US20230075829A1

US20230075829A1 - Air purifier

Info

Publication number: US20230075829A1
Application number: US17/799,990
Authority: US
Inventors: Minha Lee; Seungho Baek; Heejae Kwon; Soonho Jung
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2020-02-19
Filing date: 2021-01-20
Publication date: 2023-03-09
Also published as: WO2021167439A1; DE112021001097T5; KR20210105603A

Abstract

The present embodiment may comprise: a housing that have a suction port, a space formed therein, and a discharge port formed in an upper portion thereof; a purification unit and a blowing unit accommodated in the space; a discharge guide that is disposed in an upper portion of the housing and discharges blown air to the discharge port; a tilting mechanism that is connected to the discharge guide to tilt the discharge guide; and a lifting and lowering mechanism that lifts and lowers the tilting mechanism.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an air purifier, and more particularly, to an air purifier from which air purified by a purification unit is discharged in the form of various airflows.

BACKGROUND ART

An air purifier is a device that is provided in homes, offices, and public offices to purify indoor air.
The air purifier may include a blowing unit for flowing air, and a purification unit such as a filter.
The air purifier may be classified into a ceiling-type air purifier that is mounted on a ceiling or connected to a wire extending downward from the ceiling, a wall-type air purifier that is mounted on a wall, and a standing-up-type air purifier used indoors on the floor, depending on the installation location thereof.
In one example of the ceiling-type air purifier, a lower suction port through which air is sucked may be formed in a lower surface, an upper discharge port through which air is discharged may be formed in an upper surface, and a blowing unit and a purification unit may be disposed therein. In addition, indoor air may be sucked into the air purifier through the lower suction port and purified by the purification unit, and the air purified by the purification unit may be discharged to the upper side of the air purifier through the upper discharge port.
Among air purifiers, an air purifier having a flow path structure of lower suction/upper discharge may gradually accumulate foreign substances such as dust (hereinafter referred to as dust) around the air purifier on the upper surface of the air purifier while operation thereof is stopped, and move the dust accumulated on the upper surface of the air purifier by the air blown upward from the air purifier to scatter the dust around the air purifier when operation of the air purifier is resumed.
On the other hand, the air purifier may suck air to the lower surface to purify it, and discharge the purified air in the side direction instead of the upper direction. An example of such an air purifier is disclosed in Korean Patent registration No. 10-1176565 (published on Aug. 23, 2012).
In the air purifier disclosed in Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1176565 (published on Aug. 23, 2012), outlets are formed in the side plates of upper and lower frames, and the air purified in the purification unit may be discharged in the side direction of the upper and lower frames through the outlets.

INVENTION

Technical Problem

In an air purifier according to the prior art, since air purified by a purification unit is horizontally discharged in four directions, that is, front, rear, left, and right directions, of upper and lower frames through a discharge port, it is not easy to intensively discharge the purified air from the air purifier in a specific direction and it is not easy to switch airflow in various directions.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide an air purifier in which a discharge direction of air purified by a purification unit may be switched to various directions.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an air purifier capable of forming concentrated discharge airflow with a simple structure.

