TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001]
The present invention relates to an air cleaner that includes a deodorizing unit
5 and a humidifying unit.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002]
An air cleaner, for example, typically causes air suctioned inside a main body
10 casing by driving a blower, which is disposed inside the main body casing, to pass
through a dust collecting filter, a deodorizing unit, and a humidifying unit in this order
(for example, see PATENT LITERATURE 1).
[0003]
The air cleaner disclosed in PATENT LITERATURE 1 has blast passages to
15 guide air suctioned from an air suction opening to the inside of the main body casing to
an air outlet. The blast passage includes a dust collecting filter, a deodorizing unit, a
humidifying unit, and a blower in this order along a direction from the air suction
opening to the air outlet.
[0004]
20 The dust collecting filter removes dust and dirt. The deodorizing unit
includes a catalyst filter, which decomposes adsorbed odoriferous components, and a
heater, which heats this catalyst filter. Heating the catalyst filter by the heater
regenerates deodorizing performance of the catalyst filter. The humidifying unit
includes a humidifying filter and a water storage tank, which supplies the humidifying
25 filter with water. The blower includes a fan motor and a sirocco fan coupled to an
2
output shaft of the fan motor.
[0005]
The air suctioned from the air suction opening to the blast passage by driving
the blower passes through the dust collecting filter, the deodorizing unit, and the
5 humidifying unit in this order. The dust collecting filter removes dust contained in the
passing-through air. The deodorizing unit removes odoriferous components contained
in the passing-through air. The humidifying unit humidifies the passing-through air.
The driving of the blower blows out the air thus purified from the air outlet to an inside
of a room.
10
CITATION LIST
PATENT LITERATURE
[0006]
PATENT LITERATURE 1: JP-A-2012-34887
15
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION
[0007]
With the air cleaner disclosed in PATENT LITERATURE 1, after the air
20 suctioned from the air suction opening to the blast passage by driving the blower is
deodorized and humidified, the air is blown out from the air outlet to inside a room.
However, to sequentially pass through the air suctioned from the air suction opening to
the blast passage, the deodorizing unit and the humidifying unit are disposed in series.
This generates a large ventilation resistance due to the presence of the deodorizing unit
25 and the humidifying unit. Therefore, the air cleaner fails to secure a sufficient air
3
volume.
[0008]
Meanwhile, an air cleaner that includes a deodorizing unit and a humidifying
unit disposed in parallel has also been known. With this air cleaner, the air suctioned
5 from the air suction opening to the blast passage passes through only the deodorizing
unit or the humidifying unit. Although this ensures restraining the ventilation
resistance, forming a wide blast passage is required. This causes a problem that the
size of main body casing of the air cleaner is increased.
[0009]
10 An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems.
That is, the object of the present invention is to provide an air cleaner that ensures
restraining a ventilation resistance even with a downsized casing while ensuring
deodorization and humidification.
15 SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS
[0010]
An air cleaner according to embodiments and aspects of the present invention
includes an air suction opening, an air outlet, a ventilation passage that communicates
the air suction opening with the air outlet, a deodorizing unit, which includes a
20 deodorizing filter, and a humidifying unit, which includes a humidifying filter. The
deodorizing unit includes the deodorizing filter. The humidifying unit includes a
humidifying filter. The deodorizing unit and the humidifying unit are disposed inside
the ventilation passage in this order along the ventilation passage such that a part of the
deodorizing unit and a part of the humidifying unit overlap in a ventilation direction.
25
4
EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0011]
A deodorizing unit of an air cleaner of the present invention includes a
deodorizing filter. A humidifying unit includes a humidifying filter. The deodorizing
5 unit and the humidifying unit are disposed inside a ventilation passage in this order
along the ventilation passage such that a part of the deodorizing unit and a part of the
humidifying unit overlap in a ventilation direction. This ensures restraining a
ventilation resistance by a downsized casing while ensuring deodorization and
humidification.
