JP2013015302A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner with a humidifying function which can efficiently clean air with low power consumption.SOLUTION: An air cleaner 1 includes an attachable/detachable humidifying filter 5 that humidifies air sucked through a suction port 2 by the rotation of an impeller 81, and a single air passage is provided in the air cleaner 1. A control part 13 controls the number of revolutions of a fan motor 82 in accordance with the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5 detected by a humidifying filter detection part 61. The control part 13 controls the number of revolutions of the fan motor 82 to be lower when the humidifying filter detection part 61 detects the absence of the humidifying filter 5 than the number of revolutions of the fan motor 82 when the humidifying filter detection part 61 detects the presence of the humidifying filter 5.

Description

  The present invention relates to an air cleaner that purifies and humidifies air sucked from a suction port.

  Air purifiers that purify and humidify substances that are harmful to the human body, for example, air that contains dust, have become widespread. Such an air cleaner with a humidifying function usually includes a purifying filter that filters air containing dust and a humidifying filter that humidifies air.

  An air purifier with a humidifying function includes a motor that rotates an impeller, and passes air that has been sucked in through a suction port by the rotation of the impeller through a purifying filter and a humidifying filter to purify and humidify the air. Moreover, this air cleaner with a humidification function is comprised so that only the purification of air can be performed, without humidifying air.

  As an air purifier with a humidifying function capable of only purifying air, there is an air purifier that stops water absorption by a humidifying filter when air is not humidified and allows air to pass through a dry humidifying filter.

  Further, Patent Document 1 discloses an air purifier with a humidifying function that can perform only air purification by another method. In the air cleaner described in Patent Document 1, an air passage that passes through the purification filter and an air passage that passes through the humidification filter and the purification filter are individually provided. When the air is not humidified, the humidification filter and purification The air passage that passes through the filter is blocked, and the air that has passed through only the purification filter is blown out from the outlet.

JP 2009-250448 A

  However, in an air cleaner that stops water absorption by the humidifying filter, when only air purification is performed, the air must be passed through a dry humidifying filter. When air is passed through the humidification filter, air pressure is reduced due to air resistance, and pressure loss occurs. When pressure loss occurs, the air volume of the air that has passed through the humidifying filter is reduced. For this reason, in the air cleaner which stops water absorption by the humidifying filter, the motor rotates the impeller at a high rotational speed in order to compensate for the decrease in the air volume, and there is a problem that power consumption is large.

  Moreover, about the air cleaner of patent document 1, since the two air paths are provided, when the air is not humidified, the area of the air path through which air passes is small. Thereby, there is a problem that the amount of air that can pass through the air passage is small, and the air cleaner described in Patent Literature 1 cannot efficiently purify air.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, The place made into the objective is providing the air cleaner with a humidification function which can purify air efficiently with small power consumption.

  An air purifier according to the present invention includes a motor that rotates an impeller, and in the air purifier that purifies the air sucked from the suction port by the rotation of the impeller, the air purifier is detachable to humidify the air sucked from the suction port. A filter, a filter detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the filter, a rotation speed of the motor when the filter detection means detects the absence of the filter, and a case where the filter detection means detects the presence of the filter And means for controlling the rotational speed to be lower than the rotational speed of the motor.

In this invention, the filter which humidifies the air suck | inhaled from the suction inlet can be attached or detached. When there is no filter, since the pressure loss due to the filter does not occur, the motor can rotate the impeller at a low rotational speed. Therefore, by controlling the number of rotations of the motor when the filter detection unit detects the absence of a filter to a lower number of rotations than the number of rotations of the motor when the filter detection unit detects the presence of a filter, low power consumption is achieved. The air is purified.
Moreover, since a plurality of air passages are not required, air can be efficiently purified.

  The air cleaner according to the present invention includes a water tank that stores water to be included in the filter, a water level detection unit that detects a water level of the water stored in the water tank, and the filter detection unit that detects the absence of the filter. And a means for stopping the operation of the water level detecting means.

  In the present invention, when the filter detection means does not detect the filter, the operation of the water level detection means for detecting the water level of the water stored in the water tank is stopped, so that the water level detection means detects the water level. The power consumption used for is reduced.

  The air cleaner according to the present invention includes a generating unit that generates ions to be included in the air blown out from the outlet by the rotation of the impeller, a receiving unit that receives an instruction to increase or decrease the ions generated by the generating unit, and the receiving unit Means for increasing / decreasing ions generated by the generating means in accordance with an instruction received by the means.

  In the present invention, the receiving means receives an instruction to increase or decrease the ions generated by the generating means, and increases or decreases the ions generated by the generating means according to the received instructions. Thereby, the user can adjust the amount of ions scattered into the room to an appropriate amount.

  The air purifier according to the present invention is characterized by comprising means for stopping the operation of the filter detecting means when the accepting means accepts an increase instruction.

  In the present invention, the operation of the filter detection unit is stopped when the reception unit receives an increase instruction. Thereby, the power consumption used for the filter detection means to detect the presence or absence of the filter is reduced.

