Air conditioner filter

Abstract

To improve the sterilization and deodorization functions of an air conditioner filter.SOLUTION: An air conditioner filter comprises a bellows-shaped filter sheet 3 integrally formed so that ridge portions 3a and valley portions 3b, each having a V-shaped cross section on both front and back sides, are alternately repeated, and configured to allow air to pass from one side to the other. Strip-shaped catalyst sheets 4, which sterilize and purify air by causing a photocatalytic reaction upon irradiation with ultraviolet rays or far-infrared rays, are erected and fixed along valley grooves within the valley portions 3b of the filter sheet 3. One side edge of each catalyst sheet 4 is adhesively fixed within the valley groove, and the catalyst sheet 4 can be attached to one or both of the valley portions 3b on the front and back sides.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioner filter used in air conditioners such as room air conditioners (air conditioners) and automobile air conditioners. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, filters for car air conditioners, room air conditioners, and the like have mainly used filter sheets folded into a V shape, as shown in Patent Document 1. In recent years, an air purifier using a photocatalyst sheet proposed by the present inventors that sterilizes and deodorizes through photocatalytic action has been publicly known from Patent Document 2. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-213157 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6923975 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The use of photocatalysts in air conditioner filters with functions such as sterilization and deodorization is superior in terms of performance and durability to those that use activated carbon, zeolite, or other adsorbent minerals, as in Patent Document 1. However, as in the invention of Patent Document 2, it is necessary to provide a special reaction section equipped with a catalyst that causes a photocatalytic reaction, and this usually requires replacing the air conditioner itself, making retrofitting and repairs technically difficult.

[0005] This invention provides an air conditioner filter using a photocatalyst that can be used for new air conditioners, as well as for existing bellows-type air conditioner filters such as those shown in Patent Document 1. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The air conditioner filter of the present invention, which solves the above problems, is firstly an air conditioner filter comprising a bellows-like filter sheet 3 whose cross section is integrally formed so that V-shaped peaks 3a and valleys 3b alternate on the front and back sides, and which allows air to pass from one side to the other, and is characterized by having a strip-shaped catalyst sheet 4 that sterilizes and purifies the air by undergoing a photocatalytic reaction when exposed to ultraviolet or far-infrared rays, attached and fixed along the valley grooves in the valleys 3b of the filter sheet 3.

[0007] Secondly, one side edge of the catalyst sheet 4 is adhesively fixed in the valley groove.

[0008] Thirdly, the catalyst sheet 4 is attached to one or both of the valley portions 3b on the front and rear sides.

[0009] Fourthly, the catalyst sheet 4 is attached by selecting and intermittently arranging the catalyst sheet 4 in the valley portions 3b on at least one side of the valley portions on the front and rear sides. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the air conditioner filter of the present invention configured as described above, by sandwiching and fixing a photocatalytic reaction type catalyst sheet within the V-shaped valleys of the existing accordion-type air filters currently in widespread use, it is possible to give the filter sterilizing and deodorizing effects through photocatalytic reaction, which has the advantage that filters with the same functions can be provided simply and inexpensively. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of an air conditioner filter according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the filter for the air conditioner. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a catalyst sheet. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Figures 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the air conditioner filter of the present invention. The basic shape of the filter 1 shown in the figures is a square type that has been widely used in conventional air conditioners, and is equipped with a mechanism in which a filter sheet 3 folded into a bellows-like corrugated shape is housed within a square or rectangular frame 2 made of a plate material with a certain degree of rigidity, such as paper, nonwoven fabric, or FRP based on these, and fixed by adhesive or the like.

[0013] The filter 1 is used as a cartridge type filter that can be replaceably attached to the filter insertion portion of the air conditioning device shown in the aforementioned Patent Document 1, for example, and the frame 2 is generally available in multiple sizes depending on the size of the air conditioning device corresponding to the vehicle model.

[0014] The filter sheet 3 is made of a fiber material or nonwoven fabric made of natural or synthetic resin, etc., which has breathability that allows air to pass from one side to the other. In this example, the cross section is formed into a bellows-like wave shape with alternating V-shaped or inverted V-shaped peaks 3a and valleys 3b on both sides to increase the collection area for dust and other particles in the air.

[0015] In the filter of the present invention, a strip-shaped catalyst sheet 4 (described later) is inserted into the valleys 3b of the filter 1 configured as described above, sandwiched in an upright position at the center of the V-shaped cross-section of the valleys 3b, and fixed along the V-shaped valley groove (valley bottom) as shown in Figures 1 to 3. This fixing can be achieved by forming adhesive sections 6 between the side edges of the valley bottom of the catalyst sheet 4 and both sides of the V-shaped valley groove, as shown in Figure 3. In addition to gluing, the catalyst sheet 4 can also be fixed by confining it from the outside of the apex of the V-shaped peaks 3a with a stapler or the like.

