CN107029271B

CN107029271B - Vehicle or indoor sterilizer using plasma

Info

Publication number: CN107029271B
Application number: CN201611190484.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 崔银河; 李相学; 洪英准
Original assignee: Pei Junxiang; Industry Academic Collaboration Foundation of Kwangwoon University
Current assignee: Pei Junxiang; Industry Academic Collaboration Foundation of Kwangwoon University
Priority date: 2015-12-28
Filing date: 2016-12-21
Publication date: 2020-02-18
Anticipated expiration: 2036-12-21
Also published as: CN107029271A; KR101632158B1

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle or indoor sterilizer using plasma. The present invention provides a plasma sterilizer module, comprising: a dielectric barrier discharge plasma source; a fan that applies a propulsive force to the plasma stream discharged from the plasma source; an ultraviolet lamp disposed in a flow path through which plasma flows; activated carbon, which forms a fork-shaped first electrode on a first substrate formed of an insulator, covers the power supply electrode with a dielectric, and deposits an alumina thin film on the dielectric to protect the dielectric and prevent hydration; a fork-shaped second electrode is formed on a second substrate made of an insulator, the ground electrode is covered with a dielectric, an alumina film is deposited on the dielectric to protect the dielectric and prevent hydration, and the first substrate and the second substrate are arranged side by side, where the fork-shaped first electrode and the second electrode are formed in a form facing each other at a distance and side by side.

Description

Vehicle or indoor sterilizer using plasma

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a sterilizer for generating plasma to sterilize a vehicle or a room, and more particularly, to a sterilizer for sterilizing a room in an ambulance.

Background

Plasma is a core technology of semiconductor manufacturing technology, and has long contributed to the industry in korea. In recent years, the plasma technology has been integrated with technologies in the medical industry, the beauty industry, and the food industry, and has expanded its application range. Various therapeutic devices utilizing plasma have been developed, and in particular, various bioapplication techniques have been developed as follows: generates low-temperature plasma at atmospheric pressure, and generates a large amount of active radicals (radial) around the plasma generating apparatus, thereby exerting a sterilization effect.

In ambulances, the interior of the ambulance needs to be constantly sterilized and disinfected due to the risk of infection. Therefore, the cleaning operation and the epidemic prevention are continuously performed by mobilizing the manpower. Although sterilization devices such as an ozone sterilizer, an ion sterilizer, and an ultraviolet sterilizer are installed in the room of the ambulance, the sterilization effect is limited to a degree that the indoor air can be purified, and the sterilization effect is not applied to the wall surface in the ambulance room, and thus, it is still necessary to perform a cleaning work by an operator.

Korean granted patent No. 10-1273888 discloses a multi-purpose sterilizer using a dielectric barrier plasma discharge source. The plasma source in the publication arranges a power supply electrode and a ground electrode on the upper and lower portions of an insulator, and is provided with a cooling fan on the upper portion of the power supply electrode. An insulator is placed on the lower portion of the flat plate type power supply electrode, and a wire type ground electrode positioned therebelow is surrounded by a special insulator so as to be arranged closely. In this source structure, the plasma generation voltage for discharging between the two electrodes is 20kV, and it is seen that the discharge efficiency and the active species generation efficiency are low. In particular, the above-mentioned publication is not suitable for use in an object to be sterilized having a wide sterilization area such as an ambulance or an indoor wall surface because the object to be sterilized is placed in a sterilization chamber and is treated.

That is, when it is necessary to sterilize the entire area such as an ambulance or a hospital room by using a plasma sterilizer, there is a demand for a sterilizer structure having a higher discharge efficiency and a sterilizing power sufficient to act on a desired position such as a wall surface.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma sterilizer having a sterilizing power sufficient to affect the indoor wall surface of an ambulance.

In accordance with the above objects, the present invention provides a sterilizer module comprising: a dielectric barrier discharge plasma source; a fan that applies a propulsive force to the plasma stream discharged from the plasma source; an ultraviolet lamp disposed in a flow path through which the plasma flows, capable of reducing the amount of ozone generated; and activated carbon, and a humidifying device may be additionally added in order to improve sterilization efficiency.

