JP2000005287A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prolong a life of an air cleaner as a merchandise which has a photocatalyst by saving energy and realizing a prolongation of a life of an irradiating lamp. SOLUTION: A saving energy and a prolongation of a life of an irradiating lamp 13 can be realized by exciting a deodorizing ability of a photocatalyst 12 by allowing the irradiating lamp 13 to light by a controlling means 14 when an extent of dirt of air which is detected by a gas sensor 11 becomes larger than a stated extent of dirt and restraining an irradiating time of the irradiating lamp 13 submarginally with securing sufficient cleaning ability by putting light of the irradiating lamp 13 out when the extent of dirt which is detected by the sensor 11 is lower than the stated extent of dirt.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air purifier for detecting contamination in air, performing automatic operation, and purifying contaminated air with a photocatalyst.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional air purifier will be described with reference to FIG. In the drawing, 1 is an air purifier main body, 2 is an electric blower for generating a suction force for sucking air, and 3 is a suction port for sucking air from the outside of the main body 1 to the inside. Reference numeral 4 denotes a filter that adsorbs dirt such as dust and removes dust, and is disposed downstream of the suction port 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes an exhaust port for discharging clean air. Reference numeral 6 denotes a photocatalyst for deodorizing, which is disposed downstream of the filter 4. Reference numeral 7 denotes an irradiation lamp that irradiates light to excite the deodorizing ability of the photocatalyst 6, and reference numeral 8 denotes a control unit that controls lighting of the irradiation lamp 7.

[0003] In the above configuration, when the operation is started, the electric blower 2 operates to generate a suction force, air is sucked in from the air inlet 3 provided on the front surface, and the filter 4 mainly emits particles such as dust. Is removed by the photocatalyst 6, and the clean air is discharged from the exhaust port 5 on the upper surface.

The photocatalyst is made of titanium oxide or the like, and its oxidizing ability is excited by irradiating light such as ultraviolet rays, and deodorizing by oxidizing and decomposing malodorous components such as ammonia and acetaldehyde into odorless components such as carbon dioxide. Do.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional air purifier, the irradiation lamp 7 needs to be turned on in order to exhibit the deodorizing ability of the photocatalyst 6, and the irradiation lamp is constantly operated during operation. Since the lighting lamp 7 needs to be turned on, the lighting lamp 7 may be turned on even in clean air, consuming wasteful energy and shortening the maintenance time or shortening the life of the product due to the life of the irradiation lamp 7. There was a problem that.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. Only when the air is dirty, the deodorizing ability of the photocatalyst by the irradiation lamp is sufficiently exhibited, thereby saving energy and extending the life of the irradiation lamp. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air purifier that is designed to be used.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention controls the operation of an irradiation lamp for irradiating a photocatalyst according to the output of a sensor for detecting the degree of contamination of air. The irradiation lamp is controlled so as to irradiate the photocatalyst only when it is turned on, and the irradiation time is kept to a minimum while securing the air purifying ability, thereby saving energy and extending the life of the irradiation lamp.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
By providing a sensor for detecting the degree of contamination of air, a deodorizing means comprising a photocatalyst and an irradiation lamp, and a control means for controlling the irradiation lamp in accordance with the output of the sensor, the photocatalyst is provided only when the air is contaminated. By controlling the irradiation lamp to irradiate the air, the irradiation time can be minimized while ensuring the air cleaning ability, and energy saving and long life of the irradiation lamp can be achieved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the degree of dirt detected by the sensor is low, the irradiation lamp is controlled to be turned off.

In the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention, the irradiation lamp is controlled to be turned off when a predetermined time elapses from the time when the degree of contamination detected by the sensor becomes lower than the predetermined degree of contamination. Even after the irradiation of the light to the photocatalyst is continued for a predetermined period of time, the irradiation is stopped, and further sufficient deodorization is performed, and energy saving and long life of the irradiation lamp are achieved.

In the invention according to claim 4 of the present invention, when the degree of contamination detected by the sensor is low, the irradiation lamp is controlled to perform intermittent irradiation. Irradiation is performed constantly, and when there is little dirt, it is intermittently irradiated. Depending on the degree of dirt in the air, sufficient deodorization is performed, energy saving and long life of the irradiation lamp are achieved.

