JP2015209806A - Electric fan - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric fan with a human detection sensor not depending on an ambient temperature.SOLUTION: An electric fan with a human detection sensor includes a temperature sensor which outputs temperature information on the basis of a detected ambient temperature, a human detection sensor part which has a plurality of human detection sensors detecting the presence of a person and outputs detection information, a sensitivity set part which outputs sensitivity set information for setting the sensitivity of the human detection sensor, and an oscillation control part which determines an oscillation range on the basis of the temperature information, the detection information, and the sensitivity set information. A detection time for determining the presence of a person by use of the detection information and the sensitivity set, is adjusted according to the temperature information.

Description

The present invention relates to a fan including a plurality of human sensors.

Fans have been used for the purpose of eliminating high temperatures and sultry heat in summer, seeking coolness, and promoting the drying of laundry. In recent years, fan rotation motors have been changed from AC motors to DC motors. By switching to a motor, it has become possible to save energy, and it has also been used in combination with air conditioners.
Various functions have been added, and a touch sensor type or an ion generation function has been proposed.

In order to improve such energy saving and user friendliness, various electric fans have been studied from the past, and representative ones equipped with human sensors have been proposed.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a fan that includes a sensor that detects the position of a person and a sensor that measures a distance, and can change a motor rotation speed (air volume), a swing angle, and a swing direction. ing. According to this, an appropriate amount of wind can be sent to each person by automatically controlling the swing angle of the electric fan and the strength of the air blow according to the state of the person at that time.

Further, in Patent Document 2, the electric fan head performs one or both of the vertical swing and the horizontal swing so as to include at least a human detection sensor existing in a plurality of columns in the vertical and horizontal directions and a detection area by the human detection sensor. An electric fan that is controlled as described above is disclosed. According to this, in the electric fan provided with the human detection sensor, it is possible to efficiently blow air efficiently and without a troublesome operation for a person in front.

Patent Document 3 discloses a fan that controls the swing speed of a user's favorite blowing direction based on a signal from an infrared temperature detector radiated by an object existing in the blowing direction. According to this, in the position where temperature is high, the vicinity of a person can be intensively blown by slowing the swing speed and increasing the blown amount.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-26795 JP-A-2-78795 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho 62-210290

However, if the swing motion stops or the new swing motion range is determined immediately after the human sensor no longer detects the heat source, the swing motion control becomes frequent and the operation of the fan becomes unstable.
None of Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3 disclose this point.

The present invention was made as a result of intensive studies to solve the above-described problems, and after detecting a heat source, the electric fan with a human sensor that continues the swinging operation for a predetermined time even when the heat source disappears I will provide a.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the electric fan with a human sensor according to claim 1 includes a human sensor that detects a heat source and outputs a detection information, and a human sensor that outputs detection information. And a timer for informing a predetermined time and a swing control unit for determining a swing operation range based on the human sensor and the timer. The swing control unit detects the heat source by the human sensor. After running out, the head is swung within the determined swing motion range for a predetermined time notified from the timer.

The timer in the electric fan with a human sensor according to claim 2 sets a predetermined value when the human sensor detects a heat source, and counts down after no heat source is detected.

The electric fan with a human sensor according to claim 3 is characterized in that a timer is mounted on the swing motion unit.

The electric fan with human sensor according to claim 4 is characterized in that there are two or more pairs of human sensors and timers.

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, since the head motion is continued for a predetermined time even after the human sensor no longer detects the heat source, the heat source is immediately detected when the heat source is not detected. The detection-swing operation is not frequently performed, and stable swing control is possible.

1 is a front perspective view of a fan according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a rear perspective view of a fan according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the substrate unit of the human sensor unit of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an electric block diagram illustrating control of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating control of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining control of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a human sensor unit of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a model diagram explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is an electric block diagram explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is an electrical block diagram explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a human sensitive sensor part used in order to explain control of the electric fan concerning a 4th embodiment of the present invention, and is a waveform when not detecting the heat of a human body. It is a human sensor part used in order to explain control of an electric fan concerning a 4th embodiment of the present invention, and is a waveform when detecting heat of a human body. It is an electric block diagram explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is an electric block diagram explaining control of the electric fan concerning a 6th embodiment of the present invention. It is a wave form diagram explaining correction | amendment operation | movement of the detection sensitivity of the electric fan concerning the 6th Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is an operation waveform diagram when the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source of the electric fan according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention is large. FIG. 10 is an operation waveform diagram when the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source of the electric fan according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention is small. It is an electric block diagram explaining control of the electric fan concerning an 8th embodiment of the present invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the timer used for the electric fan concerning the 8th Embodiment of this invention. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the swing control used for the electric fan concerning the 8th Embodiment of this invention.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the electric fan which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using figures.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the electric fan according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front.
As shown in FIG. 1, the electric fan 100 includes a pedestal 1, an operation unit 2 provided on the pedestal 1, a column 3 erected on the pedestal 1, a sliding rod 4 built in the column 3, and a sliding rod 4. It is comprised from the ventilation part 5 supported by this, and the human sensitive sensor part 7 provided in the direct vicinity of the ventilation part 5.
Inside the pedestal 1 is provided a control unit 10 (FIG. 4) that controls the operation based on the operation unit 2 provided on the pedestal 1.
The operation unit 2 includes an automatic swing button 2a, a high-speed swing button 2b, an air volume dial 2c, a temperature display unit 2d, a timer setting key, a mode switching key, and the like. The air volume dial 2c may be configured such that the air volume can be adjusted in a fixed step, or a DC motor is used as a fan motor and the applied voltage is PWM controlled by operating the air volume dial 2c to set the air volume steplessly. Is also possible.
A sliding rod 4 is assembled to the support column 3 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. Furthermore, a fixing button 3a for fixing the blower 5 at an arbitrary height is provided.
The blower unit 5 includes a front fan guard 5a, a rear fan guard 5b, a fan motor unit 5c, a propeller fan (not shown) provided in a space surrounded by the front fan guard 5a and the rear fan guard 5b.
A fan motor 11 (see FIG. 5) not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is incorporated in the fan motor unit 5c.
Further, a human sensor unit 7 is attached to the lower side of the air blowing unit 5.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the electric fan of the same embodiment as viewed from the back. As shown in FIG. 2, a person holding a swing mechanism unit 5 d that changes the blowing direction of the blowing unit 5, an elevation setting unit 6 that sets an elevation angle in the blowing direction, and a human sensor unit 7 on the back of the fan 100. A sensation sensor holding portion 8 and a connecting portion 9 are provided.
The connecting unit 9 connects the human sensor unit 7 and the swing mechanism unit 5d via the human sensor holding unit 8 and connects the swing mechanism unit 5d and the blower unit 5 to each other. Accordingly, the human sensor unit 7 and the air blowing unit 5 have an integrated structure, and the air blowing direction of the air blowing unit 5 can be manually changed without performing a swinging operation.
In addition, when the detection by the human sensor unit 7 is started, the air blowing center direction of the air blowing unit 5 and the detection central direction of the human sensor unit 7 are made coincident with each other. Thus, the control of the swing angle of the blower 5 is simplified.

A method for manually changing the blowing center direction of the blowing unit 5 will be specifically described.
For example, when the rear fan guard 5b is held in the hand and twisted in the left-right direction, the human sensor unit 7 and the air blowing unit 5 attached to the human sensor holding unit 8 via the connecting unit 9 are partially connected to the elevation angle setting unit 6. Is rotated in the direction toward the connecting portion 9 in which the is inserted, that is, in the air blowing center direction.
In addition, an inner tube portion (not shown) provided with a protrusion is extended below the elevation angle setting portion 6, and it engages with a recess (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the sliding rod 4 so that the air blowing center direction is manually adjusted. The structure can be changed discontinuously.

The swing control of the blower unit 5 is driven by the swing mechanism unit 5d including a link mechanism that is located above the connecting unit 9 and drives only the blower unit 5, but is located below the connecting unit 9. Since there is no drive mechanism, the sensation sensor unit 7 is stopped without moving during the swing motion.
Furthermore, by controlling the swing angle (swing range) of the blower unit 5 described later by the control unit 10, it is possible to quickly blow appropriate air to a person.
In addition, since the human sensor unit 7 is attached to the blower unit 5 with a gap of several millimeters, the swinging operation of the blower unit 5 is not hindered. Furthermore, the human sensor unit 7 has a fan-like appearance, and its central angle is approximately 90 °.

