JP7257618B2 - Droplet infection control system and droplet infection control method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a droplet infection suppression system and a droplet infection suppression method that suppress infection of infectious diseases.

Infectious diseases have various infection routes such as contact infection, droplet infection, and air infection. For example, in the case of influenza, droplet infection and airborne infection are generally considered to be the main infection routes. Therefore, if an infected person exists in a group of susceptible people, infection will be established by being exposed to the infected person's coughing and sneezing, or by inhaling the influenza virus contained in the infected person's exhalation. In some cases, group infections may occur.

Non-Patent Document 1 discloses the results of a numerical simulation of how droplets scatter when an infected person coughs or sneezes in a ventilated room. According to this result, when a person coughs or sneezes at an initial velocity of 10 m/s, it reaches a susceptible person 1 m away in about 5 seconds, and the susceptible person is exposed to the infected person's cough and sneeze. Therefore, in order to prevent droplet infection, it is necessary to protect the susceptible person from the droplets of the infected person for a very short period of time, for example within 10 seconds.

As a technique for protecting a susceptible person from such droplet infection, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for preventing droplet infection caused by coughing from a patient (infected person) when a doctor (susceptible person) diagnoses a patient (infected person). Disclosed is an infection prevention booth for According to Patent Document 1, a doctor is covered with a clean booth, and clean air that has passed through a HEPA filter is supplied into the clean booth. By allowing this clean air to flow from the doctor on the upstream side to the patient on the downstream side, it is possible to prevent the cough from reaching the doctor when the patient coughs.

In addition, Non-Patent Document 2 discloses the results of numerical simulations of evaporation times of droplets according to various particle sizes and relative humidity.

JP 2010-117048 A

Kang Z. , Zhang Y.; , Fan H. , FengG. , Proc. Eng. (2015) 114-121 Li X. , Shang Y.; , Yan Y. , TuJ. Build. and Env. (2018) 698-76

However, for example, the method of Patent Literature 1 is difficult to apply when an unspecified number of people are present, such as in a community room of a care facility. In addition, the method of Patent Document 1 does not take relative humidity and the like into consideration.

Therefore, the present disclosure is made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a droplet infection control system etc. that can appropriately suppress droplet infection due to coughing or sneezing of an infected person. .

A droplet infection control system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a detection unit that detects at least one of coughing and sneezing in a target space for a predetermined period of time, a humidity adjustment unit that controls relative humidity in the target space, and in the target space, an airflow generation unit that generates an airflow; and when a first detection number of times that at least one of the cough and sneeze is detected by the detection unit during the predetermined period is equal to or greater than a first threshold number of times, the humidity adjustment unit is provided with the target space. and a control unit for reducing the relative humidity of the airflow generator to a first predetermined humidity or less, and for causing the airflow generation unit to generate an airflow of a first strength.

Further, a droplet infection control method according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a detection step of detecting at least one of coughing and sneezing in a target space for a predetermined period of time; and a controlling step of causing the humidity adjusting section to lower the relative humidity of the target space to a predetermined humidity or less and causing the airflow generating section to generate the airflow when the number of times is equal to or greater than the threshold number of times.

According to the present disclosure, droplet infection caused by coughing or sneezing of an infected person can be appropriately suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a droplet infection control system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the droplet infection control system according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of coughs and sneezes detected and the droplet infection risk according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the droplet infection control system according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the velocity distribution of the airflow with and without control of the louvers of the airflow generator according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the airflow generation device according to the embodiment performs control according to the number of coughs or sneezes in each of a plurality of regions.

(Findings on which this disclosure is based)
The social issue of infectious disease outbreaks is serious not only overseas but also in Japan. For example, taking influenza as an example, it is prevalent almost every year despite the fact that vaccination, washing hands and gargling are strictly enforced. One of the reasons for this is that the influenza virus changes its gene type at a considerable speed, and this makes it difficult to acquire immunity by vaccination.

When a susceptible person becomes infected with influenza after being exposed to the coughing or sneezing of an infected person, he/she usually experiences high fever and severe malaise after an incubation period of 1-2 days. In particular, in the case of weak health such as children and the elderly, the disease is likely to become severe, and in the worst case, there are reports of death. Therefore, in facilities such as nursing homes for the elderly where many elderly people reside, it is an urgent need to take thorough measures against influenza. At nursing homes, various infectious disease countermeasures, such as thorough hand hygiene by facility staff and countermeasures based on infectious disease control manuals, are being implemented. there is As mentioned above, the main infection routes for influenza are droplet infection and airborne infection. Droplet infection occurs mainly when an infected person coughs or sneezes, causing the virus to scatter in local, high-speed air currents, exposing the susceptible person to the dispersed virus. Therefore, avoiding exposure to coughs or sneezes from an infected person is an important control measure.

However, in Patent Document 1, for example, when there are an unspecified number of people, a large number of clean booths are required. For example, a large number of clean booths are required, resulting in a large-scale system. In other words, the technology of Patent Document 1 can be used as a technology to protect a specific small number of people such as doctors from droplet infection, but for example, when a large number of elderly people are present at the same time, such as in a community room of a nursing home, these elderly people Considering the cost and the size of the device, it is not realistic to protect all of them. In addition, it is difficult to apply when the infected person is not specified in advance.

In addition, droplets generated when coughing or sneezing are composed of non-volatile components called droplet nuclei such as NaCl or KCl contained in human saliva and water existing around the droplet nuclei. It is known that moisture volatilizes depending on the initial particle size of droplets and the relative humidity in the room. According to Non-Patent Document 2, a particle size of 10 μm or less evaporates into droplet nuclei within a very short period of time, such as within 1 second, but relatively large particles such as 100 μm, for example, when the relative humidity is high such as 90%. takes more than 10 seconds to evaporate. Large droplets of 100 μm or more are thought to settle quickly due to gravity, but many numerical simulations (for example, Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2) are calculated using a turbulence model, a model suitable for steady-state airflow. , in practice it is not very accurate for non-stationary airflow such as coughing or sneezing. As observed experimentally, the cough airflow propagates while generating eddies around the mainstream when a cough occurs.