Technical Solution

In an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a discharge port may be formed in an upper portion of a housing, and a discharge guide may be disposed on the housing. The discharge guide may be raised and lowered. The discharge guide may be tilted.
A suction port may be formed in the housing, and a space may be formed in the housing.
A purification unit and a blowing unit may be accommodated in the space.
The discharge guide is disposed on the upper portion of the housing and may discharge and guide air blown through the discharge port.
The air purifier may include a tilting mechanism for tilting the discharge guide. The air purifier may further include a lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the discharge guide.
The discharge port may be opened in the upper portion of the housing in an upper-and-lower direction, and the air blown by the blowing unit may be discharged in the upper direction through the discharge port.
A size of the discharge guide is larger than a size of the discharge port. A rim of the discharge guide may face a periphery of the discharge port in the upper-and-lower direction.
The discharge guide may cover the discharge port above the discharge port. The discharge guide may include a lower guide surface for guiding the air blown from the discharge port. The discharge guide and the lower guide surface may face the discharge port and the space.
The air which has passed through the discharge port may be guided along the lower guide surface, and airflow may be switched to a direction guided by the discharge guide.
The discharge guide may be raised or lowered or tilted from the top of the housing, and a gap through which air discharged through the discharge port may pass may be formed between the discharge guide and the upper portion of the housing.
The gap between the upper portion of the housing and the discharge guide may be opened in a horizontal direction, and the area of the gap may be changed by the height and tilting angle of the discharge guide.
The housing may include a curved surface formed around the discharge port. The housing may further include a pair of side surfaces extending from the curved surface.
The housing may include a left curved surface on the left side of the discharge port and a right curved surface on the right side of the discharge port.
The pair of side surfaces may be formed to gradually move away from each other downward.
The width of the housing in a left-and-right direction may gradually increase in a downward direction.
The housing includes a discharge body having an open bottom and a discharge port formed at an upper portion and an inlet guide disposed below the discharge body.
The housing may include a hanger connector disposed on at least one of the discharge body or the inlet guide and connected with a hanger unit installed on a ceiling.
The discharge body includes an upper curved portion in which the discharge port is opened in an upper-and-lower direction and a curved surface is formed around the discharge port, a left slope portion extending from a lower left end of the upper curved portion, and a right slope portion extending from a lower right end of the upper curved portion.
The left slope portion and the right slope portion may move away from each other downward.
The discharge guide may comprise a vane having a larger size than a size of the discharge port and a connector protruding from a lower surface of the vane and connected to a horizontal shaft of the tilting mechanism to be tilted about the horizontal shaft.
The tilting mechanism may be connected to the discharge guide, the lifting mechanism may raise and lower the discharge guide by raising and lowering the tilting mechanism, and the lifting mechanism may be connected to the tilting mechanism.
The lifting mechanism may comprise a carrier equipped with the tilting mechanism, a rack formed in the carrier, a pinion engaged with the rack, and a lifting motor installed in the housing to rotate the pinion.
The air purifier may further comprise a controller configured to control the tilting mechanism and the lifting mechanism in a plurality of modes.
The plurality of modes may comprise a pop-up mode and a descending airflow mode.
The pop-up mode may be a mode in which the discharge guide is raised to a first height.
The descending airflow mode may be a mode in which the discharge guide is lowered to a second height lower than the first height.
The second height is a height at which air guided to the discharge guide forms Coanda airflow along a curved surface formed around the discharge port. The second height may be a height at which the lower guide surface is not in contact with the curved surface.
The plurality of modes may comprise a left concentrated discharge mode and a right concentrated discharge mode.
In the left concentrated discharge mode, a distance between a left end of the discharge guide and the left curved surface may be longer than a distance between a right end of the discharge guide and the right curved surface.
In the right concentrated discharge mode, a distance between a right end of the discharge guide and the right curved surface may be longer than a distance between a left end of the discharge guide and the left curved surface.
The air purifier may further comprise a sensor configured to sense a pollution level of a room, and a controller configured to control the tilting mechanism and the lifting mechanism according to the pollution level sensed by the sensor.
The controller may control the tilting mechanism and the lifting mechanism so that the discharge guide guides air toward an area where the sensor is located, when the pollution level sensed by the sensor is within a set range.

Effect of the Invention

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a pop-up mode in which a discharge guide is raised, air discharged to a discharge port may be discharged while spreading widely in an upper-and-lower direction through a large gap formed between an upper portion of a housing and the discharge guide, and the air purified by a purification unit may be evenly spread over a wide area around an air purifier.
In addition, in a descending airflow mode in which the discharge guide is lowered, the air discharged to the discharge port may be guided to a curved surface formed around the discharge port while passing through a small gap formed between the upper portion of the housing and the discharge guide, and the air discharged to the discharge port may be intensively discharged while forming a descending airflow along the curved surface and side surface of the housing due to the Coanda effect by the curved surface.
In addition, when the discharge guide is tilted to the left or right by the tilting mechanism, the air purified by the purification unit may be intensively discharged to one of the left or right sides with respect to the air purifier, and a specific area of a room may be more rapidly purified.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the inside of the air purifier shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a front view when the air purifier shown in FIG. 1 discharges airflow.

FIG. 6 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1 is lowered.

FIG. 7 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1 is tilted to one side.

FIG. 8 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1 is tilted to the other side.

FIG. 9 is a control block diagram of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

