Abstract:
The present invention relates to a photocatalyst device including: a body; a light source part fixed to the body to irradiate ultraviolet light and having an LED and a substrate for fixing the LED thereto; a catalyst part fixed to the body to conduct photocatalytic reaction with the light irradiated by the light source part and thus to generate superoxygen radicals; and a heat radiating part disposed on the light source part to radiate the heat generated from the light source part, whereby the photocatalyst device purifies air and sterilizes and deodorizes the evaporator, while being easily mountable as a single module.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This patent application is a United States national phase patent application based on PCT/KR2015/000625 filed on Jan. 21, 2015, which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0007513 filed on Jan. 22, 2014, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0127617 filed on Sep. 24, 2014, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0128992 filed on Sep. 26, 2014. The disclosures of the above patent applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a photocatalyst device and an air conditioner for a vehicle having the same, and more particularly, to a photocatalyst device and an air conditioner for a vehicle having the same that purifies the air introduced into an air conditioner case, sterilizes and deodorizes an evaporator, and effectively radiates the heat generated from the photocatalyst device, thus continuously keeping the sterilization and deodorization performance. 
         [0004]    2. Background of the Related Art 
         [0005]    An air conditioner for a vehicle is a device that heats and cools air in the process of introducing external air into the vehicle or circulating internal air into the vehicle to conduct the heating or cooling in the interior of the vehicle. The air conditioner includes an evaporator disposed inside an air conditioner case to perform cooling and a heater core disposed inside the air conditioner to perform heating, so that the cool air by the evaporator and the heated air by the heater core are selectively blown into respective portions of the interior of the vehicle by means of a blowing mode switching door. 
         [0006]    With the increment of a vehicle supply rate, on the other hand, the time during which passengers stay in the vehicle is extended, and accordingly, many studies have been made to maintain the freshness of air in the interior of the vehicle. However, the internal space of the vehicle is relatively small and closed and also easy to be polluted, and due to fine dust and various pollutants in cities, further, air pollution in the interior of the vehicle becomes more serious. As a result, air conditioners for a vehicle have been recently developed to purify the internal air of the vehicle. 
         [0007]    One example of conventional air conditioners for a vehicle is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2549032 (issued on May 30, 1997) entitled ‘cooling device for vehicle to which deodorizer is attached’.  FIG. 1  is a sectional view showing the conventional cooling device for a vehicle to which a deodorizer is attached. 
         [0008]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the conventional cooling device for a vehicle, to which a deodorizer is attached, has a body  20  having an external air inlet  21  and an internal air inlet  22  and an intake door  23  rotatably mounted to selectively open and close the external air inlet  21  and the internal air inlet  22 . An actuator  30  is connected to a rotary shaft of the intake door  23  and controlled by control means  31 . Further, a blower  25  is located behind the intake door  23  to blow the air introduced from the external air inlet  21  and the internal air inlet  22  into downstream side, and the blower  25  includes a fan  32  and a motor  33  for rotating the fan  32 . An evaporator  26  is located behind the blower  25  to perform the heat exchange with the air passing therethrough, thus achieving air cooling. Further, a photocatalyst filter  27  is located on an air passage  28  behind the evaporator  26  to produce reactive oxygen through the irradiation of light having long wavelength. The photocatalyst filter  27  produces the reactive oxygen through the irradiation of an ultraviolet lamp  29 , and the reactive oxygen oxidizes and decomposes the materials causing bad odor into extremely low-concentration oxidized compounds. The ultraviolet lamp  29  is located between the evaporator  26  and the photocatalyst filter  27 . Moreover, a metal catalyst filter  34  is located behind the photocatalyst filter  27  to remove ozone contained in the flowing air. A reference numeral  35  indicates a temperature sensor, a reference numeral  36  a sensor for sensing bad odor levels, a reference numeral  37  a fan switch, and a reference numeral  24  an air outlet. 
         [0009]    According to the conventional cooling device, however, the ultraviolet lamp  29  used as a light source of the photocatalyst contains mercury harmful to the human body thereinto, and due to bad environmental reasons, accordingly, the conventional cooling device is not actually applicable to the vehicle. Further, the photocatalyst filter  27  is located behind the evaporator  26  and thus absorbs and deodorizes the bad odor generated from the evaporator  26 , so that when an amount of dust is excessively large to decrease an air-flow rate, the photocatalyst filter  27  should be exchanged with new one. According to the conventional cooling device, in addition, the ultraviolet lamp  29  and the photocatalyst filter  27  are provided as individual parts, thus making the assembly performance of the device deteriorated. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a photocatalyst device and an air conditioner for a vehicle having the same that purifies the air introduced into an air conditioner case, sterilizes and deodorizes an evaporator, and effectively radiates the heat generated from the photocatalyst device, thus continuously keeping the sterilization and deodorization performance. 
         [0011]    To accomplish the above-mentioned object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photocatalyst device including: a body; a light source part fixed to the body to irradiate ultraviolet light and having an LED and a substrate for fixing the LED thereto; a catalyst part fixed to the body to conduct photocatalytic reaction with the light irradiated by the light source part and thus to generate superoxygen radicals; and a heat radiating part disposed on the light source part to radiate the heat generated from the light source part, whereby the photocatalyst device purifies air and sterilizes and deodorizes the evaporator, while being easily mountable as a single module. 
