KR20180090679A - Particle detecting sensor, air cleaning device having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A foreign matter detection sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a light emission unit which emits light to a first surface of a filter; a first light reception unit measuring intensity of the reflected light reflected through the first surface of the filter; a second light reception unit measuring intensity of the transmitted light transmitted to the second surface of the filter; and an operation control unit for receiving intensity of the reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light, and calculating an amount of dust accumulated in the filter based on the intensity of the received reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a foreign matter detection sensor and an air cleaning device including the foreign matter detection sensor.

The present invention relates to a foreign matter detection sensor, and more particularly, to a foreign matter detection sensor installed in an air purification apparatus and capable of sensing the amount of foreign matter deposited on a filter of the air purification apparatus, an air purification apparatus including the same, will be.

The air purification apparatus is understood as an apparatus for sucking and cleaning contaminated air, and then discharging the purified air. The air purifier may include an air blower for introducing outside air into the interior of the air purifier and a filter for filtering foreign matter in the air. In one example, the air purifier may include an air purifier or an air conditioner.

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 purifier to check the replacement time of the filter. One of them is a dust sensor using light.

In the prior art (publication number: 10-2009-0035375), the filter of the air purifier, which can calculate the lifetime of the filter of the air purifier by taking advantage of the fact that the amount of wind passing through the filter and the amount of foreign matter are different from each other, A life calculation method is disclosed.

However, according to the prior art document, a dust detecting unit, that is, a dust detecting sensor is required to detect the amount of dust filtered by the filter.

The dust detection sensor has a structure in which the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit are disposed at a predetermined distance, and detects the amount of dust deposited on the filter according to the operation of the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit.

However, since the amount of light received by the light receiving unit is generally inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit, the dust sensing sensor using the conventional light has a small distance between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit, It was difficult to accurately grasp it.

In addition, the dust sensor is designed to be applicable to a specific filter. That is, the filter includes a dielectric filter and a HEPA filter, and it is impossible to accurately detect the amount of dust deposited on the HEPA filter by using a dust sensor applied to the dielectric filter. Similarly, The sensor can not accurately detect the amount of dust deposited on the dielectric filter.

In addition, since the dust sensor detects the amount of dust using the amount of light received by the light receiving unit, it is difficult to identify the type of dust deposited on the filter.

In addition, the dust sensor detects the amount of dust with only the absolute value of the amount of light received by the light receiving unit. The absolute value of the amount of light varies according to the type of dust, thereby detecting an inaccurate amount of dust .

The embodiments of the present invention provide a foreign matter detection sensor applicable to both an air purifier using a HEPA filter and an air purifier using a dielectric filter, an air purifier including the same, and an operation method thereof.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foreign matter detection sensor capable of detecting the amount of dust deposited on a filter by using the amount of transmitted light and the amount of reflected light varying according to the amount of dust, an air purification device including the same, and an operation method thereof do.

It is to be understood that the technical objectives to be achieved by the embodiments are not limited to the technical matters mentioned above and that other technical subjects not mentioned are apparent to those skilled in the art to which the embodiments proposed from the following description belong, It can be understood.

 According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foreign matter detection sensor including: a light emitting unit for emitting light to a first surface of a filter; A first light receiving unit measuring the intensity of reflected light reflected through the first surface of the filter; A second light receiving unit measuring the intensity of transmitted light transmitted to the second surface of the filter; And an operation control unit for receiving the measured intensity of the reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light and calculating an amount of dust accumulated in the filter based on the intensity of the received reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light,

Further comprising a memory for storing a correlation expression estimated by a correlation between the reflectance and the dust amount of the dust with respect to the intensity of the transmitted light and the intensity of the reflected light,

The operation control unit,

The intensity of the reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light are calculated corresponding to the correlation formula.

The correlation equation is expressed by Equation 1 below.

[Equation 1]

Here, m is a dust amount, T is intensity of transmitted light, R is intensity of reflected light, and a to f are variable coefficients.

The memory stores a first variable coefficient value applied to the HEPA filter and a second variable coefficient value applied to the dielectric filter, respectively, and the first and second variable coefficient values are different from each other.

The operation control unit determines the kind of the filter by using the intensity of the transmitted light and the intensity of the reflected light in the initial operation, and determines the variable coefficient to be applied to the dust amount calculation according to the determined filter type.

And a housing including a first portion disposed on the first surface of the filter and a second portion disposed on a second surface of the filter opposite the first surface, And the first light receiving portion are disposed in the first portion of the housing, and the second light emitting portion is disposed in the second portion of the housing.

The light emitting surface of the light emitting portion and the light receiving surface of the second light receiving portion are disposed on the housing such that at least a part of the light receiving surface faces the first filter with the filter interposed therebetween.

The dielectric filter may include a plurality of thin plates spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction, and the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting portion facing each other and the light-receiving surface of the second light- .

Each of the first and second variable coefficient values is stored in the memory in accordance with the specification of the light emitting portion, the specification of the first and second light receiving portions, and the arrangement position of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air purifying apparatus comprising: a body portion having a filter accommodating portion for sucking air, discharging purified air, A filter accommodated in a filter accommodating portion of the body portion; A cover disposed on a front surface of the body and having an opening for sucking the air; And a foreign matter detection sensor disposed between the body part and the cover for measuring a contamination state of the filter, wherein the foreign matter presence sensor comprises: a first part disposed on a first surface of the filter; And a second portion disposed on a second side of the filter opposite to the first side of the filter; a light emitting portion disposed in the first portion of the housing, A first light receiving portion disposed in the first portion of the housing and measuring an intensity of reflected light reflected through the first surface of the filter; and a second light receiving portion disposed in the second portion of the housing, A second light receiving unit that receives the intensity of the reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light; and a second light receiving unit that measures the intensity of the transmitted light, based on the intensity of the received reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light. Wherein the operation control unit calculates the dust amount using a correlation formula estimated based on the correlation between the intensity of the transmitted light and the intensity of the reflected light with respect to the reflectance of the dust and the amount of dust, And the correlation equation is as shown in Equation 1 below.

[Equation 1]

Here, m is a dust amount, T is intensity of transmitted light, R is intensity of reflected light, and a to f are variable coefficients.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the amount of dust deposited on the filter is detected by using a function estimated based on the amount of reflected light and the amount of projected light, thereby accurately analyzing the degree of contamination of the filter, So that the reliability of the air cleaning apparatus can be improved.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, by using the foreign matter detection sensor, it is possible to reduce labor or electricity waste due to missed cleaning time of the filter, and to suppress occurrence of indoor air pollution due to foreign matter accumulated in the filter .