For this reason, fine particles of 100 μm or less propagate through space at high speed while being affected by air currents accompanied by vortices. That is, even relatively large particles of about 100 μm do not gravitationally settle as quickly as predicted by the turbulence model, and may contribute to droplet infection. In the case of fine particles with a large particle size, the inertia is greater than that of particles with a particle size of about 10 μm, so it is difficult to stop the movement of the fine particles. For example, here, the composition of droplet nuclei is NaCl, the particle size is 10 μm, and the droplet size at the moment of coughing is 90 μm. In this case, if the density of NaCl is 2160 kg/m ³ and the density of water is 1000 kg/m ³ , the mass ratio between droplets and droplet nuclei is about 340 times different. That is, particles as large as 100 μm are more than 300 times more difficult to stop than particles as small as 10 μm if they are accelerated to the same velocity when droplets are coughed or sneezed. Therefore, in order to prevent droplet infection including these large droplets, a large-scale device is required.

Therefore, the inventors of the present application conducted extensive studies on how to appropriately prevent susceptible persons from droplet infection. The inventors have also found that the above problem is solved by lowering the relative humidity of the space to a predetermined humidity or less in response to detection of at least one of coughing and sneezing.

Therefore, a droplet infection control system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a detection unit that detects at least one of coughing and sneezing in a target space for a predetermined period of time, a humidity adjustment unit that controls relative humidity in the target space, and In the airflow generation unit that generates an airflow, and when the first detection count of detecting at least one of the cough and sneeze in the predetermined period is equal to or greater than a first threshold count, the humidity adjustment unit a control unit that reduces the relative humidity of the target space to a first predetermined humidity or less, and causes the airflow generation unit to generate an airflow of a first strength.

As a result, by lowering the relative humidity in the space R where the number of detections within a predetermined period is equal to or greater than the first threshold number of times, evaporation and drying of droplets with large particle sizes are promoted, and the inertia of the particles can be reduced. In other words, even in an environment where the risk of droplet infection is high, it is possible to create a situation in which droplets that cause droplet infection are difficult to fly due to air resistance and the like. Then, the airflow generation unit generates, for example, a downward airflow in the space, so that the particles whose inertia is reduced can be easily sedimented. Therefore, the droplet infection suppression system according to the present embodiment can appropriately suppress droplet infection.

Also, the first predetermined humidity may be 40%.

This allows droplets to become droplet nuclei in a short period of time, such as a few seconds. For example, a droplet of 100 μm can become a droplet nucleus in seconds. Since droplets can be brought into a state in which movement is easily suppressed by air resistance or the like in a short period of time, it is possible to more appropriately suppress droplet infection caused by an infected person's coughing or sneezing.

The control unit further reduces the humidity to a second predetermined humidity lower than the first predetermined humidity when the first detection count is equal to or greater than a second threshold count, which is greater than the first threshold count, and At least one of generating an airflow of a second strength that is stronger than the first strength may be performed.

As a result, the risk of droplet infection can be further reduced when the number of coughs or sneezes detected in a predetermined period is large. In other words, even if the risk of infection is high, it is possible to appropriately suppress droplet infection caused by an infected person's coughing or sneezing.

Further, the target space includes a first area and a second area, the detection unit detects at least one of the cough and the sneeze in each of the first area and the second area, and the control unit , the first detection frequency based on the second detection frequency in the first region and the third detection frequency in the second region is equal to or greater than the first threshold frequency, and the second detection frequency is the third detection frequency. If there are more, the strength of the airflow in the first area may be made stronger than the strength of the airflow in the second area.

As a result, when the risk of infection differs from place to place in the space, it is possible to preferentially reduce the risk of infection in areas where the risk of infection is high. Therefore, droplet infection caused by coughing or sneezing of an infected person can be more appropriately suppressed.

Further, a humidity measurement unit that measures the relative humidity of the target space is provided, and the control unit determines that the first detection frequency is equal to or greater than the first threshold frequency, and the relative humidity measured by the humidity measurement unit is the above-mentioned When the humidity is equal to or less than one predetermined humidity, the control of the relative humidity of the target space by the humidity adjustment unit may be stopped.

Thereby, the humidity adjustment section can be operated only when it is necessary to lower the relative humidity in the space. Therefore, power saving of the humidity adjustment unit can be realized.

Further, a droplet infection control method according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a detection step of detecting at least one of coughing and sneezing in a target space for a predetermined period of time; and a controlling step of causing the humidity adjusting section to lower the relative humidity of the target space to a predetermined humidity or less and causing the airflow generating section to generate the airflow when the number of times is equal to or greater than the threshold number of times.

This provides the same effect as the droplet infection control system described above.

In addition, these generic or specific aspects may be realized by a system, apparatus, method, integrated circuit, computer program, or non-transitory recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM. , apparatus, methods, integrated circuits, computer programs, and recording media.

An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG.

It should be noted that the embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. Numerical values, shapes, materials, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of components, steps, order of steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in independent claims representing the highest concept will be described as arbitrary constituent elements.

In addition, each figure is not necessarily strictly illustrated. In each figure, substantially the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted or simplified.

Also, in this specification, the terms "upper" and "lower" refer to an upward direction (vertically upward) and a downward direction (vertically downward) in absolute spatial recognition. It should be noted that "above" and "below" are expressions that include not only completely matching "vertically above" and "vertically below" but also being in substantially the same direction. For example, "above" and "vertically above" may include an error of several percent. Further, in this specification, "planar view" means viewing the droplet infection control system from vertically upward to vertically downward.

Also, in this specification, terms indicating the shape of elements such as rectangles, numerical values, and numerical ranges are not expressions that express only strict meanings, but substantially equivalent ranges, such as a difference of about several percent It is an expression that means that it also includes

In the present specification, the term "infection" refers to the intrusion of microorganisms such as viruses and bacteria into a living body, and the owner of this living body is also referred to as an infected person. In addition, the owner of a living body that has not been invaded by microorganisms, that is, the owner of a non-infected living body is also referred to as a susceptible person.

(Embodiment)
A droplet infection suppression system and the like according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG.

[1. Overview of Droplet Infection Control System]
First, the configuration of a droplet infection control system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a droplet infection control system 10 according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the droplet infection control system 10 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the droplet infection control system 10 includes a detection device 20 , a humidity control device 30 and an airflow generation device 40 . The detection device 20, the humidity control device 30, and the airflow generation device 40 are installed in the space R. The space R is, for example, a community room in a care facility, a conference room in a company, a classroom in a school, a restaurant, or other space where an unspecified number of people h stay. Also, the space R may be, for example, a space (for example, a closed space) inside a moving body (vehicle, airplane, etc.) in which the person h is boarding. An example in which the droplet infection control system 10 includes one detection device 20, one humidity control device 30, and one airflow generation device 40 is described, but the respective numbers are not particularly limited. Also, the space R is an example of the target space.

