JP2011038652A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air conditioner capable of providing skin care by distributing warm air including electrostatic mist while surrounding a human body without directly applying the warm air to the human body detected by a human body detecting device using an infrared ray sensor and having high detection resolution power. <P>SOLUTION: In this air conditioner, a target area section for air conditioning is set to both sides, both ends or one side of a floor surface region where the human body exists, and airflow with electrostatic mist produced by an electrostatic atomizer is distributed or blown toward the target area section for air conditioning. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioner having an electrostatic atomizer that generates electrostatic mist. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for improving a person's skin quality with warm air without evaporating the skin moisture amount or purifying a room according to the presence or absence of the person.

  Conventionally, there has been proposed an air conditioner that can realize a comfortable indoor environment by improving a human skin quality or purifying a room according to the presence or absence of the person. In this air conditioner, a plurality of human body detection sensors for detecting the presence or absence of a person and an electrostatic atomizer for generating electrostatic mist are provided in an indoor unit, and a plurality of areas to be air-conditioned are provided by a plurality of human body detection sensors. The wind direction is controlled to reach the area where the human body detection sensor has determined that there is a person, or the area where the person is frequently present, and the area has a high frequency characteristic so that the electrostatic mist reaches the area. Yes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4262771

  However, although the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1 controls the wind direction to an area where it is determined by the human body detection sensor that a person is present, the electrostatic mist reaches the area. Because it is directly heated by hot air, it is warm but dry. Even if the electrostatic mist is made to reach a person, there is a problem that the amount of moisture in the skin does not increase due to drying by warm air.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and includes warm air containing electrostatic mist without applying warm air to a human body detected by a human body detection device having a high detection resolution using an infrared sensor. An air conditioner that can care for skin by delivering a wrapping to the human body.

  In addition, an air conditioner that can perform room care such as deodorization by delivering electrostatic mist to curtains and the like by means of constricted airflow control when a person is not in the room based on the spatial recognition information by the infrared sensor. provide.

The air conditioner according to the present invention is
The body,
A suction port provided in the main body and sucking in air in the room;
An air outlet provided in the main body for blowing out conditioned air as an air flow;
An up-and-down air direction control plate provided at the outlet and rectifying the blown airflow in the up-and-down direction;
A left and right airflow direction control plate that is provided at the outlet and rectifies the blown airflow in the left-right direction;
A heat exchanger that is provided in an air passage between the suction port and the air outlet and generates conditioned air;
An infrared sensor attached to the main body and detecting the temperature of the temperature detection target within the temperature detection target range;
A control unit that detects the presence of a person or a heat generating device with an infrared sensor, controls the air conditioner, and controls at least the vertical and horizontal airflow direction control plates;
An electrostatic atomizer that generates electrostatic mist that is discharged into the room together with the conditioned air from the outlet through an air flow,
The control unit
The indoor space in which the air conditioner is installed is divided into a plurality of area sections and expanded two-dimensionally, and based on the detection result of the infrared sensor, the area section where the human body is located is identified,
Among the multiple area sections, the area section targeted for air conditioning is set as the area section on both sides, both ends, or one side of the area section where the human body is located. It blows or blows out the air flow with electric mist on it.

  In the air conditioner according to the present invention, the area section targeted for air conditioning is set to the floor area on both sides or both ends or one side of the floor area where the human body is located, toward the area section targeted for air conditioning. Since the air flow with the electrostatic mist generated from the electrostatic atomizer is blown or blown, the hot air containing the electrostatic mist is delivered to the detected human body so as to wrap the human body without applying the hot air. Skin care is possible.

FIG. 3 shows the first embodiment and is a perspective view of the air conditioner 100. FIG. FIG. 3 shows the first embodiment and is a perspective view of the air conditioner 100. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the first embodiment and is a longitudinal sectional view of the air conditioner 100. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment and shows the light distribution viewing angles of the infrared sensor 3 and the light receiving element. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is a perspective view of a housing 5 that houses the infrared sensor 3. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is a perspective view of the vicinity of the infrared sensor 3 ((a) is a state in which the infrared sensor 3 is movable toward the right end, (b) is a state in which the infrared sensor 3 is movable toward the center, and (c) ) Is a state in which the infrared sensor 3 is moved to the left end portion). FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and shows a vertical light distribution viewing angle in a vertical section of the infrared sensor 3. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and is a figure which shows the thermal image data of the room where the housewife 12 is holding the infant 13. FIG. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and shows a tatami mat standard and an area (area) during cooling operation defined by the capacity band of the air conditioner 100. FIG. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which prescribed | regulated the breadth (area) of the floor surface for every capability by using the maximum area of the area (area) for every capability of FIG. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and is a figure which shows the vertical and horizontal room shape limit value in capability 2.2kW. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and is a figure which shows the vertical / horizontal distance conditions calculated | required from the capability band of the air conditioner 100. FIG. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and is a figure which shows the conditions at the time of center installation at the time of capability 2.2kw. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which shows the case at the time of the left corner installation at the time of capability 2.2kw (viewing from a user). The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the floor surface and wall surface on thermal image data at the time of the capability of 2.2 kw of the air conditioner 100 when the installation position button of a remote control is set to the center. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment and shows a calculation flow of a room shape due to temperature unevenness. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the first embodiment, and is a diagram illustrating a space between upper and lower pixels serving as a boundary between a wall surface and a floor surface on the thermal image data in FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the first embodiment, and detects the temperature generated between the upper and lower pixels in a total of three pixels of one pixel in the downward direction and two pixels in the upward direction with respect to the position of the boundary 60 set in FIG. To do. In the diagram showing the first embodiment, in the pixel detection region, a pixel that exceeds the threshold or a pixel that exceeds the maximum value of the slope is marked in black by the temperature unevenness boundary detection unit 53 that detects the temperature unevenness boundary. Figure. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and shows the result of detecting a boundary line due to temperature unevenness. In the figure which shows Embodiment 1, the floor surface coordinate conversion part 55 converts the coordinate point (X, Y) of each element drawn on the lower part of the boundary line on a thermal image data as a floor surface coordinate point, The figure projected on the surface 19. The figure which shows Embodiment 1, and is a figure which shows the area | region of the object pixel which detects the temperature difference of the front wall 19 position vicinity by the initial setting conditions at the time of remote control center installation conditions in capability 2.2KW. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the first embodiment, and in FIG. 21 in which the boundary element coordinates of each thermal image data are projected on the floor 18, the scattering element coordinate points of each element that detect the vicinity of the position of the front wall 19 illustrated in FIG. The figure which calculated | required the average and calculated | required the wall surface position of the front wall 19 and the floor surface 18. FIG. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment and shows a flow of calculating a room shape based on a human body detection position history. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and shows the result of determining the detection of a human body with the threshold value A and the threshold value B, performing the difference with the thermal image data in which a previous background image and a human body exist. In the figure which shows Embodiment 1, every human body detection position calculated | required from the thermal image data difference as a human position coordinate (X, Y) point which coordinate-converted in the floor surface coordinate conversion part 55 for every X-axis and Y-axis The figure which shows a mode that the count integration was carried out. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and shows a room shape determination result based on a human body position history. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and shows the result of the human body detection position history in an L-shaped room-shaped living room. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and shows the count number accumulated in the floor area (X coordinate) in the horizontal X coordinate. In the diagram showing the first embodiment, the floor area (X coordinate) obtained in FIG. 29 is equally divided into three areas A, B, and C, and the accumulated maximum accumulated numerical value exists in which area The figure which calculates | requires and calculates | requires the maximum value and minimum value for every area | region simultaneously. In the diagram showing the first embodiment, when the maximum accumulation number of accumulated data exists in the area C, the count number of 90% or more with respect to the maximum accumulation number is γ in the area (decomposed every 0.3 m). The figure which shows the means to judge with having more than the number in the area | region which is. In the diagram showing the first embodiment, when the maximum accumulation number of accumulated data exists in the area A, the count number of 90% or more with respect to the maximum accumulation number is γ (in 0.3 m increments in the area). The figure which shows the means to judge with having more than the number in the area | region which is. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and is a figure which calculates | requires the location of 50% or more with respect to the largest accumulation | storage number, when it is judged that it is L-shaped room shape. FIG. 34 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is an L-shaped room obtained from a boundary surface between the floor surface and the wall surface of the L-shaped room shape obtained in FIG. The figure which shows the floor surface area | region shape of shape. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and shows the flow which integrates three information. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 is a figure which shows the result of the room shape by temperature nonuniformity detection in the capability 2.8kw and remote control installation position condition center. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and is a figure which shows the result reduced to the position of the left wall maximum, when the distance to the left wall surface 16 exceeds the distance of the left wall maximum. In the figure which shows Embodiment 1, when the room shape area of FIG. 37 after correction is larger than the area maximum value 19 m ² or more, the result of adjusting the distance of the front wall 19 to the maximum area 19 m ² is shown. Figure. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which shows the result adjusted by enlarging to the area | region of the left wall minimum, when the distance to a left wall surface is less than the left wall minimum. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and shows the example which judges whether it is in an appropriate area by calculating the room shape area after correction. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and shows the results of obtaining the distance Y coordinate Y_front to the front wall 19, the X coordinate X_right of the right wall surface 17, and the X coordinate X_light of the left wall surface 16, which are distances between the respective wall surfaces. In the figure which shows Embodiment 1, each coordinate point on the floor boundary line calculated | required from each distance between the front wall 19 calculated | required on integration conditions and the left-right wall (left wall surface 16, right wall surface 17) is heat | fever. The figure backprojected to image data. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which enclosed each wall area | region with the thick line. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure divided into the area | region (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5) of the left-right direction 5 division with respect to the near side area | region of the floor surface 18. FIG. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure divided into the area | region (B1, B2, B3) of front and rear division | segmentation with respect to the back | inner side area | region of a floor surface. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment and shows an example of a radiation temperature obtained by a calculation formula. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is a flowchart of an operation for detecting an open / closed state of the curtain. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and is a figure which shows the thermal image data when the curtain of the window of the right wall surface at the time of heating operation is open. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment and is a schematic configuration diagram of an electrostatic atomizer 300. FIG. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment and is a side view of the electrostatic atomizer 300. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the first embodiment and is a schematic configuration diagram of a cooling unit 108 of water supply means. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the first embodiment and is a schematic configuration diagram of a water application electrode 102. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment and is a schematic configuration diagram of a modified example of the water application electrode 102. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a side view of an electrostatic atomizer 400 according to a first modification. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a side view of an electrostatic atomizer 500 of a second modification. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a top view of the water application electrode 102 used in the electrostatic atomizer 500 according to the second modification. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a side view of an electrostatic atomizer 600 according to a third modification. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is a side view of an electrostatic atomizer 700 of a fourth modification. FIG. 9 shows the first embodiment, and is a side view of an electrostatic atomizer 800 according to a fifth modification. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment, and is an enlarged conceptual diagram for explaining metal foam used for the water application electrode 102. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which compared the water absorption of the foam metal and the comparative example. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which compared the electrical resistivity of a foam metal and a comparative example. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which compared the amount of electrostatic atomization of a foam metal and a comparative example. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which compared the ozone generation amount by the difference in the raw material of a metal foam. It is a figure which shows Embodiment 1, and is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air conditioner 200 provided with either of the electrostatic atomizers 300-800. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment and is a cross-sectional view of the air conditioner. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the first embodiment and is a wind direction control drive unit structure diagram showing a structure of a drive part related to wind direction control of the air conditioner. The front view which abbreviate | omitted illustration of the left-right wind direction control board of an air conditioner in the figure which shows Embodiment 1. FIG. The front view which abbreviate | omitted illustration of the up-and-down wind direction control board of an air conditioner in the figure which shows Embodiment 1. FIG. In the figure which shows Embodiment 1, it is a figure which shows the room by which the air conditioner main body was attached to the upper part of a wall, and shows that the air conditioner has recognized in the state where the indoor space was divided into 15 area sections Figure. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the first embodiment and is a block diagram showing a microcomputer constituting the control device 215 of the air conditioner. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which shows the state seen from right above that the air conditioner has recognized the indoor space in the state divided | segmented into 15 area divisions. In the figure which shows Embodiment 1, in the area division group which consists of 15 two-dimensional area division which the air conditioner has recognized, the human body was detected in two area divisions, area division A2 and area division E2. The figure which shows the state which the air conditioner recognizes sometimes. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the first embodiment, and a depth direction that determines a setting value when driving a stepping motor for controlling the left and right wind direction when a human body is detected in two area sections of the air conditioner, that is, the area section A2 and the area section E2 The figure which shows the creation condition of one-dimensional data. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which shows the left-right wind direction setting table which determines operation | movement of the left-right wind direction control board of an air conditioner. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which shows the state which divided | segmented the area division group which consists of 15 two-dimensional area division which the air conditioner has recognized into 3 area | regions in the left-right direction. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the first embodiment, in the left-right direction that determines the set value when driving the stepping motor for controlling the vertical wind direction when a human body is detected in the two area sections of the air conditioner, the area section A2 and the area section E2. The figure which shows the creation condition of one-dimensional data. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and an up / down air direction control plate (left)-(right) operation determination table for determining the operation of the up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a and the up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b of the air conditioner. FIG. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 and the figure which shows the up-and-down air direction setting table which determines operation | movement of the up-and-down air direction control board of an air conditioner. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the first embodiment, and is a perspective view showing a wind direction operation when a human body is detected in two area sections of an area section A2 and an area section E2 of the air conditioner. The front view which abbreviate | omitted illustration of the left-right wind direction control board in the figure which shows Embodiment 1 when a human body is detected in two area divisions of area division A2 and area division E2 of an air conditioner. The figure which shows Embodiment 1 in the front view which abbreviate | omitted illustration of the up-and-down wind direction control board when a human body is detected in two area divisions of area division A2 and area division E2 of an air conditioner. In the figure which shows Embodiment 1, it is a figure which shows the room by which the air conditioner main body of the air conditioner was attached to the upper part of the wall, and when a human body is detected in two area sections of area section A2 and area section E2 The figure which shows the wind direction operation state of an air conditioner.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
First, an outline of the present embodiment will be described. An air conditioner (indoor unit) includes an infrared sensor that detects a temperature while scanning a temperature detection target range, and detects the presence of a person or a heat generating device by detecting a heat source using the infrared sensor. By dividing the floor area calculated from the infrared sensor into, for example, 15 areas, the position of the person obtained from the infrared sensor 3 is replaced with 15 area sections, and high-precision person position information with high resolution is obtained. Realizes air flow control according to the above.

  The air conditioner (indoor unit) includes an electrostatic atomizer that generates electrostatic mist. Rather than spraying the airflow with the electrostatic mist generated from this electrostatic atomizer directly on the human body position area, for example, by blowing the airflow directly on the human body by blowing it to both sides of the human body detection position area Avoiding skin moisture from falling (lowering), and being charged, the electrostatic mist approaches the human body from both sides (easily close to the human body with a potential difference) and has the effect of increasing the skin moisture efficiently. It is characterized by.

  The air conditioner (indoor unit) has a control device mounted inside the main body. The control device (control unit) includes an input unit, a CPU, a memory, and an output unit, and further includes a human body detection determination unit, a target area determination unit, and an area wind direction control unit. The control device performs the air flow classification with the electrostatic mist generated from the electrostatic atomizer that blows out from the air conditioner (indoor unit) based on the information of the infrared sensor (human body detection sensor). And

  In addition, based on the window position information from the infrared sensor, when there is no human body detection, that is, when there is no person in the room, by performing airflow control that blows electrostatic mist directly on the curtain etc. in the window position, It is characterized in that efficient sterilization such as curtains can be performed.

  Usually, the indoor unit is installed on a wall at a high place in the room, but the left and right positions on the wall on which the indoor unit is installed are various. It may be installed at the approximate center in the left-right direction of the wall, or may be installed close to the right or left wall as viewed from the indoor unit. Hereinafter, in this specification, the left-right direction of the room is defined as the left-right direction viewed from the indoor unit (infrared sensor 3).