In addition, according to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a foreign matter detection sensor applicable to all filters irrespective of kinds of filters such as a HEPA filter and a dielectric filter, Can be solved.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, by accurately changing the coefficient of the function for determining the amount of dust according to the type of dust, it is possible to detect the amount of dust accurately regardless of the kind of dust deposited on the filter, It is possible to improve the reliability of the foreign matter detection sensor

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, by determining the color of the light emitting device driven on the basis of the type of dust deposited on the filter, it is possible to measure the degree of contamination of the filter accurately, The user satisfaction can be improved.

1 is a view showing an air purification apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view of the air purifying apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the types of filters shown in FIG. 2. FIG.
4 is a view illustrating a structure of a foreign matter detection sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is an enlarged view of the foreign matter detection sensor shown in FIG.
6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a sensing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 shows contamination information of the dielectric filter displayed on the display unit 520 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 shows contamination information of the HEPA filter displayed on the display unit 520 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is an enlarged view of a foreign substance monitoring sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention, and the manner of achieving them, will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

In the following description of the present invention, a 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 following terms are defined in consideration of the functions in the embodiments of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention of the user, the intention or the custom of the operator. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

Combinations of the steps of each block and flowchart in the accompanying drawings may be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be embedded in a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus so that the instructions, which may be executed by a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, Thereby creating means for performing the functions described in the step. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer usable or computer readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to implement the functionality in a particular manner so that the computer usable or computer readable memory It is also possible to produce manufacturing items that contain instruction means that perform the functions described in each block or flowchart illustration in each step of the drawings. Computer program instructions may also be stored on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment so that a series of operating steps may be performed on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a computer- It is also possible for the instructions to perform the processing equipment to provide steps for executing the functions described in each block and flowchart of the drawings.

Also, each block or each step may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that includes one or more executable instructions for executing the specified logical function (s). It should also be noted that in some alternative embodiments, the functions mentioned in the blocks or steps may occur out of order. For example, two blocks or steps shown in succession may in fact be performed substantially concurrently, or the blocks or steps may sometimes be performed in reverse order according to the corresponding function.

In the embodiment of the present invention, instead of determining the degree of contamination of the filter using only the absolute value of the amount of light received by the light-receiving unit, it is possible to provide two or more light-receiving units for measuring the amount of light reflected by the filter and the amount of transmitted light, A foreign matter detection sensor capable of measuring an accurate contamination degree irrespective of the type of filter and an air purification apparatus including the same are provided.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an air purifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the air purifying apparatus shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view to be.

1 to 3, the air purifying apparatus includes a cover 100, a body 400, a foreign matter detection sensor 200, and a filter 300.

The body 400 includes a filter accommodating part 420 serving as an assembling space for the filter 300 on the basis of the separating film 430 and a filter 300 for passing indoor air through the filter 300, And a fan housing part 410 in which a blowing fan 440 is housed.

The body 400 sucks indoor air, purifies the sucked indoor air, and discharges the purified air. A discharge port 450 through which the purified air is discharged is formed on the upper part of the body 400. The discharge port 450 is formed on the front surface of the body 400, As shown in FIG.

The filter 300 filters the inhaled air, and is thus accommodated in the filter accommodating portion 420 of the body 400. The filter 300 is disposed on the air flow path inside the body 400 through which the outside air flows through the front surface of the filter 300 and is discharged through the rear surface of the filter 300, Only air that has been captured from the air and purified can be passed.

The filter 300 may be composed of a plurality of filters, and the filter that performs the air filtering function may be any one of a HEPA filter and a dielectric filter.

Preferably, the filter 300 may comprise a prefilter (not shown), a medium filter (not shown), an activated carbon filter (not shown), and a HEPA filter or a dielectric filter to perform the filtering function.

In other words, the filter 300 is a filter that removes foreign matter such as dust, mold, hair and pet hairs of a relatively large size and a pre-filter that removes foreign matters such as medium size dust and pet hair using an antibacterial material. , An activated charcoal filter which is a deodorizing filter of coal or coconut angle, a harmful substance such as harmful house dust, mites, viruses and fungi contained in the indoor air, and a hepafilter or a dielectric filter for removing particulate- And the like.

FIG. 3 (a) is a view illustrating a HEPA filter according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 (b) is a diagram illustrating a dielectric filter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the filter 300 may be a HEPA filter.

HEPA filter is a high efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA filter) that has strong adsorption capacity and is harmful to humans such as house dust, mites, viruses, fungi, It is a purifying filter that removes up to 99.97% of polluted dust, thereby purifying polluted air to a clean condition.

3 (a), the HEPA filter includes a case and a filter paper 310 disposed inside the case. The filter paper 310 has a plurality of circuit refracted shapes such that the shape of the cross section has an acid and a valley. That is, the filter paper 310 includes convex points corresponding to the mountain portions and concave points at the valley points.

In addition, the filter 300 may be a dielectric filter.

The dielectric filter includes a thin plate 320 that functions as a capacitor so that charges are applied to the foreign matter so that the foreign matter adheres to the thin plate 320 of the dielectric filter. At this time, a foreign substance having a negative charge is attached to the positive electrode of the thin plate 320, and a foreign substance having a positive charge is attached to the negative electrode of the thin plate 320.

The dielectric filter may include a thin plate 320 and a slit 330, as shown in FIG. 3 (b). At this time, the slits 330 and the thin plate 320 may be formed or disposed in a plurality of the dielectric filters.

The slit 330 has a narrow width in a direction perpendicular to the air inflow direction and is formed to be long in the same direction as the air inflow direction. At least a part of the light generated from the air, the foreign matter and the foreign matter detection sensor can pass through the slit 330.

The plurality of thin plates 320 may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in a direction perpendicular to the air flow direction, and the spacing distance of the plurality of thin plates 320 may form the slit 330.

The dielectric filter is arranged such that the thin plates 320 having a long length in the air inflow direction are spaced apart at regular intervals in the direction perpendicular to the air inflow direction and a thin plate 320 having a relatively short length in the air inflow direction is disposed therebetween The width of the slit 330, that is, the width of the slit 310 in the direction perpendicular to the air inflow direction can be reduced. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the width of the slit 330 can be adjusted by various methods.