As shown in the overall perspective view of FIG. 7A, the human sensor section 7 is composed of a resin upper cover housing 75, a lower cover housing 76, and a front filter 77, and a plurality of, for example, Three or five human sensors are used.

Further, the upper cover housing 75 shown in the partial perspective view of FIG. 7B is provided with five slits 74a to 74e, and these slits are two of the shielding members 741 to 746, for example, the shielding members 742 and 743 in the slit 74b. Are provided with recesses 751 and 752 for holding the human sensor.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the substrate unit after removing an external casing constituting the human sensor part of the electric fan of the same embodiment. That is, FIG. 3 shows the sensor substrate unit 70 after removing the upper cover housing 75, the lower cover housing 76, and the front filter 77 outside the human sensor unit 7. In the sensor board unit 70 of this embodiment, the sensor board unit 70 includes five human sensors, and human sensors 72a to 72e and capacitors arranged in a line in the horizontal direction are incorporated in the individual sensor boards 71a to 71e. The sensor board unit 70 is also provided with a drive source for controlling the human sensor unit 7, a connector 73 for exchanging detection information, and the temperature sensor 13 for detecting the ambient temperature.

In the human sensors 72a to 72e, a detection unit of a human sensor body (PIR sensor, pyroelectric infrared detection sensor) (not shown) is covered with an elliptical spherical HDPE (high density polyethylene) narrow angle lens. We are using in state. By using this narrow-angle lens, it becomes possible to increase the directivity in the detection range of the human sensor main body and to detect far away.

In this embodiment, the detection unit of the human sensor main body uses a dual type with two elements. However, in order to increase the detection accuracy in the vertical direction, the human sensor in the direction in which two elements are arranged in the vertical direction. The individual sensor substrates 71a to 71e are attached by checking the orientation of the main body.
The viewing angle of the human sensor used here is 48 ° in the horizontal direction and 54 ° in the vertical direction, but the detection distance from the electric fan 100 is set by adjusting the threshold of the sensor output value with a narrow angle lens. It can be set from about 1 m to several m. In addition, if the length (detection distance) that can be detected by the human sensor unit 7 is set to the same distance as the distance that the wind reaches the person (fan distance) by the fan that has the maximum airflow, the presence of most room spaces and people It becomes possible to adjust correspondingly.

The attachment of the sensor base unit 70, the upper cover housing 75, and the lower cover housing 76 will be described.
For example, the sensor board unit 70 (FIGS. 3 and 5) is attached to the upper cover housing 75 so that the human sensor 72a is properly inserted into the recess 751 (similarly to other human sensors), followed by the upper cover housing. The front filter 77 is inserted into the groove 75 a of 75 from below, and further sandwiched by the lower cover housing 76, and then screwed from the outside of the lower cover housing 76 to assemble the human sensor unit 7. Therefore, the detection direction of the human sensor can be determined by these slits.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control unit 10 of the electric fan in the present embodiment. In the figure, the operation unit 2 is disposed on the base 1 of the electric fan 100. There are provided an automatic swing button 2a and a high-speed swing button 2b. A control unit 10 is provided inside the base 1 on which the operation unit 2 is provided. In addition to the operation unit 2, a human sensor unit 7 is connected to the input port of the control unit 10. Further, a fan motor 11 that constitutes a part of the blower 5 and a swing motor 12 that constitutes a part of the swing control are connected to the output port of the controller 10.
Here, by using a stepping motor as the swing motor 12, a detailed swing angle can be set, so that detailed control corresponding to the presence pattern of any person is possible.

As a software function by the microcomputer, the control unit 10 includes a blower control unit 10a for controlling the operation of the fan motor 11 and a neck for controlling the operation of the swing motor 12 as the operation unit 2 is operated. A swing control unit 10b and a storage unit (memory) 10c that stores various setting states such as a swing angle of the blower unit 5 based on detection information from the human sensor unit 7, an air volume, and a swing speed are provided. .

Next, the control of the electric fan according to the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the control, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the control.

FIG. 5 simply shows a state of looking down from above the electric fan 100 when there are two persons M <b> 1 and M <b> 2 facing the front of the electric fan 100. That is, the human sensors 72a to 72e are arranged in the horizontal direction on the sensor board unit 70, and the center detection directions of the human sensors sancers 72a to 72e are directions A to E indicated by a one-dot chain line from the virtual center C0. A to E are each 18 ° apart. Further, since each of the human sensors 72a to 72e individually detects the direction of 18 °, the five human sensors can detect the range of 90 °.

Here, when the human sensor unit 7 is not provided, the swing angle (swing range) is manually set. However, the blowing unit 5 performs the swing operation at the previously set swing angle. become. For example, when a person is first in the center detection directions A, C, and E, the swing angle is set in the range of A to E (swing angle L). If it changes from the state so that two persons may newly face in the directions B and D, the electric fan 100 will still have the previous swing angle AE set. If it does so, the ventilation direction of the ventilation part 5 will swing to the direction A and E where there is no person, and will perform a useless swing.

Therefore, the human sensor unit 7 periodically detects the presence of a person, and controls the swing angle only in the direction in which the person is present, in this case, between the directions B to D (the swing angle S). By doing so, it is possible to quickly blow a person to a person without blowing air to a range where no person is present. When there is only one person, it is not necessary to swing the head, but the head may be swung within a very small range.

Further, FIG. 5 illustrates the case where the position of the person is in the center direction of the sensor, but when there is a person between the sensors, for example, when two adjacent sensors appear in a similar output value pattern, By determining that there is a person between these two sensors, it is possible to deal with the existence of any person.

FIG. 6 shows one flow of the automatic swing control. First, the fan 100 checks whether the automatic swing range is set, that is, whether the automatic swing button 2a is turned on. (Step S1). If it is not set in step S1 (No in step S1), the person manually sets the swing range (step S8). Specifically, in step S8, a person presets the swing angle (swing range) using a lever (not shown) or the like. In the case of Yes in step S1, the human sensor unit 7 is turned on (step S2), and then, based on the detection information of the human sensor unit 7, it is immediately determined where the person is and the area is stored. (Step S3). Thereafter, based on the stored information, the control unit 10 automatically sets the swing range (step S4), and starts the automatic swing of the blower unit 5 (step S5). After 2 minutes have passed in the set state (step S6), the presence of a new person is detected or a change is determined (step S7). If any person is detected, the process returns to step S3 to return to the previous flow. repeat. If it is determined not to detect in step S7 (No in step S7), automatic swinging is stopped. At that time, the fan motor may be stopped. The setting of the elapsed time can be changed as appropriate.

In addition, if the ventilation unit 5, the connecting unit 9, and the human sensor unit 7 are integrally swung in advance when detecting by the human sensor unit 7, the horizontal swing range of the fan unit 5 is 90 °. It is possible to detect the presence of a person within a range of approximately 180 ° in the horizontal direction from 45 ° to the left and 45 ° to the left of the human sensor unit 7.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the control of the electric fan according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 8 further includes a temperature sensor 13 in FIG. The human sensor is highly temperature dependent, and the determination of the presence or absence of a person may be wrong in the determination of the absolute output value of the human sensor. Therefore, it is possible to perform highly accurate detection by examining the temperature dependence of the human sensor in advance and adding temperature correction to the output value of the human sensor. Although the position where the temperature sensor 13 exists is not particularly limited, it is preferably provided on the sensor substrate unit 70 because the room temperature can be immediately fed back.

FIG. 9 shows a modification of the automatic swing control flow, and only the difference from FIG. 6 will be described. In step S21, the temperature sensor 13 is turned on in addition to the human sensor unit 7 to correct the temperature. Human presence area detection and storage are performed based on the sensor output value (step S31). By doing so, high-precision automatic control of the swing range can be performed.

(Third embodiment)
Next, the control of the electric fan according to the third embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 10 simply shows a state of looking down from above the electric fan 100 when there are two persons M1 and M2 facing the front of the electric fan 100. FIG. In this case, the swing control is performed between the detection center directions A to E, but it is not necessary to blow air between the ranges B to C and E where there is no person. Therefore, the swing speeds of B to C and E are set to be faster than the set speeds of A and D, so that the area where there is no person is allowed to pass through the blower 5 quickly. That is, the swing is performed at a normal swing speed in the range Q shown in FIG. 10 and at a high swing speed in the range R.