In the invention according to claim 5 of the present invention, the irradiation lamp is controlled to be intermittently irradiated when a predetermined time elapses from the time when the degree of contamination detected by the sensor becomes larger than the predetermined degree of contamination. When the sensor detects an unsatisfactory dirt component and saturates in a dirty state, the irradiation of the photocatalyst by the irradiation lamp is constantly performed until a predetermined time elapses, and after a predetermined time elapses, the photocatalyst is switched to an intermittent state, and the photocatalyst is out of the deodorizing ability range. If any components remain, reduce the capacity and deodorize, while saving energy and extending the life of the irradiation lamp.

The invention according to claim 6 of the present invention has a change amount detecting means for detecting a change amount of the degree of contamination detected by the sensor, and if the change amount detected by the change amount detecting means is smaller than a predetermined amount. Since the irradiation lamp is controlled so as to perform intermittent irradiation, the degree of contamination can be detected with relatively high accuracy to save energy and extend the life of the irradiation lamp.

[0014]

(Embodiment 1) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a sensor for detecting the degree of contamination of air, in particular, a gas sensor for detecting an odor component such as gas, and reference numeral 12 comprises titanium oxide, particularly for removing contamination of gas components. A photocatalyst 13 is an irradiation lamp that excites the deodorizing ability of the photocatalyst 12 by irradiating light such as ultraviolet light, and 14 turns on and off the irradiation lamp 13 based on information on the degree of air contamination from the gas sensor 11. The photocatalyst 12 and the irradiation lamp 13 constitute a deodorizing unit 15. Reference numeral 16 denotes an electric blower that generates a suction force for sucking air, and 17 controls the rotation speed of the electric blower 16 based on information on the degree of contamination of the air from the gas sensor 11 with a suction amount according to the degree of contamination of the air. Operation control means.

The operation of the above configuration is as follows.
The operation control means 17 controls the electric blower 16 at a high rotation speed when the degree of air contamination is dirty, and performs a control at a low rotation speed when it is clean, based on an input from the gas sensor 11. At this time, by the suction force generated by the electric blower 16, the sucked air firstly passes through a filter for removing dirt such as dust and the like, and then passes through a photocatalyst, as shown in the conventional example. .

As shown in FIG. 2, the control means 14 has a judgment level for judging whether it is dirty according to a predetermined degree of dirt or whether it is clean. Is set to a level close to the degree of dirt detected by.

In FIG. 2, when smoking a cigarette at the time A, the gas sensor 11 constantly detects the degree of air contamination, and the degree of air contamination detected by the gas sensor 11 from the time A increases in the direction of large dirt. Will increase. Control means 14
Inputs information on the degree of contamination from the gas sensor 11, determines that there is no contamination due to gas components at least until the point B, turns off the irradiation lamp 13, and when the degree of contamination reaches the determination level at the point B. Then, the irradiation lamp 13 is turned on to irradiate the photocatalyst 12 with light to excite the deodorizing ability by oxidation.

Thereafter, the air is deodorized by the oxidizing and deodorizing ability of the photocatalyst 12, and the degree of dirt of the air detected by the gas sensor 11 becomes clean in the direction of small dirt.
At the time point C in FIG. 2, when the determination level is reached again,
The control unit 14 determines that the air is clean and it is no longer necessary to deodorize, and controls the irradiation lamp 13 to be turned off.

In this embodiment, the control means 14
By controlling the irradiation lamp 13 to be turned on only when the air is contaminated by the input from the gas sensor 11, the irradiation time can be minimized to save energy and extend the life of the irradiation lamp. Was.

In this embodiment, the judgment level is set to a level close to the degree of contamination detected by the gas sensor 11 in clean air. However, the level is changed to change the lighting time of the irradiation lamp with respect to the degree of contamination. Can also.

Further, in this embodiment, the judgment level is set to the same level when the air becomes dirty and when the air becomes clean, but it may be set to a different level.

