WO2020261972A1

WO2020261972A1 - Purification method and purification system

Info

Publication number: WO2020261972A1
Application number: PCT/JP2020/022656
Authority: WO
Inventors: 博子池嶋; 大山　達史; 宮下　万里子
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2019-06-26
Filing date: 2020-06-09
Publication date: 2020-12-30
Also published as: JPWO2020261972A1

Abstract

The purification method according to one embodiment of the present invention employs a purification system that includes an optical sensor and a purification unit. This purification method comprises: detecting, by using an optical sensor, scattering light scattered by an aerosol floating in a subject space so as to identify the position and amount of the aerosol; and causing the purification unit to purify the aerosol in the case when the amount of aerosol exceeds a threshold value.

Description

Purification method and purification system

This disclosure relates to purification methods and purification systems.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of using an air cannon generator to convey a gas or fine liquid component to a target place in a room at a target concentration and purify the air.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-188189

However, when an aerosol such as a virus floating in the air is the object of purification, the aerosol can move in the air, so that the contact probability between the purification component and the aerosol becomes worse. Therefore, it is not possible to efficiently purify the aerosol.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides a purification method and a purification system capable of efficiently purifying an aerosol floating in the air.

The purification method according to one aspect of the present disclosure uses a purification system including an optical sensor and a purification unit. In the purification method, the position and amount of the aerosol are specified by detecting the scattered light scattered by the aerosol floating in the target space by using the optical sensor, and the amount of the aerosol sets a threshold value. When the amount is exceeded, the aerosol is purified by the purification unit.

Further, the purification system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an optical sensor and a purification unit. The optical sensor identifies the position and amount of the aerosol by detecting scattered light scattered by the aerosol floating in the target space. The purification unit purifies the aerosol when the amount of the aerosol exceeds a threshold value.

Further, one aspect of the present disclosure can be realized as a program for causing a computer to execute the above purification method. Alternatively, it can be realized as a computer-readable non-temporary recording medium in which the program is stored.

According to the present disclosure, aerosols floating in the air can be efficiently purified.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a purification system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the purification system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a state of purification by the purification system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an aerosol detection process in the operation of the purification system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the spectrum of the multi-laser light emitted by the aerosol measuring device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the 0th transmitted light and the 1st transmitted light passing through the optical element of the aerosol measuring device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the 0th transmitted light and the 2nd transmitted light passing through the optical element of the aerosol measuring device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a spectrum of scattered light generated by scattering the multi-laser light emitted by the aerosol measuring device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a calculation result of an interferogram when scattered light including Mie scattered light and Rayleigh scattered light is interfered with by a Michelson interferometer. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the dependence of the frequency interval of the interference fringe by the Michelson interferometer when there is no scattering by the aerosol and only the atmospheric scattering is considered. FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing a state of purification by the purification system according to the first modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing a state of purification by the purification system according to the second modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing a state of purification by the purification system according to the third modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the purification system according to the second embodiment and the state of purification by the purification system. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the purification system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an avoidance process in the operation of the purification system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 18 is a diagram schematically showing another example of the state of purification by the purification system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a configuration of a purification system according to the third embodiment.

(Summary of this disclosure)
The purification method according to one aspect of the present disclosure uses a purification system including an optical sensor and a purification unit. In the purification method, the position and amount of the aerosol are specified by detecting the scattered light scattered by the aerosol floating in the target space by using the optical sensor, and the amount of the aerosol sets a threshold value. When the amount is exceeded, the aerosol is purified by the purification unit.

As a result, the amount of aerosol exceeding the threshold value can be collectively purified, so that the aerosol floating in the air can be efficiently purified.

Further, for example, in the purification, the purification unit may release a gas or a liquid to the position of the aerosol.

As a result, by lowering the concentration of aerosol by gas, the risk of aerosol is lowered and the occurrence of health damage can be suppressed. Alternatively, for example, the aerosol can be efficiently purified by using a liquid having the ability to detoxify the aerosol.

Further, for example, the purification unit includes a suction port for sucking the aerosol, and in the purification, the purification unit may collect or detoxify the aerosol by sucking the aerosol from the suction port. Good.

As a result, by collecting or detoxifying the sucked aerosol, it is possible to prevent the aerosol from being released from the purification unit into the target space, and it is possible to efficiently reduce the aerosol in the target space.

Further, for example, the purification unit may suck the aerosol from the suction port by generating an air flow for sucking the aerosol.

As a result, the aerosol in the target space can be reduced by sucking the aerosol through the suction port.

Further, for example, the purification system further includes an airflow generator, and in the purification, the airflow generator may discharge an airflow to the position of the aerosol.

As a result, the aerosol can be guided to a position where it is easy to purify by the air flow, so that the aerosol floating in the air can be efficiently purified.

Further, for example, the purification system further includes a discharge port that opens toward the outside of the target space, and the purification means that the aerosol guided by the air flow is discharged from the discharge port to the outside. It may be included.

As a result, the aerosol can be discharged from the discharge port by the air flow, so that the aerosol in the target space can be easily and efficiently reduced.

Further, for example, the purification system further includes a sensor for detecting the position of an object in the target space, and the purification method uses the sensor to identify whether or not the object is a person or an animal. It may further include that.

With this, it is possible to identify whether or not the object is a person or an animal, so that it is possible to prevent the person or the animal from being exposed to an air flow or the like.

Also, for example, the purification system further includes an airflow generator, and when the object is identified as a person or an animal in the identification, the airflow generator will have the aerosol with the object. In determining an avoidance path to the purification section while avoiding contact and purifying the purification, the airflow generator may generate an airflow that guides the aerosol to the purification section along the avoidance path.

This makes it easier to avoid contact between the object existing in the target space and the aerosol, so that the aerosol can be efficiently purified without being disturbed by the object.

Further, for example, the airflow generator predicts the movement path of the object, and the path that the aerosol can reach the purification unit while avoiding contact with the object moving along the movement path is described. It may be determined as an avoidance route.

This makes it easier to avoid contact between the moving object and the aerosol when the object is moving.

Further, for example, the object may be a person or an animal.

As a result, if the aerosol contains a virus, there is a possibility of causing health hazards to humans or animals. Since it is possible to easily avoid contact between humans or animals and aerosols, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of health hazards.

Further, for example, in the above-mentioned identification, the optical sensor emits light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at the same frequency interval into the target space, and the frequency interval is Rayleigh scattering by molecules constituting the atmosphere. It may be less than the half width of the peak of the frequency of light.

The optical sensor can detect the presence / absence and concentration of the aerosol by receiving the scattered light of the emitted light by the aerosol, for example. At this time, the received light includes not only Mie scattered light caused by the aerosol but also Rayleigh scattered light caused by the molecules constituting the atmosphere. According to the optical sensor according to this aspect, the Rayleigh scattered light can be removed at the time of receiving the light by utilizing the interference, so that the aerosol can be detected with high accuracy.

Further, for example, the purification system may further include a purification device that releases a chemical that detoxifies the aerosol at the position of the aerosol.

This makes it possible to directly detoxify aerosols with chemicals.

Further, for example, the scattered light may include Mie scattered light.

This makes it possible to accurately detect aerosols that are larger than the molecules that make up the atmosphere.

Further, for example, the scattered light may include Rayleigh scattered light.

As a result, by removing Rayleigh scattered light using, for example, etalon, it is possible to accurately detect aerosols larger than the molecules that make up the atmosphere.

The purification method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a step of detecting an aerosol in a target space using an optical sensor and generating an air flow that guides the aerosol to a purification unit when the amount of the aerosol exceeds a threshold value. The purifying unit includes a step of purifying the aerosol guided by the air flow.

This makes it possible to detect aerosols using an optical sensor and guide the detected aerosols to the purification unit with an air flow. Since the aerosol is guided to the purification unit that purifies the aerosol, the aerosol floating in the air can be efficiently purified.

In addition, in the present specification, "purification" means to suppress the occurrence of health damage due to the aerosol detected in the target space by reducing the aerosol detected in the target space. In addition, "purification" as used herein also means detoxifying a virus contained in an aerosol and / or simply discharging the aerosol from a target space. Further, in the present specification, "purification" also means that by reducing the concentration of aerosol, the risk of aerosol is lowered and the occurrence of health damage is suppressed.

Further, for example, the purification unit includes a suction port provided in the target space, and in the purification step, the aerosol guided by the air flow may be sucked from the suction port.

Further, for example, in the purification step, the aerosol sucked from the suction port may be further collected or rendered harmless.