         [0012]    According to the present invention, preferably, the body includes: a support portion for supporting the substrate of the light source part; a space-forming portion extended from the support portion to form a given distance between the LED of the light source part and the catalyst part; and a catalyst part-accommodating portion extended from the space-forming portion to fix the catalyst part thereto, the space-forming portion being inclinedly increased in width from the support portion toward a light irradiation direction of the light source part, so that the other parts (the light source part, the catalyst part and the heat radiating part) are supported by the body, thus making the photocatalyst device as a single module. 
         [0013]    According to the present invention, preferably, the body has drain holes formed thereon to drain water therefrom, and at this time, the drain holes are formed on the slant lower side of the space-forming portion in the state where the photocatalyst device is mounted, thus preventing the durability of the photocatalyst device from being decreased due to the water introduced into the photocatalyst device. 
         [0014]    According to the present invention, preferably, the substrate whose surface facing the catalyst part is coated with a water-proofing material, thus in advance preventing the substrate from being damaged due to water. 
         [0015]    According to the present invention, preferably, the heat radiating part includes a first radiating fin member located on one side of the substrate in such a manner as to protrude toward the catalyst part, and at this time, the first radiating fin member is formed on the entire area of the light source part except the area on which light is irradiated from the LED to the catalyst part, while having a shape of a plate disposed in parallel to an air flow direction, so that the heat generated from the LED can be effectively radiated, while preventing the interference in the irradiation of the light of the LED to the catalyst part. 
         [0016]    According to the present invention, preferably, the heat radiating part includes a second radiating fin member disposed on the opposite side of the substrate on which the LED is located, so as to effectively radiate the heat generated from the photocatalyst device. 
         [0017]    According to the present invention, preferably, the substrate itself is the heat radiating part as a heat radiating substrate. 
         [0018]    According to the present invention, preferably, the catalyst part includes a earner and a coating layer for coating a catalyst liquefied to a form of a gel through addition of promoter and acid additive onto the carrier to allow the catalyst to be carried to the carrier. 
         [0019]    According to the present invention, preferably, the catalyst includes titanium oxide having a particle size between 10 nm and 60 nm, and the surface value of the titanium oxide TiO 2  is more than 330 m 2 /g. 
         [0020]    According to the present invention, preferably, the promoter is alumina. 
         [0021]    According to the present invention, preferably, one catalyst part with one and two or more light source parts are provided, thus performing the sterilization over a relatively large area. 
         [0022]    To accomplish the above-mentioned object, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner for a vehicle, including: an air conditioner case for forming a space in which introduced air is conveyed and having vents for discharging the air; an evaporator disposed inside the air conditioner case; a heater core disposed behind the air conditioner case in an air flow direction; and a photocatalyst device having a body, a light source part fixed to the body to irradiate ultraviolet light and having an LED and a substrate for fixing the LED thereto, a catalyst part fixed to the body to conduct photocatalytic reaction with the light irradiated by the light source part and thus to generate superoxygen radicals, and a heat radiating part disposed on the light source part to radiate the heat generated from the light source part, whereby the air introduced into the air conditioner case is purified. 
         [0023]    According to the present invention, preferably, the photocatalyst device is located in front of the evaporator in the air flow direction, thus purifying air and sterilizing and deodorizing the evaporator. 
         [0024]    According to the present invention, preferably, the air conditioner case has mounting holes hollowed at given areas thereof in such a manner as to be closed by the body, and the body of the photocatalyst device has the fixed portions to the air conditioner case, so that since the photocatalyst device is mounted on one side of the air conditioner case, it can be easily detachably mounted on the air conditioner, thus conducting easy checking and repair and minimizing the interference in the air flow in the interior of the air conditioner case caused by the photocatalyst device. 
         [0025]    According to the present invention, preferably, each fixed portion protrudes from the side of the space-forming portion on which the support portion is formed, so that the catalyst part is located at the inside of the air conditioner case and the space-forming portion is located at the outside of the air conditioner case with respect to the external surface of the air conditioner case, thus minimizing the change of air flow in the air conditioner case and the interference in the air flow in the air conditioner case, and the area of the space-forming portion on which drain holes are formed is located on the outside of the area on which the air conditioner case is located, thus easily discharging the water in the photocatalyst device to the outside of the air conditioner case. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0026]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0027]      FIG. 1  is a sectional view showing a conventional cooling device for a vehicle to which a deodorizer is attached; 
           [0028]      FIGS. 2 and 3  are perspective and sectional views showing a photocatalyst device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a first radiating fin member of the photocatalyst device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIGS. 5 and 6  are sectional and perspective views showing a photocatalyst device according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a first radiating fin member of the photocatalyst device; 
           [0031]      FIG. 7  is a sectional view showing a photocatalyst device according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0032]      FIG. 8  is an enlarged perspective view showing a catalyst part of the photocatalyst device according to the present invention; 
           [0033]      FIGS. 9 and 10  are perspective and sectional views showing a photocatalyst device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0034]      FIGS. 11 and 12  are schematic and perspective views showing an air conditioner for a vehicle having a photocatalyst device according to the present invention. 
           [0000]    
         