FIG. 11 shows another flow of the automatic swing control of the present embodiment. First, it is confirmed whether the electric fan 100 is set to the high-speed swing, that is, whether the high-speed swing button 2b is turned on. Performed (step S11). In step S11, when it is not set (No in step S11), normal swing speed setting, that is, swinging that does not change the swing speed, is performed (step S18). In the case of Yes in step S11, the human sensor unit 7 is turned on (step S12), and based on the detection information of the human sensor unit 7, the position of the person is detected and stored (step S13). A high swing speed is set for the non-existing range (step S14). Thereafter, the swinging operation of the blower 5 is started based on the stored information (step S15). After two minutes have passed in the set state (step S16), it is determined whether or not the area where no person exists has changed (step S17). If there is any change in step S17, the process returns to step S13 and the previous flow is repeated. If there is no change in step S17, the swing operation is continued. If No in step S17, the automatic swing is stopped. The setting of the elapsed time can be changed as appropriate.

Further, the swing speed can be increased by using the power obtained by increasing the rotational speed of the fan motor 11. Furthermore, by combining with the above-described automatic swing range control and temperature sensor temperature correction control, more user-friendly air blowing control can be performed.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, the electric fan 100 in 4th Embodiment is demonstrated using figures.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the control unit 10 in the present embodiment.
The control unit 10 according to the present embodiment includes a nonvolatile memory 10d therein and is provided with a sensitivity setting button 2e for setting the sensitivity to the operation unit 2.

The nonvolatile memory 10d can hold stored information without supplying power. There are various types of nonvolatile memory 10d such as flash memory, MRAM, ReRAM, and FeRAM, but any nonvolatile memory may be used. Further, the nonvolatile memory 10d in the present embodiment may be mounted alone in the control unit 10 or may be embedded in the microcomputer.

Next, operation | movement of the human sensitive sensor 7 mounted in the electric fan 100 of this invention is demonstrated using FIG.
FIG. 13A shows a waveform when the human sensor unit 7 does not detect the heat of the human body. FIG. 13B shows a waveform when the human sensor 7 detects the heat of the human body. There are three peaks in the waveform, but it shows that the difference between the heat of the human body and the ambient temperature changes from large to small as time passes.

The human sensor 7 detects a temperature change within the sensor detection range, converts it into a voltage value, and outputs it. When the human sensor 7 is insensitive, that is, when no heat source is detected, a voltage that slightly fluctuates around a predetermined voltage value is output as shown in FIG. When the human sensor 7 reacts, that is, when a heat source is detected, the voltage value increases as shown in FIG. The degree of increase in the output voltage value varies depending on the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source.

The electric fan 100 in this embodiment determines that there is a person within the detection range of the human sensor unit 7 when the threshold value is set and the output voltage of the human sensor unit 7 exceeds the threshold value. If the threshold voltage is low, the sensitivity of heat source detection is high, and if it is high, the sensitivity is low.

The operation unit 10 of the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment is provided with a sensitivity setting button 2e for setting the sensitivity of the human sensor. For example, when the sensitivity setting has three stages of “high sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “low sensitivity”, the threshold voltage increases in the order of “high sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “low sensitivity”.

Therefore, when the sensitivity is “high sensitivity”, it can be detected at times t1, t4, and t6 in FIG. 13B, and all three output waveforms can be detected, but when the sensitivity is “low sensitivity”. Since detection is possible only at time t3, only a waveform having a large difference between the heat of the human body and the ambient temperature can be detected.

The sensitivity can be changed by pressing the sensitivity setting button 2e. Each time the sensitivity is updated, the control unit 10 stores the updated sensitivity information in the nonvolatile memory 10d.

Even if the electric power of the electric fan 100 is turned off, the sensitivity information stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d is retained. When the power is turned on again, the control unit 10 reads the sensitivity information stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d and sets the detection threshold of the human sensor.

Thus, by storing sensitivity information in the nonvolatile memory 10d, the electric fan 100 can be used with the same sensitivity setting when the power is turned on again.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 14 shows a block diagram of the electric fan 100 in the present embodiment. 14 further includes a nonvolatile memory 10d in addition to the control unit 10 of the block diagram shown in FIG.

Operation | movement of the electric fan 100 in this embodiment is demonstrated. During normal operation, the operation unit 2 of the electric fan 100 transmits operation information to the memory 10 c in the control unit 10. In addition, the human sensor unit 7 transmits the swing range information determined based on the state sensed by the human sensor to the memory 10 c in the control unit 10.
The driving information and the swing range information may be transmitted to the memory 10c in the control unit 10 at a constant cycle, or may be transmitted to the memory 10c in the control unit 10 at a timing when any of the information changes.
Simultaneously with the transmission to the memory 10c, the driving information and the swing range information are stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d.

When the electric power of the electric fan 100 is turned off, no power is supplied to the memory 10c and the stored information is erased. However, the information stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d is not erased and continues to be retained.
When the power is turned on again, the control unit 10 calls the information in the nonvolatile memory 10d, and the operation based on the operation information and the swing information when the power is turned off is resumed.

When the power switch of the fan 100 is managed by a microcomputer (not shown) in the control unit 10, the operation information and the swing range information are set at regular time intervals during normal operation as described above. Instead of storing in the nonvolatile memory 10d, the microcomputer detects that the power switch has been pressed, so that the operation information and the swing range information at that time are stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d, and then the power supply is stopped. Control may be performed.

FIG. 15 shows a flow of automatic swing control in the present embodiment.
First, the electric fan 100 reads the driving information and the swing range information stored from the nonvolatile memory 10d (step S40). It is confirmed whether or not the automatic swing range is set, that is, whether or not the automatic swing button 2a is turned on (step S41). If it is not set in step S41 (No in step S41), a person manually sets the swing range (step S49). Specifically, in step S49, the person presets the swing angle (swing range) using a lever (not shown) or the like. When the automatic swing range is set in step S41, the human sensor unit 7 is turned on (step S42), and then, based on the detection information of the human sensor unit 7, it is immediately determined where the person is, The area is stored (step S43). Thereafter, based on the stored information, the control unit 10 automatically sets the swing range (step S44). After setting the swing range, the swing range information is written and stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d (step 46). Next, the automatic swing of the blower 5 is started (step S46). After two minutes have passed in the set state (step S47), the presence of a new person is detected or the presence or absence of a change is determined (step S48). If any person is detected, the process returns to step S43, and the above-described flow repeat. If it is determined not to detect in step S48 (No in step S48), the automatic swing is stopped. At that time, the fan motor may be stopped. The setting of the elapsed time can be changed as appropriate.

  Thus, by storing the swing range in the nonvolatile memory 10d, the electric fan 100 can be used with the same swing operation even when the power is turned on again.

(Sixth embodiment)
Next, a sixth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram including the control unit 10 of the fan 100 with a human sensor according to the present embodiment.

The operation unit 2 is provided with a sensitivity setting button 2e in addition to the automatic swing button 2a and the high-speed swing button 2b. For sensitivity setting, for example, threshold voltages (sensitivity setting information) corresponding to three stages of “high sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “low sensitivity” are output. The threshold voltage value increases in the order of “high sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “low sensitivity”.

The human sensor 7 detects a heat source within the detection range and outputs a detection result as detection information. In the human sensor 7 in this embodiment, detection information is output as a voltage. At this time, the larger the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat generated from the human body to be detected, the larger the output voltage changes, and the smaller the temperature difference, the smaller the output voltage.

Based on the sensitivity setting information, the detection information, and the temperature information, the swing control unit 10b in the control unit 10 detects the heat source around the fan 100 and determines the swing range. The swing motor 12 is driven based on the swing range determined by the swing control unit 10b.

The temperature sensor 13 detects the ambient temperature and outputs temperature information corresponding to the ambient temperature. The temperature information of the temperature sensor 13 in this embodiment is output as a voltage.

Sensitivity setting information output from the sensitivity setting button 2e, detection information output from the human sensor 7, and temperature information output from the temperature sensor 13 are input to the control unit 10.

In the control unit 10, when the voltage (detection information) output from the human sensor unit 7 exceeds the threshold voltage (sensitivity setting information) set by the sensitivity setting button 2e, it is determined that the heat source has been detected. The The threshold voltage is finely adjusted based on the temperature information output from the temperature sensor 13.
The fine adjustment is performed, for example, by lowering the threshold when the ambient temperature increases and increasing the threshold when the ambient temperature increases.

The adjustment in the present embodiment finely adjusts the threshold voltage, but it may switch “low sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “high sensitivity” instead of fine adjustment of the threshold value.

