KR20160052304A - Pollution detecting sensor, air cleaning device having the same and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an air purifier. The air purifier includes: a main body comprising an inlet configured to receive air and a outlet configured to discharge the air; a filter part disposed within the main body and configured to purify contaminates from the air; and a contamination sensor disposed adjacent to the filter part. The contamination sensor integrally includes a light emitter configured to emit light toward the filter and a light receiver configured to receive the light emitted from the light emitter.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a pollution detection sensor, an air purification apparatus having the same,

The present invention relates to a contamination detection sensor, an air purification apparatus having the same, and a control method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pollution detection sensor capable of confirming contamination degree of a filter, an air purification apparatus having the same, and a control method thereof.

BACKGROUND ART Recently, air purification apparatuses are popularized as air pollution becomes serious around large cities. Such an air purifier is sold as an air purifier having only an air purifying function, or is sold as a function of an air conditioner.

Generally, the air purifier sucks contaminated indoor air, filters out dust, odor particles, etc. contained in the air, and purifies the inhaled air with clean air. To this end, the air purifier has a blower for purifying the air by introducing ambient air and discharging purified air, and a filter for filtering dust, odor particles and the like contained in the inflow air.

These filters are contaminated during the air purification process and thus require periodic or aperiodic replacement.

However, in order to check the contamination degree of the built-in filter, the conventional air purifier has only a method of directly drawing out the filter installed inside the air purifier to the outside of the air purifier and visually confirming it. The conventional air purification apparatus has a problem that the filter checking process is troublesome and the user must touch the filter when the filter is taken out to the outside of the air purifier so that the user may be exposed to unhygienic working environment where dirt such as dust is attached to the hand . In addition, there is a problem that the dust that is attached to the filter in a state of being drawn out to the outside can be scattered around the user.

In order to solve this problem, various sensors have been applied to the air purifying apparatus in order to confirm the replacement timing of the filter. One of them is a contamination detecting sensor using light. In such a contamination detection sensor using light, the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are spaced apart from each other with a considerable distance therebetween, and each of them is formed as a separate component.

In general, since the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit, the contamination detection sensor using conventional light is far from the arrangement distance between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit, It was difficult to accurately grasp it.

In addition, the conventional air cleaning apparatus measures the degree of contamination of the filter using only one of the amount of light received by the light receiving unit or the time when the filter is used, and accordingly, it is difficult to accurately grasp the degree of contamination of the filter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a contamination detection sensor with improved sensitivity, an air purification apparatus having the same, and a control method thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a contamination detection sensor having improved ability to judge the degree of contamination of a filter, an air purification apparatus having the same, and a control method thereof.

It is a further object of the present invention to automatically determine whether the filter is replaced or not and whether the filter is properly installed and inform the user thereof, and when the filter is replaced, the contamination detection sensor is automatically adjusted according to the replaced filter, Sensor, an air cleaning apparatus having the same, and a control method thereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air conditioner comprising: a main body having an inlet through which air flows and a outlet through which the air is discharged; A filter unit disposed inside the main body and purifying polluted air; And a contamination detection sensor disposed adjacent to the filter unit, wherein the contamination detection sensor includes a light emitting unit that emits light toward the filter, and a light receiving unit that receives light emitted from the light emitting unit .

At this time, the light emitted from the light emitting unit can be reflected or transmitted by the filter unit and can be directed to the light receiving unit.

The light emitting unit may be disposed to irradiate light toward the first surface of the filter unit or the second surface opposite to the first surface, from which contaminants of air introduced from the inlet are filtered.

Here, the light receiving unit may be disposed to face the first surface or the second surface of the filter unit.

In particular, the light receiving unit may be disposed so that the same surface as the first surface or the second surface of the filter unit facing the light emitting unit faces together.

Furthermore, the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion may be arranged in parallel or may be arranged so as to form a predetermined angle in a direction facing each other.

The light emitting unit and the light receiving unit may be arranged to face each other such that light emitted from the light emitting unit is transmitted through the filter unit and received by the light receiving unit.

In addition, the filter unit may include a HEPA filter, and the light emitting unit may emit visible light toward the HEPA filter.

The light emitting unit may emit infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, or visible rays toward the filter unit.

Further, a plurality of the contamination detection sensors may be provided.

The contamination detecting sensor may be attached to or inserted into the main body.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising: a control unit for receiving an amount of light received by the light receiving unit to determine a degree of contamination; And a pollution confirmation unit connected to the control unit to allow the user to check the pollution degree.

Here, the pollution confirmation unit may be at least one of a display and a speaker.

Further, the pollution confirmation unit may display the degree of contamination of the filter unit in steps.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air purifying apparatus including: a main body having an air flow path including an inflow portion into which air flows and a discharge portion through which the inflow air is discharged; A filter unit disposed on the air flow path that enters the inflow unit and is discharged to the discharge unit; And a dirt detection sensor having a light emitting portion for emitting light to the filter portion and a light receiving portion for receiving the light reflected from the filter portion, wherein the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are disposed in a first Or the second surface of the filter portion corresponding to the discharge portion.

Here, the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion may be arranged in parallel or may be arranged to form a predetermined angle in a direction facing each other.

In addition, the filter unit may include a HEPA filter, and the light may be visible light.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a contamination detection sensor including: a housing; A light emitting unit disposed in the housing and emitting light toward the filter unit; And a light receiving unit disposed in the housing and receiving light reflected by the filter unit or passing through the filter unit, and outputting another signal corresponding to the degree of contamination of the filter unit according to an amount of light received by the light receiving unit .