           
                 
               
                 
                 
               
             
                 
                     
                 
                 
                   *Explanation of Reference Numerals 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
               
                 
                     
                 
               
            
             
                 
                   100: photocatalyst device 
                     
                 
                 
                   110: body 
                 
                 
                   111: fixed portion 
                 
                 
                   112: support portion 
                   112a: hollow portion 
                 
                 
                   113: space-forming portion 
                   113a: drain hole 
                 
                 
                   114: catalyst part-accommodating portion 
                 
                 
                   114a: stepped protrusion 
                 
                 
                   120: light source part 
                 
                 
                   121: LED 
                   122: substrate 
                 
                 
                   130: catalyst part 
                 
                 
                   141: first radiating fin member 
                 
                 
                   142: second radiating fin member 
                 
                 
                   131: carrier 
                   132: coating layer 
                 
                 
                   200: blower 
                 
                 
                   211: internal air inlet 
                   212: external air inlet 
                 
                 
                   213: internal and external air switching door 
                   214: fan 
                 
                 
                   300: air conditioner case 
                   300a: mounting hole 
                 
                 
                   310: vent 
                   310d: mode door 
                 
                 
                   320: temperature control door 
                 
                 
                   410: evaporator 
                 
                 
                   420: heater core 
                 
                 
                   500: fastening means 
                   1000: air conditioner for 
                 
                 
                     
                   vehicle 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
            
           
         
