JP7549831B2 - Deodorizing method and deodorizing construction system - Google Patents

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act At the first explanatory meeting for customers on odor pollution improvement work held at the UR Kinshicho Sales Center on January 15, 2018, Atsuo Nozaki gave a presentation on "Deodorization Method Using Air Purifiers for Odor Pollution Improvement Work", and at the second explanatory meeting for customers on odor pollution improvement work held at the Life Science Research Institute Co., Ltd. on June 8, 2018, Atsuo Nozaki gave a presentation on "The Future of Odor Reduction Countermeasures Work, Utilization of Air Purifiers".

The present invention relates to a deodorizing method for reducing odors in the indoor space of a building or a mobile object, and in particular to a deodorizing method and deodorizing construction system that are effective in efficiently reducing odorous substances generated from odor sources in indoor spaces without leaking them to the outside.

Conventional deodorizing methods or deodorizing construction systems of this type are described in, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4.
Patent Document 1 discloses an indoor deodorizing method in which a material that adsorbs odors generated from items to be deodorized is mixed with a negative ion generating material that generates negative ions, the mixture is used as a building material, and the building material is installed inside a building to efficiently, quickly, and economically deodorize odors such as cigarette smoke, animal odors, and feces and urine odors.
Patent Document 2 discloses an ozone deodorization system in which an ozone generator that generates ozone, a fan that diffuses the generated ozone inside the container, an ozone detector that detects the ozone concentration inside the container, and an ozone absorbing device that has an ozone adsorption surface made of activated carbon fiber that can be freely deployed and stored are provided inside a container such as a warehouse, container, or freight vehicle for storing and transporting food and the like, and a control device is provided which operates the ozone generator when the detected ozone concentration is lower than a predetermined lower limit value, stops the ozone generator when the detected ozone concentration exceeds the lower limit value, and stores the adsorption surface of the ozone absorbing device when the detected ozone concentration is lower than an upper limit value that is set higher than the lower limit value, and deploys the adsorption surface of the ozone absorbing device when the detected ozone concentration exceeds the upper limit value.
Patent Document 3 discloses a deodorizing system having a deodorizing unit which includes a main casing and an active species generating unit, the main casing having a gas inlet and a gas outlet and an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape inside, with an airflow inside from the gas inlet to the gas outlet, the active species generating unit having an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape and generating active species that decompose or inactivate at least one of odor molecules and harmful gas components, the active species generating unit being stored inside the main casing and being arranged with its longitudinal direction inclined relative to the plane on which the gas inlet and gas outlet are formed.
Patent Document 4 discloses an indoor ventilation and deodorization system in which a ventilation device and a deodorizing device are placed indoors, and the deodorizing device is stopped when the ventilation device is operating, and is operated when the ventilation device is stopped, thereby enabling efficient and reliable deodorization of the room.

Japanese Patent No. 5147262 (Example) Japanese Patent No. 3430540 (Example, Figure 1) Patent No. 5245795 (Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention, Figure 2) JP 2016-156576 A (Form for carrying out the invention, FIG. 3)

Nowadays, for example, when caring for a bedridden patient for a long period of time, or when a body is left unattended for a long period of time due to circumstances such as the death of a person alone, it is not rare that the indoor space becomes filled with foul odors such as the smell of urine or a corpse. In such situations, since there is a localized odor source in a specific part of the indoor space, even if conventional deodorizing methods and deodorizing construction systems such as those shown in Patent Documents 1 to 4 are appropriately adopted, it is often difficult to quickly reduce the odorous substances generated from the odor source in the indoor space, and if the deodorizing work of the odorous substances is prolonged, there is a concern that the foul odor in the indoor space will leak outside.

The technical problem that this invention aims to solve is to efficiently reduce the odors that are generated from odor sources within an indoor space without expelling them to the outside.

A first technical feature of the present invention is a deodorizing method comprising: a measuring step of measuring odorous substances generated from an odor source that remain by adhering to or impregnating a specific portion of an indoor space; a useful substance supplying step of supplying to the odor source a useful substance that is useful for adsorbing to and desorbing the odorous substances measured in the measuring step at the odor source or for reacting with and decomposing the odorous substances ; a bake-out step of heating the indoor space including the odor source and dispersing odor components consisting of the odorous substances or their decomposition substances from the odor source after the useful substances have been supplied in the useful substance supplying step; and an odor component capturing step of operating an air purifier in parallel with the bake-out step, and sucking in the odorous components diffused in the bake-out step by carrying them on an air flow formed by the air purifier without discharging them to the outside of the room, and capturing them in a capturing member installed in the air purifier.