1 to 83 show the first embodiment. FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of the air conditioner 100, FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air conditioner 100, and FIG. 4 is an infrared sensor 3 and a light receiving element. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the housing 5 that houses the infrared sensor 3, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the infrared sensor 3 ((a) shows that the infrared sensor 3 is movable to the right end). (B) is a state in which the infrared sensor 3 is moved to the center, (c) is a state in which the infrared sensor 3 is moved to the left end), and FIG. 7 is a vertical light distribution viewing angle in a longitudinal section of the infrared sensor 3. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing thermal image data of a room in which the housewife 12 is holding the infant 13, and FIG. 9 is a tatami mat standard and an area during cooling operation defined by the capacity band of the air conditioner 100 ( FIG. 10 shows the maximum area of the area (area) for each ability described in FIG. Fig. 11 is a diagram defining the floor area (area) for each capability, Fig. 11 is a diagram showing the vertical and horizontal room shape limit values at the capability of 2.2 kw, and Fig. 12 is the vertical and horizontal directions obtained from the capability band of the air conditioner 100. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the distance condition, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the center installation condition at a capacity of 2.2 kw, and FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the case of the left corner installation at a capacity of 2.2 kw (viewed from the user). 15 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the floor surface and the wall surface on the thermal image data when the remote control installation position button is set at the center when the air conditioner 100 has a capacity of 2.2 kw, and FIG. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a flow for calculating the shape, FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the upper and lower pixels that are the boundary between the wall surface and the floor surface on the thermal image data of FIG. 15, and FIG. 18 is the boundary line 60 set in FIG. 1 pixel down and 2 pixels up relative to position FIG. 19 is a diagram for detecting a temperature generated between upper and lower pixels between pixels. FIG. 19 shows a pixel exceeding the threshold by the temperature unevenness boundary detecting unit 53 for detecting the temperature unevenness boundary or the maximum value of the inclination in the pixel detection region. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the result of detecting a boundary line due to temperature unevenness, and FIG. 21 is a diagram of each element drawn below the boundary line on the thermal image data. FIG. 22 is a diagram in which the coordinate point (X, Y) is converted by the floor surface coordinate conversion unit 55 as the floor surface coordinate point and projected onto the floor surface 18, FIG. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a region of a target pixel for detecting a temperature difference in the vicinity of the position of the front wall 19. FIG. 23 is a diagram in which boundary element coordinates of each thermal image data are projected on the floor 18, and FIG. Each element that detects the vicinity of the position The figure which calculated | required the average of the scattering element coordinate point of a child, and calculated | required the wall surface position of the front wall 19 and the floor surface 18, FIG. 24 is a figure which shows the calculation flow of the room shape by a human body detection position log | history, FIG. FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a result of determining the detection of the human body with the threshold A and the threshold B, and FIG. 26 shows the human body detection position obtained from the thermal image data difference as a floor surface coordinate conversion unit. FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a state where count integration is performed for each of the X-axis and Y-axis as the human position coordinate (X, Y) point subjected to coordinate conversion at 55, and FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a room shape determination result based on the human body position history; FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the result of the human body detection position history in the L-shaped room-shaped living room, FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the count number accumulated in the floor area (X coordinate) in the horizontal X coordinate, and FIG. Floor surface area (X coordinate) obtained in FIG. FIG. 31 is a diagram in which the area A, B, and C are equally divided into three areas to determine in which area the accumulated maximum accumulated value exists, and at the same time, the maximum value and the minimum value for each area are obtained. When the maximum accumulation number of accumulated data exists in the area C, the count number of 90% or more with respect to the maximum accumulation number is more than γ (the number in the area decomposed every 0.3 m) in the area. FIG. 32 is a diagram showing means for making a judgment. FIG. 32 shows that when the maximum accumulation number of accumulated data exists in the area A, the count number of 90% or more of the maximum accumulation number in the area is γ (every 0.3 m). FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a means for making a determination based on whether there is an L-shaped room shape or not, and finds a location of 50% or more with respect to the maximum accumulation number. 34 and 34 show the boundary points between the floor surface and the wall surface of the L-shaped room shape obtained in FIG. FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a floor surface area shape of an L-shaped room shape obtained from the floor surface area of the X coordinate and Y coordinate at a value A or higher, FIG. 35 is a diagram showing a flow for integrating three pieces of information, and FIG. FIG. 37 shows the result of the room shape by temperature unevenness detection at the center of the remote control installation position condition, and FIG. 37 shows the maximum left wall when the distance to the left wall 16 exceeds the maximum left wall distance. FIG. 38 shows the result of reduction to the position. FIG. 38 shows that when the room shape area of FIG. 37 after correction is larger than the maximum area value 19 m ² , the distance of the front wall 19 is lowered to the maximum area 19 m ² and adjusted. FIG. 39 is a diagram showing the result of adjustment by enlarging to the left wall minimum area when the distance to the left wall is less than the left wall minimum, and FIG. 40 is the corrected room shape area. Whether it is within the appropriate area by calculating FIG. 41 is a diagram showing an example of determining whether or not, and FIG. 41 shows the results of calculating the distance Y coordinate Y_front to the front wall 19, the X coordinate X_right of the right wall surface 17, and the X coordinate X_light of the left wall surface 16. FIG. 42 and FIG. 42 show each coordinate point on the floor boundary obtained from the distance between the front wall 19 and the left and right walls (the left wall surface 16 and the right wall surface 17) obtained under the integration conditions as thermal image data. FIG. 44 is a projected diagram, a diagram in which each wall region of FIG. 43 is surrounded by a thick line, and FIG. 44 is a region (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5) divided into five in the left-right direction with respect to the near side region of the floor 18. FIG. 45 is a diagram divided into front and rear three-divided regions (B1, B2, B3) with respect to the back side region of the floor surface, FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an example of the radiation temperature obtained by the calculation formula, FIG. 47 is a flowchart of the operation for detecting the open / close state of the curtain. 48 is a diagram showing thermal image data when the curtain of the window on the right wall surface is open during heating operation, FIG. 49 is a schematic configuration diagram of the electrostatic atomizer 300, and FIG. 50 is electrostatic atomization FIG. 51 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cooling unit 108 of the water supply means, FIG. 52 is a schematic configuration diagram of the water application electrode 102, FIG. 53 is a schematic configuration diagram of a modified example of the water application electrode 102, and FIG. FIG. 55 is a side view of the electrostatic atomizer 500 according to the second modification, and FIG. 56 is a water application electrode used for the electrostatic atomizer 500 according to the second modification. FIG. 57 is a side view of the electrostatic atomizer 600 according to the third modification, FIG. 58 is a side view of the electrostatic atomizer 700 according to the fourth modification, and FIG. 59 is an electrostatic atomization according to the fifth modification. 60 is a side view of the device 800, FIG. 60 is an enlarged conceptual diagram for explaining the metal foam used for the water application electrode 102, and FIG. FIG. 62 is a diagram comparing the water absorption of the metal and the comparative example, FIG. 62 is a diagram comparing the electrical resistivity of the foam metal and the comparative example, and FIG. 63 is a diagram comparing the electrostatic atomization amount of the foam metal and the comparative example. 64 is a diagram comparing ozone generation amounts due to differences in the materials of the foam metal, FIG. 65 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air conditioner 200 including any of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800, and FIG. 66 is an air conditioner. 67 is a cross-sectional view of the air conditioner, FIG. 67 is a structural diagram of a wind direction control drive unit showing the structure of a drive part related to the wind direction control of the air conditioner, FIG. 68 is a front view of the air conditioner with the left and right air direction control plates omitted, and FIG. FIG. 70 is a front view of the air conditioner with the vertical airflow direction control plate omitted, and FIG. 70 is a view showing a room in which the air conditioner body is attached to the upper part of the wall, with the indoor space divided into 15 area sections. FIG. 71 shows that the air conditioner recognizes, FIG. FIG. 72 is a block diagram showing a microcomputer constituting the control device 215, and FIG. 72 is a diagram showing a state seen from directly above that the air conditioner recognizes the indoor space in a state of being divided into 15 area sections. 73 is an area division group consisting of 15 two-dimensional area divisions recognized by the air conditioner, and is recognized by the air conditioner when a human body is detected in two area divisions, area division A2 and area division E2. FIG. 74 shows a state in which the air conditioner is driven. When a human body is detected in two area sections of the air conditioner, the area section A2 and the area section E2, a setting value for driving the stepping motor for controlling the left and right wind direction is determined. FIG. 75 is a diagram showing the creation status of the one-dimensional data in the depth direction, FIG. 75 is a diagram showing a left / right wind direction setting table for determining the operation of the left / right wind direction control plate of the air conditioner, and FIG. FIG. 77 is a diagram showing a state where an area block group consisting of 15 two-dimensional area blocks is divided into three regions in the left-right direction, and FIG. 77 shows the human body in two area blocks, area block A2 and area block E2, of the air conditioner. FIG. 78 is a diagram showing the state of creation of one-dimensional data in the left-right direction that determines the setting value for driving the stepping motor for controlling the up-and-down air direction when the air-conditioning is detected. FIG. 78 shows the up-and-down air-direction control plate (left) 206a FIG. 79 is a diagram showing an up / down air direction control plate (left)-(right) operation determination table for determining the operation of the air direction control plate (right) 206b. FIG. 79 is an up / down air direction setting for determining the operation of the up / down air direction control plate of the air conditioner. FIG. 80 is a perspective view showing a wind direction operation when a human body is detected in two area sections of the air conditioner area section A2 and area section E2, and FIG. 81 is a view showing the air conditioner area section A2. D FIG. 82 is a front view in which the left and right wind direction control plates are not shown when a human body is detected in the two area sections of the section E2. FIG. 82 is a diagram illustrating a human body in the two area sections of the air conditioner area section A2 and area section E2. FIG. 83 is a view showing a room in which the air conditioner body of the air conditioner is attached to the upper part of the wall, and shows two of the area section A2 and the area section E2. It is a figure which shows the wind direction operation state of an air conditioner when a human body is detected in one area division.

  The overall configuration of the air conditioner 100 (indoor unit) will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1 and FIG. 2 are external perspective views of the air conditioner 100, but the view angle is different, and FIG. 1 shows that the upper and lower flaps 43 (up and down wind direction control plates, two on the left and right) are closed. FIG. 2 is different from FIG. 2 in that the upper and lower flaps 43 are open and the left and right flaps 44 (left and right wind direction control plates, many) are visible.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the air conditioner 100 (indoor unit) has a suction port 41 for sucking room air on the upper surface of a substantially box-shaped indoor unit housing 40 (defined as a main body). .

  Moreover, the blower outlet 42 which blows off conditioned air is formed in the lower part of the front, and the blower outlet 42 is provided with the upper and lower flaps 43 and the left and right flaps 44 for controlling the direction of the blown air. The upper and lower flaps 43 control the up and down direction of the blowing air, and the left and right flaps 44 control the left and right direction of the blowing air.

  The infrared sensor 3 is provided on the outlet 42 in the lower part of the front surface of the indoor unit housing 40. The infrared sensor 3 is attached downward at an depression angle of about 24.5 degrees.

  The depression angle is an angle formed by the central axis of the infrared sensor 3 and the horizontal line. In other words, the infrared sensor 3 is mounted downward at an angle of about 24.5 degrees with respect to the horizon.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioner 100 (indoor unit) includes a blower 45 inside, and a heat exchanger 46 is disposed so as to surround the blower 45.

  As the blower 45, a cross-follower fan having a relatively small diameter and a long fan is used. In the cross flow fan, the generated wind does not spiral like a propeller fan, and it becomes a quiet laminar flow with the width of the fan. The static pressure is low and a large air volume can be obtained.

  A cross-flow fan is also called a line flow fan (registered trademark), a tangential fan, a cross-flow fan, or a cross-flow fan. It sucks from one radial direction of the impeller and blows air from a radial direction of about 90 ° (right angle). Since it is easy to increase the length of the blowout port, the indoor unit fan of a wall-mounted air conditioner, curtain wall Used for slit-type outlets and the like.

  The heat exchanger 46 is connected to a compressor or the like mounted on an outdoor unit (not shown) to form a refrigeration cycle. It operates as an evaporator during cooling operation and as a condenser during heating operation.

  The heat exchanger 46 has a substantially inverted V-shaped cross section when viewed from the side. The heat exchanger 46 includes a front upper heat exchanger 46a, a front lower heat exchanger 46b, and a rear heat exchanger 46c.

  The heat exchanger 46 is a cross fin tube type heat exchanger composed of heat transfer tubes and fins.

  Room air is sucked from the suction port 41 by the blower 45, heat exchange is performed with the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle by the heat exchanger 46 to generate conditioned air, and the conditioned air is blown into the room from the outlet 42 through the blower 45. The

  At the air outlet 42, the vertical and horizontal wind directions are controlled by the upper and lower flaps 43 and the left and right flaps 44. In FIG. 3, the upper and lower flaps 43 are closed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the infrared sensor 3 has eight light receiving elements (not shown) arranged in a row in the vertical direction inside the metal can 1. On the upper surface of the metal can 1, there are provided lens windows (not shown) for passing infrared rays through the eight light receiving elements. The light distribution viewing angle 2 of each light receiving element is 7 degrees in the vertical direction and 8 degrees in the horizontal direction. In addition, although the light distribution viewing angle 2 of each light receiving element showed 7 degrees of vertical directions and 8 degrees of horizontal directions, it is not limited to 7 degrees of vertical directions and 8 degrees of horizontal directions. The number of light receiving elements changes according to the light distribution viewing angle 2 of each light receiving element. For example, the product of the vertical light distribution viewing angle of one light receiving element and the number of light receiving elements may be made constant.

  As shown in FIG. 5 when the vicinity of the infrared sensor 3 is viewed from the back side (from the inside of the air conditioner 100), the infrared sensor 3 is housed in the housing 5. A stepping motor 6 that drives the infrared sensor 3 is provided above the housing 5. The infrared sensor 3 is attached to the air conditioner 100 by fixing the mounting portion 7 integrated with the housing 5 to the lower front portion of the air conditioner 100. In a state where the infrared sensor 3 is attached to the air conditioner 100, the stepping motor 6 and the housing 5 are vertical. And the infrared sensor 3 is attached inside the housing | casing 5 downward with the depression angle of about 24.5 degree | times.

  The infrared sensor 3 is rotationally driven within a predetermined angle range in the left-right direction by the stepping motor 6 (this rotational drive is expressed here as being movable). For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is movable from the right end portion (a) to the left end portion (c) via the center portion (b) (indicated by an unfilled arrow).

  When it comes to the left end part (c), it is reversed in the reverse direction, and it moves from the left end part (c) to the right end part (a) via the center part (b) (indicated by a solid arrow). This operation is repeated.

  The infrared sensor 3 detects the temperature of the temperature detection target while scanning the room temperature detection target range from side to side. Here, the left and right are the left and right when viewed from the air conditioner 100 side.

  Here, a method for acquiring thermal image data of the wall or floor of the room by the infrared sensor 3 will be described. The infrared sensor 3 and the like are controlled by a microcomputer programmed with a predetermined operation. A microcomputer programmed with a predetermined operation is defined as a control unit. In the following description, a description that each control is performed by the control unit (a microcomputer programmed with a predetermined operation) is omitted.

  When acquiring thermal image data of the walls and floors of the room, the infrared sensor 3 is moved in the left-right direction by the stepping motor 6, and the stepping motor 6 has a movable angle (rotational drive angle of the infrared sensor 3) every 1.6 degrees. The infrared sensor 3 is stopped at a position for a predetermined time (0.1 to 0.2 seconds).

  After the infrared sensor 3 is stopped, it waits for a predetermined time (a time shorter than 0.1 to 0.2 seconds), and the detection results (thermal image data) of the eight light receiving elements of the infrared sensor 3 are captured.

  After capturing the detection results of the infrared sensor 3, the stepping motor 6 is again driven (moving angle 1.6 degrees) and then stopped, and the detection results (thermal image data) of the eight light receiving elements of the infrared sensor 3 are the same operation. ).

  The above operation is repeated, and thermal image data in the detection area is calculated based on the detection results of 94 infrared sensors 3 in the left-right direction.

  Since the infrared sensor 3 is stopped at 94 positions every 1.6 degrees of the movable angle of the stepping motor 6 and the thermal image data is captured, the movable range of the infrared sensor 3 in the left-right direction (angle range for rotational driving in the left-right direction) is It is about 150.4 degrees.

  FIG. 7 shows a vertical light distribution viewing angle in a vertical cross section of the infrared sensor 3 in which eight light receiving elements are vertically arranged in a row with the air conditioner 100 installed at a height of 1800 mm from the floor of the room. .

  The angle 7 ° shown in FIG. 7 is the vertical light distribution viewing angle of one light receiving element.

  Further, an angle 37.5 ° in FIG. 7 indicates an angle from a wall to which the air conditioner 100 in a region that does not enter the vertical field region of the infrared sensor 3 is attached. If the depression angle of the infrared sensor 3 is 0 °, this angle is 90 ° −4 (the number of light receiving elements below the horizontal) × 7 ° (vertical light distribution viewing angle of one light receiving element) = 62 °. Become. In the infrared sensor 3 of the present embodiment, the depression angle is 24.5 °, so that 62 ° -24.5 ° = 37.5 °.

  FIG. 8 shows a result of calculation as thermal image data based on a detection result obtained by moving the infrared sensor 3 in the left-right direction in a living scene where the housewife 12 is holding the infant 13 in a room equivalent to 8 tatami mats. .

  FIG. 8 shows thermal image data acquired on a day when the season is winter and the weather is cloudy. Therefore, the temperature of the window 14 is as low as 10 to 15 ° C. Housewives 12 and infants 13 have the highest temperatures. In particular, the temperature of the upper body of the housewife 12 and the infant 13 is 26-30 ° C. Thus, by moving the infrared sensor 3 in the left-right direction, for example, temperature information of each part of the room can be acquired.

  Next, room shape detection means for determining the room shape by comprehensively judging from the capacity band of the air conditioner, the temperature difference (temperature unevenness) information between the floor surface and the wall surface generated during the air conditioning operation, and the history of the human body detection position (Space recognition detection) will be described.

  From the thermal image data acquired by the infrared sensor 3, the floor area in the air-conditioned area being air-conditioned is obtained, and the wall surface position in the air-conditioned area on the thermal image is obtained.

  Since the areas of the floor surface and the wall surface (the wall surfaces are the front wall and the left and right wall surfaces viewed from the air conditioner 100) are understood on the thermal image, it becomes possible to obtain the average temperature of each individual wall surface. Thus, it is possible to obtain an accurate body temperature in consideration of the wall surface temperature detected by the human body.

The means for obtaining the floor area on the thermal image data integrates the following three pieces of information to enable accurate detection of the floor area and the room shape.
(1) The room shape of the shape limit value and the initial setting value obtained from the capacity band of the air conditioner 100 and the installation position button setting of the remote control;
(2) Room shape obtained from temperature unevenness of floor and wall generated during operation of the air conditioner 100;
(3) The room shape obtained from the human body detection position history.

  The installation position button of the remote control is provided at a predetermined position of the remote control (a location that is not normally used, for example, a battery storage unit), and is often set by an installation contractor when installing the air conditioner. Depending on where the air conditioner is installed on the right, center, or left of the room, the remote control installation position button is set accordingly.

The air conditioner 100 is divided into capacity bands corresponding to the size of the room to be air-conditioned. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a tatami mat standard and an area (area [m ² ]) during cooling operation defined by the capacity band of the air conditioner 100. For example, when the capacity of the air conditioner 100 is 2.2 kw, the tatami standard for the air conditioning area during the cooling operation is 6 to 9 tatami. The area (area) of 6 to 9 tatami mats is 10 to 15 m ² .

FIG. 10 is a diagram in which the floor area (area) for each capacity is defined by using the maximum area (area) for each capacity shown in FIG. In the case of the capacity of 2.2 kw, the maximum area (area) in FIG. 9 is 15 m ² . By obtaining the square root of 15 m ² , the vertical and horizontal distances when the aspect ratio is 1: 1 are 3.9 m each. The maximum vertical and horizontal distance and the minimum distance are set as vertical and horizontal distances when the maximum area of 15 m ² is fixed and the aspect ratio is varied in the range of 1: 2 to 2: 1. When the capacity is 2.2 kw, the maximum vertical distance is 5.5 m, and the minimum vertical distance is 2.7 m. The maximum horizontal distance is 5.5 m, and the minimum horizontal distance is 2.7 m.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of the room shape limit values in the vertical and horizontal directions with a capacity of 2.2 kw. From the square root of the maximum area of 15 m ² for each ability, the vertical and horizontal distances when the aspect ratio is 1: 1 are 3.9 m. The maximum vertical and horizontal distance is set as the vertical and horizontal distance when the maximum area of 15 m ² is fixed and the aspect ratio is varied in the range of 1: 2 to 2: 1. When the aspect ratio is 1: 2, the length is 2.7 m and the width is 5.5 m. Similarly, when the aspect ratio is 2: 1, the length is 5.5 m: width 2.7 m.

FIG. 12 shows the vertical and horizontal distance conditions obtained from the capacity band of the air conditioner 100. The initial value in FIG. 12 is obtained from the square root of the intermediate area of the corresponding area for each ability. For example, the adaptation area with a capacity of 2.2 kw is 10 to 15 m ² and the intermediate area is 12 m ² . An initial value of 3.5 m is obtained from the square root of 12 m ² . The calculation of the initial vertical / horizontal distance for each ability band is calculated from the same concept. At the same time, the minimum value (m) and the maximum value (m) are as calculated in FIG.

  Therefore, the initial value [m] in FIG. 12 is the vertical and horizontal distance as the initial value of the room shape determined by the capacity of the air conditioner 100. However, the origin of the installation position of the air conditioner 100 is varied according to the installation position conditions (right, center, left) of the remote controller.

  FIG. 13 shows the conditions for central installation when the capacity is 2.2 kW. As shown in FIG. 13, the initial lateral distance intermediate point is set as the origin of the air conditioner 100. The origin of the air conditioner 100 is the positional relationship of the center (1.8 m from the side) of the room 3.5 m long and wide.

  FIG. 14 shows a case where the left corner is installed (viewed from the user) when the capacity is 2.2 kw. In the case of corner installation, the distance to the wall closer to the left and right is 0.6 m from the origin of the air conditioner 100 (the center point of the width).

  Accordingly, (1) the capacity band of the air conditioner 100 and the room shape of the shape limit value and the initial setting value obtained from the setting position button setting of the remote control are set from the capacity band of the air conditioner 100 under the above-described conditions. By determining the installation position of the air conditioner 100 according to the installation position condition of the remote controller on the floor area, the boundary line between the floor surface and the wall surface can be obtained on the thermal image data acquired from the infrared sensor 3 Yes.

  FIG. 15 shows the positional relationship between the floor surface and the wall surface on the thermal image data when the remote control installation position button is set at the center when the air conditioner 100 has a capacity of 2.2 kw. It can be seen that the left wall 16, the front wall 19, the right wall 17, and the floor 18 are shown on the thermal image data as viewed from the infrared sensor 3 side. The floor shape dimensions of the capacity 2.2 kW at the initial setting are as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the left wall surface 16, the front wall 19, and the right wall surface 17 are collectively referred to as a wall surface.

  Next, (2) a room shape calculating means obtained from the temperature unevenness of the floor and wall that occurs during the operation of the air conditioner 100 will be described. FIG. 16 shows a calculation flow of the room shape due to temperature unevenness. On the 8 × 94 horizontal thermal image generated as thermal image data by the infrared image acquisition unit 52 from the infrared sensor driving unit 51 that drives the infrared sensor 3 described above, the reference wall position calculation unit 54 It is characterized in that a range for detecting temperature unevenness on thermal image data is restricted.

  In the following, the function of the reference wall position calculation unit 54 in FIG. 15 will be described under the condition that the remote control installation condition is the central time condition when the air conditioner capacity is 2.2 KW.

  FIG. 17 shows a boundary line 60 between the upper and lower pixels that becomes the boundary between the wall surface and the floor surface 18 on the thermal image data of FIG. Pixels above the boundary line 60 are light distribution pixels that detect the wall surface temperature, and pixels below the boundary line 60 are light distribution pixels that detect the floor surface temperature.