(Embodiment 2) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 denotes control means for controlling turning on and off of the irradiation lamp 13, and reference numeral 23 denotes control means 2.
A timer means for starting time measurement in accordance with an instruction from 1 and outputting the time being measured to the control means 21, and a deodorizing means 22 comprising the photocatalyst 12 and the irradiation lamp 13.

The operation of the above configuration is as follows.
The control means 21 has, as shown in FIG. 4, a judgment level for judging whether or not the degree of contamination is higher than a predetermined degree, and a predetermined time t. The level is set to a level close to the degree of contamination detected in the air.

In FIG. 4, when smoking a cigarette at the time point A, the control means 21 inputs information on the degree of contamination from the gas sensor 11, and the irradiation lamp 13 is turned off until the time point B. When the degree of contamination reaches the determination level, the irradiation lamp 13 is turned on to irradiate the photocatalyst 12 with light.

After that, the degree of dirt of the air detected by the gas sensor 11 becomes finer in the direction of smaller dirt.
At the time point C in FIG. 4, when the determination level is reached again,
The control means 21 outputs to the timer means 23 to start the time measurement, and the timer means 23 measures the elapsed time from the point C and outputs it to the control means 21.

The control means 21 determines when the time information input from the timer means 23 has reached a predetermined time t (D in FIG. 4).
At the time point), the irradiation lamp 13 is controlled to be turned off.

In this embodiment, the control means 21
By the input from the gas sensor 11 and the timer means 23, the irradiation lamp 13 is turned on only when the air is dirty, and is controlled so that the irradiation lamp 13 is kept on for a while after the air is clean. As a result, it was possible to perform sufficient deodorization, save energy and extend the life of the irradiation lamp.

The predetermined time t can also be determined by the control means 21 according to the degree of dirt detected by the gas sensor 11.

The predetermined time t is set by the timer means 23.
By measuring the time from the time point B to the time point C in FIG. 4, the control means 21 can be controlled in accordance with the length of the measured time.
Can also be determined.

(Embodiment 3) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 31 denotes control means for controlling the irradiation lamp 13 to be turned on or to perform intermittent irradiation. The photocatalyst 12 and the irradiation lamp 13 constitute a deodorizing means 32.

The operation of the above configuration is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 6, the control means 31 has a judgment level for judging whether it is dirty from a predetermined stain degree or clean, and this judgment level is higher than the judgment level described in the first embodiment. Is also set to the one with the higher degree of dirt.

In FIG. 6, if air contamination occurs at time A and the contamination degree reaches the determination level at time B,
The control means 31 inputs information on the degree of contamination from the gas sensor 11 and controls the irradiation lamp 13 to perform intermittent irradiation of, for example, 10 minutes on / off for 10 minutes until the point B, and after the point B, The illumination lamp 13 is always turned on to improve the deodorizing ability per time.

After that, the air is deodorized by the oxidizing and deodorizing ability of the photocatalyst 12, and the degree of contamination of the air detected by the gas sensor 11 becomes clean. 13 is controlled to perform intermittent irradiation.

In this embodiment, the control means 31
Irradiation lamp 13 is input by input from gas sensor 11.
Is always lit only when the air is very dirty, and is controlled so that it is intermittently illuminated in the other cases. The lamp life was extended.

(Embodiment 4) A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 41 denotes the gas sensor 11.
Control means for controlling the irradiation lamp 13 to be turned on or to perform intermittent irradiation based on information on the degree of air contamination from the control unit 43.
Timer means for outputting the elapsed time to the control means 41. The photocatalyst 12, the irradiation lamp 13 and the control means 41 constitute a deodorizing means.

The operation of the above configuration is as follows.
The dirt component of the air detected by the gas sensor 11 is converted to the photocatalyst 1
If all 2 can be decomposed, even if air contamination occurs,
If the air cleaning operation is performed, the dirt component is decomposed by the photocatalyst 12, and the degree of dirt of the air detected by the gas sensor 11 can return to the state before the occurrence of dirt on the air.