Here, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit may be disposed on the same surface with respect to the filter unit, or may be disposed with the filter unit interposed therebetween.

Further, the filter unit may include a HEPA filter, and the light emitted from the light emitting unit may be visible light.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a contamination detection sensor including: a housing; A light emitting unit disposed in the housing and emitting light toward the filter unit; And a light receiving unit disposed in the housing and receiving light reflected by the filter unit, wherein the light receiving unit outputs another signal corresponding to the degree of contamination of the filter unit according to an amount of light received, The light receiving portions may be arranged in parallel or arranged so as to form a predetermined angle in a direction facing each other.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air purifier including: a filter unit mounting step of mounting a filter unit in an air purifier; A sensor adjusting step of adjusting the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the contamination detecting sensor according to the filter portion; Counting a use time of the filter unit; And a pollution degree measuring step of measuring a pollution degree of the filter unit. In the pollution degree measuring step, the pollution degree of the filter unit is divided into at least two stages based on the use time of the filter unit and the amount of light received by the light- The above-mentioned objects can be achieved.

The pollution degree measuring step may include: a first measuring step of measuring a pollution degree of the filter unit based on a use time of the filter unit; And a second measuring step of measuring the degree of contamination of the filter unit based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit.

Here, the contamination step may be changed only when the amount of light received by the light receiving unit in the second measuring step is larger or smaller than the boundary light amount that is the boundary of each contamination step, by a predetermined light amount.

In addition, the pollution degree of the filter unit can be measured at predetermined intervals in the pollution degree measuring step.

The method may further include determining whether the filter unit has been replaced by measuring a change amount of the amount of light received by the light receiving unit after the pollution degree measurement step. When the filter unit is not replaced, A step of counting time can be performed, and if the filter unit is replaced, the contamination detection sensor can be reset.

The step of determining whether to replace the filter unit further includes determining whether the replaced filter unit is a new filter unit or a filter unit used for a predetermined period based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit, And when the replaced filter unit is the filter unit used for a predetermined period of time, determines the used time of the replaced filter unit using the amount of light received by the light receiving unit, reflects the used time, And counting the use time of the filter unit.

In addition, the step of counting the use time of the filter unit or the step of determining whether to replace the filter unit may be repeatedly performed for a predetermined time.

If the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is less than the minimum light amount, the duty of the light emitting unit is increased. If the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is greater than the maximum light amount, duty can be reduced.

The method may further include a filter unit checking step of determining whether the filter unit is mounted or the filter unit is mounted in a state in which the wrapping paper is removed by the amount of light received by the light receiving unit between the filter unit mounting step and the sensor adjusting step .

Further, in the filter unit checking step, when the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is less than a predetermined light amount, the controller determines that the filter unit has not been installed and informs the user of the fact.

At least a part of the wrapping paper of the filter unit corresponding to the contamination detection sensor is formed in a color having a lower brightness than that of the contaminated color, and the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is less than a predetermined amount of light It is determined that the wrapping paper of the filter unit is not removed, and the user can be notified of this.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing an air purification apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a schematic view showing the contamination detection sensor shown in Fig.
3 is an assembled cross-sectional view of the air purifier along the line AA shown in Fig.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the position of the contamination detecting sensor shown in FIG. 3 differently.
5 is a sectional view showing an air purifying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a cross-sectional view showing an air purification apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an example in which the position of the contamination detection sensor shown in FIG. 6 is different.
8 is a block diagram of a method for controlling an air purifying apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention.
9 is a flowchart of a method for controlling an air purifying apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing in detail the step S200 shown in FIG.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing in detail the step S400 shown in FIG.
12 is a schematic diagram showing the range of contamination degree of the filter portion according to the amount of light received by the light receiving portion.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing in detail the steps after step S421 shown in FIG.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing in detail the steps after step S431 shown in FIG.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing in detail the steps after step S441 shown in FIG.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing in detail the step S500 shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the air purifying apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or components are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the subject matter of the present invention. Also, for ease of understanding of the invention, the appended drawings are not drawn to scale, but the dimensions of some of the components may be exaggerated.

Referring to FIG. 1, an air purifier 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 100, a cover 101, a filter unit 200, and a contamination detection sensor 300.

The main body 100 forms an appearance of the air purifier 1 and includes a filter mounting portion 110, an inner grill 103 and a discharge portion 105.

The cover 101 is mounted on the main body 100 to cover the filter unit 200 after mounting the filter unit 200 on the filter mounting unit 110. In this case, the cover 101 is detachably mounted to the main body 100 so that the filter unit 200 can be replaced. For this purpose, a connection structure (for example, a coupling protrusion for fastening or a fastening screw) .

Further, the cover 101 is formed with an inflow portion 102 for inflow of outside air. Such an inflow section 102 is formed of a plurality of slots. It is to be noted that the inlet 102 is formed on the cover 101 and is located on the rear surface of the main body 100. The inlet 102 may be formed on the side surface of the cover 101, It may be formed on the side surface or the top surface.

1, the inflow section 102 may be formed of a plurality of circular or polygonal openings, and the inflow section 102 may be formed of a plurality of circular or polygonal openings. The holes may be formed regularly or irregularly.

In addition, it is preferable that the inflow portion 102 is distributed in an area corresponding to the area of the filter portion 200 so that the outside air can be filtered using the filter portion 200 as a whole.

