JP2003136953A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner capable of sensing the degree of contamination at an early stage by generating a wind flow around a sensor part to sense contamination of the air even while a blower is stopped. SOLUTION: A space 3 surrounded by a casing 31 is formed independently of an air passage 14 through which air flows from the suction port 12 of this air cleaner 1 to the blowout hole 13, and the sensor part 4 to sense the contamination of the air is formed in this space. The casing is provided with at least two openings 32 for generating an air flow around the sensor part, among which one opening 32a functions as an air intake while the other 32b functions as an air discharge port.

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 purifying indoor air, and more particularly to an on-vehicle air purifier equipped with a gas sensor or an optical dust sensor for detecting the degree of air pollution and performing automatic movement. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an on-vehicle air purifier equipped with a sensor portion such as a gas sensor for detecting the degree of air pollution has only one hole for taking in contaminated air in a design case covering the sensor portion. For this reason, even if there is wind generated by the air conditioner or wind generated when the vehicle is running, there is no wind around the sensor, and it takes time to detect the degree of air pollution.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-137932 discloses a device in which a smoke sensor is installed in a blower ventilation passage of an air purifier in order to speed up the detection of the degree of air pollution. This known air purifier is provided with a bypass passage bypassing the filter so that when smoke is not detected, a slight air flow from the blower is made to flow through the bypass passage, and when smoke is detected, the blower is rotated at high speed. In addition, the bypass passage is closed to allow strong wind air to flow through the filter. However, in this known air purifier, it was necessary to constantly perform a slight wind operation with a blower.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to generate a wind flow around a sensor section for detecting air pollution without constantly operating a blower. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air purifier that can accelerate the detection of the degree of pollution.

[0005]

The present invention provides an air purifier according to each of the claims as a means for solving the above-mentioned problems. In the air purifier according to claim 1, a position independent of an air flow from the outside is independent of an air passage through which air for cleaning the air flows.
While forming a space surrounded by the casing,
By installing a sensor unit for detecting air pollution in this space and forming at least two openings in the casing, the air flow from the outside (for example, the wind from the vehicle front seat air conditioner) can pass through the openings. Is introduced into the space, and an air flow is generated around the sensor. As a result, the flow of air can be generated around the sensor unit without constantly driving the blower, so that it is possible to accelerate the detection of the contamination degree of the sensor without using unnecessary power.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the air purifier is provided on the ceiling in the vehicle compartment of the vehicle. The space in the vehicle compartment can be effectively used and the air purifier is suitable for the vehicle. The air purifier according to claim 3 is arranged such that one of the openings of the casing faces the front surface of the vehicle and the other opening faces the lower surface of the vehicle. It is easy to take in air from the air outlet, and an air flow can be easily generated around the sensor section. The air purifier according to claim 4 introduces the air flow from the air conditioner for the front seat of the vehicle into the space through the opening, whereby the air flow can be easily generated around the sensor unit.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An air purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the air purifier viewed from below in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the air purifier viewed from the left in FIG. The case body 11 of the air purifier 1 is provided with a suction port 12 for sucking polluted air from the outside and a blow port 13 for purifying the sucked air and blowing it to the outside, and the suction port 12 is provided inside thereof. An air passage 14 is formed from the air outlet 13 to the air outlet 13. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, in the air purifier 1 of this example, a suction port 12 is provided on the lower surface of the case body 11, and air outlets 13 are provided on both side surfaces of the case body 11.

A blower 2 including a fan 21 as a blower and a motor 22 is housed in the case body 11 in the vicinity of the suction port 12, and an air passage 14 downstream of the blower 2 is
A filter (not shown) for purifying passing air is arranged. The blower 2 generates an air flow in the air passage 14 in the case body 11 from the suction port 12 toward the air outlet 13, and blows external air from the suction port 12
The air is blown out to the outside again from the air outlet 13. The filter removes odors and harmful gases and deodorizes when air passes through, and has a known structure.

Independently of the air passage 14, at a position where the wind flow outside the air purifier 1 hits, for example, the front surface portion,
The space portion 3 surrounded by the casing 31 is formed,
A sensor unit 4 including a sensor 41 and an amplifier 42 is installed inside the space 3. The amplifier 42 is
The automatic operation of the blower 2 is controlled by receiving the detection signal from the sensor 41. The space 3 and the air passage 14 are partitioned by an air passage outer wall 14a. At least two openings 32 are provided in the casing 31, one opening 32a functions as an intake port for taking in air from the outside, and the other opening 32b serves as an ejection port for ejecting the taken-in air. It is provided at a distance from each other so as to function. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the opening 32a that functions as an intake port is formed on the side surface of the casing 31 (a part that becomes a positive pressure due to the external wind flow), and the opening 32b that functions as a discharge port is
It is formed on the lower surface of the casing 31 (a portion where a negative pressure is generated by an external wind flow).