BEST MODE

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 2 is a plan view of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing the inside of the air purifier shown in FIG. 1 .
The air purifier may include a housing 1, a purification unit 2, a blowing unit 3, a discharge guide 4, a tilting mechanism 5, and a lifting mechanism 6.
The housing 1, the purification unit 2, the blowing unit 3, the discharge guide 4, the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6 may constitute an assembly A (hereinafter referred to as a clean module A), and the clean module A may be installed to be suspended from a ceiling C (see FIGS. 5 to 8 ).
The housing 1 may form the appearance of the air purifier. In the housing 1, a suction port 11 and a discharge port 12 may be formed, and a space S may be formed inside the housing 1.
The suction port 11 may be formed in a lower part of the housing 1, or may be formed in a front or rear part. The suction port 11 may be formed in the housing 1 to be opened in an upper-and-lower direction Z, a left-and-right direction X or a front-and-rear direction Y.
The discharge port 12 may be formed in an upper portion of the housing 1. The discharge port 12 may be opened in the upper portion of the housing 1 in the upper-and-lower direction Z. The discharge port 12 may be formed at a height higher than the height of an upper end of the suction port 11.
The purification unit 2 may be accommodated in the space 51, as shown in FIG. 3 . The purification unit 2 may include a filter accommodated in the space S, and an example of such a filter include a high-performance filter such as a HEPA filter, a humidifying filter for absorbing moisture, an electric dust collection filter having a charging unit (or an ionizing unit) or a renewable zeolite filter.
If the purification unit 2 is a configuration that may purify air, it may be applied to all without being limited to its operating method.
A pair of purification units 2 may be accommodated in the space S. The pair of purification units 22 and 24 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the space S. The pair of purification units 22 and 24 may be spaced apart in the left-and-right direction X, and the pair of purification units 22 and 24 may include the left purification unit 22 and the right purification unit 24. Hereinafter, the common configuration of the left purification unit 22 and the right purification unit 24 will be described as the purification unit 2.
The blowing unit 3 may be accommodated in the space S, as shown in FIG. 3 . The blowing unit 3 may be disposed lower than the discharge port 12. The blowing unit 3 may include a fan motor 32 mounted in the housing 1 and a fan 34 connected to the fan motor 32 and rotated by the fan motor 32.
The fan 34 may be configured as a centrifugal fan or an axial fan, and is applicable as long as it is a fan capable of blowing air upward.
When the suction port 11 is formed in a lower part of the housing 1, and the discharge port 12 is formed in an upper portion of the housing 1, the air outside the air purifier is sucked into the space S of the housing 1 through the suction port 11, and the air sucked into the space S may be purified while passing through the purification unit 2. The air purified by the purification unit 2 may be blown upward by the blowing unit 3.
Air blown by the blowing unit 2 may flow to the upper portion of the housing 1, pass through the discharge port 12 and flow upward.
The discharge guide 4 may be disposed to discharge and guide the air blown to the discharge port 12. The discharge guide 4 may be placed on the housing 1. The discharge guide 4 may change the direction of the air passing through the discharge port 12 to the side direction or a downward slope direction. After the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 hits the discharge guide 4, it may be switched in a direction guided by the discharge guide 4.
The size of the discharge guide 4 may be larger than that of the discharge port 12. The rim 42 of the discharge guide 4 may face the periphery of the discharge port 12 in the upper-and-lower direction Z. The rim 42 of the discharge guide 4 may face curved surfaces 13 and 14 formed around the discharge port 12. The rim 42 of the discharge guide 4 may face the curved surfaces 13 and 14 in the upper-and-lower direction.
The discharge guide 4 may cover the discharge port 12 above the discharge port 12. When operation of the air purifier is stopped, foreign substances in the air may fall on an upper surface of the discharge guide 4 and are blocked by the discharge guide 4 not to flow into the discharge port 12.
The discharge guide 4 may include a lower guide surface 41 for guiding the air blown from the discharge port 12. The lower guide surface 41 may face the space S. The lower guide surface 41 may be positioned on the space S and the discharge port 12, and may face the space S and the discharge port 12 in the upper-and-lower direction Z. The lower guide surface 41 may face the curved surfaces 13 and 14 formed around the discharge port 12 in the upper-and-lower direction.
The discharge guide 4 may include a vane 44 having a larger size than the discharge port 12. The lower guide surface 41 may be a surface facing the discharge port 12 and the periphery of the discharge port 12 of the vane 44.
The discharge guide 4 may include a connector 46 connected to a horizontal shaft 54 of the tilting mechanism 5 to be tilted about the horizontal shaft 54. The connector 46 may be formed to protrude from a lower surface of the vane 44.
When the discharge guide 4 is lowered, the discharge guide 4 may come closer to the upper portion of the housing 1, and when the discharge guide 4 is raised, the discharge guide 4 may move away from the upper portion of the housing 1.
A gap G through which air may pass may be formed between the upper portion of the housing 1 and the discharge guide 4.
The gap G may be defined between the rim 42 of the discharge guide 4 and the upper portion of the housing 1.
The size of the gap G may be determined according to the height or angle of the discharge guide 4.
The housing 1 may be formed so that the air which has passed through the gap G is guided to descending airflow after being guided to the discharge guide 4. The descending airflow described herein may mean that the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 flows in a left slope direction LI or a right slope direction RI.
The housing 1 may include curved surfaces 13 and 14 formed around the discharge port 12. The housing 1 may include a left curved surface 13 located on the left side of the discharge port 12 and a right curved surface 14 located on the right side of the discharge port 12.
The curved surfaces 13 and 14 may be formed such that the air guided to the discharge guide 4 after passing through the discharge port 12 flows in a Coanda effect.
