CN114930033A

CN114930033A - Air blower

Info

Publication number: CN114930033A
Application number: CN202080090768.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 江崎淳史; 鴫原秀郎; 大畦真吾
Original assignee: Iris Ohyama Inc
Current assignee: Iris Ohyama Inc
Priority date: 2019-12-27
Filing date: 2020-12-01
Publication date: 2022-08-19
Also published as: TW202129156A; JP2021107699A; WO2021131532A1

Abstract

A blower includes a blade for blowing air, a motor for driving the blade, a sound input unit for acquiring an input sound, and a control unit for performing predetermined control based on the input sound, wherein the control unit changes an operating state of the blower when determining that a factor for preventing the sound acquisition by the sound input unit is present in the operating state of the blower.

Description

Air blower

Technical Field

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a device that can be operated by voice recognition in a device having an air blowing mechanism, such as a fan, a circulator (circulator), a humidifier, a dehumidifier, an air cleaner, or an air conditioner (air conditioner).

Background

Conventionally, there are blowers having a blowing mechanism such as a fan or a circulator. On the other hand, in recent years, devices that operate by voice recognition are increasing. Patent document 1 discloses a fan having a sound operation mechanism.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2002-349477

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The conventional fan having the sound operating mechanism described above is simply a combination of the sound operating mechanism and the fan, and cannot be said to be a configuration in which noise generated by the blades, the motor, and the like during operation of the fan is taken into consideration. In a blower such as a fan, a structure is required in which noise generated from equipment is taken into consideration to improve a recognition rate of sound.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve at least any one of the above problems, the present invention employs the following means. In the following description, for convenience of understanding of the present invention, parentheses are sometimes added to the reference numerals in the drawings, but the constituent members of the present invention are not limited to these numerals and should be construed broadly to the extent that those skilled in the art can understand technically.

One aspect of the present invention is a blower (10), the blower (10) including: a blade (56) for blowing air; a motor (54) that drives the blade; a voice input unit (66) that acquires input voice; and a control unit (100) that performs predetermined control in accordance with the input sound; the control unit changes the operating state of the blower when determining that a factor that hinders sound acquisition by the sound input unit is present in the operating state of the blower.

According to the blower configured as described above, when there is a factor that hinders sound acquisition, such as a state where the volume of noise emitted from the blower is large or wind passes between a user who performs sound input and the sound input unit, the operation state can be changed to reduce the noise. Thus, the sound input unit can easily acquire clear input sound. Further, the recognition rate of the voice can be improved.

In the blower (10) configured as described above, it is preferable that the change in the operating state is a change in the rotation speed of the motor (54).

According to the blower configured as described above, noise generated by rotation of the motor and the blades can be suppressed, and clear input sound can be easily acquired.

In the blower configured as described above, it is preferable that the blower further includes an air direction changing unit (121) that changes an air blowing direction, and the change of the operation state is a change of the air blowing direction by the air direction changing unit.

According to the blower configured as described above, the blowing direction is changed in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, so that the air does not pass between the user and the sound input unit, and the sound of the user can easily and clearly reach the sound input unit.

In the blower configured as described above, preferably, the blower includes: a wind direction changing unit (121) that changes the direction of the air supply; and a drive unit (120) that drives the wind direction changing unit; the change of the operating state is suppression or prohibition of the operation of the driving unit.

According to the blower configured as described above, noise emitted from the driving portion or the airflow direction changing portion when the driving portion drives the airflow direction changing portion can be suppressed. This makes it possible to easily obtain clear input sound.

In the blower configured as described above, it is preferable that the blower further includes a notification sound output unit (67) for outputting an output sound, and the change of the operation state is suppression or prohibition of the output sound.

According to the blower configured as described above, noise output from the blower can be prevented from being mixed into the input sound, and clear input sound can be easily acquired.

In the blower configured as described above, preferably, the control unit (100) is configured to recognize that the input sound is a wake-up word, and when the control unit recognizes the wake-up word, the control unit determines that the volume of the sound generated by the blower exceeds the threshold.

According to the blower configured as described above, in particular, the control word input by the user can be easily and clearly acquired after the wake-up word recognition for enhancing the recognition rate of the voice.

In the blower configured as described above, it is preferable that the blower further includes a volume measurement unit (66a) that measures the volume of ambient sound, and the control unit determines that the volume of sound generated by the blower exceeds the threshold value based on the measurement result of the volume measurement unit.

According to the blower configured as described above, it is possible to dynamically check the noise around the blower and the noise emitted from the blower, and to change the operating state of the blower for suppressing the noise only in an environment where it is difficult to obtain clear input sound.

In the blower configured as described above, preferably, the volume measuring unit measures the volume of ambient sound based on the input sound.

According to the blower configured as described above, it is possible to measure the noise around the blower and the volume of the sound emitted from the blower without adding an additional configuration for measuring the volume.

In the blower configured as described above, it is preferable that the threshold value be changeable by setting.

In the blower configured as described above, preferably, the control unit (100) recognizes that the input sound is a control word during a predetermined control word recognition period (for example, 6 seconds) after the wake word is recognized, and after the wake word is recognized and the control word recognition period elapses, the control unit returns the operating state of the blower to the original state.

According to the blower configured as described above, the operation state in which noise is suppressed can be performed during the control-word recognition period, and the operation to return to the original operation state can be performed after the control-word recognition period is completed.

In the blower configured as described above, preferably, the control unit (100) changes the rotation speed of the motor after the control word recognition period elapses, when the control word is a command to change the rotation speed of the motor and the changed rotation speed of the motor reaches a predetermined value or more.