If the photocatalyst 12 cannot completely decompose the dirt components of the air detected by the gas sensor 11, as shown in FIG. 8, the degree of dirt of the air detected by the gas sensor 11 is cleaner than the most dirty state. However, the saturation occurs in a state where it has been cleaned to some extent, for example, in a state where the degree of contamination is larger than the determination level of the control unit 41.
In such a state, it is difficult to return to the state before the occurrence of air contamination unless the room is ventilated.

Even if the photocatalyst 12 can decompose all the dirt components of the air detected by the gas sensor 11, the concentration of the dirt and the amount of dirt of the air are large, and the decomposition of the photocatalyst 12 takes time, and the air It may take some time to return to the state before the occurrence of dirt.

As shown in FIG. 8, the control means 41 has a judgment level with respect to the degree of contamination of the air detected by the gas sensor 11, and contamination occurs at a point A in FIG.
When the degree of contamination becomes larger than the determination level at the time, the irradiation lamp 13 is controlled so as to be always turned on, and an output is output to the timer means 43 so as to start time measurement.
3 measures the time elapsed from the point B,
Output to

When the time information input from the timer means 43 reaches a predetermined time t2 (time point C in FIG. 8), the control means 41 determines the degree of air contamination detected by the gas sensor 11 as a judgment level. If it is not clearer, it is determined that the degree of air contamination may be saturated, and the irradiation lamp 13 is turned on, for example, for 10 minutes.
Control is performed so as to switch to intermittent irradiation for minute lighting.

In this embodiment, the control means 41
By the input from the gas sensor 11 and the timer means 43, the irradiation lamp 13 is always turned on to maximize the deodorizing ability only when the air is dirty and the photocatalyst can surely deodorize. Otherwise, intermittent irradiation is used. By controlling to shorten the lighting time of the irradiation lamp 13 while securing the deodorizing ability, during operation, the required deodorizing ability is always ensured, and the lighting is efficiently turned on with respect to the deodorizing ability. The lamp life was extended.

The predetermined time t2 can be set to a time sufficient for deodorizing, for example, from the characteristics of the degree of contamination detected by the gas sensor 11 when smoking a cigarette.

(Embodiment 5) A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 51 denotes a gas sensor 11;
Is a control unit that controls the irradiation lamp 13 to be turned on or intermittently irradiated based on information on the degree of contamination of the air from the control unit 53.
Timer means for outputting the elapsed time to the control means 51 is provided.
1 detects the amount of change in the degree of contamination detected by
The photocatalyst 12 and the irradiation lamp 13 constitute a deodorizing means 52.

The operation of the above configuration is as follows.
The change amount detecting means 54 inputs the degree of dirt detected by the gas sensor 11, stores the degree of dirt at that moment at every preset time Δt, and compares the degree of dirt input this time with the previous time Δ △. The difference from the degree of contamination stored before t is output to the control means 51 as a change amount, and information on whether the change in the degree of contamination is a direction in which the surface becomes dirty or in a clean state is also output.

The control means 51 determines the predetermined time t3 and the predetermined amount △
Va, and the change amount ΔV input from the change amount detecting means 54 every time Δt is equal to or less than a predetermined amount ΔVa, and
If the direction becomes clear (the direction in which the amount of change ΔV decreases), an output is issued to the timer means 53 so as to start time measurement.
Further, when the value exceeds the predetermined amount ΔVa, an instruction to stop the timing is output.

The control means 51 includes a timer means 53
When the time is input for a predetermined time t3 or more, the degree of contamination detected by the gas sensor 11 is determined to be clean or saturated, and the irradiation lamp 13 is turned on. Control to intermittent irradiation, other than that, there is a change in the degree of dirt, whether the dirt is increasing,
It is determined that it is being cleaned by deodorization by the photocatalyst 12, and control is performed so that the light is always on.

In FIG. 10, at time A, the irradiation lamp 1
3 is always lit, and the direction is clear even at the point B, but since the change amount ΔV is larger than the predetermined amount ΔVa and is changing, the irradiation lamp 13
Is always lit. At the time point C, the irradiation lamp 13 is switched to the intermittent irradiation after the time point D when a predetermined time t3 has elapsed from the time point C because the change amount ΔV is less than or equal to the predetermined amount ΔVa in the clear direction.