Further, for example, the purification unit includes a discharge port that communicates the target space with the outside of the target space, and in the purification step, the aerosol guided by the air flow is discharged from the discharge port to the outside. You may.

Further, for example, the purification method according to one aspect of the present disclosure further includes a step of detecting an object and a step of determining an avoidance route capable of the aerosol avoiding contact with the object and reaching the purification unit. In the step of producing, the airflow that guides the aerosol along the avoidance path may be generated when the amount of the aerosol exceeds the threshold.

Further, for example, in the step of determining, a route that does not pass the position where the object is detected may be determined as the avoidance route.

This makes it easier to avoid contact between the object and the aerosol when the object is stationary.

Further, for example, the purification method according to one aspect of the present disclosure further includes a step of predicting a movement path of the object, and in the determination step, the aerosol moves with the object moving along the movement path. The route that can reach the purification unit while avoiding the contact with the above may be determined as the avoidance route.

Further, for example, in the step of detecting the object, the object may be detected by using a sensor different from the optical sensor.

As a result, a dedicated sensor for detecting an object can be used, so that the accuracy of detecting an object can be improved. By increasing the detection accuracy of the object, it becomes easy to avoid the contact between the object and the aerosol, and the aerosol can be efficiently purified.

Further, for example, the frequency interval may be 3.9 GHz or less.

As a result, Rayleigh scattered light can be sufficiently suppressed by utilizing interference, so that the receiver can receive Mie scattered light based on the aerosol. Therefore, the presence / absence and concentration of aerosol can be easily measured based on the intensity of light received by the light receiver.

Further, for example, the optical sensor includes a light source and an etalon, and the light having a plurality of peaks may be light emitted from the light source and passed through the etalon.

As a result, by using Etalon, the number of parts can be reduced compared to the case of using a Michelson interferometer, so the structure of the optical sensor can be simplified. In addition, since Rayleigh scattered light can be removed by etalon, the aerosol can be easily and accurately detected based on the light receiving intensity of the light receiver without requiring complicated signal processing.

Further, for example, the purification system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an optical sensor for detecting an aerosol in a target space, a purification unit, and the aerosol to the purification unit when the amount of the aerosol exceeds a threshold value. The purification unit is provided with a generator for generating a guided air flow, and the purification unit purifies the aerosol guided by the air flow.

In the present disclosure, all or part of a circuit, unit, device, member or part, or all or part of a functional block in a block diagram, is a semiconductor device, a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC), or an LSI (Large Scale Integration). It may be executed by one or more electronic circuits including. The LSI or IC may be integrated on one chip, or may be configured by combining a plurality of chips. For example, functional blocks other than the storage element may be integrated on one chip. Here, it is called an LSI or an IC, but the name changes depending on the degree of integration, and it may be called a system LSI, a VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration), or a ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration). A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) programmed after the LSI is manufactured, or a reconfigurable logistic device capable of reconfiguring the junction relationship inside the LSI or setting up the circuit partition inside the LSI can also be used for the same purpose.

Furthermore, all or part of the functions or operations of circuits, units, devices, members or parts can be executed by software processing. In this case, the software is recorded on one or more ROMs, optical disks, non-temporary recording media such as hard disk drives, and when the software is executed by a processor, the functions identified by the software are It is executed by a processor and peripheral devices. The system or device may include one or more non-temporary recording media on which the software is recorded, a processor, and the required hardware device, such as an interface.

Hereinafter, the embodiment will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

It should be noted that all of the embodiments described below show comprehensive or specific examples. Numerical values, shapes, materials, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of components, steps, order of steps, etc. shown in the following embodiments are examples, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Further, among the components in the following embodiments, the components not described in the independent claims will be described as arbitrary components.

In addition, each figure is a schematic view and is not necessarily exactly illustrated. Therefore, for example, the scales and the like do not always match in each figure. Further, in each figure, substantially the same configuration is designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted or simplified.

Further, in the present specification, terms indicating relationships between elements such as orthogonality or coincidence, terms indicating the shape of elements such as cylinders or prisms, and numerical ranges are not expressions expressing only strict meanings. , Is an expression meaning that a substantially equivalent range, for example, a difference of about several percent is included.

(Embodiment 1)
[1. Constitution]
First, the configuration of the purification system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a purification system 1 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the purification system 1 includes an aerosol measuring device 100, an airflow generating device 110, and a purification unit 120. In the purification system 1, the aerosol measuring device 100 detects the aerosol 90, the detected aerosol 90 is guided to the purification unit 120 by the air flow 112 generated by the air flow generator 110, and the guided aerosol 90 is purified by the purification unit 120. To do.

[1-1. Aerosol measuring device]
The aerosol measuring device 100 is an example of an optical sensor. As shown in FIG. 1, the aerosol measuring device 100 emits the irradiation light L2 into the air in the target space, and the aerosol 90 floating in the air scatters the irradiation light L2 to generate scattered light L3. get. The aerosol measuring device 100 measures the aerosol 90 by processing the acquired scattered light L3.

The target space is, for example, a room in a building such as a residence, office, long-term care facility, or hospital. The target space is, for example, a space partitioned by walls, windows, doors, floors, ceilings, etc., and is a closed space, but is not limited to this. The target space may be an outdoor open space. Further, the target space may be the internal space of a moving body such as a bus or an airplane.

The aerosol 90 to be measured is, for example, dust floating in the target space, suspended particulate matter such as PM2.5, biological particles, or minute water droplets. Biological particles include molds or mites floating in the air, pollen and the like. In addition, minute water droplets include substances dynamically generated from the human body such as coughing or sneezing.

Aerosol 90 is sufficiently large compared to the molecules that make up air. In the present embodiment, since the particle size of the aerosol 90 is equal to or larger than the wavelength of the irradiation light L2, the aerosol 90 scatters the irradiation light L2 to generate Mie scattered light.

The causative substance that generates scattered light L3 includes not only aerosol 90 but also molecules constituting air. Since the molecules constituting air are sufficiently smaller than the wavelength of the irradiation light L2, Rayleigh scattered light is generated by scattering the irradiation light L2.

Therefore, the scattered light L3 acquired by the aerosol measuring device 100 includes Mie scattered light and Rayleigh scattered light. The Mie scattered light here is backscattered light due to Mie scattering. The aerosol measuring device 100 according to the present embodiment extracts Mie scattered light from the scattered light L3, and measures the presence / absence and concentration of the aerosol 90 based on the extracted Mie scattered light.

The aerosol measuring device 100 according to the present embodiment emits the irradiation light L2 in different directions in the target space. The emission direction of the irradiation light L2 is changed by, for example, a MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) mirror (not shown). Alternatively, the emission direction of the irradiation light L2 may be changed by changing the direction of the entire aerosol measuring device 100. The aerosol measuring device 100 can create a distribution of aerosols 90 in the target space by scanning the target space.

As shown in FIG. 1, the aerosol measuring device 100 includes an optical element 10, a light source 20, a mirror 22, a condensing unit 30, a condensing lens 40, a receiver 50, and an analysis unit 60. .. An example of the condensing unit 30 is a condensing lens 30a. Hereinafter, each component included in the aerosol measuring device 100 will be described.

The optical element 10 internally interferes with the incident light to emit light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at equal frequency intervals. Light having a plurality of peaks is also called multi-light. In the present embodiment, the optical element 10 is a single optical element. That is, the optical element 10 is one member integrally configured. The shape of the optical element 10 is, for example, a cylinder or a prism. Specifically, the optical element 10 is an etalon.

As shown in FIG. 1, the optical element 10 has a light transmitting portion 11 and two

multilayer films

12 and 13. The translucent portion 11 is formed by using a transparent material such as quartz or quartz. The translucent portion 11 is sandwiched between the two

multilayer films

12 and 13, and is in contact with each of the two

multilayer films

12 and 13. The two

multilayer films

12 and 13 are dielectric multilayer films having a laminated structure of a plurality of dielectric films, respectively. For example, the two

multilayer films

12 and 13 are each formed by alternately laminating a dielectric film having a low refractive index and a dielectric film having a high refractive index. As the dielectric film, for example, a titanium oxide film, a hafnium oxide film, a silicon oxide film, or the like is used. The light transmitting portion 11 may be an air layer, and the two

multilayer films

12 and 13 may be fixed by a frame or the like so as to maintain a constant distance.