The filter mounting portion 110 is a space in which the filter portion 200 is mounted, and is formed to have a size corresponding to the size of the filter portion 200. An inner grille 103 is formed on an inner surface 111 of the filter mounting portion 110.

The inner grill 103 is made of a plurality of through holes and removes contaminants from the air one more time before the first filtered air passes through the filter unit 200 and goes to the discharge unit 105. The secondary filtered air passing through the inner grill 103 is discharged to the outside through the discharge part 105 formed in the main body 100.

The discharge portion 105 may be formed of a plurality of apertures or a plurality of slots similar to the inlet portion 102. 1, the discharging unit 105 is formed on the upper surface of the main body 100, but it may be formed on the front surface, the rear surface, or the side surface of the main body 100.

The filter unit 200 is present on the air flow path inside the main body 100 where the outside air flows into the inflow part 102 and is discharged through the discharge part 105. The filter part 200 collects contaminants in the air from the air Allow only purified air to pass through.

In addition, the filter unit 200 includes a plurality of filters having different functions such as a pre-filter, a deodorization filter, and a HEPA filter. 1 and 3 to 7 illustrate the HEPA filter among the plurality of filters included in the filter unit 200. However, the present invention is also applicable to other filters other than the HEPA filter. Since the filter unit 200 accumulates contaminants due to the air purifying function, it needs to be replaced.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a contamination detection sensor 300 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is disposed adjacent to a filter unit 200 to detect contamination of the filter unit 200. The contamination detection sensor 300 includes a light emitting unit 311 and a light receiving unit 312 in a housing 321. Since the light emitting unit 311 and the light receiving unit 312 are integrated with the housing 321 as described above, the interval between the light emitting unit 311 and the light receiving unit 312 can be minimized.

In FIG. 1, two pollution detection sensors 300 are shown for convenience. However, only one or three or more pollution detection sensors 300 may be provided.

In addition, although the contamination detection sensor 300 according to the first embodiment of the present invention receives the light reflected from the filter unit 200 and measures the pollution degree of the filter unit 200, the second and third embodiments It is also possible to measure the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 by receiving light transmitted through the filter unit 200 as in the example.

2, the light emitting portion 311 and the light receiving portion 312 are integrally formed by the housing 321 as described above. Accordingly, the light-emitting portion 311 and the light-receiving portion 312 are disposed at close positions, and thus the sensitivity of the light-receiving portion 312 that receives the light emitted from the light-emitting portion 311 can be improved.

At this time, the light emitting unit 311 and the light receiving unit 312 are arranged to face the same side of the filter unit 200. The optical axis 311a of the light emitting portion 311 and the optical axis 312a of the light receiving portion 312 may be arranged to have a predetermined angle? This arrangement improves the sensitivity because a larger amount of light is received by the light-receiving portion 312 than when the light-emitting portion 311 and the light-receiving portion 312 are arranged in parallel.

The light emitting unit 311 of the contamination detecting sensor 300 irradiates light toward the filter unit 200 and the light receiving unit 312 receives the light reflected from the filter unit 200. The light emitted from the light emitting unit 311 is mostly absorbed in the process of being reflected by the filter unit 200, and only a part of light not absorbed is received by the light receiving unit 312.

At this time, when the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 is large, more light is absorbed by the filter unit 200, so that the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 312 is reduced. When the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 is small, A small amount of light is absorbed by the filter unit 200, so that the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 312 increases. The contamination detection sensor 300 measures the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 according to the difference in the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 312.

In addition, the light emitting portion 311 may irradiate any one of infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, and visible rays. However, when measuring the degree of contamination of the HEPA filter among the plurality of filters included in the filter unit 200, it is preferable that the light emitting unit 311 irradiate visible light having the highest sensitivity to the HEPA filter.

Further, the light emitting unit 311 may be configured to emit infrared rays, and in this case, manufacturing cost can be lowered compared to the light emitting unit 311 that emits visible light.

The light emitting unit 311 and the light receiving unit 312 may be arranged in parallel to each other, unlike the case shown in FIG. In this case, as the distance between the light emitting unit 311 and the light receiving unit 312 increases, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 312 increases, so that the light emitting unit 311 and the light receiving unit 312 are preferably located close to each other. However, in order to prevent the light irradiated from the light emitting unit 311 from being directly received by the light receiving unit 312 and measuring the contamination degree of the filter unit 200 according to scattering of light, the light emitting unit 311 and the light receiving unit 312 (Not shown) formed to protrude by a predetermined length.

Referring to FIG. 3, the air cleaning apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the inner side surface 111 of the filter mounting portion 110 formed on the main body 100, In this case, the contamination detection sensor 300 faces the rear surface 201 of the filter unit corresponding to the discharge unit 105. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting portion 311 is reflected by the back surface 201 of the filter portion disposed at the discharge portion 105 side, and is received by the light receiving portion 312.

3, the contamination detecting sensor 300 is disposed at an upper portion of the inner side surface 111 of the filter mounting portion 110. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be an intermediate point of the inner side surface 111 of the filter mounting portion 110 It is also possible to arrange it at the lower part. As described above, the contamination detection sensors 300 may be provided in plural or may be arranged to have a regular arrangement pattern on the inner side surface 111 of the filter mounting unit 110, or may be irregularly arranged.

The contamination detecting sensor 300 may be inserted into and fixed to a predetermined fixing groove (not shown) formed in a part of the inner side surface 111 of the filter mounting portion 110. This configuration can contribute to the reduction of the thickness of the air purifying device 1.