Therefore, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, the polluted air is transferred to the casing 31 by the external wind flow.
Is taken into the space portion 3 through the opening 32a, flows around the sensor portion 4, and is discharged from the opening 32b. In this way, the airflow can be generated around the sensor unit 4 in the space 3, and the detection of the air pollution degree by the sensor 41 can be accelerated.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a modified example of the air purifier of this embodiment. In this modified example, an opening 32 corresponding to a discharge port for discharging the air taken into the space 3.
c is also provided in the air passage outer wall 14a that partitions the space 3 and the air passage 14. Other configurations are similar to those of the air purifier of the above-described embodiment. Therefore, in this case, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 4, the air taken into the space 3 from the opening 32a of the casing 31 by the external wind flow flows around the sensor unit 4 and branches off. Is discharged from the opening 32b of the casing 31, and the other is discharged from the opening 32c of the outer wall 14a of the air passage to the outside through the air passage 14.
As described above, the opening 32 may be provided not only on the casing 31 side but also on the air passage outer wall 14a side, and the number of the openings 32 is not limited to two and may be multiple.
The shape of the opening 32 may be circular or slit-shaped, and may be louver.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the air purifier 1 of the present invention is installed on the ceiling 51 in the vehicle compartment.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the air purifier 1. In this case, the air purifier 1 is attached to the ceiling 51 so that the opening 32a for taking in air into the space 3 in which the sensor unit 4 is placed is located at a position facing the front surface of the vehicle 5. Further, the opening 32b for discharging air from the space 3 is provided on the lower surface of the casing 31 so as to face downward of the vehicle 5. Therefore, since the air flow from the outlet of the air conditioner provided on the front panel 52 in the vehicle compartment hits the opening 32a of the casing 31, the polluted air in the vehicle compartment is easily taken in by the opening 32a.
It flows around the sensor unit 4 and is discharged from the other opening 32b. This allows early detection of air pollution in the vehicle interior. In this case, the suction port 12 of the air purifier 1 faces downward, and the air outlet 13 faces both side surfaces of the vehicle.

In the above description, the air flow from the vehicle front seat air-conditioner is exclusively introduced into the space 3 in which the sensor unit 4 is placed. However, in addition to this air flow, The air flow due to the traveling pressure, the air flow from the rear seat air conditioner, or the like may be introduced into the space.

As described above, in the air purifier of the present invention, even when the blower is stopped, the air in the space containing the sensor does not stagnant and the outside air always flows through the space. Therefore, the air pollution can be detected at an early stage, and the air can be promptly purified by starting the blower after the detection. Further, since it is not necessary to operate the blower all the time, energy can be saved, and in the passenger compartment, the passengers will not feel uncomfortable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A of the air purifier according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.
It is a sectional view taken along the line A.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the air purifier according to the embodiment of the present invention viewed from below.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the air purifier according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an air purifier in a modified example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case where the air purifier of the present invention is installed on the ceiling of a vehicle compartment of a vehicle.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the air purifier portion of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Air purifier 11 ... Case body 12 ... Suction port 13 ... Outlet 14 ... Air passage 2 ... Blower 21 ... fan 22 ... Motor 3 ... Space 31 ... Casing 32, 32a, 32b, 32c ... Opening 4 ... Sensor section 41 ... Sensor 42 ... Amplifier

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An air flow path through which air flows from an inlet to an outlet, an air blower for generating an air flow from the inlet toward the outlet in the air flow path, and a passage through the air passage. In an air purifier provided with a filter installed in the air passage for cleaning the air to be circulated, a position independent of the air passage is surrounded by a casing at a position where the air flow from the outside hits. An air purifier characterized in that a space portion is formed, a sensor portion for detecting air pollution is installed in the space portion, and at least two openings are formed in the casing. 2. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the air purifier is attached to a ceiling in a vehicle compartment. 3. The air purifier according to claim 2, wherein one of the openings is arranged to face a front surface of the vehicle and the other is arranged to face a lower surface of the vehicle. 4. The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein an air flow from a vehicle front seat air conditioner is introduced into the space through the opening.