A second technical feature of the present invention is a deodorization method having the first technical feature, characterized in that it further comprises a sealant application process of applying a sealant to the odor source after the odor component capture process.
A third technical feature of the present invention is a deodorization method having the first or second technical feature, further comprising an inspection step of inspecting the deodorization level in the indoor space after the odor component capture step, and if the result of the inspection step shows that the deodorization level does not reach a predetermined acceptable level, a series of steps including the useful substance supply step, the bake out step, and the odor component capture step are repeated, and the repetition of the series of steps is terminated when the deodorization level reaches the acceptable level.

A fourth technical feature of the present invention is a deodorizing construction system comprising: a measuring means for measuring odorous substances generated from an odor source that remain by adhering to or impregnating a specific portion of an indoor space; a useful substance supplying means for supplying to the odor source a useful substance that is useful for adsorbing and desorbing the odorous substances measured by the measuring means at the odor source or for reacting with the odorous substances to decompose them; a bake-out means for heating the indoor space including the odor source and dispersing odor components consisting of the odorous substances or their decomposition substances from the odor source after the useful substance supplying means has supplied the useful substance; and an odor component capturing means for operating an air purifier in parallel with the treatment by the bake-out means, forming an air current for sucking in the odorous components diffused by the bake-out means, and sucking in the odorous components by entraining them in the air current without discharging them to the outside of the room, and capturing them in a capturing member installed inside the air purifier.
A fifth technical feature of the present invention is a deodorizing construction system having the fourth technical feature, characterized in that the odor component capture means forms an air flow passage inside the air purifier through which odor components in the indoor space are sucked in, a filter is disposed in the air flow passage as a capture member capable of capturing the odor components, and a chemical solution spray mechanism is provided inside the air purifier capable of selectively spraying a chemical solution effective in capturing the odor components onto the filter.

According to the first technical feature of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently reduce the bad odor generated from an odor source in an indoor space without discharging the odor outside the room.
According to the second technical feature of the present invention, it is possible to further reduce the bad odors generated from the odor generating source in the indoor space, compared to a case where the sealant application step is not included.
According to the third technical feature of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently reduce the bad odors generated from the odor generating source in the indoor space while checking the deodorization level in the actual indoor space.
According to a fourth technical feature of the present invention, it is possible to realize a deodorization method that can efficiently reduce odors generated from odor sources in indoor spaces without discharging the odors outside the room.
According to the fifth technical feature of the present invention, a high-performance odor component capturing function can be easily incorporated into an air purifier.

FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of an embodiment of a deodorizing construction system to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing a deodorizing construction method using the deodorizing construction system shown in FIG. FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an indoor space to which a deodorizing method according to embodiment 1 is applied, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing a process for measuring odorous substances present in the indoor space shown in FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a deodorizing process employed in the first embodiment. FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram showing a useful substance supply process employed in embodiment 1; FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a useful substance supply device used in the useful substance supply process shown in FIG. 1A; and FIG. 1C is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the useful substance supply device. FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram showing the bake-out process and the deodorizing component capture process employed in the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram showing the behavior of the deodorizing components diffused into the indoor space during the bake-out process. 5A is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the air purifier shown in FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a chemical liquid supply mechanism shown in FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing a sealant application step employed in the first embodiment, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram showing an effect of the sealant application step. FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of three test rooms to which the deodorizing method of Example 1 is applied, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram comparing the test substances contained in the test rooms to which the deodorizing method of Example 1 is applied with the test substances determined by chamber testing for the amount of chemical substances emitted from tatami mats and wallpaper sampled from the test rooms.