According to the blower configured as described above, when the rotation speed of the motor, which is likely to generate noise, is increased to a predetermined value or more, the fan is operated so as not to immediately increase the rotation speed of the motor, thereby suppressing an increase in noise caused by immediately increasing the rotation speed of the motor. This prevents the user from being unable to obtain clear input sound while continuing to control the control word.

In the blower configured as described above, it is preferable that the blower further includes an air volume display unit (65) that displays an air volume, and that changes the display of the air volume before the control word recognition period elapses, when the control word is a command to change the rotation speed of the motor.

According to the blower configured as described above, even when the rotation speed of the motor is maintained for the command to increase the rotation speed of the motor, the user can be prevented from mistakenly recognizing that the blower does not recognize the command.

In the blower configured as described above, it is preferable that the recognition that the input sound is a control word is performed during a predetermined control word recognition period after the wake-up word recognition, and after the wake-up word is recognized and the control word recognition period elapses, the operating state of the blower is changed to a state in which a state change corresponding to the control word is reflected in an original state.

According to the blower with the structure, the noise generated by the blower can be prevented from increasing due to the change of the operation state of the blower during the control language identification period.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an external perspective view of a blower.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the blower.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of the blower.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a sound operation process performed in the blower.

Fig. 5 is a timing chart of the blower operated by the operator in embodiment 1.

Fig. 6 is a timing chart of the blower operated by the operator in embodiment 2.

Fig. 7 is a timing chart of the blower operated by the operator in embodiment 3.

Fig. 8 is a timing chart of the blower operated by the operator in embodiment 4.

Fig. 9 is a timing chart of the blower operated by the operator in embodiment 5.

Fig. 10 is a timing chart of the blower operated by the operator in embodiment 6.

Fig. 11 is a timing chart of the blower operated by the operator in embodiment 7.

Detailed Description

The blower of the present invention is operated by recognizing the voice of a user and receiving a command, and one of the characteristics is that the operating state is changed for reducing noise in order to make the acquired voice clear and improve the voice recognition rate.

An embodiment and an example of a blower according to the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments and examples described below are merely examples of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted. In this specification, "sound" includes mechanical sounds such as human voice and noise.

< 1. embodiment >

< blower 10 >

Fig. 1 is an external perspective view showing the structure of a blower 10 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of blower 10. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of blower 10. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the blower 10 includes a base portion 20, a column 30, and a blower 50. Specifically, the column 30 is erected on the base portion 20, and the air blowing portion 50 is provided on the upper end side of the column 30. Although not visually confirmed, the blower 10 has a control section 100 and a storage section 110 as shown in the block diagram of fig. 3. The wind direction changing unit 121 includes a right-left rocking mechanism 24 and an up-down rocking mechanism 42, which will be described later. The driving unit 120 includes a right and left oscillation motor 22 and an up and down oscillation motor 40, which will be described later.

The blower 10 of the present embodiment is a fan type blower as shown in fig. 1 and 2, but may be used in a circulator without the strut 30, a humidifier with a humidifying function, a dehumidifier with a dehumidifying function, an air cleaner with an air cleaning function, and an air conditioner (air conditioner or air conditioner) with a heating and/or cooling function.

< base part 20 >

The base portion 20 is a portion serving as a base of the blower 10. The base portion 20 is formed in a disc shape having a circular and planar bottom surface. A column 30 is provided on a side of the base portion 20 slightly rearward of the center. The column 30 may be configured to be detachable from the base portion 20. An operation unit 60, an air volume display unit 65, an audio input unit 66, a volume measuring unit 66a, and a notification audio output unit 67 are provided on the upper surface of the base unit 20. The remote controller 62 is held on the back side of the base portion 20 at a position where the stay 30 is erected. The base part 20 houses a yaw motor 22, a yaw mechanism 24, a control board 26, a power board 28, and the like. A microcomputer (semiconductor integrated circuit) and electronic components corresponding to a control unit 100 described later are mounted on the control board 26. A switching power supply circuit and the like for supplying power to each part of blower 10 are mounted on power supply board 28. The blower 10 may not have the remote controller 62.

< left-right rocking motor 22, left-right rocking mechanism 24 >

The yaw motor 22 drives the yaw mechanism 24 so that the direction of the blower 50 is changed to the left-right direction via the support 30. The left-right oscillating motor 22 is, for example, a stepping motor. The yaw motor 22 rotates the yaw mechanism 24 by transmitting power to the yaw mechanism 24. When the yaw mechanism 24 rotates, the support column 30 rotates about its axis. Since the support column 30 is connected to the air blowing unit 50, when the yaw mechanism 24 rotates, the air blowing unit 50 rotates in the left-right direction and changes the orientation. The yaw mechanism 24 is a specific example of the "wind direction changing unit 121" of the present invention. The left-right oscillating motor 22 is a specific example of the "driving unit 120" of the present invention.

< operating part 60 >

The operation unit 60 includes a plurality of operation keys (buttons) that can be pressed by the user. Characters indicating the functions of the operation keys are arranged on one side of the operation keys. When the operation unit 60 detects that the user has operated the operation key, the detection result is output to the control unit 100.

< remote controller 62 >

The remote controller 62 is configured to be able to wirelessly transmit a command to the blower 10 using infrared rays or the like. The blower 10 performs a predetermined operation in accordance with a command received from the remote controller 62. Since a general operation of the blower 10 by the remote controller 62 is a known technique, a description thereof will be omitted.

