Air cleaner

Abstract

To provide a hybrid type air cleaner with improved maintainability.SOLUTION: An air cleaner has a housing, a dust collection unit disposed in the housing, and a fan that generates an airflow passing through the dust collection unit. The dust collection unit has at least a prefilter, a dust collection filter, and an electric dust collection unit. The dust collection filter is arranged downstream of the prefilter and upstream of the electric dust collection unit with respect to the airflow, and is removable from the inside of the housing to the outside.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a hybrid air purifier having a dust collection filter and an electrostatic precipitator section.

Background Art

[0002] There is a hybrid air purifier having an electrostatic precipitator section and a dust collection filter. Hybrid air purifiers are described, for example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

[0003] The electrostatic precipitator section charges particles contained in the air and adsorbs the charged particles on a dust collection plate. The dust collection filter is composed of a fine filter such as a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter, etc., and is capable of collecting fine particles and viruses in the air with a high probability.

[0004] In a conventional hybrid air purifier, the air that has flowed into the air purifier passes through a pre-filter, an electrostatic precipitator section, and a dust collection filter in that order and is then exhausted. The pre-filter collects larger dust compared to the dust collection filter. Fine dust and the like that have not been collected by the pre-filter are collected by the electrostatic precipitator section and the dust collection filter.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] By the way, in order for a hybrid air purifier to exhibit desired performance, it is necessary to appropriately maintain the electrostatic precipitator section and the dust collection filter.

[0007] However, in conventional hybrid air purifiers, it cannot be said that sufficient consideration has been given to the maintenance of the electrostatic precipitator section and the dust collection filter.

[0008] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above points, and provides a hybrid air purifier with improved maintainability.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] One aspect of the air purifier of the present disclosure is a housing, a dust collection section disposed within the housing, a fan that generates an air flow passing through the dust collection section, and an air purifier having wherein the dust collection section has at least a pre-filter, a dust collection filter, and an electrostatic precipitator section, the dust collection filter is disposed downstream of the pre-filter and upstream of the electrostatic precipitator section with respect to the air flow, and is removable from the inside to the outside of the housing.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, a hybrid air purifier with improved maintainability can be realized.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 8

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the air purifier 100 of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the ±X direction in the figure will be described as the left - right direction of the air purifier 100, the ±Y direction as the front - rear direction of the air purifier 100, and the ±Z direction as the up - down direction of the air purifier 100.

[0014] The air purifier 100 is covered by a housing 100a (see FIG. 3) composed of a top cover 110, a base 120, a front cover 130, a rear cover 140, and side covers 150, 160.

[0015] An exhaust port 111 through which the cleaned air is discharged is formed in the top cover 110. Also, an operation unit 112 is provided on the top cover 110.

[0016] A fan 170 is provided inside the housing 100a of the air purifier 100. In the present embodiment, the fan 170 is a sirocco fan. When the fan 170 rotates, an air flow in the +Y direction is generated inside the housing 100a.

[0017] Since the airflow generated by the fan 170 flows from the rear case 140 toward the front cover 130, in the following description, the rear case 140 side may be referred to as the upstream side, and the front cover 130 side may be referred to as the downstream side.

[0018] Inside the housing 100a, a pre-filter 210, a dust collection filter 220, an electrostatic precipitator 230, and a deodorizing filter 240 are provided in sequence from the rear cover 140 toward the fan 170, that is, from the upstream side toward the downstream side. The pre-filter 210, the dust collection filter 220, and the electrostatic precipitator 230 constitute a dust collection unit. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the order of arrangement of the pre-filter 210, the dust collection filter 220, the electrostatic precipitator 230, and the deodorizing filter 240 in the present embodiment.

[0019] A mesh-shaped suction port is formed in the rear cover 140. The pre-filter 210 collects relatively large dust. The deodorizing filter 240 is configured to include a deodorant such as activated carbon.

[0020] The dust collection filter 220 is a ULPA (Ultra-Low Penetration Air) filter. The dust collection filter 220 may be a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. The dust collection filter 220 is a filter with fine pores capable of collecting bacteria and viruses. The dust collection filter 220 is, for example, a filter defined in ISO29463-1 and EN 1822-1.

[0021] On one hand, the pre-filter 210 provided upstream of the dust collection filter 220 is a filter with coarser pores than the dust collection filter 220, and is provided to prevent clogging of the dust collection filter 220 due to large dust adhering to the dust collection filter 220. In a broad sense, the pre-filter 210 can also be said to be a kind of dust collection filter, but the dust collection filter in this disclosure means a filter provided downstream of the pre-filter and having finer pores than the pre-filter. The pre-filter 210 cannot capture viruses, but the dust collection filter 220 provided downstream thereof can capture viruses. In this embodiment, the dust collection filter 220 is configured to capture 95% or more of the particles of the size that is most likely to pass through among the particles of the sizes defined in ISO29463-1:2011 and EN1822-1.

