TWI545297B - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Description

Air purifier

The present invention relates to an air cleaner having a function of purifying and blowing inhaled air.

In the past, for example, an air cleaner disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known, which is capable of detecting the particle diameter of the dust contained in the inhaled air and the concentration of the odor component. In the prior art, the angle of the blowing grid is controlled in accordance with the particle diameter of the detected dust and the concentration of the odor component, and the suction panel is opened and closed. In addition, the air purifier described in the patent document 2 has a function of detecting the dirt in the inhaled air, and calculating the peak of the contamination and reducing the time. In other conventional techniques, the source of contamination in the room is estimated based on the detected parameters, and the blowout grid is adjusted in accordance with the estimation result.

Advanced technical literature

Patent literature

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 4840181

Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-130827

The past technique described in the above Patent Documents 1 and 2 detects the null The state of change of pollutants or pollutants in the gas, and the airflow is controlled according to the detection result. However, in these past technologies, the setting environment of the air cleaner that affects the airflow is not considered (for example, the size of the room in which the air cleaner is installed, the air cleaner in the room, and the configuration of the furniture), so even if the wind direction is controlled The amount of wind and the like, but there is still a case where the airflow is blocked by the obstacle, or an unexpected airflow is generated corresponding to the size of the house. As a result, in the prior art, there is a possibility that the airflow cannot reach the source of the contamination, or the unexpected airflow raises the pollutants and spreads them, thereby making it difficult to stably purify the indoor air in various installation environments. The problem.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air cleaner capable of appropriately controlling an air flow in a room in various installation environments and stably purifying indoor air.

An air cleaner according to the present invention includes: a casing having a suction port for drawing in air in the room and a blow port for blowing the air; and a fan device that sucks air from the suction port into the casing and extracts the air from the suction port The air outlet is blown out; the cleaning device cleans the air flowing inside the casing; and the air supply variable means changes at least three of the three air blowing parameters of the air direction, the air volume, and the wind speed of the air blown from the air outlet. One of the air supply parameters; the position information acquisition means, the position information of the air cleaner in the room is obtained; and the control device drives the air supply variable means according to the position information to control the air supply parameter to form a circulating air flow, which is The blown air is returned to the housing position after circulating indoors.

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately control the airflow in the room based on the position information acquired by the position information obtaining means. Thereby, in various installation environments in which the size of the room, the arrangement of the obstacles, and the like are different, it is possible to stably form the circulating airflow in, for example, the entire room. Therefore, the air staying, the unpleasant feeling to the person, and the like are suppressed, and the air in the entire room can be effectively purified.

1‧‧‧Air Purifier

2‧‧‧Shell

2A‧‧‧ next door

3‧‧‧Base

4‧‧‧Inhalation

5‧‧‧Blowing out

6‧‧‧Fan device (variable means of supplying air)

7‧‧‧ Wind Road

8‧‧‧Clean purification device

9‧‧‧ movable grid (variable detection direction)

10‧‧‧ grid drive unit (variable detection direction)

11‧‧‧Open variable mechanism

12‧‧‧Open drive department

13‧‧‧Rectifier

14‧‧‧Rectification drive department

15‧‧‧Slewing mechanism (variable means of detecting direction)

16‧‧‧Contamination detection device

17‧‧‧External detection device (location information acquisition means, obstacle information acquisition means)

18‧‧‧Operation Department

19‧‧‧Control device

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an air cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the air cleaner in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 (a) and (b) are enlarged views of essential parts in Fig. 1 showing an operation state of the movable grid and the rectifying mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a view showing the configuration of a control system of the air cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 (a) and (b) are perspective views showing specific examples of the circulating airflow in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals will be given to the same elements in the respective drawings, and the overlapping description will be omitted. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Embodiment 1

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4 . Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an air cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In addition, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air cleaner in Fig. 1 . As shown in these figures, this embodiment In the state, the air cleaner 1 of the ground type is exemplified. The air cleaner 1 includes a casing 2, a base 3, a suction port 4, an air outlet 5, a fan device 6, a wind path 7, a cleaning device 8, a movable grid 9, a grid driving portion 10, and an open variable mechanism. 11. The opening drive unit 12, the rectifying mechanism 13, the rectifying drive unit 14, the oscillating mechanism 15, and the like.

The casing 2 is formed in a rectangular shape of, for example, a substantially square shape, and is supported by a base 3 provided on the floor of the room to be rotatable in a horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 2, in the internal space of the casing 2, in the space from the suction port 4 to the air outlet 5, the cleaning device 8, the fan device 6, and the air path 7 are disposed in order from the upstream to the downstream. In the following description, among the side surface portions of the casing 2, a portion mainly disposed to face the indoor space is referred to as a front portion, and a portion facing the front portion is referred to as a rear portion. In addition, the direction of the front side of the casing 2 is described as the front, and the both sides of the casing 2 in the horizontal direction as viewed from the front are described as the left-right direction. As shown in Fig. 5 which will be described later, the air cleaner 1 is installed at a position close to any one of the wall surfaces of the room, and the rear surface of the casing 2 faces the wall surface and the front portion of the casing 2 faces the indoor space. use.

The suction port 4 is an opening for sucking indoor air into the inside of the casing 2, and one suction port 4 is provided, for example, on the left and right sides of the front portion of the casing 2. The air outlet 5 is an opening for blowing air that has entered the inside of the casing 2 to the outside. For example, two air outlets 5 are provided on the upper surface portion of the casing 2, and they extend side by side with respect to the left and right direction of the casing 2. Further, the suction port 4 may be provided at the rear surface, the side surface portion, the lower surface portion, or the like of the casing 2, and may have only one suction port 4 or three or more suction ports 4. Similarly, the air outlet 5 may be provided in the front surface portion, the side surface portion, or the like of the casing 2, and may have only one air outlet 5 or three or more air outlets 5. In addition, in the following description, it may blow out from the blower outlet 5 The air is described as "blowing air."

The fan unit 6 is a device that sucks air from the suction port 4 into the casing 2 and blows the air out of the air outlet 5, and is constituted by an electric fan that can be controlled by the control device 19. The fan device 6 constitutes a specific example of the air blowing variable means capable of changing the air volume of the blown air in accordance with the number of revolutions of the fan device 6. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, in the inside of the casing 2, for example, two fan devices are disposed so as to overlap in the vertical direction, and two air passages 7 are provided, and the air sent from the respective fan devices 6 is provided. Directly directed to the outlet 5 .

These air passages 7 are disposed, for example, in parallel with each other in the vertical direction, and are connected to the air outlets of the two fan devices 6 and the two air outlets 5, respectively. The air passage 7 is formed, for example, by a wall surface constituting the left and right side surface portions and the rear surface portion of the casing 2, and a partition wall 2A that is provided in the inside of the casing 2 and extends in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. Further, in the air passage 7, it is preferable to provide a rectifying structure for rectifying the airflow sent from the fan unit 6 toward the air outlet 5. Further, in the present invention, only one fan device 6 or three or more fan devices 6 may be provided, and in the casing 2, a plurality of fan devices 6 may be arranged side by side in the lateral direction.

The cleaning device 8 is a device for purifying the air flowing in the casing 2, and is provided between the suction port 4 and the fan device 6. Here, the term "clear purification" means, for example, the removal of pollutants such as dust, smoke, pollen, viruses, bacteria, molds, allergens, and odor molecules floating in the air, and more specifically, It means the action of trapping these pollutants so that they do not activate, adsorb and decompose. More specifically, the cleaning device 8 may be composed of the following machines or a combination of the following devices: a dust collecting filter that collects dust in the air, a deodorizing filter that traps odor molecules in the air, and a high between the electrodes. Electric field or discharge A voltage application device or the like for removing contaminants.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the movable grid plate 9 is provided in each of the air outlets 5 of the casing 2. Here, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an essential part in the first diagram showing the operating states (a) and (b) of the movable grille and the rectifying mechanism. The movable grid plate 9 is swung in the vertical direction, and the wind direction of the blown air is swung in the vertical direction between the front side and the upper side in accordance with the swing angle. The elevation angle of the wind direction is changed to almost the same angle as the elevation angle of the movable grid 9. In addition, in this specification, the "elevation angle" means an angle which is inclined upwards with respect to the horizontal direction parallel to the ground. That is, the elevation angle = 0° means that the horizontal direction and the elevation angle = 90° indicate directly above the vertical direction.

The movable grid 9 is formed of, for example, an elongated flat plate or the like that extends in the left-right direction of the casing 2. Further, the base end side of the movable grid plate 9 is attached to each of the air outlets 5 through the grid drive unit 10 provided in each of the air outlets 5, and the tip end side of the movable grid plate 9 can be moved up and down by the grid drive unit 10. Swing in the direction. Further, the two movable grids 9 are configured to individually change the wind direction in which air is blown from the respective outlets 5. Further, in the present embodiment, the case where two movable grids 9 are provided is exemplified, but the present invention may be configured such that only one movable grid 9 or three are provided corresponding to the number of the outlets 5 Above the movable grid 9.

The grid drive unit 10 has a support shaft that rotatably supports the movable grid plate 9, and an actuator that rotates the support shaft (not shown). The movable grid 9 and the grid drive unit 10 constitute a specific example of the variable air blowing means, which is capable of changing the wind direction of the blown air in the vertical direction. The opening variable mechanism 11 is a device that cooperates with the movable grid 9 to change the opening area of the air outlet 5, as shown in Fig. 2, which is provided in each of the air outlets 5, in the front-rear direction and the movable grid 9 Relative position. In addition, in the first and third figures, in order to clearly show the rectifying mechanism 13, The illustration of the opening variable mechanism 11 is omitted.

Further, the opening variable mechanism 11 is formed of, for example, an elongated flat plate or the like that extends in the left-right direction of the casing 2. Further, the proximal end side of the opening variable mechanism 11 is attached to each of the air outlets 5 through the opening driving portion 12 having substantially the same configuration as the grid driving portion 10. The tip end side of the opening variable mechanism 11 can be swung in the front-rear direction by the opening driving portion 12 to change position so as to be close to and away from the movable grid 9. Thereby, the opening variable mechanism 11 is a device that changes the opening area of the air outlet 5 (that is, the wind speed of the air blown), and the opening variable mechanism 11 and the opening driving unit 12 are specific examples of the air blowing variable means. Further, the opening variable mechanism 11 may be disposed in the air passage 7 without being disposed in the air outlet 5, and may be configured to adjust the opening area (flow path area) of the air passage 7.

The rectifying mechanism 13 is a device that adjusts the wind direction of the blown air in the left-right direction. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rectifying mechanism 13 is formed of fins formed in a slightly triangular shape (fan shape), and the wind is received by the movable grille 9. A plurality of rectifying mechanisms 13 are disposed at intervals in the left-right direction of the surface side. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), each of the rectifying mechanisms 13 is swung in the left-right direction so that the wind direction of the blown air changes in the left-right direction corresponding to the swing angle. Further, the swing operation of the movable grid plate 9 can be performed, for example, by the rectifying drive unit 14 (shown only in Fig. 4) provided on the movable grid plate 9. Further, in the present invention, it is not necessary to provide the rectifying mechanism 13. In addition, for example, only one rectifying mechanism 13 may be disposed on each of the right and left end sides of the movable grille plate 9.

The oscillating mechanism 15 is a device for rotating the casing 2 at least in the left-right direction on the susceptor 3, and is provided between the casing 2 and the susceptor 3 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 . The oscillating mechanism 15 rotates the casing 2 and the air outlet 5 together, so that air can be blown out The wind sway in the left and right direction. Further, the above-described rectifying mechanism 13, rectifying drive unit 14, and oscillating mechanism 15 constitute a specific example of the air blowing variable means, and it is possible to change the wind direction of the blown air in the left-right direction.

(Control System)

Next, the control system of the air cleaner 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 4 and the like. Fig. 4 is a view showing the configuration of a control system of the air cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The air cleaner 1 includes a detection system including a pollution detecting device 16 and an external detecting device 17, an operation unit 18 for operating the air cleaner 1, and a control device 19 for controlling an operation state of the air cleaner 1. The pollution detecting device 16 is a device that detects the amount of pollutants in the air that is sucked into the inside of the casing 2, and is disposed on the upstream side of the cleaning device 8 in the air flow direction. The pollution detecting device 16 is constituted by, for example, a dust sensor, a gas sensor, a wind speed sensor, or the like, or a composite type sensor that combines these sensors.

Here, the dust sensor is composed of a semiconductor element, an optical element, or the like, and detects the concentration of dust, smoke, pollen, and the like in the air. The gas sensor is composed of a semiconductor element or the like, and detects harmful gases such as odor molecules and VOCs. The wind speed sensor is composed of an ultrasonic wave element or the like, and converts a change in wind speed into a current value. Further, the detection results of these sensors are output from the pollution detecting device 16 to the control device 19. Furthermore, the combination of the above-described sensors is only an example, and the present invention is not limited to the pollution detecting device 16 configured by the combination of the above-described respective sensors. For example, the pollution detecting device 16 may be configured to have a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a plurality of types of gas sensors that sense different types of gases, and the like.

The external detecting device 17 is a device that detects indoor information of a room in which the air cleaner 1 is installed. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the external detecting device 17 is provided on the movable grille. 9. In addition, in FIG. 3, illustration of the external detection device 17 is abbreviate|omitted. The indoor information detected by the external detecting device 17 includes information on the position of the room ceiling and the wall and the air cleaner 1, that is, the position information of the air cleaner 1 in the room. In addition, the indoor information includes information on whether there are obstacles such as people, animals, furniture, and obstacle information (information about the distance from the obstacle).

In detail, the external detecting device 17 is composed of a composite type sensor in which a distance sensor, a motion sensor, a thermal sensor, a humidity sensor, and the like are combined. The distance sensor is a non-contact type sensor that uses sound waves or electromagnetic waves, and detects and detects the distance of an object (including indoor walls, ceilings, furniture, people, animals, etc.). For example, the distance sensor is composed of an ultrasonic sensor, a photo sensor, an image recognition sensor, and the like. The motion sensor is composed of a photo sensor, a temperature sensor, or the like, and captures movements of people, animals, and the like by detecting changes in illuminance, temperature, and the like. A thermal sensor that can identify other people and animals, and biologically obstructive obstacles based on temperature. In addition, the output of the humidity sensor is used to correspond to the humidity in the air to correct the sensitivity of each of the above sensors.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where the external detecting device 17 also serves as the position information obtaining means and the obstacle information obtaining means is exemplified. However, in the present invention, the position information acquisition means and the obstacle information acquisition means may be formed as individual elements and placed in different places. The configuration of the external detecting device 17 is merely an example. In other words, the external detecting device 17 of the present invention may be provided with a distance sensor that can detect at least the distance to the wall of the room, and is not limited to the combination of the above-described sensors. Further, in the present invention, a sensor such as the external detecting device 17 may not be used. In detail, for example, the user It is also possible to input the indoor information by using a terminal or the like as the location information obtaining means and the obstacle information obtaining means of the present invention, and it is also possible to obtain indoor information by communicating with another home electric appliance such as an air conditioner installed indoors.

Further, it is preferable that the distance sensor constituting the external detecting device 17 uses an ultrasonic sensor. The detectable distance of the ultrasonic sensor is, for example, several centimeters to about 20 meters, which is suitable for detecting the size of a general room. In particular, if an ultrasonic wave belonging to, for example, 20 to 40 kHz (better in the frequency range of 30 to 40 kHz) is used, since it is outside the audible range, the amplitude can be increased to extend the detection distance.

Since the distance sensor or the like has directivity, the direction of the external detecting device 17 can be changed in the up and down direction by the movable grid 9 (the grid driving portion 10), and can be controlled by the oscillating mechanism 15 Change in the left and right direction. In other words, the movable grid plate 9, the grid drive unit 10, and the oscillating mechanism 15 are specific examples of the detection direction variable means. Further, the external detecting device 17 may be provided not on the movable grid 9 but on another structure that can be swung together with the movable grid 9 by the grid driving unit 10.

According to this configuration, as will be described later, the direction of the external detecting device 17 is changed in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and the indoor information of the entire room can be accurately detected. Further, since the direction in which the movable grid 9 and the external detecting device 17 are changed together by the grid driving unit 10, the configuration of the air cleaner 1 can be simplified. In particular, when the external detecting device 17 is provided on the movable grid 9, the above-described effects can be exhibited more remarkably.

Further, the movable grid plate 9, the grid drive unit 10, and the oscillating mechanism 15 can constitute a variable air blowing means for changing the wind direction and a detecting direction changing means for changing the direction of the position information obtaining means. That is, the components that will constitute the two means In common, the structure of the air cleaner 1 is simplified to promote cost reduction. Further, when the indoor scanning process and the circulating airflow control, which will be described later, are simultaneously performed, the direction of the external detecting device 17 and the wind direction can be changed together, and the indoor information in the blowing direction can be smoothly obtained.

On the other hand, the operation unit 18 is a device that the user of the air cleaner 1 operates to perform various settings and operations, and includes: a power switch for starting and stopping the air cleaner 1, and a display air cleaner 1 The display unit of the operating state. Further, the operation unit 18 and the control device 19 are connected to a state in which two-way communication is possible.

The control device 19 is a device that controls the operating state of the air cleaner 1, and includes a calculation processing device, an input port, and a memory circuit, which are not shown. As shown in Fig. 4, the sensing system including the pollution detecting device 16 and the external detecting device 17 is connected to the input side of the control device 19. An actuator including the fan device 6, the grid drive unit 10, the opening drive unit 12, the rectification drive unit 14, the oscillating mechanism 15, and the like is connected to the output side of the control device 19. The control device 19 drives the actuator in accordance with the output of the sensing system, thereby causing the air cleaner 1 to operate.

(Control of air purifier)

The air cleaner 1 of the present embodiment is a device having the above configuration, and the operation thereof will be described next. First, the basic operation will be described. When the air cleaner 1 is operated, the control device 19 drives the fan unit 6. Thereby, air is drawn into the inside of the casing 2 from the suction port 4, and the air passes through the cleaning device 8 and is thereby purified. Then, the purified air is blown out from the air outlet 5 via the fan unit 6 and the air path 7.

At this time, the control device 19 causes the movable grid by the grid drive unit 10. The plate 9 is swung, and the wind direction of the blown air is controlled in the up and down direction corresponding to the swing angle. Further, the swing mechanism 15 rotates the casing 2 to change the direction of the air outlet 5 in the left-right direction, and the rectifying drive unit 14 swings the rectifying mechanism 13 in the left-right direction to adjust the wind direction in the left-right direction. That is, in the right and left direction, the rectifying mechanism 13 and the oscillating mechanism 15 can be used to control the wind direction of the blown air. Therefore, the control range of the wind direction can be expanded, so that the airflow reaches every corner of the room. Further, by adjusting the wind direction by the rectifying mechanism 13, the directivity of the wind direction and the control accuracy can be improved. On the other hand, the control device 19 controls the amount of air blown by the air in accordance with the number of revolutions of the fan device 6. Further, the opening variable portion 11 is driven by the opening driving portion 12 to change the opening area of the air outlet 5 to control the wind speed of the blown air corresponding to the opening area.

(indoor scanning processing)

Before executing the above-described air cleaning operation, the control device 19 first performs an indoor scanning process to acquire the indoor information of the room in which the air cleaner 1 is installed by the external detecting device 17. In the indoor scanning process, first, the movable grid 9 is driven by the grid drive unit 10 to change the direction of the external detecting device 17 in the up and down direction between the front and the top, and by, for example, an external detecting device. The distance sensor of 17 detects the distance. At this time, the distance from the room wall is detected on the front side of the air cleaner 1, and the distance from the ceiling is detected on the upper side. Therefore, the maximum value of the detected distance is the junction to the ceiling and the wall. The distance of the corner L.

Then, in the indoor scanning process, the direction of the external detecting device 17 is changed in the left-right direction by the oscillating mechanism 15, and at the same time, the distance L at the plurality of positions at which the blown air can reach is detected, and the detected position is obtained. Among the distances L The maximum distance Lmax. At this time, the detection operation of the distance L may be performed at a plurality of positions separated from each other, or may be continuously performed while the direction of the external detecting device 17 is changed. Further, in the present invention, the distance L detected in front of the air cleaner 1 may be directly used as the distance Lmax without performing an operation of changing the direction of the external detecting device 17 to the left or right.

Next, the control device 19 memorizes the elevation angle γs, the rotation angle ωs, and the distance Lmax of the direction of the external detecting device 17 when the distance Lmax is acquired. Here, the turning angle ωs indicates an angle at which the direction of the external detecting device 17 is rotated in the horizontal direction from the preset initial position. The distance Lmax, the elevation angle γs, and the rotation angle ωs include information on the size of the room in which the air cleaner 1 is installed. That is, the room size = Lmax × cos(γs) is calculated as the size of the room based on the distance Lmax and the elevation angle γs.

The distance Lmax, the elevation angle γs, and the rotation angle ωs obtained as described above include information on the wall farthest from the air cleaner 1 (hereinafter referred to as the farthest wall). As shown in Fig. 5, according to the study by the inventors of the present invention, it is found that the farthest wall is most suitable for forming the wall surface of the circulating airflow throughout the room when the blown air is blown. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing specific examples (a) and (b) of the circulating airflow in the first embodiment of the present invention.

In particular, if the wind direction of the blown air is set to a portion of the ceiling (the target position P in FIG. 5) on the proximal side of a certain distance d from the corner of the boundary between the farthest wall and the ceiling, it is possible to The entire room forms a circulating air stream. Here, the distance d will vary depending on the size of the room, so, for example, in a large room of 17 or more tatami mats, it is a value that is half the distance to the farthest wall, for example, it can be confirmed that d = 2 meters or so.