< air volume display part 65 >

Air volume display unit 65 is disposed in the region where operation unit 60 is provided, and includes a plurality of (for example, ten) light emitting units. The light emitting section is a light emitting element such as an LED. The air volume display unit 65 indicates the air volume of the blower 10 by the number of lighting of the plurality of light emitting units. Instead of the configuration in which the air volume is indicated by the number of lighting of the plurality of light emitting portions, the air volume display unit 65 may be configured by a display device or the like capable of displaying numerals. The air volume displayed by the air volume display unit 65 is controlled by the control unit 100.

< Voice input part 66 >

The sound input unit 66 is a so-called microphone or the like, and converts ambient sound including the user's voice into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal to the control unit 100. When the voice input unit 66 is specified to acquire and recognize the voice of the user, it may be configured to have a band pass filter for acquiring only the voice of the human voice band. The sound input unit 66 may have various filters for reducing sounds in a specific frequency band and a mechanism for removing noise.

< volume measuring part 66a >

The sound volume measuring section 66a measures the sound volume of the sound (noise) emitted from the blower 10 based on the sound acquired by the sound input section 66. The sound volume measuring section 66a outputs the measurement result to the control section 100.

< notification sound output unit 67 >

The notification sound output unit 67 is a so-called speaker or the like, and outputs a notification sound based on the received electric signal. The notification sound output unit 67 emits a sound under the control of the control unit 100. The notification sound output unit 67 notifies a predetermined operation, state, or the like by a mechanical sound or a human voice.

< pillar 30 >

The column 30 extends upward from the base portion 20 in a columnar shape and supports the air blowing portion 50. A receiving portion 38 is provided near the upper end of the pillar 30.

< accommodation part 38 >

The housing portion 38 houses a vertical oscillation motor 40 and a vertical oscillation mechanism 42.

< Motor 40 for shaking head up and down, mechanism part 42 for shaking head up and down >

The vertical oscillation motor 40 drives the vertical oscillation mechanism 42 to change the direction of the air blowing unit 50 to the vertical direction. The oscillating up and down motor 40 is, for example, a stepping motor. The up-and-down shaking motor 40 rotates the up-and-down shaking mechanism 42 in the up-and-down direction by transmitting power to the up-and-down shaking mechanism 42. Since the vertical oscillation mechanism 42 is connected to the air blowing unit 50, when the vertical oscillation mechanism 42 is rotated in the vertical direction, the air blowing unit 50 is also rotated in the vertical direction to change the direction. The vertical rocking mechanism 42 may have a ratchet mechanism or the like that a user can manually change the direction in the vertical direction. The vertical rocking mechanism 42 is a specific example of the "airflow direction changing unit 121" of the present invention. The vertical oscillation motor 40 is a specific example of the "driving unit 120" of the present invention.

< blower 50 >

The air blowing unit 50 includes a blade cover 52, an air blowing motor 54, and blades 56.

< vane shroud 52 >

The blade cover 52 accommodates the blades 56 freely rotatably. The blade cover 52 is composed of a front blade cover 52a located on the front surface side of the blower 10 and a rear blade cover 52b located on the rear surface side of the blower 10. The front blade cover 52a and the rear blade cover 52b are detachably connected to the blower 10, respectively.

< motor for blowing 54 >

The blower motor 54 is configured to be able to rotate the blades 56. The blower motor 54 is, for example, a DC motor. The blower motor 54 can change the rotation speed to a plurality of levels, for example, 10 levels. The rotation speed of the blower motor 54 is controlled by the control unit 100. The air volume of the blower 10 is changed by changing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54.

< vane 56 >

The blade 56 is a blowing mechanism that is driven and rotated by the blowing motor 54 and can blow air to the front side of the blower 10. The blades 56 are inclined with respect to the front surface of the blower.

< control part 100 >

The control unit 100 controls the operation of the blower 10. The control unit 100 is, for example, a microcomputer (semiconductor integrated circuit) mounted on the control board 26. The control unit 100 may be implemented by hardware or software. The control unit 100 executes operation control of a blower included in a conventional blower, voice operation processing that is a feature of the present invention, and the like. The specific control of the control unit 100 will be described later.

< storage unit 110 >

The storage unit 110 is a memory capable of storing various information under the control of the control unit 100. The storage section 110 is a ROM or a RAM. The storage unit 110 may be incorporated in the control unit 100, or may be mounted on the control board 26 separately from the control unit 100. The storage unit 110 includes, for example, an operation state memory capable of storing the operation state of the blower 10 as information in a part of the storage area. The storage unit 110 stores a wakeup word, a control word, and an operation corresponding to an input control word. The wakeup words and the control words may be predetermined or may be changed by the user. In addition, the wake-up words and the control words can also be optimized according to the voice of the user so as to be easily recognized.

< operation of blower 10 >

Next, the sound operation processing performed in the blower 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 4. Blower 10 may be operated by the user by pressing an operation key of operation unit 60, or may be operated by the user by voice. When the blower 10 is operated by voice, the user issues a control word after issuing a wakeup word for starting the voice operation process, and thereby performs various operations corresponding to the control word.

＜S100～S110＞

In the power-on state, the blower 10 outputs the sound acquired by the sound input unit 66 to the control unit 100, and waits for the user to input a wake-up word as an input sound by the sound (S100 to S110). The awakening words are sounds such as "alice".

＜S112＞

When it is confirmed that the voice input unit 66 has acquired the wake-up word (yes in S110), the control unit stores the current operation state in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S112). The operation states stored in the operation state memory include an air volume, an air direction, and a panning mode. If there is a factor that prevents the sound input unit 66 from acquiring the sound in the operating state of the air blower 10, the control unit 100 changes the operating state (S112).