Moreover, the person h exists in the space R, and is a resident, an employee, or a visitor of the facility, taking the community room of the nursing facility as an example. Further, in the present embodiment, droplet infection control system 10 does not determine whether or not person h is infected with an infectious disease. When a person h is infected with an infectious disease, the virus rapidly increases in the body of the person h, and a certain amount of the virus becomes capable of infecting others. Except for some infectious diseases such as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), in many cases, they are already highly infectious at this point. Then, as the number of viruses in the body increases further, symptoms corresponding to each infectious disease will appear. For example, in the case of influenza, severe malaise and high fever are experienced. In other words, the two periods of infectivity and symptoms occur at different times, and it is difficult with current technology to capture the moment when infectivity begins. Therefore, the person h existing in the space R is basically considered to be an infected person. However, during the period when the person is infectious and has symptoms, it is possible to determine whether the person is infected or not. For example, if an infected person can be determined from a doctor's diagnosis result or biological information such as body temperature or heart rate, such infection information may be reflected in the droplet infection control system 10 . Specifically, droplet infection control system 10 may operate only when an infected person coughs or sneezes. For example, the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40 may operate when the detection device 20 detects from an image or sound that at least one of coughing and sneezing by an infected person. In addition, below, the case where it does not determine whether the person h is infected with an infectious disease is demonstrated.

The detection device 20 detects at least one of coughing and sneezing of the person h present in the space R, and calculates the number of detections of at least one of the coughing and sneezing detected during a predetermined period. Then, when the number of detections during the predetermined period is equal to or greater than the threshold number of times (for example, the first threshold number of times), the detection device 20 determines that the risk of droplet infection due to coughing or sneezing is high, and the control signal is controlled by humidity control. Output to the device 30 and the airflow generator 40 . As shown in FIG. 2 , the detection device 20 has a detection section 21 , a control section 22 , a communication section 23 and a storage section 24 .

The detection unit 21 continuously detects at least one of coughing and sneezing of the person h in the space R. In the present embodiment, detection unit 21 detects both coughing and sneezing for a predetermined period. The detection unit 21 detects coughing and sneezing of the person h present in the space R. The detection unit 21 outputs the detection result to the control unit 22 . Note that, in the present embodiment, the detection unit 21 does not specify the position in the space R of the person h who coughs or sneezes.

Coughing and sneezing can be detected by, for example, sound information from a sound collecting device (such as a microphone). The detection unit 21 includes, for example, a microphone. Coughing and sneezing have characteristic spectra, so analyzing sound information can detect coughing and sneezing. At this time, a threshold value of sound volume (dB) may be provided. Specifically, the detection unit 21 can selectively detect the cough or sneeze of the person h present in the space R by determining that the spectrum below the threshold is not subject to detection.

Note that the detection unit 21 may be configured including an imaging device (for example, a camera). The detection unit 21 may detect at least one of coughing and sneezing by performing image processing and analyzing the image captured by the imaging device. In this case, for example, a classification algorithm (classification model) such as machine learning can easily classify whether the movement pattern obtained by image processing is coughing or sneezing. Moreover, the detection unit 21 may be configured by a combination of a sound collecting device and an imaging device.

Upon detecting a cough or sneeze, the detection unit 21 outputs information indicating that the cough or sneeze has been detected to the control unit 22 .

The control unit 22 is a control device that controls each component of the detection device 20 . For example, the control unit 22 calculates the detection count, which is the number of times coughs and sneezes are detected, at time intervals for each predetermined period, and stores it in the storage unit 24 . The predetermined period may be, for example, 30 minutes or 1 hour. For example, the control unit 22 may calculate the number of times of detection by accumulating the number of times information indicating that coughing or sneezing has been detected is acquired from the detection unit 21 . Note that the number of times of detection, which is the number of times that the detection unit 21 detects at least one of coughing and sneezing in the space R during a predetermined period, is an example of the first number of times of detection. In addition, the control unit 22 may have a real-time clock function for clocking the current date and time.

The control unit 22 determines that the risk of droplet infection in the space R is high when the number of coughs or sneezes detected during the predetermined period is equal to or greater than the threshold number of times. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of coughs and sneezes detected and the droplet infection risk according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the number of cough and sneeze detections. Note that FIG. 3 shows an example in which the threshold number of times is only one of the first threshold number of times, but there may be a plurality of threshold numbers of times.

As shown in FIG. 3, the number of times of detection is greater than or equal to the first threshold number of times at time t1 of the predetermined period T1. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 3, the control unit 22 determines that the risk of droplet infection in the space R is high. That is, it is determined that there is a droplet infection risk. Note that the control unit 22 determines that the risk of droplet infection in the space R is low when the number of times of detection is less than the first threshold number of times during the predetermined period T1.

Note that, for example, the threshold number of times may be set to 10 times or more. For example, the threshold number of times may be 10 times when the predetermined period T1 is 30 minutes. The number of coughs and sneezes detected is strongly correlated with the number of people h present in the space R. Naturally, the more people in space R, the more coughs and sneezes detected. In addition, even if the number of coughs and sneezes is the same, if the number of people present in the space R is large, it means that there are many susceptible people who may be exposed to the droplets. Overall assessed risk of droplet transmission varies. Therefore, the control unit 22 may change the threshold number of times according to the number of people present in the space R. For example, the control unit 22 may set a smaller value for the threshold number of times for determining that the risk of droplet infection is higher as the number of people present in the space R increases. By doing so, the risk of droplet infection can be suppressed in consideration of the number of people in the space R. Note that the control unit 22 may acquire the number of people present in the space R from a device outside the droplet infection control system 10, or the detection unit 21 may include an imaging device, and the detection unit 21 may acquire the number of people from an image captured by the detection unit 21. The number of people present in the space R may be acquired.

