JP6962871B2 - Humidifier - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a humidifying device that humidifies indoor air.

Conventionally, in a humidifying device, the humidified air generated by the humidifying means is discharged into the room together with the indoor air taken into the main body by the rotation of the blower to humidify the room. In addition, it is equipped with a humidity sensor that detects the humidity of the air taken into the main body, the amount of humidification is controlled based on the detected humidity of the humidity sensor and the set humidity, and the detected humidity of this humidity sensor is displayed numerically. Is commonly done.

By the way, in this type of humidifying device, the water stored in the humidifying means continues to evaporate even when the operation is stopped. Since the rotation of the blower is also stopped during the operation stop, the amount of water evaporation is small, but since the indoor air is not introduced into the main body, the evaporated water stays inside the main body, and during the operation stop The humidity inside the main unit may be higher than the humidity inside the room. Therefore, the humidity detected by the humidity sensor becomes a value higher than the humidity that should be originally detected, and there arises a problem that accurate humidity detection cannot be performed and the correct humidity cannot be displayed.

Therefore, in order to solve this problem, there is a humidifying device that controls so that the detected humidity is corrected and displayed for a predetermined time from the start of operation (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 06-58603

However, immediately after starting the operation, it is difficult to determine how much the humidity detected by the sensor is different from the actual humidity. Therefore, the corrected humidity may be significantly different from the actual humidity. Further, although the correction value is uniformly displayed for a predetermined time from the start of operation, in some cases, it may not be necessary to correct the detection value of the humidity sensor before the predetermined time elapses.

The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a humidifying device having excellent convenience by displaying accurate humidity more quickly.

According to the present invention, a humidifying means for generating humidified air, a suction port for taking in indoor air into a main body, an outlet for blowing out humidified air to the outside of the main body, and an air passage from the suction port to the outlet are blown. Humidity operation based on the blower, the humidity sensor that detects the humidity of the indoor air taken into the main body, the humidity display unit that displays the humidity, the detected humidity detected by the humidity sensor, and the preset humidity. The control unit is provided with a control unit for controlling the humidity, and the control unit executes display mask control that does not display humidity on the humidity display unit for a predetermined time from the start of operation, and the humidity sensor detects it during execution of the display mask control. Humidity to be measured is acquired a plurality of times, and based on the acquired humidity, it is determined whether to execute the corrected humidity display control for displaying the corrected humidity after the display mask control is completed, and it is determined that the acquired humidity is decreasing. If so, it is a humidifying device that executes the corrected humidity display control.

With the above configuration, it is possible to display the humidity more quickly and accurately, so that it is possible to provide a humidifying device having excellent convenience.

It is external perspective view of the humidifying apparatus in this embodiment. It is a vertical cross-sectional block diagram of the humidifying apparatus in this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the humidifying apparatus in this embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the humidity display control of the humidifying apparatus of Example 1. FIG. It is a graph showing the humidity detected by the humidity sensor and the humidity displayed on the humidity display unit. It is a flowchart explaining the humidity display control of other humidifiers.

Embodiments of the present invention which are considered to be suitable will be briefly described by showing the operation of the present invention.

The humidifier of the present invention executes display mask control that does not display humidity on the humidity display unit for a predetermined time from the start of operation, and acquires and acquires the humidity detected by the humidity sensor a plurality of times during the execution of this display mask control. Based on the humidity, it is determined whether to execute the corrected humidity display control for displaying the corrected humidity after the display mask control is completed. By determining how to display after the display mask control is completed, if the displayed humidity needs to be corrected, a value closer to the actual humidity is displayed, and if the correction is not necessary, the value is displayed. The humidity detected by the humidity sensor can be displayed immediately.

Further, when it is determined that the acquired humidity is decreasing, the corrected humidity display control is executed. If water vapor stays around the humidity sensor, the humidity detected by the humidity sensor will be higher than the actual indoor humidity immediately after the start of operation, but when the indoor air begins to flow into the main body due to the rotation of the blower, the humidity will be high. Is discharged by this air flow, and the detected humidity of the humidity sensor gradually decreases, and a value close to the original humidity is detected. In other words, when the humidity detected by the sensor is decreasing, it is considered that the humidity is higher than the actual indoor humidity. Therefore, by executing the corrected humidity display control, the humidity is close to the actual humidity. Can be displayed.

