JP2002177816A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner that can attain a desired air cleaning performance by sensing the pollution level of air in a good precision in spite of having no special sensor therefor. SOLUTION: The air cleaner is provided with a dry-type filter, discharge electrodes, and a fan motor. The discharge electrodes serve also as a sensor that detects the pollution level of air by the use of a flowing current, the capacity of air cleaning function can be varied by the results of detection of the current flowing in the discharge electrode, and the capacity is varied by varying at least either the voltage of a high-voltage power source or the rotation speed of the fan motor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an air purifier,
In particular, the present invention relates to an air purifier that is driven using a commercial power supply and does not include a special sensor that detects contamination of indoor air that determines an operation state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in some air purifiers using a commercial power supply, the operation ability is determined in accordance with indoor dirt. Some machines are on the market as single machines.

For example, in the case of an air purifier installed in an air conditioner, there is a dry filter that mainly removes relatively large dust, and the air passing through the filter has a voltage of several kilovolts generated by a high voltage power supply. The dust is sent to the dust collecting electrode portion, where the fine dust is sucked by the high-voltage electrode to purify the air, and the air adjusted to an appropriate temperature by the air conditioning action is discharged from the outlet.

Here, the air cleaning function is controlled by:
For example, in a part of the air flow path, various sensors for detecting the degree of contamination of air, and an operation control unit that determines the operation capability of the air purifier based on the detection result of the sensors, and in particular, the various sensors are gas sensors and the like. This is done by providing special parts. The operation control unit uses an arithmetic processing device such as a microcomputer to perform operation control under predetermined conditions.
In particular, those that control the rotation of a fan motor based on information from various sensors are widely known.

[0005]

However, the air purifier having the above-described structure has the following problems. That is, the above-mentioned various sensors generally use special components such as gas sensors, and the detection results (detection results of the degree of air pollution) from the sensors can be obtained with high accuracy. It must be provided separately as a single component, and the design of a device body such as an air conditioner becomes complicated as the number of components increases. In addition, the cost of parts increases with this, and this measure is also desired. Further, when the operating capacity is determined by a gas sensor or the like, the dust collecting ability is simply improved by the fan motor, and thus there is a limit in the dust collecting ability.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention does not use a special sensor for detecting air contamination, but provides an air purifier capable of accurately detecting the degree of air contamination and obtaining a desired air cleaning function. The purpose is to provide.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration. That is, a dry filter, a discharge electrode, and a fan motor are provided, and the discharge electrode also functions as an air pollution degree detection sensor that detects air contamination by a flowing current. The ability of the is variable,
The capacity is realized by changing at least one of a high-voltage power supply and a fan motor.

[0008]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a structure and a partial block diagram of an air conditioner having an air purifying function according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the air conditioner has an air suction port 6 on the front panel, and air taken in from the air suction port 6 is:
The air is conveyed by the fan motor 5, passes through an air flow path 8, and is subjected to an air purifying function and temperature control described later.
Is discharged from.

In the air flow path 8, the dry filter 1 is provided immediately inside the air suction port 6, and an electric precipitating electrode section 9 is provided at a subsequent stage. The electrostatic precipitating electrode section 9 is provided at the subsequent stage of the dry filter 1.
And a dust collecting electrode 3.

A high-voltage power supply 4 for applying a high voltage to the two electrodes is connected to the ionization electrode 2 and the dust collection electrode 3. Further, a control device 10 is connected to the high-voltage power supply 4,
The control device 10 is to create operating conditions for the high-voltage power supply 4 and the fan motor 5 and the like. Specifically, it controls the voltage value of the electrostatic precipitating electrode unit 9 and the rotation speed of the fan motor 5. The electrostatic precipitating electrode section 9 also serves as a sensor for detecting the degree of air contamination.

The high-voltage power supply 4 and the control device 10 will be described. The high-voltage power supply 4 includes a DC power supply 57, a pulse generator 55 driven from the power supply or another power supply, and a switching unit driven by a signal from the pulse generator. 53
And a transformer 54 that uses the switching operation of the switching unit 53 as a primary side input and generates a high voltage on the secondary side.
And a rectifier circuit 5 for rectifying the high voltage generated on the secondary side
The output from the rectifier circuit is connected to the ionization electrode 2 and the dust collection electrode 3. Further, the pulse generator is connected to the control device 10 and detects a dust collection current and produces an output corresponding thereto.
In the present embodiment, the pulse generator 55 and the control device 10 are configured as separate components.
If the control device 5 is constituted by a microcomputer or the like, the control device 10 can be arranged in the circuit of the high-voltage power supply 4.

