Air cleaner and filer for air cleaner

Abstract

To provide a small air cleaner with a high purification action.SOLUTION: An air cleaner 1 includes: a casing having an air blowout port 211; and a filter 5 provided in the casing and coming into contact with air to be supplied into the casing to purify the air. The filter 5 has a projecting shape projecting to a direction reverse to a flowing direction of the air to be supplied, and at least part of the air to be supplied flows along a projecting surface of the filter 5 and then is discharged outwardly from the blowout port 211.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air purifier suitable for use in a vehicle, for example, and a filter used in the air purifier. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an air purifier for vehicles that includes a photocatalytic filter, a light source lamp, a lighting circuit thereof, and a body that houses them, the body having an attachment means for attaching to the air conditioner outlet of the vehicle and a connecting means for connecting at least the filter housing part of the body to the attachment means so as to be openable and closable relative to the air conditioner outlet. Here, the photocatalytic filter is made of a porous body through which air can pass in order to secure a contact area with the air, and is thicker than a mesh filter for removing dust and the like, which causes a problem of increased air flow resistance. In the case of the above-mentioned air purifier for vehicles, the filter housing part can be moved relative to the attachment means by the connecting means, so that the filter can be retracted from the air conditioner outlet as necessary, which is effective in solving such problems. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-25450 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the filter has a considerable thickness, as in the case of the photocatalytic filter in the above-mentioned conventional technology, problems such as an increase in air flow resistance as well as an increase in storage space arise. Therefore, it is preferable that the filter is thin, but in that case, the contact area with the air cannot be secured, and the air purification effect may be insufficient.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and a main object of the present invention is to provide an air purifier and a filter for an air purifier that make it possible to ensure a sufficient contact area with air even if the filter is thin. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, an air purifier of one embodiment of the present invention comprises a housing having an air outlet, and a filter provided within the housing that comes into contact with air supplied into the housing to purify the air, the filter having a convex shape that is convex in the opposite direction to the flow direction of the supplied air, and at least a portion of the supplied air flows along the convex surface of the filter and is then discharged to the outside through the air outlet.

[0007] In the above aspect, the filter may have a through hole, and a portion of the supplied air may pass through the through hole and be discharged to the outside through the air outlet.

[0008] In addition, in the above-mentioned aspect, a gap may be formed between the peripheral portion of the filter and the inner wall of the housing, and at least a portion of the air flowing along the convex surface of the filter may be discharged to the outside from the air outlet after passing through the gap.

[0009] In the above aspect, the filter may be made of a porous body carrying a photocatalyst, and the filter may further include a light source that irradiates the filter with light.

[0010] A filter for an air purifier in one aspect of the present invention is provided within a housing having an air outlet equipped with an air purifier, and comes into contact with air supplied into the housing to purify the air. The filter for an air purifier has a convex shape that is convex in the opposite direction to the flow direction of the supplied air, and at least a portion of the supplied air is caused to flow along the convex surface of the filter and then discharged to the outside through the air outlet. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a small-sized air purifier with high purification performance. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an air purifier. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the air purifier. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the air purifier. [Figure 6] Cross-sectional view taken along line XX in Figure 2. [Figure 7] Cross section of line SS in Figure 2. [Figure 8] Cross-sectional view of line TT in Figure 2. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of the dashed line portion in FIG. 8. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are merely examples of devices and methods for embodying the technical idea of ​​the present invention, and the technical idea of ​​the present invention is not limited to the following. The technical idea of ​​the present invention can be modified in various ways within the technical scope described in the claims.

[0014] The air purifier of the present embodiment is an air purifier for automobiles that is attached to the air outlet of an air conditioner provided on the dashboard of an automobile. However, the air purifier can also be attached to the air outlet of an electric fan, a circulator, or the like.

[0015] (Basic configuration of air purifier) Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an air purifier according to the present embodiment, and Figs. 2 to 4 are a front view, a back view, and a right side view, respectively, showing the configuration of the air purifier. Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the air purifier. Note that in Fig. 1, each direction of the air purifier is indicated by an arrow. The following description will be given using these directions.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 1 etc., the air purifier 1 includes a housing 2 and a clip 3 provided on the rear side of the housing 2. The housing 2 is composed of a front part 21, a middle part 22, and a rear part 23. The clip 3 is a fastener for fastening the air purifier 1 to the air outlet of an automobile air conditioner, and is fixed to the rear part 23 with a screw or the like.

[0017] The front part 21 is made of a hollow member that is open at the rear, and its front has a concave shape that curves so that the center in the vertical direction is recessed backward. In addition, an air outlet 211 is formed in front of the front part 21 for discharging the air purified inside the air purifier 1 to the outside. The air outlet 211 is configured by arranging a plurality of slit-shaped openings that extend vertically in an elongated manner side by side in the left-right direction.

[0018] The rear surface portion 23 is formed of a flat plate-like member and has an intake port 231 for taking in air from the outside. The intake port 231 is made up of a plurality of slit-shaped openings that extend vertically and are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, and a plurality of slit-shaped openings that extend horizontally and are arranged side by side in the vertical direction.