Further, during the execution of the display mask control, the first humidity and the second humidity are acquired, and the magnitude of the first humidity and the second humidity is determined. When the second humidity is lower than the first humidity, the value of the humidity sensor is lowered, so that the humidity close to the actual humidity can be displayed by executing the corrected humidity display control.

Further, in the corrected humidity display control, the first corrected display control for determining and displaying the corrected humidity based on the humidity acquired during the execution of the display mask control is executed. In the display mask control, the humidity is acquired a plurality of times, and the humidity in the room can be estimated from this humidity by using a predetermined calculation formula.

Further, in the first correction display control, the correction humidity to be displayed is not updated. If the humidity display changes immediately after the display is started, there is a risk of giving a misunderstanding that the humidity sensor is erroneously detecting. Therefore, by displaying a constant value during the execution of the first correction display control, it is possible to avoid causing the above-mentioned misunderstanding.

Further, the second correction display control is executed in which the correction humidity is determined and displayed based on the humidity displayed by the first correction display control and the humidity detected by the humidity sensor after the completion of the first correction display control. As a result, even if there is a difference between the humidity displayed by the first correction display control and the actual humidity, the display humidity can be gradually brought closer to the actual humidity by performing this second correction display control. can.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the humidifying device. On the upper surface of the main body 1 of the humidifying device, an operation unit 2 provided with a large number of switches for instructing the operation of the humidifying device, a humidity display unit 3 for displaying the humidity in the room, and an outlet 4 for blowing out humidified air are provided. Has been done. Further, a water tank 7 for supplying water to the humidifying means 10 for generating humidified air is detachably provided in the main body 1.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional configuration diagram of the humidifier. A suction port 5 for taking indoor air into the main body 1 is provided on the back surface of the main body 1, and a ventilation port 6 communicating with a humidity sensor 16 described later is formed on the upper part of the suction port 5. Further, at the bottom of the main body 1, a water tank portion 8 to which water is supplied from the water tank 7 to store a certain amount of water and a vaporization filter 9 having water absorption are arranged in the water tank portion 8. The humidifying means 10 for generating humidified air is configured by the 8 and the vaporization filter 9. A part of the vaporization filter 9 is immersed in the water in the water tank portion 8, and the vaporization filter 9 is moistened by sucking up the water.

A blower 13 including a motor 11 and a sirocco fan 12 is provided above the vaporization filter 9, and the blower 13 drives the blower to blow air from the suction port 5 to the air outlet 4. Further, a warm air heater 14 for heating the air introduced from the suction port 5 to make warm air is provided upstream of the vaporization filter 9 in the air blowing path.

When the blower 13 is driven, the sirocco fan 12 rotates to take in the air in the room from the suction port 5, and the taken-in air becomes warm air while passing through the hot air heater 14, and becomes warmer. The wind passes through the vaporization filter 9 to become humidified air, and the humidified air is discharged into the room from the outlet 4.

Further, a control board 15 provided with a control unit 30 described later for controlling the operation of the humidifying device is provided on the upper part of the blower 13, and the control board 15 is taken in from various electronic components and a suction port 5. A humidity sensor 16 for detecting the humidity of the indoor air is arranged.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the humidifying device. The control unit 30 composed of a microcomputer receives inputs from various switches (operation switch 21, humidity setting switch 22, operation changeover switch 23, etc.) provided in the humidity sensor 16 and the operation unit 2, and receives inputs from the humidity display unit 3 and a blower. 13. Outputs a control signal to the warm air heater 14, and controls the humidification operation.