  In FIG. 18, the temperature generated between the upper and lower pixels is detected in a total of three pixels, one pixel in the downward direction and two pixels in the upward direction, with respect to the position of the boundary line 60 set in FIG. It is characterized by.

  The temperature generated on the boundary line 60 between the wall surface and the floor surface by detecting the temperature difference around the boundary line 60 between the wall surface and the floor surface, instead of searching for the temperature difference between all pixels of the total thermal image data. It is characterized by detecting.

  It is characterized by having both a reduction in extra soft calculation processing (reduction in calculation processing time and a load reduction) and detection error processing (noise debounce processing) by all pixel detection.

Next, a temperature unevenness boundary detection unit 53 that detects a boundary due to temperature unevenness with respect to the inter-pixel region described above,
(A) Judgment means based on absolute values obtained from thermal image data of floor surface temperature and wall surface temperature, (b) Judgment based on maximum value of gradient (first derivative) in depth direction of temperature difference between upper and lower pixels in detection area. The boundary line 60 can be detected by any one of means and (c) a judgment means based on the maximum value of the inclination (second derivative) of the gradient in the depth direction of the temperature difference between the upper and lower pixels in the detection region. Features.

  In FIG. 19, in the pixel detection area, a pixel that exceeds a threshold or a pixel that exceeds the maximum value of the slope is marked in black by the temperature unevenness boundary detection unit 53 that detects the temperature unevenness boundary. In addition, marking is not performed for a portion that does not exceed the threshold value or the maximum value for detecting the temperature unevenness boundary.

  FIG. 20 shows the result of detecting a boundary line due to temperature unevenness. The condition for drawing the boundary line between the pixels exceeds the threshold value or the maximum value in the temperature unevenness boundary detection unit 53 below the black marked pixel exceeding the threshold value or the maximum value and between the upper and lower pixels in the detection region. In a column that is not present, it is a condition that a line is drawn at a reference position between pixels that is initially set by the reference wall position calculation unit 54 in FIG.

  Then, on the thermal image data, the coordinate point (X, Y) of each element drawn below the boundary line is converted as a floor surface coordinate point by the floor surface coordinate conversion unit 55 and projected onto the floor surface 18. Is shown in FIG. It can be understood that the element coordinates drawn on the lower part of the boundary line 60 for 94 columns are projected.

  FIG. 22 shows an area of a target pixel for detecting a temperature difference in the vicinity of the position of the front wall 19 under an initial setting condition with a capacity of 2.2 kW and a remote control center installation condition.

  First, in FIG. 21 in which the boundary element coordinates of each thermal image data are projected on the floor 18, the average of the scattering element coordinate points of each element that detects the vicinity of the position of the front wall 19 shown in FIG. FIG. 23 shows the position of the wall surface with the floor 18.

  In the same way as the front wall boundary line drawing means, the boundary line is drawn with the average of the scattering element coordinate points of each element corresponding to the right wall surface 17 and the left wall surface 16. And the area | region which connected the left wall surface boundary line 20 on either side, the right wall surface boundary line 21, and the front wall boundary line 22 turns into a floor surface area | region.

  Further, as means for drawing a more accurate floor wall boundary line by detecting temperature unevenness, the average value of the element coordinates Y and the standard deviation σ of the area for which the front boundary line is obtained in FIG. There is also a means for recalculating the average value only with the following element target.

  Similarly, in calculating the left and right wall boundary lines, it is possible to use the average value of each element coordinate X and the standard deviation σ.

  Another means for calculating the left and right wall boundary lines is an intermediate region of the distance between the Y coordinates with respect to the Y coordinate obtained by calculating the front wall boundary line, that is, the distance from the wall surface on the air conditioner 100 installation side. It is also possible to obtain the boundary line between the left and right wall surfaces using the average of the X coordinates of each element distributed in 1/3 to 2/3. There is no problem in either case.

  The distance Y to the front wall 19 from the installation position of the air conditioner 100 that can be obtained by the front left and right wall position calculation unit 56 by the above means as the origin, the distance X_left to the left wall surface 16, and the right wall surface 17 And the distance X_right is integrated as a total sum of distances in the detection history storage unit 57 and the number of times is integrated as a distance detection counter, and an average distance is obtained by dividing the sum of the detection distances and the count number. To do. The left and right walls are obtained by the same means.

  Note that the room shape determination result due to temperature unevenness is valid only when the number of detections counted by the detection history storage unit 57 is greater than the threshold number.

  Next, (3) Calculation of the room shape obtained from the human body detection position history will be described. FIG. 24 shows a flow of calculating the room shape based on the human body detection position history. The human body detection unit 61 uses the output of the infrared sensor drive unit 51 that drives the infrared sensor 3 as the thermal image data generated by the infrared image acquisition unit 52 as the thermal image data of 8 * 94 horizontal, and the previous thermal image data. It is characterized by determining the position of the human body by taking the difference between.

  The human body detection unit 61 that detects the presence / absence of the human body and the position of the human body, when taking the difference between the thermal image data, a threshold A that enables the difference detection of the vicinity of the head of the human body having a relatively high surface temperature, and a slight surface temperature. It is characterized by individually having a threshold value B that enables differential detection of a lower foot portion.

  In FIG. 25, the difference between the immediately preceding background image and the thermal image data in which the human body exists is performed, and the detection of the human body is determined based on the threshold A and the threshold B. The difference area of the thermal image data exceeding the threshold value A is determined to be near the human head, and the thermal image difference area exceeding the threshold value B adjacent to the area determined by the threshold value A is obtained. At this time, it is assumed that the difference area obtained from the threshold B is adjacent to the difference area obtained from the threshold A. That is, the difference area that only exceeds the threshold B is not determined to be a human body. The difference threshold relationship between the thermal image data indicates that threshold A> threshold B.

  The region of the human body obtained by this means makes it possible to detect the region from the head of the human body to the foot, and has the thermal image coordinates X and Y of the central portion of the lowermost end of the difference region indicating the foot portion of the human body. The human body position coordinates (X, Y).

  Through the floor surface coordinate conversion unit 55 that converts the foot position coordinates (X, Y) of the human body obtained from the difference of the thermal image data as floor surface coordinate points as shown in FIG. The human body position history accumulating unit 62 is characterized by accumulating a human body position history.

  FIG. 26 shows a state where the human body detection position obtained from the thermal image data difference is counted and integrated for each of the X axis and Y axis as the human position coordinate (X, Y) point subjected to coordinate conversion by the floor surface coordinate conversion unit 55. Show. In the human body position history accumulating unit 62, as shown in FIG. 26, the minimum resolution of the lateral X coordinate and the depth Y coordinate is secured every 0.3 m, and is secured at intervals of 0.3 m for each axis. Assume that the position coordinates (X, Y) generated every time the human position is detected in the area are counted.

  Based on the human body detection position history information from the human body position history storage unit 62, the wall surface determination unit 58 obtains the floor surface 18 and wall surfaces (left wall surface 16, right wall surface 17, front wall 19) that are room shapes.

  FIG. 27 shows the room shape determination result based on the human body position history. The floor area is determined to have a range of 10% or more of the maximum accumulated numerical value accumulated in the horizontal X coordinate and the depth Y coordinate.

  Next, it is estimated from the accumulated data of the human body detection position history whether the room shape is rectangular (square) or L-shaped, and the floor surface 18 and the wall surface (left wall surface 16, right wall surface) of the L-shaped room shape are estimated. 17, an example of calculating an accurate room shape by detecting temperature unevenness near the front wall 19) will be described.

  FIG. 28 shows the result of the human body detection position history in an L-shaped room-shaped living room. The minimum resolution of the horizontal X coordinate and the depth Y coordinate is an area that is set every 0.3 m, and the position coordinates (X, Y) that are generated every time human body is detected in an area that is secured at intervals of 0.3 m for each axis. Will be counted.

  Naturally, since the human body moves within the L-shaped room shape, the number of counts accumulated in the floor area (X coordinate) in the left and right direction and the floor area (Y coordinate) in the depth direction is the X and Y coordinates. The shape is proportional to each depth region (area).

  A means for determining whether the room shape is rectangular (square) or L-shaped from the accumulated data of the human body detection position history will be described.

  FIG. 29 shows the number of counts accumulated in the floor area (X coordinate) in the horizontal direction X coordinate. The threshold A is characterized in that it is determined that the distance (width) in the floor surface X direction is 10% or more with respect to the maximum accumulated numerical value.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 30, the floor surface area (X coordinate) obtained in FIG. 29 is equally divided into three areas A, B, and C, and the maximum accumulated numerical value accumulated exists in which area. This is characterized in that the maximum value and the minimum value for each region are obtained at the same time.

  The accumulated maximum accumulated numerical value exists in the region C (or region A), the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value in the region C is within Δα, and the maximum accumulated numerical value in the region C and in the region A When the difference from the maximum accumulation number is equal to or greater than Δβ, it is determined that the shape is L-shaped.

  Obtaining the difference Δα between the maximum value and the minimum value for each region is one of noise debounce processes for estimating the room shape from the accumulated data of the human body detection position history. As shown in FIG. 31, when there is a maximum accumulation number of accumulated data in the area C, the count number of 90% or more of the maximum accumulation number is γ (area decomposed every 0.3 m). There is also a means to judge when there are more than the number). After performing the above calculation process in the area C, the same calculation is performed in the area A to determine the L-shaped room shape (see FIG. 32).

  If it is determined that the room has an L-shaped room shape as described above, as shown in FIG. 33, a location of 50% or more with respect to the maximum accumulation number is obtained. Although this description is given with the X coordinate in the horizontal direction, the same applies to the accumulated data in the Y coordinate in the depth direction.

  A coordinate point with a threshold value B of 50% or more with respect to the maximum accumulation number in the floor area of the horizontal X coordinate and the Y coordinate in the depth direction is a boundary point between the floor and wall surface of the L-shaped room shape. It is characterized by judging.

  FIG. 34 shows the floor area of the L-shaped room shape obtained from the boundary surface between the floor surface and the wall surface of the L-shaped room shape obtained in FIG. Show shape.

  The L-shaped floor shape result obtained above is fed back to the reference wall position calculation unit 54 in the temperature unevenness room shape algorithm, and the range for detecting temperature unevenness on the thermal image data is recalculated. .

  Next, a method for integrating three pieces of information for determining the room shape will be described. However, the process of feeding back the L-shaped floor shape result to the reference wall position calculation unit 54 in the temperature unevenness room shape algorithm and recalculating the range for detecting temperature unevenness on the thermal image data is excluded here.

  FIG. 35 shows a flow for integrating three pieces of information. (2) For the room shape obtained from the temperature unevenness between the floor 18 and the wall surface that occurs during the operation of the air conditioner 100, the number of detections counted by the detection history accumulating unit 57 by the temperature unevenness boundary detecting unit 53 is greater than the threshold number. Only in the case where the temperature unevenness is valid, the temperature unevenness validity determination unit 64 validates the determination result of the room shape due to the temperature unevenness.

  Similarly, in (3) the room shape obtained from the human body position history storage unit 62 based on the room shape obtained from the human body detection position history, the number of human body detection position histories in which the human body position history storage unit 62 stores the human body position history is larger than the threshold number. Only in the case where the human body position validity determination unit 63 makes the determination based on the following conditions by the wall position determination unit 58 under the precondition that the room shape determination result based on the human body detection position history is valid. I do.

  I. When both (2) and (3) are invalid, the room shape of the initial setting value obtained from the capacity band of the air conditioner 100 and the installation position button setting of the remote controller according to (1) is set.

  B. When (2) is valid and (3) is invalid, the output result of (2) is taken as the room shape. However, if the room shape in (2) does not fit in the length of the side determined in FIG. 12 in (1), or does not fit in the area, it will be expanded or contracted to that range. However, when expanding or contracting depending on the area, the distance to the front wall 19 is corrected.

  A specific correction method will be described. FIG. 36 shows the result of the room shape by detecting the temperature unevenness at the center of the remote control installation position condition with the capability of 2.8 kW. From FIG. 12, when the capacity of the air conditioner 100 is 2.8 kW, the minimum value of the length of the vertical and horizontal sides is 3.1 m, and the maximum value is 6.2 m. Therefore, the limit distance of the distance X_right to the right wall surface and the distance X_left to the left wall surface is determined to be half that in FIG. Therefore, the distance of the minimum right wall / minimum left wall shown in the figure is 1.5 m, and the maximum distance of the right wall / maximum left wall is 3.1 m. When the distance to the left wall surface 16 exceeds the maximum left wall distance as in the room shape due to temperature unevenness illustrated in FIG. 36, the arrow is moved to the maximum left wall position as illustrated in FIG. It is supposed to be reduced in the direction.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 36, when the distance to the right wall is located between the minimum right wall and the maximum right wall, the positional relationship is maintained as it is. After reducing to the left wall maximum as shown in FIG. 37, the area of the room shape is obtained, and it is confirmed whether it is within the appropriate range of the area range of 13 to 19 m ² at the capacity of 2.8 kW shown in FIG.

If the room shape area of FIG. 37 after correction is larger than the maximum area value 19 m ² , adjustment is made by lowering the distance of the front wall 19 in the direction of the arrow until the maximum area 19 m ² as shown in FIG. I decided to.

  Similarly, in the case shown in FIG. 39, when the distance to the left wall surface 16 is less than the minimum left wall, the area is expanded in the direction of the arrow to the minimum left wall region.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 40, it is determined whether the room area is within the appropriate area by calculating the corrected room shape area.

  C. Even when (2) is invalid and (3) is valid, the output result of (3) is the room shape. Similarly to the case of (2) valid and (3) invalid, correction is made so as to meet the side length and area restrictions determined by (1).

  D. When both (2) and (3) are valid, the room shape based on the human body detection position history of (3) has a shorter distance to the wall, based on the room shape due to temperature unevenness of (2). If there is, the correction is made so that the output (area) of the room shape due to the temperature unevenness of (2) is narrowed with a maximum width of 0.5 m.

  Conversely, if (3) is wider, no correction is made. The corrected room shape is also corrected (matched) so as to conform to the limitations on the length and area of the side determined in (1).

  From the above integration conditions, as shown in FIG. 41, the distance between the wall surfaces is the distance Y coordinate Y_front to the front wall 19 (FIG. 15), the X coordinate X_right of the right wall surface 17 (FIG. 15), the left wall surface 16 (FIG. 15) X coordinate X_left can be obtained.

  Next, calculation of the floor wall radiation temperature will be described. Each coordinate point on the floor boundary obtained from the distance between the front wall 19 and the left and right walls (the left wall surface 16 and the right wall surface 17) obtained under the above integration conditions is back projected onto the thermal image data. FIG. 42 shows the result.

  It can be understood that the area of the floor 18, the front wall 19, the left wall 16, and the right wall 17 are divided on the thermal image data of FIG. 42.

  First, regarding the calculation of the wall surface temperature, the average of the temperature data obtained from the thermal image data of each wall region obtained on the thermal image data is set as the wall temperature.

  As shown in FIG. 43, each wall region is surrounded by a thick line.

  Next, the temperature region of the floor 18 will be described. The floor area on the thermal image data is subdivided into, for example, a total of 15 divided areas of 5 in the left-right direction and 3 in the depth direction. The number of areas to be divided is not limited to this, and may be arbitrary.

  The example shown in FIG. 44 is divided into five regions (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5) divided in the left-right direction with respect to the near side region of the floor surface 18.

  Similarly, in FIG. 45, the area is divided into three front and rear divided areas (B1, B2, B3) with respect to the back side area of the floor. Both are characterized in that front, back, left, and right floor areas overlap each other. Therefore, on the thermal image data, temperature data of the temperature of the front wall 19, the left wall surface 16, and the right wall surface 17 and the floor surface temperature divided into 15 are generated. The temperature of each divided floor surface area is the average temperature. Based on the temperature information divided into regions on the thermal image data, the radiation temperature of each human body in the living area captured by the thermal image data is obtained.

  The radiation temperature from the floor surface and wall surface for each human body is obtained by the following calculation formula.

here,
T_calc: radiation temperature Tf. ave: floor temperature T_left of the place where the human body is detected: left wall surface temperature T_front: front wall temperature T_right: right wall surface temperature Xf: X coordinate of human body detection position Yf: Y coordinate of human body detection position X_left: distance between left wall surfaces Y_front : Distance between front wall surfaces X_right: Distance between right wall surfaces α, β, γ: Correction coefficient

  It is possible to calculate the radiation temperature in consideration of the influence of the floor surface temperature, the wall surface temperature of each wall surface, and the distance between the wall surfaces at the place where the human body is detected.

  FIG. 46 shows an example of the radiation temperature obtained by the above formula. The radiation temperature is estimated on the condition detected in the living space where the subject A and the subject B image on the thermal image data on the thermal image data. Front wall temperature T_front: 23 ° C., T_left: 15 ° C., T_right: 23 ° C., subject A floor temperature Tf. ave = 20 ° C., subject B's floor temperature Tf. As a result of calculating ave = 23 ° C. and all correction coefficients in the radiation temperature calculation formula as 1, the radiation temperature Tcalc of subject A = 18 ° C. and the radiation temperature Tcalc = 23 ° C. of subject B can be obtained.

  Conventionally, the radiation temperature is calculated based on the temperature of the floor surface 18 alone. However, it is possible to consider the radiation temperature from the wall surface temperature obtained by recognizing the room shape, and the radiation that the human body can experience in the entire body. It became possible to determine the temperature.

  Next, an example in which the open / close state of the curtain is detected using the wall surface temperature obtained by recognizing the above-described room shape will be described. In the air-conditioned room, the air-conditioning efficiency is often better when the curtain is closed than when the curtain is opened. Therefore, when it is detected that the curtain is open, the user of the air conditioner 100 closes the curtain. This is so that it can be encouraged.

  The flow of detecting the curtain open / closed state will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The following control is performed by a microcomputer programmed with a predetermined operation. Here again, a microcomputer programmed with a predetermined operation is defined as a control unit. In the following description, a description that each control is performed by the control unit (a microcomputer programmed with a predetermined operation) is omitted.

  The thermal image acquisition unit 301 acquires a thermal image by detecting the temperature of the temperature detection target by scanning the temperature detection target range left and right with the infrared sensor 3.

  As described above, when acquiring thermal image data of a wall or floor of a room, the infrared sensor 3 is moved in the left-right direction by the stepping motor 6, and the movable angle of the stepping motor 6 (the rotational drive angle of the infrared sensor 3) 1 The infrared sensor 3 is stopped at each position for a predetermined time (0.1 to 0.2 seconds) every 6 degrees. After the infrared sensor 3 is stopped, it waits for a predetermined time (a time shorter than 0.1 to 0.2 seconds), and the detection results (thermal image data) of the eight light receiving elements of the infrared sensor 3 are captured. After capturing the detection results of the infrared sensor 3, the stepping motor 6 is again driven (moving angle 1.6 degrees) and then stopped, and the detection results (thermal image data) of the eight light receiving elements of the infrared sensor 3 are the same operation. ). The above operation is repeated, and thermal image data in the detection area is calculated based on the detection results of 94 infrared sensors 3 in the left-right direction.

In the floor wall detection unit 302, the above-described control unit scans the infrared sensor 3 to acquire thermal image data of the room, integrates the following three pieces of information on the thermal image data, and performs air conditioning. The floor area in the air conditioning area is obtained, and the wall area (wall surface position) in the air conditioning area on the thermal image data is detected.
(1) The room shape of the shape limit value and the initial setting value obtained from the capacity band of the air conditioner 100 and the installation position button setting of the remote control;
(2) Room shape obtained from temperature unevenness of floor and wall generated during operation of the air conditioner 100;
(3) The room shape obtained from the human body detection position history.

  From the thermal image acquired by the thermal image acquisition unit 301, the temperature condition determination unit (room temperature determination unit 303, outside air temperature determination unit 304) described below is applied to the background thermal image (FIG. 43) generated by the above-described processing. By applying the process, it is determined whether or not the current temperature condition is a state that requires detection of the window state.

  For example, in the case of heating operation, the state where the window state needs to be detected is that the outside air temperature is lower than a certain temperature (for example, 5 ° C.) with respect to the room temperature, the window is cooled, and the heating efficiency is increased when the curtain is opened. Indicates a bad condition.