The optical element 10 internally interferes with the emitted light L1 emitted from the light source 20 and emits it as irradiation light L2 which is light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at equal frequency intervals. The irradiation light L2 is a multi-laser light. In the present embodiment, the emitted light L1 is incident on the multilayer film 12 of the optical element 10 and emitted from the multilayer film 13. The first surface 12a of the multilayer film 12 opposite to the surface in contact with the translucent portion 11 is an incident surface on which the emitted light L1 is incident. The second surface 13a of the multilayer film 13 opposite to the surface in contact with the translucent portion 11 is an exit surface from which the irradiation light L2 is emitted. The second surface 13a, which is the exit surface, is a surface opposite to the first surface 12a, which is the incident surface. The first surface 12a and the second surface 13a are parallel to each other. The direction orthogonal to the first surface 12a and the second surface 13a is parallel to the central axis of the optical element 10.

Further, the scattered light L3 condensed by the condenser lens 30a is incident on the optical element 10. In the present embodiment, the scattered light L3 is incident from the multilayer film 13 of the optical element 10, and the Mie scattered light L4, which is a part of the scattered light L3, is emitted from the multilayer film 12. The second surface 13a of the multilayer film 13 is an incident surface on which scattered light L3 is incident. The first surface 12a of the multilayer film 12 is an exit surface from which the Mie scattered light L4 is emitted. That is, the incident surface of the emitted light L1 and the incident surface of the scattered light L3 are different. The incident surface of the emitted light L1 and the incident surface of the scattered light L3 may be the same surface by using a mirror or the like.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the optical element 10 has a first portion 10a including a path through which the emitted light L1 passes and a second portion 10b including a path through which the scattered light L3 passes. In FIG. 1, the boundary between the first portion 10a and the second portion 10b is schematically represented by a broken line. The first portion 10a and the second portion 10b are different portions from each other. For example, when the optical element 10 is a columnar etalon, the first portion 10a and the second portion 10b correspond to a semi-cylindrical portion when the etalon is virtually divided on a surface including the central axis. The circular upper and lower surfaces of the cylindrical etalon correspond to the entrance surface and the emission surface of light.

The first part 10a and the second part 10b may be different etalons. That is, the aerosol measuring device 100 may include two etalons, one for the emitted light L1 and the other for the scattered light L3, as the optical element 10.

Since the scattered light L3 includes light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at equal frequency intervals, each light causes interference when passing through the optical element 10. In the present embodiment, the thickness of the optical element 10 is adjusted so that the Mie scattered light L4 included in the scattered light L3 is passed and the Rayleigh scattered light is suppressed from passing. As a result, the Rayleigh scattered light can be appropriately removed from the scattered light L3, so that the Mie scattered light L4 caused by the aerosol 90 can be received by the receiver 50.

In the present embodiment, the optical element 10 is located on the optical path of the emitted light L1 emitted from the light source 20. Specifically, the optical element 10 is located between the mirror 22 and the opening provided in the housing of the aerosol measuring device 100. The opening is provided for the irradiation light L2 emitted from the optical element 10 to pass through. Further, the optical element 10 is located on the optical path of the scattered light L3 generated from the aerosol 90. Specifically, the optical element 10 is located between the condenser lens 30a and the condenser lens 40.

The light source 20 emits the irradiation light L2 into the atmosphere via the optical element 10. Specifically, the light source 20 emits the emitted light L1. The emitted light L1 is, for example, pulsed light, but may be continuous light. The emitted light L1 may be monochromatic light having a peak in a specific wavelength band, or light including a broad wavelength band. The emitted light L1 contains, for example, a wavelength component in the range from a wavelength 10 pm to 10 nm shorter than the peak wavelength to a wavelength 10 pm to 10 nm longer than the peak wavelength. The emitted light L1 is, for example, ultraviolet light, blue light, infrared light, or the like. After being reflected by the mirror 22, the emitted light L1 is emitted into the atmosphere as irradiation light L2, which is light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at equal frequency intervals due to interference inside the optical element 10.

The light source 20 is, for example, a semiconductor laser element that emits pulsed laser light as emitted light L1. The beam mode of the emitted light L1 is, for example, a multi-mode, but may be a single mode. As an example, the light source 20 emits a laser beam having a peak in the vicinity of 405 nm as the emitted light L1. Alternatively, the light source 20 may be a light emitting diode (LED: Light Emitting Diode) element. Further, the light source 20 may be a discharge lamp such as a halogen lamp.

The mirror 22 reflects the emitted light L1. By arranging the mirror 22 at an appropriate angle with respect to the emitted light L1, the course of the emitted light L1 can be bent in a desired direction. In the present embodiment, the mirror 22 reflects the emitted light L1 and causes it to enter the optical element 10. The aerosol measuring device 100 does not have to include the mirror 22.

The light collecting unit 30 collects the scattered light L3 generated by the scattering body containing the aerosol 90 contained in the atmosphere scattering the irradiation light L2. As an example of the condensing unit 30, there is, for example, a convex condensing lens 30a, or at least one reflecting mirror. For example, the light collected by the condenser lens 30a is converted into parallel light by a lens group including a collimating lens and emitted. The scattered light L3 collected by the condenser lens 30a is incident on the optical element 10. When the signal intensity of the scattered light L3 is strong, the light collecting unit 30 may not be arranged.

The scattered light L3 collected by the condenser lens 30a is incident on the optical element 10. In the present embodiment, the scattered light L3 is incident on the second surface 13a of the optical element 10 from the front, that is, at an incident angle of 0 °.

The condenser lens 40 collects the Mie scattered light L4 that has passed through the optical element 10 among the scattered light L3 condensed by the condenser lens 30a. The condenser lens 40 is, for example, a convex lens. The condenser lens 40 concentrates the Mie scattered light L4 on the light receiving surface of the receiver 50.

The light receiver 50 receives the Mie scattered light L4 that has passed through the optical element 10 among the scattered light L3 collected by the condenser lens 30a, and outputs a signal corresponding to the light receiving intensity. The light receiving intensity is the intensity of the Mie scattered light L4, and is represented by, for example, the signal level of the signal output by the light receiver 50.

The light receiver 50 is an element that performs photoelectric conversion, for example, a PMT (Photomultiplier Tube). Alternatively, the receiver 50 may have a PMT and a photon counter. Further, the receiver 50 may be an avalanche photodiode.

The analysis unit 60 analyzes the aerosol 90 contained in the scatterer by analyzing the signal output from the receiver 50. For example, the analysis unit 60 determines the presence / absence and concentration of the aerosol 90 based on the signal level of the signal. Specifically, the analysis unit 60 determines the concentration of the aerosol 90 corresponding to the signal level by referring to the correspondence information in which the signal level and the concentration of the aerosol 90 are associated with each other. Correspondence information is stored in advance in, for example, a memory (not shown) included in the analysis unit 60.

Further, the analysis unit 60 calculates the distance to the aerosol 90 by the TOF (Time Of Flight) method based on the time required from the emission of the irradiation light L2 to the reception of the Mie scattered light L4. The analysis unit 60 identifies the position of the aerosol 90 in the target space based on the calculated distance and the direction in which the irradiation light L2 is emitted. By repeating the identification of the position of the aerosol 90 while changing the emission direction of the irradiation light L2, the analysis unit 60 creates the distribution of the aerosol 90 in the target space.

The analysis unit 60 is composed of one or a plurality of electronic circuits including a plurality of circuit components. Each of the one or more electronic circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit. That is, the function executed by the analysis unit 60 is realized by hardware such as an electronic circuit. Alternatively, the analysis unit 60 may be realized by a non-volatile memory in which the program is stored, a volatile memory which is a temporary storage area for executing the program, an input / output port, a processor in which the program is executed, or the like. The function executed by the analysis unit 60 may be realized by software executed by the processor.

Each component included in the aerosol measuring device 100 is housed inside, for example, a housing (not shown). The housing is an outer housing of the aerosol measuring device 100 and has a light-shielding property. The housing is provided with an opening for passing the irradiation light L2 and the scattered light L3. One aperture may be provided corresponding to each of the irradiation light L2 and the scattered light L3. The condenser lens 30a may be provided in the aperture.

In the above aspect, the configuration in which the aerosol measuring device 100 includes the optical element 10 and the condenser lens 40 has been described. On the other hand, for example, when the signal intensity of the scattered light L3 is strong, the optical element 10 and the condenser lens 40 may not be arranged. That is, the aerosol measuring device 100 may include only the light source 20 and the receiver 50.

[1-2. Airflow generator]
The airflow generator 110 is an example of a generator that generates an airflow 112. The airflow generator 110 generates and discharges the airflow 112 when the amount of aerosol 90 in the target space measured by the aerosol measuring device 100 exceeds the threshold value. In other words, the target space is a space that emits the irradiation light L2.