When the number of coughs and sneezes detected is equal to or greater than the threshold number of times, the control unit 22 causes the humidity control device 30 to lower the relative humidity of the space R to a first predetermined humidity or less, and causes the airflow generation device 40 to reduce the first humidity. Generates strong air currents. Specifically, the control unit 22 outputs predetermined signals to the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40 via the communication unit 23 . The predetermined signal includes, for example, control information (for example, information on humidity, strength of airflow, etc.) for controlling the operations of the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40 . The predetermined signal may include information indicating that the number of times of detection has exceeded the threshold number of times (in other words, information indicating that the risk of droplet infection is high). Note that the humidity and the strength of the airflow included in the control information are also referred to as control values.

The communication unit 23 is a device for performing communication between the detection device 20 and the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40 . The communication unit 23 is composed of a communication circuit.

The storage unit 24 is a storage device that stores control programs executed by the control unit 22 . Further, the storage unit 24 may store the detection result detected by the detection unit 21 and the like. The storage unit 24 is implemented by, for example, a semiconductor memory.

The humidity control device 30 controls the humidity in the space R (for example, indoors). The humidity control device 30 controls the relative humidity in the space R based on control information acquired from the detection device 20, for example. As shown in FIG. 2 , the humidity control device 30 has a humidity adjustment section 31 , a control section 32 , a communication section 33 , a storage section 34 and a humidity measurement section 35 .

The humidity adjustment section 31 is a device for adjusting the relative humidity in the space R under the control of the control section 32 . The humidity adjustment unit 31 is a device that can operate by switching between a humidification function (humidification mode) and a dehumidification function (dehumidification mode). The humidity adjustment unit 31 performs control to lower the relative humidity of the space R to a first predetermined humidity or lower.

For example, when the control information is acquired from the detection device 20 via the communication unit 33, the control unit 32 controls the humidity adjustment unit 31 so that the relative humidity in the space R becomes the relative humidity corresponding to the acquired control information. Humidity control. The control unit 32, for example, the relative humidity included in the control information (an example of the predetermined humidity, the relative humidity after the control in the space R), the measurement result of the humidity measurement unit 35 (for example, the current relative humidity in the space R ), the operation of the humidity adjustment unit 31 (for example, the amount of intake air) is controlled. The control unit 32 controls the operation of the humidity adjustment unit 31 so that the relative humidity in the space R becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined humidity within a predetermined period such as 10 minutes. Note that the control unit 32 may store control information acquired from the detection device 20 , information indicating the relative humidity measured by the humidity measurement unit 35 , and the like in the storage unit 34 .

The communication unit 33 is a device for performing communication between the detection device 20 and the humidity control device 30 . The communication unit 33 is composed of a communication circuit.

The storage unit 34 is a storage device that stores control programs executed by the control unit 32 . The storage unit 34 may also store control information acquired from the detection device 20, relative humidity measured by the humidity measurement unit 35, and the like. The storage unit 34 is implemented by, for example, a semiconductor memory.

The humidity measurement unit 35 measures the humidity within the space R. In this embodiment, the humidity measurement unit 35 continuously measures the relative humidity in the space R. The humidity measurement unit 35 may directly measure the relative humidity, or may measure the temperature and the absolute humidity to calculate the relative humidity. Humidity measurement unit 35 includes a humidity sensor. The humidity measured by the humidity measurement unit 35 is output to the control unit 32 .

It should be noted that the relative humidity measurement result may be acquired from a device outside the droplet infection control system 10 . In this case, the humidity control device 30 does not have to have the humidity measuring section 35 .

By lowering the relative humidity in the space R, the humidity control device 30 quickly evaporates not only the particles of 10 μm or less in which the moisture evaporates to the droplet nuclei within 10 seconds, but also the particles of 100 μm, which takes about 10 seconds to evaporate. and can be dried. As a result, as the particle size is reduced, the inertia is reduced by 100 times or more as described above, so the airflow control by the airflow generation unit 41 described later can be used, for example, to control the droplets (for example, control to settle the droplets). becomes easier.

The predetermined humidity may be set, for example, to a value at which droplets s become droplet nuclei in several seconds. The predetermined humidity may be, for example, a relative humidity of 40% or less at which droplets s of 100 μm can be turned into droplet nuclei in several seconds. That is, the upper limit value of the predetermined humidity is set from the viewpoint of suppressing droplet infection. In order to turn the droplets s into droplet nuclei more quickly, the predetermined humidity is preferably set to a relative humidity of 30% or less. Also, the predetermined humidity is preferably set to a value that the humidity control device 30 can reach within several minutes to several tens of minutes, for example. The predetermined humidity may be set to a value that can be reached within 20 minutes, for example. That is, the lower limit of the predetermined humidity may be set according to the time required to reach the predetermined humidity, that is, the performance of the humidity control device 30, and can be set to 10% relative humidity, for example. As described above, the predetermined humidity is set, for example, within a range of relative humidity of 10% or more and 40% or less. Humidity control device 30 according to the present embodiment performs control to actively lower the relative humidity when coughing or sneezing is detected.

Humidity control device 30 can use, for example, a dehumidifier, a humidifier, or an air conditioner. Alternatively, the humidity controller 30 may be implemented as a combination of dehumidifiers, humidifiers, air conditioners, and the like.

The airflow generator 40 generates an airflow in the space R (for example, indoors). The airflow generation device 40 generates airflow based on control information acquired from the detection device 20, for example. As shown in FIG. 2 , the airflow generation device 40 has an airflow generation section 41 , a control section 42 , a communication section 43 and a storage section 44 .

The airflow generator 41 is a device that generates an airflow in the space R under the control of the controller 42 . The airflow generator 41 can use a device that generates an airflow, such as a DC (direct current) fan.

For example, when control information is acquired from the detection device 20 via the communication unit 43, the control unit 42 performs control to generate an airflow in the space R according to the control information. The control unit 42 controls the strength of the airflow from the airflow generation unit 41, for example, based on the information on the strength of the airflow included in the control information. In the present embodiment, the control unit 42 generates a downward airflow in the space R (hereinafter also referred to as a downward airflow). By generating a downward airflow, it is possible to quickly dry the particles by humidity control and settle the particles whose inertia is small, thereby suppressing the droplet infection. Note that the strength of the airflow includes at least one of the flow rate and wind speed of the airflow.

Here, the downward airflow is defined as an airflow in which the velocity of the vertically downward component is equal to or higher than a predetermined velocity in the wind velocity distribution in the space R where the airflow is controlled. As the predetermined speed, for example, a speed of 0.1 m/s or more and 0.2 m/s or less may be used.