10
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012]
Fig. 1 is an external perspective view of an air cleaner according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
15 Fig. 2 is a top view of the air cleaner according to the embodiment of the
present invention.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along X-X in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along Y-Y in Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of main parts of the air cleaner according to the
20 embodiment of the present invention and is an explanatory view of an arrangement of a
dust collecting unit.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of main parts of the air cleaner according to the
embodiment of the present invention and is an explanatory view of arrangements of a
deodorizing unit and a humidifying unit.
25 Fig. 7 is a perspective view of main parts of the air cleaner according to the
5
embodiment of the present invention and is an explanatory view of an arrangement of a
blower.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
5 [0013]
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail
based on the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the
following embodiment. That is, various modifications of the following embodiment
are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
10 Embodiment
[0014]
As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, an air cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of
the present invention has a main body 11, a front surface panel 12, and a rear panel 14.
The main body 11 includes a top surface panel 11a, a right side surface panel 11b, a left
15 side surface panel 11c, and a bottom 11d, which are made of synthetic resin materials.
The main body 11 is formed into an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape.
The front surface panel 12, which is a formed body of the synthetic resin material, is
disposed on one surface of the main body 11. The rear panel 14, which is a formed
body of the synthetic resin material, is disposed on the other surface of the main body
20 11. The following refers to a side where the front surface panel 12 is disposed on the
main body 11 as a main body front surface side as necessary. A side where the rear
panel 14 is disposed on the main body 11 is referred to as a main body back surface side
as necessary.
[0015]
25 A front panel 13, which is the formed body of the synthetic resin material, is
6
disposed on the front of the front surface panel 12. A top surface suction opening 13a,
a right side surface suction opening 13b, and a left side surface suction opening 13c,
which are air suction openings of the air cleaner 1 according to the embodiment, are
formed between the front panel 13 and the front surface panel 12. A top surface outlet
14a, a right side surface 5 outlet 14b, and a left side surface outlet 14c, which are air
outlets of the air cleaner 1 according to the embodiment, are formed between the main
body 11 and the rear panel 14. With the air cleaner 1, air suctioned from the top
surface suction opening 13a, the right side surface suction opening 13b, and the left side
surface suction opening 13c to the main body 11 is blown out from the top surface
10 outlet 14a, the right side surface outlet 14b, and the left side surface outlet 14c to the
inside of a room. During this step, dirt removal, humidification, and deodorization
processes of air are performed.
As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, a space inside the main body 11 that
communicates the top surface suction opening 13a, the right side surface suction
15 opening 13b, and the left side surface suction opening 13c with the top surface outlet
14a, the right side surface outlet 14b, and the left side surface outlet 14c serves as a
ventilation passage 10 of the air cleaner 1 of the embodiment.
[0016]
An operating unit 15 is disposed on the top surface of the air cleaner 1 so as to
20 cover a part of the top surface suction opening 13a. The operating unit 15 includes
buttons such as a power supply button and an operation mode switch button to operate
the air cleaner 1. Furthermore, the operating unit 15 includes a display. The display
displays an operating state of the air cleaner 1 and a detection result by a detector such
as a dust sensor (not illustrated).
25 [0017]
7
As illustrated in Fig. 3, the ventilation passage 10, which is inside the main
body 11 of the air cleaner 1, includes a pre-filter 21, a dust collecting unit 22, a
deodorizing unit 23, a humidifying unit 24, and a blower 25 in this order from the air
suction openings to the air outlets.
5 [0018]
The pre-filter 21, for example, has a mesh structure formed by weaving a
thread PET material. The pre-filter 21 traps dust contained in the air suctioned to the
inside of the main body 11. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the pre-filter 21 has an arch shape
convex toward the main body front surface side. Compared with the pre-filter 21 with
10 a flat shape, the pre-filter 21 with the arch shape increases an area of the pre-filter 21
through which the air suctioned from the top surface suction opening 13a, the right side
surface suction opening 13b, and the left side surface suction opening 13c to the inside
of the main body 11 passes. This allows the pre-filter 21 to trap much dust.
[0019]
15 As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5, the dust collecting unit 22 includes a first
electric dust collector 22a and a second electric dust collector 22b. The first electric
dust collector 22a and the second electric dust collector 22b are disposed up and down.
