator 16 is not particularly limited as long as it is disposed on the air passage in the housing 11 and on the downstream side of the filter 15.

  The passage 19 on the downstream side of the fan 17 communicates with the upper discharge port 13 and the lower discharge port 14 in the flow direction of the air taken in from the room 20.

  A damper 18 is disposed between the fan 17 and the lower discharge port 14 in the first flow path from the outside of the device to the outside of the device via the intake port 12 and the lower discharge port 14. The damper 18 can be freely opened and closed between the fan 17 and the lower discharge port 14 between an open position for opening and a closed position for closing.

  The damper 18 is opened and closed, for example, when a user moves a protrusion (not shown) up and down.

  The damper 18 and the slat 13A are included in the switching member of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the slat 13 </ b> A is disposed in the open position and the damper 18 is disposed in the open position, clean air containing sterilization ions is emitted from both the upper discharge port 13 and the lower discharge port 14. , Almost the same amount is released. Thereby, both the floating bacteria floating in the air of the room 20 and the floating bacteria existing in the vicinity of the floor surface 21 are sterilized.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the damper 18 is disposed in the open position and the slat 13 </ b> A is disposed in the closed position, all of the clean air containing the sterilization ions is released only from the lower discharge port 14. The For this reason, clean air containing sterilization ions is intensively released from the lower outlet 14 in a concentrated manner, so that the sterilization effect on the floating bacteria existing in the vicinity of the floor surface 21 is increased.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the damper 18 is disposed at the closed position and the slat 13 </ b> A is disposed at the open position, all of the clean air containing the sterilization ions is released only from the upper discharge port 13. The For this reason, since clean air containing sterilization ions is intensively released in a large amount from the upper discharge port 13, the sterilization effect on the floating bacteria floating in the air in the room 20 is increased.

  As described above, by appropriately switching the positions of the damper 18 and the wing plate 13 </ b> A, the ratio of the release amount of air containing sterilization ions is switched between the lower discharge port 14 and the upper discharge port 13.

  Depending on the operation of the two members of the damper 18 and the slat 13A, three air blowing states can be realized, and the ratio of the air blowing amount to the air and the floor surface can be easily switched depending on the situation. .

  FIG. 4 shows a plurality of positions in the room 20 during a lower discharge operation in which clean air containing sterilization ions is discharged from only the lower discharge port 14 and in an upper discharge operation in which only the upper discharge port 13 is discharged. It is explanatory drawing about the experiment which measures the quantity of the sterilization ion in the air, FIG. 4 (A) shows the measurement position of the quantity of the sterilization ion, and FIG. 4 (B) shows the measurement result. ing.

  In this experiment, in an approximately 12 tatami room 22 having a length of 4.75 m, a width of 3.9 m, and a height of 2.68 m, the air purifier 10 is placed at one end in the vertical direction of the room 20 and the front surface is the room 22. It arrange | positioned toward the center side and measured the quantity of the disinfection ion in air in three places, the measurement position A, the measurement position B, and the measurement position C.

  The measurement position A is a position 10 cm in front of the lower discharge port 14 of the air cleaning device 10 during the lower discharge operation, and is a position 10 cm in front of the upper discharge port 13 during the upper discharge operation. The measurement position B is a center portion of the room 22 and a height of 10 cm from the floor surface 21. The measurement position C is an end opposite to the end where the air cleaning device 10 is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the room 22 and is a position 10 cm from the floor 21.

  As a measuring device for measuring the amount of sterilization ions, Dan Chemical's ion counter 83-1001B was used.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (B), 90000 positive ions and 120,000 negative ions were measured per 1 cc at the measurement position C during the lower discharge operation. This amount can be said to be sufficient to sterilize the floating bacteria.

  Therefore, even when clean air containing sterilization ions is released from the lower discharge port 14, the sterilization ions are distributed in the room 22, and the floating bacteria adhering to the floor surface 21 are caused to rise upward by the airflow. It was found that the floating bacteria can be sterilized.

  According to the air cleaning device 10, the lower discharge port 14 is provided in addition to the upper discharge port 13, and the ratio of the amount of air released including sterilization ions can be freely adjusted between the two. It is possible to sterilize not only floating floating bacteria but also floating bacteria present on the floor 21 and in the vicinity of the floor. Therefore, the user's allergic symptoms can be suppressed.

  Further, by automatically swinging the louver 14A, clean air containing sterilization ions can be released to a wide area of the floor surface 21. Therefore, it is possible to sterilize the floating bacteria on the floor surface 21 in a wide range.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air cleaning device 10A according to another embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the control unit 31.

  The air cleaning device 10A is configured in substantially the same manner as the air cleaning device 10 except that it further includes a control unit 31, a dirt detection sensor 32, and the like.

  A dirt detection sensor 32 is connected to the control unit 31 of the air cleaning device 10A. The dirt detection sensor 32 detects air dirt and inputs the detection result to the control unit 31. A first drive source 33, a second drive source 34, and a third drive source 35 are connected to the control unit 31.

  The first drive source 33 opens and closes the lower discharge port 14 by swinging the louver 14A. The second drive source 34 displaces the wing plate 13A of the upper discharge port 13 between the open position and the closed position. The third drive source displaces the damper 18 between the open position and the closed position.

  The control unit 31 comprehensively controls the first drive source 33, the second drive source 34, and the third drive source 35 based on the detection result input from the dirt detection sensor 32.

  The control unit 31 detects air dirt by the dirt detection sensor 32 (S1). Based on the detection result of the dirt detection sensor 32, the controller 31 opens both the lower outlet 14 and the upper outlet 13 when the degree of dirt is equal to or higher than a predetermined first threshold value ( S2, S3).

  Further, when the contamination level is less than the first threshold value, the control unit 31 determines whether the contamination level is equal to or higher than a predetermined second threshold value (S4), and the second threshold value. In the above case, only the lower discharge port 14 is opened (S5). Here, it is assumed that the first threshold value has a higher degree of contamination than the second threshold value.

  When the degree of contamination is less than the second threshold, the control unit 31 opens only the upper discharge port 13 (S6).

  According to the air cleaning device 10A, based on the detection result of the dirt detection sensor 32, when the degree of dirt is high, by releasing air containing sterilization ions from both the lower outlet 14 and the upper outlet 13, Air containing sterilization ions can be quickly spread over a wide area of the room 20 to sterilize airborne bacteria and create a comfortable space.

  On the other hand, when the degree of contamination is medium, air containing sterilized ions is released only from the lower outlet 14, and when the degree of contamination is low, air containing sterilized ions is released only from the upper outlet 13. Thus, air containing sterilization ions can be released according to the degree of contamination.

  When air containing sterilization ions is released from the lower discharge port 14, the floating bacteria drifting in the vicinity of the floor surface 21 can be sterilized with the sterilization ions, and the floating bacteria attached to the floor surface 21 are air-flowed. The floating bacteria can be sterilized with sterilizing ions.

  In FIG. 6, the upper discharge port 13 may be opened in the process of S5, and the lower discharge port 14 may be opened in the process of S6.

  Finally, the description of the above-described embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the schematic structure of the air purifying apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the air purifying device at the time of a lower discharge | release operation. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the air purifying apparatus at the time of an upper discharge driving | operation. It is explanatory drawing about the experiment which measures the quantity of the sterilization ion in the air at several measurement positions in the room at the time of the lower discharge operation and the upper discharge operation, and (A) shows the amount of the sterilization ion. The measurement position is shown, and (B) shows the measurement result. It is a block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the air purifying apparatus which concerns on other embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of a control part.

Explanation of symbols

10 Air Cleaner 12 Inlet (Air Inlet)
13 Upper outlet (second outlet)
13A slat (switching member)
14 Lower outlet (first outlet)
14A louver
14B motor (drive unit)
15 Filter 16 Ion generator (ion generator)
18 Damper (switching member)
20 Indoor 21 Floor 22 Room 31 Control unit 32 Dirt detection sensor

Claims (4)

  An air intake, a first discharge portion that opens toward the vicinity of the floor, a second discharge portion that opens toward the top of the device, and air taken from outside the device through the air intake. Ions are generated in the air taken in from the air intake and the fan that blows along the first flow path and the second flow path toward the outside of the apparatus via the first discharge section and the second discharge section An air purifier comprising: an ion generation unit that performs switching; and a switching member that switches a ratio of an air discharge amount between the first discharge unit and the second discharge unit.   2. The air cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the switching member includes a first opening and closing member and a second opening and closing member that open and close each of the first flow path and the second flow path. .   The air purifier according to claim 1, further comprising: a louver provided at least at the second discharge unit so as to be swingable about a vertical axis; and a drive unit configured to swing the louver. .   The air purifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a filter that filters out dust in the air taken in from the air intake.

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