Here, the factors that hinder sound acquisition include, for example, (1) the rotation sound of the blade 56, (2) the operation sound of the air blowing motor 54, (3) the operation sound of the yaw motor 22, (4) the operation sound of the yaw motor 40, (5) the operation sound of the yaw mechanism unit 24, (6) the operation sound of the yaw mechanism unit 42, (7) the output sound such as the operation sound emitted from the notification sound output unit 67, and (8) the wind direction of the air blower 10.

If there are noises ((1) to (7)) such as the rotational sound of the vane 56, the noises are mixed into the sound acquired by the sound input unit 66, making it difficult to recognize the control words of the user. Specifically, the operating state of the blower 10 is changed by (1) reducing the rotation speed of the air supply motor 54 to reduce the rotation sound of the blades 56, (2) reducing the rotation speed of the air supply motor 54 to reduce the rotation sound of the air supply motor 54, (3) reducing the rotation speed of the yaw motor 22 or stopping the operation to reduce the operating sound of the yaw motor 22, (4) reducing the rotation speed of the yaw motor 40 or stopping the operation to reduce the operating sound of the yaw motor 40, (5) suppressing or stopping the operation of the yaw mechanism portion 24 to reduce the operating sound of the yaw mechanism portion 24, (6) suppressing or stopping the operation of the yaw mechanism portion 42 to reduce the operating sound of the yaw mechanism portion 42, alternatively, (7) the volume of the notification sound is reduced or the output of the notification sound is stopped to suppress the notification sound such as the operation sound emitted from the notification sound output unit 67. In other words, the operation state is changed so as to reduce the air volume ((1) and (2)), suppress or stop the motion of shaking head ((3) to (6)), and reduce or stop the notification sound ((7)) such as the operation sound.

When the wind direction of blower 10 (8) causes wind to pass between the user and sound input unit 66, the user's voice may not sufficiently reach sound input unit 66, and therefore, the obstruction of the voice acquisition is suppressed by changing the wind direction. More specifically, the control unit 100 operates the yaw motor 22 or the yaw motor 40 to drive the yaw mechanism 24 or the yaw mechanism 42 to change the wind direction, thereby preventing the wind from passing between the user and the sound input unit 66.

＜S114＞

Next, the control unit 100 resets the timer to measure the time for waiting for the input of the control word after the wakeup word (S114). Note that, when returning from S132 or S134, the timer is reset to measure the time for waiting for the input of the next control word.

＜S120＞

Next, the control unit 100 waits for the user to input a control word. Specifically, the sound acquired by the sound input unit 66 is output to the control unit 100, and the control unit 100 checks whether or not the sound included in the sound corresponds to a control word registered in advance (S120). The control word is stored in the storage unit 110 together with a command corresponding to the control word. The control unit 100 compares the information stored in the storage unit 110 with the sound acquired by the sound input unit 66 to confirm whether the acquired sound is a control word. The confirmation of the control word continues for a predetermined time (for example, 6 seconds) (S140). The period for waiting for the input of the control word is referred to as a control word recognition period.

＜S120～S134＞

When a control word is inputted by voice during a control word recognition period within a predetermined time (for example, within 6 seconds) from the reset of the timer (yes in S120), it is checked whether the control word is a control word related to a specific operation (S130). The control word relating to the specific operation is a control word corresponding to an operation that becomes a factor of hindering the sound acquisition. Specifically, the operation is (1) an operation of increasing the air volume, (2) an operation of changing the swing mode, or (3) an operation of changing the wind direction. If the input control word is a control word relating to a specific operation (yes in S130), the operation state memory stored in the storage unit 110 is updated (S134) and the process returns to S114 without performing an operation corresponding to the control word. On the other hand, if the input control word is not a control word relating to the specific operation (no in S130), the operation state is changed in accordance with the control word (S132), and the process returns to S114. At this time, the control unit 100 changes the operation state memory of the storage unit 110. In both cases of S132 and S134, control unit 100 changes the air volume display of air volume display unit 65.

＜S140～S150＞

If the control word is not input by voice during the control word recognition period (yes in S140), the control unit 100 checks the operation state memory stored in the storage unit 110 and changes the operation state according to the contents of the operation state memory (S142). As described above, since the air volume, the wind direction, the panning operation mode, and the like are stored in the operation state memory, the air volume, the wind direction, the panning operation mode, and the like are changed based on the contents. After changing the operating state, the control unit 100 ends the audio manipulation process.

The processing after S120 described above will be described more specifically. If the control word is a control word corresponding to (1) the operation of increasing the air volume, the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 and the rotation speed of the blades 56 are increased by increasing the air volume, and the rotation sound of the blades 56 and the rotation sound of the blower motor 54 may be increased. Then, noise generated by the rotation sound of the blades 56 and the blower motor 54 is mixed into the sound acquired by the sound input unit 66, making it difficult to recognize the control word of the user. Therefore, even if a control word for increasing the air volume is input, the air volume is not immediately increased, but the process for increasing the air volume is performed after the control word recognition period (6 seconds from the timer reset) (see S142 described later).

When the control word is (2) the operation of changing the oscillation mode, the operation sound emitted from the yaw motor 22, the yaw mechanism portion 24, the yaw motor 40, and the yaw mechanism portion 42 is increased by changing the oscillation mode. Then, noise generated by these operation sounds is mixed into the sound acquired by the sound input unit 66, and it becomes difficult to recognize the control word of the user. Therefore, even if a control word for changing the oscillation system is input, the oscillation system is not changed immediately, but the processing for changing the oscillation system is performed after the control word recognition period has elapsed.

