JP2021156553A - Air purifier and cleaning system - Google Patents

Abstract

An air purifier that reliably and efficiently purifies indoor air in a room where objects are placed. An air cleaner (100) includes an air blower (4), a contaminant sensor (7), and a moving body sensor (8). The air cleaner 100 further includes the amount of the first contaminant detected by the contaminant sensor when the air is blown in the first blowing direction with respect to the position of the moving object detected by the moving object sensor; comparing the amount of the second contaminant detected by the contaminant sensor when air is blown in a second direction different from the one blowing direction, and comparing the amount of the first contaminant with the amount of the second contaminant If the amount of air is greater than the amount of contaminants, the direction of the air blown from the outlet is controlled in the first blowing direction, and the amount of the second contaminants is greater than the amount of the first contaminants. In this case, there is provided control means for controlling the direction of the air blown out from the outlet to the second blowing direction. [Selection drawing] Fig. 7

Description

The present disclosure relates to air purifiers and cleaning systems.

Patent Document 1 describes an intake device and an intake method. In the intake device and the intake method described in Patent Document 1, when a person is present in the room, the pollutant can be easily eliminated by detecting the pollutant high concentration region in the room with a sensor and further predicting the airflow distribution in the room. And it is said that it sucks effectively.

JP-A-2017-20775

In the intake device and the intake method described in Patent Document 1, when there is an object such as furniture in the room, the detection accuracy of the pollutant high concentration region and the prediction accuracy of the airflow distribution may decrease. Therefore, there is a risk that pollutants in the indoor air cannot be effectively sucked.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems. An object of the present disclosure is to provide an air purifier capable of efficiently recovering pollutants and purifying indoor air even when there are objects in the room.

The air purifier according to the present disclosure includes a blower means for sucking air from a suction port and generating an air flow for blowing air from an outlet, a pollutant sensor for detecting pollutants in the air sucked by the blower means, and a pollutant sensor. A moving body sensor that detects the position of a moving body, and the amount of the first pollutant detected by the pollutant sensor when air is blown out in the first blowing direction with respect to the position of the moving body detected by the moving body sensor, and the first When air is blown in a second blowing direction different from the one blowing direction, the amount of the second pollutant detected by the pollutant sensor is compared, and the amount of the first pollutant is the second pollution. When the amount of the substance is larger than the amount of the substance, the direction of the air blown out from the outlet is controlled to the first blowout direction, and when the amount of the second pollutant is larger than the amount of the first pollutant, the direction of the air blown out from the outlet is controlled. A control means for controlling the direction of the blown air to the second blowing direction is provided.

According to the air purifier according to the present disclosure, even when there is an object such as furniture in the room, it is possible to select the optimum control conditions of the air purifier for purifying the air in the room. Therefore, indoor pollutants can be efficiently recovered and the indoor air can be kept clean.

It is an overall perspective view of the air purifier in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing of the air purifier in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the function of the control means of the air purifier in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the function of the storage part in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control content of the air purifier in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the function of the air purifier in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the other function of the air purifier in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the function of the control means of the air purifier in Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control content of the air purifier in Embodiment 2. It is a figure which shows the function of the air purifier in Embodiment 2. It is a figure which shows the other function of the air purifier in Embodiment 2. It is an overall perspective view of the cleaning system in Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the function of the storage part in Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control content of the cleaning system in Embodiment 3. It is an overall perspective view of the cleaning system in Embodiment 4. FIG. FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of another state of the cleaning system according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of the cleaning system according to the fifth embodiment. It is a figure which shows the function of the control means of the cleaning system in Embodiment 5. It is a flowchart which shows the control content of the cleaning system in Embodiment 5. It is a figure which shows the function of the cleaning system in Embodiment 5.

The present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Overlapping description will be simplified or omitted as appropriate. In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts or corresponding parts.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the air purifier 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the air purifier 100 in which the air purifier 100 according to the present embodiment is broken along the line ii to arrow in FIG.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the air purifier 100 includes a casing 1, a suction port 2, an outlet 3, an air blowing means 4, a cleaning means 5, a wind direction setting means 6, a pollutant sensor 7, and a moving body. The sensor 8, the turntable 9, the pedestal 10, and the control means 11 are provided.

In the air purifier 100, the casing 1 is formed of a hollow square cylinder. The casing 1 has at least a blowing means 4, a cleaning means 5, a pollutant sensor 7, and a controlling means 11 inside the casing 1. The casing 1 has a moving body sensor 8 on its surface. The shape of the casing 1 is not limited to a hollow square cylinder, and may be, for example, a cylinder or a sphere.

A suction port 2 is formed on the side surface of the casing 1. The suction port 2 is an opening for sucking indoor air containing pollutants into the casing 1. An outlet 3 is formed on the upper surface of the casing 1. The outlet 3 is an opening for blowing out the air cleaned by the cleaning means 5 into the room.