Overview of the embodiment FIG. 1(a) shows an overview of an embodiment of a deodorizing construction system to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1(b) shows a deodorizing construction method using the deodorizing construction system.
In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 1(a) and 1(b), the deodorizing method includes a measurement step S1 for measuring odor substances W generated from an odor source E that has odor substances W attached to, impregnated, and remaining in a specific portion of an indoor space R, a useful substance supply step S2 for supplying useful substances Q that are useful for adsorbing and desorbing the odor substances W measured in the measurement step S1 in the odor source E or reacting with the odor substances W to decompose the odor substances W to the odor source E, and a useful substance supply step S3 for heating the indoor space R including the odor source E to remove the useful substances Q. The system includes a bake-out process S3 in which odor components consisting of odorous substance W or its decomposition products are diffused from the odor source E after the supply of useful substance Q by the odor supply process S2, and an odor component capture process S4 in which an air purifier 4a is operated in parallel with the bake-out process S3, and the odor components diffused in the bake-out process S3 are not discharged outside the room but are instead sucked in by the air current formed by the air purifier 4a and captured by a capture member 4b installed in the air purifier 4a.

In such technical means, it is sufficient for the measurement step S1 to be able to at least identify the odorous substance W, and it is further preferable to calculate the amount of odorous substance W generated from the odor source E. It is also possible to variably set the implementation time of the bake-out step S3 based on the amount of odorous substance W generated and the volume of the indoor space R.
The useful substance Q supplied in the useful substance supplying step S2 may be appropriately selected as long as it is useful for desorbing or decomposing the odorous substances W adhering to or impregnating the interior materials and interior goods. The method of supplying the useful substance Q may be appropriately selected by spraying or applying the liquid or particulate useful substance Q to the odor generating source E (including the interior materials and interior goods in the room space R to which the odorous substances W have been scattered and attached).
Furthermore, the bake-out step S3 may be carried out at least after the useful substance Q is supplied, but it may be carried out during or before the useful substance Q is supplied.
Furthermore, the odor component capturing step S4 may be carried out in parallel with the bake-out step S3, but the present invention also includes an embodiment in which the bake-out step S3 and the odor component capturing step S4 are not started at the same time.

Next, a preferred embodiment of the deodorizing method according to the present embodiment will be described.
First, one preferred embodiment of the deodorization method further includes a sealant application step S5 of applying a sealant M to the odor source E after the odor component capture step S4. This embodiment effectively prevents the risk that a portion of the odorous substance W remains in the odor source E and is dispersed into the indoor space R, even if the odor components generated from the odor source E are captured to an acceptable level in the odor component capture step S4.
Another preferred embodiment includes an inspection step S6 for inspecting the deodorization level in the indoor space R after the odor component capturing step S4, and repeating the series of steps of the useful substance supply step S2, bake-out step S3, and odor component capturing step S4 if the inspection result in the inspection step S6 indicates that the deodorization level does not reach a predetermined acceptable level, and terminating the repetition of the series of steps when the deodorization level reaches an acceptable level. This example is an embodiment in which the deodorization level in the indoor space R is inspected in the inspection step S6, and the series of deodorization treatment steps (useful substance supply step S2, bake-out step S3, odor component capturing step S4) are repeated until the deodorization level reaches an acceptable level.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), a deodorizing construction system that embodies the deodorizing method includes a measuring means 1 for measuring odorous substances W generated from an odor source E that has odorous substances W attached to, impregnated, and remaining in a specific portion of an indoor space R, a useful substance supplying means 2 for supplying useful substances Q to the odor source E that are useful for adsorbing and desorbing the odorous substances W measured by the measuring means 1 in the odor source E or reacting with the odorous substances W to decompose the odorous substances W , and a useful substance supplying means 3 for heating the indoor space R including the odor source E and supplying the useful substance Q to the odor source E. An example embodiment includes bake-out means 3 which diffuses odor components consisting of odorous substance W or its decomposition products from odor source E after useful substance Q is supplied by stage 2, and odor component capture means 4 which operates an air purifier 4a in parallel with the treatment by the bake-out means 3 to form an airflow for sucking in the odorous components diffused by the bake-out means 3, and which sucks in the odorous components by entraining them in the airflow without discharging them outside the room, and captures them in capture members 4b installed inside the air purifier 4a.

In this example, a preferred embodiment of the deodorizing construction system is one in which a sealant application means 5 is added for carrying out the sealant application step S5 (see FIG. 1(b)), as shown in FIG. 1(a), or an inspection means 6 is provided for carrying out the inspection step S6 (see FIG. 1(b)).
In addition, a preferred embodiment of the odor component capturing means 4 is an embodiment in which an air flow passage is formed inside the air purifier 4a through which odor components in the indoor space R are sucked in, a filter is placed in the air flow passage as a capturing member 4b capable of capturing odor components, and a chemical solution spray mechanism is provided inside the air purifier 4a that can selectively spray a chemical solution that is effective in capturing odor components onto the filter.