When the control word is (3) an operation of changing the wind direction, the wind direction is changed, and thus the wind passes between the user and the sound input unit 66. Thus, the user's voice may not sufficiently reach the voice input portion 66. Therefore, even if a control word for changing the wind direction is input, the yaw system is not changed immediately, and the process of changing the wind direction is performed after the control word recognition period has elapsed.

The operating state in S112 may be changed only when the air volume is equal to or greater than a predetermined air volume (for example, equal to or greater than 10-step air volume 6). Similarly, the immediate change of the operating states of S130 to S134 and S142 may be prohibited only when the changed air volume is equal to or larger than a predetermined air volume (for example, equal to or larger than 10-step air volume 6).

The operating state may be changed in S112 only when the oscillation mode is at a speed equal to or higher than a predetermined speed and noise equal to or higher than a predetermined noise is generated. Similarly, the immediate change of the operation states of S130 to S134 and S142 may be prohibited only when the mode of oscillation after the change is at a speed equal to or higher than a predetermined speed.

< 2. example >

Next, the operation of the blower 10 described in the above embodiment will be described by taking a more specific example.

< (1) example 1 >

In embodiment 1, an example of the operation when the user performs a voice input of a control word for increasing the air volume of the blower 10 after the wake-up word will be described.

First, the user utters the sound "alice" as a wake-up word. The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms that the voice is a wake-up word (S110), and stores the operation state in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S112). The control unit 100 also reduces the air volume by reducing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (for example, from the air volume 7 to the air volume 5), thereby suppressing the sound emitted from the blower motor 54 and the blades 56 (S112). Then, the control unit 100 resets the timer (S114) and waits for the input of the control word.

Next, the user makes a sound of "increasing the air volume". The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms the control word stored in the storage unit 110 and the operation corresponding to the control word, and confirms that the sound input is to increase the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (S120). Here, the control unit 100 determines that the operation of increasing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 is the specific operation (S130), and updates the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 without immediately increasing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (S134). Further, the control unit 100 changes the air volume display in the air volume display unit 65 to the changed air volume. Then, the control unit 100 resets the timer again (S114) and waits for the input of the next control word.

Since the control word recognition period (6-second period) from the input of the previous control word is not the next control word input (yes in S140), the control unit 100 changes the operation state corresponding to the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S142). Here, in the operation state memory, an air volume (for example, air volume 8) that increases in accordance with a control word for increasing the air volume is stored with respect to the air volume before the air volume decreases (for example, air volume 7). Therefore, the control unit 100 increases the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to change the air volume (for example, the air volume 8).

< (2) example 2 >

In embodiment 2, an operation example in which the user performs a voice input of a control word for increasing the air volume of the blower 10 after the wake-up word, similarly to embodiment 1, will be described. However, the difference from embodiment 1 is that the air volume is not changed after the wake-up word is confirmed.

First, the user utters the sound "alice" as a wake-up word. The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms that the voice is a wake-up word (S110), and stores the operation state in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S112). The control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110, and sets the air volume 6 or more as the criterion for changing the operation state when confirming the wake-up word. At this time, since the air volume of the blower 10 is 5, the control unit 100 keeps the air volume without changing, that is, without changing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54, and resets the timer (S114) and waits for the input of the control word.

Next, the user makes a sound of "increase air volume". The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms the control word stored in the storage unit 110 and the operation corresponding to the control word, and confirms that the sound input is to increase the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (S120). Next, the control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110 and confirms that the specific operation is set to an operation for increasing the air volume to 6 or more. Here, since the air volume reaches the air volume 6 when the air volume is increased from the air volume 5 before the change, the control unit 100 updates only the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 without changing the air volume (yes in S130, S134). That is, the control unit 100 updates the value of the air volume in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 to the air volume 6. Further, the control unit 100 changes the air volume display in the air volume display unit 65 to the air volume 6.

Since the next control word is not input during the control word recognition period (6-second period) from the input of the previous control word (yes in S140), the control unit 100 changes the operation state corresponding to the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S142). Here, although the air volume 6 is stored in the operation state memory as the air volume value, the blower 10 operates at the air volume 5. Therefore, the control unit 100 increases the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to change the operation state to the air flow rate 6 stored in the operation state memory.

< (3) example 3 >

In embodiment 3, an operation example in which the user performs voice input of a control word for reducing the air volume of the blower 10 after the wake-up word will be described. The processing until the control by the control word is the same as that in embodiment 2, but is different from embodiment 2 in that the processing for reducing the air volume is performed.

Next, the user makes a "decrease air volume" sound. The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms the control word stored in the storage unit 110 and the operation corresponding to the control word, and confirms that the sound is input to reduce the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (S120). Here, the control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110 and confirms that the specific operation is set to an operation for increasing the air volume to 6 or more. Here, since the air volume 4 is reached when the air volume is decreased from the air volume 5 before the change, the control unit 100 decreases the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to change the air volume (no in S130, S132). Further, the control unit 100 updates the value of the air volume in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 to the air volume 4. Further, the control unit 100 changes the air volume display in the air volume display unit 65 to the air volume 4.

Since the next control word is not input during the control word recognition period (6-second period) from the input of the previous control word (yes in S140), the control unit 100 attempts to change the operating state corresponding to the operating state memory of the storage unit 110 (S142). Here, the value of the air volume in the operation state memory is stored as the air volume 4, and the blower 10 operates at the air volume 4. Therefore, the control unit 100 ends the process without changing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (S150).