The first electric dust collector 22a and the second electric dust collector 22b include
discharge electrodes and dust-collecting electrodes (not illustrated). The first electric
20 dust collector 22a and the second electric dust collector 22b charge fine dust, pollens,
and the like that cannot be trapped by the pre-filter 21 by a corona discharge by the
discharge electrodes. The dust-collecting electrodes trap the charged dust, pollens, and
the like. The first electric dust collector 22a and the second electric dust collector 22b
are mainly constituted of the above-described discharge electrode and dust-collecting
25 electrode and a casing, which holds these discharge electrode and dust-collecting
8
electrode. Therefore, an air resistance of the dust collecting unit 22 is smaller
compared with an air resistance of the dust collecting filter made of a nonwoven fabric
formed into a pleat pattern, which is described in BACKGROUND ART. To easily
recognize the dust collecting unit 22 (the first electric dust collector 22a and the second
electric 5 dust collector 22b), Fig. 5 omits the illustration of the front panel 13.
[0020]
As illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 6, the deodorizing unit 23 includes a
deodorizing filter 23a and a heater 23f, which is heating means. As illustrated in Fig. 6,
the deodorizing filter 23a, for example, includes circular plate-shaped base materials
10 23aa, which have a porous structure like a waveform structure or a honeycomb structure.
The waveform structure, for example, has flat plate materials laminated in alternation
and flexed materials continuously flexed in a waveform pattern. The base materials
23aa include catalyst layers 23ab, which adsorb and decompose odoriferous
components. As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the heater 23f includes a PTC heater 23b,
15 two sheets of heatsinks 23c, two pieces of heat insulating materials 23d, and two pieces
of cases 23e. Among the two sheets of the heatsinks 23c, the PTC heater 23b is
mounted to the heatsink 23c disposed on the main body front surface side. The PTC
heater 23b heats the two sheets of the heatsinks 23c. The two sheets of the heatsinks
23c are metal plates each of which are formed into an approximately triangular shape.
20 As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the two sheets of the heatsinks 23c are disposed so as to
cover a part of the deodorizing filter 23a. The two sheets of the heatsinks 23c are in
contact at a site positioned at a center of the deodorizing filter 23a and an outside
diameter side of the deodorizing filter 23a. In view of this, the PTC heater 23b heats
not only the heatsink 23c disposed on the main body front surface side but also the
25 heatsink 23c on the main body back surface side. The heat insulating materials 23d are
9
disposed to cover the PTC heater 23b and the heatsinks 23c. The heat insulating
material 23d restrains an escape of heat from the PTC heater 23b and the heatsinks 23c
to outside. The case 23e is formed into a shape with which the PTC heater 23b, the
heatsinks 23c, and the heat insulating materials 23d can be held.
5 Thus, the deodorizing filter 23a has the porous structure. With the structure
of the deodorizing filter 23a, the heater 23f covers only a part of the deodorizing filter
23a. Accordingly, the air resistance of the deodorizing filter 23a is small.
[0021]
To regenerate the deodorizing performance of the deodorizing filter 23a, the
10 PTC heater 23b heats the two sheets of the heatsinks 23c. At this time, a part of the
deodorizing filter 23a covered with the two sheets of the heatsinks 23c is heated.
While a motor (not illustrated) rotates the deodorizing filter 23a, the deodorizing filter
23a is heated. This promotes a decomposition of the odoriferous components adsorbed
by the catalyst layers 23ab in the deodorizing filter 23a. This regenerates the
15 deodorizing performance of the deodorizing filter 23a. Instead of the rotation of the
deodorizing filter 23a, moving the heatsinks 23c may heat the deodorizing filter 23a.
The deodorizing unit 23 is not limited to the above-described units. For example, the
heating means (the PTC heater 23b and the heatsinks 23c) may not be disposed. In
this case, the deodorizing unit may include a deodorizing filter that includes a base
20 material to which an adsorbing material for odoriferous components like activated
charcoal is added instead of the catalyst layers. When the deodorizing filter degrades
adsorption capability, the deodorizing filter may be replaced by new one.