       
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0035]    Hereinafter, an explanation on a photocatalyst device and an air conditioner for a vehicle having the same according to the present invention will be in detail given with reference to the attached drawing. 
         [0036]      FIGS. 2 and 3  are perspective and sectional (taken along the line AA′ of  FIG. 2 ) views showing a photocatalyst device according to a first embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing a first radiating fin member of the photocatalyst device according to the first embodiment of the present invention,  FIGS. 5 and 6  are sectional and perspective views showing a photocatalyst device according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a first radiating fin member of the photocatalyst device,  FIG. 7  is a sectional view showing a photocatalyst device according to a third embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 8  is an enlarged perspective view showing a catalyst part of the photocatalyst device according to the present invention,  FIGS. 9 and 10  are perspective and sectional (taken along the line BB of  FIG. 9 ) views showing a photocatalyst device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and  FIGS. 11 and 12  are schematic and perspective views showing an air conditioner for a vehicle having a photocatalyst device according to the present invention. 
         [0037]    According to the present invention, a photocatalyst device  100  largely includes a body  110 , a light source part  120  and a catalyst part  130 . 
         [0038]    The body  110  supports the light source part  120  and the catalyst part  130  and has fixed portions  111  adapted to be fixed to an air conditioner case  300  of an air conditioner  1000  for a vehicle. The fixed portions  111  have a variety of shapes only if fixed to the air conditioner case  300 . 
         [0039]    Further, the body  110  includes a support portion  112 , a space-forming portion  113 , and a catalyst part-accommodating portion  114 . 
         [0040]    The support portion  112  serves to support a substrate  122  of the light source part  120 , and the space-forming portion  113  is extended from the support portion  112  to the catalyst part  130  to form a given distance between an LED  121  of the light source part  120  and the catalyst part  130  in such a manner as to allow the light irradiated from the LED  121  of the light source part  120  to be transmitted to the catalyst part  130 . At this time, the space-forming portion  113  is inclinedly increased in width as it goes from the support portion  112  toward a light irradiation direction (in a direction wherein the catalyst part  130  is located) of the light source part  120 , thus guiding the light irradiated from the light source part  120  mounted on the support portion  112  to the catalyst part  130 , collecting the light to the catalyst part  130 , and increasing an amount of catalyst reacted. Accordingly, the number of superoxygen radicals becomes increased to enhance sterilization and deodorization effects. The catalyst part-accommodating portion  114  serves to accommodate the catalyst part  130  thereinto to guide the internal air of the air conditioner case  300  of the air conditioner  100  to the catalyst part  130 . Particularly, one surface (the opposite surface to the side at which the support portion  112  is formed) of the catalyst part  130  should be exposed to the interior of the air conditioner case  300 . At this time, the catalyst part-accommodating portion  114  has a stepped protrusion  114   a  protruding inwardly therefrom in such a manner as to support the catalyst part  130  in adjacent to the space-forming portion  113 . Further, the catalyst part-accommodating portion  114  is slidingly coupled to the catalyst part  130  in such a manner as to allow the catalyst part  130  to be detachably mounted thereon, thus making it easy to perform the mounting and checking of the catalyst part  130 . Of course, the catalyst part-accommodating portion  114  may have a variety of detachable coupling ways with the catalyst part  130 . According to the present invention, the body  110  has a generally rectangular section, but it may have free sections like circular and other sections. 
         [0041]    The light source part  120  is fixed to the body  110  and serves to irradiate ultraviolet light. The light source part  120  includes the LED  121  and the substrate  122  to which the LED  121  is fixed. In  FIG. 4 , an air flow direction is indicated by an arrow. 
         [0042]    The LED  121  serves to irradiate UVA (Ultra Violet-A) light or UVC (Ultra Violet-C) light having a wavelength of 400 nm or under, thus solving the problems in the use of the existing mercury-vapor lamp and achieving effective light irradiation with small power. In this case, since the UVA has a relatively low price, it is advantageous in view of expense and effectively activates the photocatalytic reaction of a photocatalyst-carrying medium. Contrarily, the UVC has a relatively high price, but it performs the activation in the photocatalytic reaction and the sterilization function to improve the sterilization efficiency. Two or more light source parts  120  may be provided according to the size of the catalyst part  130 . According to the present invention, if two or more light source parts  120  are provided, two or more LEDs  121  and two or more substrates  122  are provided, and otherwise, two or more LEDs  121  on one substrate  122  are provided. Of course, if two or more LEDs  121  are provided, they irradiate both of the UVA light and the UVC light. 