First embodiment
FIG. 2(a) shows an example of an indoor space to which the deodorizing method according to the first embodiment is applied.
In the figure, an indoor space R is generally partitioned by interior materials 20 such as a floor, ceiling, and side walls, and if, for example, a sick person is bedridden for a long time in a specific part of the floor in this indoor space R, or a corpse is left for a long time due to circumstances such as a solitary death, the specific part of the indoor space R where the human body H of the sick person or corpse was placed becomes an odor source E, and a foul odor such as a feces odor or a corpse odor may drift from the odor source E into the indoor space R. In addition, since the odorous substance W generated from the odor source E disperses and adheres to and permeates the interior materials 20 such as the ceiling and side walls, and interior goods (not shown) in the indoor space R, it is assumed that the interior materials 20 and the interior goods may also become odor sources later.
The deodorizing method employed in this embodiment is an effective technique for quickly reducing the indoor concentration of malodors floating within such an indoor space R.

- Measurement process -
2(b), first, air in the indoor space R is sampled, and a precision chemical analysis of the sampled air is performed, for example, by a precision chemical analysis device (not shown), to identify odorous substances W contained in the air in the indoor space R. Note that the precision chemical analysis device may be a device using a known analysis method, such as a gas chromatograph, a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer, a high performance liquid chromatograph, or an ion chromatograph.
Furthermore, in this example, air is collected near the odor source E and quantitatively analyzed to calculate the amount of odorant W generated. Since the calculated amount of odorant W generated depends on the concentration of odorant W in the indoor space R, it is possible to calculate the approximate deodorization processing time by taking the deodorization efficiency into consideration.

-Useful substance supply process-
After the above-mentioned measurement process, when the odorous substance W in the room space R is identified, a useful substance Q is supplied that is useful for desorbing or decomposing the odorous substance W adhering to or impregnating the interior material 20, etc. In this process, a useful substance supply step is carried out (see Figs. 3 and 4(a)).
Here, the useful substance Q is preferably one that has a deodorizing effect on the odorous substance W, and "useful for desorption" means that the useful substance Q is adsorbed to the odorous substance W and is absorbed on the surface or inside of the interior material 20. The term "useful in decomposing" refers to a substance that makes it easier for the odorous substance W that has adhered to or permeated the interior material 20 to be released, and "useful in decomposing" refers to a substance that reacts with the odorous substance W and decomposes it into a harmless substance (e.g., an odorless substance). It refers to something that makes something easier.
For example, useful substances for combating the odor of human waste and the odor of a corpse include citric acid water, chlorine dioxide water, ozone water, and hydrogen peroxide water.

In this example, when carrying out the useful substance supplying process, as shown in FIG. 4(a), a useful substance supplying device 30 is installed in the indoor space R, and useful substances Q are supplied to the surface of the interior material 20, which is the original odor source E or the subsequent odor source to which odorous substances W have adhered or been impregnated.
As shown in Figures 4(a) and (b), the useful substance supplying device 30 has a chemical liquid bottle 32 containing a chemical liquid including a useful substance Q placed inside an apparatus housing 31, and the base end of a suction tube 33 is immersed in the chemical liquid in the chemical liquid bottle 32. A fixed amount is sucked up into the suction tube 33 by a pump unit 34, and a fixed amount is sprayed from a nozzle 35 connected to the tip of the suction tube 33.
Furthermore, in this example, the suction tube 33 is flexible and the nozzle 65's spraying position can be changed, so that the user of the useful substance supply device 30 can position the nozzle 35 facing the position to be sprayed and perform the spraying operation from the nozzle 35.
Furthermore, if the useful substance supplying device 30 is made portable, the length of the suction tube 33 may be set to a uniform length, but if the useful substance supplying device 30 is installed in a fixed position, a tube length variable mechanism 36 may be added to the suction tube 33 so that the length of the suction tube 33 can be adjusted and pulled out as appropriate, allowing the useful substance Q to be supplied to the entire interior space R.