[0022]
As illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 6, the humidifying unit 24 includes a
25 humidifying filter 24a and a water storage tank 24b, which accumulates water. The
10
humidifying filter 24a is formed into a circular plate shape. With a part of the
humidifying filter 24a immersed into the water accumulated in the water storage tank
24b, the humidifying filter 24a is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft. Through the
rotation of the motor (not illustrated), the humidifying filter 24a rotates. Accordingly,
5 a water bucket, which is disposed at an outer periphery of the humidifying filter 24a,
damps the humidifying filter 24a with the water pumped up from the water storage tank
24b. The humidifying unit 24 may not have the above-described configuration.
Instead of the humidifying filter 24a, the humidifying unit 24 may include a
humidifying filter that absorbs the water vapor by capillarity. To clearly illustrate the
10 deodorizing unit 23 and the humidifying unit 24, Fig. 6 appropriately omits the
illustrations of the front panel 13, members constituting the main body 11 other than the
bottom 11d, the dust collecting unit 22, and the like.
[0023]
As illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and 7, the blower 25 includes a turbofan 25a and a
15 fan motor 25b. The turbofan 25a is made of a synthetic resin material and is coupled
to an output shaft of the fan motor 25b. The fan motor 25b is a variable rotation speed
motor. A rotation of the fan motor 25b also rotates the turbofan 25a. The rotation of
the turbofan 25a flows air to the inside of the air cleaner 1. In accordance with this,
the air flows from the inside of the air cleaner 1. To easily recognize the blower 25,
20 Fig. 7 appropriately omits the illustrations of the front panel 13, the members included
in the main body 11 other than the bottom 11d, the dust collecting unit 22, the
deodorizing unit 23, the humidifying unit 24, and the like.
[0024]
With the air cleaner 1 having the above-described configuration, the operation
25 of the operating unit 15 by the user starts operating the air cleaner 1, driving the blower
11
25. In accordance with this, energization to the first electric dust collector 22a and the
second electric dust collector 22b in the dust collecting unit 22 starts. Furthermore, the
humidifying filter 24a in the humidifying unit 24 starts rotating. The driving of the
blower 25 suctions air from the top surface suction opening 13a, the right side surface
suction opening 13b, 5 and the left side surface suction opening 13c to the inside of the
main body 11.
[0025]
The air suctioned to the inside of the main body 11 flows as follows. (1) At a
site in the ventilation passage 10 where the lower portion of the deodorizing unit 23
10 overlaps the upper portion of the humidifying unit 24 in the front-back direction, the air
flows in the order from the pre-filter 21, the dust collecting unit 22, the deodorizing unit
23, and then the humidifying unit 24. (2) At a site in the ventilation passage 10 where
the lower portion of the deodorizing unit 23 does not overlap the upper portion of the
humidifying unit 24 in the front-back direction (that is, a site other than a site where the
15 lower portion of the deodorizing unit 23 overlaps the upper portion of the humidifying
unit 24 in the front-rear direction), the air flows in the order from the pre-filter 21, the
dust collecting unit 22, and then the deodorizing unit 23 or in the order from the
pre-filter 21, the dust collecting unit 22, and then the humidifying unit 24.
After the air suctioned inside the main body 11 flows as described in (1) or (2),
20 the air is blown out from the top surface outlet 14a, the right side surface outlet 14b, and
the left side surface outlet 14c to the inside of the room at which the air cleaner 1 is
installed.
[0026]
As described above, when the air passes through the ventilation passage 10
25 inside the air cleaner 1, the pre-filter 21 and the energized dust collecting unit 22
12
remove dust, pollens, and the like. The deodorizing unit 23 removes the odoriferous
components. Additionally, the humidifying unit 24 humidifies the passing-through air.
As described above, the dust collecting unit 22 is disposed on the respective air suction
openings side with respect to the deodorizing unit 23. In view of this, the air flown
5 into the deodorizing unit 23 is air from which the dust, the pollens, and the like have
been removed. This avoids a clogging of the deodorizing filter 23a in the deodorizing
unit 23 due to the dust, the pollens, and the like.