4, the air purifier 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention may be mounted on the cover 101 of the main body 100,

In this case, the light emitting unit 311 irradiates the light from the filter unit 200 toward the front surface 202 corresponding to the inflow unit 102, and irradiates the light toward the front surface 202 corresponding to the inflow unit 102 Since the light is reflected by the front surface 202 of the filter unit 200 and is received by the light receiving unit 312, the contamination degree of the filter unit 200 can be measured more accurately than the arrangement shown in FIG. In this case, however, it is preferable to dispose on the inner surface 301 of the cover 101 which can avoid the inflow portion 102 so as to block the inflow portion 102 formed on the cover 101 and to prevent inflow of air Do.

The contamination detection sensor 300 according to the first embodiment may be configured to detect an optimum distance to the filter unit 200 so that the light emitted from the light emitting unit 311 can be received by the light receiving unit 312 smoothly. .

Referring to FIG. 5, the contamination detection sensor 400 according to the second embodiment of the present invention receives the light transmitted through the filter unit 200 and measures the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200. The contamination detecting sensor 400 is integrally provided with the light emitting unit 411 and the light receiving unit 412 in the housing 421 as in the first embodiment. However, in this case, the light emitting unit 411 and the light receiving unit 412 are arranged to face each other with the filter unit 200 interposed therebetween.

The light emitting unit 411 may irradiate the light toward the front surface 202 of the filter unit 200 corresponding to the inlet unit 102 and may irradiate light toward the front surface 202 of the filter unit 200 corresponding to the outlet unit 105, It is also possible to irradiate the light toward the light source 201. It is preferable that the optical axis of the light emitting portion 411 and the optical axis of the light receiving portion 412 are disposed on the same straight line (or coaxial).

At this time, the light receiving unit 412 measures the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 according to the amount of light received by the light emitted from the light emitting unit 411 through the filter unit 200. That is, when the amount of light passing through the filter unit 200 is small, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 412 is small. On the contrary, when the amount of light passing through the filter unit 200 is large, In this case, it can be judged that the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 is higher as the amount of light received by the light-receiving unit 412 is smaller, and that the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 is lower as the amount of light received is larger. The light receiving unit 412 transmits another signal to the control unit 600, which will be described later, according to the amount of light received.

The housing 421 of the contamination detection sensor 400 according to the second embodiment of the present invention has a substantially cylindrical shape with the light emitting portion 411 and the light receiving portion 412 facing the different surfaces of the filter portion 200, Shape.

The housing 421 may be attached to the upper surface of the filter mounting portion 110 of the main body 100 or may be attached to the lower surface or the side surface of the filter mounting portion 110 although not shown. However, the shape of the contamination detection sensor 400 is not limited to this, and any shape can be used as long as the shape of the contamination detection sensor 400 is such that it can receive the transmitted light by irradiating light toward the filter unit 200.

6 and 7, the contamination detecting sensor 500 according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 521 and a light emitting unit (not shown) similar to the contamination detecting sensor 400 according to the second embodiment 511 and the light receiving portion 512 are arranged so as to face each other and a portion including the edge 203 of the filter portion 200 is disposed in the inner space 522 of the housing 521. The light emitted from the light emitting portion 511 is transmitted through the surfaces of the filter portion 200 and is received by the light receiving portion 512.

The contamination detection sensor 500 receives the light transmitted through the filter unit 200 at the light receiving unit and measures the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200. Particularly, . ≪ / RTI >

At this time, the light emitting unit 511 and the light receiving unit 512 are arranged to face each other with a part of the protruding part of the filter unit 200 interposed therebetween as shown in FIG. At this time, the light emitting portion 511 may be disposed on the upper side and the light receiving portion 512 may be disposed on the lower side. Accordingly, the light emitted from the light emitting portion 511 passes through the protruding portion of the filter portion 200 and is received by the light receiving portion 512.

On the other hand, it is of course possible to dispose the light emitting portion 511 and the light receiving portion 512 in the reverse order as described above. That is, the light emitting portion 511 may be disposed on the lower side to irradiate the light toward the light receiving portion 512 disposed on the upper side.

The contamination detection sensor 500 may be disposed on the inner surface 111 of the filter mounting portion 110 as shown in FIG. 6 or may be disposed on the cover 101 as shown in FIG. In this case, as described above, the contamination detection sensor 500 is preferably disposed to prevent the inflow portion 102 formed in the cover 101 from blocking the inflow of air.

At this time, the light receiving unit 512 measures the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 according to the amount of light received by the light emitted from the light emitting unit 511 through the filter unit 200, as in the second embodiment.

The housing 521 of the contamination detection sensor 500 according to the third embodiment of the present invention also has a structure in which the light emitting portion 511 and the light receiving portion 512 are formed on different surfaces of the filter portion 200 Quot; C " shape. The housing 521 may be disposed on the inner surface 111 of the filter mounting portion 110 or may be mounted on the cover 101 as described above. Further, when the cover 101 is mounted on the cover 101, it is preferable that the cover 101 is disposed at a position where it does not interfere with the inflow portion 102.

When a plurality of the contamination detecting sensors 300, 400, 500 according to the first to third embodiments are provided, one of the contamination detecting sensors 300, 400, 500 may include the light emitting units 311, 411 and 511 can be positioned at a position where they can be directly received by the light receiving portions 312, 412 and 512 without transmitting or reflecting the light through the filter portion 200 so as to determine the reference value of the amount of received light have.

8, the air purifier 1 according to the embodiments of the present invention may further include a controller 600 and a pollution verifying unit 700. Referring to FIG.