[0022] The electrostatic precipitator section 230 has a discharge electrode and a dust collection electrode. The electrostatic precipitator section 230 generates a corona discharge by applying a voltage to the discharge electrode to charge the particles in the air. Then, the electrostatic precipitator section 230 captures the charged particles by the dust collection electrode.

[0023] The dust collection filter 220 is removable from the inside to the outside of the housing 100a. Specifically, the dust collection filter 220 is slidable in a direction perpendicular to the air flow. Also, an opening 151 through which the dust collection filter 220 can be inserted and removed is formed at a position of the housing 100a corresponding to the sliding direction of the dust collection filter 220. Further, a handle 221 is formed on the side surface of the frame of the dust collection filter 220.

[0024] Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, the user can insert the dust collection filter 220 into the housing 100a by gripping the handle 221 and sliding the dust collection filter 220, and can also extract the dust collection filter 220 from the inside of the housing 100a without bacteria or viruses adhering to the user's hand.

[0025] Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the air purifier 100 has a lid 152 that closes the opening 151. When replacing the dust collection filter 220, the lid 152 is removed, and during the air purification operation, the opening 151 is closed by the lid 152.

[0026] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an installation example of the air purifier 100 according to the present embodiment. The air purifier 100 is disposed, for example, inside a medical booth 10.

[0027] The medical booth 10 generally includes a frame body 11 and a partition body 12 that partitions an internal space formed by the frame body 11 from the external space. The frame body 11 has, for example, a foldable configuration, and the partition body 12 is a non-combustible transparent vinyl sheet.

[0028] A duct 13 is connected to the exhaust port 111 (FIG. 1) of the air purifier 100 via an attachment or the like. The duct 13 is drawn out to the outside through a duct insertion hole 12a formed in the partition body 12. Thereby, the air sterilized by the air purifier 100 is exhausted to the outside of the medical booth 10 through the duct 13.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 4, when the air purifier 100 is installed inside the medical booth 10 and the air sterilized by the air purifier 100 is exhausted to the outside of the medical booth 10 through the duct 13, the inside of the medical booth 10 becomes substantially negative pressure. As a result, even if outside air of the medical booth 10 enters the inside of the medical booth 10 from gaps in the vinyl sheet (partition body 12), the air inside the medical booth 10 does not leak to the outside of the medical booth 10. Consequently, it is possible to prevent viruses and the like inside the medical booth 10 from leaking to the outside.

[0030] As described above, the air purifier 100 of the present embodiment has a dust collection unit including at least a pre-filter 210, a dust collection filter 220, and an electrostatic precipitator 230. The dust collection filter 220 is disposed downstream of the pre-filter 210 with respect to the air flow and upstream of the electrostatic precipitator 230 with respect to the air flow, and is removable from the inside to the outside of the housing 100a. Thereby, a hybrid-type air purifier 100 with improved maintainability can be realized.

[0031] Incidentally, a hybrid-type air purifier uses a dust collection filter and an electrostatic precipitator, and collects dust by two dust collection units. Therefore, compared with the case of collecting dust only with the dust collection filter, the flow rate (flow velocity) can be reduced, and as a result, there is an advantage that the pressure loss in the dust collection filter can be reduced.

[0032] Incidentally, when collecting dust only with the electrostatic precipitator, if the flow rate (flow velocity) is increased, dust easily passes through the electrostatic precipitator, so the dust collection performance deteriorates. The hybrid method can prevent this even if the flow rate is increased.

[0033] The inventor of the present invention made the following considerations regarding the maintainability of a hybrid-type air purifier.

[0034] The dust collection filter has an advantage that it can collect particles larger than the filter mesh regardless of the air volume (wind speed). However, when clogging due to dust occurs, the pressure loss increases. Therefore, the dust collection filter needs to be replaced in a relatively short period. Although some dust collection filters can be reused by cleaning, most are disposable.

[0035] On the other hand, the electrostatic precipitator has little pressure loss, but the electrode plates need to be cleaned regularly. In addition, the electrostatic precipitator has a drawback that when the air volume (wind speed) is increased, the amount of dust passing through between the electrodes increases.

[0036] Conventional hybrid air purifiers are configured to place a dust collection filter downstream of the electrostatic precipitator section and capture the dust passing through the electrostatic precipitator section with the dust collection filter. As a result, conventional hybrid air purifiers can achieve high dust collection efficiency as a whole and can have a relatively long replacement cycle for the dust collection filter.