[0027]
The following further describes the dispositions of the deodorizing unit 23 and
10 the humidifying unit 24 in detail with reference to Figs. 3 and 6. As illustrated in Figs.
3 and 6, the deodorizing unit 23 and the humidifying unit 24 are disposed inside the
ventilation passage 10 in this order along the ventilation passage 10 such that a part of
the deodorizing filter 23a provided with the deodorizing unit 23 and a part of the
humidifying filter 24a provided with the humidifying unit 24 overlap in the ventilation
15 direction. Specifically, the deodorizing unit 23 is disposed at the upper portion of the
ventilation passage 10 while the humidifying unit 24 is disposed at the lower portion of
the ventilation passage 10. Both the deodorizing unit 23 and the humidifying unit 24
are disposed along the ventilation direction inside the ventilation passage 10 such that
the lower portion of the deodorizing filter 23a and the upper portion of the humidifying
20 filter 24a overlap in the front-rear direction with respect to the ventilation direction (a
part A in Fig. 3). Thus disposing the deodorizing unit 23 and the humidifying unit 24
ensures deodorization and humidification, leading to ensuring the downsized casing and
the reduction in ventilation resistance. Furthermore, the humidifying filter 24a can
partially humidify the air after the deodorization. The deodorizing unit 23 is disposed
25 at the upper portion of the ventilation passage 10 while the humidifying unit 24 is
13
disposed at the lower portion of the ventilation passage 10. As illustrated in Fig. 6,
this disposition ensures disposing the heater 23f included in the deodorizing unit 23 and
the water storage tank 24b included in the humidifying unit 24 at locations away from
one another. Accordingly, when the humidifying unit 24 pumps up the water
5 accumulated in the water storage tank 24b by the rotation of the humidifying filter 24a
to damp the humidifying filter 24a, the pumped-up water does not scatter into the heater
23f of the deodorizing unit 23.
[0028]
As illustrated in Fig. 6, the deodorizing unit 23 is disposed on a windward side
10 of the humidifying unit 24. The deodorizing unit 23 includes a holder 23g to rotatably
hold the deodorizing filter 23a. An inner shape of the holder 23g is formed into a
cylindrical shape along the circular plate-shaped deodorizing filter 23a. An outer
shape of the holder 23g is formed into a rectangular shape. Furthermore, a ventilation
hole 23ga (a ventilation portion) is formed at a part where the lower portion of the
15 holder 23g overlaps the humidifying filter 24a in the ventilation direction. The
ventilation hole 23ga ventilates the air suctioned to the inside of the main body 11. As
the ventilation portion, a cutout may be formed instead of the ventilation hole 23ga.
As described above, the deodorizing unit 23 is disposed on the windward side with
respect to the humidifying unit 24. This does not clog the deodorizing filter 23a of the
20 deodorizing unit 23 by the air containing humidified water vapor.
[0029]
Controlling a driving of the motor (not illustrated) allows the humidifying unit
24 to control a dump state of the humidifying filter 24a. Pressing the operation mode
switch button on the operating unit 15 to select an operation mode of deodorization only
25 stops the driving of the motor (not illustrated). Therefore, stopping the rotation of the
14
humidifying filter 24a and further stopping the supply of the water to the humidifying
filter 24a stops the humidification operation of air.
[0030]
As described above, the air cleaner 1 of the embodiment includes the dust
5 collecting unit 22, which is formed of the two electric dust collectors, the deodorizing
unit 23, which includes the two sheets of the heatsinks 23c covering only a part of the
deodorizing filter 23a, and the blower 25, which includes the turbofan 25a. As
described above, the ventilation resistance of the dust collecting unit 22 is smaller
compared with the ventilation resistance of the dust collecting filter containing the
10 nonwoven fabric formed into the pleat pattern, which is described in BACKGROUND
ART. The deodorizing unit 23 also has a ventilation resistance smaller compared with
the ventilation resistance of the deodorizing unit that includes a plate-shaped heater
formed to have the area almost identical to that of the catalyst filter, which is described
in BACKGROUND ART.
