JP2005226907A - Controller for humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a controller for a humidifier capable of carrying out operation in comfortable humidity while preventing dew formation even when a room temperature is high. <P>SOLUTION: The controller for the humidifier is provided with a humidity sensor 1, a room temperature sensor 2, a comfortable humidity data storing means 3, a dew formation data storing means 4 for storing correlation data of room temperature and humidity causing dew formation, a minimum room temperature storing means 5, a time measuring means 6 for measuring an elapsed time from an update of a minimum room temperature, and a control means 7 for controlling operation of the humidifier on the basis of inputs of the humidity sensor 1 and the room temperature sensor 2, data stored in the comfortable humidity data storing means 3, the dew formation data storing means 4, and the minimum room temperature storing means 5, and an input from the time measuring means 6. The control means 7 has a dew formation prevention mode wherein operation is controlled using comfortable humidity as target humidity until the time measuring means 6 measures a predetermined time, and using dew formation prevention humidity as the target humidity after the predetermined time has been measured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for a humidifier that performs humidification in a room.

  In a conventional humidifier, the room temperature and relative humidity are input from the sensor, the target relative humidity that is set in advance corresponding to the room temperature stored in the storage unit is called, and the room humidity is compared with the current relative humidity. Is controlled to prevent condensation. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP-A-4-335842 (page 2-3, FIGS. 1 to 4)

  In a conventional humidifier, the room temperature and relative humidity are input from the sensor, the target relative humidity that is set in advance corresponding to the room temperature stored in the storage unit is called, and the room humidity is compared with the current relative humidity. In order to prevent dew condensation, the target relative humidity that is determined in advance corresponding to the room temperature stored in the storage unit is actually required as the room temperature increases. It is set at a value lower than the relative humidity, and when the room temperature is high, it is operated at a suppressed humidity, so that there is a problem that a comfortable humidity cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a control device for a humidifier that can be operated at a comfortable humidity without worrying about condensation even when the room temperature is high. For the purpose.

  A humidifier control device according to the present invention includes a humidity sensor that detects indoor humidity, a room temperature sensor that detects indoor temperature, a comfortable humidity data storage unit that stores comfortable room temperature and humidity correlation data, and a window. Condensation data storage means that stores correlation data between room temperature and humidity at which condensation forms on the walls and humidity, minimum room temperature storage means that stores the minimum room temperature of the day, and the elapsed time since the minimum room temperature was updated Based on the input from the humidity sensor and the room temperature sensor, the data stored in the comfortable humidity data storage means, the dew condensation data storage means and the minimum room temperature storage means, and the input from the time measurement means. Control means for controlling the operation, and the control means controls the operation with the comfortable humidity as the target humidity by the data of the comfortable humidity data storage means until the time measuring means measures a predetermined time , After the timing means has measured the predetermined time has anti-condensation mode for controlling the operation prevent condensation humidity as the target humidity by the data of the condensing data storage means.

  The humidifier controller according to the present invention predicts a time zone during which the room temperature decreases from the past minimum room temperature and the timing at which the minimum room temperature is updated, and operates by reducing the target humidity from a predetermined time before the time zone. Therefore, even when the room temperature is high, it is not necessary to constantly suppress the target humidity, so that a comfortable humidity can be maintained and the occurrence of condensation can be prevented.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control device for a humidifier showing Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a humidity sensor 1 is for measuring indoor humidity, and a room temperature sensor 2 is for measuring indoor temperature.
The comfortable humidity data storage means 3 stores in advance interphase data between a comfortable temperature and humidity, and the condensation data storage means 4 stores in advance correlation data between room temperature and humidity at which condensation occurs on windows and walls. ing. The minimum room temperature storage means 5 stores the minimum room temperature for one day (within 24 hours) of the room temperature measured by the room temperature sensor 2, and operates regardless of whether the operation switch (not shown) is turned on or off. When the minimum room temperature is stored in the minimum room temperature storage means 5, the time measuring means 6 counts the elapsed time from that point, and when a predetermined time set in advance is counted, it outputs a signal to the control means 7 and is reset. The
The control means 7 for controlling the operation of the humidifier includes inputs of the humidity sensor 1 and the room temperature sensor 2, data stored in the comfortable humidity data storage means 3, dew condensation data storage means 4 and minimum room temperature storage means 5, and There is a dew condensation prevention mode in which the target humidity is appropriately determined based on the input of the time measuring means 6 and the energization to the humidifying heater 8 is controlled on and off.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the control flowchart of FIG.
First, the indoor humidity is measured by the humidity sensor 1 in step S1, and the room temperature is measured by the room temperature sensor 2 in step S2. Next, in step S3, the current room temperature is compared with the lowest room temperature stored in the lowest room temperature storage means 5. If the current room temperature is constantly lower than the minimum room temperature, the minimum room temperature is updated in step S4. This steady state means that short-term changes such as opening and closing of windows are not stored as the minimum room temperature. When the minimum room temperature is updated, the time measuring means 6 is started in step S5, and the process proceeds to step S6.