The housing 1 may further include a pair of side surfaces 15 and 16 extending from the curved surfaces 13 and 14. The pair of side surfaces 15 and 16 may gradually move away from each other downward.
The housing 1 may be formed so that a width in the left-and-right direction X gradually increases downward.
The housing 1 may be composed of a combination of a plurality of members.
The housing 1 may include a discharge body 17 having an open bottom and the discharge port 12 formed in an upper portion thereof.
The discharge port 12 may be formed to be opened in the upper-and-lower direction in the upper portion of the discharge body 17.
The discharge body 17 may include upper curved portions 17C and 17D in which the discharge port 12 is opened in the upper-and-lower direction and curved surfaces 13 and 14 are formed around the discharge port 12, a left slope portion 17E extending from a lower left end of the upper curved portion 17A, and a right slop part 17F extending from a lower right end of the upper curved portion 17A.
The cross-sectional shape of the upper curved portions 17C and 17D may be an arc shape convex in the upward direction, and the cross-sectional shape of each of the upper and lower surfaces thereof may be an arc shape.
A pair of the upper curved portions 17C and 17D may be provided, and a pair of the upper curved portions 17C and 17D may include the left upper curved portion 17C positioned around the left side of the discharge port 12, and the right upper curved portion 17D positioned around the right side of the discharge port 12.
The discharge port 12 may be defined as an opening opened between the left upper curved portion 17C and the right upper curved portion 17D in the upper-and-lower direction.
The left slope portion 17E and the right slope portion 17F may move away from each other downward.
The left slope portion 17E may extend long in the left slope direction LI from the lower end of the left upper portion 17C.
The right slope portion 17F may extend long in the right slope direction RI from the lower end of the right upper curved portion 17D.
The discharge body 17 may include a pair of side bodies 17A and 17B. The pair of side bodies 17A and 17B may be configured to be symmetrical in the left-and-right direction. The upper portions of the pair of side bodies 17A and 17B may be coupled to each other, and the pair of side bodies 17A and 17B may be disposed to move away from each other downward.
The left body 17A of the pair of side bodies 17A and 17B may include the left upper curved portion 17C and the left slope portion 17E, and the right body 17B of the pair of side bodies 17A and 17B may include the right upper curved portion 17D and the right slope portion 17F.
The discharge body 17 may be placed on an inlet guide 18, and may be seated on the inlet guide 18.
The housing 1 may further include the inlet guide 18. The inlet guide 18 may be disposed below the discharge body 17. The inlet guide 18 may guide air into the discharge body 17.
The inlet guide 18 is to guide the external air to be sucked into the space S and may be connected to at least one of the discharge body 17 or the purification unit 2. The inlet guide 18 may be spaced apart from a floor in a room in the upper-and-lower direction Z when the clean module A is completely installed.
An example of the inlet guide 18 may be composed of a suction grill or a suction panel formed with the suction port.
Another example of the inlet guide 18 may be composed of a suction guide for guiding the air sucked toward the space S, and, in this case, the suction port 11 through which air passes to be suck into the discharge body 17 may be formed between the inlet guide 18 and the discharge body 17.
The suction port 11 may be formed between the side end of the inlet guide 18 and the inner surface of the discharge body 17.
The left end of the inlet guide 18 may be spaced apart from the left inner surface of the discharge body 17, and the right end of the inlet guide 18 may be spaced apart from the right inner surface of the discharge body 17.
The length L1 of the inlet guide 18 in the left-and-right direction X may be shorter than the distance L2 between the left inner surface of the discharge body 17 and the right inner surface of the discharge body 17.
In this case, the suction port 11 may include a left suction port formed between the left end of the inlet guide 18 and the left inner surface of the discharge body 17, and a right suction port formed between the right end of the inlet guide 18 and the right inner surface of the discharge body 17.
In the housing 1, a lighting module 8 may be disposed. The lighting module 8 may be disposed to illuminate the lower part of the air purifier. The lighting module 8 may include a light source such as an incandescent lamp, a fluorescent lamp, or an LED assembly. The lighting module 8 may be disposed in a lower part of the clean module A.
As an example of the air purifier, the inlet guide 18 and the lighting module 8 may be configured separately. In this case, any one of the inlet guide 18 or the lighting module 8 may be placed around the other.
As another example of the air purifier, the lighting module 8 is disposed inside the inlet guide 18 and the assembly of the inlet guide 18 and the lighting module 8 constitutes a lighting fixture. In this case, the inlet guide 18 may include a diffusion plate through which the light of the lighting module 8 is diffused. In addition, in this case, the lighting module may be disposed above the diffusion plate.
Meanwhile, at least one of the discharge body 17 or the inlet guide 18 may include hanger connectors 19 and 20 connected to a hanger unit U (see FIGS. 5 to 8 ) installed on a ceiling C (see FIGS. 5 to 8 ).
The hanger connectors 19 and 20 may be integrally formed with the inlet guide 18, and may extend upwardly from the inlet guide 18. In the air purifier, instead of the hanger connectors 19 and 20 being integrally formed with the inlet guide 18, the hanger connectors 19 and 20 are integrally formed with the discharge body 17. In the air purifier, the hanger connectors 19 and 20 may be manufactured separately from the discharge body 17 and the inlet guide 18 and then coupled to at least one of the discharge body 17 or the inlet guide 18.
A pair of hanger connectors 19 and 20 may be provided, and the pair of connectors 19 and 20 may include a front connector 19 and a rear connector 20.
The front connector 19 may extend upwardly from the upper end of the inlet guide 18, and may be disposed between the left body 17A and the right body 17B.
The rear connector 20 may extend upwardly from the rear end of the inlet guide 18, and may be disposed between the left body 17A and the right body 17B.
Each of the front connector 19 and the rear connector 20 may have a shape in which the length in the left-and-right direction Z increases downward.
Each of the upper end 19A of the front connector 19 and the upper end 20A of the rear connector 20 may have a shape corresponding to the lower surfaces of the upper curved portions 17C and 17D, and may have an arc shape convex in the upward direction.
Each of the upper end 19A of the front connector 19 and the upper end 20A of the rear connector 20 may be coupled to the discharge body 17, particularly, the upper curved portions 17C and 17D, and the discharge body 17 may be placed on connectors 19 and 20 and supported on the hanger connectors 19 and 20.
The suction port 11 formed in the housing 1 may be formed between the discharge body 17 and the hanger connectors 19 and 20. In this case, the suction port 11 may be formed to be opened in the front-and-rear direction between the discharge body 17 and the hanger connectors 19 and 20.
A distance L3 between the left slope portion 17E and the right slope portion 17F in the left-and-right direction X may be longer than the length L4 of the hanger connectors 19 and 20 in the left-and-right direction X.
The tilting mechanism 5 may tilt the discharge guide 4. In addition, the lifting mechanism 6 may raise and lower the discharge guide 4.
Any one of the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6 may be connected to the discharge guide 4, the other of the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6 may be connected to any one of the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6.
When the tilting mechanism 5 is connected to the discharge guide 4 to tilt the discharge guide 4, the lifting mechanism 6 may be connected to the tilting mechanism 5 to raise or lower the tilting mechanism 5 and the discharge guide 4.
The tilting mechanism 5 may include a tilting motor 52 having the horizontal axis 54 connected to the connector 46.
The tilting mechanism 5 may tilt the discharge guide 4 so that the left end of the discharge guide 4 moves away from the left curved surface 13 and the right end of the discharge guide 4 approaches the right curved surface 14.
In this case, the gap G between the left end of the discharge guide 4 and the left curved surface 13 may be increased, and the gap G between the right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curved surface 14 may be decreased or absent. Air which has passed through the discharge port 12 may be discharged and guided in the left direction L by the discharge guide 4. The air purifier may be in a left concentrated discharge mode in which the purified air is mainly discharged and guided in the left direction L.
The tilting mechanism 5 may tilt the discharge guide 4 so that the left end of the discharge guide 4 moves away from the left curved surface 13 and the right end of the discharge guide 4 approaches the right curved surface 14.
In this case, the gap G between the right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curved surface 13 may be decreased or absent, and the gap G between the right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curved surface 14 may be increased, and the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 may be discharged and guided in the right direction R by the discharge guide 4. The air purifier may be in a right concentrated discharge mode in which the purified air is mainly discharged and guided in the right direction R.
When the lifting mechanism 6 is connected to the discharge guide 4 to raise or lower the discharge guide 4, the tilting mechanism 5 is mounted in the housing 1 and connected to the lifting mechanism 6 to tilt the lifting mechanism 6 and the discharge guide 4.
The lifting mechanism 6 may include a carrier 62 equipped with the tilting mechanism 5, a rack 64 formed in the carrier 62, a pinion 66 engaged with the rack 64, and a lifting motor 68 installed in the housing 1 to rotate the pinion 66.
A motor accommodation part 63 in which the tilting motor 52 constituting the tilting mechanism 5 is accommodated may be accommodated in the carrier 62, and, when the carrier 62 is raised and lowered, the tilting motor 52 may be raised and lowered together with the carrier 62.
The carrier 62 may surround the outer circumferential surface of the tilting motor 52, and may be a tilting motor housing that protects the tilting motor 52.
The tilting motor 52 may have the horizontal shaft 54 disposed in the front-and-rear direction Y.
The rack 64 may be formed to protrude from one side of the carrier 62. The rack 64 may extend to protrude downward from the carrier 62, and may be formed long in the upper-and-lower direction Z.
The pinion 66 may be connected to the rotating shaft 69 of the lifting motor 68, may be engaged with the rack 64, may raise or lower the rack 64 when the rotating shaft 69 rotates.
The lifting motor 68 may be fixedly mounted in the housing 1, and the rotating shaft 69 of the lifting motor 68 may be parallel to the horizontal shaft 54 of the tilting motor 52.
The air purifier may further include a lifting guide 70 that may guide raising and lowering of the tilting mechanism 5. The lifting guide 70 may be disposed inside the housing 1, and is formed long in the upper-and-lower direction to guide the carrier 62, particularly, the rack 74, so that the tilting mechanism 5 moves linearly in the upper-and-lower direction Z. The lifting guide 70 may be connected to the housing 1 or the purification unit 2.
The lifting guide 70 may be long disposed in the upper-and-lower direction Z around the rack 64 to guide raising and lowering of the rack 64.
When the lifting mechanism 6 raises the discharge guide 4, the air purifier may be in a pop-up mode in which the discharge guide 4 is raised. The gap G between the discharge guide 4 and the upper surfaces 13 and 14 may be increased, and the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 may be widely discharged through the large gap. The pop-up mode may be a normal mode or a diffusion mode in which the purified air is diffused toward a large area of the room.
When the lifting mechanism 6 lowers the discharge guide 4, the air purifier may be in a descending airflow mode in which the discharge guide 4 descends.
In the descending airflow mode, the gap G between the discharge guide 4 and the upper surfaces 13 and 14 may be reduced, and the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 may be guided to the curved surfaces 13 and 14 while passing through the small gap, the air guided to the discharge guide 4 flows along the curved surfaces 13 and 14 to increase the Coanda effect, and the air may form descending airflow flowing in the left slope direction LI and the right slope direction L2.
FIG. 5 is a front view when the air purifier shown in FIG. 1 discharges airflow, FIG. 6 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1 is lowered, FIG. 7 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1 is tilted to one side, FIG. 8 is a front view when the discharge guide shown in FIG. 1 is tilted to the other side, and FIG. 9 is a control block diagram of an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