The airflow generator 110 is, for example, a device including a fan, and specifically, a ventilation fan, a blower, a fan, an air conditioner, an air purifier, or the like arranged in the target space. The airflow generator 110 may include a pump or vortex ring generator in place of or in addition to the fan that generates the airflow.

The threshold value is a predetermined value and is stored in, for example, the memory of the airflow generator 110. The threshold value is, for example, an upper limit of the amount of aerosol 90 in a range in which the aerosol 90 does not cause a health hazard to the human body.

The airflow generator 110 is communicably connected to the aerosol measuring device 100. The communication may be wired communication or wireless communication. The airflow generation device 110 acquires the measurement result of the aerosol 90 by the aerosol measuring device 100, and generates the airflow 112 based on the acquired measurement result.

The air flow 112 is an air flow that guides the aerosol 90 to the purification unit 120. The airflow generator 110 determines the parameters of the airflow 112 based on the positional relationship between the aerosol 90, the purification unit 120, and the airflow generator 110, and discharges the airflow 112 with the determined parameters. The parameters are at least one of air volume, wind speed, wind direction and emission range.

The purification system 1 may include a plurality of airflow generators 110. The aerosol 90 may be guided to the purification unit 120 by utilizing the plurality of airflows 112 discharged from the plurality of airflow generators 110. As a result, even if an obstacle exists on the straight line connecting the aerosol 90 and the purification unit 120, or the positional relationship between the aerosol 90, the purification unit 120, and the airflow generator 110 is complicated, the aerosol 90 Can be led to the purification unit 120.

[1-3. Purification Department]
The purification unit 120 purifies the aerosol 90 guided by the air flow 112. In the present embodiment, the purification unit 120 includes a discharge port 121 that communicates with the outside of the target space. The discharge port 121 is open toward the outside of the target space. The purification unit 120 discharges the aerosol 90 guided by the air flow 112 to the outside from the discharge port 121.

The purification unit 120 is, for example, a ventilation port provided on the wall or ceiling of the room forming the target space. Alternatively, the purification unit 120 may be a window or a door. That is, the purification unit 120 may have only the function of discharging the aerosol 90 to the outside, and may not have the function of detoxifying the aerosol 90.

[2. motion]
Subsequently, the operation of the purification system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the purification system 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a state of purification by the purification system 1 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the purification system 1, the aerosol measuring device 100 first detects the aerosol 90 (S10). Specifically, as shown in the portion (a) of FIG. 3, the aerosol measuring device 100 irradiates the irradiation light L2 in a predetermined direction in the target space to obtain the aerosol 90 existing in the target space. To detect. Specific processing of the method for detecting the aerosol 90 will be described later.

Next, the purification system 1 compares the amount of the detected aerosol 90 with the threshold value based on the detection result of the aerosol 90 (S20). When the amount of aerosol 90 exceeds the threshold (“greater than threshold” in S20), the purification system 1 purifies the aerosol 90 (S30).

Specifically, as shown in the part (b) of FIG. 3, the airflow generator 110 generates the airflow 112 to guide the aerosol 90 to the purification unit 120. It should be noted that the aerosol 90 rarely exists as a single fine particle, and usually, a plurality of fine particles are gathered and exist as an aggregate. The airflow generator 110 generates an airflow 112 that pushes out the entire aerosol 90 aggregate so that the detected aerosol 90 aggregate is not dispersed. For example, the emission range of the airflow 112 is larger than that of the aggregate of aerosol 90.

The purification unit 120 purifies the aerosol 90 guided by the air flow 112. Specifically, the purification unit 120 discharges the aerosol 90 guided by the air flow 112 from the discharge port 121 to the outside of the target space.

When the amount of aerosol 90 is below the threshold value (“below the threshold value” in S20), the purification process ends.

The comparison with the threshold value (S20) is performed by, for example, the airflow generator 110, but may be performed by the aerosol measuring device 100. Alternatively, a control device (not shown) that controls the overall operation of the purification system 1 may be performed.

[3. Aerosol detection process]
Subsequently, among the operations of the purification system 1 according to the present embodiment, the details of the detection process of the aerosol 90 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an aerosol detection process (S10) in the operation of the purification system according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, the light source 20 emits the emitted light L1 (S11). The emitted light L1 is reflected by the mirror 22 and its traveling direction is bent, and is incident on the optical element 10 from the first surface 12a of the optical element 10. By passing through the optical element 10, the emitted light L1 is converted into multi-light, which is light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at equal frequency intervals. That is, the optical element 10 internally interferes with the incident light and emits it as light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at equal frequency intervals (S12). The irradiation light L2, which is multi-light, is emitted into the target space and scattered by a scatterer containing the aerosol 90.

Next, the condenser lens 30a collects the scattered light L3 generated from the scatterer (S13). The scattered light L3 collected by the condenser lens 30a is incident on the optical element 10 from the second surface 13a of the optical element 10. By passing through the optical element 10, the Mie scattered light L4 is extracted. That is, the scattered light L3 collected by the condensing unit 30 interferes with each other inside the optical element 10 and passes through the optical element 10 (S14). In other words, the optical element 10 substantially removes the Rayleigh scattered light among the scattered light L3 and allows only the Mie scattered light L4 to pass through.

Next, the light receiver 50 receives the Mie scattered light L4 and outputs a signal according to the light receiving intensity (S15).

The analysis unit 60 analyzes the aerosol 90 contained in the scatterer by analyzing the signal output from the receiver 50 (S16). Specifically, the analysis unit 60 detects the presence / absence, the number, and the position of the aerosol 90 based on the intensity of the Mie scattered light L4. The detection result is output to the airflow generator 110.

The aerosol measuring device 100 repeats the above processes from step S11 to step S16 while changing the emission direction of the irradiation light L2. That is, the aerosol measuring device 100 scans the inside of the target space using the irradiation light L2. For example, when the irradiation light L2 is emitted in a predetermined direction in the target space and the scattered light L3 can be acquired, the source of the scattered light L3 can be specified as the position of the aerosol 90. Further, the amount of aerosol 90 can be specified based on the intensity of the scattered light L3 at that time. As a result, the aerosol measuring device 100 can generate a distribution map showing the position and amount of the aerosol 90 in the target space.

In the above aspect, an example in which the emitted light or the scattered light is interfered with by an etalon and the scattered light is condensed has been described. On the other hand, for example, when the signal intensity of the scattered light L3 is strong, it is not necessary to interfere with the emitted light or the scattered light by the etalon and to collect the scattered light. That is, the aerosol measuring device 100 may only emit the emitted light by the light source 20 and receive the scattered light of the aerosol 90 by the receiver 50.

In the purification system 1, purification (S30) may be performed after scanning the target space with the aerosol measuring device 100 and generating a distribution map. Specifically, the purification system 1 may purify the aerosol 90 based on the generated distribution map. As a result, an appropriate purification method can be determined based on the distribution of the aerosol 90, so that more effective purification can be performed. For example, when the aerosol 90 is present at a plurality of locations, the aerosol 90 at the plurality of locations can be collectively guided to the purification unit 120 by the air flow 112. Further, when the aerosols 90 at a plurality of locations are individually guided to the purification unit 120, when the airflow 112 is generated toward the aerosol 90 located at a certain position, the aerosol 90 located at another position is not scattered. be able to.

In the purification system 1, each time the irradiation light L2 is emitted in one direction, the comparison with the threshold value (S20) and the purification of the aerosol 90 (S30) may be performed. As a result, the aerosol 90 detected in the target space can be sequentially purified, and the inside of the target space can be kept in a clean state at all times.

[4. Function of optical element]
Subsequently, a specific function of the optical element 10 for accurately detecting the aerosol 90 will be described.

As described above, the optical element 10 is a multi-laser light composed of light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at equal frequency intervals by internally interfering with the emitted light L1 which is the laser light emitted from the light source 20. It is emitted as a certain irradiation light L2. In the following, first, the multi-laser light will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the spectrum of the multi-laser light emitted by the aerosol measuring device 100 according to the present embodiment. In each of the parts (a) and (b) of FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents the frequency and the vertical axis represents the signal strength.

Part (a) of FIG. 5 shows the spectrum of the irradiation light L2, which is the multi-laser light after passing through the optical element 10. Each of the plurality of peaks included in the spectrum corresponds to the plurality of peaks included in the irradiation light L2. The frequency intervals LW2 of the plurality of peaks are equal to each other, for example, 3 GHz. Here, an example in which the signal intensities of a plurality of peaks are equal to each other is shown, but they may be different from each other. The center wavelength λ of the irradiation light L2 is, for example, 405 nm.