Next, a description will be given mainly of an air purifying function part of the above-mentioned equipment. During normal operation, the dust collection current of the high voltage power supply 4 is set to about 80 to 200 μA. If the air becomes dirty in such a situation, the dust collection current of the electrostatic dust collection electrode unit 9 decreases,
This change is detected by the control device 10. The control device 10 processes the detection result of the change in the dust collection current, outputs a signal to the pulse generator 55, varies the drive frequency, increases the dust collection current, and increases the dust collection capability. The dust collection current at this time is about 200 to 500 μA. In this state, the amount of ozone generated in the electrode unit 9 increases. As a countermeasure, the number of rotations of the fan motor 5 is increased at the same time to increase the air volume. Due to the increase in the air volume, the concentration of ozone generated in the electrostatic precipitating electrode unit 9 can be reduced. When the air becomes clean by such an operation, the dust collection current increases again. Therefore, a change in this current is detected, the driving frequency of the high-voltage power supply 4 is varied, and the dust collection current is reduced to reduce the dust collection current. By reducing the capacity and returning to normal operation, the amount of ozone generated is reduced. Further, the on / off duty ratio of the drive signal of the high voltage power supply 4 may be changed instead of the “drive frequency”.

In the case of an air purifier, the output voltage must be increased by a high-voltage power supply, and when the emitted electrons collide with oxygen in the air, the speed of the electrons is accelerated. large. In this case, oxygen is decomposed into activated oxygen, and is easily combined with oxygen to generate ozone. The ozone increases as the output of the high voltage power supply 4 is increased, and the ozone generated here is dispersed by the rotation of the fan motor 5.
By performing such control, it becomes possible to suppress the concentration of ozone and increase the dust collecting ability. When the density of the ozone exceeds 0.01 ppm, it is known that the ozone causes discomfort to the user, and it is necessary to control the rotation of the fan motor 5 as the dust collecting capacity is increased.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the output characteristics of the air purifier according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a comparison of the dust collection time, and FIG. 4 shows a comparison of the ozone generation amount. In each case, the output of the high-voltage power supply 4 is compared with the case where only the fan motor 5 is driven. It is shown that this effect is more remarkably exhibited when the variable is also changed.

[0015]

According to the above configuration, the degree of indoor air pollution can be accurately detected without using any special sensor, and the degree of freedom in designing equipment can be increased, and inexpensive products can be provided. In addition, switching of the air purifying function of the conventional fan motor alone can be switched even with the output of the high-voltage power supply, and an air purifier excellent in the ozone countermeasure effect and the dust collecting effect can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a structure and a partial block diagram of an air conditioner having an air purifying function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a high-voltage power supply and a control device of FIG.

FIG. 3 shows experimental values of output characteristics of the air purifier of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows experimental values of output characteristics of the air purifier of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dry filter 2 Ionization electrode 3 Dust collection electrode 4 High voltage power supply 5 Fan motor 6 Air suction port 7 Outlet 8 Air flow path 9 Electric precipitating electrode section 10 Control device

Claims (3)

[Claims] An electric dust collecting device comprising a dry filter, an electric dust collecting electrode, and a fan motor, wherein said electric dust collecting electrode also serves as an air pollution degree detecting sensor for detecting air contamination by a flowing current. An air purifier characterized in that the capability of an air purifying function can be changed according to a detection result of a current flowing through an electrode portion. 2. An electrostatic precipitator comprising a dry filter, an electric precipitating electrode, and a fan motor, wherein the electric precipitating electrode also serves as an air pollution degree detecting sensor for detecting air contamination by a flowing current. An air purifier characterized in that a voltage supplied from a high-voltage power supply to each electrode can be varied based on a detection result of a current flowing through the electrode section, thereby changing an air cleaning function. 3. An electrostatic precipitator comprising a dry filter, an electric precipitating electrode, and a fan motor, said electric precipitating electrode also serving as an air pollution degree detecting sensor for detecting air contamination by a flowing current. An air purifier characterized in that a voltage supplied from a high-voltage power supply to each electrode and a rotation speed of a fan motor can be varied to change an air purifying function based on a detection result of a current flowing in the electrode section.