[0016] In the example shown in Figure 2, catalyst sheets 4 are inserted and fixed intermittently (one out of three) in selected valleys 3b on the upstream side of the air flow, but the placement density can be selected as appropriate, and they can also be installed in valleys 3b on the downstream side as well as the upstream side of the air flow. The placement density can be selected depending on the photocatalytic reaction (action) performance of the catalyst sheet 4 (described below), the amount of ultraviolet and far-infrared rays that stimulate the photocatalytic reaction, the amount of air flow and the degree of pollution, etc. Increasing or decreasing the placement density of the catalyst sheet 4 will increase or decrease the processing capacity of the air passing through the filter.

[0017] Next, the catalyst sheet 4 will be described. The catalyst sheet material is made of the same material as the substrate of Patent Document 2. The substrate 7 of the catalyst sheet 4 is made of one or more materials (impregnable materials) that can be impregnated with a predetermined paint.

[0018] That is, the substrate 7 of the catalyst sheet 4 is a sheet material made by forming a fiber material with a diameter of 100 μm or less into a flat sheet. In this example, a paper sheet defined by JIS is used, specifically, 100% virgin pulp, a mixed paper of virgin pulp and recycled paper, or 100% recycled paper is used as the paper. More specifically, the paper is a sheet of 1 m 2 The sheets used were made of paper of one of five different weights: 120g, 160g, 180g, reinforced 180g, and reinforced 200g, and the thickness was set to 0.3mm.

[0019] The fiber material may be mineral, metal, animal-derived, or synthetic resin fiber. Furthermore, the fiber material may be natural plant fiber, natural animal fiber, chemical fiber, or inorganic fiber. Examples of natural plant fiber include wood fiber, bast fiber, vascular bundles of monocotyledonous plants, fruit fiber, and leaf fiber. Examples of natural animal fiber include hair fiber, feather fiber, and eggshell membrane fiber. Chemical fiber includes plastic paper, and inorganic fiber mainly composed of inorganic substances can be used.

[0020] Incidentally, since a water-based paint is used as the paint in this example, non-hydrophilic materials such as water-repellent fiber materials cannot be used as the constituent material of the base material 7.

[0021] In this example, the paint used is a water-based paint containing a substance that acts as a photocatalyst. Therefore, the catalyst sheet 4 has a germicidal layer 8 made of solidified paint formed on both back surfaces of the substrate 7 that serves as its core material. When air comes into contact with or flows nearby this germicidal layer 8, the germicidal layer 8 undergoes a photocatalytic reaction, which causes the air to be sterilized, purified, or deodorized. This is because the germicidal layer 8 contains the photocatalytic reaction substance.

[0022] Specifically, this water-based paint is a white solution obtained by blending sodium aluminosilicate glass, pigment, resin emulsion, dispersant, adhesive, etc., adding water, and stirring and mixing.

[0023] The aluminosilicate sodium glass has a hollow bead structure with a particle size of 10 to 50 μm, and the content of the aluminosilicate sodium glass is 10 to 20 wt % of the total weight of the water-based paint. If the content of the aluminosilicate sodium glass is less than 10 wt %, the heat insulating performance decreases, and if it exceeds 20 wt %, the adhesion to the substrate decreases, so the content is set as above.

[0024] The pigment is white titanium dioxide that reflects light, and the resin emulsion is a water-soluble acrylic emulsion resin. The dispersant is used to homogenize the components consisting of sodium aluminosilicate glass, pigment, and resin emulsion, and the adhesive is used to prevent separation or precipitation of the homogenously mixed components. The substance that acts as a photocatalyst is titanium dioxide.

[0025] In the above-mentioned surface treatment, the surface of the substrate 7 is impregnated with the water-based paint in a flowable state, and then the water-based paint is dried and solidified into a non-flowable state, thereby forming a germicidal layer 8 on the entire surface of both sides of each sheet-shaped substrate 7. Incidentally, this germicidal layer 8 also functions as a heat insulating layer due to the composition of the water-based paint described above.

[0026] To explain the surface treatment of the catalyst sheet 4 in more detail, the surface treatment can be selected from a process of applying a water-based paint in a flowable state to the surface to be treated, a process of spraying a water-based paint in a flowable state onto the surface to be treated at a pressure equal to or greater than a predetermined pressure, and a process of immersing the substrate 7 in the water-based paint in a flowable state.

[0027] Incidentally, the water-based paint is impregnated into the surface layer of the substrate 7, and is integrated with the sterilizing layer 8, hardening the substrate 7 itself, making it less likely to deform and improving its strength. The reason why it becomes less likely to deform is that the water-based paint penetrates into and fills voids formed in the fibrous part of the surface layer of the substrate 7, and the water-based paint itself hardens in a dried state.