  According to the present invention, the filter for humidifying the air is detachable without requiring a plurality of air passages, and the motor rotation speed when the absence of the filter is detected is the motor rotation speed when the presence of the filter is detected. Since the number of revolutions is controlled to be less than the number of revolutions, air can be efficiently purified with low power consumption.

It is sectional drawing which shows schematically the structure of the air cleaner which concerns on this invention. It is an external view of an operation panel. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the control system of an air cleaner. It is a graph which shows the rotation speed of the fan motor set automatically. It is a graph which shows the rotation speed of the fan motor set manually. It is a graph which shows the reduction effect of the power consumption of the air blower in energy saving mode. It is a chart which shows the air volume of the air blower in high power mode. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the operation | movement which a control part performs. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the operation | movement which a control part performs.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments thereof.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of an air cleaner according to the present invention. The air cleaner 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The air cleaner 1 is provided with a suction port 2 for sucking air from the outside on one side surface, and a blower port 3 on one end surface. The air cleaner 1 is disposed on the floor with the end face provided with the air outlet 3 as an upper surface.

  The air purifier 1 purifies and humidifies the air sucked from the outside, includes ions in the purified and humidified air, and blows out the air containing the ions from the outlet 3 to the outside. The air cleaner 1 can also purify the air without humidifying it.

The air cleaner 1 includes a purification filter 4, a humidification filter 5, a water tank 6, an electric motor 7, a blower 8, an ion generation unit 9, a dust detection unit 10, a humidity detection unit 11, in addition to the suction port 2 and the blowout port 3. An operation panel 12 and a control unit 13 are provided.
The purification filter 4 has a plate shape and is disposed so that one surface thereof is parallel to the side surface on which the suction port 2 is provided. The air sucked from the suction port 2 by the blower 8 first passes through the purification filter 4. Thereby, the purification filter 4 filters the air sucked from the suction port 2 and removes substances harmful to the human body contained in the air, for example, dust. The air purified by the purification filter 4 passes through the humidification filter 5.

  The humidifying filter 5 has a disc shape and is disposed so that the surface of the humidifying filter 5 is parallel to one surface of the purification filter 4. A box-shaped water tank 6 having one open surface is disposed below the humidifying filter 5, and a part of the humidifying filter 5 is used for water stored in the water tank 6. Hitachiru. A rotating shaft 51 is provided at the center of the surface of the humidifying filter 5, and the rotating shaft 51 is supported by the water tank 6 so that the humidifying filter 5 can rotate.

  An electric motor 7 that rotates the humidification filter 5 is disposed above the humidification filter 5. The electric motor 7 has a roller for rotating the humidifying filter 5, and is arranged so that the roller contacts the side surface of the humidifying filter 5 when the humidifying filter 5 is attached to the water tank 6. The electric motor 7 rotates the humidification filter 5 by rotating the roller.

  The electric motor 7 rotates the humidification filter 5 around the rotation shaft 51 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 13, so that the entire peripheral edge of the humidification filter 5 absorbs water in the water tank 6, and the water covers the entire surface of the humidification filter 5. Go around. Thereby, the air which passed the humidification filter 5 is humidified.

  When the air cleaner 1 does not humidify the air, the control unit 13 stops the operation of the electric motor 7 by stopping the power supply to the electric motor 7. Thereby, the control unit 13 stops the rotation of the humidifying filter 5. Further, the user can detach the humidifying filter 5 from the water tank 6 and can remove the humidifying filter 5 from the water tank 6 when the air is not humidified.

  Further, a magnet 52 for generating magnetism is provided on one surface of the humidifying filter 5. A humidifying filter detector 61 for detecting magnetism generated by the magnet 52 is provided on the side surface of the water tank 6 facing the board surface on which the magnet 52 is provided. The humidifying filter detection unit 61 detects the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5 based on whether or not the magnetism generated by the magnet 52 is detected.

  When detecting the magnetism generated by the magnet 52, the humidifying filter detection unit 61 notifies the control unit 13 that the presence of the humidifying filter 5 has been detected. The humidifying filter detection unit 61 is provided at a position where the humidifying filter 5 can face the magnet 52 while the humidifying filter 5 rotates and the magnet 52 moves in the water tank 6.

  The control unit 13 instructs the electric motor 7 to rotate the humidifying filter 5 for a period during which the humidifying filter 5 rotates once, for example, 70 seconds. The control unit 13 detects the presence of the humidifying filter 5 when the humidifying filter detecting unit 61 detects the magnetism of the magnet 52 during the period when the humidifying filter 5 rotates once, and the humidifying filter 5 during the period when the humidifying filter 5 rotates once. When the detection unit 61 does not detect the magnetism of the magnet 52, the absence of the humidification filter 5 is detected.