  Conversely, during cooling, the outside air temperature is higher than a certain temperature (for example, 5 ° C.) with respect to room temperature, the window is warmed, and the cooling efficiency is poor when the curtain is opened.

The room temperature determination unit 303 of the temperature condition determination unit is means for detecting the room temperature. The room temperature can be estimated by the following method.
(1) The average temperature of the entire background thermal image;
(2) Average temperature of the floor area of the background thermal image;
(3) Value of a room temperature thermistor thermometer (not shown) mounted on the suction port 41 of the indoor unit housing 40 (main body) of the air conditioner 100.

The outside air temperature determination unit 304 is means for detecting the outside air temperature. The outside air temperature can be estimated by the following method.
(1) Value of an outside temperature thermistor thermometer (not shown) mounted on the outdoor unit (not shown) of the air conditioner 100;
(2) Or even if the following method is used instead, there is no problem in determining whether the window state needs to be detected.
a. The lowest temperature area in the wall area of the background thermal image (during heating);
b. (At the time of cooling) The region of the highest temperature in the wall region of the background thermal image.

  If the difference between the room temperature and the outside air temperature detected by the room temperature determination unit 303 and the outside air temperature determination unit 304 is a certain value (for example, 5 ° C.) or more, the process proceeds to the following window state detection unit.

  The window state detection unit detects a region having a significant temperature difference (predetermined temperature difference, for example, 5 ° C.) in the background thermal image as the window region 31 (FIG. 48), and monitors the time change of the window region 31. At the same time, the operation of closing the curtain can be detected.

  For example, when a room temperature distribution during heating is photographed by the infrared sensor 3, a thermal image as shown in FIG. 48 is obtained. A low temperature portion of the right wall surface in the thermal image is detected as the window region 31. In FIG. 48, the level of temperature is represented by the color depth. The darker the color, the lower the temperature.

  The wall region temperature difference determination unit 305 determines whether or not the temperature difference in the wall region in the background thermal image is a certain value (for example, 5 ° C.) or more. The temperature difference in the wall area varies depending on the heating, cooling, room size, elapsed time after the start of air conditioning, etc., but the wall temperature may differ from the reference temperature such as floor temperature or room temperature during air conditioning. In many cases, it is difficult to determine the presence / absence of the window region 31 only by threshold processing of the difference from the reference temperature.

  Therefore, the wall region temperature difference determination unit 305 determines the presence or absence of a temperature difference in the wall region based on the idea that the window region 31 exists if there is a significant difference in the temperature in the same wall.

  When the wall area temperature difference determination unit 305 determines that there is no significant temperature difference in the wall area, it determines that there is no window area 31 and does not perform the subsequent processing.

  The wall region inside / outside temperature region extraction unit 306 extracts a region close to the outside temperature in the wall region in the background thermal image. That is, a region having a high temperature in the wall region is extracted during cooling, and a region having a low temperature is extracted in the wall region during heating.

  As a method of extracting a region close to the outside temperature in the wall region in the background thermal image, there is a method of extracting a region that is higher (lower) than a certain temperature (for example, 5 ° C.) than the average temperature in the wall region.

  However, the wall region inside / outside air temperature region extraction unit 306 deletes a minute region as a false detection. For example, the minimum size of the window is 80 cm wide × 80 cm high. From the position of the floor wall detected by the floor wall detection unit 302 and the installation angle of the infrared sensor 3, the size of the window on the thermal image when there is a window at each position on the thermal image can be calculated. When the size of the window on the thermal image calculated by the calculation is an area that is not larger than the minimum size of the window, it is deleted as a minute area.

  The window region extraction unit 307 extracts a region that is likely to be the window region 31 among the regions extracted by the wall region inside / outside air temperature region extraction unit 306.

  The window area extraction unit 307 detects, as the window area 31, an area that has been extracted as the window area 31 for a certain time (for example, 10 minutes) in the wall area inside / outside air temperature area extraction unit 306.

  The window area temperature determination unit 308 monitors the temperature change in the area detected as the window area 31 by the window area extraction unit 307 and determines whether the temperature of the area determined as the window has changed to near the wall average temperature. If there is a change, it is determined that the window region 31 has disappeared.

  When the curtain closing operation determination unit 309 determines that all of the window regions 31 detected by the window region extraction unit 307 are not the window regions 31 in the window region temperature determination unit 308, it is determined that the curtain is closed.

  Further, when the window region extraction unit 307 detects the window region 31 and the wall region temperature difference determination unit 305 determines that the window region 31 is not present, it determines that the curtain is closed.

  As described above, the thermal image acquisition unit 301 acquires the thermal image by scanning the infrared sensor 3 in the temperature detection target range left and right to detect the temperature of the temperature detection target, and the floor wall detection unit 302 acquires the thermal image data. The wall area in the upper air conditioning area is acquired, and the temperature condition determination unit determines whether the current temperature condition requires detection of the window state. If the detection is necessary, the window condition detection unit An area having a significant temperature difference in the background thermal image is detected as the window area 31, and a time-dependent change of the window area 31 is monitored, and at the same time, an operation in which the curtain is closed can be detected.

  With such a configuration, the exposure of the window affected by the outside air temperature, which requires extra power consumption for air conditioning, is detected, and the user of the air conditioner 100 is urged to close the curtain or the like. Make it possible.

  The user of the air conditioner 100 can reduce the power consumption of the air conditioner 100 by closing the curtain or the like.

  Next, an electrostatic atomizer that generates nanometer-size mist (particulate water) by an electrostatic atomization phenomenon will be described.

The configuration of the electrostatic atomizer 300 will be described with reference to FIGS. 49 to 52. As shown in FIG. 49, the electrostatic atomizer 300 according to the present embodiment includes a water application electrode 102 and a counter electrode 103 in order to generate an electrostatic mist 101 having a nanometer (10 ⁻⁹ m) size. ing.

  Each of the water application electrodes 102 includes a plate-shaped body 128 and a tip atomizing section 129, and moves (conveys) water supplied to the body 128 to the tip atomizing section 129. The tip (protruding tip) of the tip atomizing portion 129 is disposed so as to face the counter electrode 103. The water application electrode 102 is made of a porous material, and here, in particular, a foam metal that is a metal porous body having a three-dimensional network structure is used. Details will be described later.

  A high voltage of about 4 to 6 kV supplied from the high voltage power supply unit 104 is applied between the water application electrode 102 and the counter electrode 103. Here, the counter electrode 103 serves as a ground electrode and has a potential of 0 V, and a negative DC voltage of −4 to −6 kV is applied to the water application electrode 102.

  The body 128 of the water application electrode 102 has a substantially rectangular shape, and a Peltier unit 106, which is a part of the water supply means, is provided above the body 128 with a gap of a predetermined distance L1 (see FIG. 50). A plurality of cooling fins 108b of the cooling unit 108 in contact with the cooling surface are positioned in a state of being stacked in a substantially horizontal direction. The trunk portion 128 is formed by extending the width in the long side direction (width in the longitudinal direction) in the stacking direction of the cooling fins 108b. That is, the long side direction (longitudinal direction) of the substantially rectangular trunk portion 128 substantially coincides with the stacking direction of the cooling fins 108 b of the cooling portion 108.

  The water application electrode 102 is located below the cooling fin 108b with a gap of a predetermined distance L1, and has a plate-shaped body 128 that extends in the longitudinal direction (long side direction) in the stacking direction of the cooling fins 108b. is doing. And the short side direction of the trunk | drum 128 is substantially corresponded to the protrusion direction of the cooling fin 108b. The body 128 has an elongated shape with a width in the long side direction that is three times or more of a width in the short side direction. The plate-like water application electrode 102 has a plate thickness smaller than the width of the trunk portion 128 in the short side direction.

  In addition, although the shape of the trunk | drum 128 is demonstrated as a substantially rectangular shape, it is not limited to the complete rectangle whose angle which a long side and a short side make is a right angle, The angle with respect to the long side of a short side is an acute angle or It may be an obtuse angle, that is, a parallelogram or a trapezoid whose short side is not connected at right angles to the long sides of two sides parallel to each other. Such parallelograms and trapezoids are also included.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 49, the water application electrode 102 has a tip atomizing portion 129 formed in the middle of the side surface in the long side direction (longitudinal direction) of the body portion 128 so as to protrude from the side surface. The tip atomizing portion 129 is a plate-like protrusion having the same thickness and continuing from the body portion 128, and its shape is triangular when viewed from above. In the triangular tip atomizing portion 129, the bottom surface is connected to the long side surface of the body portion 128, and the tip 129 a (protruding tip) that is the apex faces the counter electrode 103. This tip 129 a becomes a discharge portion with the counter electrode 103. 49 to 52 show the case where there is one protrusion which is the tip atomizing portion 129, but there may be a plurality of protrusions.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 53, the shape of the protrusion that is the tip atomizing portion 129 is a so-called so-called so-called “quadrature portion” that is connected to the trunk portion 128 and a triangular portion that is connected to the bottom surface of the square portion. The shape may be a home base shape, and the tip 129 a (protruding end) that is the apex of the triangular portion may be directed to the counter electrode 103.

  The tip atomizing portion 129 of the water application electrode 102 has a plate shape and a thickness as in the case of the trunk portion 128 regardless of whether it is a triangular shape as shown in FIG. 49 or a home base shape as shown in FIG. The tip 129a toward the counter electrode 103 is thick, and the tip 129a is pointed linearly. Since the tip 129a is pointed linearly, two corners are formed at its upper and lower ends.

  The tip atomizing part 129 is formed continuously with the body part 128 in the middle of the side surface extending in the stacking direction of the cooling fins 108b, which is the long side direction (longitudinal direction) of the plate-like body part 128, and the long side of the body part 128 A plate-like protrusion protruding from the side surface toward the counter electrode 103, the shape of which is a shape in which the protrusion width becomes narrower toward the tip 129a, and the tip 129a is pointed linearly or pointed linearly It is thin enough to be close to the condition.

  The counter electrode 103 is formed in a plate shape with a conductive metal or resin, and has an opening at substantially the center. The counter electrode 103 is located at a certain distance from the tip 129a of the tip atomizing portion 129 so that the opening faces the tip atomizing portion 129 of the water application electrode 102.

  Next, the water supply means positioned above the water application electrode 102 will be described. An electrostatic atomizing apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 49 includes a Peltier unit 106, a heat radiating portion 107 in contact with the heat radiating surface of the Peltier unit 106, and a cooling portion 108 in contact with the cooling surface located on the opposite side of the heat radiating surface. It has water supply means. And the water produced | generated with this water supply means is dripped at the upper surface of the trunk | drum 128 of the water application electrode 102 by gravity, and is supplied.

  Each of the heat dissipating part 107 and the cooling part 108 has a base plate in contact with the Peltier unit 106 and a plurality of fins standing substantially vertically on the surface of the base plate on the side opposite to the Peltier unit. The plurality of fins of the heat dissipating unit 107 and the cooling unit 108 are stacked in a direction substantially orthogonal to the air flow passing through the fins so as to be substantially parallel to the air flow through which each fin passes. Here, since the air flow is substantially in the direction of gravity, the fins of the heat radiating unit 107 and the cooling unit 108 are stacked in a substantially horizontal direction that is a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of gravity. In order to efficiently cool the cooling unit 108, the heat dissipating unit 107 has a larger fin surface area than the cooling unit 108.

  FIG. 51 is a schematic configuration diagram of the cooling unit 108. The cooling unit 108 includes a base plate 108a in contact with the Peltier unit 106 and a plurality of cooling fins erected substantially vertically on the surface of the base plate 108a on the side opposite to the Peltier unit. 108b. The plurality of cooling fins 108b are stacked in the substantially horizontal direction as described above. L2 shown in FIG. 51 is the width of the cooling fin 108b in the stacking direction, and the distance from the outer surface of the cooling fin 108b located at one end in the stacking direction to the outer surface of the cooling fin 108b positioned at the other end. It is. The plurality of cooling fins 108b including the cooling fins 108b at both ends and positioned within the range of the width L2 are all exposed to the air.

  Further, L4 shown in FIG. 51 is the protruding height of the cooling fin 108b, which is the distance from the base end to the protruding end on the base plate 108a, that is, from the surface on the side opposite to the Peltier unit of the base plate 108a to the protruding end of the cooling fin 108b. Distance. Here, the entire lower end surfaces of the plurality of cooling fins 108b are exposed to face the upper surface of the body 128 of the water application electrode 102 with a predetermined distance L1.

  If the vicinity of the base end of the lower end surface of the cooling fin 108b described above is partially covered by a holding frame or the like that fixes the cooling unit 108, the distance L4 is minus the amount of the covered distance. And In such a case, the distance L4 is the exposed length in the protruding direction of the lower end surface of the cooling fin 108b.

  A plurality of P-type N-type semiconductor junctions are provided inside the Peltier unit 106, and when a DC voltage of about 1 to 5 V is applied to the Peltier unit 106 from the low-voltage power supply unit 105, a current flows in one direction. The amount of heat on the heat radiating surface is increased by the Peltier effect, and heat is absorbed on the cooling surface. Thereby, the heat radiating part 107 is warmed and the cooling part 108 is cooled.

  When the temperature of the cooling unit 108 is cooled below the dew point of the passing air by the Peltier unit 106, dew condensation water 110 in which moisture in the air is condensed is generated on the surface of the cooling fin 108 b of the cooling unit 108. The generated condensed water 110 falls along the surface of the cooling fin 108b toward the lower end of the cooling fin 108b due to gravity, and after dropping down to the lower end, is dropped downward from the cooling fin 108b due to gravity. Since the flow of the air passing through is almost the same as the direction of gravity, the condensed water 110 is easily generated on the upper surface of the cooling fin 108b, and moisture in the air disappears as it goes downstream. It becomes difficult to do. Little condensation occurs on the lower end surface of the cooling fin 108b.

  The heat radiating part 107 and the cooling part 108 are made of aluminum. The contact angle of aluminum fins with water in general is 50 to 70 degrees, but here, at least the cooling fin 108b is subjected to water repellent treatment so that the contact angle is 90 degrees or more, or Hydrophilic treatment is performed so that the contact angle is 30 degrees or less, and the generated condensed water 110 is easily moved on the surface of the cooling fin 108b in the direction of gravity, and the generated condensed water 110 is quickly removed from the cooling fin 108b. I try to dripping.

  The contact angle of water is an angle formed between the water droplet surface and the solid surface when the water droplet is placed on the solid surface and is in equilibrium. At the contact point where the water droplet is in contact with the cooling fin 108b surface, Is an angle formed by the tangent formed by the surface of the cooling fin 108b.

  Here, below the cooling unit 108 in the direction of gravity, the water applying electrode 102 is disposed through a space having a predetermined length L1 from the lower end of the cooling fin 108b as shown in FIG. The cooling unit 108 and the water application electrode 102 do not have a portion in direct contact with each other. The condensed water 110 dripped from the lower end of the cooling fin 108 b falls on the upper surface of the trunk portion 128 of the water application electrode 102. That is, since the substantially rectangular trunk portion 128 of the water application electrode 102 extends in the long side direction in the stacking direction of the cooling fins 108b and is disposed directly below (directly below) the cooling fins 108b with a space of a distance L1. is there.

  Condensed water 110 that has fallen by gravity onto the upper surface of the body portion 128 is absorbed into the water application electrode 102 of the metal porous body, and moves inside the gap where the inside is three-dimensionally connected by surface diffusion. Due to such a surface diffusion phenomenon, the dew condensation water 110 is transported from the body 128 to the tip atomization unit 129 inside the water application electrode 102.

  When water (condensation water 110) is transported to the vicinity of the tip 129a of the tip atomizing portion 129 of the water application electrode 102, the water application electrode 102 has a voltage of -4 to -6 kV with respect to the counter electrode 103 that is a ground electrode. Since a negative high voltage is applied, the high voltage is applied to the water in the vicinity of the tip 129a and is charged to the same potential as the water application electrode 102, that is, a negative high voltage. Therefore, the charged water is locally pulled from the tip 129a to the outside of the water application electrode 102 by the action of Coulomb force in an electrostatic field, and forms a swell called a tailor cone. At this time, the water forming the tailor cone is attached to the water application electrode 102 and is continuously charged. Then, when the coulomb force acting exceeds the surface tension of water, the water that formed the tailor cone pops out and repeats splitting (this splitting is called Rayleigh splitting), and the nanometer-size charging The electrostatic mist 101 is generated. The electrostatic mist 101 moves toward the counter electrode 103 and is released to the outside from the opening of the counter electrode 103.

  Here, it is necessary to concentrate the electric field in order for the charged water to jump out from the tip 129a of the tip atomizing portion 129. In this water application electrode 102, the tip atomizing portion 129 is formed in a plate shape, and the tip 129a which is a discharge portion is pointed linearly, so at least at the two corners of the upper end and the lower end of the tip 129a. The electric field can be concentrated.

  For this reason, in the case where the vicinity of the tip is formed in a pyramid shape (a pyramid or a cone) and the tip serving as a discharge portion is pointed like a needle, a tailor cone of water is formed only at one point of the needle-like tip. The tip 129a, which is linearly sharp, can form a water tailor cone at least at the two corners of the upper and lower ends, making the electrostatic mist 101 more efficient than a needle having a discharge point. It can be generated in large quantities. Since the tip 129a is linearly pointed, the electric field is concentrated although not as much as the corners of the upper and lower ends, so that a tailor cone of water may be formed even between the upper and lower corners. Yes, a large amount of electrostatic mist 101 is efficiently generated.

  In order to make it easier to concentrate the electric field, the tip atomizing section 129 should form an acute angle α (shown in FIG. 52) of the triangular apex portion when viewed from the top facing the counter electrode 103, preferably 60. ° or less is better. The angle of the apex portion farthest from the body portion 128 of the triangular tip atomizing portion 129 as viewed from above is the angle α. Further, in the manufacturing process and the delivery process of the water application electrode 102, if the tip atomizing portion 129 protrudes long and narrow, there is a risk of breakage. Therefore, in order to avoid damage, the protrusion height L6 of the tip atomizing portion 129 (Shown in FIG. 52) is preferably equal to or less than the width of the trunk portion 128 in the short side direction, and the apex portion angle α is preferably 15 ° or more.

  The electrostatic mist 101 generated in this way is simply called mist or particulate water, or may be called charged mist or charged particulate water because it is charged. Moreover, since the magnitude | size is a nanometer size, it may be called nanomist. In any case, it is a charged nanometer-size mist (fine particle water) generated by applying a high voltage to water and making it fine by Rayleigh splitting. Here, the mist generated in this way is electrostatically charged. It will be referred to as mist 101. Moreover, producing | generating the electrostatic mist 101 in this way is called electrostatic atomization, and atomizing is making mist of water. The atomization amount is the generation amount (generation amount) of the electrostatic mist 101.

  FIG. 52 is a schematic configuration diagram of the water application electrode 102. L3 shown in this drawing is the width in the long side direction (longitudinal direction) of the upper surface of the body 128 exposed to face the cooling fin 108b positioned above. Thus, the width is the same as the stacking direction of the cooling fins 108b.

  For example, a connecting terminal to the high-voltage power supply unit 104 is attached to one end in the long side direction of the torso part 128, and the torso part is provided by the connecting terminal or a separate cover installed to protect the connecting terminal. When the upper surface of the one end portion of 128 is not exposed toward the cooling fin 108b, the one end portion is not included in the width L3. The width L3 is not simply the length in the long side direction of the body portion 128 but the width in the long side direction of the upper surface of the body portion 128 exposed to face the cooling fin 108b located above, and is exposed upward. The part which does not exist is not included in the width L3.

  Further, L5 shown in FIG. 52 is a width in a direction orthogonal to L3, and is a width in a short side direction of the upper surface of the trunk portion 128 exposed to face the cooling fin 108b, and is in the same direction as the protruding direction of the cooling fin 108b. Width.

  Here, the water application electrode 102 is formed such that the width L3 of the body portion 128 is equal to or larger than the width L2 of the cooling fin 108b in the stacking direction. That is, the width L3 ≧ the width L2. Further, the width L5 of the body portion 128 is formed to be equal to or larger than the protrusion height L4 of the cooling fin 108b described above. That is, the width L5 ≧ L4.