Further, the control unit 30 is a humidity acquisition unit 31 that acquires the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16, a correction value calculation unit 32 that calculates the correction humidity from the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16, and a humidity display unit 3. Humidity display control unit 34 that controls the display of the humidity display unit 3 based on the determination results of the display mode determination unit 33 and the display mode determination unit 33 and the correction humidity calculated by the correction value calculation unit 32. , The amount of humidification that determines the amount of humidification from the detection humidity detected by the time measuring unit 35 that measures the time, the humidity sensor 16, the set humidity input by the humidity setting switch 22, and the operation mode input by the operation selector switch 23. The control unit 36 includes a blower control unit 37 that sends a control signal to the blower 13 based on an instruction from the humidification amount control unit 36, and a hot air heater control unit 38 that sends a control signal to the hot air heater 14. NS. It should be noted that the configuration shown in the figure is an embodiment of the humidifying device according to the present embodiment, and may include other components other than those shown in the figure.

Next, the humidification operation of the humidifier configured as described above will be described. The blower 13 is driven by operating the operation switch 21 to instruct the start of operation and further selecting the target humidity with the humidity setting switch 22. When the blower 13 is driven, the air in the room is taken into the main body 1 from the suction port 5, and the taken-in air becomes humidified air when passing through the vaporization filter 9 and is discharged from the air outlet 4. Further, since the inside of the main body 1 becomes negative pressure due to the drive of the blower 13 and the rotation of the sirocco fan 12, indoor air is taken in from the vent 6 around the humidity sensor 16 provided on the control board 15. The humidity sensor 16 detects the humidity in the room and sends a signal to the control unit 30.

When the humidification operation is started in this way, the control unit 30 calculates the difference between the set humidity set by the humidity setting switch 22 and the detected humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16, and calculates the rotation speed of the blower 13 and the warm air. The amount of humidification is adjusted so as to approach the set humidity by controlling the energization rate of the heater 14. For example, when the detected humidity is smaller than the set humidity and the difference is large, the humidification operation is performed so as to maximize the rotation speed of the blower 13 and the energization rate of the warm air heater 14 so as to approach the set humidity quickly. After that, if the detected humidity becomes a predetermined value or more with respect to the set humidity, or if the set humidity or more is maintained for a certain period of time, it is determined that the detected humidity has entered the stable region, and the rotation speed of the blower 13 and the warm air heater 14 are reached. Limit the energization rate of. Then, the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 is displayed on the humidity display unit 3.

By the way, due to the structure of this type of humidifier, there is a difference between the actual indoor humidity and the value detected by the humidity sensor 16 immediately after starting operation (depending on the capacity of the blower, but from several tens of seconds to several minutes). It may occur, and during this period, it may not be possible to display accurate humidity on the humidity display unit 3.

That is, even if the operation is stopped, water is gradually evaporated from the humidifying means 10 (water tank portion 8 and vaporization filter 9). While the operation is stopped, the rotation of the blower 13 is also stopped, so the amount of water evaporated is small, but since the indoor air is not introduced into the main body 1, the evaporated water vapor is trapped inside the main body 1. It ends up. Then, a part of the water vapor trapped in the main body 1 stays in the vicinity of the humidity sensor 16, affects the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16, and becomes a value higher than the humidity that should be originally detected. Humidity cannot be displayed. Therefore, in order to eliminate such a problem of humidity display, the humidity display control described below is performed.

First, for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) from the start of operation, display mask control that does not display humidity on the humidity display unit 3 is executed. While the display mask control is being executed, the lamps for displaying the operating status of the humidifying device, such as the operating lamp, the set humidity lamp, and the operating mode lamp (none of which are shown), are turned on to indicate that the operation is started. Although it is displayed, the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 is not displayed on the humidity display unit 3. That is, since accurate humidity cannot be detected for 30 seconds from the start of operation, the humidity is not displayed. At this time, the humidity display unit 3 may be turned off, or a special display may be performed so that it can be seen that the display is masked.

During the execution of this display mask control, the control unit 30 acquires the detected humidity of the humidity sensor 16 a plurality of times. Then, based on the acquired humidity, it is determined whether to execute the corrected humidity display control for displaying the corrected humidity on the humidity display unit 3 after the display mask control is completed.