  In addition to the humidifying filter detection unit 61, a water level detection unit 62 that detects the level of water stored in the water tank 6 is provided on the inner surface of the water tank 6. The water level detection unit 62 detects the water level of the water in the water tank 6 and notifies the control unit 13 of the detection result. The water level detection unit 62 detects whether or not the water level of the water tank 6 is a predetermined water level.

  When the water level of the water tank 6 becomes lower than the predetermined water level, water stored in a water supply tank (not shown) is supplied to the water tank 6. Thereby, the water level of the water tank 6 is maintained at a predetermined water level. When water is not stored in the water supply tank and the water level of the water tank 6 is less than the predetermined water level, the water level detection unit 62 notifies the control unit 13 that the water level of the water tank 6 is not the predetermined water level. When the control unit 13 receives a notification that the water level of the water tank 6 is not the predetermined water level, the control unit 13 displays a message for prompting water supply to the water supply tank on the display unit 14 (see FIG. 3) described later.

The blower 8 is disposed on a side surface facing the side surface on which the suction port 2 is provided, and includes an impeller 81 and a fan motor 82 that rotates the impeller 81. The fan motor 82 sucks air from the suction port 2 by rotating the impeller 81, passes the sucked air through the purification filter 4 and the humidification filter 5, and blows out the passed air from the blowout port 3. The number of rotations of the fan motor 82 per unit time is controlled by the control unit 13.
Hereinafter, the simple description of the number of rotations means the number of rotations per unit time.

  In addition, when the humidification filter 5 is removed by the user, the fan motor 82 passes the air sucked from the suction port 2 through the purification filter 4 and blows out the passed air from the blowout port 3.

  The ion generation part 9 is arrange | positioned in the surface which forms the air path from the air blower 8 to the blower outlet 3. FIG. Power supply to the ion generator 9 is controlled by the controller 13. The ion generating unit 9 generates ions when power is supplied, and includes the generated ions in the air that the blower 8 blows out from the outlet 3. As a result, bacteria such as fungi and E. coli floating in the air are decomposed and removed by the ions. The controller 13 controls the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 by controlling the time during which the ion generator 9 is supplied with power.

The dust detection unit 10 is arranged on the upper side of the purification filter 4, detects dust contained in the air in the room where the air cleaner 1 is arranged, and notifies the control unit 13 of the detection result.
Similar to the dust detection unit 10, the humidity detection unit 11 is disposed on the upper side of the purification filter 4. The humidity detection unit 11 detects the humidity of the air in the room where the air purifier 1 is arranged, and notifies the control unit 13 of the detected result.

  The operation panel 12 is installed outside the upper surface of the air cleaner 1. The operation panel 12 accepts instructions for starting and stopping the operation of the air purifier 1, setting the number of rotations of the fan motor 82, whether to perform humidification in addition to air purification, and a mode for purifying air. The control unit 13 is notified of the received instruction.

  The control unit 13 is configured by a microcomputer or the like, and is provided inside the upper surface of the air cleaner 1 so as to face the operation panel 12. Based on the instruction received by the operation panel 12 and the results detected by the humidifying filter detection unit 61, the dust detection unit 10, and the humidity detection unit 11, the control unit 13 is based on the electric motor 7, the fan motor 82, and the ion generation unit. 9 is controlled. The control unit 13 controls the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 and the power supply to the humidifying filter detection unit 61, the water level detection unit 62, the electric motor 7, the dust detection unit 10, and the humidity detection unit 11.

  FIG. 2 is an external view of the operation panel 12. The operation panel 12 includes an “operation on / off” button 21, an “automatic operation” button 22, a “manual operation” button 23, an “air cleaning” button 24, a “high power mode” button 25, an “energy saving mode” button 26, In addition, a “humidified air cleaning” button 27 is provided. A lamp is provided in the vicinity of each button.

  The “operation on / off” button 21 is a button for the operation panel 12 to receive an instruction to start or stop the operation of the air cleaner 1 from the user. When the air cleaner 1 is stopped and the user presses the “operation on / off” button 21, the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to start operation. When the user presses the “operation on / off” button 21 while the air purifier 1 is operating, the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to stop the operation.

  When the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to start operation, one or more of the plurality of lamps provided on the operation panel 12 are lit, and the air purifier 1 can purify and humidify the air, or Only clean the air. When the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to stop the operation, one or a plurality of lamps that are lit are turned off among the plurality of lamps provided on the operation panel 12, and the air purifier 1 purifies and humidifies the air. Or stop the purification of air.

  The “automatic operation” button 22 is a button for accepting an instruction to automatically set the rotation speed of the fan motor 82. When the user presses the “automatic operation” button 22, the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to automatically set the rotation speed of the fan motor 82. At this time, the control unit 13 causes the fan motor 82 to rotate the impeller 81 at a rotation speed corresponding to the dust and humidity detected by the dust detection unit 10 and the humidity detection unit 11.