         [0043]    A heat radiating part is disposed on the light source part  120  to radiate the heat generated from the light source part  120  and includes a first radiating fin member  141 . 
         [0044]    The first radiating fin member  141  serves to enhance heat radiating performance. Through the radiation of the heat generated from the LED  121  and the substrate  122 , on the other hand, the light source part  120  can maintain a high light intensity. Accordingly, the first radiating fin member  141  is formed on the entire area of the light source part  120  except the area on which light is irradiated from the LED  121  to the catalyst part  130 . Further, the first radiating fin member  141  has various shapes, such as a fin, plate and the like. If the first radiating fin member  141  has a shape of a plate, it is disposed on one side of the substrate  122  on which the LED  121  is located in parallel to the air flow direction. An area to which the light is irradiated from the LED  121  to the catalyst part  130  is formed by means of the space-forming portion  113  of the body  110  between one side of the substrate  122  at which the LED  121  is located inside the body  110  and the catalyst part  130 , so that the first radiating fin member  141  is located at the area to radiate the heat through the air flowing along the area. The first radiating fin member  141  as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  does not have any protruding fins from the center area at which the LED  121  is located and has the fins inclinedly protruding downward from both sides thereof in left and right directions (air flowing direction), thus easily radiating the heat, while blocking the light irradiated from the LED  121 . As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , two LEDs  121  are located in left and right directions on the drawings, and in this case, as the first radiating fin member  141  is distant from the two LEDs  121 , the fins inclinedly protrude downward. According to the present invention, the first radiating fin member  141  of the photocatalyst device  100  is not limited to the shapes as shown in the drawing, but it may be freely formed in the entire area of the light source part  120  except the area on which the light is irradiated from the LED  121  to the catalyst part  130 . 
         [0045]    According to the present invention, the photocatalyst device  100  has a second radiating fin member  142 , as well, and otherwise, the substrate  122  itself serves as a heat radiating substrate, that is, a heat radiating part. 
         [0046]    Further, the light source part  120  has the second radiating fin member  142  disposed on the opposite side to the substrate  122  on which the LED  121  is located. That is, the second radiating fin member  142  is formed on the opposite surface to the surface of the substrate  122  on which the first radiating fin member  141  and the LED  121  are located. The second radiating fin member  142  is formed on the substrate  122  or protrudes from the support portion  112  of the body  110  against which the substrate  122  is supported, thus radiating the heat generated from the light source part  120 . Particularly, if the second radiating fin member  142  is formed on the substrate  122 , the body  110  further includes a hollow portion  112   a  formed on a given area of the support portion  112  in such a manner as to allow the second radiating fin member  142  to be inserted thereinto and protrude to the outside. 
         [0047]    The photocatalyst device  100  according to the present invention includes either of the first radiating fin member  141  or the second radiating fin member  142  or includes both of them to effectively radiate the heat generated from the LED  121 , thus maintaining the high light intensity of the LED  121 , enhancing high durability, and continuously keeping the sterilization and deodorization performance. 
         [0048]    The first radiating fin member  141  and the second radiating fin member  142  come into close contact with both surfaces of the substrate  122 , and they are fastened to the substrate  122  at one time through the structure for fixing the substrate  122  to the support portion  112  of the body  110 . 
         [0049]    The catalyst part  130  causes a photocatalytic reaction by the light irradiated from the light source part  120  to generate superoxygen radicals. Through the oxidation of the superoxygen radicals generated from the photocatalytic reaction, the catalyst part  130  removes the pollutants introduced into the air conditioner case  300  and eliminates the germs, all kinds of pollutants and bad odor from an evaporator  410  as will be discussed later. In more detail, if the light irradiated from the light source part  120  is absorbed to the catalyst part  130 , electrons in a valence band (VB) in which the electrons are filled absorb light energy and are jumped to a conduction band (CB) in which electrons are in an empty state. The empty electron hole of the valence band oxidizes water molecules on the surface thereof and returns to its original state. The oxidized water molecules form OH radicals. Moreover, the electrons excited to the conduction band react to oxygen to produce superoxygen radicals having strong oxidizing power. 