< (4) example 4 >

In embodiment 4, an operation example in which the user performs a voice input of a control word for changing the air volume of the blower 10 to the air volume 1 after the wake-up word will be described.

First, the user utters the sound "alice" as a wake-up word. The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms that the voice is a wake-up word (S110), and stores the operation state in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S112). The control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110, and sets the air volume 6 or more as the criterion for changing the operation state when confirming the wake-up word. At this time, since the air volume of the blower 10 is 7, the control unit 100 reduces the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to change the air volume to 5. Then, the control unit 100 resets the timer (S114) and waits for the input of the control word.

Next, the user makes a sound of "change the air volume to 1". The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 checks the control word stored in the storage unit 110 and the operation corresponding to the control word, and checks that the sound input is the change of the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to a predetermined value (S120). Here, the control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110 and confirms that the specific operation is set to an operation for increasing the air volume to 6 or more. Here, since the air volume is less than 6 even if the air volume is changed to 1, the control unit 100 reduces the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to the rotation speed of the air volume 1 to change the air volume (no in S130, S132). Further, the control unit 100 updates the value of the air volume in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 to the air volume 1. Further, the control unit 100 changes the air volume display in the air volume display unit 65 to the air volume 1.

Since the control word recognition period (6-second period) from the previous control word input does not have the next control word input (yes in S140), the control unit 100 attempts to change the operating state corresponding to the operating state memory of the storage unit 110 (S142). Here, the value of the air volume in the operation state memory is stored as air volume 1, and the blower 10 operates at air volume 1. Therefore, the control unit 100 ends the process without changing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (S150).

< (5) example 5 >

In embodiment 5, an example of the operation when the user performs voice input of a control word after a wake-up word to change the air volume of blower 10 from 4 to two levels will be described.

First, the user utters the sound "alice" as a wake-up word. The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms that the voice is a wake-up word (S110), and stores the operation state in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S112). The control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110, and sets the air volume 6 or more as the criterion for changing the operation state when confirming the wake-up word. At this time, since the air volume of the blower 10 is 4, the control unit 100 keeps the air volume without changing, that is, without changing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54, and resets the timer (S114) and waits for the input of the control word.

Next, the user makes a sound of "increase air volume". The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms the control word stored in the storage unit 110 and the operation corresponding to the control word, and confirms that the sound input is to increase the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (S120). Here, the control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110 and confirms that the specific operation is set to an operation for increasing the air volume to 6 or more. Here, since the air volume is 5 even if the air volume is increased by one step from the air volume 4 before the change, the control unit 100 increases the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to change the air volume (no in S130, S132). Further, the control unit 100 updates the value of the air volume in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 to the air volume 5. Further, the control unit 100 changes the air volume display in the air volume display unit 65 to the air volume 5.

Further, the user makes a sound of "increasing the air volume". The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 checks the control word stored in the storage unit 110 and the operation corresponding to the control word, and checks that the sound input is a sound for increasing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (S120). Here, the control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110 and confirms that the specific operation is set to an operation for increasing the air volume to 6 or more. Here, since the air volume reaches the air volume 6 when the air volume is increased from the air volume 5 before the change, the control unit 100 updates only the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 without changing the air volume (yes in S130, S134). That is, the control unit 100 updates the value of the air volume in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 to the air volume 6. Further, the control unit 100 changes the air volume display in the air volume display unit 65 to the air volume 6.

Since the control word recognition period (6-second period) from the input of the previous control word is not the next control word input (yes in S140), the control unit 100 changes the operation state corresponding to the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S142). Here, although the value of the air volume in the operation state memory is stored as the air volume 6, the blower 10 operates at the air volume 5. Therefore, the control unit 100 increases the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to change the operation state to the air flow rate 6 stored in the operation state memory.

< (6) example 6

In embodiment 6, an operation example in which the user performs a voice input of a control word for changing the wind direction of the blower 10 to the upward direction after the wake-up word will be described.

First, the user utters the sound "alice" as a wake-up word. The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms that the voice is a wake-up word (S110), and stores the operation state in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S112). The control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110, and sets the criterion for changing the operation state when confirming the wake-up word to be equal to or larger than the air volume 6 and changes the wind direction to the uppermost direction. At this time, since the air volume of the blower 10 is 7, the control unit 100 reduces the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to change the air volume to 5. Further, the controller 100 controls the driver 120 to operate the airflow direction changer 121 to change the orientation of the blades 56, thereby maximizing the airflow direction. Then, the control unit 100 resets the timer (S114) and waits for the input of the control word.

Next, the user makes a "wind direction up" sound. The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms the control word stored in the storage unit 110 and the operation corresponding to the control word, and confirms that the sound input is to increase the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 (S120). Here, the control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110 and confirms that the specific operation includes changing the wind direction. Therefore, the control unit 100 updates only the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 without changing the wind direction (yes in S130, S134). That is, the control unit 100 updates the wind direction in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 to one level upward.

Since the next control word is not input during the control word recognition period (between 6 seconds) from the input of the previous control word (yes in S140), the control unit 100 changes the operation state corresponding to the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S142). Here, the operation state memory stores an operation state in which the wind direction is directed one level upward. Therefore, the controller 100 controls the driver 120 to operate the airflow direction changer 121 to lower the direction of the blades 56, thereby increasing the airflow direction one level higher than the original state.