Here, the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 corresponding to the dust and humidity detected by the dust detection unit 10 and the humidity detection unit 11 is stored in a storage unit 15 (see FIG. 3) described later. The rotational speed is read from the storage unit 15, and the impeller 81 is rotated by the fan motor 82 at the read rotational speed.
The lamp in the vicinity of the “automatic operation” button 22 is turned on when the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 is automatically set, and is turned off when the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 is manually set.

  The “manual operation” button 23 is a button for receiving an instruction to manually set the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 and a setting mode for the rotation speed of the fan motor 82. When the user presses the “manual operation” button 23, an instruction to manually set the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 and a setting mode for the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 are received.

  There are three lamps in the vicinity of the “manual operation” button 23, and letters “weak”, “medium” and “strong” are written in the vicinity of each of the three lamps. When the user presses the “manual operation” button 23, one of the “weak”, “medium”, and “strong” lamps lights up.

  Further, when the user repeatedly presses the “manual operation button” 23, the setting mode of the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 is changed in the order of “weak”, “medium”, and “strong”. Depending on the setting mode of the rotational speed of the fan motor 82, one of the “weak”, “medium” and “strong” lamps is lit. When the user presses the “manual operation button” 23 in the state where the setting mode is “strong”, the setting mode is changed to “weak”.

  The storage unit 15 stores the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 corresponding to each of the setting modes “weak”, “medium”, and “strong”. The control unit 13 reads out the rotation speed corresponding to the setting mode received by the operation panel 12 from the storage unit 15 and causes the fan motor 82 to rotate the impeller 81 at the read rotation speed.

  When the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to automatically set the rotation speed of the fan motor 82, the lamps near the “automatic operation” button 22 are lit, and all three lamps near the “manual operation” button 23 are lit. Turns off. When the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to manually set the rotation speed of the fan motor 82, the lamp near the “automatic operation” button 22 is turned off, and one of the three lamps near the “manual operation” button 23 is selected. One lights up.

  The “air purification” button 24 is a button for accepting an air purification instruction. When the user presses the “air cleaning” button 24, the operation panel 12 receives an instruction for air purification. At this time, the control unit 13 stops the operation of the electric motor 7, rotates the impeller 81 with the fan motor 82, and generates ions in the ion generation unit 9, thereby only purifying the air. When the operation panel 12 receives an air purification instruction, the lamp near the “air purification” button 24 is lit.

  There are a high power mode and an energy saving mode as operation modes in which the air purifier 1 only purifies air. The controller 13 makes the time for supplying power to the ion generator 9 when purifying air in the high power mode longer than the time for supplying power to the ion generator 9 when purifying air in the energy saving mode.

  Thereby, when the air cleaner 1 purifies air in the high power mode, the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 becomes larger than the amount of ions generated when the air is purified in the energy saving mode.

  In each case where the air purifier 1 purifies air in the high power mode and the energy saving mode, the power supply time to the ion generating unit 9 is stored in the storage unit 15, and the control unit 13 corresponds to each case. The time is read from the storage unit 15, and power is supplied to the ion generation unit 9 for the read time.

When the air cleaner 1 purifies the air in the energy saving mode, the control unit 13 controls the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 according to the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5 detected by the humidifying filter detecting unit 61.
Specifically, the control unit 13 determines the number of rotations of the fan motor 82 when the humidifying filter detection unit 61 detects the absence of the humidifying filter 5, and the control unit 13 when the humidifying filter detection unit 61 detects the presence of the humidifying filter 5. The rotational speed is controlled to be smaller than the rotational speed of the fan motor 82.

  In each case where the humidification filter detection unit 61 detects the presence or absence of the humidification filter 5, the number of rotations by which the fan motor 82 rotates the impeller 81 is stored in the storage unit 15, and the control unit 13 Is read from the storage unit 15, and the fan motor 82 is rotated by the fan motor 82 at the read rotation speed.

The “high power mode” button 25 is a button for receiving an instruction to increase the number of ions generated by the ion generator 9 when only air purification is performed.
The “energy saving mode” button 26 receives an instruction to control the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 according to the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5 detected by the humidifying filter detecting unit 61 when only air purification is performed. It is a button for.

  Here, when the user presses the “energy saving mode” button 26, an instruction to control the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 according to the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5 is accepted, and the high power mode is canceled. The operation panel 12 receives an instruction to reduce ions generated from the ion generator 9. The control unit 13 reduces the amount of ions generated by the ion generation unit 9 by shortening the time during which power is supplied to the ion generation unit 9.

  When only air purification is performed, a lamp near the “air cleaning” button 24 is turned on, and a “high power mode” button 25 or an “energy saving mode” button 26 is selected depending on the operation mode instructed by the user. A nearby lamp lights up. When the lamp near the “air purifying” button 24 is turned on, the lamp near the “humidified air cleaning” button 27 is turned off.

  The “humidified air cleaning” button 27 is a button for receiving instructions for air purification and humidification. When the user presses the “humidified air cleaning” button 27, the operation panel 12 accepts instructions for air purification and humidification, and the control unit 13 rotates the humidifying filter 5 to the electric motor 7, and the fan motor 82 The vehicle 81 is rotated to generate ions in the ion generator 9.

