Air shower device with sterilization function

Abstract

To provide an air shower device which is installed in the vicinity of an entrance of a hospital, a health organization and a food or precision apparatus factory, and which has a function of eliminating dust, virus and germs attached to clothing and the like by a person entering a small room.SOLUTION: A body 1 and the air in an air tank 2 are sterilized by a deep ultraviolet LED 3a mounted on the inside of a tank. The air in the air tank 2 passes a filter 4a, and is delivered to an air blowing nozzle 8 mounted on a wall surface of a shower room 7 by passing through an air supply pipeline 6 in which the air is forcibly delivered by an air blowing drive part 5, and the air is blown with momentum toward a person entering the room. The air sterilized in the air tank hits the clothing of the person, blows off dust, virus and germs attached to the clothing and the like, goes out of an air exhaustion port 9 at a lower part, passes an exhaust pipe 10 and a filter 4b, and then is returned to the air tank 2 again.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to an air shower that has the function of removing dust and bacteria from clothing and other items when a person enters a small room. In addition to the conventional function of blowing air onto the human body in an enclosed space to remove dust and other items from clothing, this air shower equipment also has the effect of sterilizing or inactivating highly infectious bacteria such as coronaviruses. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, an air shower is a device that blows air onto the human body in an enclosed space to remove dust and other particles that have adhered to clothing. However, this is ineffective in preventing infection with COVID-19 and other viruses; it simply scatters viruses and bacteria on clothing around the room and does not have the ability to sterilize or inactivate them. Additionally, air showers with disinfectant functions are sometimes used, but they are not effective enough against highly contagious viruses such as the new coronavirus. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-098378 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-063605 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the case of Patent Document 1, the content is to provide a circulating air shower device that is designed to prevent the growth of mold and bacteria by making the circulating air used in the air shower hygienically clean. To solve this problem, a germicidal lamp and an ozone lamp are installed in the air flow passage that connects the air purification chamber and the shower chamber, which are partitioned within the main body.When there is no one in the shower chamber, the ozone lamp is turned on and the blower that circulates the air is operated at a reduced speed to perform ozone fumigation.When there is someone in the shower chamber, the germicidal lamp is turned on and the blower is operated normally, and sterilized air is sprayed into the shower chamber through the air nozzle. In this case, the shower room and circulation route are sterilized using germicidal lamps and ozone lamps, depending on whether or not someone is present, but there is a problem in that they are not sufficiently effective against highly contagious viruses such as the new coronavirus. In addition, in the case of Patent Document 2, an extremely simple structure is used to maintain the air shower room in a sterile state, and odors such as those from chemicals used for sterilization are efficiently eliminated in a short time, making it comfortable to use. The method of ventilation for the air shower room is to draw air from the sterile room into the air shower room through an intake filter and then exhaust the air from the air shower room into the sterile room, thereby ventilating the air shower room into the sterile room. Patent Document 2 discloses a method for ventilating the air shower room into a sterile room by exhausting the air from the air shower room into the sterile room, but it has the problem that it is not sufficiently effective against highly contagious viruses such as the new coronavirus.