The useful substance supplying device 30 is not limited to the embodiments shown in Figs. 4(a) and (b), and may be, for example, as shown in Fig. 4(c), a form in which the useful substance Q is applied to the surface of the odor source E or the interior material 20 using an applicator 37 (having a brush 39 attached to a handle 38). It is preferable that the application of the useful substance Q using this applicator 37 is performed as a supplementary operation after treatment using the spray-type useful substance supplying device 30, while the worker visually checks the areas where the supply of useful substance Q is insufficient. However, it is of course possible to perform the treatment using the spray-type useful substance supplying device 30 or the application using the applicator 37 separately.

- Bake out process -
In this embodiment, when the useful substance supply process is completed, as shown in Figures 3 and 5 (a), a heating air conditioner (hereinafter abbreviated as "air conditioner") 40 and an air purifier 50 are installed in the indoor space R, and the operation of the air conditioner 40 and the air purifier 50 is started.
In particular, in this example, fans 81, 82 are installed on the ceiling and side walls of the indoor space R as necessary, so that an airflow Af is formed in which the air blown out from the air purifier 50 circulates within the indoor space R and is sucked back into the air purifier 50.
Furthermore, in this example, the air conditioner 40 , the air purifier 50 , and the fans 81 , 82 are all connected to a driving controller 100 and are controlled by the controller 100 .
Furthermore, in this example, the controller 100 is connected to a temperature sensor 91 that detects the temperature within the indoor space R and a concentration sensor 92 that detects the concentration of odorous substance W within the indoor space R, and, for example, controls the air conditioner 40 to be turned on and off when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 91 exceeds the bake-out processing temperature, and stops operating the air conditioner 40, air purifier 50, and fans 81, 82 when the concentration detected by the concentration sensor 92 falls below an allowable concentration.

In this example, the controller 100 also starts the operation of the fans 81, 82 in parallel with the air conditioner 40 and the air purifier 50, whereby the entire air within the indoor space R is heated to a predetermined bake-out processing temperature (e.g., 35°C to 40°C) and the heated air flows as an airflow Af that circulates along a predetermined path.
In this state, the odorous substances W adhering to and impregnating the interior materials 20, etc. in the indoor space R are heated in the bake-out process and become more likely to dissipate from the interior materials 20, etc., as shown in Fig. 5(b), and are adsorbed to useful substances Q and desorbed from the interior materials 20, etc., and also react with the useful substances Q and are decomposed into decomposed substances W' and desorbed. As a result, the odorous substances W and decomposed substances W' adhering to and impregnating the interior materials 20, etc. are dissipated and move into the air purifier 50 on the air flow Af.
In this example, fans 81 and 82 are used to form the desired airflow Af, but this is not limited to this, and either fan 81 or 82, or neither fan may be used.

- Odor component capture process -
In this example, the odor component capturing process is carried out within the air purifier 50 .
<Air purifier configuration example>
In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 6 (a), the air purifier 50 has a roughly box-shaped clean housing 51, and is provided with an inlet 52 through which the circulating airflow Af is taken in a part of the clean housing 31, and is provided with a discharge outlet 53 through which clean air is discharged at a position away from the inlet 52 of the clean housing 51, and an air flow passage 54 is formed within the clean housing 51 connecting the inlet 52 to the discharge outlet 53.
A clean filter 60 consisting of a plurality of filter substrates (including filter substrates for removing various pollutants present in the indoor space R in this example) is removably disposed within the air flow passage 54 of the cleaner housing 51, and a fan 55 is disposed in the air flow passage 54 on the inlet 52 side of the clean filter 60, so that an air current is formed within the air flow passage 54 from the inlet 52 to the outlet 53. Of course, a heat exchange unit (not shown) for cooling or heating may be mounted midway through the air flow passage 54.

<Cleaning filter>
In this example, as shown in FIG. 6( a ), the purification filter 60 includes a pre-filter 61 , a microorganism removal filter 62 , a medium-performance filter 63 , a gas removal filter 64 , and a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) 65 arranged in this order from the intake port 52 of the air flow passage 54 .
In this embodiment, the filters 61 to 65 are all detachably attached to the air flow passage 54 .
(1) Pre-filter 61
This is a coarse mesh filter that mainly captures coarse dust particles, and is made of, for example, a metal mesh, metal fiber, or carbon fiber molded into a nonwoven fabric.
(2) Microorganism removal filter 62
This mainly captures microbial particles such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, but can also capture allergen particles such as pollen, mites, and their feces, similar to microbial particles.
(3) Medium-performance filter 63
This is a mesh filter with finer mesh than the prefilter 61, and is used to capture mainly medium-sized dust particles, and is made of, for example, a metal mesh, metal fiber, or carbon fiber molded into a nonwoven fabric.
(4) Gas removal filter 64
This is a filter that removes odorous substances and gaseous pollutants such as chemical substances, and is constructed using adsorbents such as activated carbon, zeolite, and ceramics that adsorb odorous substances.
(5) HEPA filter 65
This is a mesh filter with even finer mesh than the medium-performance filter 63, and is used to capture, for example, fine activated carbon powder used in the gas removal filter 64, and is made into a nonwoven fabric using, for example, a metal mesh, metal fiber, or carbon fiber.