< (7) example 7 >

In embodiment 6, an example of the operation when the user performs the voice input of the control word for changing the panning operation of the air blower 10 after the wakeup word will be described.

First, the user utters the sound "alice" as a wake-up word. The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms that the voice is a wake-up word (S110), and stores the operation state in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 (S112). The control unit 100 refers to the storage unit 110, and sets the change criterion of the operation state when confirming the wakeup word to be equal to or more than the air volume 6, the wind direction change to the uppermost direction, and the panning operation (wind direction change operation) to be prohibited. At this time, since the air volume of the blower 10 is 7, the control unit 100 decreases the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 to 5. Further, the air direction changing unit 121 is operated by controlling the driving unit 120, and the air direction is changed so that the oscillating operation is stopped and the blade 56 is directed upward most. Then, the control unit 100 resets the timer (S114) and waits for the input of the control word.

Next, the user utters a "change panning motion" sound. The sound input unit 66 acquires the sound and outputs the sound to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 confirms the control word stored in the storage unit 110 and the operation corresponding to the control word, and confirms that the voice input is a predetermined panning operation for reciprocating the drive unit 120 (S120). Here, the control unit 100 checks that the specific operation includes changing the oscillation mode, with reference to the storage unit 110. Therefore, the control unit 100 updates only the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 without changing the oscillation mode (yes in S130, S134). That is, the control unit 100 updates the panning operation in the operation state memory of the storage unit 110 to a predetermined mode.

Since the next control word is not input during the control word recognition period (between 6 seconds) from the input of the previous control word (yes in S140), the control unit 100 changes the operating state corresponding to the operating state memory of the storage unit 110 (S142). Here, the operation state memory stores an operation state in which the mode of the oscillating motion is a predetermined mode. Therefore, the control unit 100 controls the driving unit 120 to operate the airflow direction changing unit 121 so as to set the swing mode to a predetermined mode.

< 3. variant

Next, a modified example of the above embodiment will be explained. The present modification is similar in configuration to the embodiment, but differs from the embodiment in that the sound volume measuring unit 66a is used to actually acquire ambient sound, and when the sound volume of the sound emitted from the blower 10 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, an operation of suppressing the generated sound is performed. Hereinafter, the difference will be mainly described.

In the configuration of the embodiment, the control unit 100 changes the operation state based on a predetermined condition when the wakeup word is confirmed. Further, when the control word is confirmed, if the control word is related to a predetermined specific operation, the control unit 100 prohibits the immediate change of the operation state. In the present modification, the control unit 100 measures the volume of the sound generated from the blower 10 based on the volume measured by the volume measuring unit 66a, and performs a feedback operation to suppress the generated sound when the measurement result is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

That is, when the control unit 100 confirms the wake-up word, the sound volume measuring unit 66a measures the sound generated from the blower 10, and when the generated sound reaches a predetermined threshold or more, performs one or more controls of reducing the rotation speed of the blower motor 54, suppressing or stopping the operation of the driving unit 120, and suppressing or stopping the operation of the notification sound output unit 67. Accordingly, the control unit 100 suppresses the sound generated from the blower 10, and the sound emitted by the user can be easily acquired.

Similarly, when the control unit 100 confirms a control word, the control unit 100 executes an operation corresponding to the control word, and as a result, returns the operation state to the original state when the sound volume of the sound measured by the sound volume measuring unit 66a becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value. At this time, the control unit 100 stores the changed operation state in the operation state memory.

In the above operation, the threshold value for suppressing the volume of the sound generated from the blower 10 may be arbitrarily changed.

< 4. feature of the present invention

The present invention has been described above by exemplifying the embodiments, examples, and modifications, and has the following features.

In the above-described air blower 10, the control unit 100 changes the operating state of the air blower 10 when determining that there is a factor that prevents the sound input unit 66 from acquiring the sound in the operating state of the air blower 10. With this configuration, when there is a factor that hinders sound acquisition, such as a large volume of noise emitted from blower 10 or a state where wind from blade 56 passes between a user who performs sound input and sound input unit 66, for example, the operation of changing the operation state can be performed to reduce the noise. Thereby, the sound input section 66 can easily acquire clear input sound. Further, the voice recognition rate of the blower 10 can be improved.

In the blower 10, the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 may be changed as the operation state is changed. With this configuration, noise generated by the rotation of the blower motor 54 and the blades 56 can be suppressed, and clear input sound can be easily acquired.

In addition, the above-described air blower 10 may be configured to change the direction of the wind as the change of the operating state. According to this configuration, by changing the blowing direction to any one direction, the wind does not pass between the user and the sound input unit, and the user's voice can easily and clearly reach the sound input unit 66.

In the above-described air blower 10, the operation of the driving unit 120 (at least one of the pan motor 22 and the pan motor 40) for driving the air direction changing unit 121 (at least one of the pan mechanism unit 24 and the pan mechanism unit 42) may be suppressed or prohibited (stopped). With this configuration, noise generated from the driving unit or the airflow direction changing unit when the driving unit 120 drives the airflow direction changing unit 121 can be suppressed. This makes it possible to easily acquire clear input sound.

In addition, in the blower 10 described above, the notification sound from the notification sound output unit 67 may be suppressed or prohibited (stopped) as the change of the operation state. It is possible to prevent sounds such as operation sounds output from blower 10 from being mixed into the input sound, and to easily obtain clear input sound.

In the above-described blower 10, when the wakeup word is recognized, the sound generated from the blower 10 may be determined, and the operation state may be changed as necessary. In particular, it is possible to easily and clearly acquire a control word input by a user after a wake-up word is recognized, which is intended to increase the recognition rate of a voice.