In addition, considering the flow line of the person h, in a region where the distance from the wall forming the space R is less than a predetermined distance (for example, 50 cm), the probability that the person h (for example, the subject) exists is low. The risk of droplet transmission is low in Therefore, the airflow generator 41 does not need to generate a downward airflow in the entire space R, and may generate an airflow in an inner region of the space R excluding a region at a predetermined distance from the wall. The predetermined distance is determined appropriately.

Note that the control unit 42 may store the control information acquired from the detection device 20 in the storage unit 44 .

The communication unit 43 is a device for performing communication between the detection device 20 and the airflow generation device 40 . The communication unit 43 is composed of a communication circuit.

The storage unit 44 is a storage device that stores control programs executed by the control unit 42 . The storage unit 44 may also store control information acquired from the detection device 20 . The storage unit 44 is implemented by, for example, a semiconductor memory.

[2. Operation of droplet infection control system]
Next, the operation of the droplet infection control system 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the droplet infection control system 10 according to this embodiment. Note that FIG. 4 describes a case where two threshold times are set. Note that three or more threshold times may be set. For example, if a super-spreader exists in the space R, there is a high possibility that coughs and sneezes will be detected 10 times or more than the number of coughs and sneezes normally assumed. In such cases, the risk of droplet infection increases dramatically in a short period of time. In other words, the droplet infection risk is higher than when there is no super-spreader in the space R. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of threshold times may be provided. For example, the control value of at least one of relative humidity and airflow is set differently for each threshold number of times. A super spreader is an infected person who greatly exceeds the average assumed infection risk. There are individual differences in the number of coughs and sneezes, and when an unspecified number of people gather, there is a certain probability that some people will cough and sneeze more than 10 times more than others (super spreaders). exists in

Also, in FIG. 4, it is assumed that each component of the droplet infection control system 10 is powered on.

As shown in FIG. 4, the detection device 20 first determines whether coughing or sneezing is detected (S10). When the detection unit 21 detects coughing or sneezing (Yes in S10), the control unit 22 increases the count of the number of times of detection N (an example of the first number of times of detection) by 1 (S20). If the detection unit 21 does not detect coughing or sneezing (No in S10), the count of the number of times of detection N is not changed and the process returns to step S10. Note that the initial detection count N (for example, when the power is turned on) is the initial value (N=0).

Next, the control unit 22 determines whether or not the detection period for accumulating the detection count N has passed the first period (for example, the predetermined period T1 shown in FIG. 3) (S30). The detection period is a period based on the time when counting the number of coughs or sneezes detected is started. The first period may be, for example, a period of 10 minutes or more and 30 minutes or less. If the first period is set to 10 minutes or more, the humidity control device 30 frequently starts and stops the operation, thereby suppressing an increase in the load on the humidity control device 30 . It also leads to power saving of the humidity control device 30 .

When the detection period has passed the first period (Yes in S30), the control unit 22 determines whether the detection number N, which is the cumulative number of coughs or sneezes detected during the first period, is equal to or greater than the first threshold number of times. A determination is made (S40). Here, the first threshold number of times is a threshold number of coughs or sneezes that can occur when there is no super spreader or the like in the space R, for example. The first threshold number of times is, for example, 10 times when the first period (for example, the predetermined period T1) is 30 minutes. If the detection period has not passed the first period (No in S30), the process returns to step S10.

When the detection count N is equal to or greater than the first threshold count (Yes in S40), the controller 22 determines whether or not it is greater than or equal to the second threshold (S50). Here, the second threshold number of times is a threshold number of coughs or sneezes that can occur when a super spreader or the like exists in the space R, for example. The second threshold number of times is a number of times greater than the first threshold number of times, and is, for example, 50 times when the first period (predetermined period T) is 30 minutes.

When the detection count N is less than the second threshold count (No in S50), the control unit 22 starts controlling the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40 (S60). Specifically, the control unit 22 reads control information from the storage unit 24 when the detection count N is greater than or equal to the first threshold value and less than the second threshold value, and transmits the read control information via the communication unit 23 to the humidity control device. 30 and the airflow generator 40 . In the example of FIG. 4, the control unit 22 outputs control information including setting the humidity in the space R to the first predetermined humidity to the humidity control device 30, and sets the strength of the airflow to the first strength. The control information including the control information is output to the airflow generation device 40 . That is, when the number of times of detection N is equal to or greater than the first threshold number of times, the control unit 22 causes the humidity adjustment unit 31 to lower the relative humidity of the space R to the first predetermined humidity or less, and causes the airflow generation unit 41 to make the first to generate an airflow with a strength of The first predetermined humidity is a humidity set when there is no super spreader or the like in the space R, and is, for example, a relative humidity of 40%. Then, the control unit 22 resets the detection period (for example, sets the detection period to zero).

Further, when the detection count N is equal to or greater than the second threshold count (Yes in S50), the control unit 22 starts controlling the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40 (S70). Specifically, the control unit 22 reads control information from the storage unit 24 when the number of detection times N is equal to or greater than the second threshold number of times, and transmits the read control information to the humidity control device 30 and the airflow through the communication unit 23 . Output to generator 40 . In the example of FIG. 4, the control unit 22 outputs control information including setting the humidity in the space R to the second predetermined humidity to the humidity control device 30, and setting the strength of the airflow to the second strength. The control information including the control information is output to the airflow generation device 40 . That is, when the number of times of detection N is equal to or greater than the second threshold number of times, the control unit 22 causes the humidity adjustment unit 31 to lower the relative humidity of the space R to the second predetermined humidity or less, and causes the airflow generation unit 41 to set the second humidity. Generates strong air currents. The second predetermined humidity is a humidity set when there is a possibility that a super spreader or the like exists in the space R, and is a value lower than the first predetermined humidity, for example. The second predetermined humidity is, for example, 30% relative humidity. Then, the control unit 22 resets the detection period (for example, sets the detection period to zero).

If the detection count N is less than the first threshold count (No in S40), the control unit 22 resets the detection count N (N=0) (S80), returns to step S10, and continues the process. At this time, the detection period is also reset.

As described above, when a plurality of threshold frequencies are set (for example, a first threshold frequency and a second threshold frequency), the set humidity and airflow intensity may be changed according to the number of coughs or sneezes. As a result, the operating conditions of the droplet infection suppression system 10 can be changed according to the number of coughs and sneezes occurring, that is, the risk of droplet infection, so droplet infection can be efficiently suppressed.