         [0050]    On the other hand, the catalyst part  130  includes a carrier  131  and a coating layer  132  for coating a catalyst liquefied to a form of a gel through addition of promoter and acid additive onto the carrier  131  to allow the catalyst to be carried to the carrier  131  (See  FIG. 8 ). The carrier  131  may have a variety of shapes like a net having a plurality of pores formed at the interior thereof, and otherwise, the carrier  131  may be made of a metal or elastic material. 
         [0051]    The catalyst includes titanium oxide TiO 2  having a particle size between 10 nm and 60 nm, and the surface value of the titanium oxide TiO 2  is more than 330 m 2 /g. In more detail, the titanium oxide TiO 2  used as the photocatalyst receives the ultraviolet light of 400 nm or under to produce the superoxygen radicals, and the produced superoxygen radicals decompose organics into safe water and carbon dioxide. The titanium oxide has nano particles, so that even if the light source having the relatively weak ultraviolet wavelength intensity is used, a large number of superoxygen radicals are produced. Accordingly, the superoxygen radicals have excellent organic composing capabilities, provide continuous durability and stability even under environmental changes, and obtain semi-permanent effects. In addition, the superoxygen radicals produced in large number remove various materials like bad odor, germs and so on, as well. The catalyst part  130  is configured wherein the surface value of the titanium oxide TiO 2  having the nano particles is more than 330 m 2 /g, so that when compared with normal titanium oxide, the number of particles receiving light energy on the same area as the normal titanium oxide is more raised to increase the number of superoxygen radicals produced. 
         [0052]    At this time, the promoter is alumina, so that the carrying force of the catalyst part  130  is more improved and the fixing capability of the carrier  131  is increased. 
         [0053]    Now, an example of a process for manufacturing the catalyst part  130  will be explained. First, titanium oxide is subjected to high-temperature plastic working and normal-temperature drying to have particle sizes between 10 nm and 60 nm and then processed to the shape of a liquid through addition of the promoter, alumina. After that, the liquid is secondarily processed according to the use purpose and carried to the carrier  131 . Next, the liquid is fixed to the carrier  131  through secondary drying and plastic working. 
         [0054]    According to the present invention, the photocatalyst device  100  has a structure wherein the superoxygen radicals are produced by the photocatalytic reaction between the light source part  120  and the catalyst part  130 , so that when compared with a conventional structure wherein polluted air containing bad odor is absorbed and removed, the photocatalyst device  100  does not need any separate filter exchanging and is used almost semi-permanently through the selection in the kinds of carrier or through the appropriate on/off control of the light source part  120 . 
         [0055]    According to the present invention, as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , the body  110  of the photocatalyst device  100  has drain holes  113   a  formed thereon to drain internal water therefrom. At this time, the drain holes  113   a  are formed on the lower side of the space-forming portion  113  in the state where the body  110  is mounted. That is, in the state where the photocatalyst device  100  is mounted on the air conditioner case  300  of the air conditioner  1000  for the vehicle, the drain holes  113   a  are formed on the space-forming portion  113 , so that the water is guided to the drain holes  113   a  through the space-forming portion  113  to enhance water discharge effects. 
         [0056]    On the other hand, the air conditioner  1000  for the vehicle according to the present invention includes the air conditioner case  300 , the evaporator  410 , a heater core  420  and the photocatalyst device  100 . 
         [0057]    The air conditioner case  300  conveys the air introduced thereinto, forms a space in which the evaporator  410  and the heater core  420  are mounted, and has vents  310  from which air is discharged. In more detail, the vents  310  of the air conditioner case  300  are formed to discharge the air whose temperature is adjusted by means of the evaporator  410  and the heater core  420  to the interior of the vehicle. The vents  310  includes a face vent, defrost vents, and a floor vent. The face vent  310  is a portion for discharging air to the front side (front seats) of the interior of the vehicle, the defrost vents  310  for discharging air to the windows of the interior of the vehicle, and the floor vent  310  for discharging the bottom of the front seats of the interior of the vehicle. The opening degrees of the face vent  310 , the defrost vents  310  and the floor vent  310  are adjusted by means of respective mode doors  310   d.    