The control unit 600 is connected to the contamination detection sensors 300, 400 and 500 and receives a signal corresponding to the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412 and 512 from the pollution detection sensors 300, 400 and 500 .

The control unit 600 compares the signal received from the contamination detection sensors 300, 400, and 500 with the boundary values of the pollution steps stored in the memory provided in the controller 600 to determine the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 . Then, the control unit 600 transmits the information on the determined degree of contamination to the contamination confirmation unit 700 described later so that the user can recognize the information.

The pollution confirmation unit 700 is connected to the control unit 600 and receives information on the degree of pollution from the control unit 600. In addition to the information on the degree of contamination, the contamination checking unit 700 determines whether the filter unit 200 is not attached, whether the wrapper of the filter unit 200 is not removed, and whether the filter unit 200 is used From the control unit 600 and informs the user.

The pollution checking unit 700 may be a display 710 that allows the user to visually check the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 or a speaker 720 that can be checked through auditory sense. At this time, the display 710 may display the degree of contamination by the number or color, and the speaker 720 may be divided into the volume or the rhythm.

The pollution checking unit 700 may include a display 710 and a speaker 720 to visually and audibly inform the user of the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200.

Hereinafter, the process of detecting contamination of the filter unit 200 through the pollution detection sensors 300, 400, and 500 according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 to 16 do.

Referring to FIG. 9, a user mounts a new filter unit 200 in the air purifier 1 (S100).

Next, the control unit 600 checks whether the installed filter unit 200 is properly mounted (S200).

Specifically, the wrapping paper of the filter unit 200 is formed in a color having lower brightness than the color of the filter unit 200 when the filter unit 200 is contaminated. In this case, the wrapping paper may be formed with a color having a lower brightness than the color of the filter unit 200 when the filter unit 200 is contaminated, and only the portion corresponding to the contamination detection sensors 300 and 400 may be contaminated Color may be formed with a lower brightness than that of the case where the color is changed. In the case where the filter unit 200 is attached to the air cleaner 1 without removing the wrapping paper, the contamination detecting sensor 500 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is installed between the grooves formed in the filter unit 500 The contamination detecting sensors 300 and 400 according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention are mounted on the air purifying device 1 without any problem .

In the case of the contamination detection sensors 300 and 400 according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention, the filter unit 200 is attached to the air cleaning apparatus 1 without removing the wrapping paper, 1), it is not possible to smoothly purify contaminants contained in the air.

Accordingly, when the user attaches a new filter unit 200 to the inside of the air cleaning apparatus 1, the controller 600 operates the contamination detecting sensors 300 and 400, and accordingly, the light receiving units 312 and 412 The amount of light received is measured. Most of the light emitted from the light emitting units 311 and 411 is emitted from the filter unit 200 because the color of the wrapping paper of the filter unit 200 is lower in color than the color of the filter unit 200 when the filter unit 200 is contaminated. The amount of light absorbed by the wrapping paper and received by the light receiving portions 312 and 412 will be very small.

That is, when the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312 and 412 is smaller than a preset amount of light, the control unit 600 recognizes that the wrapping paper of the filter unit 200 has not been removed, The user can be notified.

In addition, in step S200, whether the step S100 is omitted or not can be confirmed.

More specifically, even if the user does not attach the filter unit 200 to the air purifier 1 and closes the cover 101, the step S200 is performed as described above, so that the light emitting units 311, 411, 511 irradiate light.

In the case of the contamination detecting sensor 300 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 311 is reflected by the filter unit 200 and is received by the light receiving unit 312 smoothly. The light emitted from the light emitting part 311 due to the member of the filter part 200 is transmitted to the light receiving part (not shown) 312, so that the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 312 will be very small.

On the other hand, in the case of the pollution detection sensors 400 and 500 according to the second and third embodiments of the present invention, when the filter unit 200 is not mounted, And 511 are directly received by the light receiving portions 412 and 512 and the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 412 and 512 is very large.

Accordingly, it is also possible to determine whether the filter unit 200 is installed in the air purifier 1 in step S200. If the filter unit 200 is not installed, the user can be informed of the fact.

Next, the control unit 600 adjusts the pollution detection sensors 300, 400, and 500 according to the installed filter unit 200 (S300).

10, the light receiving units 312, 412 and 512 of the contamination detecting sensors 300, 400 and 500 are connected to the light emitting units 311, 411 and 511 of the contamination detecting sensors 300, 400 and 500, respectively. Receives the irradiated light (S211), converts the received light amount into an electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to the controller 600. [ The control unit 600 receiving the information of the light amount received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 compares the information with the preset minimum light amount (S212).

At this time, when the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is less than the minimum light amount, the amount of light emitted from the light emitting units 311, 411, and 511 is insufficient for measuring the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 The duty of the light emitting units 311, 411, and 511 is increased (S215). When the duty of the light emitting units 311, 411, and 511 is increased, the intensity of the light emitted from the light emitting units 311, 411, and 511 increases. Then, the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 receive the light emitted from the light emitting units 311, 411, and 511 again (S211), and perform step S212.

On the other hand, if the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is larger than the minimum light amount, the maximum light amount is compared with the maximum light amount (S213).

At this time, when the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is larger than the maximum light amount, if the amount of light emitted from the light emitting units 311, 411, and 511 is too large to measure the degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 The duty of the light emitting units 311, 411, and 511 is reduced (S216). When the duty of the light emitting units 311, 411 and 511 is reduced, the intensity of the light emitted from the light emitting units 311, 411 and 511 is reduced. Then, the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 receive the light emitted from the light emitting units 311, 411, and 511 again (S211), and perform step S212.