As described in the above modification, the blower 10 may be configured to have the volume measuring unit 66a and determine that the sound generated from the blower 10 exceeds a predetermined value based on the measurement result of the volume measuring unit 66 a. According to this configuration, it is possible to dynamically check the noise around the blower 10 and the noise emitted from the blower 10, and to change the operating state of the blower 10 for suppressing noise only in an environment where it is difficult to obtain clear input sound.

In the blower 10 of the modification described above, the sound volume measuring unit 66a may be configured to measure the sound volume of the surrounding sound based on the sound acquired by the sound input unit 66. According to this configuration, it is possible to measure the noise around the blower 10 and the volume of the sound emitted from the blower 10 without adding an additional configuration for measuring the volume.

In addition, in the above-described blower 10, the threshold value of the sound that is the reference for changing the operating state may be configured to be changeable.

In the above-described air blower 10, the operation state may be changed (for example, the rotation speed of the air blowing motor 54 may be changed) after the control word recognition period has elapsed. According to this configuration, the operation state in which noise is suppressed can be performed during the control-word recognition period, and the operation of returning to the original operation state can be performed after the control-word recognition period has ended.

In the above-described air blower 10, when a command for changing the rotation speed of the air blowing motor 54 is input as a control word and the rotation speed of the changed air blowing motor 54 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the rotation speed of the air blowing motor 54 may be changed after the control word recognition period has elapsed. That is, in particular, when the rotation speed of the blower motor 54, which is likely to generate noise, is to be increased to a predetermined value or more, the increase in noise due to the immediately increased rotation speed of the blower motor 54 can be suppressed by operating the blower motor 54 so as not to immediately increase the rotation speed.

In the above-described blower 10, even if the air volume is changed during the control word recognition, the display of the air volume display unit 65 may be set to the changed value immediately after the control word recognition. According to this configuration, for example, even when the rotation speed of the blower motor 54 is maintained for a command to increase the rotation speed of the blower motor 54, it is possible to prevent the user from mistakenly recognizing that the blower 10 has not recognized the command.

< 5. supplementary items >

The embodiments, examples, and modifications of the present invention have been specifically described above. These embodiments and the like are merely specific examples of one configuration example and one operation example of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and should be interpreted broadly as a scope that can be grasped by a person skilled in the art based on the same technical idea.

Description of the reference numerals

10: blower 20: base part

22: head-shaking motor 24: swing mechanism part

26: control board 28: power supply substrate

30: the support post 38: accommodating part

40: head-shaking motor 42: swing mechanism part

50: air supply unit 52: blade cover

52 a: front blade cover 52 b: rear blade cover

54: air blowing motor 56: blade

60: the operation section 62: remote controller

65: air volume display unit 66: sound input unit

66 a: volume measuring unit 67: notification sound output unit

100: the control unit 110: storage unit

120: the driving section 121: wind direction changing unit

Claims

1. An air mover comprising:

the blades are used for supplying air;

a motor driving the blade;

a voice input unit that acquires an input voice; and

a control unit for performing predetermined control based on the input voice,

the control unit changes the operating state of the blower when determining that a factor that prevents the sound acquisition by the sound input unit is present in the operating state of the blower.

2. The blower according to claim 1,

the change in the operating state is a change in the rotational speed of the motor.

3. The blower according to claim 1,

also comprises a wind direction changing part for changing the air supply direction,

the change of the operating state is a change of the blowing direction by the wind direction changing unit.

4. The blower according to claim 1, comprising:

a wind direction changing unit that changes a blowing direction; and

a drive unit for driving the wind direction changing unit,

the change of the operating state is suppression or prohibition of the operation of the driving unit.

5. The blower according to claim 1, wherein,

further comprises a notification sound output part for outputting notification sound,

the change of the operating state is suppression or prohibition of output of the notification sound.

6. The blower according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the control section may recognize the input sound as a wakeup word,

when the control unit recognizes the wake-up word, the control unit determines that the volume of the sound generated by the blower exceeds a predetermined threshold.

7. The blower according to claim 6,

further comprising a volume measuring section for measuring the volume of the surrounding sound,

the control unit determines that the volume of the sound generated by the blower exceeds the threshold value, based on the measurement result of the volume measurement unit.

8. The blower according to claim 7,

the volume measurement section measures a volume of surrounding sound based on the input sound.

9. The blower according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

the threshold value can be changed by setting.

10. The blower according to claim 6,

the control unit sets a predetermined time from the wakeup word confirmation as a control word recognition period when a predetermined control word is not recognized after the wakeup word confirmation, and sets a predetermined time from the control word confirmation as the control word recognition period when the control word is recognized,

the control unit changes the operating state of the blower to a state in which a state change corresponding to the control word is reflected in an original state after the control word recognition period has elapsed.

11. The blower according to claim 10, wherein,

when the control word is a command for changing the rotation speed of the motor and the changed rotation speed of the motor is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit changes the rotation speed of the motor after the control word recognition period has elapsed.

12. The blower according to claim 11,

also comprises an air volume display part for displaying the air volume,

when the control word is a command to change the rotation speed of the motor, the air volume display unit changes the display of the air volume before the control word recognition period elapses.

13. The blower according to claim 6, wherein,

the control unit recognizes that the input voice is a control word during a predetermined control word recognition period after the wake-up word recognition,

the control unit changes the operating state of the blower to a state in which a state change corresponding to the control word is reflected in an original state after the wake-up word is recognized and after the control word recognition period elapses.