Part (b) of FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of part (a) of FIG. 5, and shows one peak of the spectrum, that is, only one light included in the irradiation light L2 in an enlarged manner. The full width at half maximum LW1 of one light is, for example, 360 MHz. LW1 is 1/20 or more and 1/5 or less of LW2, but may be 1/10 or more and 1/8 or less.

In the present embodiment, when the emitted light L1 passes through the optical element 10, it interferes with the inside of the optical element 10 and is emitted as the irradiation light L2. The etalon, which is the optical element 10, utilizes the interference between the incident light and the light that is repeatedly reflected in the etalon. When the phase of the incident light and the phase of the light repeatedly reflected in the etalon match, interference that strengthens the light occurs, and the light is enhanced and transmitted in the etalon. The

multilayer films

12 and 13 of Etalon can transmit or reflect light. The transmittance of each of the

multilayer films

12 and 13 is, for example, 75%, but is not limited to this.

Here, FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining light passing through the optical element 10 of the aerosol measuring device 100 according to the present embodiment, respectively. Specifically, FIG. 6 schematically represents the 0th transmitted light and the 1st transmitted light. FIG. 7 schematically represents the 0th transmitted light and the 2nd transmitted light.

The optical element 10 transmits a part of the incident light as it is. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the light transmitted as it is without being reflected by the

multilayer films

12 and 13 of the optical element 10 is the 0th transmitted light.

As shown in FIG. 6, the first transmitted light is light that is reflected once by the multilayer film 13 after the incident light is reflected once by the multilayer film 13. Interference occurs when the phases of the 0th transmitted light and the 1st transmitted light match, and the light corresponding to the first interference fringe is emitted. Interfering fringes will be described later with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

As shown in FIG. 7, the second transmitted light is light in which the incident light is reflected twice by the multilayer film 13 and the multilayer film 12, respectively. Interference occurs when the phases of the 0th transmitted light and the 2nd transmitted light match, and the light corresponding to the second interference fringe is emitted.

If the phase of the incident light and the phase of the light that repeats reflection do not match, the light that is reflected toward the incident surface side and passes through the etalon becomes weak. As a result, the transmitted light has a periodic spectrum. That is, the optical element 10 can emit the irradiation light L2 having the same frequency interval LW2 when the emitted light L1 is incident.

The length Δx of the etalon for realizing the frequency interval LW2 is determined based on the following equation (1). The length Δx of the etalon is the distance between the multilayer film 12 and the multilayer film 13, that is, the thickness of the translucent portion 11, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

In the formula (1), n ₀ is the refractive index in vacuum, for example 1.0. n is the refractive index of the translucent portion 11 of etalon, which is 1.47 in the case of quartz. c is the speed of light, which is 3 × 10 ⁸ m / s. When LW2 = 3 GHz, the length Δx of the etalon is 34 mm from the above formula (1). Further, the length Δx of the etalon is limited to about 80 mm in manufacturing. Therefore, the lower limit of LW2 is about 1.3 GHz.

The optical path difference dx when Fabry-Perot interference is caused by Etalon is expressed by the following equation (2).

For example, when Δx = 34 mm, the optical path difference dx is 100 mm.

Next, the scattered light L3 generated by the scattering body scattering the irradiation light L2 shown in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the spectrum of scattered light L3 generated by scattering the multi-laser light emitted by the aerosol measuring device 100 according to the present embodiment. In each of the parts (a) and (b) of FIG. 8, the horizontal axis represents the frequency and the vertical axis represents the signal strength.

Part (a) of FIG. 8 shows the spectrum of scattered light L3. The scattered light L3, like the irradiation light L2, is composed of light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at a frequency interval MW2 equal to each other. Each of the plurality of peaks included in the spectrum corresponds to the plurality of peaks included in the irradiation light L2. The frequency interval MW2 of the scattered light L3 is equal to the frequency interval LW2 of the irradiation light L2. Here, an example in which the signal intensities of a plurality of peaks are equal to each other is shown, but they may be different from each other.

Part (b) of FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of part (a) of FIG. 8, and shows one peak of the spectrum, that is, only one light contained in the scattered light L3 in an enlarged manner.

As described above, the scattered light L3 includes Mie scattered light and Rayleigh scattered light. The spectrum of Mie scattered light is substantially the same as the spectrum of irradiation light L2 before scattering. On the other hand, the frequency width of Rayleigh scattered light is widened by the thermal motion of the molecules that make up the atmosphere. Also, the intensity of Rayleigh scattered light is usually lower than the intensity of Mie scattered light.

Therefore, as shown in the portion (b) of FIG. 8, the spectrum of the scattered light L3 has a shape in which the base of the peak is widened as compared with the spectrum of the irradiation light L2 shown in FIG. The high peak at the center corresponds to Mie scattered light, and the base part corresponds to Rayleigh scattered light. In the part (b) of FIG. 8, the signal intensity of Rayleigh scattered light by the molecules constituting the atmosphere and the signal intensity of Mie scattered light by the aerosol are set to 3: 1. The signal strength here is represented by the area of the peak. Further, the full width at half maximum MW1 of the peak representing the Mie scattered light is equal to the full width at half maximum LW1 of the irradiation light L2.

It is known that the full width at half maximum RW of the foot portion representing the Rayleigh scattered light is about 3.4 GHz to 3.9 GHz according to a general actual measurement. As an example, the full width at half maximum RW of Rayleigh scattered light can be 3.6 GHz (Δλ = 1.9 pm).

Note that Δλ is calculated based on the following equation (3).

In the formula (3), Δf = RW. c is the speed of light, which is 3 × 10 ⁸ m / s. λ is the central wavelength, which is 405 nm here.

In the present embodiment, by passing the scattered light L3 through the optical element 10, light having a plurality of peaks appearing at a frequency interval of 3 GHz, that is, Me scattered light is transmitted, and light of another frequency component, that is, , Rayleigh scattered light can be removed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the calculation result of the interferogram when the scattered light including the Mie scattered light by the aerosol and the Rayleigh scattered light by the molecules constituting the atmosphere are interfered with by the Michelson interferometer. In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis represents the optical path difference dx that causes interference, and the vertical axis represents the intensity of the interference light. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the region X surrounded by the broken line in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, an interference fringe appears every time the optical path difference dx becomes an integral multiple of Δx. The interference fringe of dx = 0 is defined as the 0th interference fringe, and the interference fringe of dx = n × Δx is defined as the nth interference fringe. n is a natural number. FIG. 10 shows the 0th interference fringe, the 1st interference fringe, and the 2nd interference fringe. The first interference fringe is the light generated by the interference between the 0th transmitted light and the 1st transmitted light shown in FIG. The second interference fringe is the light generated by the interference between the 0th transmitted light and the second transmitted light shown in FIG. 7.

In the receiver 50, the interference light including the 0th interference fringe to the nth interference fringe is received as Mie scattered light L4. In the present embodiment, by adjusting the length Δx of the etalon which is the optical element 10, the interference fringe due to the Rayleigh scattered light caused by atmospheric scattering can be removed. A method for determining a length Δx suitable for removing Rayleigh scattered light will be described.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the dependence of the frequency interval of the interference fringe by the Michelson interferometer when only the atmospheric scattering is considered without the scattering by the aerosol. In each of the parts (a) to (l) of FIG. 11, the horizontal axis represents dx and the vertical axis represents the signal strength. In the parts (a) to (l) of FIG. 11, the frequency intervals LW2 of the irradiation light L2 are 2.4 GHz, 3.0 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 3.7 GHz, 3.8 GHz, 3.9 GHz, 4 GHz, 5 GHz, respectively. , 6 GHz, 10 GHz, 15 GHz, 30 GHz, and the calculation result of the interferogram is shown.

As shown in FIG. 11, as the frequency interval LW2 increases, the number of appearing interference fringes increases, and the signal strength of the appearing interference fringes increases. For example, when the frequency interval LW2 is 2.4 GHz, substantially only the 0th interference fringe appears, and the first or more interference fringes do not appear. In the frequency interval LW2 in the range of 3.0 GHz to 4 GHz, the 0th interference fringe and the 1st interference fringe appear, and the second and higher interference fringes do not appear. When the frequency interval LW2 is 5 GHz, a second interference fringe appears in addition to the 0th interference fringe and the first interference fringe. In FIG. 11, the range in which the first interference fringe and above appear is represented by a broken line frame.