In the above description, both the humidity and airflow setting values (second predetermined humidity and second intensity) in step S70 are the same as the humidity and airflow setting values (first predetermined humidity and first intensity) in step S60. ) has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. In step S70, the control unit 22 may control the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40 so as to reduce the droplet infection risk from the set value in step S60. Specifically, in step S70 (for example, when the number of detection times N is equal to or greater than the second threshold number of times), the control unit 22 reduces the relative humidity of the space R to a second predetermined humidity or less, and At least one of generating a strong airflow may be performed. Note that the airflow of the second strength has a higher wind speed or a larger flow rate than the airflow of the first strength, for example. For example, the wind speed of an airflow of a first intensity (also referred to as a first wind speed) is higher than the wind speed of an airflow of a second intensity (second wind speed).

The humidity control device 30 controls the humidity in the space R based on the control information output from the detection device 20 in step S60 or S70. Further, the airflow generation device 40 generates an airflow in the space R based on the control information output from the detection device 20 in step S60 or S70. Note that the humidity control device 30 does not perform humidity control when the relative humidity of the space R measured by the humidity measurement unit 35 when the control information is acquired is equal to or less than the first predetermined humidity included in the acquired control information. may That is, the humidity control device 30 may stop the humidity control when the number of times of detection N is equal to or greater than the first threshold number of times and the current relative humidity measured by the humidity measurement unit 35 is equal to or less than the first predetermined humidity. . In other words, when the number of times of detection N is equal to or greater than the first threshold number of times and the relative humidity measured by the humidity measurement unit 35 is equal to or less than the first predetermined humidity, the control unit 22 adjusts the relative humidity of the space R by the humidity adjustment unit 31. Humidity control may be turned off. In this case, only the airflow generator 40 of the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generator 40 operates.

In step S60 or S70, the control unit 22 determines whether or not the control period T2, which is the elapsed time from the start of operation of the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40, has passed the second period (S90 ). When the control period T2 exceeds the second period (Yes in S90), the control unit 22 stops controlling humidity and airflow (S100). When the control period T2 exceeds the second period, the control unit 22 stops the humidity adjustment unit 31 from lowering the relative humidity of the space R to the first predetermined humidity or the second predetermined humidity or less, and the airflow generation unit 41 stops generating airflow of the first intensity or the second intensity. Specifically, the control unit 22 outputs control information including stopping humidity control to the humidity control device 30 , and outputs control information including stopping generation of airflow to the airflow generation device 40 . As a result, the humidity and airflow conditions of the space R can be returned to those before starting the humidity and airflow control in step S60 or S70. In step S100, at least humidity control should be stopped. The control unit 22 may stop the operation of the humidity control device 30 . Also, the second period is, for example, about 30 minutes.

When the relative humidity in the space R is less than 40%, it is generally said that the influenza virus is difficult to inactivate. The risk of airborne transmission from inhaling active influenza viruses floating in the nucleus may be increased. Therefore, after controlling the relative humidity to a predetermined humidity (for example, the first predetermined humidity or the second predetermined humidity) for a predetermined period (for example, the second period), in order to return the relative humidity to the relative humidity before control, The process of step S90 is performed. This can reduce the risk of airborne infection in addition to droplet infection.

Although the controller 22 causes the humidity control device 30 to stop humidity control in step S100, the humidity control device 30 may be caused to humidify. Specifically, control unit 22 outputs control information including humidification to humidity control device 30 in step S100. When the humidity control device 30 acquires the control information including humidification, based on the relative humidity measured by the humidity measurement unit 35 before starting humidity control and the relative humidity currently measured by the humidity measurement unit 35, Humidification may be performed. This can further reduce the risk of airborne infection.

When the control period T2 is equal to or shorter than the second period (No in S90), the control unit 22 determines whether coughing or sneezing is detected (S110). Based on the detection result of the detection unit 21, the control unit 22 determines whether coughing or sneezing is detected during humidity and airflow control. When coughing or sneezing is detected (Yes in S110), the control unit 22 resets the control period T2 (T2=0) (S120), and returns to step S90. As a result, the humidity and airflow are controlled during the second period after the last cough or sneeze is detected at the present time, so the risk of droplet infection can be further suppressed. If no cough or sneeze is detected (No in S110), the control unit 22 adds 1 to the control period T2 (S130) and returns to step S90.

Note that the second period may be a different period depending on the number N of detections. From the viewpoint of reducing the risk of droplet infection, the second period when the number of times of detection N is equal to or greater than the second threshold is longer than when the number of times of detection N is equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold. good. As a result, when the droplet infection risk is high, the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40 operate under the conditions shown in step S70 for a longer period of time than when the droplet infection risk is low, thereby effectively reducing the droplet infection risk. be able to. Also, from the viewpoint of reducing the risk of airborne infection, the second period when the number of times of detection N is equal to or greater than the second threshold is shorter than when the number of times of detection N is equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold. may As a result, when the airborne infection risk is likely to increase, the humidity control device 30 and the airflow generation device 40 operate under the conditions shown in step S70 for a shorter period than when the airborne infection risk is low. The risk of airborne infection after stopping the operation of the control device 30 can be further reduced.

Note that the processes of steps S110 and S120 may not be performed. For example, if the result of step S90 is No, the control unit 22 may execute the process of step S130. Also, the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed.

If the number of threshold times is one (for example, only the first threshold number of times), the processes of steps S50 and S70 are not performed. That is, when the number of times N of detections of at least one of coughing and sneezing detected by the detection unit 21 in the first period is equal to or greater than the first threshold number of times, the control unit 22 causes the humidity adjustment unit 31 to set the relative humidity of the space R to the first 1 The humidity is lowered to a predetermined humidity or less, and the airflow generating section 41 is caused to generate an airflow having a first strength.

Note that the airflow generating device 40 may control the louver while generating the airflow. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the flow velocity (wind velocity) distribution of the airflow with and without control of the louvers of the airflow generator 40 according to the present embodiment. The solid line in FIG. 5 shows the flow velocity distribution near the center of the space R when the louver of the airflow generator 40 is swept at predetermined time intervals, and the broken line shows the flow velocity distribution when the louver of the airflow generator 40 is not swept. shows the flow velocity distribution near the center of the space R of . Note that the predetermined time interval is not particularly limited. The right side of the vertical broken line shows the flow velocity distribution of the upward airflow near the center of the space R, and the left side of the broken line shows the flow velocity distribution of the downward airflow near the center of the space R. . The vertical axis indicates frequency. 5 shows the results when the airflow generator 40 is attached to the ceiling forming the space R. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the frequency of the downward flow speed increases near the center of the space R by generating an airflow while sweeping the louvers of the airflow generator 40 at predetermined time intervals. Therefore, the airflow generator 40 sweeps the louver at predetermined time intervals, thereby allowing droplets to settle more efficiently.

