TWI821418B - Air purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention improves the design of the air purifier. The air purifier 10 sucks in external air from the bottom, filters it through the filter unit 40, and then discharges it to the outside. The air purifier 10 of the present invention includes: an air suction passage 16, which is formed as a tunnel-shaped passage through the lower part of the main body casing 12; an air passage 42, which is connected to the air suction passage 16 from above and is formed in the main body casing 12. The interior extends upward; and the lighting part 34 is provided at the upper and rear part of the suction passage 16 and irradiates light downward and forward from substantially the entire width of the suction passage.

Description

Air purifier

The present invention relates to an air purifying device that purifies air through a filter unit.

Various air purifiers have been sold in the past. The main purpose of these air purifiers is to remove house dust, mold, pollen, bacteria, viruses, etc. from the indoor air. Air purifiers that use ultraviolet rays, photocatalysts, and negative ions are also known, but the mainstream is to use filters to remove fine particles. wait.

In Patent Document 1, it is proposed to use two fans to also suck in air that does not pass through the filter and circulate it, thereby additionally functioning as a circulator and purifying a wider range of air. [Prior technical literature] [Patent Document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-217580

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Here, the air purifier is usually placed indoors where people can see it. It is best to not only have excellent functions, but also have a beautiful design. Furthermore, it is thought that it would be better to be able to recognize the state of dust in the air. [Means to solve the problem]

The present invention is an air purification device that sucks in external air and filters it through a filter unit before expelling it to the outside. It includes: a tunnel-shaped suction passage that runs from the suction opening on the front surface of the lower part of the front surface of the body shell to a back suction opening provided at the lower back part of the main body case; an air passage connected to the suction passage from above and extending upward inside the main body case; and a lighting part provided at the upper rear part of the suction passage , irradiating light downward and forward from the entire lateral width of the suction passage.

The air passage may have a square cross-section.

The main body shell may be in the shape of a quadrangular column.

When the lighting part is turned on, the power supply to the lighting part can be controlled to gradually brighten the lighting part, thereby simulating that the light from the lighting part moves from the rear to the front.

There are at least three air supply modes according to the air supply intensity. The greater the air supply intensity, the greater the luminous intensity of the control lighting part. When changing the air supply mode, the luminous intensity temporarily weakens and is set to the luminous intensity corresponding to that mode. In addition, the present invention is an air purifying device that sucks in external air from the bottom and discharges it to the outside after filtering it through a filter unit. It includes a tunnel-shaped suction passage that sucks air from the front surface of the lower part of the front surface of the main body casing. The air opening penetrates to the back air suction opening provided at the lower back part of the main body case; the air passage is connected to the air suction passage from above and extends upward inside the body case; and the lighting part is provided in the air suction passage The upper part on the back side of the suction port supplies light to substantially the entire tunnel-shaped suction passage. [Effects of the invention]

According to the present invention, the lighting unit can supply light to the penetrating air intake passage, and the designability of the air purifying device can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to the embodiment described here.

"Overall composition" FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an air purifier according to one embodiment. The air purifier 10 has a quadrangular column shape as a whole. The body shell 12 covers the peripheral portions of the side surfaces and the upper surface.

A front surface suction opening 14 is formed at a lower portion of the front surface of the main body housing 12 . As described below, the front surface suction opening 14 is an opening on the front surface of a tunnel-shaped suction passage 16 with a quadrangular cross-section. The suction passage 16 penetrates to the back surface, and a back suction chamber with a back surface is formed on the back side (rear side). Air opening 30 (see Figure 2).

A circular fan cover 18 is detachably provided on the upper surface of the main body casing 12, where an exhaust opening 20 is formed.

Furthermore, a recessed portion 22 for a handrail used by the user to lift is formed in the longitudinal middle portion of the left and right sides of the body shell 12 (only the right side is shown in FIG. 1 ). In addition, a plurality of switch buttons 24 for operation are provided on the front surface side corners of the upper surface of the main body case 12 .