FIG. 17 is a waveform diagram for explaining the detection sensitivity correction operation of the human sensor unit 7 of the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the detection information of the human sensor unit 7 has a different waveform output depending on the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source. When the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source is large, the change in the output voltage is large, and when the temperature difference is small, the change in the output voltage is small.

In FIG. 17, the sensitivity is set to “low sensitivity”, and it is determined that the heat source has been detected by the output waveform of the human sensor unit 7 exceeding the “low sensitivity” site voltage Vth3 at time t1.
As shown in the enlarged view, in this embodiment, the site voltage Vth3 is adjusted based on the temperature information of the temperature sensor 13. In this adjustment, the threshold voltage is adjusted to be slightly lower when the ambient temperature is higher, and the threshold voltage is adjusted to be Vth3 + α when the ambient temperature is lower.

By performing such adjustment, it is possible to detect a heat source that does not depend on fluctuations in the output voltage of the human sensor that varies depending on the ambient temperature by varying the threshold voltage depending on the ambient temperature.

(Seventh embodiment)
Next, a seventh embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

The configuration of the electric fan 100 in the present embodiment is the same as that of the block diagram shown in FIG. 16, but the swing control unit is based on the ambient temperature detected by the temperature sensor 13 and the presence of people around the electric fan 100. A control for determining whether or not

FIG. 18 is a waveform diagram for explaining the control of the electric fan with human sensor 100 according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 18A shows a waveform output from the human sensor 7 when the temperature difference between the ambient temperature detected by the temperature sensor 13 and a heat source such as a human body is 8 degrees. When the human body temperature is constant, for example, 36 degrees, a temperature difference of 8 ° C. indicates that the ambient temperature is 28 ° C.
At this time, since the temperature difference is large, the change in the output voltage is large. At this time, the presence of a person is determined when there is a person when the output voltage becomes larger than the threshold voltage (Vth, sensitivity setting information) set by the sensitivity setting unit 2e. In the present embodiment, it is determined that there is a person when the output voltage becomes larger than the threshold voltage Vth even once within the detection time tw.

FIG. 18B shows a waveform output from the human sensor 7 when the temperature difference between the ambient temperature detected by the temperature sensor 13 and a heat source such as a human body is 2 degrees. When the body temperature of the human body is 36 ° C., the ambient temperature is 34 ° C., indicating that the ambient temperature is higher than that in FIG.
At this time, since the temperature difference is small, the change in the output voltage is small. In this case, since the difference between the output voltage that the human sensor unit 7 detects and outputs the presence of a person and the noise voltage is small, the detection time is set longer than in the case of FIG. In the present embodiment, the detection time is set to three times that in the case of 18 (a). Further, the determination that the person is present also increases the number of times that the output voltage becomes larger than the threshold voltage Vth. In the present embodiment, the number of times of detection is set to 3 times with respect to once in FIG.

By performing such a determination, it is possible to perform highly accurate human body detection even if the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the human body temperature is small. In other words, it enables heat source detection independent of the ambient temperature.

(Eighth embodiment)
Next, an eighth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 19 shows a configuration in which timers 78a to 78e provided corresponding to the human sensors 72a to 72e provided in the human sensor unit 7 are added. In this case, in addition to the detection information, timer information output from the timers 78 a to 78 e is sent from the human sensor unit 7 to the control unit 10.
The timers 78a to 78e can be provided in the control unit 10. Furthermore, the timers 78a to 78e may be configured by hardware or software.
The timers 78a to 78e operate based on the states of the corresponding human sensors 72a to 72e. The timers 78a to 78e are countdown timers that count down from a set initial value.

Next, the operation of the timers 78a to 78e will be described using the operation flowchart of the timers 78a to 78e shown in FIG.

The timers 78a to 78e are in a standby state after the operation is started until the corresponding human sensors 72a to 72e detect the heat source (S201).
When the human sensors 72a to 72e detect the heat source, the corresponding timers 78a to 78e set a positive number n larger than 0 as an initial value. In the present embodiment, 20 [seconds] is set as an initial value in the timers 78a to 78e (S202).
While the heat source is detected, the initial values set in the timers 78a to 78e are held as they are, and the electric fan 100 performs a swing operation within the range in which the heat source is detected. When the heat source is no longer detected, for example, when a person moves from the detection area of the human sensors 72a to 72e (S203), the countdown starts from the set initial value (S204).
The countdown operation is continued until the values set in the timers 78a to 78e become 0 (S205), and when the values become 0, the human sensor 72a to 72e again enters a standby state until it detects the heat source. (S201). At this time, the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment continues the swing operation assuming that the heat source exists even if the human sensors 72a to 72e do not detect the heat source. In the present embodiment, the swinging operation is continued for 20 seconds after the heat source is no longer detected (deemed swinging).
The operations of the timers 78a to 78e described above operate independently depending on the states of the corresponding human sensors 72a to 72e.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a specific swinging operation of the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment. Although the number of human sensors mounted on the electric fan 100 of the present embodiment is five, the number of human sensors will be reduced to three for simplicity of description. The figure shows changes in the detection states of the sensors S1 to S3 and the timer values Tc1 to Tc3 according to the passage of time. When the sensor detects a heat source, it is expressed as D, and when it is not detected, it is expressed as ND. Timer values Tc1 to Tc3 represent the remaining number of seconds until the timer value becomes zero. For example, if Tc1 = 20, it means 20 seconds until 0.

(Standby-normal swing)
At startup, the human sensors S1 to S3 do not detect a heat source. In addition, the timer values Tc1 to Tc3 are all set to 0 (t = 0). The standby state continues until the human sensor detects the heat source (t = 0 to 10). When the heat source is detected in the detection range of the human sensors S1 and S3, the state of the sensors S1 and S3 changes from ND to D, and 20 is set to the timer values Tc1 and Tc3 of the corresponding timer (t = 10). ). The electric fan 100 determines a swing operation range so that air can be blown to the area where the heat source is detected, and performs a normal swing operation (t = 10 to 300). When the detected heat source moves from the detection range, the states of the sensors S1 and S3 change from D to ND (t = 300).

(Deemed swing)
The electric fan 100 of the present embodiment shifts from “normal swing operation” to “deemed swing operation” from here. When the state of the sensors S1 and S3 becomes ND, the timer corresponding to the sensors S1 and S3 performs a countdown operation (t = 300). Since the counter of this embodiment counts down every second, the timer values Tc1 and Tc3 when the 10 seconds have elapsed after the countdown starts display 10 (T = 310). The countdown is performed until a new heat source is detected, and until the timer values Tc1 and Tc3 become 0, even if the sensor does not detect the heat source, the swing operation is continued for a certain time (T = 310). ~ 320). When the timer values Tc1 and Tc3 become 0, the standby state is maintained until the sensors S1 to S3 detect the heat source next time.

By performing such control, the head motion continues for a predetermined time even after the human sensor no longer detects the heat source. The operation is not frequently performed, and stable swing control is possible.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the combination of embodiment mentioned above may be sufficient.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Fan 1 Base 2 Operation part 2a Automatic swing button 2b High-speed swing button 2c Air volume dial 2d Temperature display part 3 Support | pillar 3a Fixing button 4 Sliding rod 5 Blower part 5a Front fan guard 5b Rear fan guard 5c Fan motor part 5d Head swing mechanism 6 Elevation angle setting unit 7 Human sensor unit 70 Sensor board unit 71a to 72d Individual sensor board 72a to 72e Human sensor 73 Connector 74a to 74e Slit 741 to 746 Shielding member 75 Upper cover housing 75a Groove 751, 752 Recess 76 Lower cover housing 77 Front filters 78a to 78e Timer 8 Human sensor holding unit 9 Connection unit 10 Control unit 10a Air blow control unit 10b Swing control unit 10c Memory 10d Non-volatile memory 11 Fan motor 12 Swing motor 13 Temperature sensor A to E Sensor detection Direction L, S swing angle (swing range)
M1, M2 people
Q Normal speed swing range R High speed swing range

  The present invention relates to a fan including a plurality of human sensors.

Fans have been used for the purpose of eliminating high temperatures and sultry heat in summer, seeking coolness, and promoting the drying of laundry. In recent years, fan rotation motors have been changed from AC motors to DC motors. By switching to a motor, it has become possible to save energy, and it has also been used in combination with air conditioners.
Various functions have been added, and a touch sensor type or an ion generation function has been proposed.