Here, a case where the detection unit 21 can identify the detection location of coughing or sneezing will be described with reference to FIG. 6 . FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of control performed by the airflow generating device 40 according to the present embodiment according to the number of coughs or sneezes in each of a plurality of regions. Note that if the detection unit 21 is an imaging device, or if it is configured to include a plurality of microphones (for example, microphones arranged in an array), the location of the cough or sneeze in the space R can be specified. can do

As shown in FIG. 6, the space R has multiple areas including a first area A1 and a second area A2. The plurality of regions are regions formed by partitioning the space R in plan view. The first area A1 and the second area A2 are, for example, non-overlapping areas.

The detection unit 21 detects at least one of coughing and sneezing in each of a plurality of areas including the first area A1 and the second area A2. That is, in step S10 shown in FIG. 4, the detection unit 21 detects in which area (for example, the first area A1) the person coughed or sneezed. The control unit 22 accumulates the number of times of detection for each of the plurality of regions, that is, for each location in the space R, for example. For example, the number of coughs or sneezes detected in the first area A1 during the predetermined period T is defined as the second detection number, and the number of coughs or sneezes detected during the predetermined period T in the second area A2 is defined as the third detection number. Note that the first detection count is a count based on the detection count of each of a plurality of regions including the second detection count and the third detection count. The first number of detections may be the total number of detections for each of the plurality of areas, or may be the maximum number of detections for each of the plurality of areas.

In FIG. 6, the frequency of coughing and sneezing, that is, the number N of coughing and sneezing detections is represented by a contour diagram. The darker the color, the higher the number of detections, that is, the higher the risk of droplet infection. FIG. 6 shows that the frequency of coughing and sneezing is high in the first area A1 around the desk 50 and the chair 60, and the frequency of coughing and sneezing is low in the second area A2.

When the number of times N of detections (first number of times of detection) shown in FIG. The output includes area information indicating the place of generation (for example, a range including the first area A1). The control information includes, for example, control so that the greater the number of coughs or sneezes detected, the stronger the airflow to be generated. In other words, when the number of first detections is greater than or equal to the first threshold number of times and the number of second detections is greater than the third number of detections, the control unit 22 sets the airflow strength in the first area A1 to the intensity of the airflow in the second area A2. to make the airflow stronger than the A strong airflow means that the flow velocity of the airflow is high or the flow rate of the airflow is large.

The airflow generated in the first area A1, which has a large number of detections, has a high flow velocity or a large flow rate compared to the airflow generated in the second area A2, which has a small number of detections. By preferentially generating an airflow in the first area A1 where coughs or sneezes are detected frequently, i.e., where the number of times of detection is high, droplet infection in the first area A1 where the risk of droplet infection is high can be effectively suppressed. . It should be noted that a low flow velocity or a small end includes, for example, not generating an airflow in the corresponding region. The airflow generator 40 may not generate an airflow in the second area A2.

In addition, although an example in which the planar view shapes of the plurality of regions are rectangular is shown, the shape is not limited to this. The plane view shape of the plurality of regions may be polygonal or circular. Further, the planar view shapes of the plurality of regions are not limited to being the same.

In addition, in FIG. 6, the detection apparatus 20 is provided in the desk 50, for example. The detection device 20 may be provided in a place in the space R where people tend to gather. The detection device 20 may be embedded in the desk 50, for example.

As described above, the droplet infection control system 10 according to the present embodiment includes the detection unit 21 that detects at least one of coughing and sneezing in the space R for a predetermined period T, and the humidity adjustment unit 31 that controls the relative humidity in the space R. , an airflow generating section 41 for generating an airflow, and a control section 22 for controlling the operations of the humidity adjusting section 31 and the airflow generating section 41 . Then, when the number of times N of detections of at least one of coughing and sneezing detected by the detection unit 21 during the predetermined period T is equal to or greater than the first threshold number of times, the control unit 22 causes the humidity adjustment unit 31 to adjust the relative humidity of the space R. The humidity is lowered to the first predetermined humidity or less, and the airflow generating section 41 is caused to generate an airflow having a first strength.

As a result, by lowering the relative humidity in the space R where the number of detections N within the predetermined period T is equal to or greater than the first threshold number of times, the evaporation and drying of droplets s with a large particle size are promoted, and the inertia of the particles is reduced. can be done. That is, when the risk of droplet infection in the space R is high, it is possible to create a situation in which the droplets s that cause droplet infection are difficult to fly due to air resistance or the like. Then, the airflow generating section 41 generates, for example, a downward airflow in the space R, so that the particles whose inertia is reduced can be easily sedimented. Therefore, droplet infection suppression system 10 according to the present embodiment can appropriately suppress droplet infection.

(Other embodiments)
Although the droplet infection control system and the like according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure have been described above based on the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. Various modifications conceived by those skilled in the art may be included within the scope of one or more aspects of the present disclosure as long as they do not depart from the spirit of the present disclosure.

For example, in the above embodiment, an example in which the airflow generating section generates an airflow downward has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. When the airflow generation section is provided at a position such as the floor that is lower than the person, the airflow generation section may generate airflow upward (for example, to the ceiling).

Further, in the above embodiment, the example in which the detection device, the humidity control device, and the airflow generation device are different devices has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, at least two of the detection device, the humidity control device, and the airflow generation device may be configured as one device.

Also, the communication method between devices in the above embodiment is not particularly limited. Wireless communication may be performed between the devices, or wired communication may be performed.