[0037] However, in a configuration where the dust collection filter is placed downstream of the electrostatic precipitator section, although the replacement cycle of the dust collection filter can be lengthened, the frequency of cleaning the electrodes of the electrostatic precipitator section is the same as that of an electrostatic dust collection type air purifier with the same air volume without using the dust collection filter.

[0038] On the other hand, when the air purifier is used in a hospital environment where there is a high possibility of viruses floating, there is a risk of infection in the cleaning operation of the electrostatic precipitator section that has captured the viruses, and it is desirable to reduce the cleaning frequency as much as possible. Also, regarding the replacement of the dust collection filter, it is desirable to be able to replace it without touching the surface on which the viruses have been captured.

[0039] The present invention has been made based on such considerations.

[0040] Based on the consideration that, in view of use in a virus environment, it is more advantageous in terms of maintenance for viruses to adhere to the dust collection filter than to the electrostatic precipitator section. This depends on the fact that the electrostatic precipitator section can be reused by cleaning, while many dust collection filters are of the disposable type.

[0041] According to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, since the dust collection filter 220 is arranged upstream of the electrostatic precipitator section 230, the dust reaching the electrostatic precipitator section 230 is reduced, and the frequency of cleaning the electrostatic precipitator section 230 can be significantly reduced.

[0042] For example, in the conventional configuration, if the cleaning of the electrostatic precipitator section was required once every two months, but the dust collector filter 220 captures 99% of the dust, the amount of dust reaching the electrostatic precipitator section 230 will be 1%. Therefore, the period between cleanings of the electrostatic precipitator section 230 can be extended 99 times, and cleaning will not be required for approximately 17 years. Considering the product life to be 10 years, cleaning of the electrostatic precipitator section 230 is substantially unnecessary, so the risk of infection during cleaning can be eliminated.

[0043] In addition, since there is no need to replace the electrostatic precipitator section 230, the electrostatic precipitator section 230 can be fixedly installed inside the main body. As a result, the fixing structure of the electrostatic precipitator section 230 becomes simple, and there are no gaps through which dust can leak. Thus, the component cost can be reduced and the dust collection rate can be improved.

[0044] The above-described embodiments are merely examples of specific implementations when carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a limited manner by these. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from its gist or its main features.

[0045] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the air cleaner 100 cut along the YZ plane. As described above, since the electrostatic precipitator section 230 is fixedly installed in the housing 100a, no gap is formed between the electrostatic precipitator section 230 and the housing 100a. However, since the dust collector filter 220 is slidable with respect to the housing 100a, a gap is formed between the dust collector filter 220 and the housing 100a. As a result, an air flow that passes through the dust collector filter 220 as indicated by the arrow in the figure is generated from this gap.

[0046] FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration example of the electrostatic precipitator section 230. The electrostatic precipitator section 230 is provided with a discharge electrode (negative electrode) 231 and a dust collection electrode (positive electrode) 232 at positions corresponding to the gap between the frame of the dust collector filter 220 and the housing 100a. Thereby, particles that have passed through the dust collector filter 220 can be efficiently collected in the electrostatic precipitator section 230.

[0047] Here, for example, the discharge electrode 231 is linear and the dust collecting electrode 232 is plate-shaped. Note that the shapes of the discharge electrode and the dust collecting electrode are not limited to this, and various shapes proposed in the past may be applied.

[0048] As in the above-described embodiment, if the dust collecting filter 220 is structured to be slid and replaced in a direction orthogonal to the ventilation direction, it becomes easy to replace the dust collecting filter 220 without touching the collection surface thereof. However, there is a high possibility that particles will slip through the gap (slide portion) between the frame of the dust collecting filter 220 and the housing 100a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, by providing the electrostatic precipitator section 230 concentrated downstream of the slide portion where particle slippage is likely to occur, the dust collection rate of the apparatus can be increased. Further, since a structure that can somewhat tolerate particle slippage from the slide portion can be adopted, the slide structure of the dust collecting filter 220 can be simplified.

[0049] In FIG. 6, the case where the discharge electrode 231 and the dust collecting electrode 232, which are the electrostatic precipitator section 230, are provided only in the vicinity of the gap (slide portion) between the frame of the dust collecting filter 220 and the housing 100a has been described, but it is not limited to this. For example, by making the density of the discharge electrode 231 and the dust collecting electrode 232 in the vicinity of the gap (slide portion) between the frame of the dust collecting filter 220 and the housing 100a higher than the density of other portions, the electrostatic precipitation force of the electrostatic precipitator section 230 may be made higher in the vicinity of the gap than in other portions. Further, by making the voltage applied to the discharge electrode 231 in the vicinity of the gap (slide portion) between the frame of the dust collecting filter 220 and the housing 100a higher than the voltage of other portions, the electrostatic precipitation force of the electrostatic precipitator section 230 may be made higher in the vicinity of the gap than in other portions.