The appearance of the second or higher interference fringes when only atmospheric scattering is taken into consideration means that interference is occurring only by Rayleigh scattered light. That is, it means that the Rayleigh scattered light is transmitted when the Rayleigh scattered light is incident on the optical element 10. Therefore, if the frequency interval LW2 is 3.9 GHz or less, the first interference fringe becomes small, and the transmission of Rayleigh scattered light is suppressed.

That is, the size of the first interference fringe when the frequency interval LW2 is 3.9 GHz is 50% or less of the size of the first interference fringe of the frequency interval LW2. Therefore, since the first interference fringe is small, it is possible to suppress the Rayleigh scattered light from passing through the optical element 10.

From the above, when the frequency interval LW2 is 3.9 GHz or less, Rayleigh scattered light can be efficiently removed from the scattered light L3. When the frequency interval LW2 is 3.9 GHz, the length Δx of the etalon made of quartz is about 26 mm according to the formula (1). That is, by using an etalon having a length Δx of 26 mm or more as the optical element 10, Rayleigh scattered light can be efficiently removed, and the measurement accuracy of the aerosol can be improved.

[5. Modification example]
In the above embodiment, the purification unit 120 has the discharge port 121, and the aerosol 90 is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 121, but the purification treatment is not limited to the discharge of the aerosol 90. Hereinafter, a modified example of the purification treatment will be described. In the following description, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the common points will be omitted or simplified.

[5-1. Modification 1]
FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing a state of purification by the purification system 2 according to the first modification. As shown in FIG. 12, the purification system 2 according to the present modification is different from the purification system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in that it further includes a purification unit 220. The purification system 2 may include a purification unit 220 instead of the purification unit 120.

The purification unit 220 includes a suction port 221 provided in the target space. The purification unit 220 sucks the aerosol 90 guided by the air flow 112 from the suction port 221. The purification unit 220 is, for example, a device including a fan, specifically, an air purifier or a vacuum cleaner arranged in the target space.

The purification unit 220 collects or detoxifies the aerosol 90 sucked from the suction port 221. For example, the purification unit 220 may include a filter (not shown) for collecting the aerosol 90 in addition to the fan. The filter is provided at the suction port 221. The purification unit 220 may detoxify the aerosol 90 by bringing the chemical stored in the container into contact with the aerosol 90. The drug is, but is not limited to, alcohol preparations, hypochlorous acid water, and the like. Alternatively, the purification unit 220 may have an ozone generator that generates ozone, and may detoxify the aerosol 90 by bringing the generated ozone into contact with the sucked aerosol 90. Detoxification of the aerosol 90 is often performed by bringing the aerosol 90 attached to the filter into contact with a chemical or ozone. Further, the purification unit 220 may detoxify the aerosol by, for example, bringing an ion molecule having a purification function into contact with the aerosol 90. The ion molecule having a purifying function is, for example, nanoe or plasma cluster.

In the present embodiment, the purification unit 220 can be moved like a so-called robot vacuum cleaner. The purification unit 220 can move to a place where the aerosol 90 can be easily sucked based on the detection result of the aerosol 90.

Further, in this modification, the airflow generator 110 generates an airflow 112 to be sucked. That is, the airflow generator 110 may generate not only the extruded airflow but also the sucked airflow.

As shown in the part (a) of FIG. 12, the process of detecting the aerosol 90 is the same as that of the first embodiment. Next, as shown in part (b) of FIG. 12, the airflow generator 110 brings the aerosol 90 closer to the airflow generator 110 by generating a suction airflow 112. Further, the purification unit 220 moves to the vicinity of the airflow generator 110 and sucks the aerosol 90 guided by the airflow 112 from the suction port 221. The purification unit 220 collects or detoxifies the sucked aerosol 90.

The airflow in the suction direction is usually weaker than the airflow in the extrusion direction. For this reason, it is particularly useful when the aerosol 90 is present near the airflow generator 110. Further, since the purification unit 220 is movable, the purification unit 220 can be moved to a position where the aerosol 90 can be sucked. For example, even if the aerosol 90 cannot be guided to the purification unit 120 when the distance between the aerosol 90 and the purification unit 120 is long or there is an obstacle in the middle, the aerosol 90 is sucked into the purification unit 220. Purification can be realized by making it.

[5-2. Modification 2]
FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing a state of purification by the purification system 3 according to the modified example 2. As shown in FIG. 13, the purification system 3 according to the present modification is different from the purification system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in that the purification device 310 is provided instead of the airflow generator 110. ..

The purification device 310 releases the agent 91 that detoxifies the aerosol 90, as shown in part (b) of FIG. The agent 91 is, for example, an alcohol preparation, hypochlorite water, ozone water, or the like. The purification device 310 atomizes the drug 91 and sprays it. Alternatively, the purification device 310 may eject the drug 91 on an air flow such as a vortex ring.

The purification device 310 is an example of an airflow generator, and may generate an extruded airflow or a sucked airflow. The purification device 310 may spray the drug 91 after attracting the aerosol 90 by generating an air flow to be sucked. As a result, it is not necessary to release the drug 91 to a long distance, so that the probability of contact between the drug 91 and the aerosol 90 can be increased. Since the waste of the drug 91 can be reduced and the drug 91 can be effectively used, the aerosol 90 can be efficiently purified.

[5-3. Modification 3]
FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing a state of purification by the purification system 4 according to the modified example 3. As shown in FIG. 14, the purification system 4 according to the present modification is different from the purification system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in that it does not include the purification unit 120 having the discharge port 121. Specifically, the airflow generator 110 included in the purification system 4 also has a function of a purification unit. That is, in this modification, the purification unit that purifies the aerosol 90 and the airflow generator 110 that discharges the airflow to the position of the aerosol 90 are realized by one integrated device.

The airflow generator 110 according to this modification generates an airflow 92 as shown in FIG. The air flow 92 is an air flow for dispersing and diffusing the aerosol 90 to dilute the concentration of the aerosol 90. The airflow generator 110 emits a strong and highly diffusive airflow 92 toward the aerosol 90 detected by the aerosol measuring device 100. The airflow generator 110 may discharge the airflow 92 while changing the discharge direction of the airflow 92 within a predetermined range including the position of the aerosol 90.

Thereby, by scattering and diffusing the aerosol 90, it is possible to prevent the formation of a space having a high concentration of the aerosol 90 locally in the target space. That is, the concentration of aerosol 90 can be diluted in the target space. As a result, the risk of the aerosol 90 is reduced, so that the occurrence of health hazards can be suppressed. As described above, reducing the concentration of the aerosol 90 by dilution is also effective for purifying the aerosol 90.

(Embodiment 2)
Subsequently, the second embodiment will be described.

In the second embodiment, an object existing in the target space is detected, an avoidance route for avoiding contact between the aerosol 90 and the object is determined based on the detection result, and the aerosol 90 is used as a purification unit along the determined avoidance route. Guide. In the following, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the common points will be omitted or simplified.

[1. Constitution]
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the purification system 5 according to the present embodiment and the state of purification by the purification system 5. As shown in FIG. 15, the purification system 5 includes an aerosol measuring device 100,

airflow generating devices

110 and 410,

purification units

120 and 220, and a sensor 430.

Further, FIG. 15 schematically shows the layout of the target space 490 and the objects and devices in the target space 490. In the target space 490, a desk 491,

chairs

492a, 492b, 492c and 492d arranged so as to surround the desk 491, and a shelf 493 arranged on the side of the desk 491 are arranged. An airflow generator 110 is arranged on the desk 491. An airflow generator 410 is arranged on the shelf 493. The aerosol measuring device 100 and the purification unit 220 are arranged side by side in the corner of the target space 490. Further, the purification unit 120 is arranged in another corner of the target space 490. The sensor 430 is provided, for example, on the wall surface or ceiling of the target space 490 so that almost the entire target space 490 is within the detection range. The arrangement and number of these are only examples.

The airflow generator 410 has the same function as the airflow generator 110.

The sensor 430 is a sensor that detects the position of an object in the target space 490. The sensor 430 is, for example, an image sensor that captures an image of the target space 490. Alternatively, the sensor 430 may be an infrared sensor, a sound sensor, or the like.

The object to be detected by the sensor 430 is a person or an animal. The sensor 430 identifies whether the detected object is a person or an animal. For example, in FIG. 15, two

people

495a and 495b exist in the target space 490 as an example of an object. Person 495a sits still on chair 492d. Person 495b sits still on chair 492b. The meaning of resting means that there is no large movement such as not leaving the chair 492b. Further, the object to be detected by the sensor 430 may be an autonomous mobile robot such as a robot vacuum cleaner.

