Suspended particle recovery member and suspended particle recovery device

The tubular floating particle collection member addresses the issues of size, noise, and cost in existing air intake devices by using centrifugal force and light-based treatment to capture and inactivate particles, achieving efficient and cost-effective air filtration.

JP7623689B2Active Publication Date: 2025-01-29JOSHO GAKUEN EDUCATIONAL FOUND
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2021088900
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-05-27
Publication Date
2025-01-29
Estimated Expiration
2041-05-27

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing air intake devices for partitions are large, noisy, and costly due to high filter replacement frequency and energy consumption, especially when dealing with large volumes of air containing floating particles.

Method used

A tubular floating particle collection member that collects particles along the surface of a barrier member, equipped with an inflow and outlet, and an optional exhaust device, which reduces device size and energy consumption by utilizing centrifugal force and inactivation means to capture and treat particles.

Benefits of technology

The solution effectively collects and inactivates floating particles using centrifugal force and light-based treatment, reducing device size, noise, and operational costs while maintaining effective air filtration.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To recover exhaled air leaking from an end of a partition.SOLUTION: A cylindrical floating particle recovery member 120 recovers floating particles in a gas moving along a surface of a barrier member 110 serving as a barrier of a gas flow and includes: a peripheral wall 121 which is disposed so as to be along the surface of the barrier member 110; an inflow port 122 which extends along the surface of the barrier member 110 and penetrates through the peripheral wall 121; and an outflow port 123 which is open in at least one end as seen in a pipe axis direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an airborne particle recovery member and an airborne particle recovery device that recover airborne particles that spread along the surface of a barrier member such as a partition and move with an air current. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a hood for an air intake device that is disposed on the outer periphery of a partition and has an inlet perpendicular to the partition. A guide member is disposed inside the hood, spaced slightly from the inner surface of the hood. The air intake device creates a negative pressure in the space formed by the hood and the guide member, so that air is sucked in evenly from the gap between the hood and the guide. It is believed that this makes it possible to effectively suck in airflow that is attempting to overcome the partition. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3229147 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the case of a hood that uses an intake device, because it sucks in a large amount of air near the partition, there is a concern that the entire device will become larger and that there will be more noise from the pump, etc. In addition, in order to exhaust the large amount of sucked air, it is necessary to separate the bacteria and viruses from the air using a filter, but since the filter also captures dust and other particles contained in the large amount of air, there is a concern that the filter will need to be replaced more frequently, resulting in higher running costs.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a suspended particle recovery member and a suspended particle recovery device that can recover suspended particles that move on air currents along the surface of a barrier member such as a partition. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one aspect of the present invention is a suspended particle recovery member, which is a cylindrical suspended particle recovery member that recovers suspended particles in a gas that moves along the surface of a barrier member that serves as a barrier to a gas flow, and is provided with a peripheral wall that is arranged along the surface of the barrier member, an inlet that extends along the surface of the barrier member and penetrates the peripheral wall, and an outlet that opens at least at one end in the tube axial direction.

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, another aspect of the present invention is a suspended particle recovery device comprising a barrier member which acts as a barrier to a gas flow, and a cylindrical suspended particle recovery member which recovers suspended particles in the gas moving along the surface of the barrier member, the suspended particle recovery member comprising a peripheral wall arranged along the surface of the barrier member, an inlet which extends along the surface of the barrier member and penetrates the peripheral wall, and an outlet which opens at least at one end in the tube axial direction. Effect of the Invention

[0008] This makes it possible to collect the suspended particles that are carried by the vortex gas flow and spread over the surface of the barrier member in the suspended particle collection member by the kinetic energy of the exhaled breath. It also makes it possible to subject temporarily remaining suspended particles to inactivation or other treatment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a suspended particle recovery device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of an outlet of the suspended particle recovery device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example 1 of the suspended particle recovery device. [Figure 4]FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example 2 of the suspended particle recovery device. [Diagram 5] 13 is a perspective view showing another example of an inlet of the floating particle recovery member. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is a perspective view showing another example of a short suspended particle recovery member and a guide wall. FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is an exhaust circuit diagram showing a suspended particle recovery apparatus equipped with an exhaust device. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example 3 of the suspended particle recovery device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the floating particle recovery member and the floating particle recovery device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiment is an example for explaining the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, the shapes, structures, materials, components, relative positional relationships, connection states, numerical values, mathematical expressions, contents of each step in the method, and the order of each step shown in the following embodiment are examples, and may include contents not described below. In addition, geometric expressions such as parallel and orthogonal may be used, but these expressions do not indicate mathematical strictness, and include errors, deviations, etc. that are substantially allowed. In addition, expressions such as simultaneous and identical also include a substantially allowed range.