  Further, when the entire cooling fin 108b is projected on the body 128 of the water application electrode 102 in the direction of gravity, the stacking direction width L2 substantially matches the long side direction width L3 of the body 128 or falls within the width L3. In addition, the body 128 of the water application electrode 102 is disposed with respect to the cooling fin 108b so that the height L4 substantially coincides with or falls within the width L5 of the body 128. Has been.

  The plurality of cooling fins 108b positioned above and the body 128 of the water application electrode 102 positioned below the cooling unit 108 via the gap L1 are in such a positional relationship. Thus, the dew condensation water 110 dripped widely in the stacking direction from the lower ends of the plurality of cooling fins 108b can be reliably received without waste, with the upper surface of the trunk portion 128 serving as a water receiving surface, and these can be received at the tip atomizing portion 129. Therefore, a large amount of electrostatic mist 101 can be generated stably.

  In particular, in order to obtain a large amount of condensed water 110 in the cooling unit 108, the cooling fins 108b are stacked in a horizontal direction substantially orthogonal to the air flow, and the body 128 of the water application electrode 102 is formed into a flat plate shape in the stacking direction. By forming so as to extend the width in the long side direction, the dew condensation water 110 efficiently condensed by the cooling fins 108b is reliably received on the upper surface of the body portion 128 without waste, so that the generation of the electrostatic mist 101 is stabilized. Will continue.

  In addition, since the tip atomizing portion 129 is formed in the middle of the side surface in the long side direction of the body portion 128, the condensed water 110 received by the body portion 128 is quickly atomized in the tip portion as compared with the case provided on the side surface in the short side direction. It can be conveyed to the part 129. For this reason, coupled with the fact that the path from the dew condensation water 110 to the water application electrode 102 is direct dripping onto the body 128 due to gravity, the electrostatic atomizer 300 can be operated in a short time from the start of operation. An electric mist 101 can be generated. Assuming that the same amount of dew condensation water 110 is dropped from each cooling fin 108b, when there is only one tip atomizing portion 129, it is on the side of the long side direction of the trunk portion 128 and the stacking direction of the cooling fins 108b It is most preferable to arrange at a position corresponding to the center of the width L2 from the stability of water conveyance.

  The water application electrode 102 is configured so as not to collect the dew condensation water 110 dropped and supplied from the cooling fins 108b around it. The holding frame for fixing the water application electrode 102 is not a container so that water does not collect. For example, the holding frame is provided around the lower surface of the water application electrode 102 (the surface opposite to the upper surface facing the cooling unit 108). Is provided with an opening downward, and unnecessary water is drained from the holding frame of the water application electrode 102 through the opening, and water is not accumulated around the water application electrode 102.

The reason why water does not accumulate around the water application electrode 102 is as follows.
(1) When water accumulates on the water application electrode 102, the distance between the water application electrode 102 (particularly the body 128) and the cooling part 108 (particularly the cooling fin 108b) is shortened due to the interposition of the accumulated water. Therefore, a discharge phenomenon may occur from the water application electrode 102 having a high potential to the cooling unit 108. When a discharge phenomenon occurs between the water application electrode 102 and the cooling unit 108, the discharge between the water application electrode 102 and the counter electrode 103 becomes unstable, and the generation of accurate electrostatic mist 101 is inhibited. Further, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of reliability.

  (2) Although the water application electrode 102 is composed of a porous body, if the water content in the water application electrode 102 is large, the Coulomb force cannot be overcome with respect to the surface tension of the water forming the tailor cone, It becomes difficult to separate from the tip 129a of the tip atomizing portion 129, that is, it does not easily jump out from the tip 129a, and the generation of the electrostatic mist 101 is inhibited. In the water application electrode 102, the generation efficiency of the electrostatic mist 101 is better when the internal voids (pores) are not saturated with water.

  (3) When the Peltier unit 106 is immersed in water, a malfunction occurs in terms of reliability. The Peltier unit 106 has a configuration in which P-type N-type semiconductors are connected in series, and becomes unusable if any of the P-type N-type semiconductors breaks down due to water intrusion.

  For these reasons, it is necessary to have a structure that does not collect water around the water application electrode 102.

  The counter electrode 103 is installed in order to keep the potential difference with the water application electrode 102 constant. However, the counter electrode 103 is not installed and is statically discharged with the air (discharge with the floating potential in the air). The electric mist 101 may be generated. In addition, a member (for example, an indoor heat exchanger installed inside the indoor unit when mounted on an indoor unit of an air conditioner) is opposed to a member in which the electrostatic atomizer 300 is mounted in advance in the vicinity of 0V. As an alternative to the electrode 103, the electrostatic mist 101 may be generated so as to maintain a potential difference from the water application electrode 102.

  In this electrostatic atomizer 300, an air flow in the direction of gravity, that is, from the upper side to the lower side, passes through the heat radiating unit 107 and the cooling unit 108. In order to lower the temperature, the amount of air flow to the cooling unit 108 (the amount of airflow that passes through) is made smaller than that of the heat dissipating unit 107. As a means for realizing this, the heat dissipating part 107 does not give ventilation resistance to the air flow passing through the heat dissipating part 107 with its upstream side open, but on the cooling part 108 side, an enclosure or a rib is provided on the upstream side. Reduce the air flow by limiting the opening of the inlet. In this way, the flow rate of the air flow passing through the cooling unit 108 is reduced to a slight wind state of about 0.1 m / s by reducing the ventilation rate, and the air flow is prevented from taking out the cooling heat and flowing out. As a result, the cooling fin 108b can be efficiently cooled.

  And although the flow velocity is very small, since there is an air flow in the cooling unit 108, it will flow in so that new air containing moisture will be exchanged, and the air around the cooling unit 108 will not dry, Condensed water 110 is stably generated on the surface of the cooling fin 108b that has been efficiently cooled.

  Since the water application electrode 102 is made of a porous metal body, the water application electrode 102 has the property of transporting the received water to the tip atomization section 129 wherever the condensed water 110 is dropped on the upper surface of the body section 128.

  That is, the water application electrode 102 itself has three functions such as a water receiving unit, a water transport unit, and an atomizing unit (a generating unit of the electrostatic mist 101). . For this reason, it has the effect that water can be quickly collected in the tip atomization part 129, and can be efficiently and accurately made to electrostatically atomize.

  In this electrostatic atomizer 300, as shown in FIG. 50, the body 128 of the water application electrode 102 is directly below the cooling unit 108 in the direction of gravity of the cooling unit 108 in contact with the cooling surface of the Peltier unit 106. It is installed with a gap of a predetermined distance L1 at a position where it does not touch.

  Here, the predetermined gap L1 needs a distance that the water application electrode 102 and the cooling unit 108 are not electrically connected. In order not to cause discharge from the body part 128 at a high potential to the cooling part 108, an electric field such as the tip atomizing part 129 is concentrated on the upper surface exposed to the cooling fin 108 b of the body part 128. It is formed in a flat shape without providing projections. In order to avoid dielectric breakdown of the space between the trunk portion 128 and the cooling portion 108, the distance L1 is required to be at least 3 mm.

  Furthermore, since the condensed water 110 is dripped from the cooling fin 108b to the trunk portion 128, the length of the water droplet immediately before dropping from the lower end of the cooling fin 108b is the insulation distance between the cooling fin 108b and the trunk portion 128. In view of this, the distance L1 must be at least 5 mm, and the body 128 is installed with a gap L1 of 5 mm or more from the lower end of the cooling fin 108b. Is good.

  In addition to this, the gap L1 that satisfies the reliability for the discharge considering the creeping discharge to the surrounding members respectively holding the water application electrode 102 and the cooling unit 108 may be appropriately set.

  In the electrostatic atomizer 300, in addition to the space between the cooling fin 108 b and the upper surface of the body portion 128 exposed to face the cooling fin 108 b, the water dripping from the cooling fin 108 b is collected. Condensed water by gravity directly without interposing a water member, a guide member for guiding dripping water to the barrel portion 128, or a water retention member for temporarily storing dripping water before reaching the barrel portion 128 110 is dropped on the upper surface of the body 128. There is no element that prevents the movement of water from the cooling fin 108b to the body 128. Thereby, the dew condensation water 110 produced | generated in the cooling part 108 can be supplied to the water application electrode 102 quickly and reliably in a short time.

  Since the water application electrode 102 and the cooling unit 108 are not in contact with each other, there is no fear that the Peltier unit 106 is broken due to a high voltage applied to the Peltier unit 106. Thus, the part to which the high voltage is applied is limited to the water application electrode 102.

  In addition, by using a metal porous body (details will be described later) as a material for the water application electrode 102, if water is supplied to a part of the body 128, the inner space advances by surface diffusion and atomizes the tip. It can be quickly transported to the section 129, and the time from the start of operation to the generation of the electrostatic mist 101 can be shortened.

  Next, some modifications of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 54 shows an electrostatic atomizer 400 according to the first modification. In the electrostatic atomizer 300 of FIG. 49, the tip atomizing portion 129 of the water application electrode 102 protrudes in the same direction as the protruding direction of the cooling fin 108b on the long side surface of the trunk portion 128. In the electrostatic atomizer 400, it is provided on the side surface in the long side opposite to the surface so as to protrude in the direction opposite to the protruding direction of the cooling fin 108b, that is, in the fin protruding direction of the heat dissipating unit 107. The counter electrode 103 is also provided on the heat radiating portion 107 side so as to face the tip atomizing portion 129 at that time. With such an arrangement, there is an additional effect that the electrostatic mist 101 discharged from the opening of the counter electrode 103 can be widely diffused on the air flow passing through the heat dissipating unit 107 having a larger flow rate than the cooling unit 108. Is done.

  However, in the case of the modified example 1, there is a concern that tailor cone formation and Rayleigh splitting of water are hindered by an air flow having a large flow rate to pass, and generation of an accurate and stable electrostatic mist 101 may be impaired. 54, on the upstream side of the space between the tip atomizing portion 129 and the counter electrode 103, and between them (but on the downstream side of the heat radiating portion 107), as shown in FIG. It is better to suppress the air flow from passing through the generation part of the electrostatic mist 101.

  Next, the electrostatic atomizer 500 of the modification 2 is demonstrated using FIG. 55 and FIG. In the electrostatic atomizer 500 according to the second modified example, the position of the tip atomizing unit 129 relative to the body 128 is the same as that of the electrostatic atomizer 300 shown in FIG. It is provided not on the long side direction side surface of 128 but on the end portion (on the short side direction side surface) of the body portion 128.

  Also in this case, similarly to the electrostatic atomizer 300, the trunk portion 128 is installed with its long side direction extended in a direction coinciding with the stacking direction of the plurality of cooling fins 108b onto which the condensed water 110 is dropped. FIG. 56 is a top view of the water application electrode 102 used in the electrostatic atomizer 500. The dimensions L3 and L5 shown in this figure are L3 and L5 of the water application electrode 102 in the electrostatic atomizer 300 (see FIG. 56). 52) and the positional relationship with the dimensions L2 and L4 of the cooling fin 108b (see FIG. 51) is the same as that of the electrostatic atomizer 300. Thereby, the dew condensation water 110 dripped from the plurality of cooling fins 108b can be reliably received directly on the upper surface of the trunk portion 128 without waste.

  Since the protrusion which is the tip atomizing portion 129 protrudes in the stacking direction of the cooling fins 108b, the counter electrode 103 is provided in front of the protruding tip atomizing portion 129. In the electrostatic atomizer 500 of the second modified example, the water application electrode 102 itself is a water receiving unit, a water transport unit, and an atomizing unit (electrostatic mist 101 generating unit). Since it has three functions, water can be efficiently collected at the tip atomization section 129, and can be efficiently and stably electrostatic atomized, and there is no protrusion in the middle of the long side. The delivery work of the additional electrode 102 is facilitated, and the effect of increasing the reliability of the delivery work is obtained.

  FIG. 57 is a side view of an electrostatic atomizer 600 according to the third modification. The difference from the electrostatic atomizer 300 of FIG. 49 is the installation angle of the water application electrode 102 (the tip atomization part 129 and the trunk | drum 128). In the electrostatic atomizer 300, the water application electrode 102 is installed horizontally, and the cooling unit 108 is also horizontal in both the stacking direction and the protruding height direction of the cooling fins 108b. The upper surface of the additional electrode 102 was parallel to both the stacking direction of the cooling fins 108b and the protruding height direction.

  However, in the electrostatic atomizer 600 of the third modification shown in FIG. 57, the cooling unit 108 remains horizontal as in the electrostatic atomizer 300, but the water application electrode 102 is atomized from the body 128 to the tip. Inclined by an angle θ1 (see FIG. 57) in the direction of gravity toward the portion 129 (projecting on the side surface in the long side direction of the body portion 128). The magnitude of the angle θ1 is about 5 to 30 °.

  In the electrostatic atomizer 600 having the water application electrode 102 installed in this way, not only the movement of the internal gap due to surface diffusion but also the gravity can be used for transporting the water from the trunk portion 128 to the tip atomization portion 129. Thus, for example, even when the condensed water 110 generated by the cooling unit 108 is small, the condensed water 110 received by the trunk unit 128 can be quickly conveyed to the tip atomizing unit 129.

  Next, FIG. 58 is a side view of the electrostatic atomizer 700 of the fourth modification. 57 differs from the electrostatic atomizer 600 in FIG. 57 in that the inclination direction of the water application electrode 102 (the tip atomization portion 129 and the body portion 128) is reversed. In the electrostatic atomizer 700 of the modification 4 shown in FIG. 58, the cooling unit 108 remains horizontal as in the electrostatic atomizer 300, but the water application electrode 102 is moved from the body 128 to the tip atomizer 129. Inclined by an angle θ2 (see FIG. 58) in the anti-gravity direction toward (i.e., projecting from the long side surface of the body 128). The magnitude of the angle θ2 is about 5 to 30 °.

  In the electrostatic atomizer 700 having the water application electrode 102 installed in this way, for example, when the humidity of the air supplied to the cooling unit 108 is high and the dew condensation water 110 is dripped excessively onto the body 128, the excess moisture Can be drained in the direction opposite to the protruding direction of the tip atomizing portion 129. In this electrostatic atomizer 700, the excess moisture is drained from the side opposite to the tip atomizing portion 129, so that the excess moisture does not flow into the tip 129a of the tip atomizing portion 129. Therefore, the electrostatic mist 101 is caused by the excess moisture. Therefore, the electrostatic mist 101 can be generated accurately and stably.

  Even if the water application electrode 102 is made of a metal porous body even if it is installed to be inclined in the anti-gravity direction from the body portion 128 toward the tip atomizing portion 129, if the inside is not saturated with water, Water can be conveyed to the tip atomization section 129 against the gravity by surface diffusion of the voids (pores).

  Next, FIG. 59 is a side view of the electrostatic atomizer 800 of the fifth modification. The difference from the electrostatic atomizer 300 in FIG. 49 is the installation angle of the cooling unit 108. In the electrostatic atomizer 800 of Modification 5 shown in FIG. 59, the cooling unit 108 is moved in the direction of gravity from the base plate 108a (the base end of the cooling fin 108b) on the Peltier unit 106 side toward the protruding end of the cooling fin 108b. It is installed inclined at an angle θ3 (see FIG. 59). The magnitude of the angle θ3 is about 10 to 30 °.

  In the electrostatic atomizer 800 having the cooling unit 108 installed in this way, water condensed on the surface of the cooling fin 108b is transmitted to the lower end while being guided to the protruding end side of the cooling fin 108b by gravity. Become. For this reason, the dripping position of the water dripped from the lower end of the cooling fin 108b can be limited to a narrow range on the protruding end side of the cooling fin 108b.

  In the electrostatic atomizer 300 of FIG. 49, the range of the protrusion height L4 of the cooling fin 108b is all the dropping position. However, in this electrostatic atomizer 800, the range of the dropping position of the condensed water 110 is set to L4. Can be made narrower. For this reason, it is possible to make the width in the short side direction of the body 128 of the water application electrode 102 smaller than L4. That is, the width in the short side direction of the body 128 can be made smaller than that of the electrostatic atomizer 300. The electrostatic atomizer 800 can make the width L5 (see FIG. 52) in the short side direction of the upper surface of the body 128 exposed to face the cooling fin 108b smaller than the electrostatic atomizer 300. .

  As a result, the transport distance in the short side direction of the trunk portion 128 to the tip atomizing portion 129 is shortened, so that the electrostatic atomizer 800 can transfer the condensed water 110 received by the trunk portion 128 to the tip atomizing portion 129. The conveyance can be performed more quickly than the electrostatic atomizer 300 in FIG. 49, and the effect that the time from the start of operation to the generation of the electrostatic mist 101 can be further shortened can be obtained. .

  Further, the volume of the water application electrode 102 can be reduced, and resource saving and cost reduction can be achieved. In addition, although the installation angle of the water application electrode 102 of the electrostatic atomizer 800 shown in FIG. 59 remains horizontal as in the electrostatic atomizer 300 of FIG. 49, the modified example 3 of FIG. You may make it incline like the modification 4, and if it inclines in such a way, the effect of the modification 3 and the modification 4 can be show | played together.

  As described above, if the amount of water in the water application electrode 102 is large, the Coulomb force cannot be overcome with respect to the surface tension of the water that forms the tailor cone, and the water flows from the tip 129a of the tip atomizing portion 129. The water application electrode 102 does not saturate the internal voids (pores) with water because it is difficult to separate, that is, it does not easily jump out of the tip 129a and the generation of the electrostatic mist 101 may be inhibited. The generation efficiency of the electrostatic mist 101 is better. Therefore, it is preferable to control energization to the Peltier unit 106 to control the amount of condensed water 110 generated so that the water application electrode 102 is not saturated with water.

  Up to now, the structure of the electrostatic atomizer including a plurality of modifications, particularly the shape and installation configuration of the water application electrode 102 have been described. From here, the structure of the water application electrode 102 will be described in detail. . In all of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 700 in this embodiment that have been described so far, the water application electrode 102 is formed using a foam metal that is a metal porous body as a material thereof.

  In conventional electrostatic atomizers, ceramics such as titania, mullite, silica, and alumina have been used as a porous material that also serves as water transport and discharge (for example, Patent Document 1). Ceramics have the advantages of being able to transport water by capillary action, having good workability, and excellent wear resistance from high voltages.

  However, ceramic has an internal porosity (pore content ratio) of about 10 to 50% and a pore diameter (nominal pore diameter) of 0.1 to 1.0 μm, at most 3.0 μm. However, the inside is a relatively clogged material, and it takes time to transport the atomized water to the discharge part at the tip by capillary action, and it takes time from the start of operation to the occurrence of mist. As a result, the pores are clogged or the water is bridged, so that the water absorption and the conveyance performance cannot be maintained high over a long period of time. Furthermore, since ceramic has a high volume resistivity (electrical resistivity), the high voltage applied to the ceramic does not sufficiently act on the water to be atomized, the atomization hardly occurs, and a sufficient amount of mist cannot be obtained. There was also a problem.

  Further, when a metal rod is used instead of a porous material as an electrode on the discharge side, since the metal rod has no pores inside, water cannot be transported to the tip serving as a discharge portion. For this reason, the metal rod itself may be cooled to generate dew condensation water directly on the tip surface, but with only the water condensed on the tip surface of the metal rod, the amount of moisture is small and a sufficient amount of mist cannot be obtained. There was a problem.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, while having sufficient water absorption performance and conveyance performance, it has a low electrical resistivity (volume low efficiency) and high electrical conductivity, and efficiently transmits electricity to the atomized water for charging. As a material that can be made, a metal foam is used as a material for the water application electrode 102.

  Here, the foam metal is defined as a porous metal body having a three-dimensional network structure. The three-dimensional network structure is known as a resin foam typified by sponge and has the same structure. Sintered metal is well known as a porous metal body. The difference between foam metal and sintered metal is that the porosity is high and the pore diameter is large due to the three-dimensional network structure. is there.