In order to improve such energy saving and user friendliness, various electric fans have been studied from the past, and representative ones equipped with human sensors have been proposed.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a fan that includes a sensor that detects the position of a person and a sensor that measures a distance, and can change a motor rotation speed (air volume), a swing angle, and a swing direction. ing. According to this, an appropriate amount of wind can be sent to each person by automatically controlling the swing angle of the electric fan and the strength of the air blow according to the state of the person at that time.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, the electric fan head performs one or both of the vertical swing and the horizontal swing so as to include at least a human detection sensor existing in a plurality of columns in the vertical and horizontal directions and a detection area by the human detection sensor. An electric fan that is controlled as described above is disclosed. According to this, in the electric fan provided with the human detection sensor, it is possible to efficiently blow air efficiently and without a troublesome operation for a person in front.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a fan that controls the swing speed of a user's favorite blowing direction based on a signal from an infrared temperature detector radiated by an object existing in the blowing direction. According to this, in the position where temperature is high, the vicinity of a person can be intensively blown by slowing the swing speed and increasing the blown amount.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-26795 JP-A-2-78795 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho 62-210290

However, if the swing motion stops or the new swing motion range is determined immediately after the human sensor no longer detects the heat source, the swing motion control becomes frequent and the operation of the fan becomes unstable.
None of Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3 disclose this point.

  The present invention was made as a result of intensive studies to solve the above-described problems, and after detecting a heat source, the electric fan with a human sensor that continues the swinging operation for a predetermined time even when the heat source disappears I will provide a.

In order to solve the above problem, the electric fan with human sensor according to claim 1 includes two or more human sensors for detecting a heat source and a human sensor unit for outputting detection information,
A timer that is provided corresponding to each of the human sensors and that notifies a predetermined time;
A swing control unit that determines a swing motion range based on the human sensor and the timer;
The timer sets a predetermined time when at least one of the human sensors detects a heat source, counts down after all of the human sensors no longer detect the heat source,
The swing control unit swings within the determined swing motion range for a predetermined time notified from the timer after all the human sensors no longer detect the heat source.

The electric fan with human sensor according to claim 2 includes three or more human sensors.
The timer sets a predetermined time when at least two of the human sensors detect a heat source .

The electric fan with a human sensor according to claim 3 is characterized in that the timer is provided in the human sensor unit .

The electric fan with a human sensor according to claim 4 is characterized in that the timer is provided in the swing control unit .

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, since the head motion is continued for a predetermined time even after the human sensor no longer detects the heat source, the heat source is immediately detected when the heat source is not detected. The detection-swing operation is not frequently performed, and stable swing control is possible.

1 is a front perspective view of a fan according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a rear perspective view of a fan according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the substrate unit of the human sensor unit of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an electric block diagram illustrating control of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating control of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining control of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a human sensor unit of the electric fan according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a model diagram explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is an electric block diagram explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is an electrical block diagram explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a human sensitive sensor part used in order to explain control of the electric fan concerning a 4th embodiment of the present invention, and is a waveform when not detecting the heat of a human body. It is a human sensor part used in order to explain control of an electric fan concerning a 4th embodiment of the present invention, and is a waveform when detecting heat of a human body. It is an electric block diagram explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining control of the electric fan which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is an electric block diagram explaining control of the electric fan concerning a 6th embodiment of the present invention. It is a wave form diagram explaining correction | amendment operation | movement of the detection sensitivity of the electric fan concerning the 6th Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is an operation waveform diagram when the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source of the electric fan according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention is large. FIG. 10 is an operation waveform diagram when the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source of the electric fan according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention is small. It is an electric block diagram explaining control of the electric fan concerning an 8th embodiment of the present invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the timer used for the electric fan concerning the 8th Embodiment of this invention. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the swing control used for the electric fan concerning the 8th Embodiment of this invention.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the electric fan which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated using figures.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the electric fan according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front.
As shown in FIG. 1, the electric fan 100 includes a pedestal 1, an operation unit 2 provided on the pedestal 1, a column 3 erected on the pedestal 1, a sliding rod 4 built in the column 3, and a sliding rod 4. It is comprised from the ventilation part 5 supported by this, and the human sensitive sensor part 7 provided in the direct vicinity of the ventilation part 5.
Inside the pedestal 1, a control unit 10 (FIGS. 4 , 8, 12, 14, 16, and 19 ) that controls the operation based on the operation unit 2 provided on the pedestal 1 is provided.
The operation unit 2 includes an automatic swing button 2a, a high-speed swing button 2b, an air volume dial 2c, a temperature display unit 2d, a timer setting key, a mode switching key, and the like. The air volume dial 2c may be configured such that the air volume can be adjusted in a fixed step, or a DC motor is used as a fan motor and the applied voltage is PWM controlled by operating the air volume dial 2c to set the air volume steplessly. Is also possible.
A sliding rod 4 is assembled to the support column 3 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. Furthermore, a fixing button 3a for fixing the blower 5 at an arbitrary height is provided.
The blower unit 5 includes a front fan guard 5a, a rear fan guard 5b, a fan motor unit 5c, a propeller fan (not shown) provided in a space surrounded by the front fan guard 5a and the rear fan guard 5b.
A fan motor 11 (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) (see FIGS. 4, 8, 12, 14, 16, and 19 ) is incorporated in the fan motor unit 5c.
Further, a human sensor unit 7 is attached to the lower side of the air blowing unit 5.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the electric fan of the same embodiment as viewed from the back. As shown in FIG. 2, a person holding a swing mechanism unit 5 d that changes the blowing direction of the blowing unit 5, an elevation setting unit 6 that sets an elevation angle in the blowing direction, and a human sensor unit 7 on the back of the fan 100. A sensation sensor holding portion 8 and a connecting portion 9 are provided.
The connecting unit 9 connects the human sensor unit 7 and the swing mechanism unit 5d via the human sensor holding unit 8 and connects the swing mechanism unit 5d and the blower unit 5 to each other. Accordingly, the human sensor unit 7 and the air blowing unit 5 have an integrated structure, and the air blowing direction of the air blowing unit 5 can be manually changed without performing a swinging operation.
In addition, when the detection by the human sensor unit 7 is started, the air blowing center direction of the air blowing unit 5 and the detection central direction of the human sensor unit 7 are made coincident with each other. Thus, the control of the swing angle of the blower 5 is simplified.

A method for manually changing the blowing center direction of the blowing unit 5 will be specifically described.
For example, when the rear fan guard 5b is held in the hand and twisted in the left-right direction, the human sensor unit 7 and the air blowing unit 5 attached to the human sensor holding unit 8 via the connecting unit 9 are partially connected to the elevation angle setting unit 6. Is rotated in the direction toward the connecting portion 9 in which the is inserted, that is, in the air blowing center direction.
In addition, an inner tube portion (not shown) provided with a protrusion is extended below the elevation angle setting portion 6, and it engages with a recess (not shown) provided on the inner wall of the sliding rod 4 so that the air blowing center direction is manually adjusted. The structure can be changed discontinuously.

The swing control of the blower unit 5 is driven by the swing mechanism unit 5d including a link mechanism that is located above the connecting unit 9 and drives only the blower unit 5, but is located below the connecting unit 9. Since there is no drive mechanism, the sensation sensor unit 7 is stopped without moving during the swing motion.
Furthermore, by controlling the swing angle (swing range) of the blower unit 5 described later by the control unit 10, it is possible to quickly blow appropriate air to a person.
In addition, since the human sensor unit 7 is attached to the blower unit 5 with a gap of several millimeters, the swinging operation of the blower unit 5 is not hindered. Furthermore, the human sensor unit 7 has a fan-like appearance, and its central angle is approximately 90 °.

  As shown in the overall perspective view of FIG. 7A, the human sensor section 7 is composed of a resin upper cover housing 75, a lower cover housing 76, and a front filter 77, and a plurality of, for example, Three or five human sensors are used.