[0011] In addition, the drawings are schematic diagrams in which emphasis, omissions, or ratios have been appropriately adjusted in order to explain the present invention, and the shapes, positional relationships, and ratios are different from the actual ones.

[0012] In addition, in the following, a plurality of inventions may be collectively described as one embodiment, and some of the contents described below are described as optional components related to the present invention.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a suspended particle recovery device. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of an outlet of the suspended particle recovery device. The suspended particle recovery device 100 is a device that recovers and temporarily retains suspended particles contained in the gas flow emitted from the human nose and mouth due to breathing, coughing, sneezing, etc., and includes a barrier member 110 and a suspended particle recovery member 120. In the case of this embodiment, the suspended particle recovery device 100 includes a protruding wall 130, a guide wall 140, and an action means 150.

[0014] "Suspended particles" refers to particles that can move with gas currents, and includes droplets of about 1 mm in size, as well as aerosols, which are smaller droplets than droplets. Aerosols also include mists and the like, which are droplets between 10 microns and 100 microns in size. Additionally, suspended particles are described as including organic matter on the order of microns or nanometers, such as bacteria, simple viruses, pollen, and dead mites.

[0015] The barrier member 110 is a barrier that spreads in a direction intersecting the traveling direction of the gas flow emitted from a person's nose and mouth due to breathing, coughing, sneezing, etc. The type of the barrier member 110 is not particularly limited. Examples of the barrier member 110 include a mouth shield that covers the mouth and nose, a face shield that covers the face, a partition placed on a desk or floor, and a partition suspended from a ceiling. The barrier member 110 may also be a wall of a building.

[0016] The material of the barrier member 110 is not particularly limited. Examples of the material of the barrier member 110 include resin, metal (including alloy), wood, paper, cloth, and ceramics. The shape of the barrier member 110 is not particularly limited. The shape of the barrier member 110 may be a flat plate as shown in FIG. 1, or may be curved or bent like a mouth shield or face shield. The barrier member 110 may have a rigidity that allows it to stand on its own, or may be a film with no rigidity that is hung from and stretched across a rigid member.

[0017] The suspended particle collection member 120 is a member that can collect suspended particles in a cylinder by using the kinetic energy of exhaled air that is emitted from a person's nose and mouth and moves so as to spread along the surface of the barrier member 110, and temporarily retain the suspended particles inside the cylinder. The suspended particle collection member 120 includes a peripheral wall 121, an inlet 122, and an outlet 123, and uses the kinetic energy of exhaled air containing suspended particles emitted from the oral cavity or the like to introduce suspended particles from the inlet 122 into the interior of the peripheral wall 121, and discharges the gas inside the peripheral wall 121 from the outlet 123 on the side.

[0018] The peripheral wall 121 is a portion disposed along the surface of the barrier member 110, and is the main body of the suspended particle recovery device 100 that recovers suspended particles. The shape of the peripheral wall 121 is not particularly limited. For example, the peripheral wall 121 may be a square tube as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, or a cylinder as shown in FIG. 3. The shape of the peripheral wall 121 may be a triangular tube, a polygonal tube, or the like. The peripheral wall 121 may have a rigidity that allows it to stand on its own, or may have a flexibility that allows it to follow the curved shape of the barrier member 110. The material of the peripheral wall 121 is not particularly limited. The material of the peripheral wall 121 and the material of the barrier member 110 may be the same or different.