  The time applied to the ion generator 9 when purifying and humidifying the air is the same as the time applied to the ion generator 9 when purifying the air in the energy saving mode. That is, the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 is the same when purifying and humidifying air and purifying air in the energy saving mode.

  When air purification and humidification are performed, the lamp near the “humidified air cleaning” button 27 is lit, and the vicinity of the “air cleaning” button 24, the “high power mode” button 25 and the “energy saving mode” button 26. The lamp goes off.

  In addition, when the user presses the “humidified air cleaning” button 27 in a state where only air purification is performed in the high power mode, the high power mode is canceled, so that the operation panel 12 has an ion generating unit. 9 receives an instruction to reduce the number of generated ions. The control unit 13 reduces the amount of ions generated by the ion generation unit 9 by shortening the time during which power is supplied to the ion generation unit 9.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the control system of the air cleaner 1. The control unit 13 includes an operation panel 12, a humidifying filter detection unit 61, a water level detection unit 62, a dust detection unit 10, a humidity detection unit 11, an electric motor 7, a fan motor 82, an ion generation unit 9, a display unit 14, and a storage unit 15. Connected to.

When the water level of the water tank 6 is not a predetermined water level as a result of the water level detection unit 62 detecting the water level, the display unit 14 displays a message that prompts the water supply tank to be replenished according to the instruction of the control unit 13. To do.
In addition, the display part 14 may prompt the replenishment of the water to a water supply tank, for example by changing the panel currently displayed in black into red, without displaying a message.

The storage unit 15 stores the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 in various cases. These rotational speeds will be described later.
The storage unit 15 further performs time to be supplied to the ion generation unit 9 when performing only air purification in the high power mode, and when performing only air purification in the energy saving mode, or performs air purification and humidification. When performing, it memorize | stores the time which should supply electric power to the ion generation part 9. FIG.
The contents stored in the storage unit 15 are appropriately read out by the control unit 13.

  The control unit 13 determines the number of rotations of the fan motor 82 in accordance with various instructions received from the user by the operation panel 12 and the results detected by the humidifying filter detection unit 61, the dust detection unit 10, and the humidity detection unit 11. And the time which should be supplied with electricity to the ion generation part 9 is read from the memory | storage part 15. FIG. The control unit 13 rotates the impeller 81 to the fan motor 82 at the read rotation number, and supplies power to the ion generation unit 9 for the read time.

When the operation panel 12 receives instructions for air purification and humidification, the control unit 13 instructs the electric motor 7 to rotate the humidification filter 5.
When performing only air purification in the high power mode, the control unit 13 stops the operation of the humidifying filter detecting unit 61 by stopping the power supply to the humidifying filter detecting unit 61.
The control unit 13 displays a message prompting the water supply tank to replenish water when the water level in the water tank 6 is not a predetermined water level in a state where air purification and humidification are being performed.

  In addition, the control unit 13 stops power supply to the water level detection unit 62 when the humidification filter detection unit 61 detects the absence of the humidification filter 5 while only purifying air in the energy saving mode. The operation of the detection unit 62 is stopped.

  FIG. 4 is a chart showing the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 set automatically. When the setting of the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 is automatic, the control unit 13 causes the dust detection unit 10 and the humidity detection unit 11 to detect air dust and humidity, respectively. The level of dust detected by the dust detection unit 10 is 5 according to the amount of detected dust: “clean”, “dirt: small”, “dirt: medium”, “dirt: large”, and “dirt: maximum”. It is a stage.

  When only purifying air, or when purifying and humidifying air and the humidity detector 11 detects a humidity higher than a predetermined humidity, the dust levels are “clean”, “dirt: small”, “dirt: The rotation speeds of the fan motor 82 corresponding to “medium”, “dirt: large” and “dirt: maximum” are 600, 700, 800, 880 and 1000 r. p. m. Is set to r. p. m. Is an abbreviation for rotation per minute, and is a unit indicating the number of rotations per minute.

  When the air is purified and humidified and the humidity detector 11 detects a humidity lower than the predetermined humidity, the dust levels are “clean”, “dirt: small”, “dirt: medium”, “dirt: large” and “dirt”. : Maximum ”, the rotation speeds of the fan motors 82 corresponding to each of the maximum are all 1000 r. p. m. Is set to The storage unit 15 stores the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a chart showing the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 set manually. When the setting of the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 is manual, the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 is instructed by the user.

When only air purification is performed, the rotational speeds of the fan motor 82 corresponding to the setting modes “weak”, “medium”, and “strong” are 430, 960, and 1420 r. p. m. Is set to
When air purification and humidification are performed, the rotational speeds of the fan motor 82 corresponding to the setting modes “weak”, “medium”, and “strong” are 500, 880, and 1000 r. p. m. Is set to
The storage unit 15 stores the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a chart showing the effect of reducing the power consumption of the blower 8 in the energy saving mode. Since the air is purified in the energy saving mode, the control unit 13 controls the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 according to the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5 detected by the humidifying filter detecting unit 61.

