JP2603681B2 - air purifier - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an air purifier having a sensor for detecting air contamination and capable of automatic operation.

[Prior Art] FIG. 8 shows an operation mode of a conventional air purifier having a sensor for detecting air contamination and capable of automatic operation. In the conventional example shown in FIG. 8, it is changed when dirty air to a certain reference value Vs ₁ comes increased, also increased sensor output signal, the operation mode according to the value. That is,
When the sensor output reaches Vsn ₁ , the fan operates in the weak mode, and when the sensor output reaches Vsn ₂ , the fan operates in the standard mode and Vsn ₃
Then, it is an automatic operation type that operates the fan in the rapid mode. A sensor that detects air contamination is attached to the body of the air purifier. Therefore, it is not detected unless the dirty air reaches the sensor of the air purifier. In a normal use environment, there is much dirty air near people. For example, when a person smokes in a room, the place where a person smokes has a lot of air that is contaminated with tobacco. Until this air goes to the air purifier, it is due to convective air in the room or diffusion. Therefore, even if the surroundings of a person are dirty, since the dirt does not immediately go to the air purifier, the detection sensitivity of the sensor is poor, and there is a high demand for a faster response.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention has been provided in view of the above points,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an air purifier having a fast response from the start of contamination of the air to the start of operation.

[Means for Solving the Problems] [Operation] In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 provides a fan, a motor for driving the fan, a detecting means for detecting dirt in the air, Control means for changing the blowing ability of the fan according to the magnitude of the dirt value when the dirt value in the air detected by the detection means reaches the first reference value; A preliminary detection means is provided for operating the fan for a predetermined time with a specified blowing capacity when reaching a second reference value which is set smaller than the first reference value before reaching the reference value. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fan, a motor for driving the fan, detecting means for detecting dirt in the air, and when the dirt value in the air detected by the detecting means reaches the first reference value. Control means for changing the blowing capacity of the fan according to the magnitude of the dirt value, and within a specified time of the dirt value detected by the detecting means before the dirt value detected by the detecting means reaches the first reference value. And a preliminary detection means for operating the fan for a certain period of time with a specified air blowing capacity when the amount of increase becomes equal to or more than a specified value.

[Operation] In any of the first and second aspects of the present invention, the dirt value satisfies a predetermined condition before performing the normal operation, in addition to the normal operation similar to the conventional operation in which the blowing ability of the fan is changed according to the dirt value. And a preliminary detection means for blowing air by a fan for a certain period of time is provided, and the preliminary detection means forms a circulating air in the room to make it easier for the dirty air to reach the detection means, thereby speeding up the dirt detection operation by the detection means. It is characterized by doing so.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 4, the output of the gas sensor as the detecting means changes in proportion to the contamination of the air. When operating automatically using this gas sensor, the point at which the gas sensor output is Vs ₁
The operation mode is selected depending on how the output of the gas sensor changes with (FIG. 1) as the contamination reference value (second reference value). As shown in FIG. 1, the output of the gas sensor
It becomes the Vsn ₁ is a reference value, the operation of the fan becomes weak mode, when the gas sensor output becomes Vsn ₂ as standard mode, the fast mode becomes the Vsn _3.

In the air purifier having the pattern of the automatic operation mode as described above, considering a normal use state, a place where the air is dirty does not always coincide with a position where the air purifier is installed. In other words, if you smoke tobacco etc. in your room,
Although the air at the place where the cigarette is smoked is often contaminated, the contaminants appear gradually as the output of the gas sensor changes as time elapses as shown in FIG. Capturing the phenomenon that the gas sensor output gradually increases, the fan is forcibly rotated at the point of Vsn ₀ of the gas sensor output to create a circulating wind of the indoor air, and the circulating wind causes the indoor air to flow. To carry the dirty air from the air purifier. Then, the output of the gas sensor increases, reaches the level of Vsn ₁ early, and the air purifier quickly enters the automatic operation mode. The fan is forcibly rotated at the point of Vsn ₀ of the gas sensor output, and this time is determined to be a certain fixed time t as shown in FIG. 1 (b). Even if the air that is contaminated by the circulating air generated by the air purifier comes to the air purifier within the fixed time t, if the level of the contaminant is Vsn ₁ or less, the fan is stopped within the time t and the fan is automatically stopped. Does not enter operation mode. Such a sensor detection pattern is referred to as preliminary detection.

There are the following two methods for this preliminary detection. One is from the reference value Vs ₁ output of the gas sensor as shown in FIG. 1, initially rises in the tobacco smoke and the like, at a Vsn _0, it is forced to a method of rotating the t time fan.
As another method, as shown in FIG. 2, if the increase in the output of the gas sensor (change amount ΔV / Δt ₀ ) within a certain time t ₀ is larger than a predetermined change amount ΔV ₀ (ΔV / Δt) ₀ ≧ Δv ₀ ),
This is a method of forcibly rotating the fan. Where ΔV
= It is a V ₂ -V _1.