The dielectric filter can collect foreign matter flowing through the slit 330 by an electrostatic attractive force. Air containing foreign matter can flow in the air inlet direction, so that foreign matter contained in the air can also flow through the slit 330 of the dielectric filter in the air inlet direction.

At this time, static electricity is applied to the dielectric filter, so that the thin plate 320 forming the slit 330 may be subjected to static electricity. Thus, at least a portion of the foreign material flowing through the slit 330 may be attached to the surface of the foil 320 forming the slit 330 by electrostatic attraction.

The foreign matter contained in the air flowing through the dielectric filter in this manner can be filtered by the dielectric filter. The foreign matter collected in the dielectric filter is present in a space formed in the front part of the dielectric filter or attached to the thin plate 320 of the dielectric filter. This also applies to the HEPA filter.

Therefore, when the filter 300 is continuously used for a long time, the foreign substances continue to adhere to the filter 300, and the accumulated foreign matter causes deterioration of the performance of the filter 300, It is necessary to prevent the performance of the filter 300 from deteriorating.

Generally, the cleaning period of the filter 300 is irregular. This is because there is no means for measuring the amount of foreign matter accumulated in the filter 300, and the operator arbitrarily cleans the filter 300 irrespective of the amount of foreign matter accumulated in the filter 300.

If the filter 300 is continuously used in a state in which foreign matter is excessively accumulated in the filter 300, the air purifier operates in a state where the performance of the filter 300 is lowered, The air purification of the air purifying device can not be efficiently performed and indoor air contamination may be caused. If the degree of contamination of the filter 300 is severe, the air purifying function may not be performed at all.

Accordingly, if a sensor for measuring the amount of foreign substances accumulated in the filter 300 can be implemented, the problems can be solved easily because the filter 300 can be cleaned efficiently according to the timing.

As described above, the HEPA filter and the dielectric filter differ from each other in terms of their foreign substance filtering principles, and thus different sensors must be implemented according to the HEPA filter and the dielectric filter. In other words, certain countries, regions, and products are using genetic filters, while others use regional filters and heap filters. Therefore, even if there is a sensor for sensing the amount of foreign matter, a sensor applied to the HAP filter and a sensor applied to the dielectric filter must be developed and manufactured.

However, in the present invention, it is possible to accurately measure the amount of the foreign substances accumulated in the filter 300, thereby indicating the cleaning time and the replacement time of the filter, and it is possible to determine the kind of the filter applied to the air purification apparatus, A sensor that can be applied in common is provided irrespective of whether or not the sensor is used.

The cover 100 forms the front surface of the body 400. The cover 100 includes a front portion 110 and a guide portion 120 extending in a direction perpendicular to the front portion 110 and having an opening 120a for sucking air from both sides of the front portion 110 . The cover 100 is coupled to the filter accommodating portion 420 of the body 400 and disposed in the front direction of the filter 300 so as to cover the filter 300. The cover 100 prevents the filter 300 from being exposed to the outside and the air introduced through the opening 120a of the cover 100 is sucked into the filter 300. [

The foreign matter detection sensor 200 is disposed adjacent to the filter 300. The foreign matter detection sensor 200 is disposed adjacent to the filter 300 to detect the amount of foreign matter deposited on the filter 300. The foreign substance detection sensor 200 includes a sensor body on which components constituting the sensor are mounted, as will be described later.

The sensor body includes the fixing portion, a first extension portion extending from one side of the fixing portion and disposed in parallel with the first surface of the filter 300, and a second extension portion extending from the other side of the fixing portion, And a second extending portion disposed in parallel with a second surface opposite to the first surface. In other words, the sensor body of the foreign matter detection sensor 200 may have a 'C' shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sensor body may be applied to other shapes in which the first and second surfaces of the filter 300 face each other.

In other words, the sensor body includes a first face of the filter 300 and a second face opposite to the first face, each parallel to and facing each other. At this time, the first surface of the filter 300 is a surface to which air is introduced through the opening 120a of the cover 100, foreign matter of the introduced air is filtered, and the second surface is a surface And is a surface through which the foreign matter is filtered through the filter 300.

The foreign substance detection sensor 200 is designed to be applicable to all the filters 300 regardless of the type of the filter 300. Accordingly, the foreign substance detection sensor 200 includes a light emitting unit and a plurality of light receiving units.

At this time, the light emitting portion is disposed facing the first surface of the filter 300. Accordingly, the light emitting unit generates light toward the first surface of the filter 300. The plurality of light-receiving units are disposed facing different surfaces of the filter 300.

That is, one of the plurality of light-receiving units is disposed to face the first surface of the filter 300. The other one of the plurality of light receiving portions is disposed facing the second surface opposite to the first surface.

At this time, a part of the light generated through the light emitting unit is reflected by the first surface of the filter 300, and the light receiving unit disposed facing the first surface reflects the amount of the reflected light (hereinafter, Quot;).

In addition, a part of the light generated through the light emitting portion is transmitted to the second surface of the filter 300, and the light receiving portion disposed opposite to the second surface reflects the amount of the transmitted light (hereinafter, Is measured.

In the present invention, the amount of dust accumulated in the filter 300 can be measured using the correlation between the reflectance and the mass (dust) of the dust with respect to the reflected light quantity and the transmitted light quantity.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a structure of a foreign substance detection sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the foreign substance detection sensor shown in FIG.

4 and 5, the foreign substance detection sensor 200 includes a sensor body 210, a first light receiving unit 220, a second light receiving unit 230, and a light emitting unit 240. At this time, the first and second light receiving portions 220 and 230 may be optical sensors. The optical sensor may include, for example, a photodiode, an image sensor, an infrared sensor, and a camera, and the image sensor may be a CCD or a CMOS image sensor. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various sensors capable of sensing light can be used. In the present invention, the first and second light-receiving units 220 and 230 are implemented with a photodiode without a color filter to measure the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light, respectively.

The sensor body 210 may be integrally formed with the first light receiving unit 220, the second light receiving unit 230, and the light emitting unit 240. The sensor body 210 may be a housing in which the first light receiving unit 220, the second light receiving unit 230, and the light emitting unit 240 are received and mounted.

The sensor body 210 includes a first body portion disposed on a first surface of the filter 300 and disposed in parallel with the first surface and facing the first surface, And a second body disposed parallel to the opposing second surface and facing the second surface.

As described above, the first surface may be the front surface of the filter 300, and the second surface may be the rear surface of the filter 300. That is, the front surface of the filter 300 is a surface through which air containing foreign substances flows, and the rear surface of the filter 300 is a surface through which dust is removed through the filter 300.

The light emitting part 240 is disposed on the first body part of the sensor body 210 so as to face the first surface of the filter 300 so that light is irradiated to the first surface of the filter 300 .

The light emitting unit 240 may be a light emitting diode (LED), a laser, an infrared lamp, an ultraviolet lamp, a visible light lamp, an incandescent lamp, a fluorescent lamp or the like. Meanwhile, the light emitting unit 240 may be a light emitting device such as the LED. Each of the light emitting units 240 may include a plurality of light emitting devices. At this time, the plurality of light emitting devices can emit light of the same color to each other, and light of different colors can be irradiated. Preferably, the plurality of light emitting elements include a first light emitting element for emitting white light, a second light emitting element for emitting red light, a third light emitting element for emitting green light, Emitting device.

The first light receiving portion 220 is disposed on the first body portion of the sensor body 210. Preferably, the first light receiving portion 220 is disposed at a position spaced apart from the light emitting portion 240 of the first body portion.

The first light receiving portion 220 is disposed on the first body portion so as to face the first surface of the filter 300 in parallel with the light emitting portion 240.

The light receiving surface of the first light receiving portion 220 may be parallel to the light emitting surface of the light emitting portion 240 and may be disposed to face the first surface of the filter 300. The light receiving surface of the first light receiving unit 220 is spaced apart from the first surface of the filter 300 by a predetermined distance.

The first light receiving unit 220 measures the amount of reflected light.

The second light receiving portion 230 is disposed on the second surface opposite to the first surface of the filter 300 on which the light emitting portion 240 is disposed so as to face the light emitting portion 240.

The light receiving surface of the second light receiving portion 230 may be disposed facing the light emitting surface of the light emitting portion 240 and the second surface of the filter 300. The light receiving surface of the second light receiving portion 230 is spaced apart from the second surface of the filter 300 by a predetermined distance.

The second light receiving unit 230 measures the amount of transmitted light.

At this time, the light emitting unit 240 is disposed in the same direction (parallel direction) as the first light receiving unit 220 and in a direction opposite to the second light receiving unit 230.

Accordingly, the light emitted through the light emitting unit 240 is reflected by the filter 300, and the first light receiving unit 220 can measure the amount of reflected light with respect to the reflected light.

The light emitted through the light emitting unit 240 passes through the filter 300 and the second light receiving unit 230 can measure the amount of transmitted light with respect to the transmitted light.

At this time, the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light may vary in size depending on the degree of contamination of the filter 300. That is, as the degree of contamination of the filter 300 is large, the intensity of the reflected light reflected through the filter 300 and the intensity of the transmitted light passing through the filter 300 may be reduced.

In addition, the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light may vary depending on the type of the filter 300 even when dust of the same mass is piled up. That is, when dust of the same mass is accumulated in the filter 300, the amount of transmitted light when the filter 300 is a dielectric filter may be smaller than the amount of transmitted light when the filter 300 is a HEPA filter.

When the filter 300 has the same mass of dust, the amount of light reflected by the filter 300 when the filter 300 is a dielectric filter may be larger than the amount of light reflected by the filter 300 when the filter 300 is a HEPA filter. This is because the principle of dust removal of the HEPA filter and the dielectric filter are different from each other and the filter structures are different from each other.

In addition, the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light may vary depending on the type of dust accumulated in the filter 300, even when dust of the same mass is accumulated.

Therefore, in the present invention, by using the amount of reflected light obtained through the first light receiving portion 220 and the amount of transmitted light obtained through the second light receiving portion 230, regardless of the reflectance of dust or color dust, 300) according to the type of the pollution.

To this end, in the present invention, the correlation between the reflectance r and the dust amount (dust mass, m) of the dust with respect to the amount of transmitted light and the reflected light amount is estimated according to the type of the filter 300, Is obtained.

At this time, the correlation equations are classified according to the type of the filter 300, and may include a first correlation equation applied to the dielectric filter and a second correlation equation applied to the HEPA filter.

This is because the reflection degree and transmission degree of light according to the dust amount m of the dielectric filter are different from the reflection degree and transmission degree of light according to the dust amount m of the HEPA filter.

Accordingly, in the present invention, a correlation equation applied to each of the dielectric filter and the HEPA filter is estimated, and the estimated correlation equation is stored. In the present invention, the reflected light amount and the transmitted light amount obtained through the first and second light-receiving units 220 and 230 are substituted into the correlation equation corresponding to the type of the filter 300, Calculate the amount of dust (m).

Accordingly, the foreign substance detection sensor 200 can detect the degree of contamination according to the type of the filter 300 based on the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light obtained through the first and second light-receiving units 220 and 230.

On the other hand, at least a part of the light receiving surface of the second light receiving portion 230 and the light emitting surface of the light emitting portion 240 are on the same horizontal axis. Preferably, the second light receiving portion 230 measures the amount of transmitted light, and in particular, when the filter 300 is a dielectric filter, the slit 330 of the dielectric filter Measure the amount of transmitted light passing through.

Accordingly, at least a part of the light emitting surface of the light emitting portion 240, the slit 330 of the dielectric filter, and the light receiving surface of the second light receiving portion 230 are arranged on the same horizontal axis. Accordingly, at least a part of the light receiving surface of the second light receiving portion 230 can receive light transmitted through the slit 330 of the light emitted through the light emitting portion 240. At this time, when dust is accumulated on the slit 330, reflection and scattering of light are performed in the slit 330. Accordingly, the intensity of the light transmitted through the slit 330 is small according to the amount of dust m Loses.

Hereinafter, the process of determining the correlation formula according to the filter type, the process of determining the type of the filter, the process of determining the degree of contamination of the filter, and the process of determining the type of the foreign matter deposited in the filter will be described in more detail. .

The present invention controls the operation of the foreign matter detection sensor 200 or determines the type of the filter 300 or the amount of reflected light and transmitted light obtained through the foreign matter detection sensor 200, And a sensing unit 500 for determining the amount of dust.