  The foam metal is made by sintering at a very high temperature in a state where a foaming agent is introduced into a liquid mixture containing a metal called a slurry and foamed. Thereby, the foam made from various metals and alloys can be made. The foam metal thus produced has a continuous pore structure. So far, it has been mainly used for filters, catalyst carriers, gas diffusion layers for fuel cells, etc., but now it has been found that it has excellent characteristics as an electrode material for electrostatic atomizers.

  The most prominent feature of the foam metal is its high porosity. Porosity is also referred to as porosity and indicates the content ratio of pores, and can be evaluated by examining how much water can be absorbed inside the foam metal. This evaluation method follows Archimedes' principle that an object in the liquid is subjected to buoyancy equal to the weight of the excluded liquid.

  In the foam metal used for the water application electrode 102 of the present embodiment, the porosity can be set as very high as 60 to 98% due to the three-dimensional network structure. Therefore, a large amount of water can be absorbed in the foam metal, that is, the water application electrode 102. However, if the porosity is too large, even if the water absorption force can be increased, the absorbed water may leak out. Therefore, the porosity of the water application electrode 102 is preferably set to 60 to 90%.

  On the other hand, in ceramics such as titania and mullite that have been conventionally used as a porous body, the porosity is about 10 to 50%, and often around 35%. Also, in the case of a general sintered metal that is not a foam metal, even if the porosity is high, it is about 50%, and the porosity of the foam metal is clearly high.

  Another major feature of the foam metal is a large pore diameter. FIG. 60, which is an enlarged conceptual diagram for explaining the foam metal, is shown in a plane (two-dimensional) shape, so that each pore appears to be independent, but the actual foam metal is three-dimensional. It is a continuous pore structure having continuous pores. As shown in FIG. 60, the foam metal used as the water application electrode 102 in the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800 of the present embodiment is composed of the baked and solidified metal portion 122 and the pores 121 that become the void portion. . Here, the diameter of the pore 121 is defined as the hole diameter. The size of the hole diameter can be determined from an image taken with an electron microscope. It is also possible to measure not only the pore diameter but also the pore distribution using a mercury intrusion porosimeter or a gas adsorption measuring device.

  The pore diameter of the foam metal of the water application electrode 102 is 10 to 1000 μm, but a foam metal with a pore diameter of 50 to 600 μm is suitable from the viewpoint of water absorption and prevention of clogging, and rigidity and productivity (workability). ) Is optimally 150 to 300 μm.

  When the pore diameter is less than 10 μm like ceramic, the pore diameter becomes too fine (too small) and there is a high risk of clogging, and the amount of water absorption is also small. In addition, it is difficult to stably arrange the pores 121 to be small in the production of the foam metal. On the contrary, if the pore diameter exceeds 1000 μm, the water absorbed through the continuous pores 121 is likely to leak out, making it difficult to transport the water from the body portion 128 to the tip atomizing portion 129.

Here, the amount of water absorption between the foam metal used for the water application electrode 102 and the ceramic porous body conventionally used for the electrode on the discharge side is compared. FIG. 61 illustrates the result. In Example 1, which is a foam metal made of SUS316 of austenitic stainless steel, the water absorption is about 0.5 g / cm ³ , and in Example 2, which is a foam metal made of titanium, about 0.4 g / cm ³ . On the other hand, in the ceramic material, the mullite of Comparative Example 1 and the titania of Comparative Example 2 are both about 0.2 g / cm ³ , and it can be seen that the foam metal has a water absorption performance twice that of ceramic.

  A foam metal having a high porosity and a large pore diameter inside has high water absorption performance as compared with ceramic as shown in FIG. High water absorption performance (in other words, a large amount of water absorption) means that the amount of water that can move inside and the moving speed are large, that is, the conveyance performance is also high. Therefore, the water application electrode 102 made of foam metal can move water to the tip atomization portion 129 more quickly than the case where it is made of ceramic, and the water absorption amount is large, so that the operation of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800 is started. The time from the start of electrostatic atomization to the start of electrostatic atomization can be shortened, and the transportation of water from the body part 128 to the tip atomization part 129 is temporarily interrupted to prevent a situation where electrostatic atomization is interrupted. Thus, the electrostatic mist 101 can be generated accurately and stably.

  Further, since the metal moves mainly by surface diffusion through the three-dimensionally continuous pores 121 inside the foam metal, the installation direction of the water application electrode 102 is set so that the tip atomizing portion 129 is directed to the ceiling regardless of the direction of gravity. It can be used by pointing or horizontally. And since it is a continuous pore structure and the hole diameter of the pore 121 is large, water can be stably conveyed to the front-end atomization part 129 without clogging over a long period of time.

  Subsequently, FIG. 62 shows the result of comparison of the electrical resistivity between the foam metal and another porous body, and FIG. 63 shows the water application electrode 102 of this embodiment made of foam metal and the same as the water application electrode 102. The result of having compared the amount of electrostatic atomization with the water application electrode formed with the ceramic by the shape is shown. Here, the electrostatic atomization amount is the amount of mist generated, and the electrostatic atomization device generated by the electrostatic atomizer using the above-described water application electrode (performed from the water application electrode) of the electrostatic mist 101. This indicates the weight and can be calculated from the degree of increase in humidity inside the specified volume box. In FIG. 63, the supply voltage of the high voltage power supply unit 104 is the same.

  In the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800, a high voltage acts on the water of the tip atomizing portion 129 of the water application electrode 102, and the Coulomb force generated by the application of the high voltage exceeds the surface tension of the water. The charged water jumps out from 129a, is crushed one after another (Rayleigh split), and is discharged into the air as an electrostatic mist 101 from the opening of the counter electrode 103. Therefore, it is important to efficiently apply electricity to the water present in the water application electrode 102. In other words, how can the high potential supplied from the high voltage power supply unit 104 be transmitted to the water (condensed water 110 dripped from the cooling fins 108 b) existing in the water application electrode 102 with a reduced loss to charge the water? Therefore, the smaller the electrical resistance of the water application electrode 102 itself, the smaller the loss consumed by that resistance, and the higher the electrical conductivity, so that water can be charged efficiently. The electrical resistance of the water application electrode 102 is often specified by its material.

The electrical resistivity of the foam metal is a metal, although it is a foam, and is a conductor. Therefore, even in Example 1 of SUS316, which is made of stainless steel, or in Example 2 of titanium, 1 × The electric resistance is as small as about 10 ⁻⁷ Ω · m, and it can conduct electricity well, that is, it can be charged efficiently by flowing electricity through water with reduced loss due to current. On the other hand, the electrical resistivity of the ceramic material is 1 × 10 ¹⁴ Ω · m for mullite shown in Comparative Example 1 and 1 × 10 ¹² Ω · m for titania shown in Comparative Example 2, and the ceramic material is large. It is not a conductor but between the semiconductor and the insulator. A high electrical resistivity equivalent to that of the sponge, which is the resin foam of Comparative Example 3, is exhibited.

  Thus, by forming the water application electrode 102 using a foam metal as a material, water can be charged more efficiently than a material using a ceramic. In other words, if the high voltage supplied by the high voltage power supply unit 104 is the same magnitude, the use of the water application electrode 102 in this embodiment formed from a foam metal is a ceramic material. As a result, current can be easily transmitted to water and water can be charged efficiently. By forming the water application electrode 102 using a foam metal as a material, the electric resistance is reduced, so that the power consumed by electrostatic atomization can be made smaller than that using a ceramic material, thereby saving energy. Can contribute.

  FIG. 63 shows a comparison of electrostatic atomization amounts when the water application electrode has the same shape and the supply voltage of the high voltage power supply unit 104 is the same. The amount of electro atomization was about 0.15 cc / hr per one water application electrode 102 in both Example 1 where the foam metal material was SUS316 and Example 2 where titanium was used. On the other hand, in the ceramic material, it was 0.06 cc / hr for the mullite shown in Comparative Example 1 and 0.08 cc / hr for the titania shown in Comparative Example 2, which was less than that of the foam metal example.

  Even with the same ceramic, titania has a larger amount of electrostatic atomization than mullite, but FIG. 62 shows that the electrical resistivity of titania is two orders of magnitude lower than that of mullite. In FIGS. 62 and 63, it can be seen that ceramics, that is, Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2 are compared, but the water application electrode is more likely to conduct electricity (smaller electrical resistivity), so that electricity can be efficiently applied to water. It can be said that the tailor cone of water formed on the tip 129a of the tip atomizing portion 129 can be easily ejected by the Coulomb force, and the amount of electrostatic atomization is increased. From these results, when a foam metal that is a conductor and has a low electrical resistivity is used for the water application electrode 102 of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 500, a higher voltage is applied to the water to be atomized than the conventional ceramic material. If the voltage can be efficiently applied (charged) and the supply voltage of the high voltage power supply unit 104 is the same, the amount of electrostatic atomization (the amount of generated electrostatic mist 101) can be increased.

  In addition, the water application electrode 102 of a foam metal creates a large sheet-like foam metal body having a thickness of about 0.5 mm to 5.0 mm, and then forms a desired shape (a continuous body portion 128 and a tip atomization portion 129). Cut out and produce. Mass production is possible by stacking a plurality of sheet-like foam metal bodies in the thickness direction and cutting out the plurality of sheets simultaneously. Cutting is performed by wire cutting or laser cutting. In addition, it can be processed into a desired shape using various processing methods such as punching with a Thomson blade or a press, machining by mechanical cutting, manual cutting, and bending. Although not used in the water application electrode 102, the foam metal can be joined by welding or brazing.

  Next, FIG. 64 shows a comparison result of ozone generation amounts according to the difference in the material (material) of the foam metal. When the electrostatic mist 101 is generated, discharge occurs toward the counter electrode 103, and ozone is generated as a by-product along with the discharge. Ozone is beneficial by using its bactericidal action if it is in an appropriate amount. May also affect the substance. Therefore, in the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800 for discharging the electrostatic mist 101, it is desired to suppress the generation amount of ozone, which is a by-product accompanying discharge, as much as possible.

  Therefore, the amount of ozone generated in the water application electrode 102 formed of foam metal was investigated by experiments. The content of the experiment is to investigate the steady value of the ozone concentration inside the 42 L (liter) box (42 L tank) when a predetermined high voltage is applied to the water application electrode 102.

  In FIG. 64, the foam metal shown in Comparative Example 4 is SUS304 (nickel content: 8 to 10.5%, chromium content: 18 to 20%), which is generally well known as an austenitic stainless steel. As the amount of ozone generated in this case, the ozone concentration inside the 42L tank was 1.2 ppm. On the other hand, in the case of Example 1 using SUS316 which is the same austenitic stainless steel but has a nickel content of 10 to 15%, a chromium content of 15 to 20% and a molybdenum content of 1 to 4%. The ozone concentration in the 42 L tank was about 60% 0.7 ppm compared to SUS304 of Comparative Example 1 containing no molybdenum.

  Even with the same austenitic stainless steel, it was found that the amount of ozone generation differs depending on whether molybdenum is contained, and the amount of ozone generation is smaller when molybdenum is contained. Therefore, when the water application electrode 102 is formed of a foam metal made of stainless steel, it is preferable to use austenitic stainless steel containing 1 to 4% of molybdenum. In addition to SUS316 of Example 1, SUS316L and SUS317 contain molybdenum, and the amount of ozone generation can be reduced compared to SUS304.

  In FIG. 64, the titanium shown in Example 2 formed of a foam metal is the least amount of ozone generated, the ozone concentration in the 42 L tank is 0.03 ppm, 1/40 of Comparative Example 4 (SUS304), It was 1/23 of Example 1 (SUS316), and it was found that the amount of generated ozone can be significantly suppressed. Moreover, in the case of using a foam metal made of nickel as shown in Example 3, the ozone concentration inside the 42L tank is 0.3 ppm, and the ozone generation suppression effect as in Example 2 (titanium) cannot be obtained. The effect of suppressing ozone generation is greater than in Example 1 (SUS316).

  Such an ozone generation suppression effect is considered to be because the generated ozone is decomposed by the reducing action of the foam metal material. That is, the amount of ozone generated can be suppressed by using a metal having a reducing action as the material of the water application electrode 102. In the example of FIG. 64, it is considered that titanium has the strongest ozone reducing action. In austenitic stainless steel, it is considered that molybdenum has an action of reducing ozone. In addition, by using a foam metal as a material for the water application electrode 102, water can be charged efficiently, so that it is also conceivable that the ozone itself is not generated.

  In addition, radicals (active species) such as hydroxyl radicals and superoxides may be generated by the discharge accompanying the generation of the electrostatic mist 101, but such radicals are chemically highly reactive and active. Therefore, it is a very unstable substance and reacts quickly with molecules in the air such as oxygen and nitrogen, so it has a very short life in the air, and even if it is produced, it disappears almost instantaneously. Even if radicals are generated, they are not released together with the electrostatic mist 101, and the electrostatic mist 101 does not contain radicals.

  From the above results, it can be said that the most preferable material for the water application electrode 102 is a foam metal made of titanium. Further, in the foam metal using SUS316, titanium, or nickel as a raw material, it is possible to prevent electric corrosion and electric wear due to application of a high voltage, and the shape of the water application electrode 102, particularly the tip atomization portion, can be prevented over a long period of time. 129 sharp shapes can be retained. Therefore, the effect that electrostatic atomization can be implemented stably over a long period of time is also obtained. Also in this effect, those using titanium as a raw material are particularly remarkable from the characteristics of the material.

  So far, foam metal has been described as having high water absorption and transportability (property of water movement speed) because it has a three-dimensional network structure with high porosity and large pore diameter. Moreover, it has been described that foam metal is suitable as a material for the water application electrode 102 of the electrostatic atomizer shown in the present embodiment by utilizing such properties. Further, it has been found that by oxidizing the foam metal, the hydrophilicity of the surface of the internal pore 121 is improved, and the water absorption and transportability of the water application electrode 102 are improved. The oxidation treatment can be performed by exposing the foam metal to an oxygen atmosphere.

  The improvement in hydrophilicity by oxidation treatment is particularly remarkable when the material is titanium. When titanium is oxidized, the surface layer becomes close to titanium oxide. When titanium oxide receives energy such as ultraviolet rays, it reacts with surrounding water to form a hydroxyl group (OH group) on the outermost surface, and thus has a property (high hydrophilicity) that is very compatible with water. For this reason, when water moves by surface diffusion, since water spreads and advances without stopping, water can be efficiently moved quickly inside the foam metal. In the case of a foam metal made of titanium, the result of the oxidation treatment is about 5 times faster when the oxidation treatment is performed than when the oxidation treatment is not performed.

  Even when the material is a foam metal made of another metal material such as nickel other than titanium, a layer having an affinity for the surface is formed during the oxidation treatment, so that the compatibility with water (hydrophilicity) is improved. However, the effect of improving the hydrophilicity is remarkable when the foam metal made of titanium is oxidized, the water moving speed is increased, and the effect of improving the water absorption and transportability of the water application electrode 102 is high. In the oxidation treatment exposed to an oxygen atmosphere, not only the outer surface of the water application electrode 102 formed of a foam metal but also the continuous pore structure having a high porosity and a large pore diameter passes through the continuous pores to the internal pores 121. The facing surface is also oxidized, and the hydrophilicity of all the surfaces of the metal part 122 including the inner surface facing the pores 121 is improved, and the water moving speed can be increased. For this reason, the time from the start of operation of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800 to the discharge of the electrostatic mist 101 can be shortened.

  As described above, the water application electrode 102 of the electrostatic atomizer according to the present embodiment is characterized in that it is formed using a foam metal having a three-dimensional network structure as a material. For this reason, since the amount of water absorption is large and the moving speed of water is fast, the time from the start of operation of the electrostatic atomizer to the start of atomization (electrostatic mist 101 is released) is fast. And since a metal foam has low electrical resistivity and is excellent in electrical conductivity, it has the effect that it can be charged by applying electricity efficiently to the water to be atomized and the amount of atomization increases.

  In addition, electric corrosion and electric wear can be prevented, and the shape of the water application electrode 102, particularly the sharp shape of the tip atomizing portion 129, can be maintained over a long period of time. Therefore, it has the effect that electrostatic atomization can be implemented stably over a long period of time.

  In addition, it can absorb a large amount of water because of its high porosity, and because of its large pore size, it can maintain a stable high water absorption and transportability for a long time without clogging for a long time, It has the effect that electrostatic atomization can be carried out stably over a long period of time.

  In addition, by using any one of austenitic stainless steel containing several percent of titanium, nickel, or molybdenum, which is a metal having a reducing action, as a material of the foam metal, ozone is generated by discharge accompanying the generation of the electrostatic mist 101. Although it is generated, it has an effect that the generation amount can be suppressed. This effect is particularly remarkable when the water application electrode 102 is formed of a foam metal made of titanium.

  In addition, if the water application electrode 102 is formed using a material obtained by oxidizing the surface of the foam metal after sintering, there is an effect that the hydrophilicity of the internal surface is increased and the water moving speed is further improved.

  In addition, the foam metal which has the three-dimensional network structure demonstrated so far is not restricted to the water application electrode 102 of the electrostatic atomizer 300-800 shown in this Embodiment from the high water absorption and conveyance property, Others Even if it is an electrostatic atomizer of this form, if it uses for the electrode which serves also as the water conveyance to a discharge part, the effect similar to the water application electrode 102 of this Embodiment can be acquired. For example, in the electrostatic atomizer of Patent Document 1, the water in the water reservoir is conveyed to the upper end by a capillary phenomenon on an upright carrier made of a ceramic porous body, and a tailor cone of water is formed at the upper end that is pointed like a needle However, if this carrier (corresponding to the water application electrode 102) is made of the above-described foamed metal instead of ceramic, the water conveyance speed is remarkably increased. The time from the start of operation to electrostatic atomization can be shortened compared to the case of forming in the above, and the needle-shaped upper end that becomes the discharge part can be prevented from electric corrosion and electric wear, for a long time. The sharp shape can be maintained, and electrostatic atomization can be carried out stably over a long period of time as compared with the case of forming with a ceramic.

  From this, the case where any one of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800 of the present embodiment is mounted inside the air conditioner 200 will be described. FIG. 65 is a cross-sectional view of the air conditioner 200 including any of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800. The air conditioner 200 is a general wall-hanging type.

  The air conditioner 200 includes a suction port 141 for sucking room air, a blow-out port 142 for blowing conditioned air into the room, and an inverted V-shaped heat exchanger 151 (an upper front heat exchanger 151a for generating conditioned air from the room air). A front lower heat exchanger 151b and a rear heat exchanger 151c), drain pans 140 (two places) for receiving water condensed in the heat exchanger 151, and a blower fan 143. The indoor air that has flowed in through the rotation of the blower fan 143 from the suction port 141 located above the main body of the air conditioner 200 is heat-exchanged with the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle when passing through the heat exchanger 151, and the temperature and humidity are adjusted. Then, the air passes through the blower fan 143 and is conditioned air from the air outlet 142 located below and blown into the room.

  The blowout port 142 is provided with left and right wind direction plates 144 and up and down wind direction plates 145 that can change the wind direction of the conditioned air to be blown out, and the blowout direction of the blowout flow is adjusted. A left and right wind direction plate 144 that can change the wind direction in the left and right direction of the blown flow is located upstream of the vertical wind direction plate 145 that can change the vertical direction of the blown flow. Moreover, the dew condensation water of the heat exchanger 151 recovered by the drain pan 140 is discharged outdoors through a drain hose (not shown).

  Here, in this air conditioner 200, any one of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800 is connected to the windward side (upstream side) of the front lower heat exchanger 151b or the windward side (upstream side) of the rear heat exchanger 151c. Or above the drain pan 140. If any one of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800 is installed above the drain pan 140, the drain pan 140 may be used even when the condensed water 110 in the cooling unit 108 is large and excessive moisture is generated. Since the excess water is received and discharged to the outside together with the dew condensation water of the heat exchanger 151, the excess moisture of the installed electrostatic atomizer (any of 300 to 800) is not likely to leak into the room.

  By installing any one of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800 in the air conditioner 200, a large amount of electrostatic mist 101 released from the electrostatic atomizer is taken into the indoor air sucked from the suction port 141. The heat exchanger 151 can be passed together and discharged into the room together with the conditioned air from the air outlet 142.