  FIG. 6 shows the rotation speed (setting mode), power consumption, and air volume of the fan motor 82 in each case where the humidifying filter detection unit 61 detects the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5 for the blower 8. FIG. 6 shows the rotation speed, power consumption, and air volume when the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 is manually set.

  When the humidifying filter detection unit 61 detects the presence of the humidifying filter 5, the rotation speeds of the fan motors 82 corresponding to the setting modes “weak”, “medium”, and “strong” are 430, 960, and 1420r. p. m. It is. On the other hand, when the humidifying filter detection unit 61 detects the absence of the humidifying filter 5, the rotational speeds of the fan motors 82 corresponding to the setting modes “weak”, “medium”, and “strong” are 360, 890, and 1350r. p. m. It is.

  When the humidifying filter 5 is not used, the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 corresponding to each of the setting modes “weak”, “medium”, and “strong” corresponds to the setting modes “weak”, “ The rotational speed of the fan motor 82 corresponding to each of “medium” and “strong” is set lower.

  When the humidification filter 5 is changed from being present to being absent while the fan motor 82 is rotating the impeller 81 at a constant rotational speed, the amount of air passing through the air purifier 1 is increased. For this reason, the control part 13 can set the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 low, when the humidification filter 5 is nothing.

  When the humidifying filter 5 is changed from being present to being absent, the power consumption is changed from 2.80 W to 2.40 W in the setting mode “weak”, and from 12.72 W to 10.4 W in the setting mode “medium”, as shown in FIG. In 20 W, the setting mode “strong” is reduced from 42.07 W to 37.90 W.

  Further, when the humidifying filter 5 is not provided, the air volumes corresponding to the setting modes “weak”, “medium”, and “strong” are 0.83, 2.81, and 4.63 CMM, respectively. In the case where it is present, it is substantially the same as the air volume corresponding to each of the setting modes “weak”, “medium”, and “strong”. Thereby, when the humidification filter 5 is changed from being present to being absent, it is understood that the ability to purify air is not lowered even if the rotational speed is lowered. CMM is an abbreviation for Cubic Meter per Minute, and is a unit indicating the air volume per minute.

  Even when the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 is automatically set, the rotation speed when the humidification filter 5 is not provided is set lower than the rotation speed when the humidification filter 5 is present. Power consumption is reduced.

  FIG. 7 is a chart showing the air volume of the blower 8 in the high power mode. FIG. 7 shows the air volume of the blower 8 when the fan motor 82 is manually set. When air is purified in the high power mode, the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 is larger than the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 when air is purified in the energy saving mode. When air is purified in the high power mode, the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 is constant regardless of the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5.

  FIG. 7 shows the air volume when the humidifying filter 5 is present and the air volume when the humidifying filter 5 is absent in each of the setting modes “weak”, “medium”, and “strong”. The rotation speed of the fan motor 82 corresponding to the setting modes “weak”, “medium” and “strong” is 430, 960 and 1420 r. p. m. It is.

  When the humidifying filter 5 is changed from being present to absent, the air volume is changed from 0.83 CMM to 1.10 CMM in the setting mode “weak”, from 2.81 CMM to 3.10 CMM in the setting mode “medium”, and the setting mode “strong”. Then, it is increased from 4.63 CMM to 4.90 CMM. When the humidification filter 5 is not provided, the air cleaner 1 can disperse ions farther.

  Even when the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 is automatically set, the air volume of the blower 8 when the humidifying filter 5 is not present is larger than the air volume of the blower 8 when the humidifying filter 5 is present.

8 and 9 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the operation executed by the control unit 13.
First, the controller 13 determines whether or not the setting of the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 is automatic (step S1).

  When the user presses the “automatic operation” button 22 and the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to automatically set the rotation speed of the fan motor 82, the control unit 13 sets the rotation speed of the fan motor 82. It is determined to be automatic. When the user presses the “manual operation” button 23 and the operation panel 12 accepts an instruction to manually set the rotation speed of the fan motor 82, the control unit 13 sets the rotation speed of the fan motor 82. It is determined that it is not automatic.

  When it is determined that the setting of the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 is automatic (step S1: YES), the control unit 13 causes the dust detection unit 10 to detect air dust (step S2). Then, the control part 13 makes the humidity detection part 11 detect the humidity of air (step S3).

  When it is determined that the setting of the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 is not automatic, that is, manual (step S1: NO), the control unit 13 sets the rotational speed setting mode of the fan motor 82 via the operation panel 12. To accept from the user (step S4).

  After executing step S3 or S4, the control unit 13 determines whether or not to humidify the air (step S5). The control unit 13 determines that the air is humidified when the user presses the “humidified air cleaning” button 27 and the operation panel 12 receives instructions for air purification and humidification. The control unit 13 determines that the air is not humidified when the user presses the “clean air” button 24 and the operation panel 12 receives an air purification instruction.