Here, the reason why the time period from the update of the minimum room temperature to the minimum room temperature of the next day can be assumed will be described using actual room temperature data as an example.
FIG. 3 is a graph showing changes in the room temperature of a general house in December.
In FIG. 3, the X axis is time, and the Y axis is room temperature. As for room temperature, the lowest value is recorded about every 24 hours as indicated by points a, b and c. This is because the heating is turned off when going to bed, so the room temperature begins to drop and reaches a minimum room temperature early in the morning. Since the heating is turned on when getting up, the room temperature rises. Using this minimum room temperature interval, the time zone of the lowest temperature is predicted, and when it reaches several hours before this time zone (4 hours before in this example), the target humidity is lowered to prevent condensation in the room.

  In step S6, it is determined whether the operation of the humidifier is on or off. If the operation of the humidifier is off, the process proceeds to step S14, and the energization to the humidifying heater 8 is turned off. On the other hand, when the operation of the humidifier is on, the process proceeds to step S7, and the comfortable humidity corresponding to the current room temperature is read from the comfortable humidity data storage means 3. In step S8, it is determined whether the time measuring means 6 started in step S5 has passed 20 hours. Here, 4 hours before the time when the lowest temperature is reached is set. That is, if 20 hours have not elapsed, the comfortable humidity read from the comfortable humidity data storage means 3 is determined as the target humidity in step S9.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the correlation data between the comfortable temperature and humidity used in this example.
This correlation data is the correlation data of temperature and humidity in consideration of comfort and health such as inactivation of virus and protection of throat mucous membrane.

  When 20 hours elapse in step S8, the process proceeds to step S10. At this time, although not shown, the minimum room temperature stored in the minimum room temperature storage means 5 and the timing operation of the timing means 6 are reset. Moreover, once the process moves to step S10, the process flows to step S10 without going directly to step S9 until the dew condensation prevention humidity exceeds the comfortable humidity in step S11. In step S <b> 10, the condensation prevention humidity corresponding to the lowest room temperature of the lowest room temperature storage unit 5 is read from the data of the condensation data storage unit 4 and determined. Here, the control means 7 enhances the effect of preventing condensation by setting the value 2 to 3% lower than the actual condensation prevention humidity read from the condensation data storage means 4 as the condensation prevention humidity. In addition, by using the lowest room temperature of the previous day, it is possible to cope with changes in the lowest room temperature depending on the time. In step S11, if the dew condensation prevention humidity is low by comparing the dew condensation prevention humidity with the comfortable humidity read in step S7, the process proceeds to step S12, and the dew condensation prevention humidity is determined as the target humidity. If the dew condensation prevention humidity is higher than the comfortable humidity, the comfortable humidity is determined as the target humidity in step S9.

  After the target humidity is determined in step S9 or S12, the current humidity is compared with the target humidity in step S13. If the current humidity is lower than the target humidity, the humidifying heater 8 is turned on in step S15. If the current humidity is higher than the target humidity, the humidifying heater 8 is turned off in step S14. In this example, the control of the humidifying heater 8 is described by simple on / off control, but phase control proportional to the difference between the current humidity and the target humidity may be used. When step S14 and step S15 are completed, the above processing is repeated from step S1.

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing the operation in the first embodiment.
In FIG. 5, in order from the top, the change in the room temperature measured by the room temperature sensor 2, the measured value of the time measuring means 6, the timing at which the target humidity of the control means 7 is switched to the comfortable humidity or the condensation prevention humidity, and the bottom is the humidity It is a change in indoor humidity measured by the sensor 1.
First, since there is no minimum room temperature data at the start of point d, the target humidity is operated at a comfortable humidity. Next, when the room temperature decreases and reaches the minimum value at the point e, the room temperature at that time is stored as the minimum room temperature in the minimum room temperature storage means 5, the time measurement means 6 is reset, and measurement starts. Every time the minimum value is updated thereafter, the time measuring means 6 is reset again and re-measured.