The plasma source is configured such that a fork-shaped first electrode is formed on a first substrate made of an insulator, the power supply electrode is covered with a dielectric, a fork-shaped second electrode is formed on a second substrate made of an insulator, the ground electrode is covered with a dielectric, and the first substrate and the second substrate are arranged side by side, wherein the fork-shaped first electrode and the fork-shaped second electrode are formed in such a manner that their respective tines are offset from each other and mesh side by side.

In addition, in the present invention, the plasma source arranges the first electrode formed on the first substrate and the second electrode formed on the second substrate with a space therebetween in the order of the first substrate, the first electrode, the dielectric, the protective film, the space, the second substrate, the second electrode, the dielectric, the protective film.

That is, the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged so as to face simultaneously upward or downward with respect to the substrate, rather than being arranged so as to directly face each other.

Here, the protective film may be omitted in the above description.

In the present invention, in order to reduce the discharge voltage in the above-described manner, the thickness of the substrate or the dielectric layer may be adjusted to be thinner.

In the present invention, an ultraviolet lamp may be provided in the flow path through which the plasma flows.

In the present invention, the flow path through which the plasma flows may be formed as a curved line.

In addition, the present invention may further include: and a filter for filtering foreign matters contained in the air flowing into the plasma source.

Further, the present invention provides a plasma sterilizer comprising: the plasma sterilizer module is assembled in a housing, and dry cells and an inverter are built in the housing, so that the plasma sterilizer module is driven by the 9V to 12V dry cells.

In addition, the present invention also incorporates a humidifier to the plasma sterilizer to enhance sterilization power.

In addition, the present invention may be provided with a plurality of plasma sources in the plasma sterilizer module.

In the present invention, the plasma sterilizer casing is wall-hung, and the opening of the plasma channel formed in a curved shape is directed to the front surface of the chamber, thereby increasing the acting distance of the sterilizing force by the plasma.

According to the present invention, there is provided a sterilizer comprising: since the thicknesses of the substrate and the dielectric are small, the discharge efficiency of plasma is improved, and a large amount of active radicals can be generated, thereby having excellent sterilization ability.

In addition, since the plasma and the active radicals can be moved to a very long distance by the fan, the sterilization range can be extended to an ambulance or an indoor wall surface, thereby reducing the laborious work of mobilizing special manpower for cleaning or eliminating the work.

In addition, according to the plasma source structure of the present invention, the dielectric or the substrate can be adjusted to have a thin thickness to reduce the discharge voltage, thereby improving the discharge efficiency and extending the life of the plasma source.

In addition, the plasma sterilizer of the present invention can use a low voltage battery, and thus can ensure power safety.

In addition, if the plasma sterilization of the present invention is combined with a humidifying device, the amount of ozone generated can be reduced, and therefore, a safer sterilizer can be provided.

In addition, the plasma humidifying device can transport active species to ambulances and indoor wall surfaces and react the active species, thereby achieving efficient sterilization.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a sectional view and a plan view of a plasma sterilizer of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a simulated view of a plasma source included in the plasma sterilizer of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating a structure of an electrode constituting the plasma source of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a front view, a plan view, a left side view, and a right side view showing the appearance of the plasma sterilizer of the present invention.

Description of the symbols

100: plasma sterilizer 200: first substrate

220: second substrate 210: a first electrode

240: second electrodes 230, 260: dielectric medium

300: the fan 400: plasma source

500: (curved) flow path 600: activated carbon

700: ultraviolet lamps 250, 280: dielectric protective film

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a sectional configuration view and a plan view of a plasma sterilizer 100 according to the present invention.

The plasma sterilizer 100 includes: a fan 300 for blowing air to the plasma source side; a plasma source 400 disposed adjacent to the fan; and a curved flow path 500 for allowing the generated plasma to flow out together with the active radicals. Further, activated carbon 600 is disposed in the flow path to reduce ozone and generate active atomic oxygen. Preferably, an ultraviolet lamp 700 is provided at an inlet of the flow path 500 to reduce ozone by ultraviolet rays and perform primary sterilization. In addition, the plasma sterilizer module may be equipped with a filter at the fan inlet. The filter is used to filter dust, bacteria, or the like in the air supplied to the plasma source. The plasma sterilizer module is built into a wall-mounted housing. The air inlet is formed near the fan of the housing, and the outlet of the curved flow path is provided with a plasma and radical discharge port including a plurality of blades (blades). The air flow inlet may be provided with activated carbon.