  Further, the upper cover housing 75 shown in the partial perspective view of FIG. 7B is provided with five slits 74a to 74e, and these slits are two of the shielding members 741 to 746, for example, the shielding members 742 and 743 in the slit 74b. Are provided with recesses 751 and 752 for holding the human sensor.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the substrate unit after removing an external casing constituting the human sensor part of the electric fan of the same embodiment. That is, FIG. 3 shows the sensor substrate unit 70 after removing the upper cover housing 75, the lower cover housing 76, and the front filter 77 outside the human sensor unit 7. In the sensor board unit 70 of this embodiment, the sensor board unit 70 includes five human sensors, and human sensors 72a to 72e and capacitors arranged in a line in the horizontal direction are incorporated in the individual sensor boards 71a to 71e. The sensor board unit 70 is also provided with a drive source for controlling the human sensor unit 7, a connector 73 for exchanging detection information, and the temperature sensor 13 for detecting the ambient temperature.

  In the human sensors 72a to 72e, a detection unit of a human sensor body (PIR sensor, pyroelectric infrared detection sensor) (not shown) is covered with an elliptical spherical HDPE (high density polyethylene) narrow angle lens. We are using in state. By using this narrow-angle lens, it becomes possible to increase the directivity in the detection range of the human sensor main body and to detect far away.

In this embodiment, the detection unit of the human sensor main body uses a dual type with two elements. However, in order to increase the detection accuracy in the vertical direction, the human sensor in the direction in which two elements are arranged in the vertical direction. The individual sensor substrates 71a to 71e are attached by checking the orientation of the main body.
The human sensor used here has a viewing angle of 48 ° in the horizontal direction and 54 ° in the vertical direction. However, the detection from the electric fan 100 is performed by adjusting the threshold value of the sensor output value with a narrow angle lens. The distance can be set from approximately 1 m to several m. In addition, if the length (detection distance) that can be detected by the human sensor unit 7 is set to the same distance as the distance that the wind reaches the person (fan distance) by the fan that has the maximum airflow, the presence of most room spaces and people It becomes possible to adjust correspondingly.

The attachment of the sensor base unit 70, the upper cover housing 75, and the lower cover housing 76 will be described.
For example, the sensor board unit 70 (FIGS. 3 and 5) is attached to the upper cover housing 75 so that the human sensor 72a is properly inserted into the recess 751 (similarly to other human sensors), followed by the upper cover housing. The front filter 77 is inserted into the groove 75 a of 75 from below, and further sandwiched by the lower cover housing 76, and then screwed from the outside of the lower cover housing 76 to assemble the human sensor unit 7. Therefore, the detection direction of the human sensor can be determined by these slits.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the control unit 10 of the electric fan in the present embodiment. In the figure, the operation unit 2 is disposed on the base 1 of the electric fan 100. There are provided an automatic swing button 2a and a high-speed swing button 2b. A control unit 10 is provided inside the base 1 on which the operation unit 2 is provided. In addition to the operation unit 2, a human sensor unit 7 is connected to the input port of the control unit 10. Further, a fan motor 11 that constitutes a part of the blower 5 and a swing motor 12 that constitutes a part of the swing control are connected to the output port of the controller 10.
Here, by using a stepping motor as the swing motor 12, a detailed swing angle can be set, so that detailed control corresponding to the presence pattern of any person is possible.

  As a software function by the microcomputer, the control unit 10 includes a blower control unit 10a for controlling the operation of the fan motor 11 and a neck for controlling the operation of the swing motor 12 as the operation unit 2 is operated. A swing control unit 10b and a storage unit (memory) 10c that stores various setting states such as a swing angle of the blower unit 5 based on detection information from the human sensor unit 7, an air volume, and a swing speed are provided. .

  Next, the control of the electric fan according to the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the control, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the control.

  FIG. 5 simply shows a state of looking down from above the electric fan 100 when there are two persons M <b> 1 and M <b> 2 facing the front of the electric fan 100. That is, the human sensors 72a to 72e are arranged in the horizontal direction on the sensor board unit 70, and the center detection directions of the human sensors sancers 72a to 72e are directions A to E indicated by a one-dot chain line from the virtual center C0. A to E are each 18 ° apart. Further, since each of the human sensors 72a to 72e individually detects the direction of 18 °, the five human sensors can detect the range of 90 °.

  Here, when the human sensor unit 7 is not provided, the swing angle (swing range) is manually set. However, the blowing unit 5 performs the swing operation at the previously set swing angle. become. For example, when a person is first in the center detection directions A, C, and E, the swing angle is set in the range of A to E (swing angle L). If it changes from the state so that two persons may newly face in the directions B and D, the electric fan 100 will still have the previous swing angle AE set. If it does so, the ventilation direction of the ventilation part 5 will swing to the direction A and E where there is no person, and will perform a useless swing.

  Therefore, the human sensor unit 7 periodically detects the presence of a person, and controls the swing angle only in the direction in which the person is present, in this case, between the directions B to D (the swing angle S). By doing so, it is possible to quickly blow a person to a person without blowing air to a range where no person is present. When there is only one person, it is not necessary to swing the head, but the head may be swung within a very small range.

  Further, FIG. 5 illustrates the case where the position of the person is in the center direction of the sensor, but when there is a person between the sensors, for example, when two adjacent sensors appear in a similar output value pattern, By determining that there is a person between these two sensors, it is possible to deal with the existence of any person.

  FIG. 6 shows one flow of the automatic swing control. First, the fan 100 checks whether the automatic swing range is set, that is, whether the automatic swing button 2a is turned on. (Step S1). If it is not set in step S1 (No in step S1), the person manually sets the swing range (step S8). Specifically, in step S8, a person presets the swing angle (swing range) using a lever (not shown) or the like. In the case of Yes in step S1, the human sensor unit 7 is turned on (step S2), and then, based on the detection information of the human sensor unit 7, it is immediately determined where the person is and the area is stored. (Step S3). Thereafter, based on the stored information, the control unit 10 automatically sets the swing range (step S4), and starts the automatic swing of the blower unit 5 (step S5). After 2 minutes have passed in the set state (step S6), the presence of a new person is detected or a change is determined (step S7). If any person is detected, the process returns to step S3 to return to the previous flow. repeat. If it is determined not to detect in step S7 (No in step S7), automatic swinging is stopped. At that time, the fan motor may be stopped. The setting of the elapsed time can be changed as appropriate.

  In addition, if the ventilation unit 5, the connecting unit 9, and the human sensor unit 7 are integrally swung in advance when detecting by the human sensor unit 7, the horizontal swing range of the fan unit 5 is 90 °. It is possible to detect the presence of a person within a range of approximately 180 ° in the horizontal direction from 45 ° to the left and 45 ° to the left of the human sensor unit 7.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the control of the electric fan according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 8 further includes a temperature sensor 13 in FIG. The human sensor is highly temperature dependent, and the determination of the presence or absence of a person may be wrong in the determination of the absolute output value of the human sensor. Therefore, it is possible to perform highly accurate detection by examining the temperature dependence of the human sensor in advance and adding temperature correction to the output value of the human sensor. Although the position where the temperature sensor 13 exists is not particularly limited, it is preferably provided on the sensor substrate unit 70 because the room temperature can be immediately fed back.

  FIG. 9 shows a modification of the automatic swing control flow, and only the difference from FIG. 6 will be described. In step S21, the temperature sensor 13 is turned on in addition to the human sensor unit 7 to correct the temperature. Human presence area detection and storage are performed based on the sensor output value (step S31). By doing so, high-precision automatic control of the swing range can be performed.

(Third embodiment)
Next, the control of the electric fan according to the third embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 10 simply shows a state of looking down from above the electric fan 100 when there are two persons M1 and M2 facing the front of the electric fan 100. FIG. In this case, the swing control is performed between the detection center directions A to E, but it is not necessary to blow air between the ranges B to C and E where there is no person. Therefore, the swing speeds of B to C and E are set to be faster than the set speeds of A and D, so that the area where there is no person is allowed to pass through the blower 5 quickly. That is, the swing is performed at a normal swing speed in the range Q shown in FIG. 10 and at a high swing speed in the range R.

  FIG. 11 shows another flow of the automatic swing control of the present embodiment. First, it is confirmed whether the electric fan 100 is set to the high-speed swing, that is, whether the high-speed swing button 2b is turned on. Performed (step S11). In step S11, when it is not set (No in step S11), normal swing speed setting, that is, swinging that does not change the swing speed, is performed (step S18). In the case of Yes in step S11, the human sensor unit 7 is turned on (step S12), and based on the detection information of the human sensor unit 7, the position of the person is detected and stored (step S13). A high swing speed is set for the non-existing range (step S14). Thereafter, the swinging operation of the blower 5 is started based on the stored information (step S15). After two minutes have passed in the set state (step S16), it is determined whether or not the area where no person exists has changed (step S17). If there is any change in step S17, the process returns to step S13 and the previous flow is repeated. If there is no change in step S17, the swing operation is continued. If No in step S17, the automatic swing is stopped. The setting of the elapsed time can be changed as appropriate.