If the water vapor evaporated from the humidifying means 10 stays around the humidity sensor 16 due to the operation being stopped, the humidity sensor 16 detects the humidity rather than the actual indoor humidity immediately after the operation is started. Humidity may be high. However, even in this case, when the indoor air begins to flow into the main body 1 due to the rotation of the blower 13, the water vapor near the humidity sensor 16 is discharged by this air flow, and the detected humidity of the humidity sensor 16 gradually decreases to be close to the original humidity. The value will be detected. At the same time, the humidity of the indoor air rises due to humidification, so that the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 rises from a certain point in time. That is, when the value of the humidity sensor 16 is decreasing, the detected humidity of the humidity sensor 16 shows a higher value than the original value, while when the value of the humidity sensor 16 is increasing, it shows a correct value. It can be said that. Therefore, by determining whether the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 is decreasing or increasing from the humidity acquired a plurality of times during the execution of the display mask control, the detected humidity can be corrected in a short time from the start of operation. You can decide if you need it.

Then, if the humidity is decreasing, after the display mask control is completed, the corrected humidity display control that corrects and displays the humidity is executed, and if the humidity is increasing, the corrected humidity display control is unnecessary, so the display mask is displayed. The detected humidity is displayed immediately after the control is completed. As a result, accurate humidity can be displayed on the humidity display unit 3 in a short time from the start of operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the details of the above-mentioned humidity display control. When the control unit 30 detects that the operation switch 21 is operated and the operation start is instructed (step 1), the control unit 30 executes the display mask control (steps 2 to 8). While the display mask control is being executed, the lamp for displaying the operation status is turned on to indicate that the operation has started, but the humidity displayed by the humidity sensor 16 is not displayed on the humidity display unit 3. Further, at the same time that the display mask control is started in step 2, the time counting unit 35 starts time counting.

Next, it is determined whether or not the time measured by the time measuring unit 35 has elapsed a predetermined first time (for example, 10 seconds) (step 3). When the first time elapses, the humidity acquisition unit 31 acquires the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16, and the acquired humidity is stored as the first humidity (step 4). Further, the timekeeping unit 35 continues the timekeeping even after the step 4, and then determines whether a predetermined second time (for example, 29 seconds) has elapsed from the start of the operation (step 5). When the second time elapses, the humidity acquisition unit 31 acquires the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16, and the acquired humidity is stored as the second humidity (step 6).

Then, the time measuring unit 35 further continues the time counting, determines whether the display mask time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed from the start of operation (step 7), and if the display mask time has elapsed, the display mask control (Step 8). Further, when the display mask control is completed, the operation of the time measuring unit 35 is also stopped, and the time measured is reset.

As described above, in the display mask control, the state in which the humidity is not displayed on the humidity display unit 3 is maintained, and the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 is acquired a plurality of times (twice in this embodiment). Then, based on the humidity acquired here, it is determined whether to execute the corrected humidity display control for displaying the corrected humidity on the humidity display unit 3 after the display mask control is completed.

When the display mask control is completed in step 8, the display mode determination unit 33 compares the magnitude of the first humidity and the second humidity acquired during the display mask control, and displays the humidity display mode displayed on the humidity display unit 3. Is determined (step 9).

When comparing the first humidity and the second humidity, when the value of the humidity sensor 16 is decreasing (when the second humidity is low), the humidity sensor 16 determines the humidity of the air containing steam that still stays. On the other hand, when the value of the humidity sensor 16 is increasing (when the second humidity is high), it can be said that the humidity sensor 16 is detecting the humidity of the indoor air increased by humidification. Therefore, by comparing the magnitude of the first humidity and the second humidity, it is possible to determine whether the humidity displayed on the humidity display unit 3 needs to be corrected.

When the second humidity is lower than the first humidity (determination Yes in step 9), it is determined that the displayed humidity needs to be corrected, and the corrected humidity display control (steps 10 to 19) is executed. The corrected humidity display control includes a first corrected display control (steps 10 to 14) and a second corrected display control (steps 15 to 19).