[0028] Increasing the water content of the water-based paint to make it less viscous will result in a thinner sterilization layer 8, but the water-based paint will be able to penetrate deeper into the substrate 7. On the other hand, decreasing the water content of the water-based paint will increase the viscosity, making it more difficult to impregnate the substrate 7 with the water-based paint. In other words, the thickness of the sterilization layer 8 after drying can be adjusted by the water content, and taking into account factors such as the difficulty of peeling, the thickness of the sterilization layer 8 after drying is preferably 0.3 to 0.7 mm.

[0029] The reason why sodium aluminosilicate glass is added to the water-based paint is that the sodium aluminosilicate glass with a hollow bead structure emits a small amount of far-infrared rays, which promote the photocatalytic action excited by ultraviolet irradiation. Here, the water-soluble paint is not limited to the examples mentioned above.

[0030] When titanium dioxide is irradiated with light with energy exceeding the band gap, electrons are excited from the valence band to the conduction band, which generates electrons in the valence band and holes in the conduction band. Of these carriers, those diffused near the surface contribute to the photocatalytic action.

[0031] Here, the sterilizing layer 8 contains aluminosilicate sodium glass due to the composition of the water-based paint described above. The main components of this aluminosilicate sodium glass are Al2O3, SiO2, and Na2O, and it is known to emit far-infrared rays at room temperature. As described above, the sterilizing layer 8 also has a heat insulating effect, so the aluminosilicate sodium glass contained therein is maintained at a predetermined temperature or higher, and enters a state in which it emits far-infrared rays.

[0032] The inventors have discovered that, because titanium dioxide has the property of absorbing far-infrared rays, the titanium dioxide contained in the germicidal layer 8 absorbs the far-infrared rays emitted from the sodium aluminosilicate glass contained in the germicidal layer 8, thereby obtaining the energy necessary to excite the photocatalytic reaction. In other words, these photocatalytic actions are exerted even in areas where ultraviolet rays emitted from a light source have difficulty reaching, and germicidal effects can be expected. In other words, when purifying air using the filter of the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a light source in the air purifier.

[0033] The inventors of the present application conducted an experiment at the Shimane Prefectural Environmental Health Public Corporation to confirm the effect of far-infrared rays emitted from aluminosilicate sodium glass, and as a result, it was confirmed that when far-infrared rays were irradiated inside an air purifying device using a sheet manufactured in the same manner as the above-mentioned catalyst sheet 4, although there was a difference in the rate of bacterial reduction over time compared to when ultraviolet rays were irradiated, there was ultimately no significant difference in the sterilization effect even without ultraviolet irradiation. The specific details of this experiment are already publicly known in Patent Document 2, so a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0034] Similarly, other prior art inventions by the inventors of the present application (Patent Publication No. 6903333) have also made clear that insulating sheets coated or impregnated with the above-mentioned paint perform sterilization and deodorization functions through a photocatalytic reaction on the coated or impregnated surface.

[0035] Furthermore, it is desirable that the side edge of the catalyst sheet 4 that is adhered along the valley groove be straight, but the side edge that protrudes from the valley portion 3b does not necessarily have to be straight, and the overall shape does not have to be strictly rectangular.

[0036] The air conditioner filter of the present invention configured as described above can be attached to the filter portion of a car air conditioner or a room air conditioner in a replaceable manner as described above, and can be provided with sterilizing and deodorizing functions through photocatalytic action in addition to the conventional air purification function.

[0037] This is because, by passing air through filter 1, dust and dirt in the air are captured and removed by filter sheet 3, and in the process of air flowing toward the front side of filter sheet 3 or being discharged from the back side, ultraviolet or far infrared light is irradiated onto sterilization layer 8 on the surface of catalyst sheet 4, causing a photocatalytic reaction which sterilizes and deodorizes the passing air.

[0038] The filter 1 can be applied not only to newly manufactured air conditioner filters, but also to existing conventional filters by simply adding the catalyst sheet 4. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1 filter 2 frame 3 filter sheets 3a Mountain 3b Tanibe 4 Catalyst sheet 7 Base material 8 Sterilization layer

Claims

1. This air conditioner filter is provided with a bellows-like filter sheet (3) whose cross section is integrally formed so that V-shaped peaks (3a) and valleys (3b) alternate on the front and back sides, and which allows air to pass from one side to the other. The filter is provided with a strip-like catalyst sheet (4) which undergoes a photocatalytic reaction when irradiated with ultraviolet or far-infrared light to sterilize and purify the air, attached and fixed upright along the valley grooves in the valleys (3b) of the filter sheet (3).

2. 2. The air conditioner filter according to claim 1, wherein one side edge of the catalyst sheet (4) is adhesively fixed in the valley groove.

3. 3. The air conditioner filter according to claim 1, wherein the catalyst sheet (4) is attached to one or both of the valley portions (3b) on the front and rear sides.

4. 3. The air conditioner filter according to claim 1, wherein the catalyst sheet (4) is attached by selectively arranging intermittently in at least one of the valley portions (3b) on the front and rear sides.

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