KR101982565B1 - Air Cleaner And Method Of Predicting Filter Life Of Air Cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of predicting the life of a filter by using data of each of a timer section, a blower section and a concentration sensor section provided inside an air cleaner.
The air cleaner includes:
A blower unit having a motor, a motor controller, and a fan, for blowing and blowing outside air, measuring and outputting motor data of the motor;
A filter unit mounted on the downstream side of the blower unit to purify and discharge the introduced air;
A concentration sensor unit disposed downstream of the filter unit for detecting the concentration of the aerosol in the purified air to output an aerosol concentration value; And
And a control unit for calculating a remaining service life ratio of the filter unit by using the use time of the air cleaner, the average value of the motor data, and the average value of the aerosol concentration values in the air.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air purifier and an air purifier,

More particularly, the present invention relates to an air purifier for predicting the life of a filter using data of a timer unit, a blower unit, and a concentration sensor unit provided inside the air purifier, .

Air purifiers, which are devices that clean indoor air polluted by dust and smell in the air, are becoming essential as recent dust particles in daily life become serious social problems, and demand is also rapidly increasing.

Such an air cleaner includes an air discharge device for sucking and discharging air to be purified and a filter assembly for purifying the air. In particular, the filter assembly includes a plurality of filters having various pore sizes and a filter frame or the like that supports the filter. Examples of the filter include a pretreatment filter for removing large dust and mold, pet hair and the like using an antibacterial material, a flush filter for removing odors, a HEPA filter, and the like. The air cleaner may further include a humidifying filter capable of humidifying air and supplying humidified air having a predetermined humidity in addition to such a filter.

However, if the life of the air cleaner is directly related to the lifetime of the filter, and if the air cleaner is used in a state where the filter has reached the end of its life such as an excessively contaminated filter state, various harmful substances are discharged into the air by the air cleaner, There is a problem that it may be inhibited.

Accordingly, various methods of indicating the filter life of the air cleaner are proposed, and in particular, in order to effectively use the air cleaner, the user needs to know the exact remaining life of the filter.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-0748170

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for an air cleaner, And an object of the present invention is to provide a method for estimating the filter life of an air cleaner and an air cleaner capable of daily life.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air purifier including:

A blower unit having a motor, a motor controller, and a fan, for blowing and blowing outside air, measuring and outputting motor data of the motor;

A filter unit mounted on the downstream side of the blower unit to purify and discharge the introduced air;

A concentration sensor unit disposed downstream of the filter unit for detecting the concentration of the aerosol in the purified air to output an aerosol concentration value; And

And a control unit for calculating a remaining service life ratio of the filter unit by using the use time of the air cleaner, the average value of the motor data, and the average value of the aerosol concentration values in the air.

Wherein,

Average motor data which is an average value of the motor data received from the blower unit during the use time of the air cleaner and the use time and an average aerosol concentration which is an average value of the aerosol concentration values during the use time are set as independent variables An aerosol mass calculating unit for estimating and calculating a total mass value of the aerosols collected in the filter unit by a predetermined multiple regression equation; And

A filter residual amount calculating unit for calculating a ratio of a total mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter unit to a predetermined mass of aerosol mass value, which is a mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter unit corresponding to the filter replacement state, And a lifetime ratio calculating section.

The multiple regression equation,

: 사용시간 동안의 평균 에어로솔 농도, n: 측정된 에어로솔 종류의 개수, P: 사용시간 동안 평균 모터데이터, a, b, c: 다중회귀상수이고, 상기 T,

및 P는 독립변수)이다.(Y: total mass value of aerosol collected in the filter section during the use time, T:

: Average aerosol concentration during use time, n: number of aerosol types measured, P: average motor data during use time, a, b, c: multiple regression constant,

And P is an independent variable).

The motor data may be configured to include at least one of a motor rotation speed, a motor strength, and an inflow flow rate of air by the use time.