In the present embodiment, at least one of the

airflow generators

110 and 410 determines the avoidance route. For example, when the object to be detected by the sensor 430 is a person or an animal, an air flow that avoids the person or the animal may be generated. For example, the airflow generator 110 is communicably connected to each of the aerosol measuring device 100, the airflow generator 410, and the sensor 430. The airflow generation device 110 acquires the detection result of the aerosol 90 from the aerosol measuring device 100, acquires the detection result of the object from the sensor 430, and determines the avoidance route based on the two detection results. The airflow generator 110 transmits a control signal for generating an appropriate airflow based on the determined avoidance path to the airflow generator 410. The avoidance route may be determined by the aerosol measuring device 100, the airflow generating device 410, or the sensor 430. Alternatively, the avoidance route may be determined by a control device (not shown) that controls the entire purification system 5. The device that determines the avoidance route stores information on the positions of all purification units and all airflow generators existing in the target space, and the functions related to airflow generation of all airflow generators in a memory or the like. ing.

The avoidance route is a route through which the aerosol 90 can reach the

purification unit

120 or 220 while avoiding contact with an object. At least one of the

airflow generators

110 and 410 generates an airflow that guides the aerosol 90 along the avoidance path when the amount of aerosol 90 exceeds the threshold. Alternatively, both the

airflow generators

110 and 410 may generate predetermined airflows simultaneously or in predetermined order to guide the aerosol 90 to the

purification unit

120 or 220 along the avoidance path. If the object detected by the sensor 430 is not a person or an animal, the airflow may be generated by the shortest path without avoiding the object. As a result, the aerosol can be reliably purified.

[2. motion]
Subsequently, the operation of the purification system 5 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of the purification system 5 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, when the amount of aerosol 90 is larger than the threshold value (“greater than the threshold value” in S20) as compared with the operation of the purification system 1 according to the first embodiment, an avoidance process is performed (S40). The point is different. The avoidance process (S40) may be performed before the comparison with the threshold value (S20).

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an avoidance process (S40) among the operations by the purification system 5 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the sensor 430 detects an object (S41). If no object is detected, the avoidance process is terminated and the purification process (S30) is performed as shown in FIG. The detection result is transmitted to the airflow generator 110.

Next, the airflow generator 110 determines whether the detected object is moving or stationary (S42). For example, the airflow generator 110 determines that the object is stationary when the object has not moved during that period based on the detection result for a certain period of time. The fixed period here is, for example, 1 second or more and several tens of seconds or less, but is not limited to this.

When it is determined that the object is stationary (“stationary” in S42), the airflow generator 110 determines a route that does not pass the position where the object is detected as an avoidance route (S44). For example, the example shown in FIG. 15 shows a state in which the

persons

495a and 495b are stationary. The purification unit 220 is located closest to the aerosol 90, but a person 495a is stationary between the aerosol 90 and the purification unit 220. Therefore, when the airflow generator 110 generates an airflow that guides the aerosol 90 to the purification unit 220, the aerosol 90 comes into contact with the person 495a.

Therefore, the airflow generator 110 determines the route that guides the aerosol 90 to the purification unit 120 as an avoidance route. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, first, the airflow generator 110 discharges the airflow 112 to guide the aerosol 90 between the airflow generator 410 and the purification unit 120. After that, the airflow generator 410 discharges the airflow 412 to guide the aerosol 90 to the purification unit 120. As a result, the purification unit 120 can discharge the aerosol 90 to the outside from the discharge port 121. The avoidance route shown in FIG. 15 is only an example, and is not particularly limited as long as it can avoid contact with the

persons

495a and 495b.

Returning to FIG. 17, the airflow generator 110 predicts the movement path when the position of the object is moving (“movement” in S42) based on the detection result for a certain period (S43). Specifically, the airflow generator 110 calculates the moving direction and moving speed of the object based on the detection result for a certain period, and predicts the moving path based on the calculated result. For example, the predicted movement path is a path when the object moves while maintaining the calculated movement direction and movement speed.

Next, the airflow generator 110 determines a path that can reach the purification unit by avoiding contact with an object moving along the predicted movement path as an avoidance path (S44). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 18, the person 495b is stationary while the person 495a is moving. The person 495a is moving in the direction from the vicinity of the airflow generator 410 toward the purification unit 120. Therefore, when the airflow generator 110 generates an airflow that guides the aerosol 90 to the purification unit 120, the aerosol 90 may come into contact with the moving person 495a.

Therefore, the airflow generator 110 determines the route that guides the aerosol 90 to the purification unit 220 as an avoidance route. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, the

airflow generators

110 and 410 release the

airflows

112 and 412, respectively, to guide the aerosol 90 to the purification unit 220. As a result, the purification unit 220 sucks the aerosol 90 from the suction port 221 to collect or detoxify it. The avoidance route shown in FIG. 18 is only an example, and is not particularly limited as long as it can avoid contact with the

persons

495a and 495b.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to increase the possibility of avoiding contact between an object such as a person and the aerosol 90. As a result, it is possible to prevent the aerosol 90 from causing a health hazard to a person.

Although the sensor 430 is a sensor different from the aerosol measuring device 100, an object may be detected by using the aerosol measuring device 100. For example, when the emitted light L1 emitted by the aerosol measuring device 100 is reflected by an object, light stronger than the scattered light L3 by the aerosol 90 is detected. Therefore, the object can be detected based on strong light. For example, when the position where strong light is detected moves, it can be determined that the object is moving along with the movement of the source of strong light.

Further, in the examples shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, an example of detecting an object when the amount of aerosol 90 exceeds the threshold value is shown, but the detection of the object may always be performed.

(Embodiment 3)
Subsequently, the third embodiment will be described.

In the first embodiment, an example in which each of the emitted light L1 and the scattered light L3 is interfered with by the etalon is shown, but in the third embodiment, the scattered light L3 is interfered with by using an interferometer different from the etalon. In the following, the differences from the first or second embodiment will be mainly described, and the common points will be omitted or simplified.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the configuration of the purification system 6 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, the purification system 6 is different from the purification system 1 according to the first embodiment in that it includes an aerosol measuring device 500 instead of the aerosol measuring device 100. The aerosol measuring device 500 is different in that it includes a light source 520 and an analysis unit 560 instead of the light source 20 and the analysis unit 60. Further, the aerosol measuring device 500 includes an interference unit 510 instead of the optical element 10.

The light source 520 emits multi-laser light including laser light having a plurality of peaks separated by a frequency interval LW2 equal to each other as irradiation light L2. The center wavelength λ of the irradiation light L2 is, for example, 400 nm. The frequency interval LW2 of the plurality of peaks is, for example, 10 GHz or less, and 6 GHz as an example. The full width at half maximum LW1 of each of the plurality of peaks is, for example, a value of 1/10 or less of the frequency interval LW2, and is 360 MHz as an example.

The frequency interval, which is the mode interval of the multi-laser light described above, can be, for example, 5 GHz or less. As a result, the atmospheric scattering signal can be efficiently removed.

The scattered light L3 generated by irradiating the aerosol 90 with the irradiation light L2 includes Mie scattered light having a plurality of peaks separated by a frequency interval MW2 equal to each other. The frequency interval MW2 is equal to the frequency interval LW2 of the irradiation light L2. The full width at half maximum MW1 of each of the plurality of peaks is equal to the full width at half maximum LW1 of each peak of the irradiation light L2.

Further, since the scattered light L3 passes through the air, it includes Rayleigh scattered light by the molecules constituting the air. The full width at half maximum RW of Rayleigh scattered light is expanded by the thermal motion of molecules. The full width at half maximum RW of Rayleigh scattered light in the actual measurement is about 3.4 GHz to 3.9 GHz. As an example, the full width at half maximum RW of Rayleigh scattered light is 3.6 GHz.

The interferometer 510 is an interferometer capable of changing the optical path difference. The interference unit 510 is provided on the optical path of the scattered light L3, and the scattered light L3 is incident on the interference unit 510. The scattered light L3 after passing through the interference unit 510 is received by the receiver 50.

The interference unit 510 separates the scattered light L3 into a plurality of scattered lights having different optical path lengths, and causes the plurality of scattered lights to interfere with each other. By receiving the interference light, an interferogram can be formed. An interferogram is an interference fringe caused by interference. The interferometer 510 is, for example, a Michelson interferometer, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, a Fabry-Perot interferometer, or the like.