[0019] In this embodiment, a part (one of four faces) of the peripheral wall 121 functions as an attachment portion for attaching the suspended particle recovery member 120 to the barrier member 110. The attachment manner of the barrier member 110 and the suspended particle recovery member 120 is not particularly limited. For example, the barrier member 110 and the suspended particle recovery member 120 may be bonded with double-sided tape, adhesive, or the like. The barrier member 110 and the suspended particle recovery member 120 may be fastened with fastening members such as bolts and rivets. As shown in FIG. 3, the barrier member 110 and the peripheral wall 121 of the suspended particle recovery member 120 may be integrally formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the barrier member 110 may be attached to the suspended particle recovery member 120 by inserting the barrier member 110 into the gap between two suspended particle recovery members 120 fixed in a back-to-back state with a predetermined distance between them.

[0020] The inlet 122 is a hole penetrating the peripheral wall 121. When the floating particle recovery member 120 is attached to the barrier member 110, the inlet 122 is preferably an elongated hole that extends along the surface of the barrier member 110 and widely passes the gas flow that flows along the surface of the barrier member 110. The shape of the inlet 122 is not particularly limited, and may be a slit penetrating from one end to the other end of the peripheral wall 121 in the tube axis direction (Y-axis direction in the figure) as shown in Fig. 1. Also, as shown in Fig. 5, a plurality of hole-shaped inlets 122 may extend side by side in the direction along the barrier member 110 (Y-axis direction in the figure).

[0021] It is desirable that the inlet 122 is disposed near the surface of the barrier member 110. For example, the distance between the inlet 122 and the barrier member 110 may be approximately the thickness of the peripheral wall 121 as shown in Fig. 2, and a part of the edge of the inlet 122 may be formed by the barrier member 110 as shown in Fig. 3. In other words, the inlet 122 is in contact with the surface of the barrier member 110.

[0022] The outlet 123 is an opening disposed at least at one end in the tube axial direction, and is a portion through which the gas flow that has flowed in from the inlet 122 is exhausted. In the case of this embodiment, the outlet 123 is disposed at both ends of the peripheral wall 121. The shape of the outlet 123 may be the same as the cross-sectional shape of the peripheral wall 121 in a plane perpendicular to the tube axial direction as shown in Figures 1 to 5, or may be a different shape or area.

[0023] The protruding wall 130 is a tongue-shaped portion that protrudes from the edge of the inlet 122 toward the inside of the peripheral wall 121 from the side opposite to the barrier member 110. The protruding wall 130 that protrudes from the edge of the inlet 122 to face the barrier member 110 can prevent floating particles that flow in together with air from the inlet 122 from being discharged from the inlet 122. The inclination of the protruding wall 130 with respect to the surface of the barrier member 110 is not particularly limited, and may be parallel to the surface of the barrier member 110, for example. Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the protruding wall 130 may be inclined so as to approach the barrier member 110 as it moves toward the inside of the space surrounded by the peripheral wall 121. In this case, the backflow of floating particles at the inlet 122 can be further suppressed.

[0024] The guide wall 140 is a plate-like member that extends in a direction intersecting the extension direction of the inlet 122 (Y-axis direction in the figure) at an end of the inlet 122 in the extension direction of the inlet 122 (the direction perpendicular to the extension direction in the present embodiment) and is arranged upright from the surface of the barrier member 110. The guide wall 140 guides the suspended particles together with the gas spreading along the surface of the barrier member 110 to the inlet 122. The shape of the guide wall 140 is not particularly limited, and may protrude from the barrier member 110 by the same amount as the suspended particle recovery member 120 as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Moreover, the guide wall 140 may protrude from the barrier member 110 or may be recessed.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 6, when the length of the peripheral wall 121 of the floating particle recovery member 120 in the tube axis direction (Y-axis direction in the figure) is shorter than the length of the barrier member 110, it is desirable to curve (or bend) the guide wall 140 to guide the gas flow to the inlet 122.