And a display unit for displaying the remaining life ratio of the filter unit.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for predicting filter life of an air cleaner,

The control unit receives the use time from the timer unit that measures the use time of the air cleaner, receives the aerosol concentration value from the concentration sensor unit that detects the concentration of the aerosol in the filter unit and outputs the aerosol concentration value, A data receiving step of receiving motor data from a blower unit having a fan and blowing outside air by blowing air and measuring and outputting motor data of the motor;

The average airsol concentration, which is an average value of the motor data, and the average aerosol concentration, which is an average value of the aerosol concentration values, of the air purifier are collected in the filter portion of the air cleaner by a predetermined multiple regression equation, A collecting aerosol mass calculating step of calculating a total mass value of the aerosol; And

The ratio of the total mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter section to the preset aerosol mass threshold value, which is the mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter corresponding to the filter replacement state, Calculating a ratio of the remaining life of the filter;

As shown in FIG.

The multiple regression equation

: 사용시간 동안의 평균 에어로솔 농도, n: 측정된 에어로솔 종류의 개수, P: 사용시간 동안 평균 모터데이터, a, b, c: 다중회귀상수 이고, 상기 T,

및 P는 독립변수)이다.(Y: total mass value of aerosol collected in the filter section during the use time, T:

: Average aerosol concentration during use time, n: number of aerosol types measured, P: average motor data during use time, a, b, c: multiple regression constant,

And P is an independent variable).

As described above, according to the present invention, only the information on the use time of the air purifier, the motor data of the motor, and the aerosol concentration value information notifies the user of the ratio of the remaining life of the high- The use of air purifier provides users with more comfortable daily life.

That is, the present invention provides an effect of obtaining a remaining service life ratio of a highly accurate filter by using a timer unit, a blower unit, and a concentration sensor unit included in an ordinary general air purifier without any additional apparatus.

1 is a schematic view of an air purifier according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a graph showing an example of calculating the remaining service life ratio of the filter unit in the filter remaining service life ratio calculating unit of the air purifier according to the present embodiment.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of predicting the filter life of the air cleaner according to the present embodiment.

In the following description of the present invention, detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

The embodiments according to the concept of the present invention can be variously modified and can take various forms, so that specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the specification or the application. It is to be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the embodiments according to the concepts of the invention to the specific forms of disclosure, and that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. Also, the word " exemplary " is used herein to mean " serving as an example, instance, or illustration. &Quot; Any aspect described herein as " exemplary " is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between. Other expressions that describe the relationship between components, such as "between" and "between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to" should be interpreted as well.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, the terms " comprises ", or " having ", or the like, specify that there is a stated feature, number, step, operation, , Steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof, as a matter of principle.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments of the present invention.

1 is a schematic view of an air purifier according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing an example of calculating the remaining service life ratio of the filter unit in the filter remaining service life ratio calculating unit of the air purifier according to the present embodiment.

1 to 2, an air purifier according to the present embodiment will be described.

1, the air cleaner 1 includes a timer unit 100, a blower unit 200, a filter unit 300, a concentration sensor unit 400, a control unit 500, and a display unit 600.

The timer unit 100 measures and stores the usage time of the air cleaner 1. The timer unit 100 measures and accumulates the usage time, which is the time between the power-on of the air cleaner 1 and the power-off time of the air cleaner 1.

The blower unit 200 includes a motor, a motor controller, and a fan to blow air from outside and measure and output motor data of the motor. Here, the motor data includes at least one of the motor rotation speed RPM, the motor strength (step-by-step strength of the motor), and the inflow flow rate of the air by the use time of the air cleaner 1.

The filter unit 300 is mounted on the downstream side of the blower unit 200 to purify and discharge the introduced air. The filter unit 300 includes, for example, a pretreatment filter for removing large dusts and fungi, pet hair and the like using an antibacterial material, a flushing filter for removing odors, a HEPA filter, and the like. The filter unit 300 may further include a humidifying filter capable of humidifying the air and supplying humidified air having a predetermined humidity.

The concentration sensor unit 400 is disposed downstream of the filter unit 300 to detect the concentration of the aerosol in the purified air to output an aerosol concentration value.

The control unit 500 is configured to calculate the remaining service life ratio of the filter unit 300 using the use time of the air cleaner 1, the average value of the motor data, and the average value of the airborne aerosol concentration values.