15 [0031]
In addition to the small ventilation resistances of the dust collecting unit 22 and
the deodorizing unit 23, as illustrated in Figs. 3 to 7, both the deodorizing unit 23 and
the humidifying unit 24 are disposed such that a part of the deodorizing unit 23 overlaps
a part of the humidifying unit 24. Therefore, even if the dust collecting unit 22, the
20 deodorizing unit 23, the humidifying unit 24, and the blower 25 are arranged in this
order from the air suction openings to the air outlets, the ventilation resistance does not
become large. Accordingly, a turbofan 25a that has a static pressure lower than that of
a sirocco fan is applicable to the blower 25. In other words, given identical ventilation
resistances, the turbofan 25a has a higher efficiency and a lower noise in comparison
25 with a sirocco fan, although the turbofan 25a generates a smaller air volume. This
15
ensures achieving the air cleaner 1 that can restrain a noise while securing required dust
collecting capability and deodorizing performance. The turbofan 25a does not require
a spiral casing, which is provided with the sirocco fan. Accordingly, the air cleaner of
the present invention can be downsized and thinned compared with the sirocco fan.
This ensures preventing an additional 5 increase in casing dimensions of the air cleaner 1.
Sequentially arranging the respective constitution members (the dust collecting unit 22,
the deodorizing unit 23, the humidifying unit 24, and the blower 25) along the
ventilation passage 10 as described above lengthens the dimension of the main body 11
in the front-back (the depth) direction. Furthermore, while the respective air suction
10 openings are disposed on the front surface side of the main body 11, the respective air
outlets are disposed on the back surface side of the main body 11. This ensures
increasing a distance L between the respective air suction openings and the respective
air outlets indicated in Fig. 4. This restrains an immediate suction of the air, which is
blown out from each air outlet to the inside of the room, from each air suction opening
15 to the inside of the air cleaner 1, a so-called short circuit between the air suction
opening and the air outlet.
[0032]
The air cleaner 1 can achieve the distance L by which the above-described
short circuit is less likely to occur. In view of this, the air cleaner 1 can include the top
20 surface suction opening 13a, the right side surface suction opening 13b, and the left side
surface suction opening 13c, which suction the air from the three directions, the upper
end portion, the right-side end portion, and the left-side end portion, at the front of the
main body 11 to the inside of the air cleaner 1. Furthermore, the air cleaner 1 can
include the top surface outlet 14a, the right side surface outlet 14b, and the left side
25 surface outlet 14c, which blow out the air from the upper end portion, the right-side end
16
portion, and the left-side end portion at the rear of the main body 11 to three directions.
This ensures increasing the areas of the air suction openings and the air outlets, allowing
the air cleaner 1 to sufficiently securing an amount of suction air and an amount of
blown air. Furthermore, the air cleaner 1 suctions and blows out the air from the three
directions to uniformly suction 5 the air in the room at which the air cleaner 1 is installed,
ensuring the dust collection, humidification, and deodorization. Additionally, the air
cleaner 1 can blow out purified air and causes the air to run through inside the room.
[0033]
As indicated by a line segment P in Fig. 3, it is preferable to dispose the dust
10 collecting unit 22 and the blower 25 so as to match a center height of the fan motor 25b
with a height of a space between the first electric dust collector 22a and the second
electric dust collector 22b in the dust collecting unit 22. The flow of air caused by the
rotation of the turbofan 25a is less near the center of the fan motor 25b. Accordingly,
the flow of air is less at the space near the center of the fan motor 25b inside the main
15 body 11. Meanwhile, at the space between the first electric dust collector 22a and the
second electric dust collector 22b in the dust collecting unit 22, dust collecting
capability with respect to the passing-through air is absent. In view of this, matching
the height of this space with the center height of the fan motor 25b ensures disposing the
first electric dust collector 22a and the second electric dust collector 22b at the space
20 where vanes of the turbofan 25a are present and therefore much airflow is generated.
Accordingly, the dust collecting unit 22 can effectively remove the dust.