On the other hand, when the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is smaller than the maximum amount of light, the sensor adjustment is completed (S214).

Subsequently, as the air purifier 1 is driven, the controller 600 counts the use time of the filter unit 200 (S300).

In addition, the pollution detection sensors 300, 400, and 500 start to measure the pollution degree of the filter unit 200 (S400). At this time, the step S400 is performed at a predetermined time interval, preferably at a time interval of one hour. In addition, although the pollution degree can be known to the user by dividing the pollution degree into at least two stages, the pollution degree is classified into three stages (upper, middle, and lower) for convenience.

11, the light receiving units 312, 412 and 512 of the contamination detecting sensors 300, 400 and 500 are connected to the light emitting units 311, 411 and 511 of the pollution detecting sensors 300, 400 and 500, respectively. The irradiated light is received, and the amount of received light is measured (S411). Thereafter, the measured light amount is converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to the controller 600.

The control unit 600 receiving the information of the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412 and 512 first compares the use time of the filter unit 200 with the boundary time of the pollution degree "middle" and the pollution degree " ).

In this case, when the use time of the filter unit 200 is shorter than the boundary time of the pollution degree "lower " and the pollution degree" lower ", it means that the time of using the filter unit 200 is short. , 412, and 512 are compared with the boundary light amount of the "contamination degree" and "contamination degree" (S414).

At this time, if the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is larger than the boundary light amount of the contamination degree "below ", the filter portion 200 is still less contaminated and the light emitting portions 311, 411, The amount of contamination is determined to be "lower" (S420) because it means that a large amount of the light irradiated from the light receiving unit 312, 412, or 512 is reflected or transmitted to be received by the light receiving unit 312, 412 or 512. That is, when the usage time of the filter unit 200 is shorter than the boundary time of the contamination degree " lower "and the contamination degree is " lower ", the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, The pollution degree is determined to be "lower ". Further, it is possible to inform the user through the pollution confirmation unit 700. [

On the other hand, when the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412 and 512 is smaller than the boundary light amount between the contamination degree "lower " and" lower than the contamination degree ", the filter portion 200 is contaminated to some extent and the light emitting portions 311, 411, The amount of light received by the light-receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is referred to as "contamination level ". In order to more specifically determine the degree of contamination, Quot; and the contamination level "(S415).

At this time, when the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is larger than the boundary light amount of the "contaminated" and "contaminated", the filter portion 200 is contaminated to a certain extent to cause the light emitting portions 311, 411, It means that only a certain amount of the light irradiated by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is reflected or transmitted and is received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512, respectively. That is, even if the usage time of the filter unit 200 is shorter than the boundary time of the pollution degree "middle" and the pollution degree "lower ", if the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, Quot; middle ". In addition, it can inform the user through the pollution confirmation unit 700.

On the other hand, when the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412 and 512 is smaller than the boundary light amount between the "contaminated" and "contaminated", the filter portion 200 is very contaminated and the light emitted from the light emitting portions 311, 411, It means that almost all of the irradiated light is absorbed by the filter unit 200 and is not received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512, so that the contamination level is determined to be "up" If the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is within the light amount range of the contamination degree "on " even if the use time of the filter portion 200 is shorter than the boundary time of the contamination degree" Is determined as "phase ". In addition, it can inform the user through the pollution confirmation unit 700.

On the other hand, when the use time of the filter unit 200 is longer than the boundary time of the pollution degree "lower" and the pollution degree "lower ", it means that the time spent using the filter unit 200 has passed to some extent. ) With the boundary time of " during " the pollution degree "and the pollution degree" (S413).

At this time, when the use time of the filter unit 200 is longer than the boundary time of the "pollution degree" and "pollution degree", it means that the time spent using the filter unit 200 has passed considerably, and thus the pollution degree is determined to be "up" (S440). That is, if the use time of the filter unit 200 is in the range of "above" the degree of contamination, the degree of contamination is determined to be "above" irrespective of the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512. In addition, it can inform the user through the pollution confirmation unit 700.

On the other hand, when the use time of the filter unit 200 is shorter than the boundary time of the "pollution degree" and "pollution degree", it means that the time spent using the filter unit 200 has passed to some extent. , The amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is compared with the boundary light amount of the "contamination degree" and the "contamination degree" (S415). If the use time of the filter unit 200 is within the time range of the pollution degree "middle ", the process proceeds to step S415. The degree of contamination is determined to be "medium" even if the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, 512 is within the light amount range of "contamination degree" or " The contamination degree is determined to be "up" when the amount of light received by the light-receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is within the light amount range of "above" In addition, it can inform the user through the pollution confirmation unit 700.

The air purifier 1 according to the embodiments of the present invention can reduce the use time of the filter unit 200 and the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512, The degree of contamination of the filter unit 200 can be measured more accurately.

12, when the amount of light received by the light-receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is at the boundary of "contamination degree" and "contamination degree", the pulse width modulation in the light emitting portions 311, 411, The amount of light measured by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is varied within a predetermined range as indicated by an arrow B by irradiation of light according to pulse width modulation (PWM). In this case, the pollution degree of the filter unit 200 that is notified to the user through the pollution checking unit 700 continuously changes to "medium" and "low", and the user can not accurately recognize the pollution degree. The control unit 600 performs an additional control step when the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is at the boundary of each contamination step.