On the other hand, when the second humidity is higher than the first humidity (determination No. in step 9), the humidity sensor 16 correctly detects the humidity of the indoor air, and determines that the displayed humidity does not need to be corrected. The humidity displayed by the humidity sensor 16 is displayed on the humidity display unit 3 (step 21).

In the first correction display control, the humidity display unit 3 displays the humidity determined based on the humidity acquired during the execution of the display mask control. Specifically, when the first correction display control is started in step 10, the correction value calculation unit 32 calculates the correction humidity from the values of the first humidity and the second humidity (step 11), and the humidity display control unit 32. 34 causes the humidity display unit 3 to display this corrected humidity (step 12). In addition, the timekeeping unit 35 starts the timekeeping at the same time as the start of the first correction display control.

Then, the time measuring unit 35 determines whether or not the predetermined third time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed (step 13), and when it is determined that the third time has elapsed, the first correction display control is terminated (. Step 14). In the first correction display control, the display humidity is not updated, and the correction value determined in step 11 is continuously displayed. When the first correction display control is completed, the second correction display control is then started (step 15).

In the second correction display control, the humidity display unit 3 is based on the correction value displayed in the first correction display control, that is, the correction value determined in step 11, and the humidity detected after starting the second correction display control. Display the determined humidity. Further, in this second correction display control, the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 can be acquired at predetermined intervals, the moving average value can be calculated from the acquired humidity, and the humidity can be displayed as the correction humidity.

When the second correction display control is started in step 15, the correction value calculation unit 32 calculates a moving average from the correction humidity determined in step 11 and the humidity acquired at 2-second intervals (step 16), and the humidity. The display control unit 34 updates the corrected humidity and displays it on the humidity display unit 3 (step 17). This is repeated a plurality of times (step 18), and when the specified number of times (for example, 8 times) is reached, the second correction display control is terminated (step 19). Even if there is a difference between the humidity displayed by the first correction display control and the actual humidity, the display humidity can be gradually brought closer to the actual humidity by performing this second correction display control. ..

When the second correction display control is completed, the correction humidity display control is finished, and thereafter, the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 is displayed on the humidity display unit (step 20).

In this way, the humidity is acquired multiple times during the execution of the display mask control, and based on the acquired humidity, it is determined whether the humidity displayed after the display mask control is completed needs to be corrected. Therefore, the operation is started. Therefore, it is possible to display an accurate humidity on the humidity display unit 3 in a short time.

5 (A) and 5 (B) are graphs showing the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 and the humidity displayed on the humidity display unit 3 based on the above-mentioned humidity display control. The humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 is represented by a chain line, and the humidity displayed on the humidity display unit 3 is represented by a thick solid line.

Humidity Comparing the humidity H1 (first humidity) after 10 seconds from the start of operation and the humidity H2 (second humidity) after 29 seconds, since H1> H2 in FIG. 5 (A), the display mask After the end of the time, the corrected humidity display control (first corrected display control, second corrected display control) is executed, and the corrected humidity is displayed on the humidity display unit 3. When the corrected humidity display control is completed, the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 is displayed. On the other hand, in FIG. 5B, since H1 <H2, the corrected humidity display control is not executed, and the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16 is displayed immediately after the display mask time ends.

Next, other examples will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating humidity display control of the humidifier. This flowchart includes a step of determining whether or not the operation stop is instructed during the execution of the display mask control, which is different from the control shown in FIG. Therefore, the steps that perform the same operation as in FIG. 4 are given the same number, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When the start of operation is instructed and the display mask control is started, the time from the start of operation is timed, and in parallel with this, it is determined whether or not the stop of operation is instructed (step 31, step 32).

If the stop operation is instructed before the first hour elapses from the start of the operation (Yes in step 31), the process returns to the start and waits for the operation to be restarted in step 1. Then, when it is detected that the operation has started, the display mask control is executed. That is, if the operation stop instruction is given before the first hour elapses from the start of operation, the time measured up to that point is reset, and when the next instruction at the start of operation is given, the display mask control is performed first. Is executed from.