[0019] The intermediate section 22 is interposed between the front section 21 and the rear section 23, and has an internal space 221 that is open in the front-rear direction. This internal space 221 communicates with the air outlet 211 of the front section 21 and the air inlet 231 of the rear section 23, and the air taken in from the air inlet 231 passes through the internal space 221 and is then discharged to the outside from the air outlet 211.

[0020] A filter 5 for purifying air is housed in the internal space 221 of the intermediate portion 22. The intermediate portion 22 includes two plate-shaped support members 222 arranged side by side in the vertical direction, and these support members 222 support the filter 5. More specifically, claw portions 222a that protrude forward are provided on both left and right ends of the front end of the support members 222. The filter 5 is supported by being sandwiched between these claw portions 222a and the inner wall of the front portion 21. The detailed configuration of the filter 5 will be described later.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 5, the light source unit 6 is housed in the internal space 221 of the intermediate portion 22. The light source unit 6 includes an LED lamp 61 that irradiates light onto the filter 5, and a terminal unit 62 for connecting to an external power source. The terminal unit 62 is connected to a connector 4 that is connected to a power cable (not shown). One end of the power cable is connected to the connector 4, and the other end is connected to a USB port or the like provided on the dashboard of the vehicle. This allows power to be supplied to the LED lamp 61.

[0022] (Filter configuration) The filter 5 is a filter for purifying the air supplied into the internal space 221. In the present embodiment, the filter 5 is formed by supporting a photocatalyst on a porous body having through holes. Here, the photocatalyst is a general term for a substance that exhibits catalytic action by absorbing light. A specific example of such a substance is titanium oxide (TiO2). When the photocatalyst supported on the filter 5 absorbs the light irradiated from the LED lamp 61, a strong oxidizing power is generated on the surface, and various organic substances contained in the air that comes into contact with the filter 5 are decomposed and removed. This also inactivates pathogens such as viruses and bacteria in the air.

[0023] The porous body used in the filter 5 is not limited to a specific one, and various types can be adopted. For example, a porous metal body or the like can be used.

[0024] In the case of a porous body, the surface area is large, so that a sufficient contact area with the air can be secured, which enables the filter 5 to efficiently decompose and remove organic matter in the air.

[0025] As a method for supporting the photocatalyst in a porous body, a known method can be adopted, such as applying or impregnating a dispersion of the photocatalyst to a porous body. For example, the photocatalyst can be supported on the porous body by coating the porous body with a coating agent containing the photocatalyst.

[0026] The shape of the filter 5 will be described in detail below with reference to cross-sectional views etc. Figures 6 to 8 are cross-sectional views taken along lines XX, SS and TT in Figure 2, respectively. Also, Figure 9 is a partially enlarged view of the dashed line portion in Figure 8. Note that in Figures 6 to 9, the main air flows are indicated by arrows.

[0027] 6 to 8, the filter 5 has a semi-cylindrical shape and is disposed lying in the left-right direction with the convex surface facing rearward. The concave surface of the filter 5 has a shape corresponding to the convex surface on the inner front surface of the front portion 21, and the filter 5 is supported so that these concave and convex surfaces face each other. In the internal space 221 of the intermediate portion 22, air flows from the intake port 231 toward the exhaust port 211, that is, from the rear to the front. Therefore, it can be said that the filter 5 has a convex shape that is convex in the opposite direction to the air flow direction.

[0028] The semi-cylindrical shape of the filter 5 can be obtained by various known methods. For example, the semi-cylindrical shape may be obtained by bending and curving a rectangular porous plate.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 7, in the SS cross section, the circumferential edge portion (peripheral edge portion) 5a of the filter 5 is sandwiched between the claw portions 222a of the support member 222 and the inner wall of the front surface portion 21. Therefore, the peripheral edge portion 5a of the filter 5 is in contact with the inner wall of the front surface portion 21. In contrast, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, in the TT cross section, the peripheral edge portion 5a of the filter 5 is not in contact with the inner wall of the front surface portion 21, and a gap 7 is formed therebetween. As will be described later, this gap 7 becomes a flow path through which air flows.

[0030] (Air flow) The air purifier 1 configured as described above is used by attaching it to an air conditioner outlet provided on the dashboard of an automobile using clips 3. Air discharged from the air conditioner outlet is supplied into the air purifier 1 from the intake port 231 of the rear portion 23, and flows through the internal space 221 of the middle portion 22 from the rear to the front.

[0031] 6 to 8, air flowing forward within internal space 221 reaches filter 5. A part of the air that reaches filter 5 passes through the through-holes of filter 5 and is then discharged to the outside from air outlet 211. In this case, the air comes into contact with filter 5 and is purified as it passes through the through-holes of filter 5.