Fig. 1 shows a plasma sterilizer including two plasma sources 400 and two fans 300, respectively, in a sectional view and a plan view. However, the plasma source and the fan may be one, and the plasma source and the fan may be included in three or more, as the case may be, to perform strong and rapid sterilization.

Although it is possible for the ultraviolet lamp 700 to be continuously lighted, the ultraviolet lamp 700 may be turned off when a person is present in a room or an ambulance.

Fig. 2 is a simulation diagram schematically showing a constitution of a plasma source 400 to which the present invention is applied. The electrodes are formed of a pair of upper and lower plates, and an alternating voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes to discharge plasma. That is, the first electrode 210 is formed as a power supply electrode on the surface of the first substrate 200, and the first electrode 210 is covered with the dielectric 230. To protect the dielectric and prevent hydration, alumina is deposited as a protective film 250 and a thin film is deposited over the dielectric 230. The second electrode 240 is formed as a ground electrode on the surface of the second substrate 220 and covered with the dielectric 260. To protect the dielectric and prevent hydration, alumina is deposited as a protective film 280 over the dielectric 260.

The plasma source 400 is constructed by arranging the two electrodes side by side with a space formed between the two electrodes. Here, it is preferable that the second substrate 220 is disposed in such a manner as to directly face the first electrode 210, rather than being disposed in such a manner that the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 240 directly face each other. Therefore, the arrangement order in the plasma source module is as follows: the device comprises a first substrate, a first electrode, a dielectric, a protective film, a gap, a second substrate, a second electrode, a dielectric and a protective film. This arrangement makes it easy to adjust the distance between the electrodes when realizing an actual product, improves safety, and makes the electrode life longer. Preferably, the protective film is constituted as described above, but the plasma source may also be constituted in a state in which the protective film is omitted.

In addition, in order to improve the discharge efficiency, it is necessary to design an electrode having an appropriate shape. In the present invention, as shown in fig. 3, the electrodes are designed in a fork (fork) shape, and the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 240 are arranged side by side in a shape facing each other with a space formed therebetween. Although the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 240 are not on the same plane, they may be arranged in the form shown in fig. 3 if seen from above. The first electrode 210 and the second electrode 240 may be arranged at positions where teeth (teeth) forming a fork shape overlap each other, or may be arranged in a form of meshing with each other while being staggered. The fork shape and the arrangement thereof can reduce the distance between the electrodes to a state favorable for discharge and have a geometrical condition convenient for discharge. The fork electrode may be made of a noble metal such as silver or a metal such as copper or aluminum.

If an alternating voltage is applied to the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 240, plasma is discharged between the two electrodes. Therefore, in the electrode structure shown in fig. 3, since the Barrier Discharge (Barrier Discharge) occurs between the first electrode 210 and the second electrode 240, the plasma Discharge is widely distributed, and the generation range of the active species (active species) is wide, which is suitable for enhancing the sterilization power.

In the above, the substrate is made of an insulator, which may be glass, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyimide (PI), Polyolefin (PO), polyether sulfone (PES), or the like, and may be made of a flexible material having heat resistance.

The magnitude of the discharge start voltage required for the generation of plasma and active species can be adjusted by adjusting the thicknesses of the

dielectrics

230 and 260 and the

substrates

200 and 220. By adjusting the thicknesses of the

dielectrics

230 and 260 and the

substrates

200 and 220 to be thin, the discharge voltage can be reduced to improve the efficiency, and the lifetime of the dielectrics can be made longer, and as a result, the lifetime of the plasma source can be made longer.

The dielectric may have a thickness of about 50 to several hundred μm (less than 1000 μm) and the substrate may have a thickness of 0.5 to several mm (less than 10 mm).

The alumina protective films 250 and 280 may be formed to have a thickness of 1 to 5 μm.

The plasma sterilizer 100 of the present invention needs to be able to be installed in an ambulance, thus making it possible to utilize a 9 to 12V battery. The battery may be built into the sterilizer itself, or a battery mounted on a vehicle may be used. If it is indoor, it can be used by connecting the household power supply with the adapter. Since it is necessary to generate plasma by driving with a power supply voltage of 9 to 12V, the plasma sterilizer 100 includes a DC/AC high voltage inverter (inverter). The drive current of the pulse shape generated at this time is very low, and is only a few mA. And therefore sufficient to ensure electrical safety.