6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a sensing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6, the sensing unit 500 includes a memory 510, a display unit 520, a light amount receiving unit 530, and an operation control unit 540.

The memory 510 may store the transmitted light amount value and the reflected light amount value transmitted through the first and second light receiving portions 220 and 230. [

In addition, the memory 510 may store various data generated in the process of calculating the amount of dust deposited on the filter according to the amount of transmitted light and the amount of reflected light.

In particular, the memory 510 stores the correlation equation estimated based on the correlation between the reflectance r of the dust and the amount of dust (mass, m) with respect to the amount of transmitted light and the amount of reflected light. In particular, the memory 510 stores a first correlation equation applied to the dielectric filter and a second correlation equation applied to the HEPA filter.

The memory 510 may store various data necessary for the operation of the foreign substance detection sensor, such as a program for processing or controlling the operation control unit 540.

The memory 510 may be a variety of storage devices such as a ROM, a RAM, an EPROM, a flash drive, a hard drive, and the like.

The display unit 520 displays various information on the operation and state of the air cleaning apparatus. When the type of the filter 300 or the degree of contamination of the filter 300 is determined by the operation control unit 540, the display unit 520 can visually display the information.

The display unit 520 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display display, a 3D display, and an e-ink display.

The light amount receiving unit 530 is connected to the first light receiving unit 220 and the second light receiving unit 230 and may transmit the value of the reflected light amount obtained through the first light receiving unit 220 to the operation control unit 540 . The light-receiving unit 530 may transmit the value of the amount of transmitted light obtained through the second light-receiving unit 230 to the operation controller 540.

The operation control unit 540 calculates the amount of reflected light transmitted through the light amount receiving unit 530 and the amount of dust corresponding to the amount of transmitted light using the correlation formula of any one of the first and second correlation expressions stored in the memory 510 .

For this, the operation control unit 540 may preferentially determine the type of the filter 300.

The operation control unit 540 may perform an operation of determining the type of the filter 300 when the initial operation is performed. The operation of determining the type of the filter 300 may be performed by the operation of the light receiving unit of the first light receiving unit 220 and the second light receiving unit 230 and the light emitting unit 240.

First, the operation control unit 540 drives the light receiving unit of any one of the first light receiving unit 220 and the second light receiving unit 230 to determine the type of the filter 300. Hereinafter, the case where the second light receiving section 230 is driven to determine the type of the filter 300 will be described first.

The operation control unit 540 drives the light emitting unit 240 and the second light receiving unit 230 to determine the type of the filter 300. Accordingly, the light emitting unit 240 irradiates light to the first surface of the filter 300.

The irradiated light is at least partially transmitted through the first surface of the filter 300 to the second surface. The second light receiving portion 230 acquires the amount of transmitted light for the light transmitted through the second surface.

At this time, the intensity of the transmitted transmitted light varies depending on the type of the filter 300. That is, when the filter 300 is a dielectric filter, the dielectric filter includes the slit 330 as described above, and the intensity of the transmitted light is large because the light passes through the slit. However, when the filter 300 is a HEPA filter, the HEPA filter is composed of the filter paper 310, not the slit 330, such that a part of the light is blocked or reflected, The intensity of the light is smaller than that of the dielectric filter.

Accordingly, if the amount of transmitted light obtained through the second light receiving unit 230 is larger than the first reference value, the operation control unit 540 sets the first reference value, and if the amount of transmitted light obtained through the second light receiving unit 230 is greater than the first reference value, (300) is determined to be a dielectric filter, and if the amount of transmitted light is smaller than the first reference value, the filter (300) can be determined as a HEPA filter.

Meanwhile, the operation control unit 540 may drive the first light receiving unit 220 to determine the type of the filter 300. Accordingly, the light emitting unit 240 emits light to the first surface of the filter 300.

The light emitted through the light emitting unit 240 is reflected through the first surface of the filter 300 or a part of the light is transmitted from the first surface to the second surface.

The first light receiving unit 220 measures the amount of reflected light reflected through the first surface of the filter 300 with respect to the light emitted through the light emitting unit 240. At this time, the amount of reflected light reflected may vary according to the type of the filter 300.

That is, when the filter 300 is a dielectric filter, the dielectric filter includes the slit 330 as described above, and the light is transmitted through the slit, so that the amount of reflected light reflected is small Loses. However, when the filter 300 is a HEPA filter, the HEPA filter is composed of the filter paper 310 rather than the slit 330 as described above, so that most of the light is reflected through the first surface, The intensity of the reflected light becomes larger than that of the dielectric filter.

Accordingly, when the amount of reflected light obtained through the first light receiving unit 220 is larger than the second reference value, the operation control unit 540 sets the second reference value, and if the reflected light amount obtained through the first light receiving unit 220 is larger than the second reference value, (300) is determined as a HEPA filter, and if the amount of reflected light is smaller than the second reference value, the filter (300) can be determined as a dielectric filter.

The operation control unit 540 may use the amount of reflected light obtained through the first light receiving unit 220 and the amount of transmitted light obtained through the second light receiving unit 230 to determine the type of the filter 300 You can judge.

The operation control unit 540 extracts a correlation equation corresponding to the determined type of the filter 300 from the memory 510. That is, when the determined filter 300 is a dielectric filter, the operation control unit 540 extracts a first correlation equation stored in the memory 510. If the determined filter 300 is a HEPA filter, the operation control unit 540 extracts a second correlation equation stored in the memory 510.

In addition, the operation control unit 540 substitutes the extracted reflected light amount and transmitted light amount obtained through the first and second light receiving units 220 and 230 into the extracted correlation formula, and outputs the calculated result according to the substitution to the filter 300). ≪ / RTI >

In addition, the operation control unit 540 displays information on the degree of contamination of the filter 300 on the display unit 530 based on the determined dust amount.

Hereinafter, a process of estimating the correlation formula will be described.

Once the correlation equation is estimated, the following assumption is necessary. This is because the size of the dust has the same distribution irrespective of the type of dust, and the distribution of the distance between the dusts is constant when the dust accumulates.

The relationship between the transmitted light amount T, the mass m of the dust, and the reflectance r of the dust can be deduced from the above assumptions.

The amount of transmitted light T in a state in which no dust is accumulated on the filter 300 has an intrinsic transmitted light amount To of the filter 300.

Then, the number of times the light is naohmyeonseo pass through the dust layer accumulated on the filter 300, reflection is proportional to m / m _o. Here, m _o is a mean weight average of the size of dust.