Figures 2 and 3 are diagrams showing the internal structure of the air purifier. Figure 2 (a) is a top view, and Figure 2 (b) is a front view when the plane in (a) is cut through the one-point chain line (front-back direction). , (c) and (d) are three-dimensional views of the situation when the plane in (a) is cut through the one-point chain line (front and rear direction), Figure 3 (a) is a top view, (b) is in (a) The front view when the plane is cut through a one-point chain line (left-right direction), (c) and (d) are the three-dimensional views when the plane is cut through a one-point chain line (left-right direction) in (a) .

As described above, the back air intake opening 30 is formed on the back side of the air intake passage 16 . In addition, the upper side of the suction passage 16 has a large opening, and a longitudinal air passage 32 is formed here. In addition, an illumination unit 34 is provided on the upper side of the back side of the air intake passage 16 . A plurality of LEDs are disposed over substantially the entire width of the illuminating portion 34 in the left and right width direction, and the lighting portion 34 irradiates light diagonally forward, thereby supplying light to substantially the entire intake passage 16 .

The filter unit 40 is arranged above the air passage 32 . The filter unit 40 is disposed to block the air passage 32 , and the air from the air passage 32 is filtered by the filter unit 40 to be purified. The filter unit 40 is a pleated dust collection filter (a filter that removes garbage, dust, etc.) formed by folding long strips of thin filter material, and a deodorizing filter in which activated carbon or catalytic substances are attached to the fiber material. (Filter that absorbs odor-generating substances) is composed of two parts. The two parts are integrated and detachable. That is, the portion of the main body housing 12 on the back side corresponding to the filter unit 40 is detachable, and the filter unit 40 can be pulled out on the back side. Furthermore, it is also preferable to provide a pre-filter for simple filtration at the bottom of the filter unit 40 .

The upper side (downstream side) of the filter unit 40 becomes an air passage 42, and the air passage 42 becomes wedge-shaped toward the upper side, and its cross-sectional area becomes smaller. That is, the tubular wall 44 forming the air passage 42 gradually comes closer to the inside of the body housing 12 . Furthermore, a fan cover 48 is provided at the narrowed part (small diameter part). The fan cover 48 is made of radial plates connecting concentric plates, and is protected by separating spaces to prevent human hands from intruding from below.

Furthermore, a circuit board 46 is arranged in the space between the wall 44 and the main body case 12 . This circuit board 46 is equipped with a circuit that controls the power supply to the fan motor 50 based on the operation of the switch button 24 and a circuit that controls the lighting of the lighting unit 34 . In addition, a dust sensor and a gas sensor are installed on the circuit board 46, and the fan motor 50 or the lighting unit 34 is controlled based on the detection results of these sensors. Furthermore, in this embodiment, there is also an illumination sensor that detects the brightness of the surroundings. When the surroundings are dark, the rotation speed of the fan motor can also be reduced to achieve silence. The illumination sensor can be disposed on the upper surface of the main body housing 12 .

The air passage 42 above the fan cover 48 is expanded in a wedge shape, and a fan motor 50 is provided on its upper part. The fan motor 50 is fixed to the center of the air passage 42 via the supporting member 52 . Furthermore, the supporting material 52 has openings, which basically do not hinder the circulation of air.

The fan motor 50 rotates the rotating blades 54 to generate air flow. The blower fan 56 is composed of the fan motor 50 and the rotating blades 54 . The rotating blade 54 is an axial flow type, and the air blowing fan 56 is an axial flow fan. The blower fan 56 sucks air from the air passage 42 and supplies it upward. That is, the air from the air intake passage 16 passes through the filter unit 40 and is blown upward.

A stator blade 60 that rectifies the air flow from the blower fan 56 is disposed above the rotating blade 54 . The stator blades 60 are composed of a dome body bulging upward in the center and a plurality of blades extending in a radial direction from the dome body, so that the air flow sent by the rotating blades 54 is concentrated in the center direction.

A fan cover 18 is disposed on the upper surface of the main body casing 12 above the stator blades 60 . The overall shape of the fan cover 18 is circular, and a plurality of radial rods are provided to prevent hands or various objects from entering.