In addition, ozone may be generated along with the generation of plasma, however, ozone is harmful to the human body, and therefore, even though the ultraviolet lamp can act as ozone removal to some extent, activated carbon is incorporated in the present invention in order to more reliably remove ozone. Further, it is preferable that a humidifying device is added to reduce ozone and enhance sterilizing power by causing a reaction of changing ozone into hydrogen peroxide by water vapor.

In addition, in order to further reduce the amount of ozone generation, an auxiliary base electrode having an area larger than the fork electrode by about 1 to 20% (approximately) is prepared as a transparent electrode and disposed below the fork electrode. That is, the auxiliary base electrode is formed in a fork shape as the form of the primary electrode, but its area is slightly larger, so that the outline (silhouette) is the same and forms a partial boundary (margin).

The transparent electrode forming the auxiliary base electrode may be formed of various materials such as ITO, AZO, ZnO, Graphene (Graphene), and the like, and may be configured as a similar transparent electrode. In addition, various transparent flexible (flex) electrodes may be formed. When the auxiliary base electrode is formed, a layered arrangement in which the electrodes are constituted by the first substrate, the auxiliary base electrode, the first electrode, the dielectric, the protective film, the pitch, the second substrate, the auxiliary base electrode, the second electrode, the dielectric, and the protective film in this order is formed.

Fig. 4 shows the overall appearance of the plasma sterilizer of the present invention. If the curved flow path is designed to be hung on a wall, the outlet (outlet) appears toward the front, which is attributed to the design of the curved flow path. The exhaust port allows the active species to reach a room or an ambulance wall located at a very long distance by the blowing force of the fan and the steam jet of the humidifier.

According to the plasma sterilizer of the present invention, it is possible to sterilize all of escherichia coli, staphylococcus, and the like existing in an ambulance or a wall surface in a room.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is apparent that a person having basic knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can implement various applications and modifications.

Claims

1. A plasma sterilizer module, comprising:

a plasma source where dielectric barrier discharge occurs;

a fan that applies a propulsive force to the plasma stream discharged from the plasma source; and

an ultraviolet lamp and activated carbon disposed in a flow path through which plasma flows,

the plasma source forms a fork-shaped first electrode on a first substrate formed of an insulator and covers the first electrode with a dielectric, and forms a fork-shaped second electrode on a second substrate formed of an insulator and covers the second electrode with a dielectric,

the first substrate and the second substrate are arranged side by side, and the fork-shaped first electrode and the fork-shaped second electrode are arranged in a manner of being arranged side by side and facing each other with a space therebetween,

the second substrate is arranged to face the first electrode covered with the dielectric.

2. The plasma sterilizer module of claim 1,

the aluminum oxide film is formed as a dielectric protective film for protecting a dielectric covering the electrode in the plasma source.

3. The plasma sterilizer module of claim 1,

the thickness of the substrate or dielectric layer is adjusted in order to reduce the discharge voltage.

4. The plasma sterilizer module of claim 1,

in the plasma source, an auxiliary base electrode is disposed as a transparent electrode between the substrate and the fork electrode, and the auxiliary base electrode has a size larger than the fork electrode by 1% to 20%.

5. The plasma sterilizer module of claim 2,

the plasma source arranges a first electrode formed on a first substrate and a second electrode formed on a second substrate in parallel with a space therebetween, wherein the first electrode, the dielectric, the protective film, the space, the second substrate, the second electrode, the dielectric, and the protective film are arranged in this order.

6. The plasma sterilizer module of claim 1,

the air inlet is also provided with the activated carbon.

7. The plasma sterilizer module of claim 1,

the flow path through which the plasma flows is formed as a curve.

8. The plasma sterilizer module of claim 1,

further provided with: and a filter for filtering air flowing into the plasma source.

9. A plasma sterilizer is characterized in that,

the plasma sterilizer module of claim 1 assembled within a housing and a high voltage inverter built into said housing such that the plasma sterilizer module is driven with a voltage of 9V to 12V.

10. The plasma sterilizer of claim 9,

a humidifier is further incorporated in the plasma sterilizer to enhance sterilizing power and to remove ozone, which is a by-product when plasma is generated.

11. The plasma sterilizer of claim 9,

the plasma sterilizer casing is constructed in a wall-hanging type, and the action distance of sterilization force by plasma is extended by making the opening of the plasma flow path formed in a curved shape face the front.