The transmitted light amount T in the above-described state can be expressed by Equation 1 below.

[Equation 1]

Here, a means a proportional constant.

On the other hand, the relationship between the reflected light amount R, the mass m of the dust, and the reflectance r of the dust can be inferred from the above assumption.

The amount of reflected light R in a state in which no dust is accumulated on the filter 300 has an intrinsic reflected light amount Ro of the filter 300 alone.

When light is reflected by the dust layer accumulated in the filter 300, it can be reflected by the following cases.

(1) Reflections from the surface of dust

(2) When a part enters into the dust layer and is reflected

(3) Reflected from the surface of the filter

The reflected light quantity R when the light is reflected by the dust layer accumulated in the filter 300 is reflected by the surface of the dust layer as described above, And a sum of various cases ranging from the case of being reflected from the surface of the filter. Then, the light is light reflected number of times until it reaches the surface of the filter 300 is proportional to m / m _o. Here, m _o is a mean weight average of the size of dust.

Then, the reflected light amount R in the above-described state can be expressed by the following equation (2).

[Equation 2]

Here, a means a proportional constant.

The implications of the analogy of the relationship between the transmitted light amount T and the reflected light amount R, the mass of the dust m and the reflectance r of the dust may be as follows.

(1) As the amount of dust accumulated in the filter increases, the amount of light decreases exponentially.

(2) When the reflectance (r) is low, the amount of light is rapidly saturated and the detection range capable of detecting the amount of dust becomes narrow.

(3) Since the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light are monotonous decreasing with respect to the amount of dust m, the amount of dust can be accurately measured regardless of the color of dust or the type of dust when both the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light are measured.

A solution for calculating the degree of pollution of the filter 300 according to the above is as follows.

The reflectance r is determined according to the kind of dust and the transmitted light amount T and the reflected light amount R can be determined as a function of the reflectance r and the dust amount m can do.

That is, the transmitted light amount T and the reflected light amount R can be determined by a function expressed by Equation (3) below.

[Equation 3]

T = T (r, m),

R = R (r, m)

In other words, the transmitted light amount T and the reflected light amount R can be estimated in the form of a function of exponential power proportional to the amount of dust m of the reflectance r, as in Equation (3). Thus, the dust amount m can be estimated in the form of a function such as log (T) and log (R).

Therefore, the correlation formula for calculating the dust amount m may be expressed by the following equation (4).

[Equation 4]

Here, a, b, c, d, e, and f are variables.

Equation 4 is a correlation equation fitted to calculate the amount of dust m based on the transmitted light amount T and the reflected light amount R under all conditions regardless of the type of dust (or dust color).

To do this, the coefficients of a, b, c, d, e, and f corresponding to the variables are extracted from the correlation equation described in Equation (4), and the dust amount (m) is calculated by applying the coefficients.

To this end, the transmitted light quantity T and the reflected light quantity R are obtained for each kind of dust and the state of the mass of each dust, and the coefficients a, b, c, d , e, f). Then, when the coefficient is obtained, the correlation equation including the obtained coefficient is stored in the memory 510.

The operation control unit 540 may calculate the transmitted light amount T and the reflected light amount R obtained through the first light receiving unit 220 and the second light receiving unit 230 using a correlation formula using the obtained coefficients, Quot; m "

Meanwhile, the coefficients may have different values according to various conditions, and coefficients obtained corresponding to the respective conditions may be stored in the memory 510 separately.

Here, the condition includes the kind of the filter 300. [ In other words, even if the dust amount m is the same, the transmitted light amount T and the reflected light amount R change depending on the type of the filter 300. Therefore, Respectively, and stores the obtained coefficient values in the memory 510. Accordingly, the correlation formula including the coefficients obtained for the dielectric filter among the obtained coefficient values is the first correlation formula described above, and the correlation formula including the coefficients obtained for the HAPA filter is the second correlation formula described above.

Further, the conditions may be further classified according to the specification of the light emitting portion, the specification of the light receiving portion, and the arrangement position of the light emitting portion / light receiving portion. In other words, the first correlation equation may include respective coefficient values corresponding to the specification of the light emitting portion, the specification of the light receiving portion, and the arrangement position of the light emitting portion / light receiving portion.

Further, the second correlation equation may include respective coefficient values corresponding to the specification of the light emitting portion, the specification of the light receiving portion, and the arrangement position of the light emitting portion / light receiving portion.

On the other hand, in Table 1 below, the coefficients obtained for the dielectric filter are applied, and the transmitted light amount T is calculated for each of JIS 11 (brown dust), ASHRAE # 1 (black dust) and STP 3-4 (white dust) And the amount of dust m with respect to the reflected light amount R were calculated. It was confirmed that there was no significant difference between the calculated dust amount and the actual dust amount accumulated in the filter.

In the following, m (experiment) means the amount of dust accumulated in the actual filter, and m (fitting) means the amount of dust obtained by the above correlation formula.

Dielectric filter Type of dust T R m (experimental) m (fitting) black


2530.3 14588.9 0.0 0.01 1143.2 11637.7 3.5 6.5 1044.7 9925.4 16.8 14.2 923.4 9088.0 25.5 26.5 white


2530.3 14588.9 0.0 0.1 321.1 16510.6 6.5 10.3 148.8 16621.8 16.0 18.3 90.7 16881.7 25.4 28.4 jis


2530.3 14588.9 0.0 0.1 1226.5 14418.5 6.0 4.9 748.4 14207.9 16.0 13.4 465.3 14056.9 22.0 21.3

On the other hand, in Table 2 below, the coefficients obtained for the HEPA filter are applied to calculate the transmitted light amount T for each of JIS 11 (brown dust), ASHRAE # 1 (black dust) and STP 3-4 (white dust) And the amount of dust m with respect to the reflected light amount R were calculated. It was confirmed that there was no significant difference between the calculated dust amount and the actual dust amount accumulated in the filter.