  In any case, when installing any of the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800 on the windward side of the heat exchanger 151, the stacking direction of the fins of the cooling fins 108b and the heat radiating unit 107 is the air conditioner. It is good to arrange so that it may become the left-right direction of 200 main bodies. As a result, the suction air flow from the suction port 141 flows along the fins, and the heat radiation of the heat radiation portion 107 is promoted. And the direction arrange | positioned so that the thermal radiation part 107 may oppose the heat exchanger 151 may increase the flow volume of the air (indoor suction air) flow which passes the thermal radiation part 107, and may radiate heat more.

  Moreover, when arrange | positioning the thermal radiation part 107 facing the heat exchanger 151, the electrostatic atomizer 300, the electrostatic atomizer 500 (modification 3), the electrostatic atomizer 700 (modification 4), static If it is any of the electroatomizers 800, as in the electrostatic atomizer 400 (modification 1) shown in FIG. On the other hand, if it is provided so as to protrude in the direction opposite to the protruding direction of the cooling fin 108 b, the electrostatic mist 101 can be quickly guided to the blowout port 142 on the air flow having a large flow rate passing through the heat radiating portion 107. . In this case, it is better to install a ridge 130 above the generation portion of the electrostatic mist 101 as shown in FIG. 54 to suppress the passage of the air flow to the generation portion of the electrostatic mist 101.

  By forming the water application electrode 102 with a reducing metal, particularly a foam metal made of titanium, the amount of ozone generated due to the discharge is suppressed, so that the ozone is blown out together with the conditioned air from the air outlet 142. Therefore, the user does not feel a strange odor or oxidize the user's human body that requires a moisturizing effect. In addition, as described above, even if radicals (active species) are generated along with the discharge, they are short-lived and disappear, so that the radicals are not blown out from the outlet 142 but are blown out. Since radicals are not included in the electrostatic mist 101, the radicals do not oxidize the human body of the user who requires a moisturizing effect. Although charged, nanometer-sized pure water penetrates the user's skin, so that the moisturizing effect can be enhanced without adversely affecting the skin.

  In the electrostatic atomizers 300 to 800, a foam metal having a three-dimensional network structure has been used as a material for the water application electrode 102. For example, a ceramic or non-foaming general material that transports water by capillary action is used. Even if the water application electrode 102 is formed using another porous body such as a sintered metal or a resin foam, various effects obtained by using the foam metal cannot be obtained. 128 and the tip atomization unit 129), the positional relationship between the cooling unit 108 (water supply means) and the water application electrode 102, the installation angle of the water application electrode 102 and the installation angle of the cooling unit 108, and the cooling unit 108. It is possible to obtain the effect that the water generated in (1) can be quickly led to the tip atomization unit 129 without waste and a large amount of electrostatic mist 101 can be generated stably.

  Next, a method of blowing airflow control after human body detection will be described.

  The configuration of the air conditioner 900 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, an air conditioner 900 includes an indoor fan 202 that sucks and blows air into an air conditioner body 201, a prefilter 208 that removes dust and the like contained in the sucked air, and a first indoor heat exchange. 205a, the second indoor heat exchanger 205b, the third indoor heat exchanger 205c, and the fourth indoor heat exchanger 205d are housed, and the air inlet of the air conditioner main body 201 is provided with the inlet 203. Is provided, and an air outlet 204 of the air conditioner body 201 is provided with an up / down air direction control plate 206 and a left / right air direction control plate 207. The indoor blower 202 is rotationally driven by an indoor fan motor (not shown), whereby indoor air is taken into the air conditioner main body from the suction port 203, and the dust removed by the prefilter 208 is indoor heat exchangers 205a to 205d. When passing through, the heat exchange. Thereafter, the sucked air passes through the indoor blower 202, is rectified in the vertical and horizontal directions by the left and right airflow direction control plates 207 and the vertical airflow direction control plate 206 disposed at the outlet 204, and is blown out from the air conditioner body 201 to the indoor space. .

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 67, the up / down wind direction control plate 206 and the left / right wind direction control plate 207 are divided into left and right, and can operate independently.

  The up / down air direction control plate 206 is composed of an up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a and an up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b. The up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a is constituted by an up / down air direction control plate (left) link rod 209a. The vertical wind direction (left) control stepping motor 210a is connected to the vertical wind direction (left) control stepping motor 210a, so that the angle of the vertical wind direction control plate (left) 206a changes. The left and right airflows blown out from 201 can be rectified by adjusting the vertical airflow direction angle.

  Similarly, the vertical wind direction control plate (right) 206b is connected to the vertical wind direction (right) control stepping motor 210b by the vertical wind direction control plate (right) link rod 209b, and the vertical wind direction (right) control stepping motor 210b is rotationally driven. As a result, the angle of the up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b changes, and thereby the up / down air direction angle of the right half airflow blown out from the air conditioner body 201 can be adjusted and rectified.

  The left / right airflow direction control plate 207 includes a left / right airflow direction control plate (left) 207a and a left / right airflow direction control plate (right) 207b. (Left) Connected by the link rod 211a and performs all the same operations. A left / right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a is connected to the tip of the left / right wind direction control plate (left) link rod 211a, and the left / right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a is rotationally driven to rotate the left / right wind direction control plate (left). ) The angle of 207a is changed, so that the right and left wind direction angles of the left half airflow blown out from the air conditioner body 201 can be adjusted and rectified.

  Similarly, the left / right airflow direction control plate (right) 207b is also composed of a plurality of sheets, but they are connected by the left / right airflow direction control plate (right) link rod 211b and all perform the same operation. A left / right wind direction (right) control stepping motor 212b is connected to the tip of the left / right wind direction control plate (right) link bar 211b, and the left / right wind direction (right) control stepping motor 212b is driven to rotate, thereby rotating the left / right wind direction control plate (right). ) The angle of 207b is changed, so that the right and left wind direction angles of the right half airflow blown out from the air conditioner body 201 can be adjusted and rectified.

  68 and 69 are diagrams showing a state in which the air conditioner main body 201 is stopped. FIG. 68 shows the operating states of the up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a and the up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b. For the sake of simplicity, the illustration of the left and right wind direction control plates is omitted, and FIG. 69 shows the upper and lower wind direction control plates of the left and right wind direction control plates (left) 207a and the left and right wind direction control plates (right) 207b. The illustration is omitted.

  FIG. 70 shows a room in which the air conditioner body 201 is air-conditioned, and the state that the air conditioner body 201 recognizes as a state in which the space of the room is divided into 15 area sections in the depth direction 3 × the left-right direction 5. Show.

  The state divided into the 15 area sections is characterized in that the floor area as a result of performing the space recognition determination using the information from the infrared sensor 3 described above is divided into 15 area sections. To do.

  In FIG. 70, the nearest row (hereinafter referred to as the first row) closest to the air conditioner body 201 is composed of five area sections of A1, B1, C1, D1, and E1, and is farthest from the air conditioner body 201. The row located (hereinafter, the third row) is composed of five area sections A3, B3, C3, D3, and E3. The second row located between the first row and the third row is composed of five area sections A2, B2, C2, D2, and E2. A, B, C, D, and E indicate the column direction in the space of this room. For example, the A-th column means that the area is composed of three area sections A1, A2, and A3.

  With reference to the air conditioner main body 201, the column A is the leftmost column with respect to the air conditioner main body 201, the column C is the column positioned in front of the air conditioner main body 201, and the column E is the air conditioner. The rightmost column with respect to the machine 100, the Bth column is the middle column between the Ath and Cth columns, and the Dth column is the middle column between the Cth and Eth columns. . Here, the left and right are left and right when the air conditioner body 201 is viewed from the room.

  The floor area calculated from the human body detection of the area division division total number of the air conditioning target area is divided into 15 divisions, but this division number is not particularly limited by the present invention, and the number is arbitrary. In principle, the greater the total number of area divisions, the more precisely the air flow blown out from the air conditioner can be controlled with higher precision, so that comfort is further improved.

  Here, a circuit configuration of a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer) built in the control device 215 (control unit) mounted in the air conditioner main body 201 of the air conditioner 900 of the first embodiment is shown in FIG. Will be described. 71, the control device 215 includes an input unit 216, a CPU 217, a memory 218, and an output unit 219. Further, the CPU 217 includes a human body detection determination unit 220, a target area determination unit 221, and an area wind direction control unit 222. Yes. The input unit 216 is an input circuit that receives an input signal from the human body detection sensor 214. Here, inputs other than the human body detection sensor 214 are omitted, but the present invention is not limited to this. There may be input from a room temperature detection sensor or the like. The CPU 217 refers to the contents stored in the memory 218 and performs various determinations such as various arithmetic processes and wind direction determination. The human body detection signal input through the input unit 216 is first detected as a human body detection in the CPU 217. Input to the determination unit 220. Here, the memory 218 is a portion in which the setting state of the operation of the air conditioner input by the user, the operation constants such as various programs, the wind direction setting table, and the like are stored. Based on the input human body detection signal, the human body detection determination unit 220 determines in which area section of the 15 area section group described in FIG. 70 the human body is detected.

  The target area determination unit 221 receives the result of the area division in which the human body is detected by the human body detection determination unit 220, and blows out the air flow toward which area division of the 15 area division groups described in FIG. Decide whether you want to direct.

  In the area wind direction control unit 222, in order to rectify the blown airflow from the air conditioner main body 201 toward the target area section determined by the target area determination unit 221, a vertical wind direction (left) control stepping motor 210a, It is determined how to control the stepping motor 210b for controlling the wind direction (right), the stepping motor 212a for controlling the left and right wind direction (left), and the stepping motor 212b for controlling the right and left wind direction (right), and to the output unit 219. Deliver the result.

  Connected to the output unit 219 are a stepping motor 210a for up / down air direction (left) control, a stepping motor 210b for up / down air direction (right) control, a stepping motor 212a for left / right air direction (left) control, and a stepping motor 212b for left / right air direction (right) control. Each stepping motor operates based on the operation content determined by the area wind direction control unit 222.

  Each stepping motor is connected to an up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a, an up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b, a left / right air direction control plate (left) 207a, and a left / right air direction control plate (right) 207b. The angle of each wind direction control plate is changed in accordance with the amount of operation rotation, and finally the rectified airflow is blown out from the air conditioner body 201 toward the target area section.

  FIG. 71 shows only the minimum necessary elements for explaining the present embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present application may be applied even if other elements necessary for the operation of the air conditioner 900 are mounted. It does not detract from the spirit of the invention.

  Next, the operation of the air conditioner 900 according to Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 72 to 83.

  In the air conditioner 900 configured as described above, the 15 area division groups of the indoor air-conditioned space recognized by the air conditioner 900 shown in FIG.

  Here, for example, when the human body detection unit 20 determines that the human body detection position is two area blocks A2 and E2, the determination result of the target area determination unit 221 is as shown in FIG. 73 in the area blocks A2 and E2. A value of “0” is set for “1” and the remaining 13 area sections.

  That is, the target area determination unit 221 sets a value “1” for a target area section, sets a value “0” for a non-target area section, and sets “0” or “1” for each of all area sections. The determination result is output by operating so as to set only one of the two values "".

  Next, in the area wind direction control unit 222, the vertical wind direction control plate 206 and the right and left wind direction control plate 207 for rectifying the blown airflow from the air conditioner body 201 toward the target area section determined by the target area determination unit 221. Stepping motors (stepping motors 212a for controlling left and right wind directions (left), left and right wind directions (left and right wind direction)) necessary for setting the set angles and the respective wind direction control plates (upper and lower wind direction control plates 206 and left and right wind direction control plates 207). Right) The rotational drive amount of the control stepping motor 212b) is determined.

  First, a method for determining the set angle of the left / right airflow direction control plate 207 will be described. In order to determine the setting angle of the left and right wind direction control plate 207, the area wind direction control unit 222 performs the arithmetic processing shown in FIG. 74 based on the target area division setting state of FIG. Data for determining is calculated.

  This data calculation method is performed by calculating the logical sum of each area section for each column in the depth direction in each area section group. Here, the logical sum is a result of 0 if all of the numerical groups that take only one of the two values of 0 or 1 are all 0, If at least one of these is 1, it is a function that performs a calculation process that returns a result of 1.

  For example, when attention is paid to the three area sections A1, A2, and A3 constituting the A-th column, the values are A1 = 0, A2 = 1, and A3 = 0. Therefore, the result of calculating the logical sum of the values of the three area sections constituting the A-th column is 1 because A2 is 1.

  Similarly, the operation result of the logical sum of the values of the three area sections B1, B2, and B3 constituting the B-th column is 0 because the values of the three area sections are all 0.

  Thereafter, when the same calculation process is performed for the C-th column, the D-th column, and the E-th column, the result finally shown in a broken line in FIG. 74 is obtained. Since the data value group within the broken line enclosure is processed in the depth direction as shown in FIG. 74 and the data group that is expanded in a two-dimensional form as shown in FIG. 73 is converted into a one-dimensional data state. This is defined as depth direction one-dimensional data 223.

  Next, the area wind direction control unit 222 refers to the left and right wind direction setting table shown in FIG. 75 stored and stored in the memory 218, and matches the result of the calculated one-dimensional data 223 in the depth direction. To determine the final setting angle of the left and right wind direction control plate 207.

  In the left / right wind direction setting table of FIG. 75, the setting angles of the left / right wind direction control plate (left) 207a and the left / right wind direction control plate (right) 207b are defined according to the value of each column of the depth direction one-dimensional data 223. It is a list and is stored in the memory 218.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 74, the one-dimensional data 223 in the depth direction is 1, 0, 0, 0, 1 in the order from the A column to the E column. Matches the contents described in the line No. 18.

  In No. 18, the setting angle of the left / right airflow direction control plate (left) 207a is leftward, and the setting angle of the left / right airflow direction control plate (right) 207b is rightward, and each setting angle stored in the memory 218 in advance is set. Based on the required rotational drive amount of the stepping motor, the rotational drive amount of the stepping motor (the stepping motor 212a for controlling the left and right wind direction (left) and the stepping motor 212b for controlling the right and left wind direction (right)) is determined according to each result. The result is delivered to the output unit 219.

  In the output unit 219, the rotational drive amount of each of the left and right wind direction control stepping motors (left and right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a, left and right wind direction (right) control stepping motor 212b) delivered from the area wind direction control unit 222 is set. Based on this, the left and right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a and the left and right wind direction (right) stepping motor 12b are rotationally driven. As a result, the left / right airflow direction control plate (left) 207a and the left / right airflow direction control plate (right) 207b are set to a set angle that rectifies the airflow toward the target area section.

  Next, a method for determining the set angle of the up / down air direction control plate 206 will be described. In order to determine the setting angle of the vertical wind direction control plate 206, the area wind direction control unit 222 first determines the arrangement state of each of the 15 area division groups shown in FIG. 72 as shown in FIG. Classify to the right area.

  That is, the left area is composed of six area sections A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, and B3 in the A-th and B-th columns, and the central area is composed of three area sections C1, C2, and C3 in the C-th row. The right region is composed of six area sections D1, D2, D3, E1, E2, and E3 in the D-th row and the E-th row.

  Next, the area wind direction control unit 222 calculates the logical sum of each area section for each row in the horizontal direction for each region. That is, since the target area determination unit 221 determines the area sections A2 and E2 as the target area, as shown in FIG. 77, in the left area, the two area sections A1 and B1 in the first row are both “0”. Therefore, the operation result of the logical sum is 0.

  Similarly, in the two area sections A2 and B2 in the second row, A2 = 1, B2 = 0, and A2 is “1”, so the logical sum operation result is 1.

  Since the two area sections A3 and B3 in the third row are both “0”, the operation result of the logical sum is 0, and the operation processing result in the left region is 0 in the order from the first row to the third row. 1, 0, ie, the result within the dashed box on the left side of FIG. Since the data value group in this enclosure is processed in the left and right direction for each row in the left region to obtain a one-dimensional data state for each row, the left and right one-dimensional data (left region) 224 Define.

  Similarly, for the right region, left-right direction one-dimensional data (right region) 225 as shown in a broken line box on the right side of FIG. 77 is obtained as a calculation result.

  As for the central area, since there is only one column of the C-th column, the data of the three area sections C1, C2, C3 in the C-th column is directly the one-dimensional data in the left-right direction (central region).

  Subsequently, the area wind direction control unit 222 performs arithmetic processing for logically summing all the area sections in each of the three areas of the left area, the central area, and the right area, and targets each area. Determine if an area partition exists.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 77, since the area division A2 is 1 in the left area, the left area is 1, similarly, the central area does not have a target area division, 0, and the right area is 1. Determine.

  The area wind direction control unit 222 extracts those that match the determination result from the up / down wind direction control board (left)-(right) operation determination table shown in FIG. The operation of the wind direction control plate 206 (vertical wind direction control plate (left) 206a, vertical wind direction control plate (right) 206b) is determined.

  FIG. 78 classifies whether or not the target area section exists in each of the left area, the central area, and the right area, and the vertical wind direction control board (left) 206a and the vertical wind direction control board ( (Right) It is an up-and-down air direction control board (left)-(right) operation determination table which determines operation of 206b.

  In this table, aiming the right area means using the right-and-left direction one-dimensional data (right-and-left direction one-dimensional data (right area) 225). Similarly, aiming the left area means the left area. Using the left-right direction one-dimensional data (left-right direction one-dimensional data (left region) 224) and aiming at the central region means using the left-right direction one-dimensional data of the central region.

  In addition, aiming at the left + center region is a logical sum operation process in the row direction for the left-right direction one-dimensional data (left-right direction one-dimensional data (left region) 224) and the center region left-right direction one-dimensional data. This means that the obtained one-dimensional data in the horizontal direction is used.

  Similarly, aiming at the right + center region means performing a logical OR operation on the right region one-dimensional data (horizontal one-dimensional data (right region) 225) and the central region left-right direction one-dimensional data in the row direction. This means that one-dimensional data obtained in the left-right direction is used.

  Now, since the results are the left area = 1, the center area = 0, and the right area = 1, the contents described in the No. 6 line in the table of FIG. 78 match this. In No. 6, the vertical wind direction control plate (left) 206a is designated to aim at the left region, and the vertical wind direction control plate (right) 206b is designated to aim at the right region. Therefore, the up / down air direction control board (left) 206a uses the one-dimensional data in the left / right direction (left area) 224, and the up / down air direction control board (right) 206b uses the one-dimensional data in the right / left direction (right area) 225. Is used.

  Next, the area wind direction control unit 222 uses the one-dimensional data in the left-right direction (one-dimensional data in the left-right direction (left) used by each of the up-down wind direction control plates (up-down wind direction control plate (left) 206a, up-down wind direction control plate (right) 206b)). Area) 224, one-dimensional data in the left and right direction (right area) 225) are extracted from the up / down air direction setting table shown in FIG. 79 stored in the memory 218, and each up / down air direction control board (left) is extracted. 206a, the final setting angle of the up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b is determined.

  79 is a list in which the setting angles of the up / down air direction control plate 206 are defined according to the value of each line of the left / right one-dimensional data. The up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a, up / down It is a table | surface applied about the up-and-down wind direction control board 206 of the wind direction control board (right) 206b.

  In the table, the vertical wind direction No. 1 to the vertical wind direction No. 5 are, here, the vertical wind direction No. 1 is a set angle that blows out in the horizontal direction, and the vertical wind direction No. 5 is the set angle that is the lowest down blow angle. From No. 2 to up and down wind direction No. 3 are described as set angles set between the up and down wind direction No. 1 and the up and down wind direction No. 5 in that order.

  Now, the vertical wind direction control board (left) 206a uses left and right wind direction one-dimensional data (left region) 224, and left and right one-dimensional data (left region) 224 is in the order from the first row to the third row. Since it is 0, 1, 0, it matches the number 3 in the table of FIG.

  In No. 3, since the set angle of the up / down air direction control plate 206 is designated as the up / down air direction No. 3, the up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a is finally set to the set angle of this up / down air direction No. 3. .

  Similarly, the up / down air direction control board (right) 206b uses the right-and-left direction one-dimensional data (right area) 225 of the right area, and the values are 0, 1, and 0. Therefore, the number 3 in the table of FIG. Is set to the setting angle of the up-and-down wind direction No. 3 specified in.