Hereinafter, examples will be specifically described. FIG. 6 shows a cutaway perspective view of the air purifier, in which a suction port 2 for sucking air is provided on the front surface of the main body 1, and a discharge port for discharging air sucked by a fan driven by a motor on the top surface. 3 are provided. An operation section 6 is disposed on the upper front surface of the main body 1 as an inclined surface, and a gas sensor 4 serving as a detecting means is provided inside the sensor cover 5 on the opposite side of the operation section 6.
Is arranged. FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the air purifier. The output of the gas sensor 4 is input to an input terminal A / D of an arithmetic and control unit 7 composed of a microcomputer. When the output of the gas sensor 4 with respect to the gas concentration in the room satisfies one of the conditions of Vsn ₀ and ΔV / Δt ₀ ≧ ΔV ₀ , the arithmetic control unit 7 controls the motor switching circuit 8 with this signal, and Is controlled only for the time t. At this time, when the output of the gas sensor 4 increases due to the circulating wind in the room, three signals of “weak”, “standard”, and “rapid” are output, and the motor switching circuit 8 is output by these signals.
And the rotation of the motor 9 is controlled.

The output of the gas sensor 4 is such that the higher the gas concentration is, the higher the output voltage is, as shown in the relationship between the gas concentration and the output voltage in FIG.
Directly connected to D. The output of the gas sensor 4 is normally low and stable in a clean air state, and the output voltage increases as the concentration of gas such as tobacco increases.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the arithmetic and control unit 7. Part of the arithmetic control unit 7 constitutes control means. That is, the control means stores the output voltages from the gas sensor 4 in the RAMs 10 and 12.
If, accumulator 1 to calculate the degree of soiling the ratio between the detected dirt values dirt reference value Vs ₁ and the gas sensor 4 described above
1, 13 and comparators 14, 15, 16 for comparing a preset reference value and a dirt value from the accumulator 11, and timers 17, 18, forcibly performing a timer operation when the amount of change is reduced. It consists of nineteen. The arithmetic and control unit 7 also includes a comparator 25 for comparing that the dirt value detected by the gas sensor 4 has reached Vsn ₀ or that the change in the dirt value has become ΔV / Δt ₀ ≧ ΔV ₀ , To Δt
A timer 26 for operating the fan only for the time is provided, and the comparator 25 and the timer 26 constitute a preliminary detection means.

Further, the arithmetic and control unit 7 has a RAM 21 for storing a dirt value which is obtained by detecting a degree of dirt in the room when the fan is stopped, an accumulator 22 for calculating the dirt value and a dirt reference value before the operation of the fan, and an accumulator 22 output. Is a comparison means that outputs a signal when is greater than a certain value.
And a correcting means 20 for multiplying the judgment level by a correction coefficient when the dirt value at the time of stopping the fan is larger than the dirt reference value to raise the value of the judgment level.

FIGS. 1 and 2 (a) show a change in the output of the gas sensor 4 and the fan operation state for tobacco smoking, and FIGS. 1 and 2 (b) show an operation mode state. I have. The following table shows the values of the determination levels for each operation mode.

Normally, the reference voltage for determining the amount of change in the output of the gas sensor 4 is updated every fixed time, and the minimum value Vsmin within the fixed time is stored in the RAM 10 as a reference value. Now, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the reference value of dirt before the operation of the fan is Vs ₁ and smoking is performed from point A, the gas concentration of the tobacco increases. Rises, and the ratio Vs ₁ / Vsn between the contamination reference value Vs ₁ before operation and the contamination value detected by the gas sensor 4.
Is calculated by the accumulator 11. When the calculation result, that is, the change amount reaches the driving judgment level shown in the above table,
The operation mode is sequentially switched according to the amount of change in the primary forced fan operation, the weak operation, the standard operation, and the rapid (strong) operation.
This operation mode switching is performed by comparators 25, 14, 15, 16
Is determined by Then, when the smoking is stopped and the gas concentration in the room is saturated and the amount of change is reduced, the operation shifts to the forced timer operation, and the fan operation is terminated in a fixed time. This operation is performed by the RAM 12 and the accumulator 13, and the calculation is performed by the accumulator 13. When the value, that is, the amount of change is small, the timers 17, 18, and 19 are set and the timer is operated.