[0034]
As described above, with the air cleaner 1 of the embodiment, both the
deodorizing unit 23 and the humidifying unit 24 are disposed along the ventilation
25 direction inside the ventilation passage 10 such that the lower portion of the deodorizing
17
filter 23a and the upper portion of the humidifying filter 24a overlap in the front-rear
direction with respect to the ventilation direction. This restrains the ventilation
resistance while ensuring the deodorization and the humidification and further ensures
avoiding the large main body 11, which is the casing for the air cleaner 1. The
ventilation 5 hole 23ga is formed on the lower portion of the holder 23g of the
deodorizing unit 23. This ensures restraining the ventilation resistance even at the site
where the lower portion of the deodorizing unit 23 overlaps the upper portion of the
humidifying unit 24.
The air cleaner according to the embodiments of the present invention may be
10 the following first to third air cleaners.
The first air cleaner includes an air suction opening, an air outlet, and a main
body including a ventilation passage. The air suction opening suctions air to an inside
of a casing. The air outlet blows out the air from the inside of the casing to outside.
The ventilation passage communicates the air suction opening with the air outlet. The
15 main body internally includes a deodorizing unit, a humidifying unit, and a blower.
The deodorizing unit is configured to deodorize taken-in air. The humidifying unit is
configured to humidify the taken-in air. The deodorizing unit includes a deodorizing
filter. The humidifying unit includes a humidifying filter. The deodorizing unit and
the humidifying unit are sequentially disposed along the ventilation passage such that a
20 part of the deodorizing unit and a part of the humidifying unit overlap with one another
in a ventilation direction.
The second air cleaner according to the first air cleaner is configured as follows.
The deodorizing unit is disposed on a windward side of the humidifying unit. The
deodorizing unit includes a holder to hold the deodorizing filter. The holder forms a
25 ventilation portion at a position where the holder partially overlaps the humidifying
18
filter in the ventilation direction. The ventilation portion ventilates the taken-in air.
The third air cleaner according to the first or the second air cleaner is
configured as follows. The deodorizing unit is disposed along an upper portion of the
ventilation passage. The humidifying unit is disposed along a lower portion of the
5 ventilation passage. The deodorizing unit and the humidifying unit are sequentially
disposed along the ventilation passage such that a lower portion of the deodorizing unit
and an upper portion of the humidifying unit overlap in the ventilation direction.
LIST OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS
10 [0035]
1: Air cleaner
10: Ventilation passage
11: Main body
12: Front surface panel
15 13: Front panel
13a: Top surface suction opening
13b: Right side surface suction opening
13c: Left side surface suction opening
14: Rear panel
20 14a: Top surface outlet
14b: Right side surface outlet
14c: Left side surface outlet
15: Operating unit
21: Pre-filter
25 22: Dust collecting unit
19
22a: First electric dust collector
22b: Second electric dust collector
23: Deodorizing unit
23a: Deodorizing filter
5 23aa: Base material
23ab: Catalyst layer
23b: PTC heater
23c: Heatsink
23f: Heater
10 23g: Holder
23ga: Ventilation hole (ventilation portion)
24: Humidifying unit
24a: Humidifying filter
24b: Water storage tank
15 25: Blower
25a: Turbofan
25b: Fan motor

I/We Claim:
1. An air cleaner comprising:
an air suction opening;
an air outlet;
5 a ventilation passage that communicates the air suction opening with the air
outlet;
a deodorizing unit that includes a deodorizing filter; and
a humidifying unit that includes a humidifying filter, wherein
the deodorizing unit and the humidifying unit are disposed inside the
10 ventilation passage in this order along the ventilation passage such that a part of the
deodorizing unit and a part of the humidifying unit overlap in a ventilation direction.
2. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein
the deodorizing unit is disposed on a windward side of the humidifying unit,
15 the deodorizing unit includes a holder to hold the deodorizing filter, and
the holder includes a ventilation portion formed at a part where the holder
overlaps the humidifying filter along the ventilation direction.
3. The air cleaner according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein
20 the deodorizing unit is disposed along an upper portion of the ventilation
passage,
the humidifying unit is disposed along a lower portion of the ventilation
passage, and
25
21
the deodorizing unit and the humidifying unit are disposed such that a lower
portion of the deodorizing filter overlaps an upper portion of the humidifying filter.