  When the set angle is determined, the area wind direction control unit 222 determines the stepping motors necessary for each set angle stored in advance in the memory 218 (upper and lower wind direction (left) control stepping motor 210a, upper and lower wind direction (right) stepping motor). Based on the rotational drive amount of 10b), the rotational drive amount of the stepping motor (up / down wind direction (left) control stepping motor 210a, up / down wind direction (right) stepping motor 10b) corresponding to each result is determined and the result is output. Delivered to part 219.

  In the output unit 219, based on the rotational drive amount of each of the vertical wind direction control stepping motors (vertical wind direction (left) control stepping motor 210a, vertical wind direction (right) stepping motor 10b) delivered from the area wind direction control unit 222, The vertical wind direction (left) control stepping motor 210a and the vertical wind direction (right) stepping motor 10b are driven to rotate.

  As a result, the up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a and the up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b are set to a set angle that rectifies the airflow toward the target area section.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIGS. 76 to 78, a plurality of area sections that are two-dimensionally developed are classified into a plurality of areas of a left area, a center area, and a right area, and a final determination process shown in FIG. The reason why the set angles of the up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a and the up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b are determined is because there are a plurality of up / down air direction control plates 206, for example, one target area section. In this case, the entire vertical airflow direction control plate 206 is operated so as to aim at the area division, or when two different places become the target area division, each vertical airflow direction control plate 206 performs blowing. This is to enable proper operation.

  Through the above processing, all of the up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a and the up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b, the left / right air direction control plate (left) 207a, and the left / right air direction control plate (right) 207b A setting angle of the wind direction control plate is determined.

  FIG. 80 is a perspective view showing this wind direction operation state, FIG. 81 is a diagram in which illustration of the left and right wind direction control plate 207 is omitted, and FIG. 82 is a diagram in which illustration of the vertical wind direction control plate 206 is omitted. .

  As shown in these three figures (FIGS. 80 to 82), the up / down air direction control plate (left) 206a and the up / down air direction control plate (right) 206b are both positioned between the horizontal blow and the down blow. The left and right wind direction control plate (left) 207a and the left and right wind direction control plate (right) 207b are respectively set to set angles that are located outward from the center of the air conditioner body 201, and as a result, the air conditioner body 201 The air flow blown out from the air is blown out slightly outward as shown by the arrows in the figure.

  FIG. 83 illustrates this in the indoor space, and it can be seen that the airflow is rectified toward the two area sections A2 and E2 where the human body position has been detected, that is, the target.

  Therefore, as described above, the floor area calculated from the infrared sensor 3 is divided into 15 areas, so that the position of the person obtained from the infrared sensor 3 is replaced with 15 area sections, and the high resolution is used. Airflow control based on highly accurate human position information can be realized.

  In this embodiment, instead of blowing the airflow on which the electrostatic mist generated from the electrostatic atomizer is directly applied to the position area of the human body, for example, the airflow is directly blown to both sides of the human body detection position area. Avoids falling (lowering) skin moisture due to contact with the human body, and the skin moisture content is effectively reduced by the electrostatic mist approaching the human body from both sides (easily close to the human body with a potential difference). It has the effect of raising

  For example, when the human body detection unit 20 determines that the human body detection position is the area section of C2 (FIG. 72), the determination result of the target area determination section 221 is “1” in the area sections B2 and D2 on both sides of C2. A value of “0” is set in the remaining 13 area sections other than.

  In this case, since the depth direction one-dimensional data 223 is 0, 1, 0, 1, 0 in order from the A column to the E column, the number 11 row in the left and right wind direction setting table of FIG. It matches the contents described in.

  In No. 11, the setting angle of the left / right wind direction control plate (left) 207 a is left-centered, and the setting angle of the left-right wind direction control plate (right) 207 b is right-centered, and is stored and stored in the memory 218 in advance. Based on the rotational driving amount of the stepping motor required for each set angle, the rotational driving of the stepping motor (the stepping motor 212a for controlling the left and right wind direction (left) and the stepping motor 212b for controlling the right and left wind direction (right)) according to each result. The amount is determined and the result is transferred to the output unit 219.

  In the output unit 219, the rotational drive amount of each of the left and right wind direction control stepping motors (left and right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a, left and right wind direction (right) control stepping motor 212b) delivered from the area wind direction control unit 222 is set. Based on this, the left and right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a and the left and right wind direction (right) stepping motor 12b are rotationally driven. As a result, the left / right airflow direction control plate (left) 207a and the left / right airflow direction control plate (right) 207b are set to set angles at which airflow is rectified toward the target area sections (B2, D2).

  In this way, instead of blowing the airflow with the electrostatic mist generated from the electrostatic atomizer directly on the human body position area (area section C2), both side areas of the human body detection position area (area section C2) It can be divided into sections (B2, D2).

  When the human body detection unit 20 determines that the human body detection position is the area section of C2 (FIG. 72), the determination result of the target area determination section 221 is “1” in the area sections A2 and E2 at both ends of C2. A value of “0” may be set in the remaining 13 area sections other than.

  In this case, the depth direction one-dimensional data 223 has a result of 1, 0, 0, 0, 1 in the order from the A column to the E column. Therefore, in the left and right wind direction setting table of FIG. Matches what is listed on the line.

  In No. 18, the setting angle of the left / right airflow direction control plate (left) 207a is leftward, and the setting angle of the left / right airflow direction control plate (right) 207b is rightward, and each setting angle stored in the memory 218 in advance is set. Based on the required rotational drive amount of the stepping motor, the rotational drive amount of the stepping motor (the stepping motor 212a for controlling the left and right wind direction (left) and the stepping motor 212b for controlling the right and left wind direction (right)) is determined according to each result. The result is delivered to the output unit 219.

  In the output unit 219, the rotational drive amount of each of the left and right wind direction control stepping motors (left and right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a, left and right wind direction (right) control stepping motor 212b) delivered from the area wind direction control unit 222 is set. Based on this, the left and right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a and the left and right wind direction (right) stepping motor 12b are rotationally driven. As a result, the left / right airflow direction control plate (left) 207a and the left / right airflow direction control plate (right) 207b are set to set angles that rectify the airflow toward the target area sections (A2, E2).

  As described above, instead of blowing the airflow with the electrostatic mist generated from the electrostatic atomizer directly on the position area (area section C2) of the human body, the airflow is detected at both ends of the human body detection position area (area section C2). By blowing to the area sections (A2, E2), it is possible to achieve substantially the same effect as when blowing to the two side area sections (B2, D2) of the human body detection position area (area section C2).

  When the human body detection unit 20 determines that the human body detection position is the area block of A2 (FIG. 72), the determination result of the target area determination unit 221 is “1” in the area block B2 on the right side of A2, and the others A value of “0” is set in the remaining 14 area sections.

  In this case, since the depth direction one-dimensional data 223 has a result of 0, 1, 0, 0, 0 in order from the A column to the E column, the number 9 in the left and right wind direction setting table of FIG. Matches what is listed on the line.

  In No. 9, the setting angle of the left and right wind direction control plate (left) 207a is left-centered, and the setting angle of the left-right wind direction control plate (right) 207b is left-centering, and is stored and stored in the memory 218 in advance. Based on the rotational driving amount of the stepping motor required for each set angle, the rotational driving of the stepping motor (the stepping motor 212a for controlling the left and right wind direction (left) and the stepping motor 212b for controlling the right and left wind direction (right)) according to each result. The amount is determined and the result is transferred to the output unit 219.

  In the output unit 219, the rotational drive amount of each of the left and right wind direction control stepping motors (left and right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a, left and right wind direction (right) control stepping motor 212b) delivered from the area wind direction control unit 222 is set. Based on this, the left and right wind direction (left) control stepping motor 212a and the left and right wind direction (right) stepping motor 12b are rotationally driven. As a result, the left / right airflow direction control plate (left) 207a and the left / right airflow direction control plate (right) 207b are set to a set angle that rectifies the airflow toward the target area section (B2).

  Even in this case, instead of blowing the airflow with the electrostatic mist generated from the electrostatic atomizer directly on the human body position area, the airflow is directly applied to the human body by blowing it on one side of the human body detection position area. Prevents skin moisture from falling (falls), and when charged, electrostatic mist approaches the human body from one side (easily close to human body with potential difference) have.

  In this way, instead of blowing the airflow with the electrostatic mist generated from the electrostatic atomizer directly on the human body position area, it is blown to both sides of the human body detection position area, or one side of the human body detection position area By spraying on, the skin moisturizing effect of the user during heating operation is enhanced (the amount of moisture in the skin is increased). Moreover, a user's sensible temperature increases because the moisture content of skin increases. In addition, the set room temperature at the time of heating can be lowered correspondingly, and the power consumption of the air conditioner is reduced by that amount, contributing to energy saving.

  When the moisture content of the exposed skin such as the user's face and neck during the heating operation increases by 25%, this corresponds to an increase in indoor humidity by about 20% RH. An increase of about 20% RH in indoor humidity corresponds to an increase in the human sensible temperature by about 1 deg. If the set temperature is lowered by 1 deg during the heating operation, the power consumption of the air conditioner 50 can be reduced by about 10%.

  Further, based on the window position information from the infrared sensor 3 (FIG. 48), when there is no human body detection, that is, when there is no person in the room, airflow control that blows electrostatic mist directly onto the curtain or the like at the window position. By performing the above, efficient sterilization such as curtains can be performed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Metal can, 2 Light distribution viewing angle, 3 Infrared sensor, 5 Case, 6 Stepping motor, 7 Mounting part, 12 Housewife, 13 Infant, 14 Window, 16 Left wall surface, 17 Right wall surface, 18 Floor surface, 19 Front wall , 20 Left wall boundary line, 21 Right wall boundary line, 22 Front wall boundary line, 31 Window area, 40 Indoor unit housing, 41 Air inlet, 42 Air outlet, 43 Vertical flap, 44 Left and right flap, 45 Blower, 46 Heat exchange , 46a Front upper heat exchanger, 46b Front lower heat exchanger, 46c Rear heat exchanger, 51 Infrared sensor drive unit, 52 Infrared image acquisition unit, 53 Temperature unevenness boundary detection unit, 54 Reference wall position calculation unit, 55 Floor Surface coordinate conversion unit, 56 Front left and right wall position calculation unit, 57 Detection history storage unit, 58 Wall position determination unit, 60 Boundary line, 61 Human body detection unit, 62 Human body position history storage 63, human body position validity determination unit, 64 temperature unevenness validity determination unit, 100 air conditioner, 101 electrostatic mist, 102 water application electrode, 103 counter electrode, 104 high voltage power supply unit, 105 low voltage power supply unit, 106 Peltier unit, 107 heat radiation part, 108 cooling part, 108a base plate, 108b cooling fin, 110 dew condensation water, 121 pores, 122 metal part, 128 body part, 129 tip atomizing part, 129a tip, 130 庇, 140 drain pan, 141 Inlet port, 142 Outlet port, 143 Blower, 144 Left and right wind direction plate, 145 Up and down wind direction plate, 151 Heat exchanger, 151a Front upper heat exchanger, 151b Front lower heat exchanger, 151c Rear heat exchanger, 200 Air conditioner 201 Air conditioner body 202 Indoor blower 203 Air inlet 204 Outlet, 205a First indoor heat exchanger, 205b Second indoor heat exchanger, 205c Third indoor heat exchanger, 205d Fourth indoor heat exchanger, 206 Up / down air direction control plate, 206a Up / down air direction control Plate (left), 206b Vertical wind direction control plate (right), 207 Left and right wind direction control plate, 207a Left and right wind direction control plate (left), 207b Left and right wind direction control plate (right), 208 Pre-filter, 209a Vertical wind direction control plate (left) Link rod, 209b Vertical wind direction control plate (right) link rod, 210a Vertical wind direction (left) control stepping motor, 210b Vertical wind direction (right) control stepping motor, 211a Left and right wind direction control plate (left) link rod, 211b Left and right wind direction Control board (right) link rod, 212a Step direction motor for left / right air direction (left) control, 212b Right / left air direction (right) Stepping motor for control, 214 Human body detection sensor, 215 control device, 216 input unit, 217 CPU, 218 memory, 219 output unit, 220 human body detection judgment unit, 221 target area determination unit, 222 area wind direction control unit, 223 depth direction one-dimensional Data, 224 Horizontal one-dimensional data (left region), 225 Horizontal one-dimensional data (right region), 300 Electrostatic atomizer, 301 Thermal image acquisition unit, 302 Floor wall detection unit, 303 Room temperature determination unit, 304 Outside Temperature determination unit, 305 Wall region temperature difference determination unit, 306 Wall region inside / outside air temperature region extraction unit, 307 Window region extraction unit, 308 Window region temperature determination unit, 309 Curtain closing operation determination unit, 400 Electrostatic atomizer , 500 electrostatic atomizer, 600 electrostatic atomizer, 700 electrostatic atomizer, 800 electrostatic atomizer, 9 00 Air conditioner.

Claims (5)

The body,
A suction port provided in the main body for sucking air in the room;
A blowout port provided in the main body and blowing out conditioned air as a blown airflow;
An up-and-down air direction control plate that is provided at the air outlet and rectifies the air flow in the up-and-down direction;
A left and right airflow direction control plate provided at the outlet and rectifying the blown airflow in the left-right direction;
A heat exchanger that is provided in an air path between the suction port and the outlet and generates the conditioned air;
An infrared sensor that is attached to the main body and detects the temperature of the temperature detection target within the temperature detection target range;
A control unit that detects the presence of a human body and a heat generating device by the infrared sensor, controls the air conditioner, and controls at least the vertical wind direction control plate and the left and right wind direction control plate;
An electrostatic atomizer that generates electrostatic mist that is discharged into the room together with conditioned air from the outlet through the blowout airflow, and
The controller is
The indoor space in which the air conditioner is installed is divided into a plurality of area sections and expanded two-dimensionally, and based on the detection result of the infrared sensor, the area section where the human body is located is identified,
From among the plurality of area sections, an area section targeted for air conditioning is set as an area section on both sides or both ends or one side of the area section where the human body is located, and toward the area section targeted for air conditioning. An air conditioner characterized by blowing or blowing the blown airflow on which the electrostatic mist is placed. The body,
A suction port provided in the main body for sucking air in the room;
A blowout port provided in the main body and blowing out conditioned air as a blown airflow;
An up-and-down air direction control plate that is provided at the air outlet and rectifies the air flow in the up-and-down direction;
A stepping motor for up / down air direction control that adjusts the angle of the up / down air direction control plate;
A left and right airflow direction control plate provided at the outlet and rectifying the blown airflow in the left-right direction;
A left and right wind direction control stepping motor for adjusting the angle of the left and right wind direction control plate;
A heat exchanger that is provided in an air path between the suction port and the outlet and generates the conditioned air;
A drain pan provided below the heat exchanger and receiving water condensed in the heat exchanger;
An infrared sensor that is attached downward to the front surface of the main body at a predetermined depression angle and that detects the temperature of the temperature detection target by scanning the temperature detection target range from side to side;
A control unit that detects the presence of a person or a heat generating device by the infrared sensor and controls the air conditioner, and controls at least the stepping motor for controlling the vertical wind direction and the stepping motor for controlling the horizontal wind direction,
An electrostatic atomizer provided on the windward side of the heat exchanger, and installed so that a heat dissipating part in contact with the heat dissipating surface of the Peltier unit of the water supply means faces the heat exchanger,
The controller is
The infrared sensor is scanned to obtain thermal image data of the room, and on the thermal image data, the following three pieces of information are integrated to obtain the floor area in the air-conditioned area that is air-conditioned. And determining the wall surface position in the air-conditioning area on the thermal image data,
(1) The room shape of the shape limit value and the initial set value obtained from the capacity band of the air conditioner and the installation position button setting of the remote control;
(2) The room shape obtained from the temperature unevenness of the floor and wall that occurs during operation of the air conditioner;
(3) Room shape obtained from human body detection position history;
Further, each coordinate point on the floor boundary line obtained from the floor area in the air-conditioned area that is air-conditioned obtained by integrating the three information and the wall surface position in the air-conditioned area on the thermal image data is Back projection to the thermal image data, to generate temperature data of each wall surface, floor surface from the thermal image data, to determine the radiation temperature of the human body based on the temperature data,
The calculation of the floor temperature is performed by dividing the floor area on the thermal image data into a plurality of areas in the left-right direction and the depth direction, and calculating an average of the temperature data obtained from the thermal image data of each divided area. Floor temperature
From the radiation temperature of the human body and the temperature data of the floor surface, specify the floor area where the human body is located,
Furthermore, the control unit
A binary value of 0 or 1 is set for each area section of an area section group formed by two-dimensionally expanding a plurality of area sections that divide the indoor space in which the air conditioner is installed, and the area section A target area determination unit for determining an area division targeted for air conditioning in the group;
When controlling at least one of the up / down wind direction control stepping motor and the left / right wind direction control stepping motor toward the air conditioning target area section, the left / right wind direction control stepping motor is: In the area partition group, a control operation is performed based on one-dimensional data in the depth direction obtained by calculating a logical sum of each area partition in the depth direction for each column. An area wind direction control unit that performs a control operation based on the one-dimensional data in the horizontal direction obtained by calculating the logical sum of the area sections in the horizontal direction for each row in the group,
The control unit sets the target area section for the air conditioning to the floor area on both sides, both ends, or one side of the floor area where the human body is located, toward the target area section for the air conditioning. An air conditioner characterized by blowing or blowing the blown airflow on which the electrostatic mist generated by the electrostatic atomizer is placed. The electrostatic atomizer is
A water supply means that has a Peltier unit and a cooling part in contact with the cooling surface, and drops water condensed on the cooling part from the cooling part in the direction of gravity;
Electrostatic atomization provided with a water application electrode that is formed from a porous body, receives water dripped from the water supply means, and atomizes this water at the tip atomization section when a high voltage is applied A device,
The water application electrode is formed in a substantially rectangular shape with a flat plate shape, receives a water dropped in the direction of gravity from the cooling unit, and transports the water to the tip atomization unit, and a side surface of the body unit Consisting of the tip atomization part which is a plate-like protrusion formed integrally with the body part so as to protrude from
The trunk portion extends in the horizontal direction in the long side direction, is spaced from the cooling portion with a space of a predetermined distance L1 below the cooling portion, and projects the cooling portion in the direction of gravity. In this case, the cooling part is arranged such that the width in the stacking direction is within the width in the long side direction of the upper surface exposed to face the cooling part of the body part. The air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2. A thermal image acquisition unit that acquires the thermal image data by scanning the infrared sensor left and right within a temperature detection target range to detect the temperature of the temperature detection target;
A floor wall detector for acquiring the wall surface position in the air conditioning area on the thermal image data;
A temperature condition determination unit having a room temperature determination unit for detecting an indoor air temperature and an outside air temperature detection unit for detecting an outside air temperature, which determines whether or not the current temperature condition is a state in which detection of the window state is necessary;
A window state detection unit that detects a region having a predetermined temperature difference in the background thermal image as a window region when the temperature condition determination unit determines that the detection is necessary,
The window state detector
A temperature difference determination unit in the wall region that determines whether or not a temperature difference in the wall region in the background thermal image is a certain value or more;
A wall region inside / outside temperature region extracting unit that extracts a region close to the outside temperature in the wall region in the background thermal image;
A region that is likely to be a window region is extracted from the regions extracted by the wall region inside / outside air temperature region extracting unit, and the wall region inside / outside air temperature region extracting unit continues to be extracted as a window region for a predetermined time or more. A window area extraction unit that detects the area as a window area,
The control unit puts electrostatic mist generated from the electrostatic atomizer on the window region when there is no detection of the human body based on the window region information from the window region extraction unit. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein airflow control for blowing airflow is performed. In the calculation formula shown below,
here,
T_calc: radiation temperature Tf. ave: floor temperature T_left of the place where the human body is detected: left wall surface temperature T_front: front wall temperature T_right: right wall surface temperature Xf: X coordinate of human body detection position Yf: Y coordinate of human body detection position X_left: distance between left wall surfaces Y_front The distance between the front wall surfaces X_right: The distance between the right wall surfaces α, β, γ: Correction coefficients The radiation temperature from the floor surface and each wall surface for each human body is obtained.