[0005] The object of the present invention has been made in light of the above, and is to provide an air shower device that effectively irradiates highly infectious viruses that have adhered to the clothing of people who have entered the shower stall with deep-ultraviolet LEDs inside an air tank, completely killing or inactivating the bacteria, and then blows the air from a nozzle inside the shower stall to remove viruses and bacteria that have adhered to the clothing of people who have entered the stall, returning the air to the air tank and irradiating it with deep-ultraviolet LEDs attached inside the air tank to kill or inactivate the viruses and bacteria. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The objective of the above is to provide an air shower that not only removes germs with strong germicidal properties, such as easily transmitted germs like the new coronavirus, along with any dirt that may have attached to clothing in the shower room, but also has the function of returning the viruses removed from clothing to the air tank and sterilizing or inactivating them with irradiation by deep-ultraviolet LEDs. In this embodiment, the air in the main body 1 and air tank 2 is sterilized or inactivated by a deep-ultraviolet LED 3a attached inside the tank. The air in air tank 2 passes through filter 4a and is sent through air supply pipe 6, which is pressurized by air blower drive unit 5, to air blower nozzle 8 attached to the wall of shower stall 7, where it is forcefully blown onto the clothes of the person entering the room. The sterilized air hits the clothes with force, blowing away dust and viruses, exits air outlet 9 at the bottom, passes through exhaust pipe 10 and filter 4b, and is returned to air tank 2. A filter 12 is attached to fresh air intake 11, and pipe 13 is connected to air tank 2 via flow control valve 14. A sensor 15 for detecting a person entering the shower stall and a deep-ultraviolet LED 3b are attached to the wall of shower stall 7, along with an opening / closing door 16 and overall control device 17. The deep-ultraviolet LEDs 3b installed inside the shower cubicle 7 cannot be guaranteed to be safe if the light from the deep-ultraviolet LEDs directly hits the skin of a person while the person is inside the shower cubicle 7, so after the person leaves the shower cubicle 7 and the opening and closing door 16 closes, the LEDs 3b inside the shower cubicle are operated for a certain period of time in the internal air circulation system to sterilize, and all of the deep-ultraviolet LEDs 3a, 3b installed inside the equipment, including inside the shower cubicle 7, irradiate and sterilize or inactivate viruses and bacteria. This air is blown onto the person's clothes, and the used air is circulated back to the air tank 2, where it is sterilized or inactivated by the deep ultraviolet LED 3a in the air tank 2 and the deep ultraviolet LED 3b in the shower room 7. By repeating this circulation every time, the effect of sterilizing or inactivating the air can be further increased, and at the same time, safety is ensured by not releasing air that may be contaminated with bacteria outside the shower room. Furthermore, fresh air can also be introduced at a certain rate from the air intake 11 through the filter 12. First, when a person enters through the opening / closing door 16, sensor 13 detects the person and air that has been sterilized or inactivated in the air tank 2 is blown out from the air blower nozzle 8 attached to the wall of the shower stall 7, removing dust and viruses that have adhered to clothing, and after a set time has passed, the air blowing stops and the person leaves through the opening / closing door 16. While the person is inside the shower stall 7, the deep-ultraviolet LED 3b attached to the shower stall 7 does not irradiate light, but after the person leaves the room, the deep-ultraviolet LED 3b inside the shower stall and the deep-ultraviolet LED 3a inside the air tank are simultaneously turned on for the set time, irradiating the air inside, and the air circulating has the function of sterilizing or inactivating the entire pathway within the device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, by irradiating the air in an air tank for a certain period of time with short-wavelength deep-ultraviolet LEDs, which are capable of killing or inactivating up to 99.9% of bacteria, such as the highly contagious novel coronavirus, the air is sterilized or inactivated, and this air can be forcefully blown from a nozzle onto the clothes of people entering the shower room, providing an air shower with a sterilization or inactivation function that can simultaneously remove dirt and bacteria from the clothes. In addition, the air that hits people's clothes and other objects is returned to the air tank, where it is sterilized or inactivated by deep-UV LEDs, and dust particles are collected and removed by filters. In this way, circulating the air in the device's air tank and the air in the shower stall in a closed loop not only increases the degree of sterilization or inactivation, but also prevents bacteria-laden air from leaving the shower stall, preventing the spread of bacteria. This invention is currently installed near the entrances of hospitals, health care institutions, food factories, and factories that manufacture precision equipment such as semiconductors, to remove dirt that has adhered to clothing.In addition to this function, this invention can also kill or inactivate viruses and bacteria, and prevent the spread of bacteria, thereby helping to solve this problem. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a side view of an air shower device with sterilization function according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a front view of an air shower device with sterilization function according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An air shower device with a sterilizing LED according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In all the drawings below, the dimensions and proportions of each component are shown differently as appropriate to facilitate understanding.

[0010] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this embodiment is composed of a main body 1, an air tank 2, deep ultraviolet LEDs 3a and 3b, filters 4a and 4b, an air blower drive unit 5, an air supply pipe 6, a shower room 7, an air blower nozzle 8, an air exhaust port 9, an exhaust pipe 10, an air intake port 11, a filter 12, a blower 13, a flow rate control valve 14, a sensor 15, an opening / closing door 16, and a control device 17. [Industrial Applicability]

[0011] In industry, the present invention can be used in everyday life in hospitals, health care institutions, food factories, and factories that manufacture precision equipment, as a device that can remove dirt from clothing and other items while reliably sterilizing or inactivating highly infectious bacteria such as coronaviruses inside the device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0012] Main body 1, air tank 2, deep ultraviolet LEDs 3a, 3b, filters 4a, 4b, air blower drive unit 5, air supply piping 6, shower room 7, air blower nozzles 8, a, 8b, air outlet 9, exhaust pipe 10, air intake 11, filter 12, blower 13, flow rate control valve 14, sensor 15, opening / closing door 16, control equipment 17

Claims

1. The air shower device is comprised of a main body, a shower stall with an air outlet nozzle attached to the inside wall, an opening and closing door for people to enter and exit, an air generator, an exhaust grating, a power supply unit as a driving source, and a control unit. A closed loop circulation structure is formed by an air tank equipped with an LED that sterilizes the air stored inside and is located before the air is blown out from the air outlet nozzle, an air supply pipe that connects the air tank to the shower stall, and an exhaust pipe that connects the air exhausted from the shower stall to the air tank, the air tank and the air generator are provided in the closed loop circulation structure, and The air shower device with sterilization function is characterized in that the air tank is a tank through which all air blown into the shower room via the air generator passes.

2. The air shower device with sterilization function described in claim 1, characterized in that an LED that sterilizes or inactivates the air is also placed inside the shower room where people use it, and when not in use, it works in conjunction with the air tank and circulation system to sterilize the air inside the shower room.

3. 3. The air shower device according to claim 1, wherein the LED that irradiates the air in the air tank is an LED that emits deep ultraviolet light with a short wavelength.

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