[0026] The action means 150 is a device that is disposed inside the peripheral wall 121 and acts on at least one of bacteria and viruses in airborne particles that are retained inside the peripheral wall 121 to reduce their effects on humans. The type of action means 150 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, it includes an irradiation means 151 that irradiates light from a part of the inner surface of the peripheral wall 121 toward the opposing inner surface, and an action member 152 that acts on at least one of bacteria and viruses based on the irradiated light. The action member 152 is, for example, a photocatalyst such as titanium dioxide, and the irradiation means 151 is a light source such as an LED that can irradiate light including ultraviolet rays that generate oxidizing power in the photocatalyst. By irradiating the photocatalyst with ultraviolet light, OH radicals are generated, and organic matter such as bacteria and viruses can be broken down and inactivated.

[0027] The other action means 150 may be an irradiation means that inactivates bacteria and viruses by irradiating light. For example, an LED that irradiates deep ultraviolet light with a wavelength of 100 nm or more and 300 nm or less can be given as the irradiation means.

[0028] It is desirable to determine the internal volume of peripheral wall 121 according to the action time required for bacteria, viruses, etc. to be inactivated by action means 150. That is, as the internal volume increases, the time that airborne particles remain inside peripheral wall 121 increases, and the time that bacteria, viruses, etc. are exposed to light and OH radicals can be increased. Specifically, when a device that irradiates deep ultraviolet light is used as action means 150, it has been found that 90% or more of bacteria and viruses can be inactivated by retaining airborne particles inside peripheral wall 121 for approximately 30 seconds.

[0029] In addition, if the light emitted from the irradiation means is light that adversely affects human eyes, it is preferable to form the peripheral wall 121 from a material that does not transmit light or has low transmittance. Also, a part or the whole of the inner surface or the outer surface of the peripheral wall 121 may be covered with a material that does not transmit light or has low transmittance.

[0030] The action means 150 may also be a device that generates active fine particles. The active fine particles include, for example, atoms, molecules, and ions thereof, as well as nano- or micron-order particles that are aggregates of atoms and molecules. Specific examples of the active fine particles include nano-order water droplets containing OH radicals, charged cluster-shaped water droplets, ozone, and hypochlorous acid water mist.

[0031] According to the above-described suspended particle collection device 100, when a person breathes, coughs, sneezes, etc. toward the surface of the barrier member 110, the airflow colliding with the barrier member 110 spreads toward the periphery of the barrier member 110 together with the suspended particles as various sizes of vortex airflows whose axis of rotation extends in a direction along the surface of the barrier member 110 due to the kinetic energy of the exhaled air. The vortex of the airflow rises from the outer edge side of the barrier member 110 and swirls toward the barrier member 110 from the inside. Since the air inlet 122 of the suspended particle collection member 120 is arranged so as not to go against the vortex of the airflow, the gas that flows into the inside of the peripheral wall 121 from the inlet 122 is maintained in a vortex state with the tube axis of the peripheral wall 121 as the axis of rotation. As a result, the suspended particles swirling on the gas temporarily stay inside the peripheral wall 121.

[0032] From the above, it is expected that the suspended particles will adhere to the inner surface of the peripheral wall 121 by centrifugal force, and it is considered that the suspended particle recovery member 120 can exert a certain degree of filtering effect even if the action means 150 is not present. Therefore, the conventional barrier member 110, which is simply a plate, requires the barrier member 110 to be large in size in order to take sufficient infection prevention measures because suspended particles leak from the edge, but the suspended particle recovery member 120 and the suspended particle recovery member 120 equipped with it make it possible to reduce the size of the barrier member 110. In addition, since there is no need to generate a large amount of airflow on the surface of the barrier member 110 using a suction device, the suspended particle recovery device 100 does not use electricity and can also reduce the size of the entire device.

[0033] Furthermore, when the action means 150 is provided inside the peripheral wall 121, bacteria, viruses, etc. can be effectively inactivated, and the safety of the gas flowing out from the outlet 123 to the human body can be further improved.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the components described in this specification may be combined in any manner, or some of the components may be removed to create another embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the present invention also includes modifications that are made to the above-described embodiment by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention, i.e., the meaning of the words in the claims.