In this type of air purifier 10, by driving the fan motor 50, the rotating blades 54 rotate, thereby forming an upward air flow. An air flow path is formed in the main body casing 12 through the suction passage 16, the air passage 32, the filter unit 40, the rotating blade 54, the stator blade 60, and the fan cover 18. As shown in Figure 4, from the front surface suction opening 14, The air in the room sucked in by the back suction opening 30 passes through the air flow path and is sent upward.

"Structure of lighting unit 34" FIG. 5 shows the structure of the lighting unit 34. Figure 5 (a) is a view from the front, (b) is a view from the back and above (showing a part of the lighting section) as viewed from inside the air suction passage 16, and (c) is a cross-section cut along the front-rear direction. picture.

The lighting part 34 has a semi-cylindrical transparent cover 100, the upper part of which is fixed to the back part of the main body housing 12 behind the air suction passage 16. A plate-shaped LED substrate 102 is arranged in the inner space of the transparent cover 100 to extend in the left and right directions. The surface of the LED substrate 102 faces obliquely forward and downward. Furthermore, a plurality of LED elements 104 are arranged on the LED substrate 102 at intervals in the lateral direction. Therefore, by causing the plurality of LED elements 104 to emit light, light can be emitted downward and forward, thereby supplying light to substantially the entire intake passage 16 . Furthermore, power is supplied to the LED element 104 from the circuit board 46 .

"Illuminance control in lighting unit 34" The illuminating part 34 can adjust the luminous intensity of the LED element 104 according to the signal from the circuit substrate 46 . That is, the brightness of the illumination of the intake passage 16 can be changed.

FIGS. 6(a) to 6(d) show the lighting state of the lighting unit 34. (a) is the light-off state, (b) is just after the light is turned on, (c) is the state after a short time after the light is turned on, (d) is the state of full lighting (maximum illumination). Therefore, as shown in Figure 6 (a) to (d), by gradually increasing the illumination intensity, a state in which the illumination moves from the rear to the front can be simulated. In this way, movement can be simulated without using mechanical movement means, so there will be no unnecessary sounds or problems such as wear. And the design is also excellent.

Furthermore, by gradually changing the illumination intensity and changing the illumination range area, dust in the air in the suction passage 16 can be easily recognized with a predetermined brightness level at various places in the changing area. Therefore, it becomes easier for the user to recognize the state of dust.

For example, by turning on the power switch and starting the illumination of the lighting part 34 immediately after starting the air purifier 10, the change of the lighting state from the lights-off state to the maximum illumination intensity can be repeated once or a predetermined plural times.

Thereafter, the illumination is continued during operation at an illumination intensity corresponding to the air supply intensity (fan intensity) of the air supply fan set by the user's operation.

As described below, the fan intensity has multiple levels (at least 3 levels). According to the fan intensity, the greater the fan intensity, the greater the lighting intensity of the lighting part 34 .

Furthermore, when the air blowing mode is changed, the luminous intensity is temporarily weakened and then is set to the luminous intensity corresponding to the mode. In this way, it can be reliably recognized that the operation has been performed.

Furthermore, when a predetermined lighting state remains in a predetermined lighting state for a predetermined time, the illuminance can be changed as described above. Furthermore, when the operation continues for a predetermined time, the lights can be turned off. When the lights-off time passes for a predetermined time, the lights can be turned on at a predetermined intensity, or the illumination intensity can be changed as described above.

Here, as described below, regarding the air supply mode, in addition to the manual fan intensity settings of "strong", "medium" and "weak", there is an "auto mode" that automatically changes the fan intensity. In this automatic mode, when the fan intensity is changed, after temporarily reducing the lighting intensity, it can be set to the lighting intensity corresponding to the set fan intensity. Thereby, the user can easily recognize that the fan intensity has been automatically changed. Users can expect changes.

"Structure of filter unit 40" The filter unit 40 can be taken out to the outside as described above. FIG. 7 shows the state in which the filter unit 40 is taken out. (a) shows the state in which the filter unit 40 is taken out, and (b) shows the operation of taking out the deodorizing filter from the filter unit 40 .