12 and 13, when the degree of contamination determined based on the use time of the filter unit 200 and the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 in the control unit 600 is "lower" S420), the control unit 600 compares the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 with the lower limit amount C of the light amount range of the contamination level "lower" (S421). At this time, if the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412 and 512 is larger than the lower limit light amount C of the light amount range of "lower ", the controller 600 keeps the contamination degree" Only the pollution degree is changed to "medium" (S423). In addition, it can inform the user through the pollution confirmation unit 700. If the degree of contamination is determined, it is determined whether the filter unit 200 has been replaced (S500).

12 and 14, when the control unit 600 determines that the pollution degree determined based on the usage time of the filter unit 200 and the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is "medium" (S430 ), The control unit 600 compares the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 with the upper limit amount of light D in the light amount range of "during contamination " (S431). At this time, if the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is larger than the upper limit amount of light D in the light amount range of "during contamination ", the controller 600 changes the contamination degree to" , And can notify the user through the pollution confirmation unit 700. If the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412 and 512 is smaller than the upper limit light amount D in the light amount range of "during contamination ", it is compared with the lower limit light amount E in the light amount range of" (S432).

If the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412 and 512 is larger than the lower limit amount E of the light amount range of the contamination degree, the contamination degree is maintained to be medium (S433) Quot; phase "(S435). In addition, it can inform the user through the pollution confirmation unit 700. If the degree of contamination is determined, it is determined whether the filter unit 200 has been replaced (S500).

12 and 15, when the control unit 600 determines that the pollution degree determined based on the usage time of the filter unit 200 and the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is "up" (S440 , The control unit 600 compares the light amount received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 with the upper limit light amount F in the light amount range of "above" the degree of contamination (S441). At this time, if the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is larger than the upper limit light amount F of the light amount range of "above" the contamination degree, the controller 600 changes the contamination degree to " The pollution level is maintained "above" (S442). In addition, it can inform the user through the pollution confirmation unit 700. If the degree of contamination is determined, it is determined whether the filter unit 200 has been replaced (S500).

Then, the control unit 600 determines whether the filter unit 200 is replaced (S500).

16, the light receiving units 312, 412 and 512 convert the received light quantity information into electrical signals and transmit the electrical signals to the control unit 600. The light receiving units 312, 412 and 512, The control unit 600 receiving the information of the amount of light from the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 stores the information and measures the amount of change in the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 through the difference of the received light amounts.

Next, the control unit 600 compares the amount of change in the amount of light received by the light-receiving units 312, 412, and 512 with a predetermined reference change amount (S512). Here, the predetermined reference change amount is an amount by which the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 varies as the filter portion 200 is used. Specifically, when the contaminated filter unit 200 is used and the filter unit 200 is replaced with a new filter unit 200, the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 suddenly increases in a very small amount. It is determined whether or not the filter unit 200 has been replaced.

At this time, when the amount of change in the amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is smaller than a preset reference change amount, it is determined that the filter portion 200 is continuously used without being replaced, (S300). ≪ / RTI >

On the other hand, when the amount of change in the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is larger than a predetermined reference change amount, it is determined that the filter unit 200 has been replaced, and the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, (S513) of comparing the received light amounts of the new filter unit 200 set in advance. The light receiving amount of the new filter unit 200 that is set in advance passes through the new filter unit 200 that has not been contaminated or reflected by the new filter unit 200 that is not contaminated by the light emitted from the light emitting units 311, 411, The amount of light received by the light receiving portions 312, 412, and 512 is greater than the amount of light that is received through the filter portion 200 reflected or contaminated by the contaminated filter portion 200.

If the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412 and 512 is greater than or equal to the predetermined amount of light received by the new filter unit 200, it is determined that the new filter unit 200 is mounted, The process proceeds to step S200 of adjusting the contamination detection sensor 300.

On the other hand, when the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512 is smaller than the predetermined amount of light received by the new filter unit 200, it is determined that the used filter unit 200 used for a predetermined period of time has been mounted. , 412, and 512, the amount of light received is used to estimate the time at which the filter unit 200 is used. Thereafter, the use time of the filter unit 200 is counted (S300) by reflecting the estimated time.

As described above, since the contamination detection sensors 300, 400, and 500 of the present invention are integrally formed so that the light emitting units 311, 411, and 511 and the light receiving units 312, 412 and 512 are located at a close distance, The sensitivities of the light receiving portions 312, 412 and 512 for receiving the light irradiated from the light emitting portions 311, 411 and 511 are good and the degree of contamination of the filter portion 200 can be more accurately measured.

In addition, the present invention measures the degree of contamination taking into consideration both the use time of the filter unit 200 and the amount of light received by the light receiving units 312, 412, and 512, thereby more accurately measuring the degree of contamination. It is possible to automatically determine whether the filter unit has been replaced or not and whether the mounted filter unit has been mounted correctly, and informs the user of the fact that the filter unit has been properly installed.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments and the drawings, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto and that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

100; A main body 200; The filter unit
300, 400, 500; Pollution detection sensors 311, 411, 511; The light-
312, 412, 512; A light receiving unit 600; The control unit
710; Display 720; speaker

Claims (32)