<Chemical solution supply mechanism>
In this example, the cleaning filter 60 is equipped with a chemical liquid supply mechanism 70 capable of supplying a chemical liquid (including deodorants, etc.) as a useful substance Q corresponding to gaseous pollutants such as odorous substances and chemical substances (e.g., VOCs: an abbreviation for Volatile Organic Compounds) to be removed to the gas removal filter 64.
As shown in Figures 6(a) and (b), this chemical liquid supply mechanism 70 has a deodorant as a chemical liquid corresponding to the removal of odorous substances and chemical substances (for example, a chemical liquid Sa corresponding to ammonia, a chemical liquid Sb corresponding to methyl mercaptan, or a mixed chemical liquid Sc corresponding to a plurality of odorous substances and chemical substances containing these).

In this example, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the chemical supply mechanism 70 has a preselected one (for example, chemical bottle 72a in this example) from chemical bottles 72 (specifically 72a to 72c) that contain various chemical solutions Sa to Sc in a housing 71, and the base end of a suction tube 73 is immersed in the chemical solution Sa in the chemical bottle 72a. A fixed amount is sucked up into the suction tube 73 by a pump unit 74, and a fixed amount is sprayed onto the gas removal filter 64 from a nozzle 75 connected to the tip of the suction tube 37.

<Function of the cleaning filter>
In the clean filter 60 of this embodiment, assuming that dust, pollen, fungi, bacteria, viruses, chemical substances, and odorous substances are present as airborne contaminants, dust is mainly captured by the pre-filter 61, the medium performance filter 63, and the HEPA filter 65, fungi, bacteria, and viruses are mainly captured by the microorganism removal filter 62, and furthermore, chemical substances and odorous substances are mainly captured by the gas removal filter 64. It should be noted that pollen is captured by the microorganism removal filter 62 and the medium performance filter 63.
At this time, in this embodiment, the gas removal filter 44 is periodically sprayed with the corresponding chemical solution Sa, so that the performance of removing odorous substances and chemical substances is periodically restored.
In this embodiment, the chemical solution Ss is sprayed onto the gas removal filter 44, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the microorganism removal film 62 may of course also be provided with a chemical solution supply mechanism capable of supplying a chemical solution for removing microorganisms such as influenza viruses (for example, a disinfectant for killing microorganisms, an antibacterial agent for preventing the proliferation of microorganisms, etc.) In addition, an appropriate chemical solution may also be sprayed onto dust removal filters such as the medium-performance filter 63, if necessary.

<Odor component capture treatment>
In this embodiment, since the indoor space is one in which ammonia is the main pollutant, for example, a chemical solution Sa suitable for ammonia is sprayed onto the gas removal filter 64, and odorous components (for example, ammonia, which is the odorous substance W, and its decomposition products) that travel on the airflow Af taken into the air flow passage 54 from the intake port 52 of the air purifier 50 are captured by the gas removal filter 44 of the purification filter 60.
Therefore, the amount of odorous substance W diffused into the indoor space R gradually decreases, and the concentration of the odorous substance W decreases accordingly.
In spaces with a large amount of odorous substances such as cigarette smoke, grilled meat, pet odors, etc., chemicals corresponding to these odorous substances may be supplied. Furthermore, when there are multiple pollutants such as formaldehyde, methyl mercaptan, hydrogen sulfide, etc., chemicals corresponding to each pollutant may be sprayed from respective chemical bottles or mixed together.

