Air cleaner
An air cleaner capable of removing bacteria and viruses. The air cleaner includes: a main body including a suction hole through which air is introduced and a discharge hole through which air is discharged; an ultraviolet (UV) irradiation device disposed between the suction hole and the discharge hole, and including a UV light emitting diode (LED) configured to transmit ultraviolet rays toward the discharge hole; a photocatalyst filter including a photocatalyst provided to generate active oxygen by reacting with the UV rays transmitted from the UV LED, and disposed between the UV irradiation device and the discharge hole; and a light blocking member disposed between the UV LED and the suction hole to prevent the UV rays transmitted from the UV LED from being emitted to an outside of the main body through the suction hole.
1 . An air cleaner comprising:
a main body including:
a suction hole through which air is introduced into the main body, and
a discharge hole through which the air is discharged from the main body;
an ultraviolet (UV) irradiation device between the suction hole and the discharge hole, the UV irradiation device including:
a UV light emitting diode (UV LED) configured to emit UV rays toward the discharge hole,
a substrate extended in a first direction on which the UV LED is mounted,
a heat sink in contact with the substrate and configured to absorb heat from the substrate,
a first case, and
a second case coupled to the first case and including:
a substrate accommodating part in front of the substrate and including:
an UV hole through which the UV rays emitted from the UV LED are transmittable, and
a plurality of heat dissipation grooves recessed at both ends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction that expose a front surface of the substrate to the air and through which the air is passable to contact the exposed front surface of the substrate such that the exposed front surface of the substrate exchanges heat with the air,
wherein the first case and the second case are configured so that the UV LED, the substrate, and the heat sink are between the first case and the second case, and the UV LED and the substrate are accommodated in the substrate accommodating part;
a photocatalyst filter between the UV irradiation device and the discharge hole and including a photocatalyst, the photocatalyst configured to generate active oxygen by reacting with the UV rays emitted from the UV LED; and
a light blocking member between the UV LED and the suction hole, the light blocking member configured to prevent the UV rays emitted from the UV LED from being emitted to an outside of the main body through the suction hole.
2 . The air cleaner of claim 1 , wherein
the light blocking member is a first light blocking member, and
the air cleaner further includes a second light blocking member between the UV LED and the discharge hole, the second light blocking member configured to prevent the UV rays emitted from the UV LED from being emitted to the outside of the main body through the discharge hole.
3 . The air cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising a filter between the suction hole and the UV irradiation device, the filter configured to filter out dust from the air introduced into the main body.
4 . The air cleaner of claim 3 , wherein
the UV irradiation device further includes:
a filter accommodating part in which the filter is mountable, and
an air flow-in part configured to allow the air to pass therethrough.
5 . The air cleaner of claim 4 , wherein the first case includes the filter accommodating part.
6 . The air cleaner of claim 5 , wherein the light blocking member is between the first case and the heat sink, and covers a side of the first case that faces the heat sink.
7 . The air cleaner of claim 5 , wherein the heat sink is between the first case and the substrate and is configured to contact the air passed through the air flow-in part.
8 . The air cleaner of claim 2 , wherein
the first light blocking member includes a first construction including at least one of a first fabric, a first metal plate having a plurality of holes, or a first injection molded material, and
the second light blocking member includes a first construction including at least one of a second fabric, a second metal plate having a plurality of holes, or a second injection molded material.
9 . The air cleaner of claim 2 , further comprising:
a fan inside the main body and configured to cause the air to flow into the air cleaner;
a fan case including an opening corresponding to the fan, the fan case configured to guide the air passed through the UV irradiation device and the photocatalyst filter to the fan; and
a grille cover couplable to the fan case and configured to cover the opening.
10 . The air cleaner of claim 9 , wherein the second light blocking member is configured to cover the opening or the grille cover to prevent UV rays from passing through the opening.
11 . The air cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the photocatalyst includes titanium oxide (TiO 2 ).
12 . The air cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising
a filter case in which the UV irradiation device and the photocatalyst filter are mountable,
wherein the filter case includes a first contact point and a second contact point that are configured to transmit electricity.
13 . The air cleaner of claim 12 , wherein
the UV irradiation device further includes:
a third contact point, and
a fourth contact point, and
the filter case and the UV irradiation device are configured so that,
with the UV irradiation device mounted in the filter case,
the first contact point contacts and is thereby electrically connected with the third contact point at a first electrical connection, the second contact point contacts and is thereby electrically connected with the fourth contact point at a second electrical connection, and the UV irradiation device receives electrical power from the filter case through the first electrical connection and the second electrical connection.
14 . The air cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the suction hole is on a rear surface of the main body, and the discharge hole is on a front surface of the main body.
15 . An air cleaner comprising:
a main body including:
a suction hole through which air is introduced into the main body, and
a discharge hole through which the air is discharged from the main body;
an ultraviolet (UV) irradiation device between the suction hole and the discharge hole, and including:
a UV light emitting diode (UV LED) to emit UV rays toward the discharge hole,
a substrate on which the UV LED is mounted, and
a heat sink on a rear surface of the substrate such that the substrate is between the heat sink and the UV LED, the heat sink configured to absorb heat from the substrate,
wherein the substrate and the heat sink extend in a direction that crosses a flow of the air through the air cleaner such that the heat sink transfers the absorbed heat to the air;
a photocatalyst filter including a photocatalyst to generate active oxygen by reacting with the UV rays emitted from the UV LED, and the photocatalyst filter between the UV irradiation device and the discharge hole;
a first light blocking member on a back surface of the heat sink and between the UV LED and the suction hole, the first light blocking member configured to prevent the UV rays emitted from the UV LED from being emitted to an outside of the main body through the suction hole; and
a second light blocking member between the UV LED and the discharge hole to prevent the UV rays emitted from the UV LED from being emitted to the outside of the main body through the discharge hole.
16 . The air cleaner of claim 1 , wherein
the UV LED is among a plurality of UV LEDs, and
the plurality of heat dissipation grooves are between UV LEDs of the plurality of UV LEDs.