Further, the humidity control device and the airflow generation device in the above embodiments may be controlled by a user's operation. Each of the humidity control device and the airflow generation device has an acquisition unit (for example, a user interface such as a touch panel or buttons) that acquires an operation from the user, and may be controlled based on the operation acquired by the acquisition unit. good. When the humidity control device and the airflow generation device acquire an operation from the user via the acquisition unit while being controlled based on the control information from the detection device, the operation from the user may be preferentially executed. .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, when only one threshold number of times (for example, the first threshold number of times) is set, the control unit of the detection device detects the humidity even if the detection period has not passed the first period. and airflow control may be initiated. Specifically, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, the control unit of the detection device detects the humidity and the airflow when the number of detection times exceeds the first threshold number even before the detection period has passed the first period. may be started (for example, the process may proceed to step S50). Thereby, when the droplet infection risk is high, the droplet infection risk can be quickly reduced.

で表される。パラメータＡ、Ｂ、及び、Ｃは物質によって定まる定数であり、水の場合、パラメータの値はそれぞれＡ＝８．０２５７４、Ｂ＝１７０５．６１６、Ｃ＝２３１．４０５などの値がよく使用される。したがって、エア・コンディショナーを用いて空間内の温度を上げることによっても相対湿度を下げることができる。例えば、式１に示すアントワン式によれば、空間内の気温が１９℃、相対湿度が５０％であった場合に、エア・コンディショナーによって、２６℃まで昇温したとすれば、相対湿度を３２％まで下げることができる。 Moreover, in the above-described embodiments, an example in which the relative humidity is controlled by the humidity control device performing dehumidification or humidification has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the humidity control device is realized by a device having a temperature adjustment function such as an air conditioner, the humidity control may be performed by changing the temperature in the space. The relative humidity is the ratio of the vapor pressure to the saturated vapor pressure at each temperature, and the saturated vapor pressure can be predicted using, for example, the Antoine formula, which is an empirical formula. The Antoine formula, when the saturated vapor pressure is p [mmHg], the temperature is T [°C], and the empirical parameters are A, B, and C,

is represented by Parameters A, B, and C are constants determined by substances, and in the case of water, parameter values such as A = 8.02574, B = 1705.616, and C = 231.405 are often used. . Therefore, increasing the temperature in the space with an air conditioner can also reduce the relative humidity. For example, according to the Antoine formula shown in Equation 1, if the temperature in the space is 19°C and the relative humidity is 50%, and the air conditioner raises the temperature to 26°C, the relative humidity will be 32°C. % can be lowered.

Also, the order of the plurality of processes described in the above embodiment is an example. The order of multiple processes may be changed, and multiple processes may be executed in parallel. Also, all or part of the processing performed by each component may be performed by another component. For example, all or part of the processing performed by the control unit of the detection device may be performed by the control unit of the humidity control device or the airflow generation device.

Also, in the above embodiments, all or part of the components such as the control unit may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be implemented by a program execution unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or processor reading and executing a software program recorded in a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

Further, in the above embodiments, all or part of the components such as the control unit may be realized by hardware. For example, a component such as a controller may be a circuit (or integrated circuit). These circuits may form one circuit as a whole, or may be separate circuits. These circuits may be general-purpose circuits or dedicated circuits.

Further, for example, the present disclosure may be implemented as a program for causing a computer to execute the processes performed by the droplet infection control system of the above embodiment. Such programs include application programs installed on mobile terminals such as smart phones or tablet terminals. Also, the present disclosure may be implemented as a computer-readable non-temporary recording medium in which such a program is recorded. It goes without saying that the above program can be distributed via a transmission medium such as the Internet. For example, the program and a digital signal comprising the program may be transmitted via an electric communication line, a wireless or wired communication line, a network represented by the Internet, data broadcasting, or the like. In addition, the program and the digital signal comprising the program may be implemented by another independent computer system by being recorded on a recording medium and transferred, or transferred via a network or the like. .

In addition, all numbers such as ordinal numbers and numbers used above are examples for specifically describing the technology of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the numbers exemplified. Also, the connection relationship between the components is an example for specifically describing the technology of the present disclosure, and the connection relationship for realizing the function of the present disclosure is not limited to this.

In addition, forms obtained by applying various modifications to the embodiments that a person skilled in the art can think of, and forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions in each embodiment within the scope of the present disclosure are also included in this disclosure.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present disclosure is applicable, for example, to a droplet infection control system that is placed in a space where people who communicate with each other gather.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 droplet infection control system 20 detection device 21 detection unit 22, 32, 42 control unit 23, 33, 43 communication unit 24, 34, 44 storage unit 30 humidity control device 31 humidity adjustment unit 35 humidity measurement unit 40 airflow generator 41 airflow Generation unit 50 desk 60 chair A1 first area A2 second area h person N number of detections (first number of detections)
s droplet R space (target space)
T1 Predetermined period T2 Control period

Claims (6)

a detection unit that detects at least one of coughing and sneezing in the target space for a predetermined period;
a humidity adjustment unit that controls the relative humidity in the target space;
an airflow generation unit that generates a downward airflow in the target space;
When the detection unit detects at least one of the cough and sneeze in the predetermined period of time, the first detection count is greater than or equal to a first threshold count, causing the humidity adjustment unit to reduce the relative humidity of the target space to a first predetermined humidity or less. and causing the airflow generator to generate an airflow of a first strength as the downward airflow. The droplet infection control system according to claim 1, wherein the first predetermined humidity is 40%. The control unit further reduces the humidity to a second predetermined humidity lower than the first predetermined humidity when the first detection count is equal to or greater than a second threshold count, which is greater than the first threshold count. 3. The droplet infection control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of generating an airflow having a second strength stronger than the first strength as an airflow directed toward the target . The target space includes a first area and a second area,
The detection unit detects at least one of the cough and sneeze in each of the first region and the second region,
The control unit determines that the first detection count based on the second detection count in the first region and the third detection count in the second region is equal to or greater than the first threshold count, and the second detection count is the 4. The droplet infection control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the strength of the airflow in the first region is made stronger than the strength of the airflow in the second region when the number of detections is greater than the third detection count. A humidity measurement unit that measures the relative humidity of the target space,
When the first detection frequency is equal to or greater than the first threshold frequency and the relative humidity measured by the humidity measurement unit is equal to or less than the first predetermined humidity, the target space by the humidity adjustment unit The droplet infection control system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein control of the relative humidity of is stopped. a detection step of detecting at least one of coughing and sneezing in the target space for a predetermined period of time;
If the number of times that at least one of the cough and sneeze is detected in the predetermined period is equal to or greater than a threshold number of times, the humidity adjustment unit reduces the relative humidity of the target space to a predetermined humidity or less, and the airflow generation unit and a control step of generating a downward airflow.

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