The housing 1 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the ceiling C and the floor B of the room under the ceiling C, respectively.
The air purifier may further include a hanger unit U installed on the ceiling C, and the hanger unit U may include a support body W (hereinafter referred to as a support body) such as a wire or a support rod extending downward. The hanger unit U may include a mounter mounted on the ceiling C, and the support body W may extend downwardly from the mounter.
The housing 1 may be connected to the support body W and may be installed to hang on the hanger unit U installed on the ceiling C.
In the hanger unit U, a wire for supplying power to the clean module A may extend downward, and the wire may be connected to the clean module A to supply power to the clean module A.
The housing 1 may be connected to a lower part of the support body W, and the upper end of the housing 1 may be spaced apart from the ceiling C. When the housing 1 is connected to the lower part of the support body W, it may be disposed to be spaced apart from the ceiling C by a predetermined distance in the upper-and-lower direction Z. A distance between the housing 1 and the hanger unit U may be longer than a maximum lifting width of the discharge guide 4, and the discharge guide 4 does not interfere with the hanger unit U even if it is raised to a maximum height.
The air purifier may further include a sensor for sensing the pollution level of the room in which the air purifier is disposed.
The air purifier may include at least one sensor spaced apart from the clean module A. The sensor may be provided outside the housing 1 and spaced apart from the housing 1.
The sensor is preferably provided at a location that the air purified by the clean module A may be reached. The sensor may be disposed at a location spaced apart from the clean module A by a predetermined distance or more.
The sensor may be communicatively connected to a controller 9. The air purifier may include a plurality of sensors 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105, and the plurality of sensors 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other in the room R in which the clean module A is installed.
In this case, each of the plurality of sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, and 105 may be communicatively connected to the controller 9.
The sensors 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105 may include a sensing element 112 for sensing foreign substances such as dust, a sensor PCB 114 for processing the sensing value of the sensing element 112, and a transmission element 116 connected to the sensor PCB 117 to transmit a signal generated by the sensor PCB 114 to the outside.
The sensing element 112 may include a dust sensor for sensing the concentration of foreign substances in the air.
An example of the dust sensor may be an optical sensor and the dust sensor may include a housing formed with an opening through which external air may be introduced, a light source, such as an LED or laser, capable of emitting light to the air introduced into the housing, a light reception element, such as a photodiode or a phototransistor, for detecting the amount of light scattered by dust such as fine dust.
The dust sensor may output the concentration of dust (i.e., the concentration of the foreign substances) detected by the light reception element as the magnitude of a concentration sensing value (e.g., voltage).
The sensor PCB 114 may process a sensing value output from the sensing element 114, and transmit a signal corresponding thereto to the transmission element 116.
The room R in which the clean module A is disposed may be divided into a left area and a right area based on a vertical extension line VE extending in the upper-and-lower direction in the housing 1.
The room R in which the clean module A is disposed may be divided into an upper area and a lower area based on a horizontal extension line HE extending in the left-and-right direction from the upper end or lower end of the housing 1.
The room in which the clean module A is disposed may be divided into two areas, such as an upper area and a lower area, based on the horizontal extension line HE extending in the left-and-right direction from the upper end or lower end of the housing 1, and the lower area may be divided into a lower left area, a lower central area and a lower right area.
The air purifier may include two sensors, one of the two sensors being a left sensor located in the left area, and the other of the two sensors being a right sensor located in the right area.
The air purifier may include two sensors, one of the two sensors being an upper sensor located in the upper area, and the other of the two sensors being a lower sensor located in the lower area.
The air purifier includes at least four sensors, and at least one sensor may be located in each of an upper left area, an upper right area, a lower left area, and a lower right area.
The air purifier includes at least five sensors, and at least one sensor may be located in each of an upper left area UL, an upper right area UR, a lower left area LL, a lower central area LC and a lower right area LR.
For example, the plurality of sensors 101, 102, 103, 104, and 105 may include the upper left sensor 101 disposed in the upper left area UL, the upper right sensor 102 disposed in the upper right area UR, the lower left sensor 103 disposed in the lower left area LL, the lower central sensor 104 disposed in the lower central area LC and the lower right sensor 105 disposed in the lower right area LR.
The air purifier may further include the controller 9. The controller 9 may control the blowing unit 3, and may control a fan motor 32 when controlling the blowing unit 3.
The controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6, and may control the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6 in a plurality of modes. The controller 9 may control the tilting motor 52 of the tilting mechanism 5 when controlling the tilting mechanism 5. The controller 9 may control the lifting motor 68 of the lifting mechanism 6 when controlling the lifting mechanism 6.
The controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 6 so that a direction in which the discharge guide 4 guides the air faces the area where the sensor is located, if the pollution level sensed by the sensor is within a set range.
The set range may be a range of the pollution level in which it may be determined that the vicinity of the sensor is contaminated. The set range may include a case in which the pollution level is equal to or greater than a set pollution level. When the set range is greater than or equal to the set pollution level, a clean range may be a range less than the set pollution level.