  When it determines with humidifying air (step S5: YES), the control part 13 sets the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 (step S6).

  When the rotation speed is automatically set in step S1, the control unit 13 determines whether the fan motor is based on the dust level detected in step S2 and whether the humidity detected in step S3 is equal to or higher than a predetermined humidity. The number of revolutions 82 is read from the storage unit 15 (see FIG. 4). The control unit 13 sets the rotation number of the fan motor 82 to the rotation number read from the storage unit 15.

  If the setting of the rotational speed is not automatic in step S1, that is, manual, the control unit 13 reads the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 from the storage unit 15 based on the setting mode received in step S4 (see FIG. 5). ). The control unit 13 sets the rotation number of the fan motor 82 to the rotation number read from the storage unit 15.

  Next, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the amount of ions generated by the ion generation unit 9 is the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode (step S7). The control unit 13 determines whether or not the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode is based on whether or not the time during which power is supplied to the ion generation unit 9 is a time corresponding to the high power mode.

  When it is determined that the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 is the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode (step S7: YES), the controller 13 sets the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 to high. The amount of ions to be generated when the power mode is canceled is reduced (step S8).

  Here, when the high power mode is canceled, the control unit 13 reads the time to be supplied to the ion generation unit 9 from the storage unit 15 and supplies power to the ion generation unit 9 for the read time.

  The control unit 13 determines that the amount of ions generated by the ion generation unit 9 is not the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode (step S7: NO), or after executing step S8, the water level detection unit 62 It is determined whether the water level of the water tank 6 is a predetermined water level by having the water level of the water tank 6 detected (step S9). When the water level of the water tank 6 is not the predetermined water level (step S9: NO), the control unit 13 displays a message for prompting water supply to the water supply tank on the display unit 14 (step S10).

  When it determines with the water level of the water tank 6 having a predetermined water level (step S9: YES) or after performing step S10, the control part 13 performs purification | cleaning and humidification of air (step S11). The control unit 13 instructs the electric motor 7 to rotate the humidification filter 5, rotates the impeller 81 to the fan motor 82 at the number of rotations set in step S <b> 6, and generates ions in the ion generation unit 9. Purify and humidify.

  When it is determined that the air is not humidified (step S5: NO), the control unit 13 sets the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 (step S12) (see FIG. 9).

  When the setting of the rotational speed is automatic in step S1, the control unit 13 reads the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 from the storage unit 15 based on the dust level detected in step S2 (see FIG. 4). The control unit 13 sets the rotation number of the fan motor 82 to the rotation number read from the storage unit 15.

  If the setting of the rotational speed is not automatic in step S1, that is, manual, the control unit 13 reads the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 from the storage unit 15 based on the setting mode received in step S4 (see FIG. 5). ). The control unit 13 sets the rotation number of the fan motor 82 to the rotation number read from the storage unit 15.

  Next, the control unit 13 determines whether to purify air in the energy saving mode (step S13).

  When the user presses the “energy saving mode” button 26 and the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to control the rotation speed of the fan motor according to the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5, the control unit 13 is in the energy saving mode. Determine to purify the air. When the user presses the “high power mode” button 25 and the operation panel 12 receives an instruction to increase ions, the control unit 13 determines that the air is not purified in the energy saving mode.

  When the control unit 13 determines to purify air in the energy saving mode (step S13: YES), the amount of ions generated by the ion generation unit 9 is the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode in the same manner as in step S7. It is determined whether or not (step S14).

  When the control unit 13 determines that the amount of ions generated by the ion generation unit 9 is the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode (step S14: YES), the control unit 13 generates the ion generation unit 9 in the same manner as in step S8. The amount of ions to be reduced is reduced to the amount of ions to be generated when the high power mode is canceled (step S15).

  When the control unit 13 determines that the amount of ions generated by the ion generation unit 9 is not the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode (step S14: NO), or after executing step S15, It is determined whether or not existence is detected (step S16). As described above, the control unit 13 instructs the electric motor 5 to rotate the humidification filter 5 and determines whether the humidification filter detection unit 61 has detected the magnetism of the magnet 52 during the period in which the humidification filter 5 rotates once. Then, it is determined whether or not the humidification filter 5 is detected.

When the presence of the humidification filter 5 is not detected (step S16: NO), that is, when the absence of the humidification filter 5 is detected, the control unit 13 detects the water level by stopping the power supply to the water level detection unit 62. The operation of the unit 62 is stopped (step S17).
Thereby, the power consumption which the water level detection part 62 uses in order to detect a water level can be reduced.

  Next, since the absence of the humidifying filter 5 is detected in step S16, the control unit 13 reads the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 from the storage unit 15 and changes the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 to a low rotational speed. (Step S18). For example, when the rotation speed is set manually and the setting mode of the set rotation speed is “weak”, the control unit 13 sets the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 to 430 r. p. m. To 360r. p. m. (See FIG. 6).