  Further, the swing speed can be increased by using the power obtained by increasing the rotational speed of the fan motor 11. Furthermore, by combining with the above-described automatic swing range control and temperature sensor temperature correction control, more user-friendly air blowing control can be performed.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, the electric fan 100 in 4th Embodiment is demonstrated using figures.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the control unit 10 in the present embodiment.
The control unit 10 according to the present embodiment includes a nonvolatile memory 10d therein and is provided with a sensitivity setting button 2e for setting the sensitivity to the operation unit 2.

  The nonvolatile memory 10d can hold stored information without supplying power. There are various types of nonvolatile memory 10d such as flash memory, MRAM, ReRAM, and FeRAM, but any nonvolatile memory may be used. Further, the nonvolatile memory 10d in the present embodiment may be mounted alone in the control unit 10 or may be embedded in the microcomputer.

Next, operation | movement of the human sensitive sensor 7 mounted in the electric fan 100 of this invention is demonstrated using FIG.
FIG. 13A shows a waveform when the human sensor unit 7 does not detect the heat of the human body. FIG. 13B shows a waveform when the human sensor 7 detects the heat of the human body. There are three peaks in the waveform, but it shows that the difference between the heat of the human body and the ambient temperature changes from large to small as time passes.

  The human sensor 7 detects a temperature change within the sensor detection range, converts it into a voltage value, and outputs it. When the human sensor 7 is insensitive, that is, when no heat source is detected, a voltage that slightly fluctuates around a predetermined voltage value is output as shown in FIG. When the human sensor 7 reacts, that is, when a heat source is detected, the voltage value increases as shown in FIG. The degree of increase in the output voltage value varies depending on the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source.

  The electric fan 100 in this embodiment determines that there is a person within the detection range of the human sensor unit 7 when the threshold value is set and the output voltage of the human sensor unit 7 exceeds the threshold value. If the threshold voltage is low, the sensitivity of heat source detection is high, and if it is high, the sensitivity is low.

  The operation unit 10 of the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment is provided with a sensitivity setting button 2e for setting the sensitivity of the human sensor. For example, when the sensitivity setting has three stages of “high sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “low sensitivity”, the threshold voltage increases in the order of “high sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “low sensitivity”.

  Therefore, when the sensitivity is “high sensitivity”, it can be detected at times t1, t4, and t6 in FIG. 13B, and all three output waveforms can be detected, but when the sensitivity is “low sensitivity”. Since detection is possible only at time t3, only a waveform having a large difference between the heat of the human body and the ambient temperature can be detected.

  The sensitivity can be changed by pressing the sensitivity setting button 2e. Each time the sensitivity is updated, the control unit 10 stores the updated sensitivity information in the nonvolatile memory 10d.

  Even if the electric power of the electric fan 100 is turned off, the sensitivity information stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d is retained. When the power is turned on again, the control unit 10 reads the sensitivity information stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d and sets the detection threshold of the human sensor.

  Thus, by storing sensitivity information in the nonvolatile memory 10d, the electric fan 100 can be used with the same sensitivity setting when the power is turned on again.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 14 shows a block diagram of the electric fan 100 in the present embodiment. 14 further includes a nonvolatile memory 10d in addition to the control unit 10 of the block diagram shown in FIG.

Operation | movement of the electric fan 100 in this embodiment is demonstrated. During normal operation, the operation unit 2 of the electric fan 100 transmits operation information to the memory 10 c in the control unit 10. In addition, the human sensor unit 7 transmits the swing range information determined based on the state sensed by the human sensor to the memory 10 c in the control unit 10.
The driving information and the swing range information may be transmitted to the memory 10c in the control unit 10 at a constant cycle, or may be transmitted to the memory 10c in the control unit 10 at a timing when any of the information changes.
Simultaneously with the transmission to the memory 10c, the driving information and the swing range information are stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d.

When the electric power of the electric fan 100 is turned off, no power is supplied to the memory 10c and the stored information is erased. However, the information stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d is not erased and continues to be retained.
When the power is turned on again, the control unit 10 calls the information in the nonvolatile memory 10d, and the operation based on the operation information and the swing information when the power is turned off is resumed.

  When the power switch of the fan 100 is managed by a microcomputer (not shown) in the control unit 10, the operation information and the swing range information are set at regular time intervals during normal operation as described above. Instead of storing in the nonvolatile memory 10d, the microcomputer detects that the power switch has been pressed, so that the operation information and the swing range information at that time are stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d, and then the power supply is stopped. Control may be performed.

FIG. 15 shows a flow of automatic swing control in the present embodiment.
First, the electric fan 100 reads the driving information and the swing range information stored from the nonvolatile memory 10d (step S40). It is confirmed whether or not the automatic swing range is set, that is, whether or not the automatic swing button 2a is turned on (step S41). If it is not set in step S41 (No in step S41), a person manually sets the swing range (step S49). Specifically, in step S49, the person presets the swing angle (swing range) using a lever (not shown) or the like. When the automatic swing range is set in step S41, the human sensor unit 7 is turned on (step S42), and then, based on the detection information of the human sensor unit 7, it is immediately determined where the person is, The area is stored (step S43). Thereafter, based on the stored information, the control unit 10 automatically sets the swing range (step S44). After setting the swing range, the swing range information is written and stored in the nonvolatile memory 10d (step 46). Next, the automatic swing of the blower 5 is started (step S46). After two minutes have passed in the set state (step S47), the presence of a new person is detected or the presence or absence of a change is determined (step S48). If any person is detected, the process returns to step S43, and the above-described flow repeat. If it is determined not to detect in step S48 (No in step S48), the automatic swing is stopped. At that time, the fan motor may be stopped. The setting of the elapsed time can be changed as appropriate.

  Thus, by storing the swing range in the nonvolatile memory 10d, the electric fan 100 can be used with the same swing operation even when the power is turned on again.

(Sixth embodiment)
Next, a sixth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram including the control unit 10 of the fan 100 with a human sensor according to the present embodiment.

  The operation unit 2 is provided with a sensitivity setting button 2e in addition to the automatic swing button 2a and the high-speed swing button 2b. For sensitivity setting, for example, threshold voltages (sensitivity setting information) corresponding to three stages of “high sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “low sensitivity” are output. The threshold voltage value increases in the order of “high sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “low sensitivity”.

  The human sensor 7 detects a heat source within the detection range and outputs a detection result as detection information. In the human sensor 7 in this embodiment, detection information is output as a voltage. At this time, the larger the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat generated from the human body to be detected, the larger the output voltage changes, and the smaller the temperature difference, the smaller the output voltage.

  Based on the sensitivity setting information, the detection information, and the temperature information, the swing control unit 10b in the control unit 10 detects the heat source around the fan 100 and determines the swing range. The swing motor 12 is driven based on the swing range determined by the swing control unit 10b.

  The temperature sensor 13 detects the ambient temperature and outputs temperature information corresponding to the ambient temperature. The temperature information of the temperature sensor 13 in this embodiment is output as a voltage.

  Sensitivity setting information output from the sensitivity setting button 2e, detection information output from the human sensor 7, and temperature information output from the temperature sensor 13 are input to the control unit 10.

In the control unit 10, when the voltage (detection information) output from the human sensor unit 7 exceeds the threshold voltage (sensitivity setting information) set by the sensitivity setting button 2e, it is determined that the heat source has been detected. The The threshold voltage is finely adjusted based on the temperature information output from the temperature sensor 13.
The fine adjustment is performed, for example, by lowering the threshold value when the ambient temperature increases and increasing the threshold value when the ambient temperature decreases .

  The adjustment in the present embodiment finely adjusts the threshold voltage, but it may switch “low sensitivity”, “medium sensitivity”, and “high sensitivity” instead of fine adjustment of the threshold value.

  FIG. 17 is a waveform diagram for explaining the detection sensitivity correction operation of the human sensor unit 7 of the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the detection information of the human sensor unit 7 has a different waveform output depending on the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source. When the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the heat source is large, the change in the output voltage is large, and when the temperature difference is small, the change in the output voltage is small.