<Inspection process>
At this time, for example, when the operating time of the air conditioner 40 and the air purifier 50 reaches a predetermined time, as shown in FIG. 3, the controller 100 checks the detected concentration from the concentration sensor 92 and performs an inspection process to determine whether the deodorizing level in the indoor space R has reached an acceptable level (OK level).
At this time, if the deodorization level does not reach an allowable level below a predetermined threshold, a series of deodorization processes consisting of a useful substance supply process, a bake-out process, and an odor component capture process are repeated as shown in FIG.
In this example, even when the useful substance supply process is re-performed, the operation of the air conditioner 40 and the air purifier 50 is not stopped, so the bake-out process and the odor component capture process continue to be performed. However, even if the bake-out process is continued, this is preferable in that the useful substance supply process can also be performed efficiently because the absorption rate of useful substances is improved by reducing the moisture content of the interior material 20.
On the other hand, if the deodorization level reaches the allowable level as a result of the above-mentioned inspection process, the controller 100 stops the operation of the air conditioner 40 and the air purifier 50.

<Other functions of the cleaning filter>
In addition, in this embodiment, the filter configuration can be adapted according to the state of contamination in the installation space of the air purifier 50. That is, in this embodiment, it is possible to select a chemical solution depending on the type of contaminants in the installation space of the air purifier 50 and their physical and chemical properties.
Therefore, even if pollutants other than odorous substances are present in the indoor space R, the pollutants other than odorous substances W can be removed.
For example, in a space where fungi (mold) and bacteria are the main contaminants, a bactericide, antibacterial agent, or bacteriostatic agent effective against the species of bacteria may be sprayed onto a dust removal filter such as the microorganism removal filter 62 or the medium-performance filter 63. In a space where there is a large amount of allergen particles such as pollen, a chemical solution that inactivates the allergen particles may be supplied to the microorganism removal filter 62. In this embodiment, the microorganism removal filter 62 is sprayed with or impregnated with a chemical solution such as a bactericide, antibacterial agent, or bacteriostatic agent, so it is preferable that the chemical solution is not altered by these, and it is also preferable that these chemical solutions are not easily volatilized by the airflow of the fan 55. Even if the chemical solution is volatilized and transported, the gas removal filter 64 is installed downstream of the air flow passage 54, so that the chemical solution is effectively prevented from being unnecessarily diffused into the indoor space R.

-Sealant application process-
When the deodorization level of the interior space R reaches an allowable level, a sealant application process is carried out on the surface of the interior material 20 around the original odor source E as a post-treatment.
In this example, the sealant application process involves applying sealant M to the surface of interior material 20 on which some odorous substances W, such as odor source E, may remain, using an application tool 110 (having a brush 112 attached to a handle 111), as shown in Figure 7(a), to seal in the odorous substances W that may remain in the interior material 20.
According to this example, as shown in FIG. 7(b), by carrying out the series of deodorizing processes shown in FIG. 3 (useful substance supply process, bake-out process, odor component capture process), most of the odorous substances in the indoor space R are dispersed and captured by the gas removal filter 64 of the purification filter 60 of the air purifier 50, making it possible to bring the deodorizing level to an acceptable level.
However, in this example, even if some of the deodorizing substance W remains in the interior material 20, which is the original source E of odor, the deodorizing substance W is sealed by the applied sealant M, which is preferable in that the odor level is kept to approximately zero.

Example 1
This example embodies the first embodiment, and focuses on the phenomenon of indoor air pollution caused by odorous substances originating from the human body, clarifying the actual state of odorous substance pollution in homes in particular, and evaluating the deodorization method according to this example as a measure against that pollution.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8(a), the measurement target was an apartment building (3 rooms) where bodies had been left unattended due to circumstances such as solitary deaths and where a foul odor was perceived indoors, and the odorous substances were identified and their concentration levels were obtained.
The building materials used in the room were sampled appropriately, and the amount of each building material was determined using the JIS standard small chamber test method. The substances to be measured were 74 substances, including VOCs (48 substances), aldehydes (15 substances), ammonia, acetic acid, formic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isovaleric acid, trimethylamine, and sulfur compounds (methyl mercaptan, hydrogen sulfide, methyl sulfide, methyl disulfide).

The results are shown in Figure 8(b).
According to the figure, the following results were obtained:
(1) Among the odorous substances detected were aldehydes and fatty acids.
(2) Chamber tests were used to determine the amount of chemical substances emitted from tatami mats and wallpaper taken from the test rooms. The tatami mats emitted odorous substances identical to indoor air pollutants, providing chemical information for identifying odorous substances emitted from the corpses.
(3) The amount of odor adsorbed from the odor source (tatami mat) to the wallpaper (vinyl cloth) was small.
(4) When the deodorizing method according to this embodiment was applied to an indoor space with conditions similar to those of the measurement rooms, the following facts were discovered.
First, useful substances were supplied to the odor source, and a bake-out process was carried out using an air conditioner (used as a heating device) and an air purifier. This confirmed an increase in the amount of odorous substances emitted from the odor source, and when the bake-out process was combined with an air purification process using an air purifier (mainly a process for capturing odor components), it was confirmed to be extremely effective in reducing the amount of odorous substances emitted from the odor source. Furthermore, it was confirmed that there was almost no concern that bad odors would be discharged outside when deodorizing an indoor space.
Furthermore, it was also confirmed that if a sealant is applied to the odor source after a series of deodorizing treatments have been carried out, the emission of odorous substances from the odor source can be more reliably suppressed than if no sealant is applied.
In this way, it can be seen that this embodiment is extremely effective in quickly resolving odor contamination problems in residential properties where there has been an accident (for example, a property where a body has been left behind due to circumstances such as a solitary death, causing a foul odor to be perceived indoors).

1...Measuring means, 2...Useful substance supplying means, 3...Bake-out means, 4...Odor component capturing means, 4a...Air purifier, 4b...Capturing member, 5...Sealant application means, 6...Inspection means, S1...Measuring process, S2...Useful substance supplying process, S3...Bake-out process, S4...Odor component capturing process, S5...Sealant application process, S6...Inspection process, E...Odor source, M...Sealant, Q...Useful substance, R...Indoor space, W...Odor substance

Claims (5)

a measuring step of measuring odorous substances emitted from an odor source that remains after adhering to or impregnating a specific portion of an indoor space;
a useful substance supplying step of supplying a useful substance to the odor source, the useful substance being adsorbed to and desorbed from the odorous substance measured in the measuring step in the odor source or being useful for reacting with and decomposing the odorous substance ;
a bake-out process for heating an indoor space including the odor generating source, and dissipating odor components consisting of the odorous substance or its decomposition substance from the odor generating source after the useful substance is supplied by the useful substance supply process;
an odor component capturing step in which an air purifier is operated in parallel with the bake-out step, and the odor components diffused in the bake-out step are not discharged outside the room but are instead sucked in by the air current formed by the air purifier and captured in a capturing member installed in the air purifier;
A deodorization method comprising: In the deodorization method according to claim 1,
A deodorizing method characterized by further comprising a sealant application step of applying a sealant to the odor source after the odor component capture step. In the deodorization method according to claim 1 or 2,
an inspection step of inspecting a deodorization level in the indoor space after the odor component capture step;
This deodorizing method is characterized in that, when the result of the inspection in the inspection process indicates that the deodorizing level does not reach a predetermined acceptable level, the series of steps of the useful substance supply process, the bake out process and the odor component capture process are repeated, and when the deodorizing level reaches the acceptable level, the repetition of the series of steps is terminated. A measuring means for measuring odorous substances generated from an odor source that remains in a specific area within an indoor space after the odorous substances have adhered to or permeated the specific area ;
a useful substance supplying means for supplying a useful substance to the odor source, the useful substance being adsorbed to and desorbed from the odorous substance measured by the measuring means in the odor source or being useful for reacting with and decomposing the odorous substance ;
a bake-out means for heating an indoor space including the odor generating source and dissipating odor components consisting of the odorous substance or its decomposition substance from the odor generating source after the useful substance is supplied by the useful substance supply means;
and an odor component capture means for operating an air purifier in parallel with the treatment by the bake-out means, forming an air current for sucking in the odor components dispersed by the bake-out means, and for sucking in the odor components by carrying them on the air current without discharging them to the outside of the room, and capturing them in a capture member installed inside the air purifier. In the deodorizing construction system according to claim 4,
The odor component capturing means forms an air flow passage inside the air purifier through which odor components in the indoor space are sucked in, a filter is placed in the air flow passage as a capturing member capable of capturing the odor components, and a chemical solution spray mechanism is provided inside the air purifier capable of selectively spraying a chemical solution that is effective in capturing the odor components onto the filter. This deodorizing construction system is characterized in that

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