[0050] Also, as shown in FIG. 7, the air purifier 100 may have a control unit 300 that controls the power supplied to the electrostatic precipitator 230 in the negative pressure operation mode and the non - negative pressure operation mode. In FIG. 7, an operation signal from the operation unit 112 is input to the control unit 300. The operation signal includes a signal indicating the negative pressure operation mode selected by the user and a signal indicating the non - negative pressure operation mode. The control unit 300 controls the power supply unit 301 to supply power to the electrostatic precipitator 230 and turn on the electrostatic precipitator 230 in the negative pressure operation mode, and to turn off the electrostatic precipitator 230 without supplying power to the electrostatic precipitator 230 in the non - negative pressure operation mode.

[0051] Here, when the air purifier 100 is installed in the medical booth 10 shown in FIG. 4, for example, and used as a negative pressure machine, the dust collection capacity in one pass must be increased. For example, in a circulating air purifier, it is sufficient to be able to collect 70% or more of the dust in one pass, but when used as a negative pressure machine, the ability to collect most of the dust in one pass is required.

[0052] In consideration of this, the electrostatic precipitator 230 is operated only when used as a negative pressure machine to improve the dust collection capacity. By doing so, when the air purifier 100 is switched and operated as both a negative pressure machine and a non - negative pressure machine (general air purifier), power is supplied to the electrostatic precipitator 230 only when necessary (only when used as a negative pressure machine). Therefore, the time of applying a high voltage to the electrostatic precipitator 230 can be reduced. As a result, the deterioration of the insulating parts can be suppressed, and safer and longer - term use becomes possible. Note that when operating as a non - negative pressure machine (general air purifier), instead of completely stopping the power supply to the electrostatic precipitator 230, the power supplied to the electrostatic precipitator 230 may be made smaller than when operating as a negative pressure machine.

[0053] In the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which the deodorizing filter 240 is disposed on the downstream side of the electrostatic dust collection unit 230 has been illustrated. However, the position of the deodorizing filter 240 is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 8, in which corresponding parts to FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, the deodorizing filter 240 may be disposed, for example, between the pre-filter 210 and the dust collection filter 220. Further, the deodorizing filter 240 may be configured integrally with the dust collection filter 220 and may be configured to be insertable into and removable from the housing 100a together with the dust collection filter 220. In this way, the deodorizing filter 240 can be replaced together with the replacement of the dust collection filter 220.

Industrial Applicability

[0054] The air cleaner of the present disclosure is suitable for a hybrid type air cleaner having a dust collection filter and an electrostatic dust collection unit.

Explanation of Signs

[0055] 10 Medical booth 100 Air cleaner 100a Housing 110 Top cover 111 Exhaust port 112 Operation unit 120 Base 130 Front cover 140 Rear cover 150, 160 Side covers 151 Opening 170 Fan 210 Pre-filter 220 Dust collection filter 221 Handle 230 Electrostatic dust collection unit 240 Deodorizing filter 300 Control unit

Claims

1. A housing, a dust collection unit disposed within the housing, a fan that generates an air flow passing through the dust collection unit, and an air purifier having the above components, wherein the dust collection unit includes at least a pre-filter, a dust collection filter, and an electrostatic dust collection unit, the dust collection filter is disposed downstream of the pre-filter and upstream of the electrostatic dust collection unit with respect to the air flow, and is removable from the inside to the outside of the housing, an air purifier.

2. The dust collection filter is slidable in a direction perpendicular to the air flow, and an opening through which the dust collection filter can be inserted and removed is formed at a position of the housing corresponding to the sliding direction of the dust collection filter. The air purifier according to Claim 1.

3. A handle for sliding the dust collection filter is formed on the frame of the dust collection filter. The air purifier according to Claim 2.

4. A gap exists between the frame of the dust collection filter and the housing, and the electrostatic dust collection force of the electrostatic dust collection unit is higher near the gap than in other parts. The air purifier according to Claim 1.

5. A gap exists between the frame of the dust collection filter and the housing, and the electrostatic dust collection unit is provided near the gap. The air purifier according to Claim 1.

6. Having a control unit that changes the power supplied to the electrostatic dust collection unit between the negative pressure operation mode and the non-negative pressure operation mode. The air purifier according to Claim 1.

7. The control unit supplies power to the electrostatic dust collection unit to turn it on in the negative pressure operation mode, and turns it off without supplying power to the electrostatic dust collection unit in the non-negative pressure operation mode. The air purifier according to Claim 6.

8. The dust collection filter is a ULPA filter or a HEPA filter. The air purifier according to Claim 1.

9. The electrostatic dust collection unit has a discharge electrode and a dust collection electrode. The air purifier according to Claim 1.

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