The controller 500 includes an aerosol mass calculating unit 510 and a filter remaining life rate calculating unit 520. [

The aerosol mass calculating unit 510 estimates and calculates the total mass value of the aerosols collected in the filter unit 300 using a predetermined multiple regression equation. Herein, the multiple regression equation is an average of the average motor data, which is the average value of the motor data received from the blower unit 200 during the use time of the air cleaner 1, the use time, and the average aerosol concentration, Variable. Here, the independent variables are not limited to the use time, the average motor data, and the average aerosol concentration, but other variables can be used.

Here, the multiple regression equation is the following equation (1), and the total mass value of the aerosol can be obtained by using the multiple regression equation.

... [수학식 1]

&Quot; (1) "

: 사용시간 동안의 평균 에어로솔 농도, n: 측정된 에어로솔 종류의 개수, P: 사용시간 동안 평균 모터데이터, a, b, c: 다중회귀상수이고, 상기 T,

및 P는 독립변수)(Y: total mass value of aerosol collected in the filter section during the use time, T:

: Average aerosol concentration during use time, n: number of aerosol types measured, P: average motor data during use time, a, b, c: multiple regression constant,

And P is an independent variable)

The filter remaining lifetime ratio calculating unit 520 calculates a filter lifetime ratio based on the total mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter unit 300 with respect to the preset aerosol mass threshold value, which is the mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter unit 300, The ratio is calculated as the remaining life ratio of the filter unit 300 and is output.

The filter remaining lifetime ratio calculating unit 520 calculates the remaining life ratio of the filter unit 300 using the following equation (2).

... " (2) "

For example, in the graph of FIG. 2, when the mass threshold value of the filter is 150 g, if the mass (Y) of the aerosol collected in the filter is '150 g', the filter remaining life ratio becomes 0%. When the mass (Y) of the aerosol collected in the filter is '0 g', the filter remaining life ratio is 100%, which represents the remaining life ratio of the unused filter unit 300. In the graph of FIG. 2, when the mass (Y) of the aerosol collected in the filter is '90g', the filter remaining life ratio is shown to be 40%. This is because the filter remaining life ratio calculation unit 520 uses Respectively. That is, when the predetermined aerosol mass threshold is '150 g' and the calculated aerosol mass Y is '90 g', the filter remaining lifetime ratio calculation unit 520 substitutes the equation (2) The life span ratio '40%' is calculated.

 The control unit 500 of the above-described configuration controls the overall operation of the air cleaner 1, and may be embodied as a program, mounted in a memory, or implemented in hardware such as an ASIC processor or an FPGA.

The display unit 600 is configured to display the remaining life ratio of the filter unit 300. [

The display unit 600 displays status information generated during the operation of the air cleaner 1, a limited number of characters, a large amount of moving images, and still images. In addition, the display unit 600 displays the remaining life ratio of the filter unit 300 and the like to the user. For example, the display unit 90 may output a warning sound or flash a warning light using a buzzer or an LED (Light Emitting Diode). The display unit 600 having the above-described structure may be constituted by a touch pad or the like.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of predicting the filter life of the air cleaner according to the present embodiment.

In the data reception step S100, the control unit 500 receives the use time from the timer unit 100 that measures the use time of the air cleaner 1. [ Here, the usage time may be received in hours, minutes, and seconds, and is received from the timer unit 100 according to a predetermined period. Also, the concentration of aerosol in the filter unit 300 is detected and an aerosol concentration value is received from the concentration sensor unit 400 that outputs the aerosol concentration value. The concentration sensor unit 400 receives the aerosol concentration value at a predetermined period. The controller 500 includes a motor, a motor controller, and a fan. The controller 500 receives external air, blows air, and receives motor data from a blower 200 that measures and outputs motor data of the motor. At this time, the control unit 500 receives motor data from the blower unit 200 at a predetermined cycle.

In the capturing aerosol mass calculation step S200, the controller 500 calculates an average value of the received use time, the motor data, and the aerosol concentration values, and then calculates the average time of use of the air cleaner 1, And a predetermined multiple regression equation having an average aerosol concentration as an average value of the aerosol concentration values as an independent variable, thereby calculating the total mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter section 300 of the air cleaner 1. [ Here, the multiple regression equation is Equation (1).