The controller 9 may include a reception element 192 for receiving a signal transmitted by the transmission element, and a purifier PCB 94 connected to the reception element 92 to control the tilting mechanism 5 and the lifting mechanism 10 according to the signal received by the reception element 92.
The reception element 92 may be connected to the transmission element 116 through wired or wireless communication, for example, by a communication method such as GSM (Global System for Mobile communication), CDMA (Code Division Multi Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution), 5G, WLAN (Wireless LAN), Wi-Fi (Wireless-Fidelity), Bluetooth (Bluetooth™), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), ZigBee, NFC (Near Field Communication), etc.
The plurality of modes may include a pop-up mode and a descending airflow mode.
The pop-up mode may be a mode in which the discharge guide 4 is raised to a first height H1, as shown in FIG. 5 .
For example, the controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 in a horizontal mode and control the lifting mechanism 6 in an ascending mode, when a difference between the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on the left side of the room and the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on the right side of the room is less than a set value.
In this case, the discharge guide 4 is raised to a first height H1, the heights of the left and right ends of the discharge guide 4 may be the same, and the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 may be discharged and guided while being dispersed in both directions of the left and right sides of the clean module A, as shown in FIG. 5 , and the left and right areas of the room R may be uniformly cleaned.
The descending airflow mode may be a mode in which the discharge guide 4 is lowered to a second height H2 lower than the first height H1, as shown in FIG. 6 .
The second height H2 may be a height at which the air guided to the discharge guide 4 forms Coanda airflow along the curved surfaces 13 and 14 formed around the discharge port 12. In this case, the second height H2 may be a height at which the discharge guide 4 is not in contact with the curved surfaces 13 and 14.
For example, the controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 in the horizontal mode and control the lifting mechanism 6 in the descending mode, when the difference between the pollution level sensed by the sensor located at the lower part of the room and the pollution level sensed by the sensor located at the upper portion of the room is greater than or equal to the set value, and the pollution level sensed by the sensor located at the lower part of the room is within a set range.
In this case, the discharge guide 4 is lowered to a second height H2, and the heights of the left and the right ends of the discharge guide 4 may be the same, and the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 may mainly flow along the curved surfaces 13 and 14 according to the Coanda effect, and as shown in FIG. 6 , may be discharged and guided while forming descending airflow along the left and right sides of the housing 1. The lower part of the room R, particularly, the periphery of the lower part of the housing 1, may be intensively cleaned by the descending airflow flowing along the left and right sides of the housing 1.
The plurality of modes may include a left concentrated discharge mode and a right concentrated discharge mode.
In the left concentrated discharge mode, as shown in FIG. 7 , a distance L5 between the left end of the discharge guide 4 and the left curved surface 13 is longer than the distance L6 between the right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curved surface 14.
For example, the controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 in a right tilting mode and control the lifting mechanism 6 in an ascending mode, when the difference between the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on the left side of the room and the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on the right side of the room exceeds the set value and the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on the left side of the room is within the set range.
In this case, the discharge guide 4 may be tilted while rotating in the right direction, the gap G between the left end of the discharge guide 4 and the left curved surface 13 may be increased, and the gap G between the right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curved surface 14 may be reduced. As shown in FIG. 7 , the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 may be mainly discharged and guided in the left direction L of the clean module A, and the left area of the room R may be intensively cleaned.
In the right concentrated discharge mode, as shown in FIG. 8 , a distance L6 between the right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curved surface 14 may be longer than a distance L5 between the left end of the discharge guide 4 and the left curved surface 13.
For example, the controller 9 may control the tilting mechanism 5 in a left tilting mode and control the lifting mechanism 6 in an ascending mode, when the difference between the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on the left side of the room and the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on the right side of the room exceeds the set value, and the pollution level sensed by the sensor located on the right side of the room is within the set range.
In this case, the discharge guide 4 may be tilted while rotating in the left direction, the gap G between the right end of the discharge guide 4 and the right curved surface 14 may be increased, and the gap G between the left end of the discharge guide 4 and the left curved surface 13 may be decreased. As shown in FIG. 8 , the air which has passed through the discharge port 12 may be mainly discharged and guided in the right direction R of the clean module A, and the left area of the room R may be intensively cleaned.
The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present disclosure, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the essential characteristics of the present disclosure by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.
Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present disclosure are not intended to limit the technical spirit of the present disclosure, but are intended to explain the technical spirit of the present disclosure, and the scope of the technical spirit of the present disclosure is not limited by these embodiments.
The scope of the present disclosure should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. An air purifier comprising:

a housing having a suction port formed therein, a space formed therein, and a discharge port formed in an upper portion thereof;

a purification unit and a blowing unit accommodated in the space;

a discharge guide disposed in an upper portion of the housing to discharge and guide air blown to the discharge port;

a tilting mechanism configured to tilt the discharge guide; and

a lifting mechanism configured to raise and lower the discharge guide.

2. The air purifier of claim 1,

wherein the discharge port is opened in the upper portion of the housing in an upper-and-lower direction,

wherein a size of the discharge guide is larger than a size of the discharge port, and

wherein a rim of the discharge guide faces a periphery of the discharge port in the upper-and-lower direction.

3. The air purifier of claim 2, wherein the discharge guide comprises a lower guide surface facing the space and guiding air blown from the discharge port.

4. The air purifier of claim 2, wherein the housing comprises a curved surface formed around the discharge port.

5. The air purifier of claim 4,

wherein the housing further comprises a pair of side surfaces extending from the curved surface, and

wherein the pair of side surfaces gradually moves away from each other downward.

6. The air purifier of claim 4, wherein a width of the housing in a left-and-right direction gradually increases downward.

7. The air purifier of claim 1,

wherein the housing comprises:

a discharge body having an open bottom and the discharge port formed therein; and

an inlet guide disposed below the discharge body, and

wherein at least one of the discharge body or the inlet guide comprises a hanger connector connected to a support body extending from a hanger unit installed on a ceiling.

8. The air purifier of claim 7,

wherein the discharge body comprises:

an upper curved portion in which the discharge port is opened in an upper-and-lower direction and a curved surface is formed around the discharge port;

a left slope portion extending from a lower left end of the upper curved portion; and

a right slope portion extending from a lower right end of the upper curved portion, and

wherein the left slope portion and the right slope portion move away from each other downward.

9. The air purifier of claim 1, wherein the discharge guide comprises:

a vane having a larger size than a size of the discharge port; and

a connector protruding from a lower surface of the vane and connected to a horizontal shaft of the tilting mechanism to be tilted about the horizontal shaft.

10. The air purifier of claim 1,

wherein the tilting mechanism is connected to the discharge guide, and

wherein the lifting mechanism is connected to the tilting mechanism.

11. The air purifier of claim 1, wherein the lifting mechanism comprises:

a carrier equipped with the tilting mechanism;

a rack formed in the carrier;

a pinion engaged with the rack; and

a lifting motor installed in the housing to rotate the pinion.

12. The air purifier of claim 1, further comprising a lifting guide disposed inside the housing to guide raising and lowering of the tilting mechanism.

13. The air purifier of claim 1, further comprising a controller configured to control the tilting mechanism and the lifting mechanism in a plurality of modes.

14. The air purifier of claim 13, wherein the plurality of modes comprise:

a pop-up mode in which the discharge guide is raised to a first height; and

a descending airflow mode in which the discharge guide is lowered to a second height lower than the first height,

wherein the second height is a height at which air guided to the discharge guide forms Coanda airflow along a curved surface formed around the discharge port.

15. The air purifier of claim 14,

wherein the housing comprises a left curved surface on a right side of the discharge port and a right curved surface on a right side of the discharge port, and

wherein the plurality of modes comprises:

a left concentrated discharge mode in which a distance between a left end of the discharge guide and the left curved surface is longer than a distance between a right end of the discharge guide and the right curved surface; and

a right concentrated discharge mode in which a distance between a right end of the discharge guide and the right curved surface is longer than a distance between a left end of the discharge guide and the left curved surface.

16. The air purifier of claim 13, further comprising a sensor configured to sense a pollution level of a room,

wherein the controller controls the tilting mechanism and the lifting mechanism so that the discharge guide guides air toward an area where the sensor is located, when a pollution level sensed by the sensor is within a set range.

17. The air purifier of claim 16, wherein the sensor is spaced apart from the housing outside the housing, and

wherein a plurality of sensors is provided to be spaced apart from each other and each of the plurality of sensors is communicatively connected to the controller.

18. The air purifier of claim 16,

wherein the sensor comprises:

a sensing element configured to sense foreign substances;

a sensor PCB configured to process a sensing value of the sensing element; and

a transmission element connected to the sensor PCB to transmit a signal generated by the sensor PCB to an outside,

wherein the controller comprises:

a reception element configured to receive a signal transmitted by the transmission element; and

a purifier PCB connected to the reception element to control the tilting mechanism and the lifting mechanism according to the signal received by the reception element.

19. An air purifier comprising:

a discharge body having a discharge port formed at an upper portion thereof and a curved surface formed around the discharge port;

a discharge guide formed with a lower guide surface larger than the discharge port and facing the discharge port and the curved surface and having a rim facing the curved surface in an upper-and-lower direction; and

a lifting mechanism for raising the discharge guide to a first height or lowering the discharge guide to a second height lower than the first height,

wherein the second height is a height at which the lower guide surface is not in contact with the curved surface.

20. The air purifier of claim 19,

wherein the discharge body further comprises a pair of side surfaces extending from the curved surface, and

21. The air purifier of claim 19, comprising an inlet guide guiding air into the discharge body,

wherein the inlet guide has a left end spaced apart from a left inner surface of the discharge body and a right end spaced apart from a right inner surface of the discharge body.