As described above, the dust collecting filter 110 and the deodorizing filter 114 are housed in the filter frame 112 . In addition, as shown in Figure 7(a) , the back portion of the main body casing 12 corresponding to the filter unit 40 becomes a detachable cover 118. By removing the cover 118, the filter unit 40 can be integrated into and out of the main body casing. 12 inside and outside. Therefore, if necessary, the filter unit 40 can be removed, the filter cleaned and replaced, or the filter replaced. Here, as shown in FIG. 7( b ), the periphery of the deodorizing filter 114 is supported by the step difference in the inner wall of the filter frame 112 . In addition, a baffle 116 is rotatably mounted on the upper end of the proximal wall of the filter frame 112 . By rotating the baffle 116 from the proximal side to the inward side, the front end of the baffle plate 116 is caught on the proximal upper surface of the deodorizing filter 114 and the deodorizing filter 114 is sandwiched. On the other hand, by rotating the baffle 116 from the inner side to the proximal side, the front end of the baffle 116 is separated from the deodorizing filter 114, and the deodorizing filter 114 can be taken out from the filter frame 112.

"Structure of the insertion part of the filter unit 40" 8(a) to (d) show the structure of the insertion part of the filter unit 40. (a) is the internal state with the filter unit 40 inserted into the main body housing 12, (b) is the internal state with the filter unit 40 taken out from the main body housing 12, (c) is the internal state of the filter unit 40 taken out from the main body housing 12 40 is a perspective view of the state, (d) is a diagram showing the internal structure of the support unit.

The space in the body housing 12 into which the filter unit 40 is inserted is slightly larger than that of the filter unit 40 . In addition, by pushing upward the frame-shaped upper end surface of the filter unit 40 (the upper end of the filter frame 112 ), it can be airtightly connected (sealed) to the upper air passage 42 .

For this reason, support units 120 are disposed at both left and right ends of the lower side of the space in the main body case 12 where the filter unit 40 is inserted. The support unit 120 includes a pair of spring units 122 including up-down springs inside, a pair of supports 124 that suppress up-down movement below a predetermined value, and an upper surface plate 126 forming an upper surface.

The upper surface plate 126 has inclined portions on the proximal and inner sides, and a flat portion in the middle portion. Therefore, when the filter unit 40 is inserted from the back side, first the lower end of the front part of the filter unit 40 is connected to the inclined part of the upper surface plate 126, and then the filter unit 40 is pressed in, whereby the support unit 120 resists the spring force and moves toward the upper surface plate 126. Move below. Therefore, when the insertion of the filter unit 40 is completed by pressing the filter unit 40 into the front side in this state, by releasing the filter unit 40, the spring force of the support unit 120 is used to push the filter unit 40 upward. .

In addition, when taking out the filter unit 40, since the support unit 120 can also move downward, it can be easily taken out. Furthermore, below the filter unit 40 is the suction port for external air connected to the suction passage 16, which does not need to be sealed.

"Structure of rotating blade 54 and stationary blade 60" FIG. 9 shows a structural example of the rotating blade 54. As mentioned above, a plurality of blades 132 are installed on the periphery of the central cylindrical core material 130 . The inner end of the blade 132 extends obliquely downward from the upper end, and the outer end is located in the inner circumference of the cylindrical passage with a slight gap. The center portion of the core material 130 is fixed to the rotation shaft of the fan motor 50 . The rotating blades 54 are of an axial flow type, and an axial air flow is generated by the rotation of the rotating blades 54 .

FIG. 10 shows the structure of the stationary vane 60, (a) is a perspective view, and (b) is a top view. A dome 142 bulging upward is disposed at the center of the cylindrical outer wall 140 , and a plurality of plates 144 extending in the radial direction are disposed between the outer wall 140 and the dome 142 . The surface of each plate member 144 is inclined at a predetermined angle (inclined in the same direction) with respect to the axial direction and becomes slightly inclined. Thereby, the air flow including the rotating air flow generated by the rotation of the rotating blades 54 is corrected by the stator blades 60 and becomes a straight air flow and is sent upward.