  Therefore, since the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 when the absence of the humidifying filter 5 is detected is lower than the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 when the presence of the humidifying filter 5 is detected, the power consumption of the blower 8 is reduced. Can do.

  When the control unit 13 does not purify the air in the energy saving mode (step S13: NO), that is, when purifying the air in the high power mode, the control unit 13 stops the power supply to the humidification filter detection unit 61 to thereby remove the humidification filter detection unit. The operation of 61 is stopped (step S19).

  When purifying air in the high power mode, the air purifier 1 does not humidify the air. Therefore, when purifying the air in the high power mode, the control unit 13 stops the operation of the humidifying filter detecting unit 61 so that the humidifying filter detecting unit 61 uses the power consumption used for detecting the presence or absence of the humidifying filter 5. Reduce.

  Next, similarly to step S7, the controller 13 determines whether or not the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 is the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode (step S20).

  When it is determined that the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 is not the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode (step S20: NO), the controller 13 determines the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9 as high power. The amount of ions to be generated when air is purified in the mode is increased (step S21).

  Here, when purifying air in the high power mode, the control unit 13 reads the time to be supplied to the ion generation unit 9 from the storage unit 15 and supplies power to the ion generation unit 9 for the read time.

  When the presence of the humidifying filter 5 is detected (step S16: YES), the control unit 13 determines that the amount of ions generated by the ion generation unit 9 is the amount of ions corresponding to the high power mode (step S20: YES), or after performing step S18 or S21, air purification is performed (step S22). The control unit 13 stops the operation of the electric motor 7, rotates the impeller 81 to the fan motor 82 at the rotation speed set in step S 12 or the rotation speed changed in step S 18, and causes ions to be generated in the ion generation unit 9. Purify air by generating.

  The control part 13 complete | finishes operation | movement, after performing step S11 or S22. The control unit 13 repeats the operations shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 every predetermined period.

  In the present embodiment, the air cleaner 1 does not require a plurality of air passages and has only one air passage, so that the air is efficiently purified. In addition, since the user can instruct whether or not to purify the air in the high power mode, that is, increase or decrease the amount of ions generated by the ion generator 9, the user can The amount can be adjusted to an appropriate amount.

  Note that the rotational speed of the fan motor 82 stored in the storage unit 15 is not limited to the rotational speed shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. The position of each of the inlet 2 and the outlet 3 is not limited to one side and the upper surface of the air cleaner 1.

  Moreover, the shape of the humidification filter 5 is not limited to a disk shape. The method of detecting the humidification filter 5 is not limited to the method of detecting the humidification filter 5 based on whether or not the magnet 52 is detected by providing the magnet 52 on the surface of the humidification filter 5.

  Further, when the rotation speed of the fan motor 82 is manually set, the number of setting modes that can be instructed by the user is not limited to three, “weak”, “medium”, and “strong”. It may be 1, 2 or 4 or more.

  Further, the method of rotating the humidifying filter 5 is not limited to the method of rotating the humidifying filter 5 by the electric motor 7. Any method can be used as long as the control unit 13 can control the rotation of the humidifying filter 5.

  Moreover, the control part 13 may stop operation | movement of the water level detection part 62, when purifying air in high power mode. The control unit 13 does not have to stop the operation of the water level detection unit 62 when detecting the absence of the humidification filter 5 in the state of purifying the air in the energy saving mode.

  Moreover, the control part 13 does not need to stop the operation | movement of the humidification filter detection part 61, when purifying air in high power mode. Further, the mode for purifying the air may be only the energy saving mode.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air cleaner 2 Suction port 5 Humidification filter 52 Magnet 6 Water tank 61 Humidification filter detection part 62 Water level detection part 81 Impeller 82 Fan motor 9 Ion generation part 12 Operation panel 13 Control part

Claims (4)

In an air purifier that includes a motor that rotates an impeller and purifies air sucked from the suction port by rotation of the impeller,
A detachable filter for humidifying the air sucked from the suction port;
Filter detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the filter;
Means for controlling the rotational speed of the motor when the filter detecting means detects the absence of the filter to a rotational speed lower than the rotational speed of the motor when the filter detecting means detects the presence of the filter; An air purifier characterized by comprising: A water tank for storing water to be included in the filter;
Water level detecting means for detecting the water level of the water stored in the water tank;
The air cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising: a unit that stops the operation of the water level detection unit when the filter detection unit detects absence of the filter. Generating means for generating ions to be included in the air blown from the air outlet by the rotation of the impeller;
Receiving means for receiving an instruction to increase or decrease the ions generated by the generating means;
The air cleaner according to claim 1, further comprising: a unit that increases or decreases ions generated by the generation unit according to an instruction received by the reception unit. The air cleaner according to claim 3, further comprising means for stopping the operation of the filter detecting means when the accepting means accepts an increase instruction.

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