Here, let Δx be the interval of the interference fringes in the interferogram generated when the scattered light L3 is passed through the interference unit 510. Δx is a value obtained by dividing the speed of light c (= 3 × 10 ⁸ m / s) by the frequency interval MW2. For example, when the frequency interval MW2 is 6 GHz and the wavelength λ is 400 nm, Δx is 50 mm.

In the present embodiment, the interference unit 510 sweeps the optical path difference in a range larger than 1/4 of the center wavelength of the emitted light L1 and smaller than 1/2 of the interference fringe interval Δx. The optical path difference generated by the interference unit 510 is dx, the interference fringe at dx = 0 is the 0th interference fringe, the interference fringe at dx = Δx is the first interference fringe, and the interference fringe at dx = n × Δx. Is defined as the nth interference fringe. In the present embodiment, by adjusting the optical path difference dx in the interference unit 510, a signal in the vicinity of the first interference fringe corresponding to the frequency interval is acquired, and the Rayleigh scattered light component is removed from the acquired signal. , Me Selectively obtains scattered light. In the first interference fringe, the influence of Rayleigh scattering by the molecules constituting air is extremely small, and the dependence on the intensity of Mie scattered light from the aerosol 90 is high. Specifically, the signal intensity of the first interference fringe increases monotonically according to the intensity of the Mie scattered light from the aerosol 90. Therefore, by measuring the signal intensity of the first interference fringe, the intensity of the Mie scattered light from the aerosol 90 can be accurately obtained.

The analysis unit 560 extracts the signal component corresponding to the first interference fringe from the interferogram of the scattered light L3 obtained by sweeping the optical path difference dx, and calculates the velocity based on the extracted signal component. Specifically, the analysis unit 560 generates an interferogram based on the scattered light L3 that has passed through the interference unit 510. The analysis unit 560 can acquire the signal intensity of the first interference fringe based on the generated interferogram, and can acquire the received intensity of the Mie scattered light from the aerosol 90 based on the signal intensity. As a result, the analysis unit 560 can accurately calculate the velocity of the aerosol 90.

Note that the analysis unit 560 may perform a Fourier transform based on a signal in the vicinity of the first interference fringe. The analysis unit 560 can generate wavelength spectrum data by Fourier transform and acquire the maximum value as the intensity of Mie scattered light.

As described above, according to the purification system 6 according to the present embodiment, Rayleigh scattered light can be removed from the scattered light L3. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the aerosol 90 can be improved as in the first or second embodiment.

The aerosol measuring device 500 may include a condensing unit 30 for condensing the scattered light L3, which is provided on the path of the scattered light L3. For example, at least one or more at least one place between the aperture (not shown) and the mirror 22 through which the scattered light L3 is transmitted, between the mirror 22 and the interference unit 510, and between the interference unit 510 and the receiver 50. The light collecting unit 30 may be provided.

The condensing unit 30 is, for example, a lens group including at least one of a condensing lens and a collimating lens. The light collecting unit 30 collects the scattered light L3 from the aerosol 90, converts it into parallel light, and emits it. By providing the light collecting unit 30, the detection accuracy of the scattered light L3 can be improved. In addition, the interference effect of the interference unit 510 can be enhanced.

(Other embodiments)
Although the aerosol measuring device according to one or more embodiments has been described above based on the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. As long as the gist of the present disclosure is not deviated, various modifications that can be conceived by those skilled in the art are applied to the present embodiment, and a form constructed by combining components in different embodiments is also included in the scope of the present disclosure. Is done.

For example, in the above embodiment, an example of removing Rayleigh scattered light by using an interferometer such as an Etalon or Michelson interferometer is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The aerosol measuring device does not have to include an interferometer such as an etalon or Michelson interferometer. Even when the interference unit is not used, the aerosol 90 can be detected by receiving the scattered light by the aerosol 90.

Further, in the above embodiment, another processing unit may execute the processing executed by the specific processing unit. Further, the order of the plurality of processes may be changed, or the plurality of processes may be executed in parallel. Further, the distribution of the components of the purification system to a plurality of devices is an example. For example, the components of one device may be included in another device.

For example, the processing described in the above embodiment may be realized by centralized processing using a single device (system), or may be realized by distributed processing using a plurality of devices. Good. Further, the number of processors that execute the above program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

Further, in the above embodiment, all or a part of the components such as the analysis unit may be composed of dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. May be good. Even if each component is realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a semiconductor memory. Good.

Further, a component such as an analysis unit may be composed of one or a plurality of electronic circuits. The one or more electronic circuits may be general-purpose circuits or dedicated circuits, respectively.

One or more electronic circuits may include, for example, a semiconductor device, an IC (Integrated Circuit), an LSI (Large Scale Integration), or the like. The IC or LSI may be integrated on one chip or may be integrated on a plurality of chips. Here, it is called IC or LSI, but the name changes depending on the degree of integration, and it may be called system LSI, VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration), or ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration). An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) programmed after the LSI is manufactured can also be used for the same purpose.

Further, the general or specific aspects of the present disclosure may be realized by a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit or a computer program. Alternatively, it may be realized by a computer-readable non-temporary recording medium such as an optical disk, HDD or semiconductor memory in which the computer program is stored. Further, it may be realized by any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program and a recording medium.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, various changes, replacements, additions, omissions, etc. can be made within the scope of claims or the equivalent scope thereof.

The present disclosure can be used as a purification method and a purification system capable of efficiently purifying an aerosol floating in the air, and can be used, for example, in a purification facility such as a general household, an office, a nursing care facility, or a hospital. ..

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Purification system 10 Optical element 10a First part 10b Second part 11

Translucent part

12, 13 Multilayer film

12a First surface

13a Second surface

20, 520 Light source 22 Mirror 30 Condensing Units 30a, 40 Condensing lens 50

Receiver

60, 560 Analytical unit 90 Aerosol 91

Drug

92, 112, 412

Airflow

100, 500

Aerosol measuring device

110, 410

Airflow generator

120, 220 Purification unit 121 Discharge port 221 Suction port 310 Purification Device 430 Sensor 490 Target space 491

Desk

492a, 492b, 492c, 492d Chair 493

Shelf

495a, 495b Person 510 Interfering part

Claims

A purification method that uses a purification system that includes an optical sensor and a purification unit.
By using the optical sensor to detect scattered light scattered by the aerosol floating in the target space, the position and amount of the aerosol can be specified.
Including purifying the aerosol by the purifying unit when the amount of the aerosol exceeds a threshold value.
Purification method.
In purifying, the purifying unit releases a gas or liquid to the position of the aerosol.
The purification method according to claim 1.
The purification unit includes a suction port for sucking the aerosol.
In the purification, the purification unit collects or detoxifies the aerosol by sucking the aerosol from the suction port.
The purification method according to claim 1 or 2.
The purification unit sucks the aerosol from the suction port by generating an air flow that sucks the aerosol.
The purification method according to claim 3.
The purification system further includes an airflow generator.
In purifying, the airflow generator discharges the airflow to the position of the aerosol.
The purification method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The purification system further includes an outlet that opens to the outside of the target space.
The purification includes discharging the aerosol guided by the air flow from the discharge port to the outside.
The purification method according to claim 4 or 5.
The purification system further includes a sensor that detects the position of an object in the target space.
It further comprises using the sensor to identify whether the object is a person or an animal.
The purification method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The purification system further includes an airflow generator.
In the identification, when the object is identified as a person or an animal, the airflow generator determines an avoidance path for the aerosol to avoid contact with the object and reach the purification unit.
In purifying, the airflow generator generates an airflow that guides the aerosol to the purifying section along the avoidance path.
The purification method according to claim 7.
The airflow generator predicts the movement path of the object, and determines as the avoidance path a path through which the aerosol can reach the purification unit while avoiding contact with the object moving along the movement path. To do
The purification method according to claim 8.
In the above-mentioned identification, the optical sensor emits light having a plurality of peaks separated from each other at equal frequency intervals into the target space.
The frequency interval is less than the half width of the peak frequency of Rayleigh scattered light by the molecules constituting the atmosphere.
The purification method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.
The purification system further comprises a purification device that releases a detoxifying agent to the aerosol at the location of the aerosol.
The purification method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
The scattered light includes Mie scattered light,
The purification method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.
The scattered light includes Rayleigh scattered light,
The purification method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
Optical sensor and
Equipped with a purification unit
The optical sensor identifies the position and amount of the aerosol by detecting scattered light scattered by the aerosol floating in the target space.
The purification unit purifies the aerosol when the amount of the aerosol exceeds a threshold value.
Purification system.