1 and 2 immediately after the end of the fan operation.
It is stored in the RAM 21 with Vs ₂ shown in the figure as a reference value. At this time, Vs ₂ / Vs ₁ of the dirt reference value Vs ₁ before fan operation and Vs ₂ after completion is calculated by the accumulator 22, the calculation result is compared with a predetermined value by the comparator 23, and the above calculation result is obtained. If it is not less than the predetermined value, that is, if it has not returned to the original state where the gas concentration (dirt value) is low, the correcting means 20
The correction is made in the direction to increase the fan operation determination level. For example, assuming that the correction coefficient is B and the determination level in the case of weak driving is 0.9, the calculation is performed as 0.9 × B <1.0.
This allows, for example, tobacco 1
In the case of smoking the same cigarette from the dirty state and the amount of change in concentration after smoking, the amount of change is smaller in the latter, but apparently the same because the fan operation determination level is higher. The sensitivity is set.

As described above, by adding the "forced fan operation" function to the conventional main unit function that has three levels of fan operation determination levels of "weak", "standard", and "rapid", the air purifier In order to speed up the operation of the sensor, the dirty air is put on the flow of the wind on the sensor of the air purifier. That is, the dirt reference value before the fan operation is compared with the dirt value detected by the gas sensor 4, or the amount of change is compared. If the output of the gas sensor 4 tends to increase from the reference value, the fan is forcibly once forced. Is rotated to create a circulating wind by the wind from the discharge port 3 in the room. The wind is carried on the wind, and the contaminated air is carried to the vicinity of the gas sensor 4. By driving the fan, the air in the room is cleaned. If the output of the gas sensor 4 does not rise to the determination level even if the fan is forcibly rotated once before the determination level, the fan is turned off after t hours. Then, the preliminary detection level Vsn ₀ again
Waiting until it becomes. FIG. 7 shows this state.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a fan, a motor for driving the fan, detecting means for detecting dirt in the air, and a dirt value in the air detected by the detecting means are set to a first value. Control means for changing the blowing capacity of the fan according to the magnitude of the dirt value when the dirt value reaches the reference value; and a dirt value detected by the detection means before the dirt value reaches the first reference value and is lower than the first reference value. When a second reference value set to a small value is reached, preliminary detection means for operating the fan for a predetermined time with a specified air blowing capacity is provided. The invention according to claim 2, wherein the fan and the fan And a detecting means for detecting dirt in the air, and when the dirt value in the air detected by the detecting means reaches the first reference value, the blowing capacity of the fan according to the magnitude of the dirt value Control means for changing
If the amount of increase in the dirt value detected by the detecting means within a specified time is equal to or greater than a specified value before the dirt value detected by the detecting means reaches the first reference value, the fan is operated for a predetermined time with a specified blowing capacity. A preliminary detection means for operating the fan, wherein the dirt value satisfies a predetermined condition before performing the normal operation, in addition to the normal operation similar to the conventional operation of changing the blowing ability of the fan according to the dirt value And a preliminary detection means for blowing air by a fan for a certain period of time, thereby forming a circulating air in the room to make it easier for the dirty air to reach the detection means, thereby speeding up the detection operation of the dirt by the detection means. As a result, there is an effect that it is possible to provide an air purifier having a fast response from the start of air contamination to the start of operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation explanatory view showing an output change of a gas sensor and an operation of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing an output change and an operation of an air purifier of another embodiment of the same. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the same as above, FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing a relationship between a gas concentration and an output of the same gas sensor, FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the air purifier of the above, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram when a circulating wind is generated by performing the preliminary detection of the above, and FIG. It is an operation explanatory view showing the operation. 4 is a gas sensor, 7 is an arithmetic control unit, 8 is a motor switching circuit, 9 is a motor, 10 is RAM, 11 is an accumulator, 12 is RAM, 13 is an accumulator, 14 is a comparator, 15 is a comparator, 16 is a comparator, and 17 is a comparator. Is a timer, 18 is a timer, 19 is a timer, 25 is a comparator,
26 is Ty.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A fan, a motor for driving the fan, detecting means for detecting dirt in the air, and a dirt value when the dirt value in the air detected by the detecting means reaches a first reference value. Control means for changing the air blowing capacity of the fan according to the size of the fan;
And a preliminary detection means for operating the fan for a predetermined time with a specified blowing capacity when a second reference value which is smaller than the first reference value is reached before reaching the reference value. An air purifier characterized by the following. 2. A fan, a motor for driving the fan, detecting means for detecting dirt in the air, and a dirt value when the dirt value in the air detected by the detecting means reaches a first reference value. Control means for changing the air blowing capacity of the fan according to the size of the fan;
And a preliminary detection means for operating the fan for a predetermined time with a specified air blowing capacity when an increase amount of the dirt value detected by the detection means within a specified time is equal to or more than a specified value before reaching the reference value of An air purifier characterized in that: