JP7623689B2 - Suspended particle recovery member and suspended particle recovery device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a suspended particle recovery member and a suspended particle recovery device that recover suspended particles that move with an air current while spreading along the surface of a barrier member such as a partition.

Patent Document 1 describes a hood for an air intake device that is positioned on the outer periphery of a partition, with its inlet perpendicular to the partition. A guide member is positioned 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 air currents that attempt to overcome the partition.

Utility Model Registration No. 3229147

However, in the case of hoods that use an intake device, because they suck in large volumes of air near the partition, there are concerns that the overall device will become larger and that the noise from the pump and other components will increase. Also, in order to exhaust the large volume of sucked air, it is necessary to separate the bacteria and viruses from the air using a filter, but because the filter also captures dust and other particles contained in the large volume of air, there are concerns that the filter will need to be replaced more frequently, resulting in higher running costs.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a suspended particle recovery member and a suspended particle recovery device that can recover suspended particles that move with the air current along the surface of a barrier member such as a partition.

To achieve the above object, the floating particle recovery member of the present invention is a cylindrical floating particle recovery member that recovers floating particles in a gas that moves along the surface of a barrier member that acts as a barrier to the 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.

In order to achieve the above object, another aspect of the present invention is a suspended particle recovery device that includes a barrier member that acts as a barrier to the gas flow, and a cylindrical suspended particle recovery member that recovers suspended particles in the gas moving along the surface of the barrier member. The suspended particle recovery member includes 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.

This makes it possible to collect 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 using the kinetic energy of the exhaled breath. It also makes it possible to inactivate suspended particles that remain temporarily.

FIG. 2 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. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example 1 of a suspended particle recovery device. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example 2 of the suspended particle recovery device. 13 is a perspective view showing another example of an inlet of the floating particle recovery member. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing another example of a short suspended particle recovery member and a guide wall. FIG. 1 is an exhaust circuit diagram showing a suspended particle recovery apparatus equipped with an exhaust device. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example 3 of the suspended particle recovery device.

The following describes embodiments of the suspended particle recovery member and suspended particle recovery device according to the present invention with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are presented as examples to explain the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. For example, the shapes, structures, materials, components, relative positional relationships, connection states, numerical values, mathematical expressions, the contents of each step in the method, and the order of each step shown in the following embodiments are merely examples, and may include contents that are 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 acceptable. In addition, expressions such as simultaneous and identical also include a substantially acceptable range.

The drawings are schematic diagrams in which emphasis, omissions, or proportions have been appropriately adjusted in order to explain the present invention, and may differ from the actual shapes, positional relationships, and proportions.

In addition, multiple inventions may be collectively described below as a single embodiment. Some of the content described below is also described as an optional component of the present invention.

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

The term "suspended particles" refers to particles that can move with gas currents, and includes droplets of about 1 mm in size, called droplets called "splashing," and aerosols, which are droplets smaller 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, individual viruses, pollen, and dead mites.

The barrier member 110 is a barrier that spreads in a direction intersecting the direction of the gas flow emitted from a person's nose and mouth due to breathing, coughing, sneezing, etc. The type of 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, or a partition suspended from a ceiling. The barrier member 110 may also be a wall of a building.

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 it may be a non-rigid film that is suspended from and stretched across a rigid member.

The suspended particle collection member 120 is a member that can collect suspended particles in a cylinder 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 particles inside the cylinder. The suspended particle collection member 120 has 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, etc. 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.

The peripheral wall 121 is a portion that is arranged 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 Figures 1 and 2, or a cylinder as shown in Figure 3. The shape of the peripheral wall 121 may also 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 it 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.

In this embodiment, a part of the peripheral wall 121 (one of the four faces) functions as an attachment part for attaching the suspended particle recovery member 120 to the barrier member 110. The attachment mode 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.

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 allows a wide passage of the gas flow flowing along the surface of the barrier member 110. The shape of the inlet 122 is not particularly limited, and may be a slit-like shape that penetrates from one end of the peripheral wall 121 to the other end in the tube axis direction (Y-axis direction in the figure) as shown in FIG. 1. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, multiple hole-like inlets 122 may extend side by side in a direction along the barrier member 110 (Y-axis direction in the figure).

It is desirable that the inlet 122 be located 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 portion 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.

The outlet 123 is an opening located at least at one end in the tube axis direction, and is the portion through which the gas flow that has flowed in from the inlet 122 is exhausted. In the present embodiment, the outlet 123 is located 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 axis direction as shown in Figures 1 to 5, or may be a different shape or area.

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 the barrier member 110. The protruding wall 130 protruding from the edge of the inlet 122 to face the barrier member 110 can prevent floating particles that flow in with air from the inlet 122 from being discharged from the inlet 122. The inclination of the protruding wall 130 relative 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.

The guide wall 140 is a plate-like member that extends in a direction intersecting the extension direction (Y-axis direction in the figure) of the inlet 122 at the end of the inlet 122 and is arranged upright from the surface of the barrier member 110. The guide wall 140 guides the suspended particles to the inlet 122 together with the gas spreading along the surface of the barrier member 110. The shape of the guide wall 140 is not particularly limited, and may protrude from the barrier member 110 to the same extent as the suspended particle recovery member 120 as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3. It may also protrude further than the suspended particle recovery member 120 or may be recessed.

As shown in FIG. 6, if 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.

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 impact on humans. The type of action means 150 is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, it is equipped with 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.

Another 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 an example of the irradiation means.

It is desirable to determine the internal volume of the peripheral wall 121 according to the action time required for the action means 150 to inactivate bacteria, viruses, etc. In other words, as the internal volume increases, the time that the airborne particles remain inside the peripheral wall 121 increases, and the time that the 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 the action means 150, it has been found that 90% or more of the bacteria and viruses can be inactivated by retaining the airborne particles inside the peripheral wall 121 for approximately 30 seconds.

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

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 active fine particles include nano-order water droplets that contain OH radicals, charged cluster-shaped water droplets, ozone, and a mist of hypochlorous acid water.

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 that collides with the barrier member 110 spreads toward the periphery of the barrier member 110 along with the suspended particles, forming various sizes of vortex-shaped 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 inlet 122 of the suspended particle collection member 120 is positioned 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 axis of the peripheral wall 121 as the axis of rotation. As a result, the suspended particles swirling on the gas temporarily remain inside the peripheral wall 121.

From the above, it is expected that the suspended particles will adhere to the inner surface of the peripheral wall 121 due to centrifugal force, and it is believed that the suspended particle recovery member 120 can exert a certain degree of filtering effect even in the absence of the action means 150. Therefore, in the conventional simple plate-shaped barrier member 110, suspended particles leak from the edges, so the barrier member 110 needs to be large in size for sufficient infection prevention measures, 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 can also reduce the size of the entire device without using electricity.

In addition, if an 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.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the components described in this specification may be combined in any way, or some of the components may be removed to create another embodiment of the present invention. 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.

For example, the suspended particle collection device 100 may be provided with 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 creating a negative pressure inside the suspended particle collection member 120 to prevent suspended particles from flowing back through the inlet 122. In particular, when the suspended particle collection members 120 are connected using a duct or the like, connecting the exhaust device 160 to the terminal suspended particle collection member 120 can prevent suspended particles from flowing back and out through 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.

When the exhaust device 160 is connected to the suspended particle collection member 120, a filter 161 may be disposed in a portion 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, etc.

The mounting positions of the suspended particle collection 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, as shown in Figure 8, the suspended particle collection member 120 may be attached to or formed on each of the four pieces of the rectangular barrier member 110.

The present invention can collect suspended particles contained in a person's breath.

Reference Signs List 100: Suspended particle recovery device 110: Barrier member 120: Suspended particle recovery member 121: Peripheral wall 122: Inlet 123: Outlet 130: Protruding wall 140: Guide wall 150: Action means 151: Irradiation means 152: Action member 160: Exhaust device 161: Filter

Claims (12)

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: The floating particle recovery member according to claim 1, further comprising a protruding wall protruding inward from the edge of the inlet on the side opposite the barrier member. The suspended particle recovery member according to claim 2 , wherein the protruding wall is inclined so as to approach the barrier member as it extends inward. A floating particle recovery member as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising a guide wall extending in a direction intersecting the extension direction at an end of the inlet in the extension direction, arranged upright from the surface of the barrier member, and guiding gas to the inlet. 5. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 1, further comprising 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 action means is
6. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 5, further comprising an irradiation means for irradiating the floating particle recovery member with light that acts on at least one of bacteria and viruses. 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;
The suspended particle recovery member according to claim 5 , further comprising an action member that acts on at least one of bacteria and viruses based on the irradiated light. The action means is
6. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 5, wherein the inside of the peripheral wall is supplied with active fine particles that act on at least one of bacteria and viruses. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 1 , further comprising an exhaust device that exhausts gas from within the peripheral wall through the outlet. The floating particle recovery member according to claim 9 , further comprising a filter disposed in a part of an exhaust path based on the exhaust device, the filter collecting at least one of bacteria and viruses. 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: The airborne particle recovery device according to claim 11 , wherein the barrier member and the airborne particle recovery member are integral.

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