Since the target humidity is operated at the comfortable humidity until 20 hours have passed even after the minimum room temperature has been updated, the target humidity is maintained at the comfortable humidity. When 20 hours have passed since the storage at the lowest room temperature (point f), the target humidity is reduced to near the condensation humidity at the lowest room temperature stored at the point e. After that, the room temperature continues to decrease, but the humidity in the room is decreasing, so no condensation occurs.
Thus, when the minimum room temperature is updated again (point g), the time measuring means 6 starts the next measurement. While the room temperature is low, continue to operate at the target humidity with anti-condensation humidity. When the room temperature rises and the anti-condensation humidity rises and exceeds the comfortable humidity (point h), the target humidity is returned to the comfortable humidity and operated. Do.

  As described above, according to the control device for a humidifier shown in the first embodiment, a time zone in which the room temperature decreases is predicted from the timing at which the past minimum room temperature and the minimum room temperature are updated, and a predetermined time before that time zone. Since the target humidity is lowered and the operation is performed, there is no need to constantly suppress the target humidity even at a high temperature, and it is possible to maintain a comfortable humidity and prevent condensation.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the humidifier control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the humidifier control device according to the second embodiment. Description of the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be omitted, and only different parts will be described.
In FIG. 6, a function change-over switch 9 is a switch for turning on / off the dew condensation prevention mode of the control means 7, and when this function change-over switch 9 is turned off, the target humidity is always set to a comfortable humidity and operated. In this case, the same control as the operation described in the first embodiment is performed.

  That is, after reading the comfortable humidity in step S7, if the function selector switch 9 is OFF in step 7A, the process jumps to step S9 to set the comfortable humidity as the target humidity regardless of the measured value of the time measuring means 6. If the operation is controlled and the function selector switch 9 is turned on in step 7A, the same control as in the first embodiment is performed.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the function changeover switch 9 for turning on and off the dew condensation prevention mode of the control means 7 is provided, the operation in which the target humidity is always set to the comfortable humidity and controlled, The user can arbitrarily select either the operation in which the target humidity is switched from the comfortable humidity to the dew condensation preventing humidity before the predetermined time of the room temperature.

It is a block diagram of a control device of a humidifier showing Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 3 is a control flowchart according to the first embodiment. It is a graph of the room temperature change in December of a general house. It is an operation | movement time chart in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the correlation data of comfortable temperature and humidity in the first embodiment. It is a block diagram of the control apparatus of the humidifier which shows Embodiment 2 of this invention. 6 is a control flowchart according to the second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Humidity sensor 2 Room temperature sensor 3 Time measuring means 4 Minimum room temperature storage means 5 Condensation data storage means 6 Comfortable humidity data storage means 7 Control means 8 Humidification heater

Claims (4)

Humidity sensor that detects indoor humidity, room temperature sensor that detects indoor temperature, comfortable humidity data storage means that stores comfortable room temperature-humidity correlation data, and room temperature and humidity that cause condensation on windows and walls Condensation data storage means for storing correlation data, minimum room temperature storage means for storing the lowest room temperature of the day, time measuring means for measuring the elapsed time since the minimum room temperature was updated, the humidity sensor and the room temperature sensor Control means for controlling the operation of the humidifier based on the input from the data, the comfortable humidity data storage means, the data stored in the dew condensation data storage means and the minimum room temperature storage means, and the input from the time measuring means, The means controls the operation with the comfortable humidity as the target humidity by the data of the comfortable humidity data storage means until the time measuring means measures the predetermined time, and the time measuring means measures the predetermined time. Humidifier control device characterized by having a condensation prevention mode for controlling the operation prevent condensation humidity as the target humidity by the data of the condensing data storage means after. The humidifier control device according to claim 1, further comprising a function selection switch for turning on and off the dew condensation prevention mode. 2. The humidifier control device according to claim 1, wherein the minimum room temperature storage means operates even when the operation is turned off. 2. The humidifier control device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time measured by the time measuring means is set to a time several hours before the time when the lowest room temperature is stored.

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