Type of dust T R m (experimental) m (fitting)

black

12688.21 21501.07 0.0 -0.6 892.82 7507.84 7.6 9.3 627.04 7147.77 14.1 12.5 198.25 7141.05 23.8 25.6 77.05 7084.23 34.8 40.9

white

12688.21 21501.07 0 -0.6 4213.39 19604.03 5 6.8 431.19 18228.93 14.8 15.5 334.46 18021.69 25.1 25.7 276.98 17729.25 35.8 35.4
jis

12688.21 21501.07 0 -0.6 2 + 52.55 13034.19 6.4 6.9 332.39 10553.70 14.6 17.0 130.16 10436.91 25.5 19.9 40.47 10046.81 33 39.6

7 shows contamination information of the dielectric filter displayed on the display unit 520 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Here, the contamination information may be contamination information applied to the dielectric filter.

Referring to FIG. 7, in the present invention, the degree of contamination can be classified into five levels, and the degree of contamination classified into the five levels can be displayed.

That is, in the state where no foreign matter is deposited (0 g), contamination information on the degree of contamination in the first stage can be displayed. Further, in a state in which the foreign matter is deposited about 5 g, the contamination information on the degree of contamination in the second stage can be displayed. Further, in a state in which about 10 g of foreign matter is deposited, contamination information on the degree of contamination in the third step can be displayed. Further, in the state where the foreign matter is deposited to the extent of 16 g, the contamination information on the degree of contamination in the fourth step can be displayed. Further, in a state in which 21 g of foreign matter is deposited, contamination information on the degree of contamination at the fifth step can be displayed.

As described above, in the present invention, the degree of contamination of the dielectric filter is determined on the basis of the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light obtained by driving the light emitting unit 240 and the first and second second light receiving units 220 and 230, Can be displayed.

8 shows contamination information of the HEPA filter displayed on the display unit 540 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, in the present invention, the degree of contamination can be classified into five levels, and the degree of contamination classified into the five levels can be displayed.

That is, when 2 g of foreign matter is deposited in a state in which no foreign matter is deposited, contamination information on the degree of contamination in the first step can be displayed. Here, the reference value of the first step may be determined by the allowable initial pressure difference of the HEPA filter. And, in a state in which the foreign matter is deposited about 6 g, the contamination information on the degree of contamination in the second stage can be displayed. Further, in a state in which about 10 g of foreign matter is deposited, contamination information on the degree of contamination in the third step can be displayed. Further, in a state in which about 20 g of foreign matter is deposited, contamination information on the degree of contamination in the fourth step can be displayed. Further, in a state in which about 30 g of foreign matter is deposited, contamination information on the degree of contamination in the fifth step can be displayed.

As described above, in the present invention, the degree of contamination of the dielectric filter is determined on the basis of the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light obtained by driving the light emitting unit 240 and the first and second second light receiving units 220 and 230, Can be displayed.

 The contamination information of the HEPA filter can be determined by the differential pressure and the service life of the HEPA filter.

In the above description, the foreign substance detection sensor 200 is composed of two light receiving units and one light emitting unit.

However, the present invention is not limited to this, and if it is possible to measure both the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light, the foreign matter detection sensor 200 can be modified.

9 is an enlarged view of a foreign substance monitoring sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, the foreign substance detecting sensor 200 may be composed of one light receiving unit and two light emitting units, unlike the contents described in FIG.

That is, the foreign substance detection sensor 200 according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a sensor body 210, a first light emitting portion 220a, a second light emitting portion 230a, and a light receiving portion 240a. At this time, the light receiving unit 240a may be a photodiode that does not include a color filter, as described above.

The sensor body 210 is formed integrally with the first light emitting portion 220a, the second light emitting portion 230a, and the light receiving portion 240a. The sensor body 210 is a housing in which the first light emitting unit 220a, the second light emitting unit 230a, and the light receiving unit 240a are mounted, and may be referred to as a housing.

The sensor body 210 includes a first body portion disposed on a first surface of the filter 300 and disposed in parallel with the first surface and facing the first surface, And a second body disposed parallel to the opposing second surface and facing the second surface. The first surface may be the front surface of the filter 300 and the second surface may be the rear surface of the filter 300. That is, the front surface of the filter 300 is a surface through which air including foreign substances flows, and the rear surface of the filter 300 is a surface through which the air filtered through the filter 300 is discharged.

The first light emitting portion 220a is disposed on the first body portion of the sensor body 210 so as to face the first surface of the filter 300, Light is irradiated.

The second light emitting portion 230a is disposed on the second body portion of the sensor body 210 so as to face the second surface of the filter 300, 2 light.

Each of the first light emitting unit 220a and the second light emitting unit 230a may be a light emitting diode (LED), a laser, an infrared lamp, an ultraviolet lamp, a visible light lamp, an incandescent lamp, . Each of the first light emitting unit 220a and the second light emitting unit 230a may be a light emitting device such as an LED. In addition, each of the first light emitting unit 220a and the second light emitting unit 230a may include a plurality of light emitting devices. At this time, the plurality of light emitting devices can emit light of the same color to each other, and light of different colors can be irradiated. Preferably, the plurality of light emitting elements include a first light emitting element for emitting white light, a second light emitting element for emitting red light, a third light emitting element for emitting green light, Emitting device.

The light receiving portion 240a is formed on the first body portion of the sensor body 210 so as to be parallel to the first light emitting portion 220a and spaced apart from the first light emitting portion 220a, 1 < / RTI >

That is, the light receiving unit 240a is disposed on the first surface opposite to the second surface of the filter 300 in which the second light emitting unit 230a is disposed so as to face the second light emitting unit 230a .

The light receiving unit 240a measures the amount of transmitted light and the amount of reflected light.

That is, the light receiving unit 240a is disposed in the same direction (parallel direction) as the first light emitting unit 220a and in a direction opposite to the second light emitting unit 230a.

Accordingly, the light emitted through the first light emitting portion 220a is reflected by the filter 300, and the light receiving portion 240 measures the amount of reflected light with respect to the reflected light.

The light emitted through the second light emitting portion 230a passes through the filter 300 and the light receiving portion 240a measures the amount of transmitted light with respect to the transmitted light.

In other words, in the first embodiment of the present invention, one light emitting portion and two light receiving portions were included.

Then, the two light-receiving units operate simultaneously, and the amount of reflected light and the amount of transmitted light at the same point in time are measured for light irradiated through the one light-emitting unit accordingly.

Alternatively, the second embodiment includes two light emitting portions and one light receiving portion.

One of the two light emitting portions is disposed in parallel with the one light receiving portion, and the other light emitting portion is disposed facing the light receiving portion.

Accordingly, the two light emitting units in the second embodiment of the present invention operate sequentially, not simultaneously.