A main body having an inlet portion through which air flows and a discharge portion through which air is discharged;
A filter unit disposed inside the main body and purifying polluted air; And
And a contamination detection sensor disposed adjacent to the filter portion,
Wherein the contamination detection sensor includes a light emitting unit that emits light toward the filter, and a light receiving unit that receives light emitted from the light emitting unit. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light emitted from the light emitting portion is reflected or transmitted by the filter portion and directed to the light receiving portion. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light emitting unit is arranged to emit light toward a first surface of the filter unit or a second surface opposite to the first surface, from which contaminants of air introduced from the inlet are filtered. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the light receiving unit is disposed to face the first surface or the second surface of the filter unit. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the light receiving unit is disposed so that the same surface as the first surface or the second surface of the filter unit facing the light emitting unit faces together. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged in parallel or arranged at a predetermined angle in a direction facing each other. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are arranged to face each other such that light emitted from the light emitting portion passes through the filter portion and is received by the light receiving portion. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the filter portion includes a HEPA filter,
Wherein the light emitting unit emits visible light toward the HEPA filter. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the light emitting unit emits infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, or visible rays toward the filter unit. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of pollution detection sensors are provided. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the contamination detecting sensor is attached to or inserted into the main body. The method according to claim 1,
A controller receiving the amount of light received by the light receiving unit and determining the degree of contamination; And
And a pollution confirmation unit connected to the control unit to allow the user to check the pollution degree. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the pollution confirmation unit is at least one of a display and a speaker. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the pollution confirmation unit displays the degree of pollution of the filter unit in stages. A main body having an air flow path including an inflow portion through which air flows and a discharge portion through which the inflow air is discharged;
A filter unit disposed on the air flow path that enters the inflow unit and is discharged to the discharge unit;
And a contamination detection sensor having a light emitting portion for emitting light to the filter portion and a light receiving portion for receiving the light reflected from the filter portion,
Wherein the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are disposed so as to face the first surface of the filter portion corresponding to the inflow portion or the second surface of the filter portion corresponding to the discharge portion. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged in parallel or arranged at a predetermined angle in a direction facing each other. 16. The method of claim 15,
Wherein the filter portion includes a HEPA filter,
Wherein the light is visible light. housing;
A light emitting unit disposed in the housing and emitting light toward the filter unit; And
And a light receiving unit disposed in the housing and receiving light reflected by the filter unit or passing through the filter unit,
And outputs another signal corresponding to the degree of contamination of the filter unit according to an amount of light received by the light receiving unit. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are disposed on the same surface with respect to the filter unit or are disposed with the filter unit interposed therebetween. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein the filter portion includes a HEPA filter,
Wherein the light emitted from the light emitting portion is a visible light ray. housing;
A light emitting unit disposed in the housing and emitting light toward the filter unit; And
And a light receiving unit disposed in the housing and receiving light reflected by the filter unit,
The light receiving unit outputs another signal corresponding to the degree of contamination of the filter unit according to the amount of light received,
Wherein the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are arranged in parallel or arranged at a predetermined angle in a direction facing each other. A filter unit mounting step of mounting a filter unit in an air cleaning apparatus;
A sensor adjusting step of adjusting the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the contamination detecting sensor according to the filter portion;
Counting a use time of the filter unit; And
And a pollution degree measuring step of measuring a pollution degree of the filter unit,
Wherein the pollution degree of the filter unit is divided into at least two stages based on the use time of the filter unit and the amount of light received by the light receiving unit in the pollution degree measuring step. 23. The method of claim 22,
The contamination degree measuring step may include:
A first measuring step of measuring the degree of contamination of the filter unit based on a use time of the filter unit; And
And a second measuring step of measuring the degree of contamination of the filter unit based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit. 24. The method of claim 23,
Wherein the contamination step is changed only when the amount of light received by the light receiving unit in the second measuring step is larger or smaller than a boundary light amount that is a boundary of each contamination step by a predetermined light amount. 23. The method of claim 22,
Wherein the pollution degree of the filter unit is measured at a predetermined time interval in the pollution degree measuring step. 23. The method of claim 22,
Further comprising a step of determining whether the filter unit has been replaced by measuring a change amount of the amount of light received by the light receiving unit after the pollution degree measurement step,
And counting the use time of the filter unit when the filter unit is not replaced,
And when the filter unit is replaced, the pollution detection sensor is reset. 27. The method of claim 26,
The step of determining whether to replace the filter unit further includes determining whether the replaced filter unit is a new filter unit or a filter unit used for a predetermined period based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit,
Performing the sensor adjustment step when the replaced filter unit is a new filter unit,
When the replaced filter unit is a filter unit used for a predetermined period of time, determining a time when the replaced filter unit is used by using the amount of light received by the light receiving unit, and counting the use time of the filter unit And a control unit for controlling the air purifier. 27. The method of claim 26,
Wherein the step of counting the use time of the filter unit or the step of determining whether to replace the filter unit is repeatedly performed for a preset time. 23. The method of claim 22,
In the sensor adjustment step,
The duty of the light emitting portion is increased when the amount of light received by the light receiving portion is smaller than the minimum light amount,
Wherein the duty of the light emitting unit is reduced when the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is greater than the maximum light amount. 23. The method of claim 22,
And a filter unit checking step of determining whether the filter unit is mounted or the filter unit is mounted in a state that the wrapping paper is removed by the amount of light received by the light receiving unit between the filter unit mounting step and the sensor adjusting step Wherein the control unit controls the air purifying device. 31. The method of claim 30,
Wherein when the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is smaller than a predetermined light amount, the controller determines that the filter unit is not installed and informs the user of the fact that the filter unit is not installed. 32. The method of claim 31,
In the filter unit checking step,
Wherein at least a portion of the wrapping paper of the filter unit corresponding to the contamination detection sensor is formed of a color having a lower brightness than that of the contaminated color,
Wherein when the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is less than a preset amount of light, the controller determines that the wrapping paper of the filter unit is not removed and informs the user.

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