FIG. 11 shows the streamlines of the air flow (analysis results) when there is a stationary vane 60 and when there is no stationary vane 60 . The air flow in the circumferential direction is inhibited by the stator blades 60, thereby generating an upward, relatively straight air flow.

As mentioned above, by rectifying the rotating air flow, the air supply volume of the air purifier is increased, and the indoor air can be purified more efficiently.

"Auto mode" The air purifier 10 of the embodiment has an automatic mode. In this automatic mode, the rotation speed of the rotating blade 54 is controlled based on the detection results of various sensors.

When the amount of dust in the surroundings detected by the dust sensor is large, the intensity of the air supply fan can be increased. When the amount of gas (corresponding to the intensity of the odor) detected by the gas sensor is larger than In many cases, the intensity of the air supply fan can be increased.

In addition, when the illumination sensor detects that the surroundings are dark, it is determined that the user is sleeping, and in order to reduce the operating sound, the fan intensity is limited (for example, the fan intensity is prohibited from becoming stronger).

Furthermore, in manual mode, users can select the fan intensity through button operation.

Here, when the detection values of the dust sensor and the gas sensor are obtained separately, the higher fan intensity obtained from the detection values of the two sensors may be used.

In addition, the deodorizing filter 114 is not capable of removing all types of odors that react with the gas sensor. Therefore, when the detection value obtained by the gas sensor is high and the fan intensity is set to be high, it is better to sequentially reduce the fan intensity after a certain period of time. For example, when the fan intensity level corresponding to the detection value of the gas sensor is strong, it can be sequentially reduced to medium, weak, idle, etc. at predetermined intervals.

For example, the fan intensity can be set to three levels: strong, medium, and weak.

When you want to clean the air in the room in a short period of time, it is also better to select the jet cleaning mode through the user's operation, so that the fan operates at high speed for a predetermined time.

10: Air purification device 12:Body shell 14: Front surface suction opening 16: Inspiratory passage 18, 48: Fan cover 20:Exhaust opening 22: concave part 24:Switch button 30: Suction opening on the back 32:Air passage 34:Lighting Department 40:Filter unit 42:Air passage 44: wall 46:Circuit substrate 50:Fan motor 52:Supporting material 54: Rotating blades 56:Air supply fan 60:Jingye 100:Transparent cover 102:Substrate 104:LED components 110:Dust collection filter 112:Filter box 114: Deodorizing filter 116:Baffle 118: cover 120:Support unit 122:Spring unit 124:Support 126: Upper panel 130: Core material 132:Blade 140:Outer wall 142: round top 144:Plate

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of an air purifier according to an embodiment. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the air purifier, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view when cut at the plane passing through the one-point chain line (front and rear direction) in (a), (c) , (d) is a three-dimensional view when it is cut at the surface passing through the one-point chain line (front-back direction) in (a). Figure 3 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the air purifier, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view when cut at the plane passing through the one-point chain line (left and right direction) in (a), (c) , (d) is a three-dimensional view when it is cut at the surface passing through the one-point chain line (left-right direction) in (a). FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of air (air flow path) in the air purifier. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the lighting unit 34. (a) is a diagram viewed from the front, (b) is a diagram viewed from the rear and above from inside the air intake passage 16 (showing a part of the lighting unit), and (c) is a diagram showing the structure of the lighting unit 34. A cross-section taken along the front-to-back direction. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the lighting state of the lighting unit 34. (a) shows the light-off state, (b) shows the state immediately after lighting, (c) shows the state after a little time has passed after lighting, and (d) shows the state after full lighting. (maximum illumination) state. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the state in which the filter unit 40 is taken out. (a) shows the state in which the filter unit 40 is taken out, and (b) shows the operation of taking out the deodorizing filter from the filter unit 40 . 8 is a diagram showing the insertion part of the filter unit 40 and the structure of the support unit 120. (a) shows the internal state of the filter unit 40 inserted into the main body case 12, (b) shows the filter taken out from the main body case 12. As for the internal state of the unit 40, (c) is a state in which the filter unit 40 is taken out from the main body case 12, and (d) is a diagram showing the internal structure of the support unit. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the rotating blade 54. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the structure of the stationary blade 60, (a) is a perspective view, and (b) is a top view. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing streamlines (analysis results) of the air flow. (a) shows the case with the stationary vane 60, and (b) shows the case without the stationary vane 60.