Further, if the operation stop is instructed after the first time has elapsed from the start of the operation and before the second time has elapsed (Yes in step 32), the time counting is continued as it is, and it is determined whether the operation is restarted (yes). Step 33). When the operation is restarted, it is determined whether a predetermined fourth time (for example, 40 seconds) has elapsed since the instruction to stop the operation was given in step 32 (step 34). If 40 seconds or more have passed since the operation was stopped, the process returns to step 2 and the display mask control is started. However, if the time from the operation stop is 40 seconds or less, the next step is from the start of the operation in step 1. The elapsed time is determined (step 35). Then, if the display mask time has elapsed since the operation was started in step 1, the display mask control is ended (step 36), and then the detected humidity is displayed (step 37).

That is, when the operation stop and operation start are instructed after the first time elapses and before the display mask time elapses as described above, the subsequent control is determined by the time required from the operation stop to the restart. Will be done. If it has been stopped for a long time (Yes in step 34), it can be understood that the user has instructed to stop the operation. In addition, since water vapor generated while stopped may stay near the humidity sensor 16 and affect the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 16, the time measured up to that point may be reset to control the display mask. Is executed from the beginning.

On the other hand, when the stopped time is short (No in step 34), the user does not intend to stop the operation, but operates the operation switch 21 for some reason (for example, the switch is operated by mistake). It is also possible that it has been done. If the display mask control is executed from the beginning in that case, the display is masked for a longer period of time, and the humidity is not displayed for a longer period of time than usual. Further, there is a possibility that the continuation of the state in which the humidity is not displayed may be mistaken as an abnormality, and the operation switch 21 may be operated again to repeatedly stop and start the operation. Then, the humidity will not be displayed forever. Therefore, when there is an instruction to restart the operation in a relatively short time after the operation is stopped, the humidity is displayed on the humidity display unit 3 at the end of the display mask time. As a result, the state in which the humidity is not displayed is prevented from being continued more than necessary, and the usability is not impaired.

In the flowchart, when the display mask control is finished in step 36, the detected humidity is displayed, but the corrected humidity can be displayed instead of the detected humidity. When displaying the corrected humidity, a step of acquiring the detected humidity of the humidity sensor 16 and calculating the corrected humidity from the humidity acquired in step 4 is further provided before the display mask control is finished in step 36.

1 Main body 3 Humidity display 4 Air outlet 5 Suction port 10 Humidifying means 13 Blower 16 Humidity sensor 30 Control unit

Claims (5)

Humidifying means to generate humidified air and
A suction port that takes in indoor air into the main body,
An outlet that blows humidified air out of the main body,
A blower that blows air from the suction port to the air outlet and
A humidity sensor that detects the humidity of the indoor air taken into the main body, and
Humidity display unit that displays humidity and
It is equipped with a control unit that controls humidification operation based on the detected humidity detected by the humidity sensor and the preset humidity.
The control unit executes display mask control that does not display humidity on the humidity display unit for a predetermined time from the start of operation.
During the execution of the display mask control, the humidity detected by the humidity sensor is acquired a plurality of times, and based on the acquired humidity, it is determined whether to execute the corrected humidity display control for displaying the corrected humidity after the display mask control is completed. Then, when it is determined that the acquired humidity is decreasing, the humidifying device executes the corrected humidity display control. During the execution of the display mask control, the control unit acquires the first humidity when the first time has elapsed from the start of operation and the second humidity when the second time, which is longer than the first time, has elapsed. If the second humidity than the first humidity is low humidifying device of claim 1, wherein executing the correction humidity display control. The humidifying device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the corrected humidity display control determines and displays the corrected humidity based on the humidity acquired during the execution of the display mask control. The humidifying device according to claim 3, wherein the corrected humidity to be displayed is not updated by the first correction display control. The corrected humidity display control determines and displays the corrected humidity based on the humidity displayed by the first corrected display control and the humidity detected by the humidity sensor after the completion of the first corrected display control. The humidifying device according to claim 3 or 4, which includes display control.

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