[0032] Furthermore, a portion of the air that has reached the filter 5 flows from the rear to the front along the convex surface of the filter 5, and heads toward the peripheral portion 5a of the filter 5. A portion of the air that flows along the convex surface of the filter 5 in this manner passes through the through-holes of the filter 5 and is discharged to the outside from the air outlet 211 before reaching the peripheral portion 5a, as in the above-mentioned case. On the other hand, the air that has reached the peripheral portion 5a of the filter 5 without passing through the through-holes of the filter 5 passes through the gap 7 between the peripheral portion 5a of the filter 5 and the inner wall of the front portion 21, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, and then passes through a flow path formed between the rear surface of the filter 5 and the inner wall of the front portion 21, and is discharged to the outside from the air outlet 211.

[0033] As described above, the air flowing along the convex surface of the filter 5 remains in contact with the filter 5 during this time. This lengthens the contact time between the air and the filter 5, resulting in a sufficient purification effect. In addition, since the air flows from the rear to the front along the convex surface, the flow is not impeded and the air is discharged smoothly to the outside.

[0034] In this embodiment, the filter 5 has a convex shape that is convex in the opposite direction to the air flow direction, so that a sufficient area of ​​contact between the air and the filter 5 can be secured, and therefore a sufficient purification effect can be obtained even if the filter 5 is thin. Therefore, a small-sized air purifier with high purification effect can be realized.

[0035] Furthermore, in the case of this embodiment, a part of the air does not pass through filter 5 but passes through gap 7 and is discharged to the outside from air outlet 211. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the airflow resistance compared to a conventional air purifier in which all air passes through a filter.

[0036] Furthermore, in the case of this embodiment, the air that has passed through gap 7 as described above passes through a flow path formed between the rear surface of filter 5 and the inner wall of front surface 21, and is discharged to the outside from outlet 211. At this time, part of the air comes into contact with the rear surface of filter 5, which also purifies the air.

[0037] (Other embodiments) In the above embodiment, the filter 5 is made of a material carrying a photocatalyst, but other configurations may be used as long as the air that comes into contact with the filter 5 can be purified. For example, the filter 5 may be made of a material carrying copper or hydrogen peroxide.

[0038] In the above embodiment, the filter 5 is made of a porous material, but is not limited thereto. For example, the filter 5 may be made of a nonwoven fabric having through holes, a punched metal, a wire mesh, or the like. The filter 5 may be made of a material that does not have through holes (for example, a metal plate, a plastic plate, a ceramic plate, or the like).

[0039] In the above embodiment, the filter 5 has a semi-cylindrical shape, but may have other shapes as long as it has a convex shape that is convex in the opposite direction to the air flow direction and at least a part of the air flows along the convex surface. For example, the filter 5 may have various shapes such as a hemispherical shape and a cone shape. In the above embodiment, the filter 5 has a convex shape as a whole, but may have one or more convex parts on a part of the filter 5. In this case, the shape of the convex part may also be various shapes such as a hemispherical shape and a cone shape.

[0040] In the above embodiment, the gap 7 is formed between the peripheral edge 5a of the filter 5 and the inner wall of the front surface 21, but such a gap does not have to be formed. In that case, the entire amount of air flowing in the internal space 221 passes through the filter 5 and is discharged to the outside from the air outlet 211. Even in this case, a portion of the air flows through the convex surface of the filter 5, so that the time for the air to come into contact with the filter 5 can be secured.

[0041] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the air purifier 1 takes in air from an external device (an automobile air conditioner), but this is not limited to this, and the air purifier 1 may also be provided with a fan and take in air using the fan.

[0042] It should be noted that the clip 3 in the above embodiment is merely one example of a fastener, and various fasteners can be used. For example, the housing 2 of the air purifier 1 may be fixed with a double-sided tape or a hook-and-loop fastener. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1. Air purifier 2. Chassis 21 Front part 211 Air outlet 22 Middle section 221 Interior Space 222 Support member 222a Claw part 23 Rear part 231 Intake port 3 Clips 4 Connector 5. Filters 5a Periphery 6 Light source unit 61 Lamp 62 Terminal Unit 7. Gap

Claims

1. A housing having an air outlet; a filter provided in the housing and contacting the air supplied into the housing to purify the air; Equipped with The filter has a convex shape that is convex in a direction opposite to a flow direction of the supplied air, At least a portion of the supplied air flows along the convex surface of the filter and is then discharged to the outside through the air outlet. Air purifier.

2. The filter has a through hole, A portion of the supplied air passes through the through hole and is discharged to the outside through the air outlet.

2. The air purifier according to claim 1.

3. A gap is formed between a peripheral portion of the filter and an inner wall of the housing, At least a part of the air that has flowed along the convex surface of the filter is discharged to the outside through the air outlet after passing through the gap.

3. The air purifier according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The filter is composed of a porous body carrying a photocatalyst, Further comprising a light source for irradiating the filter with light.

4. The air purifier according to claim 1.

5. A filter for an air purifier is provided in a housing having an air outlet of the air purifier, and comes into contact with air supplied into the housing to purify the air, The nozzle has a convex shape that is convex in a direction opposite to the flow direction of the supplied air, At least a part of the supplied air is caused to flow along the convex surface of the filter and then discharged to the outside through the air outlet. Filters for air purifiers.

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