10: Air purification device

12:Body shell

14: Front surface suction opening

16: Inspiratory passage

18, 48: Fan cover

20:Exhaust opening

30: Suction opening on the back

32:Air passage

34:Lighting Department

40:Filter unit

42:Air passage

44: wall

46:Circuit substrate

50:Fan motor

52:Supporting material

54: Rotating blades

56:Air supply fan

60:Jingye

Claims (14)

An air purifying device, including: a main body shell; an air suction passage formed on the lower side of the above-mentioned main body shell; and a longitudinal air passage formed on the upper side of the above-mentioned suction passage to the above-mentioned main body shell The interior extends upward, and an opening is formed at the exhaust opening on the upper surface of the main body shell; disposed in the above air passage: a filter unit, which is arranged to block the above air passage to filter the circulating air; and a blower fan , which is arranged on the downstream side of the above-mentioned filter unit and supplies air upward; the above-mentioned air suction passage runs from the front surface air suction opening provided at the lower part of the front surface of the above-mentioned main body shell to the back surface suction opening provided at the lower part of the back surface of the above-mentioned main body shell. A visible tunnel-shaped passage of the air opening; the external air sucked in from the above-mentioned front surface suction opening and the above-mentioned back suction opening is filtered by the above-mentioned filter unit and discharged to the outside from the above-mentioned exhaust opening; it has an illumination part, It is installed at the rear and upper portion of the suction passage to illuminate the suction passage. The air purifying device according to claim 1, wherein a stator blade for rectifying air from the air supply fan is disposed on the downstream side of the air supply fan. The air purifier according to claim 2, wherein the stator blades concentrate the air flow from the air supply fan in a central direction to form an air flow with a smaller flow cross section. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein a device for controlling the driving of the air blower is accommodated in a space between the wall surrounding the air passage between the filter unit and the blower fan and the main body casing. Circuit substrate. The air purifying device according to claim 4, wherein the wall is in the shape of a tube, and the body shell is in the shape of a square column. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the illumination unit irradiates light downward and forward from substantially the entire width of the suction passage in the lateral direction. The air purifying device according to claim 6, wherein the luminous intensity of the lighting part is gradually increased to simulate the movement of light moving forward from behind the suction passage. The air purifying device according to claim 1, wherein the suction passage has a quadrangular cross-section. The air purifying device according to claim 1, wherein the air supply fan has at least three air supply modes according to the air supply intensity. When the air supply mode is changed, the lighting unit temporarily reduces the luminous intensity and then sets it to the changed state. The luminous intensity corresponding to the above air supply mode. The air purifying device according to claim 1, wherein the control is performed in such a manner that the greater the intensity of the air supply is, the greater the luminous intensity of the lighting unit is. The air purifying device according to claim 9, wherein when the changed air supply mode continues for a predetermined time, the lighting unit turns off the light. The air purifying device according to claim 1, wherein the filter unit is detachable from the body shell; the body shell is provided with a support unit for supporting the filter unit; the support unit is equipped with a spring unit, When the above filter unit is inserted, it is used to push the above filter unit upward. The air purification device according to claim 12, wherein the above-mentioned filter unit can store a dust collection filter and a deodorization filter. According to the dust sensor and the gas The detection value of the sensor is used to control the intensity of the above-mentioned air supply fan. The air purifying device according to claim 1, wherein a gas sensor that detects a predetermined amount of gas is further provided, and the intensity of the air supply fan is controlled based on the detection value of the gas sensor; When the detection value is high and the intensity of the air supply fan is set to a high level, and when the detection value obtained by the gas sensor is in a high state for a certain period of time, the intensity of the air supply fan is weakened.