In the filter residual life ratio calculating step S300, the control unit 500 calculates the mass of the aerosol collected in the filter corresponding to the filter replacement state, The ratio of the total mass value of the aerosols collected in the filter section 300 to the aerosol mass threshold value is calculated as the remaining life ratio of the filter (not shown in the drawing) installed in the filter section 300. The remaining life ratio of the calculated filter is displayed on the display unit 600.

Although it is described in FIG. 3 that steps S100 to S300 are sequentially executed, it is only described as an example of the technical idea of the present embodiment. If the person skilled in the art to which this embodiment belongs, It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the essential characteristics thereof, or alternatively, by executing one or more of the steps S100 to S300 in parallel, But is not limited thereto.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

1: Air purifier
100:
200: blower unit
300:
400: density sensor section
500:
510: Aerosol mass calculating section
520: filter remaining service life ratio calculating unit

Claims (7)

A timer unit for measuring a use time of the air cleaner;
A blower unit having a motor, a motor controller, and a fan for blowing and blowing outside air, measuring and outputting motor data of the motor;
A filter unit mounted on the downstream side of the blower unit to purify and discharge the introduced air;
A concentration sensor unit disposed downstream of the filter unit for detecting the concentration of the aerosol in the purified air to output an aerosol concentration value; And
And a control unit for calculating a remaining service life ratio of the filter unit using the use time of the air cleaner, the average value of the motor data, and the average value of the aerosol concentration value in the air,
Wherein,
Average motor data which is an average value of the motor data received from the blower unit during the use time of the air cleaner and the use time and an average aerosol concentration which is an average value of the aerosol concentration values during the use time are set as independent variables An aerosol mass calculating unit for estimating and calculating a total mass value of the aerosols collected in the filter unit by a predetermined multiple regression equation; And
A filter residual amount calculating unit for calculating a ratio of a total mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter unit to a predetermined mass of aerosol mass value, which is a mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter unit corresponding to the filter replacement state, And a lifetime ratio calculating unit,
The multiple regression equation,

(Y: total mass value of aerosol collected in the filter section during the use time, T:

: Average aerosol concentration during use time, n: number of aerosol types measured, P: average motor data during use time, a, b, c: multiple regression constant,

And P is an independent variable)
The filter remaining life ratio calculating unit calculates,
The remaining life ratio of the filter portion is calculated using the following equation,

(An aerosol mass threshold value: a predetermined mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter portion corresponding to the filter replacement state)
Wherein the motor data includes at least one of a motor rotation speed, a motor strength, and an inflow flow rate of air by the use time,
And a display unit for displaying the remaining life ratio of the filter unit.
delete delete delete delete The method of predicting filter life of an air cleaner according to claim 1,
The control unit receives the use time from the timer unit that measures the use time of the air cleaner, receives the aerosol concentration value from the concentration sensor unit that detects the concentration of the aerosol in the filter unit and outputs the aerosol concentration value, A data receiving step of receiving motor data from a blower unit having a controller and a fan to blow air into and out from outside, and measuring and outputting motor data of the motor;
The average airsol concentration, which is an average value of the motor data, and the average aerosol concentration, which is an average value of the aerosol concentration values, of the air purifier are collected in the filter portion of the air cleaner by a predetermined multiple regression equation, A collecting aerosol mass calculating step of calculating a total mass value of the aerosol; And
The ratio of the total mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter section to the preset aerosol mass threshold value, which is the mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter corresponding to the filter replacement state, And outputting the calculated filter residual life ratio to the display unit,
The multiple regression equation

(Y: total mass value of aerosol collected in the filter section during the use time, T:

: Average aerosol concentration during use time, n: number of aerosol types measured, P: average motor data during use time, a, b, c: multiple regression constant,

And P is an independent variable)
The step of calculating the remaining filter life ratio includes:
A method for predicting filter life of an air cleaner that calculates a remaining life ratio of a filter portion using the following equation.

(An aerosol mass threshold value: a predetermined mass value of the aerosol collected in the filter portion corresponding to the filter replacement state) delete

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