In this embodiment, the control means 51
The input from the gas sensor 11, the timer means 53 and the change amount detecting means 54 can accurately detect when the air is dirty and the photocatalyst can surely deodorize, and always maintain the necessary deodorizing ability while deodorizing. Lighting efficiently with respect to the capacity, energy saving and longer life of the irradiation lamp were achieved.

The time Δt, the predetermined time t3, the predetermined amount ΔV
a is, for example, the gas sensor 11 when smoking a cigarette.
Can be set based on the characteristic of the degree of contamination detected by.

The predetermined time t3 may be set by the number of times Δt.

[0056]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A sensor that detects the degree of air contamination and the lighting lamp is controlled in accordance with the output of the sensor, so that while maintaining sufficient air cleaning performance, the irradiation time is kept to a minimum to save energy and irradiate. The life of the lamp can be prolonged, and the life of the product can be prolonged.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the degree of dirt detected by the sensor is low, the irradiation lamp is controlled to be turned off. Can be.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the irradiation lamp is controlled to be turned off when a predetermined time elapses from the time when the degree of contamination detected by the sensor becomes lower than the predetermined degree of contamination. Deodorization can be performed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the degree of dirt detected by the sensor is low, the irradiation lamp is controlled so as to intermittently irradiate the light. Accordingly, the air can be efficiently purified.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the control is performed such that the irradiation lamp is intermittently illuminated when a predetermined time elapses from the time when the degree of contamination detected by the sensor becomes greater than the predetermined degree of contamination. By the most effective irradiation according to the deodorizing ability of the air, the air can be more efficiently cleaned.

According to the invention of claim 6 of the present invention, if the amount of change in the degree of contamination of the air is smaller than a predetermined amount, the irradiation lamp is intermittently irradiated.
The most effective irradiation can be accurately switched.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation block diagram of an air purifier according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the air purifier depending on a degree of contamination of a gas sensor.

FIG. 3 is an operation block diagram of an air purifier according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the air purifier depending on a degree of contamination of a gas sensor.

FIG. 5 is an operation block diagram of an air purifier according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the air purifier depending on the degree of contamination of the gas sensor.

FIG. 7 is an operation block diagram of an air purifier according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the air purifier depending on a degree of contamination of a gas sensor.

FIG. 9 is an operation block diagram of an air purifier according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the air purifier depending on the degree of contamination of the gas sensor.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a conventional air purifier.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Gas sensor 12 Photocatalyst 13 Irradiation lamp 14 Control means 15 Deodorizing means 16 Electric blower 17 Operation control means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (reference) F24F 7/00 B01D 53/36 ZABJ F-term (reference) 4C080 AA07 AA10 BB02 CC03 CC08 HH05 JJ06 KK08 MM02 QQ11 QQ17 4D048 AA21 AA22 AB01 AB03 BA07X BA07Y BA41X BA41Y CC40 CD05 CD08 DA01 DA02 DA05 DA08 DA20 EA01 4G069 AA03 AA15 BA48A BA48C BB04A BB04B BC50A BC50B CA01 CA07 CA10 CA17

Claims (6)

[Claims] A sensor for detecting a degree of contamination of air;
An air purifier comprising: deodorizing means including a photocatalyst and an irradiation lamp; and control means for controlling the irradiation lamp in accordance with an output of the sensor. 2. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein when the degree of dirt detected by the sensor is low, the irradiation lamp is controlled to be turned off. 3. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation lamp is controlled to be turned off when a predetermined time elapses from a point in time when the degree of contamination detected by the sensor becomes lower than the predetermined degree of contamination. 4. When the degree of dirt detected by the sensor is low, the irradiation lamp is controlled to perform intermittent irradiation.
An air purifier as described. 5. When a predetermined time elapses from a point in time when the degree of contamination detected by the sensor becomes greater than a predetermined degree of contamination,
The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation lamp is controlled to perform intermittent irradiation. 6. A change amount detecting means for detecting an amount of change in the degree of contamination detected by the sensor, and if the change amount detected by the change amount detecting means is smaller than a predetermined amount, control is performed such that the irradiation lamp is intermittently irradiated. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein