TWI610049B - Air purifier - Google Patents

Abstract

By detecting the cause of the generation of fine particles in the room and performing a removal operation of these causes, the generation of fine particles having an adverse effect on health is suppressed. The air cleaner includes a casing 1, a suction port 2, a blowout port 3, a blower 4, a purification means 5, a odor detection means 6, a light detection means 7, an active species detection means 8, a control device 9, and the like. The control device 9 controls the blower 4 according to the concentration of pollutants, the presence or absence of light, and the presence or absence of an active species composed of ions or radicals, and performs an air purification performance improvement operation according to the needs. Thereby, the causative substance of the fine particles can be removed at a stage before the fine particles which are difficult to detect, such as the dust detection means 13, are generated. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently suppress the generation of fine particles having an adverse effect on health, and to keep the room clean.

Description

Air cleaner

The present invention relates to an air cleaner that cleans the inhaled air and has a blowing function.

As a conventional technique, for example, an air cleaner described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 2910627) is known. The air cleaner includes a sensor, a control means, and a warning means that detect the pollution status of the indoor air and the like. The control means includes a control sequence for a cigarette mode or a pollen mode, and other control sequences. In addition, the warning means warns the user in a control sequence for selecting a cigarette mode or a pollen mode when the pollution status of the indoor air detected by the sensor is caused by cigarettes or pollen. This warning action is performed using a display or sound.

On the other hand, as another conventional technique, for example, an air cleaner described in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent No. 3136659) is known. This air cleaner uses fuzzy inference to detect the amount of gas and dust with high accuracy based on the output of the gas sensor and the output of the dust sensor. Furthermore, it is comprised so that the suction force and operation time suitable for each gas amount may be finely determined, and appropriate operation may be implement | achieved.

[Leading Patent Literature] [Patent Literature]

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 2910627

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 3136659

The known technology described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 includes an operation mode corresponding to a pollution state of the room detected by the sensor. However, in this conventional technique, since the state of pollution in a room is detected by an optical sensor, for example, nano-scale particles having an adverse effect on health have a size where the particles condense to a detectable size and cannot be detected It becomes a pollutant and enters the problem of removing operation.

Further, in the conventional technology described in Patent Document 2, the suction force, the operation time, and the like are determined based on a gas sensor and a dust sensor. However, the state of generation of nano-sized particles cannot be predicted from the amount of gas and dust. Therefore, the conventional technique described in Patent Document 2 also has a problem that the fine particles are aggregated to a detectable size and cannot enter the removal operation.

The present invention was developed in order to solve the problems as described above, and an object thereof is to provide an air cleaner which detects the cause of generation of fine particles in a room and performs an operation to remove these causes, thereby , Can suppress the production of particles that have an adverse effect on health, and keep the room clean.

The air cleaner of the present invention includes: a cleaner configured to make the air clean; a blower configured to supply air to the cleaner; a gas detector configured to detect a gas and generate a detection signal; and a control The cleaner is configured to receive the detection signal and control at least one of the cleaner and the blower.

According to the present invention, a gas that causes the generation of fine particles in a room is detected, and the cleaner is controlled based on the detection result, thereby performing and stopping operations such as improving air purification performance. As a result, the cause of the fine particles can be removed at a stage before the generation of fine particles that are difficult to detect by a sensor or the like. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently suppress the generation of fine particles having an adverse effect on health, and to keep the room clean.

1‧‧‧ shell

2‧‧‧ suction port

3‧‧‧ blowout

4, 4A, 4B ‧ ‧ ‧ blower (supply means)

5‧‧‧Purification method (cleaner)

6‧‧‧Odor detection means (gas detection means, predictive detection means)

7‧‧‧light detection means (light detector, predictive detection means)

8‧‧‧active species detection means (gas detection means, predictive detection means)

9‧‧‧control device (controller, control means)

10, 10A, 10B‧‧‧Wind Road

11, 11A, 11B‧‧‧ Opening adjustable mechanism

12‧‧‧ opening drive

13‧‧‧Dust detection methods

21‧‧‧rotating mechanism

22‧‧‧ base

51‧‧‧Voltage application device (cleaner, purification means)

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

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the air cleaner according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of control performed by the control device in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an air cleaner according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an air cleaner according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of control performed by the control device in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the drawings used in this patent specification, common elements are assigned the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present invention includes all combinations of configurations that can be combined among the configurations shown in the following embodiments.

First Embodiment

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an air cleaner according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the air cleaner. As shown in these figures, the air cleaner of this embodiment includes a casing 1, a suction port 2, a blow-out port 3, a blower 4, a purification means 5, a odor detection means 6, a light detection means 7, and an active species detection means 8. , Control device 9, air path 10, and dust detection means 13. In addition, in FIG. 1, the shapes, configurations, and arrangements of the suction port 2 and the cleaning and purifying means 5 are examples of configurations that can be implemented, and the present invention is not limited by the present invention.

The housing 1 is, for example, a rectangular tube having a substantially rectangular shape, and is formed of a tower-shaped box extending in a direction perpendicular to the floor surface of a room. Inside the casing 1, a blower 4, cleaning means 5, odor detecting means 6, light detecting means 7, active species detecting means 8, a control device 9, a wind path 10, and the like are housed. A front surface or a side surface of the casing 1 is provided at a suction port 2 for sucking indoor air into the casing 1. The suction port 2 may be formed in a side surface portion as a vertically long opening portion extending in the vertical direction, and may be provided in the front portion by punching or the like.

The upper surface of the casing 1 is provided with a substantially quadrangular air outlet 3 for the air whose air outlet has been cleaned by the purification means 5. In the following description, a portion of the side surface portion of the housing 1 that is mainly arranged to face the space in the room is referred to as a front portion, and a portion facing the front portion is referred to as a back portion. In addition, the direction facing the front portion of the case 1 is expressed as the front, and the direction corresponding to the left and right sides of the case 1 as viewed from the front is expressed as the left and right direction, and the vertical direction is expressed as the up and down direction according to the situation. The air cleaner is used, for example, in a state where the air cleaner is installed on a floor surface near a wall of a room, and the back part of the casing 1 faces the wall surface, and the front part of the casing 1 faces the space in the room.

The blower 4 is configured to take in air from the suction port 2 and blow out air from the blowout port 3, and is composed of an electric fan or the like whose rotation speed can be controlled by the control device 9. An air path 10 is provided on the blowing side of the blower 4 to guide the air sent from the blower 4 to the blowout port 3. The blower 4 constitutes a specific example of the blower means of this embodiment. That is, the blower 4 is configured to blow (supply) the air in the room to the cleaning means 5.

The purification means 5 is configured as a cleaner that cleans the air flowing in the casing 1. The purification means 5 is provided between the suction port 2 and the blow-out port 3. Here, purifying means removing pollutants composed of, for example, particles, smoke, pollen, viruses, molds, bacteria, allergens, odorous substances, ions, free radicals, and the like floating in the air, and more specifically , Means the action of collecting these pollutants, making them inactive, or adsorbing or decomposing them. To explain in detail, the cleaning means 5 is constituted by a device such as a dust collection filter, a deodorizing filter, a voltage application device, or a combination of these devices. Dust collection filter removes air The particles in the deodorizing filter collect odorous substances in the air. In addition, the voltage application device removes contaminants or deactivates a voltage by applying a voltage between the electrodes. The voltage application device may be provided in a part of the opening of the suction port 2, and may also be provided in the blower 4 and other air paths different from the air path 10.

The odorous substance detecting means 6 detects the amount (concentration) of a gaseous substance existing in a room. Examples of such a gaseous substance include volatile organic compounds generated from building materials, and fatty acids generated from humans, foods, and the like. The gaseous substance also includes compounds (such as aromatic fatty acids and amines) having aldehyde groups and alcohol groups. The odorous substance detection means 6 and the active species detection means 8 constitute specific examples of the gas detector of the present embodiment. The gas detector is configured to detect a gas containing at least one of an active species and an odorous substance, and generate a detection signal.

The light detecting means 7 detects the intensity of light in a room, and is formed of, for example, a sensor that detects light by a photodiode, or a UV sensor that detects ultraviolet rays. In addition, in this patent specification, "light" means, for example, light having an arbitrary wavelength, such as ultraviolet rays, which has an effect of turning an odorous substance into fine particles. In addition, as the light detection means 7, an infrared sensor may be used. The infrared sensor is used when the temperature of a wall, a floor, or the like in a room rises due to sunlight, and the temperature rise can be detected as a state of incident light from a window. As the light detection means 7, a sensor that detects light indirectly by detecting a substance generated by a photochemical reaction in the presence of, for example, ultraviolet light, visible light, or the like can be used. The photodetection means 7 is equivalent to the photodetector of this embodiment. The light detection means 7 is configured to detect light and generate a detection signal. In addition, in the present invention, the time function of the sun can be predicted from the date and time by mounting a clock function on the air cleaner. At this time, the light detection means 7 is realized.

The active species detection means 8 detects active species present in indoor air. In addition, in this patent specification, "active species" means ions, ozone, free radicals, and the like having high reactivity to odorous substances and the like. The ionic system is electrically biased, and therefore undergoes Coulomb force when passing through a voltage-applied conductor. Free radicals are not electrically biased in molecules or atoms, but because they have unpaired electrons, the reactivity is high.

The dust detection means 13 detects indoor dust, and includes, for example, a light emitting portion such as an LED and a light receiving portion that receives light from the light emitting portion. The indoor air is introduced between the light emitting section and the light receiving section. The dust detection means 13 is capable of detecting the number of particles of dust passing through the air between the light-emitting section and the light-receiving section as light transmittance and the like.

In the present invention, the odorous substance detection means 6, the active species detection means 8, and the dust detection means 13 constitute specific examples of predictive detection means for detecting a causative substance that generates fine particles in the air. Causative substances of microparticles are, for example, odorous substances, light, and active species. That is, odorous substances in the air are acted on by light or active species to generate nano-sized particles.

The control device 9 is a controller that controls the operation of the air cleaner based on the detection result of the predictive detection means, and constitutes a specific example of the control means. The control device 9 includes an arithmetic processing device (not shown), an input / output port, and a memory circuit. As shown in FIG. 2, an input side of the control device 9 is connected to a sensor system including an odor detection means 6, a light detection means 7, an active species detection means 8, and a dust detection means 13. To the output side of the control device 9, an actuator including a blower 4, a cleaning means 5, and the like are connected. Control device 9 series receives from The detection signals transmitted by the various means 6, 7, 8, and 13 of the sensor system are then used to control the blower 4 and the cleaning means 5 based on the detection signals. As a result, the control device 9 operates the air cleaner and performs various controls. This control includes the following basic air cleaning operation and air purification performance improvement operation.

(Basic air cleaning action)

During the operation of the air cleaner, the blower 4, the dust detecting means 13, the odor detecting means 6, the light detecting means 7, the active species detecting means 8 and the purifying and purifying means 5 are activated by the control device 9 during the operation of the air cleaner. Thereby, the indoor air is sucked from the suction port 2 into the inside of the casing 1, and then the air is purified by the purification means 5. Then, the cleaned air is sent to the air duct 10 through the blower 4. The air flowing through the air path 10 reaches the blow-out port 3 and is blown to the outside. At this time, the control device 9 controls the blower 4 based on the amount of pollutants in the air detected by the dust detection means 13 and the odorous substance detection means 6. This basic air cleaning operation is performed until the number of particles of dust contained in the air and the concentration of odorous substances become below a preset reference value. When the number of dust particles and the concentration of the odorous substance are equal to or lower than the reference value, the output of the blower 4 is controlled so as to correspond to the number of particles and the concentration, and the output is suppressed, for example.

(Air purification performance improves operation)

The operation of improving the air purification performance is to make the air purification performance of the air cleaner higher than when the operation is not performed, in other words, to improve the removal of pollutants, deactivation, decomposition and adsorption by means of the purification method Speed operation mode. Pollutants are as described above. They are composed of particles, smoke, pollen, viruses, mold, bacteria, allergens, odorous substances, ions, It consists of a base, a photochemical reactant, and the like. When the air purification performance is improved, for example, the rotation speed of the blower 4 can be increased, and the amount of air absorbed inside the casing 1 can be increased, thereby increasing the amount of air passing through the purification means 5. Thereby, the speed of removal and deactivation can be increased.

When the voltage applying device is mounted on the cleaning means 5 and the air purification performance is improved, the speed of removing pollutants and deactivating the pollutant can be increased by increasing the voltage applied to the voltage applying device. Thereby, it is not necessary to increase the rotation speed of the blower 4 to improve the air purification performance. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the noise generated by the increase in the rotation speed of the blower 4 and improve the comfort of the user. Furthermore, increasing the applied voltage of the voltage applying device and increasing the rotation speed of the blower 4 can also increase the amount of air flowing through the voltage applying device. Accordingly, the speed of removal and deactivation can be increased. In addition, the voltage application device may be provided, for example, in a part of the opening of the suction port 2 and in a part of the air path 10, or may be provided in another small blower provided in a different air path from the suction port 2.

[Specific processing for realizing the first embodiment]

Next, control of the air cleaner will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of control performed by the control device 9 in the first embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated routine is repeatedly executed when the power of the air cleaner is turned on, and stopped when the power is turned off.

In the routine shown in FIG. 3, first, in step S100, the concentration of the odorous substance in the room is detected by the odorous substance detection means 6. Next, in step S102, it is determined whether the detected concentration is greater than or equal to a preset first concentration determination value. The first concentration determination value is set to correspond to, for example, improvement in air purification. Minimum concentration of odorous substance required for performance. That is, when the determination of step S102 is satisfied, since the concentration of the odorous substance exceeds the allowable limit, it is better to improve the air purification performance regardless of other conditions. In this case, the process proceeds to step S114, and after performing the air purification performance improving operation, the process returns to step S100, and the present routine is repeated from the beginning.

When the determination in step S102 is not established, the process proceeds to step S104 to determine whether the detected concentration is equal to or greater than a preset second concentration determination value. The second density determination value is set to a lower density than the first density determination value. The second concentration determination value is preferably set to a minimum value corresponding to the concentration of the odorous substance generated by the fine particles in response to light or an active species. Therefore, if the determination in step S104 is not established, even if light and active species are present, the degree of deterioration of the indoor environment does not exist because the odorous substance becomes fine particles, so the process returns to step S100.

On the other hand, when the determination of step S104 is established, it is determined that the concentration of the odorous substance is less than the first concentration determination value and is greater than the second concentration determination value. This concentration is not high enough to unconditionally require air purification performance to improve the operation, but it is a concentration that becomes fine particles due to the presence of light and active species and deteriorates the indoor environment. Therefore, in this case, the presence or absence of light and an active species is determined by the processing after step S106. Give specific examples. First, in step S106, the light in the room is detected by the light detection means 7, and in step S108, the presence or absence of light is determined based on the detection result of the light detection means 7.

In the case where the determination in step S108 is satisfied, because there is light in the room, the process proceeds to step S114 and an air purification performance improving operation is performed. When the determination in step S108 is not established, the process proceeds to step S110, and the active substance is borrowed. A detection method 8 detects active species in the room. Next, in step S112, the presence or absence of an active species is determined based on the detection result of the active species detection means 8. When the determination in step S112 is established, since the active species exists in the room, the process proceeds to step S114 to perform an air purification performance improvement operation. On the other hand, if the determination in step S112 is not established, since light and active species do not exist, the process returns to step S100.

As shown in the above detailed description, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to control the air purification performance and improve the operation based on the detection results of the odorous substance detection means 6, light detection means 7, and active species detection means 8 which are the detection detection means. Go and stop. That is, it is possible to detect the cause of generation of nano-sized particles (for example, odorous substances, light, active species, etc.) in the room, and to remove these causes or make them ineffective by improving the air purification performance operation. Also, it is known that the odorous substance is changed into an active species by light. However, by using the control of the odorous substance detection means 6 and the light detection means 7, the change from the odorous substance to the active species can be suppressed. In this way, according to the present embodiment, the causative substance of the fine particles can be removed at a stage before the generation of fine particles that are difficult to detect by a sensor or the like. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently suppress the generation of nano-sized particles that have an adverse effect on health, and keep the room clean.

In detail, in this embodiment, since the odorous substance detection means 6 is provided, the concentration of the odorous substance that is the main source of fine particles can be detected. In addition, it is possible to determine whether an air purification performance-enhancing operation is required based on the concentration of the odorous substance or the like. In addition, in this embodiment, since the light detection means 7 and the active species detection means 8 are included, the detection result of the concentration of the odorous substance can be combined with the detection result of at least one of the active species. With this, can By grasping the light that is the cause of micronization and the existence of active species, we can more accurately predict the possibility of odorous substances becoming microparticles. Therefore, according to the prediction result, the execution and stop of the air purification performance improvement operation can be finely controlled.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, when the concentration of the odorous substance is equal to or higher than the first concentration determination value, since the air purification performance improvement operation is performed, there are many cases of odorous substances in the room, which can quickly Improve air purification performance and efficiently remove odorous substances. In addition, even if the concentration of the odorous substance is less than the first concentration determination value, when the concentration is higher than the second concentration determination value, there is a possibility that the odorous substance becomes fine particles in the presence of light or an active species. Therefore, in this case, at the time when at least one of the light and the active species is detected, the air purification performance improving operation is performed. Thereby, not only the concentration of odorous substances, but also the existence state of light and active species can be reflected to control, and the operation of improving air purification performance can be performed correctly. In addition, the operation can be carefully controlled based on the first and second concentration determination values, and the air purification performance according to the environment can be exhibited.

Here, the background and effects of the present invention will be further described. The present inventors conducted an experiment of measuring the number of particles by using a particle counter for the number of particles in the case where there is sunlight in the room where the ventilation rate is 0.5 times and in the absence of sunlight. As a result, although there is little change in the number of particles in the case of no sunlight, the number of particles having a size of about 0.3 to 1 micron increases in the case of sunlight. It has been suggested that nitrogen oxides become fine particles due to photochemistry, but in recent years, it has been reported that fine particles are generated by volatile organic compounds existing in the room due to reactions such as ions, ozone, free radicals, and UV. In this experiment, data confirming this phenomenon were obtained. Generally, the lower detection limit of a dust sensor mounted on a home appliance is about 1 micron. The particles generated by the phenomenon are difficult to detect with a dust sensor. In contrast, the air cleaner of this embodiment can suppress the generation of fine particles of less than 1 micron and keep the room clean.

In the first embodiment, steps S102 and S114 in FIG. 3 show a specific example of the first control means. Steps S104, S106, S108, S110, S112, and S114 show specific examples of the second control means. The "first concentration determination value" described in this patent specification is not only the "first concentration determination value" described in item 6 of the scope of patent application, but also corresponds to the fourth and fifth items in the scope of patent application. The "concentration judgment value" described.

Further, in the present invention, the processing of steps S106 and S108 (light detection and determination processing) and the processing of steps S110 and S112 (active species detection and determination processing) shown in FIG. 3 are not limited to the third The order shown in the figure. That is, in the present invention, the detection and determination processing of the active species may be performed first, and then the detection and determination processing of the light may be performed, or the two types of processing may be performed in parallel.

Further, in the present invention, it is also possible to determine whether or not an air purification performance-improving operation is required based on only the concentration of the odorous substance. In addition, it is not necessary to consider the presence or absence of an active species, and it is possible to determine whether an air purification performance improvement operation is required based on the concentration of the odor substance and the presence or absence of light. Furthermore, regardless of the presence or absence of light, it is also possible to determine whether it is necessary to improve the air purification performance operation based on the concentration of odorous substances and the presence or absence of active species.

Further, in the present invention, the first concentration determination value may be set to a concentration corresponding to, for example, a odorous substance which a person can feel, or may be set to a concentration corresponding to a person's discomfort. In addition, in the present invention, it is also possible to use the relationship between the concentration of the odorous substance and the first concentration determination value without using the second concentration determination value. The structure to perform and stop the air purification performance improvement operation. When the second concentration determination value is not used, for example, when the concentration of the odorous substance is less than the first concentration determination value, and at least one of light and active species is detected indoors, the air cleaner can be improved. Composition of air purification performance. With this configuration, the existence states of light and active species can also be reflected to control, and the above-mentioned effects can be obtained.

Second embodiment

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an air cleaner according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the air cleaner of the present embodiment has a configuration substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but includes an adjustable opening mechanism 11, a rotation mechanism 21, and a base 22.

The opening adjustment mechanism 11 changes the opening area of the air outlet 3, and is formed by a plate-shaped member, for example. The end of the opening adjustable mechanism 11 is swingably attached to, for example, the opening of the air outlet 3, the air passage 10, and the like. The opening adjustable mechanism 11 is swung in the front-back direction by the opening driving part 12, and the opening area of the blow-out port 3 is changed according to the swing angle. The opening driving section 12 is driven by the control device 9. The rotating mechanism 21 supports the housing 1 together with the base 22 and is disposed between the housing 1 and the base 22. The rotating mechanism 21 is driven by the control device 9 to rotate the casing 1 and the outlet 3 on the base 22 in the horizontal direction.

In the air purification performance improving operation, for example, the same control as that of the first embodiment is performed (see FIG. 3). At this time, the control device 9 reduces the opening area of the air outlet 3 by the opening adjustable mechanism 11, thereby increasing the speed of the air blown from the air outlet 3. Thereby, the indoor air can be improved Net speed while improving air purification performance. In addition, the air purification performance is improved, and the casing 1 is rotated by the rotation mechanism 21, so that the casing 1 can be oriented in a direction capable of removing the detected pollutants with the highest efficiency. This makes it possible to efficiently perform the removal operation of pollutants.

When the blowout port 3 is narrowed by using the adjustable opening mechanism 11, the flow path resistance of the blown air increases, and the pressure loss increases. Therefore, by increasing the driving force of the blower 4, it is better to avoid a decrease in the air volume of the air blown out from the air outlet 3. Specifically, for example, the control device 9 increases the driving current supplied to the blower 4 to maintain the air volume of the air blown from the air outlet 3 at a fixed amount. According to this control, the required air volume can be stably ensured even in a case where the outlet 3 is narrowed and the pressure loss is increased.

The present embodiment configured in this manner can also obtain substantially the same effects as the first embodiment. In addition, according to this embodiment, by using the adjustable opening mechanism 11 and the rotation mechanism 21, the cleaning effect of the air in which the air cleaning performance is improved can be further improved.

Third Embodiment

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an air cleaner according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the air cleaner of this embodiment has a configuration substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, and further includes a rotation mechanism 21 and a base 22 described in the second embodiment. Furthermore, the air cleaner of this embodiment includes blowers 4A and 4B, air passages 10A and 10B, adjustable opening mechanisms 11A and 11B, and a voltage application device 51. In addition, the blowers 4A, 4B, the air paths 10A, 10B, and the adjustable opening mechanisms 11A, 11B have The tuning mechanism 11 has the same function.

In this embodiment, two air flow paths are provided side by side in the casing 1. The first air flow path includes a blower 4A, an air path 10A, and an adjustable opening mechanism 11A, and the second air flow path includes a blower 4B, an air path 10B, and an adjustable opening mechanism 11B. The blower 4B is arranged on the rear side of the blower 4A. Thereby, a gap is secured between the cleaning means 5 and the blower 4B, and the voltage applying device 51 can be provided in this gap.

The voltage applying device 51 constitutes at least a part of a cleaner (cleaning means), and includes, for example, a resin case, and a metal discharge electrode and a counter electrode provided in the case. By applying a voltage of, for example, 4 to 7 kV or -4 to -7 kV to the discharge electrodes, a discharge space is formed between the electrodes. Particles of viruses, bacteria, molds, pollen, allergens, etc. are decomposed and deodorized by passing through the discharge space.

During the operation of the air cleaner, the blowers 4A and 4B, the adjustable opening mechanisms 11A and 11B, and the voltage application device 51 are driven. Thereby, a part of the air sucked in from the suction port 2 is blown out from the blow-out port 3 while being guided by the opening adjustable mechanism 11A after passing through the cleaning means 5, the blower 4A, and the air path 10A in this order. The remaining air is blown out from the air outlet 3 after being guided by the opening adjusting mechanism 11B after passing through the cleaning means 5, the voltage applying device 51, the blower 4B, and the air path 10B in this order.

In the air-purifying performance-improving operation, by increasing the air volume of the blower 4B, the air volume passing through the voltage application device 51 is increased. As a result, decomposition of the odorous substance by the voltage applying device 51 is promoted, and generation of fine particles caused by the odorous substance can be suppressed. In addition, the voltage applying device 51 can also be released. Increasing the electric voltage or increasing the discharge current improves the air purification performance.

The present embodiment configured in this manner can also obtain substantially the same effects as the first embodiment. In addition, according to this embodiment, by increasing the passing air volume, discharge voltage, discharge current, and the like of the voltage application device 51, it is possible to further improve the purification efficiency of the air in which the air purification performance is improved.

Fourth Embodiment

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of control performed by the control device in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment uses the clock function provided in the control device 9 and can also be applied to any of the air cleaners described in the first to third embodiments.

In the routine shown in FIG. 6, first, in step S200, the current time is confirmed by the clock function of the control device 9. In step S202, it is determined whether or not the set time has come. In addition, the set time may be set by a user to a desired time, or may be set to a time earlier than a sunrise time. When the determination in step S202 is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S204 and the driving of the blower 4 is started. As a result, the indoor air sucked in by the blower fan 4 also reaches the position of the odor detecting means 6, so it moves to step S206. On the other hand, if the determination in step S202 is not established, the process returns to step S200 and waits until the determination is established.

Then, in step S206, the concentration of the odorous substance in the air is detected by the odorous substance detection means 6. Next, in step S208, it is determined whether the detected concentration is equal to or greater than a preset concentration determination value. In addition, as the concentration determination value, for example, any one of the first and second concentration determination values may be used. Decision value. When the determination in step S208 is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S210 to perform an air purification performance improvement operation. On the other hand, if the determination in step S208 is not established, the process returns to step S206 and waits until the determination is established.

The present embodiment configured in this manner can also obtain substantially the same effects as the first embodiment. In addition, according to this embodiment, the clock function of the control device 9 can be used to remove odorous substances before sunlight enters the room. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the generation of fine particles by reacting the odorous substances in the room with sunlight, and for example, to set the room to a clean state before the user starts to move.

1‧‧‧ shell

2‧‧‧ suction port

3‧‧‧ blowout

4‧‧‧ blower (supply means)

5‧‧‧Purification method (cleaner)

6‧‧‧Odor detection means (gas detection means, predictive detection means)

7‧‧‧light detection means (light detector, predictive detection means)

8‧‧‧active species detection means (gas detection means, predictive detection means)

10‧‧‧Wind Road

13‧‧‧Dust detection methods

Claims (12)

An air cleaner includes: a blower configured to blow air; a purifying means configured to make the air blown by the blower clean; and a gas detector configured to detect a gas containing an active species; when When the gas detector detects the active species, the driving state of at least one of the cleaning means and the blower is changed. An air cleaner includes: a blower configured to blow air; a purifying means configured to make the air blown by the blower clean; and a photodetector configured to detect ultraviolet rays; when using the blower, When the photodetector detects the ultraviolet light, the driving state of at least one of the cleaning means and the blower is changed. For example, the air purifier according to the first patent application scope includes a controller that controls at least one of the cleaning and purifying means and the blower based on a detection result of the gas detector. For example, the air purifier of item 2 of the patent application scope includes a controller that controls at least one of the cleaning means and the blower based on a detection result of the photodetector. For example, the air cleaner of the scope of application for a patent includes the light detector configured to detect light; and the cleaning is controlled based on the detection result of the gas detector and the light detector. And a controller of at least one of the fan and the blower. For example, the air purifier of item 3 or 5 of the scope of application for a patent, wherein the controller is a device whose concentration of an odorous substance of one of the gases detected by the gas detector is above a preset concentration judgment value In some cases, at least one of the cleaning means and the blower is controlled to improve the air cleaning performance of the air cleaner. For example, the air purifier for item 5 of the scope of patent application, wherein the controller is that the concentration of the odorous substance of one of the gases detected by the gas detector is less than the preset concentration judgment value, and By detecting at least one of the active species and light by the gas detector or the light detector, controlling at least one of the purification means and the blower to improve the air purification performance of the air cleaner. For example, the air purifier for item 5 of the scope of patent application has a preset first concentration determination value and a second concentration determination value set to a lower concentration than the first concentration determination value; the controller includes : A function for controlling at least one of the cleaning and purifying means and the blower when the concentration of an odorous substance of one of the gases detected by the gas detector is equal to or higher than the first concentration determination value The air purification performance of the air cleaner; and a function in which the concentration of the odorous substance is less than the first concentration determination value and is greater than the second concentration determination value, and the indoor room is borrowed the gas detector or the The photodetector detects at least one of the active species and light, and improves the air purification performance of the air cleaner. For example, the air purifier according to any one of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the purifying and purifying means is to at least make the odorous substances clean. For example, the air purifier for item 6 of the scope of the patent application includes: a blow-out port for blowing out the air that has been purified by the purification means; and a rotating mechanism for rotating the blow-out port; the controller is for improving the air purification When the air purification performance of the machine is driven, the rotating mechanism is driven to rotate the blowing outlet. For example, the air purifier for item 6 of the patent application scope, wherein the purifying means is provided with a voltage applying device for applying voltage between the electrodes to make the air clean; the controller is used for improving the air purifying performance of the air purifier To increase the passing air volume, discharge voltage or discharge current of the voltage application device. For example, the air purifier of item 3 or 4 of the scope of patent application, wherein the controller has a clock function, and controls the operation of the air purifier based on the detection result before the daylight enters the room.