         [0058]    A fan  214  is disposed at the side into which the air of the air conditioner case  300  is introduced so as to blow the air, and an internal air inlet  211  and an external air inlet  212  are selectively open and closed by means of an internal and external air switching door  213 , so that if the fan  214  operates, the internal air or the external air is conveyed to the air conditioner case  300 . In more detail, the internal air inlet  211  communicates with the interior of the vehicle to introduce the internal air thereinto, and the external air inlet  212  with the exterior of the vehicle to introduce the external air thereinto. The internal and external air switching door  213  serves to open and close the internal air inlet  211  and the external air inlet  212 . The internal and external air switching door  213  operates according to the setting of the passenger of the vehicle to selectively introduce the external air or the internal air into the interior of the vehicle. 
         [0059]    The evaporator  410  cools air through the flow of cool refrigerant, and the heater core  420  heats air through the flow of the heated cooling water. The evaporator  410  and the heater core  420  are sequentially disposed in the air-flow direction. Further, the air conditioner case  300  has a temperature control door  320  disposed at the inside thereof to determine a degree of passing of the air passing through the evaporator  410  through the heater core  420 . That is, the temperature control door  320  controls the opening degree of a hot air passage, along which the total amount of the air passing through the evaporator  410  passes through the heater core  420 , and the opening degree of a cool air passage, along which the total amount of the air passing through the evaporator  410  does not pass through the heater core  420 . 
         [0060]    At this time, the photocatalyst device  100  has the above-mentioned features and is located in front of the evaporator  410  so as to sterilize and deodorize the evaporator  410 . 
         [0061]    According to the air conditioner  100  for the vehicle, further, the photocatalyst device  100  is mounted on one side of the air conditioner case  300 , so that it can be easily detachably mounted on the air conditioner  1000 , thus conducting easy checking and repair and minimizing the interference in the air flow in the interior of the air conditioner case  300  caused by the photo catalyst device  100 . So as to fix the photocatalyst device  100  to the air conditioner case  300 , particularly, the air conditioner case  300  has mounting holes  300   a  hollowed at given areas thereof in such a manner as to be closed by the body  110 , and the body  110  of the photocatalyst device  100  has the fixed portions  111 . 
         [0062]    As shown in  FIG. 10 , the fixed portions  111  are hollowed on given areas thereof and have screw threads formed along the hollowed inner peripheral surfaces thereof. The mounting holes  300   a  of the air conditioner case  300  are hollowed correspondingly to the fixed portions  111  and have screw threads formed along the hollowed inner peripheral surfaces thereof. Accordingly, the air conditioner case  300  is fixed to the photocatalyst device  100  by means of separate fastening means  500 . 
         [0063]    At this time, each fixed portion  111  desirably protrudes from the side of the space-forming portion  113  on which the support portion  112  is formed. That is, the catalyst part  130  is located at the inside of the air conditioner case  300  and the space-forming portion  113  at the outside of the air conditioner case  300  with respect to the external surface of the air conditioner case  300 . Accordingly, the catalyst part  130  is located inside the air conditioner case  300 , thus effectively purifying the air, minimizing the protruding degree from the air conditioner case  300 , and preventing the interference in the air flow. Further, the space-forming portion  113  is located at the outside of the air conditioner case  300  with respect to the external surface of the air conditioner case  300 , thus allowing the water inside the photocatalyst device  100  to be easily discharged through the drain holes  113   a  formed on the space-forming portion  113  (the left side of  FIG. 10  indicates the exterior of the air conditioner case  300  and the right side thereof indicates the interior of the air conditioner case  300 ). 
         [0064]    As described above, the photocatalyst device and the air conditioner for a vehicle having the same purifies the air introduced into the air conditioner case, sterilizes and deodorizes the evaporator, and effectively radiates the heat generated from the photocatalyst device, thus continuously keeping the sterilization and deodorization performance. 
         [0065]    While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.