As described above, based on the indoor scanning process, based on the indoor information (particularly position information) detected by the external detecting device 17, it is possible to determine the target position P of the wind direction suitable for forming the circulating airflow in the entire room. In particular, when the scanning in the left-right direction is performed, the direction of the external detecting device 17 is changed in the left-right direction by the oscillating mechanism 15, and the detection operation of the farthest wall is performed, so that it is possible to stably perform various kinds of operations. The shape of the room was detected the farthest wall. Further, the above-described indoor scanning process constitutes a specific example of defining a wall defining means that is most suitable for forming a wall surface of the circulating airflow.

In addition, there are various sizes and shapes of the room in which the air cleaner 1 is installed. Therefore, when the indoor scanning process is executed, the variable range when the direction of the external detecting device 17 is changed in the horizontal direction by the oscillating mechanism 15 is set as the target range in the horizontal direction as described later. : Covers the range from the wall surface (usually the most farthest wall) located on the front side of the air cleaner 1 to the wall surfaces on the left and right sides. Further, the detection target range in the horizontal direction may be configured to be changed according to the detection result of the indoor information, and if the corner between the farthest wall and the ceiling is the detectable range, it is not necessarily set to be set by the oscillating mechanism 15 The maximum variable range that can be achieved.

Further, it is preferable that the variable range (i.e., the detection target range in the vertical direction) when the direction of the external detecting device 17 is changed in the vertical direction is set to include an elevation angle at least directly from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction. Degree ~ 90 degrees range. Thereby, in the rooms of various shapes, the corners between the farthest wall and the ceiling can be stably detected. Further, the detection target range in the vertical direction may be configured to be changed based on the detection result of the indoor information.

(Circular airflow control)

The control device 19 drives the air blowing variable means based on the indoor information acquired by the indoor scanning process, thereby performing the circulating airflow control for forming the circulating airflow in the room. The so-called circulating air flow is a flow of air that is returned to the position of the air cleaner 1 after the air is circulated indoors (better in the entire room). In the circulating airflow control, at least one of the three air blowing parameters of the wind direction, the air volume, and the wind speed of the blown air is controlled.

For example, in the circulating airflow control, first, the wind direction is set in accordance with the elevation angle γs and the swing angle ωs, and the wind direction is achieved by the movable grid 9 and the oscillating mechanism 15 so that the blown air reaches the target position P of the ceiling. Further, the rectifying mechanism 13 adjusts the left and right direction of the wind direction as needed. Further, the air volume is set in accordance with the distance Lmax, and the air volume is controlled by the number of revolutions of the fan device 6 so that the blown air reaching the target position P forms a circulating air flow. Further, in the circulation airflow control, it is also possible to change the opening area of the air outlet 5 by the opening variable mechanism 11 in accordance with the size of the room, whether there is a person or an animal in the air blowing direction, and appropriately control the air blowing. The wind speed does not cause unpleasant feelings that are blown by strong winds.

By performing the circulation airflow control as described above, as shown in Fig. 5, the blown air is blown to the target position P of the ceiling and the farthest wall, and then returned to the air cleaner 1 along the ground. As a result, the pollutants in the indoor air are transported to the position of the air cleaner 1 by the circulating airflow circulating throughout the room, and then cleaned by the air cleaner 1. As described above, by the circulating airflow control, the movable grid 9, the rectifying mechanism 13, and the oscillating mechanism 15 can be operated, thereby adjusting the elevation angle and the turning angle of the wind direction, and blowing the air toward the most appropriate target position P. In addition, by using the rectifying mechanism 13, the direction of the blown air in the left and right direction is increased. The air can be made to reach the distant position without being dispersed, and the airflow reaching the target position P can be smoothly formed.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, for example, as shown in Figs. 5(a) and 5(b), the airflow in the room can be appropriately controlled in various rooms of different sizes, and the circulating airflow circulating throughout the room can be stably formed. Further, when the position of the air cleaner 1 is changed indoors, the air blowing parameter can be optimized in accordance with this change. Thereby, the pollutants in the room are effectively concentrated to the position of the air cleaner 1, and the air in the entire room can be cleaned stably, and the time required for the indoor air to be cleaned can be shortened.

The effect of the above-described indoor scanning process and circulating airflow control in the floor-mounted air cleaner 1 will be described. In general, dust in the room or the like is often present on the ground. Therefore, in order to effectively remove dust, it is preferable that the air cleaner 1 is installed on the ground. On the other hand, the control for grasping the size of the room or the like to optimize the airflow can be realized by detecting the horizontal distance from the air cleaner 1 to the wall in front, but most of the ground is provided with obstacles such as furniture. Therefore, it is difficult to stably detect the horizontal distance from the position of the air cleaner 1.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the outer detecting device 17 detects the corner between the farthest wall and the ceiling (that is, the corner which is mostly located obliquely upward in the front), and blows the air toward the corner. According to this method, in various rooms having different furniture layouts and the like, it is possible to stably detect the indoor information corresponding to the size of the room in the space above the oblique space, and it is possible to reduce the hindrance of the furniture and the like to the detection operation. In addition, since the air can be blown out obliquely upward from the air outlet 5, it is possible to prevent the flow of the blown air from colliding with the furniture, and it is possible to stably form a circulating airflow corresponding to the size of the room. Therefore, it is possible to use the ground The advantages of the installed air cleaner 1 are fully utilized.

Further, in the circulation airflow control, the wind direction of the blown air may be swung in the vertical direction between the elevation angle θa of the reference which can form the circulating airflow and the maximum elevation angle θb of the elevation angle set to be larger than the elevation angle θa, and the execution is repeated. The rocking action. Here, the reference elevation angle θa is an elevation angle of the wind direction when the wind direction reaches the target position P of the ceiling. Further, since the maximum elevation angle θb is set to an arbitrary angle larger than the elevation angle θa, it can be set to 90 degrees or can be changed in accordance with the indoor information detected by the external detecting device 17. According to this control, the circulating airflow is formed in the entire room, and the airflow can be formed in the air remaining in the vicinity of the ceiling directly above the air cleaner 1, and the indoor air can be effectively purified.

Further, in the circulation airflow control, while the air blowing operation for blowing the air toward the target position P is performed, the wind direction is swung in the left-right direction around the target position P by the oscillating mechanism 15. In this case, the variable range of the wind direction with respect to the left-right direction is preferably as described later, and covers a range from the wall on the front side (front side) of the air cleaner 1 to the wall on the left and right sides. In addition, the variable range may be configured to change based on the detection result of the indoor information.

Further, in the circulating airflow control, the rectifying drive unit 14 may be driven based on the detection result of the indoor information, and the opening area of the air outlet 5 may be changed by the rectifying mechanism 13. Thereby, even if the number of revolutions of the fan device 6 (that is, the amount of wind) is not changed, the wind speed of the blown air can be changed to an appropriate size in accordance with the size of the room and the presence or absence of an obstacle. Further, when the wind speed is increased, the time required for the indoor air to be cleaned can be shortened.

Moreover, in the circulation airflow control, it can be configured to be based on pollution The detected amount of the pollutants obtained by the detecting device 16 is changed to change the wind speed. Specifically, in the case where the pollutants of the reference amount or more are detected in the circulating airflow control, the opening area of the air outlet 5 is reduced by the opening variable mechanism 11, and the air volume of the circulating airflow is not increased. The wind speed is getting bigger. Thereby, even when the indoor air is dirty, the pollutants in the air are efficiently concentrated to the position of the air cleaner 1, and the time required for the indoor air to be cleaned can be shortened. Further, in this control, it is not necessary to increase the number of revolutions of the fan device 6 to increase the air volume. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the wind noise generated by the motor of the fan device 6, and to reduce the noise of the air cleaner 1.

Further, in the case where the oscillating mechanism 15 is used in the indoor scanning process, the influence of the detection state of the room size and the arrangement of the furniture varies depending on the direction (rotation angle) of the external detecting device 17. Therefore, in the circulation airflow control, it is preferable to control the air blowing parameter to an optimum state in accordance with the turning angle of the air outlet 5 while performing the air blowing operation. Thereby, the circulation airflow can be stably formed in each of the horizontal directions, and the treatment of the obstacle can be smoothly performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the indoor scanning process, the distance to the detected object is detected while changing the direction of the external detecting device 17, for example, when the distance suddenly changes greatly, the distance is changed according to the distance. Obtain obstacle information. Further, in the circulating airflow control, when the wind direction of the blown air is directed toward the obstacle defining the position based on the obstacle information, a predetermined avoidance action, such as stopping the air blowing operation, attenuating the airflow, or the like, is performed. According to this control, it is possible to suppress the airflow from being blown to a person or an animal to cause an unpleasant feeling, or an airflow blown to the obstacle to raise the dust, and it is possible to improve the comfort when the air is cleaned.

Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to perform the air cleaning operation by the circulating air flow control while obtaining the indoor information by the indoor scanning process. According to this configuration, even if the indoor scanning process does not take a long time, the indoor air supply can be simultaneously performed in the normal air blowing operation, and the indoor information can be continuously updated to the latest information. Therefore, even when, for example, the position of the obstacle changes, the air blowing operation can be corrected in response to the change.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the power supply line of the air cleaner 1 is connected to a power source such as a socket, the direction of the external detecting device 17 is automatically changed, and the indoor scanning process can be executed. According to this configuration, when the air cleaner 1 is installed indoors, for example, indoor information can be acquired in advance. Further, when the user operates the power switch, the air blowing operation can be started directly without performing the indoor scanning, and an appropriate airflow can be quickly formed based on the acquired indoor information. Therefore, the convenience of the air cleaner 1 can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the indoor scanning process may be executed during a period before the user turns on the power of the air cleaner 1 until the fan device 6 is started. According to this configuration, the indoor information can be acquired immediately before the air cleaning operation is performed, and when the position of the obstacle changes, for example, the air blowing operation can be accurately performed in accordance with the change.

Further, in the first embodiment, the floor-mounted air cleaner 1 is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to the wall-mounted air cleaner 1. Further, in the first embodiment, among the three air blowing parameters of the wind direction, the air volume, and the wind speed, the case where the wind direction and the air volume are controlled will be described as an example. However, in the present invention, it is only necessary to control at least one air blowing parameter. The reason is that, for example, even if the wind direction is constant, as long as the air volume is large enough It is possible to form a circulating airflow that covers the entire room, as is the case with wind speed. Therefore, the object of the present invention can also be achieved in a configuration in which only one air blowing parameter is controlled.

Further, in the first embodiment, the wind direction is changed in the left-right direction by the oscillating mechanism 15, but in the present invention, the wind direction may be moved back and forth while being changed in the left direction and the right direction. A swinging mechanism (nodding action).

Further, in the first embodiment, a case where the fan device 6 constitutes a variable air blowing means for changing the air volume is taken as an example. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be configured to change the air volume by other mechanisms than the fan device 6.

6‧‧‧Fan device

10‧‧‧ grid drive unit

12‧‧‧Open drive department

14‧‧‧Rectification drive department

15‧‧‧Swing head mechanism

16‧‧‧Contamination detection device

17‧‧‧External detection device

18‧‧‧Operation Department

19‧‧‧Control device

Claims (8)

An air cleaner comprising: a housing having a suction port for drawing in air in the chamber and a blow port for blowing the air; a fan device sucking air from the suction port into the inside of the case and blowing the air from the blow The outlet is blown out; the purge device cleans the air flowing inside the casing; and the air supply variable means changes at least one of the three air supply parameters of the wind direction, the air volume and the wind speed of the blown air blown from the air outlet. The air supply parameter; the position information acquisition means obtains the position information of the air cleaner in the room; and the control device drives the air supply variable means according to the position information to control the air supply parameter to form a circulating airflow, which is the blowout The air returns to the housing position after circulating indoors. The air purifier according to claim 1, comprising a wall defining means for defining a wall surface which is most suitable for forming the circulating airflow when the blown air is blown according to the position information; the control device, at least controlling The elevation angle of the air volume is such that the circulating airflow returns to the housing position along the ground after being blown to the ceiling of the room and the most appropriate wall. The air cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air blowing variable means has a movable grid which is swingable in the vertical direction to change an elevation angle of the wind direction. The air purifier as described in claim 1 or 2, the air supply is variable The means has an opening variable mechanism capable of changing the opening area of the outlet. The air cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air blowing variable means has a rectifying mechanism capable of adjusting the wind direction in the left-right direction. An air cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, which comprises a oscillating mechanism capable of oscillating the housing at least in the left and right direction. The air cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a detection direction variable means capable of changing the direction of the position information acquisition means in the up and down direction and the left and right direction. The air cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an obstacle information obtaining means for obtaining information on a position of an obstacle and an obstacle in the room as obstacle information, wherein the control device is configured to When the wind direction is directed toward an obstacle that defines a position based on the obstacle information, a predetermined avoidance action is performed.