In FIG. 17, the sensitivity is set to “low sensitivity”, and at time t1, the output waveform of the human sensor unit 7 exceeds the “low sensitivity” threshold voltage Vth3 to determine that the heat source has been detected. .
As shown in the enlarged view, in this embodiment, the threshold voltage Vth3 is adjusted based on the temperature information of the temperature sensor 13. In this adjustment, the threshold voltage is adjusted to be slightly lower when the ambient temperature is higher, and the threshold voltage is adjusted to be Vth3 + α when the ambient temperature is lower.

  By performing such adjustment, it is possible to detect a heat source that does not depend on fluctuations in the output voltage of the human sensor that varies depending on the ambient temperature by varying the threshold voltage depending on the ambient temperature.

(Seventh embodiment)
Next, a seventh embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The configuration of the electric fan 100 in the present embodiment is the same as that of the block diagram shown in FIG. 16, but the swing control unit is based on the ambient temperature detected by the temperature sensor 13 and the presence of people around the electric fan 100. A control for determining whether or not

FIG. 18 is a waveform diagram for explaining the control of the electric fan with human sensor 100 according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 18A shows a waveform output from the human sensor 7 when the temperature difference between the ambient temperature detected by the temperature sensor 13 and a heat source such as a human body is 8 degrees. When the human body temperature is constant, for example, 36 degrees, a temperature difference of 8 ° C. indicates that the ambient temperature is 28 ° C.
At this time, since the temperature difference is large, the change in the output voltage is large. At this time, the presence of a person is determined when there is a person when the output voltage becomes larger than the threshold voltage (Vth, sensitivity setting information) set by the sensitivity setting unit 2e. In the present embodiment, it is determined that there is a person when the output voltage becomes larger than the threshold voltage Vth even once within the detection time tw.

FIG. 18B shows a waveform output from the human sensor 7 when the temperature difference between the ambient temperature detected by the temperature sensor 13 and a heat source such as a human body is 2 degrees. When the body temperature of the human body is 36 ° C., the ambient temperature is 34 ° C., indicating that the ambient temperature is higher than that in FIG.
At this time, since the temperature difference is small, the change in the output voltage is small. In this case, since the difference between the output voltage that the human sensor unit 7 detects and outputs the presence of a person and the noise voltage is small, the detection time is set longer than in the case of FIG. In the present embodiment, the detection time is set to three times that in the case of 18 (a). Further, the determination that the person is present also increases the number of times that the output voltage becomes larger than the threshold voltage Vth. In the present embodiment, the number of times of detection is set to 3 times with respect to once in FIG.

  By performing such a determination, it is possible to perform highly accurate human body detection even if the temperature difference between the ambient temperature and the human body temperature is small. In other words, it enables heat source detection independent of the ambient temperature.

(Eighth embodiment)
Next, an eighth embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 19 shows a configuration in which timers 78a to 78e provided corresponding to the human sensors 72a to 72e provided in the human sensor unit 7 are added. In this case, in addition to the detection information, timer information output from the timers 78 a to 78 e is sent from the human sensor unit 7 to the control unit 10.
The timers 78a to 78e can be provided in the control unit 10. Furthermore, the timers 78a to 78e may be configured by hardware or software.
The timers 78a to 78e operate based on the states of the corresponding human sensors 72a to 72e. The timers 78a to 78e are countdown timers that count down from a set initial value.

  Next, the operation of the timers 78a to 78e will be described using the operation flowchart of the timers 78a to 78e shown in FIG.

The timers 78a to 78e are in a standby state after the operation is started until the corresponding human sensors 72a to 72e detect the heat source (S201).
When the human sensors 72a to 72e detect the heat source, the corresponding timers 78a to 78e set a positive number n larger than 0 as an initial value. In the present embodiment, 20 [seconds] is set as an initial value in the timers 78a to 78e (S202).
While the heat source is detected, the initial values set in the timers 78a to 78e are held as they are, and the electric fan 100 performs a swing operation within the range in which the heat source is detected. When the heat source is no longer detected, for example, when a person moves from the detection area of the human sensors 72a to 72e (S203), the countdown starts from the set initial value (S204).
The countdown operation is continued until the values set in the timers 78a to 78e become 0 (S205), and when the values become 0, the human sensor 72a to 72e again enters a standby state until it detects the heat source. (S201). At this time, the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment continues the swing operation assuming that the heat source exists even if the human sensors 72a to 72e do not detect the heat source. In the present embodiment, the swinging operation is continued for 20 seconds after the heat source is no longer detected (deemed swinging).
The operations of the timers 78a to 78e described above operate independently depending on the states of the corresponding human sensors 72a to 72e.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a specific swinging operation of the electric fan 100 according to the present embodiment. Although the number of human sensors mounted on the electric fan 100 of the present embodiment is five, the number of human sensors will be reduced to three for simplicity of description. The figure shows changes in the detection states of the sensors S1 to S3 and the timer values Tc1 to Tc3 according to the passage of time. When the sensor detects a heat source, it is expressed as D, and when it is not detected, it is expressed as ND. Timer values Tc1 to Tc3 represent the remaining number of seconds until the timer value becomes zero. For example, if Tc1 = 20, it means 20 seconds until 0.

(Standby-normal swing)
At startup, the human sensors S1 to S3 do not detect a heat source. In addition, the timer values Tc1 to Tc3 are all set to 0 (t = 0). The standby state continues until the human sensor detects the heat source (t = 0 to 10). When the heat source is detected in the detection range of the human sensors S1 and S3, the state of the sensors S1 and S3 changes from ND to D, and 20 is set to the timer values Tc1 and Tc3 of the corresponding timer (t = 10). ). The electric fan 100 determines a swing operation range so that air can be blown to the area where the heat source is detected, and performs a normal swing operation (t = 10 to 300). When the detected heat source moves from the detection range, the states of the sensors S1 and S3 change from D to ND (t = 300). At this time, all of the sensors S1 to S3 become ND in a state where no heat source is detected.

(Deemed swing)
The electric fan 100 of the present embodiment shifts from “normal swing operation” to “deemed swing operation” from here. When the state of the sensors S1 and S3 becomes ND, the timer corresponding to the sensors S1 and S3 performs a countdown operation (t = 300). Since the counter of this embodiment counts down every second, the timer values Tc1 and Tc3 when the 10 seconds have elapsed after the countdown starts display 10 (T = 310). The countdown is performed until a new heat source is detected, and until the timer values Tc1 and Tc3 become 0, even if the sensor does not detect the heat source, the swing operation is continued for a certain time (T = 310). ~ 320). When the timer values Tc1 and Tc3 become 0, the standby state is maintained until the sensors S1 to S3 detect the heat source next time.

  By performing such control, the head motion continues for a predetermined time even after the human sensor no longer detects the heat source. The operation is not frequently performed, and stable swing control is possible.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the combination of embodiment mentioned above may be sufficient.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Fan 1 Base 2 Operation part 2a Automatic swing button 2b High-speed swing button 2c Air volume dial 2d Temperature display part 3 Support | pillar 3a Fixing button 4 Sliding fan 5 Air blower part 5a Front fan guard 5b Rear fan guard 5c Fan motor part 5d Head swing mechanism unit 6 Elevation angle setting unit 7 Human sensor unit 70 Sensor substrate unit 71a to 72d Individual sensor substrate 72a to 72e Human sensor 73 Connector 74a to 74e Slit 741 to 746 Shield member 75 Upper cover housing 75a Groove 751, 752 Recess 76 Lower cover housing 77 Front filter 78a to 78e Timer 8 Human sensor holding unit 9 Connection unit 10 Control unit 10a Air blow control unit 10b Swing control unit 10c Memory 10d Non-volatile memory 11 Fan motor 12 Swing motor 13 Temperature sensor A to E sensor Detection direction L, S Swing angle (swing range)
M1, M2 people
Q Normal speed swing range R High speed swing range

Claims (4)

A human sensor that includes a human sensor for detecting a heat source and outputs detection information;
A timer that is provided corresponding to the human sensor and notifies a predetermined time;
A swing control unit that determines a swing motion range based on the human sensor and the timer;
The human motion sensor, wherein the human motion sensor swings in the determined swing motion range for a predetermined time notified from the timer after the human motion sensor no longer detects a heat source. With electric fan. 2. The electric fan with a human sensor according to claim 1, wherein the timer sets a predetermined value when the human sensor detects a heat source, and counts down after no heat source is detected. The electric fan with a human sensor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the timer is mounted on the swinging operation unit. The electric sensor-equipped fan according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein there are two or more pairs of the human sensor and the timer.