In other words, in order to measure the reflected light amount and the transmitted light amount, the first light emitting unit 220a and the second light emitting unit 230a sequentially operate at a predetermined time interval.

That is, the operation of the first light emitting unit 220a can be performed first, and when the operation of the first light emitting unit 220a is performed, the light receiving unit 240a generates the light emitting unit 220a And the amount of reflected light with respect to the first light is measured.

When the reflected light quantity is specified, the operation of the first light emitting unit 220a is stopped, and the second light emitting unit 230a operates accordingly.

The light receiving unit 240a is disposed facing the second light emitting unit 230a with the filter 300 interposed therebetween so that the second light emitted through the second light emitting unit 230a The amount of transmitted light is measured.

The operation control unit acquires the reflected light amount and the transmitted light amount sequentially measured through the light receiving unit 240a and substitutes the reflected light amount and the transmitted light amount into the correlation formula to calculate the amount of dust corresponding to the reflected light amount and the transmitted light amount .

In the above description, the second light emitting unit 230a operates after the first light emitting unit 220a operates first, but the operation order thereof may be changed. In other words, the second light emitting portion 230a may be driven first, the amount of transmitted light may be measured, and then the first light emitting portion 220a may be driven to measure the amount of reflected light.

According to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the degree of contamination of the filter is accurately analyzed by detecting the amount of dust deposited on the filter by using a function estimated based on the amount of reflected light and the amount of projection light, Or the replacement timing can be accurately known, and the reliability of the air cleaning apparatus can be improved.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, by using the foreign matter detection sensor, it is possible to reduce labor or electricity waste due to missed cleaning time of the filter, and to suppress occurrence of indoor air pollution due to foreign matter accumulated in the filter .

In addition, according to the embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a foreign matter detection sensor applicable to all filters irrespective of kinds of filters such as a HEPA filter and a dielectric filter, Can be solved.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, by accurately changing the coefficient of the function for determining the amount of dust according to the type of dust, it is possible to detect the amount of dust accurately regardless of the kind of dust deposited on the filter, It is possible to improve the reliability of the foreign matter detection sensor

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, by determining the color of the light emitting device driven on the basis of the type of dust deposited on the filter, it is possible to measure the degree of contamination of the filter accurately, The user satisfaction can be improved.

The features, structures, effects and the like described in the embodiments of the present invention are included in at least one embodiment and are not necessarily limited to one embodiment. Furthermore, the features, structures, effects and the like illustrated in the embodiments can be combined and modified by other persons skilled in the art to which the embodiments belong. Accordingly, the contents of such combinations and modifications should be construed as being included in the scope of the embodiments.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It can be seen that the modification and application of branches are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments can be modified and implemented. It is to be understood that the present invention may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

Claims (10)

A light emitting portion for emitting light to the first surface of the filter;
A first light receiving unit measuring the intensity of reflected light reflected through the first surface of the filter;
A second light receiving unit measuring the intensity of transmitted light transmitted to the second surface of the filter; And
And an operation control unit for receiving the intensity of the reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light and calculating an amount of dust accumulated in the filter based on the intensity of the received reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light
Foreign substance detection sensor. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a memory for storing a correlation expression estimated by a correlation between the reflectance and the dust amount of the dust with respect to the intensity of the transmitted light and the intensity of the reflected light,
The operation control unit,
The intensity of the reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light are calculated in accordance with the correlation formula
Foreign substance detection sensor. 3. The method of claim 2,
The correlation equation can be expressed by the following equation
Foreign substance detection sensor.
[Equation 1]

Here, m is a dust amount, T is intensity of transmitted light, R is intensity of reflected light, and a to f are variable coefficients. The method of claim 3,
The memory comprising:
A first variable coefficient value applied to the HEPA filter,
And a second variable coefficient value applied to the dielectric filter,
Wherein the first and second variable coefficient values are different
Foreign substance detection sensor. 5. The method of claim 4,
The operation control unit,
The type of the filter is determined based on the intensity of the transmitted light and the intensity of the reflected light in an initial operation,
A variable coefficient value to be applied to the dust amount calculation is determined according to the type of the filter
Foreign substance detection sensor. 6. The method of claim 5,
Further comprising a housing including a first portion disposed on the first side of the filter and a second portion disposed on a second side of the filter opposite the first side,
Wherein the light-emitting portion and the first light-
A first portion of the housing,
The second light-
A second portion of the housing
Foreign substance detection sensor. The method according to claim 6,
The light emitting surface of the light emitting portion and the light receiving surface of the second light receiving portion,
And arranged on the housing such that at least a portion of the filters faces each other
Foreign substance detection sensor. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the dielectric filter comprises:
And a plurality of thin plates spaced apart in the longitudinal direction to form slits,
Emitting surface of the light-emitting portion facing each other and the light-receiving surface of the second light-
And is aligned on the same horizontal axis as the slit
Foreign substance detection sensor. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein each of the first and second variable coefficient values comprises:
The specifications of the light emitting portion, the specifications of the first and second light receiving portions, and the arrangement position of the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion,
Foreign substance detection sensor. A body portion having a filter accommodating portion on the air flow passage for sucking air, discharging purified air,
A filter accommodated in a filter accommodating portion of the body portion;
A cover disposed on a front surface of the body and having an opening for sucking the air; And
And a foreign matter detection sensor disposed between the body and the cover for measuring a contamination state of the filter,
The foreign substance detecting sensor includes:
A housing including a first portion disposed on a first side of the filter and a second portion disposed on a second side of the filter opposite the first side,
A light emitting portion disposed in the first portion of the housing and irradiating the first light to the first surface of the filter,
A first light receiving portion disposed in the first portion of the housing for measuring the intensity of reflected light reflected through the first surface of the filter,
A second light receiving portion disposed in the second portion of the housing for measuring the intensity of transmitted light passing through the second surface of the filter,
And an operation control unit for receiving the measured intensity of the reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light and calculating a dust amount accumulated in the filter based on the intensity of the received reflected light and the intensity of the transmitted light,
The operation control unit,
The dust amount is calculated by using a correlation equation estimated based on the correlation between the intensity of the transmitted light and the intensity of the reflected light,
The correlation equation can be expressed by the following equation
Air purifier.
[Equation 1]

Here, m is a dust amount, T is intensity of transmitted light, R is intensity of reflected light, and a to f are variable coefficients.

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