[0035] For example, the suspended particle collection device 100 may include an exhaust device 160 that exhausts the gas in the peripheral wall 121 through the outlet 123. The exhaust device 160 may be capable of suppressing the backflow of suspended particles from the inlet 122 by creating a negative pressure inside the suspended particle collection member 120. In particular, when the suspended particle collection members 120 are operated by being connected using a duct or the like, connecting the exhaust device 160 to the terminal suspended particle collection member 120 can suppress the backflow and outflow of suspended particles from the inlet 122 of the suspended particle collection member 120 at another location due to air flowing in from the inlet 122 of one of the suspended particle collection members 120.

[0036] Furthermore, when the exhaust device 160 is connected to the floating particle recovery member 120, a filter 161 may be disposed in a part of the exhaust path based on the exhaust device 160 as shown in Fig. 7. The filter 161 can capture at least one of bacteria and viruses. This allows the air exhausted from the exhaust device 160 to be purified, and it becomes possible to exhaust the air indoors.

[0037] Furthermore, the mounting positions of the suspended particle recovery member 120 attached to the barrier member 110 or formed integrally with the barrier member 110 are not limited to two positions in the upper and lower directions as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 6. For example, the suspended particle recovery member 120 may be attached to or formed on each of the four pieces of the rectangular barrier member 110 as shown in Figure 8. [Industrial Applicability]

[0038] The present invention is capable of collecting airborne particles contained in a person's breath. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 100 Suspended particle collection device 110 Barrier member 120 Suspended particle collection component 121 Peripheral wall 122 Inlet 123 Outlet 130 Projecting wall 140 Guide Wall 150 Means of action 151 Irradiation means 152 Working member 160 Exhaust system 161 Filters

Claims

1. A cylindrical floating particle recovery member that recovers floating particles in gas that move due to the kinetic energy of exhaled breath along the surface of a barrier member that serves as a barrier to a gas flow, A peripheral wall is disposed on the surface of the barrier member so that a tube axis is aligned with the surface of the barrier member, and temporarily retains suspended particles introduced into the barrier member by the kinetic energy of the exhaled breath; an inlet extending along a surface of the barrier member and passing a gas flow along the surface of the barrier member through the peripheral wall; an outlet opening at least at one end in the tube axial direction; A floating particle recovery member comprising:

2. 2. The suspended particle recovery member according to claim 1, further comprising a protruding wall protruding inwardly from an edge of the inlet opposite to the barrier member.

3. The protruding wall is inclined so as to approach the barrier member as it goes inward. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 2 .

4. a guide wall extending in a direction intersecting the extension direction at an end of the inlet in the extension direction, arranged upright from a surface of the barrier member, and guiding the gas to the inlet; The floating particle recovery member according to claim 1 .

5. The device is provided with an action means arranged inside the peripheral wall and acting on at least one of bacteria and viruses to reduce their effects on humans. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 1 .

6. The action means is The device is provided with an irradiation means for irradiating light that acts on at least one of bacteria and viruses. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 5 .

7. The action means is an irradiation means for irradiating light from a part of the inner surface of the peripheral wall toward the opposing inner surface; and an action member that acts on at least one of bacteria and viruses based on the irradiated light. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 5 .

8. The action means is Supplying active particles acting on at least one of bacteria and viruses to the inside of the peripheral wall. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 5 .

9. An exhaust device is provided that exhausts gas from within the peripheral wall through the outlet. The floating particle recovery member according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A filter is provided in a portion of an exhaust path based on the exhaust device, and the filter is configured to capture at least one of bacteria and viruses. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 9.

11. A barrier member that acts as a barrier to gas flow; a cylindrical floating particle recovery member that recovers floating particles in the gas that move along the surface of the barrier member due to the kinetic energy of the exhaled breath; The floating particle recovery member includes: A peripheral wall is disposed on the surface of the barrier member so that a tube axis is aligned with the surface of the barrier member, and temporarily retains suspended particles introduced into the barrier member by the kinetic energy of the exhaled breath; an inlet extending along a surface of the barrier member and passing a gas flow along the surface of the barrier member through the peripheral wall; an outlet opening at least at one end in the tube axial direction; A suspended particle recovery device comprising:

12. The barrier member and the suspended particle recovery member are integral.

12. The airborne particle recovery apparatus of claim 11.

Citation Information

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