The positions, shapes, and numbers of the suction port 2 and the outlet 3 are not limited to the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For example, the suction port 2 and the outlet 3 may be formed at the corners of the casing 1. Further, the shape of the suction port 2 and the outlet 3 may be circular, polygonal, or a combination thereof.

The air blowing means 4 generates an air flow that is sucked in from the suction port 2 and blown out from the outlet 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the air sucked into the casing 1 from the suction port 2 is blown out from the outlet 3 via the pollutant sensor 7, the cleaning means 5, and the air blowing means 4. Here, as the blowing means 4, known blowing means such as a propeller fan or a sirocco fan can be used. Further, the arrangement and number of the blower means 4 are not limited. For example, two propeller fans may be arranged in parallel.

The cleaning means 5 purifies the air by collecting pollutants in the air sucked into the casing 1 from the suction port 2. The cleaning means 5 can be provided at any place inside the casing 1, but it is desirable that the cleaning means 5 is arranged between the suction port 2 and the air blowing means 4.

Here, as the cleaning means 5, a means capable of collecting pollutants such as dust, smoke, pollen, viruses, molds, bacteria, allergens, house dust, odorous components, and volatile chemical substances to purify the air is used. Will be done. Further, the cleaning means 5 may purify the air by inactivating, adsorbing and decomposing pollutants. Specifically, the cleaning means 5 includes a dust collecting filter that collects dust, a deodorizing filter that adsorbs odorous components, a voltage applying device that applies a voltage to an electrode to inactivate and decompose pollutants, and the like. Can be used. The cleaning means 5 may be any one of these means, or a plurality of cleaning means 5 may be combined.

The wind direction setting means 6 is arranged above the casing 1. The wind direction setting means 6 changes the left-right and up-down directions of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3. In the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, as the wind direction setting means 6, a plate-shaped louver 6A and a movable louver formed from the louver movable shaft 6B are arranged on the upper portion of the casing 1. The louver 6A is attached to the casing 1 via the louver movable shaft 6B. When the louver movable shaft 6B is controlled by the control means 11, the louver 6A rotates about the louver movable shaft 6B. As a result, the vertical direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 changes. In the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the turntable 9 described later changes the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3.

The wind direction setting means 6 can use any means as long as it can change the left-right and up-down directions of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3. For example, in addition to the movable louver, a partition wall, a guide, a vane, a flap and the like can be used. The wind direction setting means 6 may be any one of these means, or a plurality of means may be combined. Further, the wind direction setting means 6 may be arranged outside the casing 1, may be arranged inside the casing 1, and a part thereof may be installed inside the casing 1 and a part thereof may be installed outside the casing 1. You may.

The pollutant sensor 7 detects the amount of pollutants contained in the air sucked into the casing 1 from the suction port 2. As the pollutant sensor 7, any means capable of detecting pollutants such as dust, smoke, pollen, viruses, molds, bacteria, allergens, house dust, odorous components, and volatile chemical substances floating in the air is used. .. Specifically, a dust sensor, a gas sensor, a wind speed sensor, or the like can be used. The pollutant sensor 7 may be any of these means, or a plurality of types may be combined. The information acquired by the pollutant sensor 7 is output to the pollutant determination unit 12.

The pollutant sensor 7 may be arranged at an arbitrary position such as inside the casing 1, the side surface of the casing 1, or the outside of the suction port 2, but from the viewpoint of determining the amount of pollutants in the air passing through the suction port 2. Therefore, it is desirable to arrange it between the suction port 2 and the cleaning means 5.

The number of pollutant sensors 7 is not limited to one, and may be plural. By arranging the plurality of pollutant sensors 7, for example, even when the air containing a large amount of pollutants is unevenly distributed on the side of the air purifier 100, the pollutants contained in the air sucked into the casing 1 The amount can be determined accurately.

Further, the pollutant sensor 7 may be a means for indirectly detecting the amount of pollutants contained in the air sucked into the casing 1 from the suction port 2. For example, the pollutant sensor 7 may be a wind speed sensor. The wind speed sensor detects the speed of the airflow sucked into the suction port 2. When the velocity of the air flow is high, the amount of air sucked into the casing 1 from the suction port 2 is large, so that it is indirectly detected that the amount of pollutants is large. On the other hand, when the velocity of the air flow is small, the amount of air sucked into the casing 1 from the suction port 2 is small, so that it is indirectly detected that the amount of pollutants is small.

The moving body sensor 8 acquires information for determining the position of a moving body such as a person, an animal, or a self-propelled device when viewed from the air purifier 100. In the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the moving body sensor 8 is mounted on the surface of the casing 1. The moving body sensor 8 is, for example, a stereo camera that captures an image of an indoor space. The stereo camera acquires a plurality of images of the room taken from different angles at the same time. In addition, the stereo camera takes images at predetermined time intervals and acquires images taken at different times. The image captured by the stereo camera is output to the moving object determination unit 13 and the moving object position determination unit 14 as information for determining the position of the moving object.

Any means can be used for the moving body sensor 8. For example, the moving body sensor 8 may be configured by combining a single or a plurality of infrared sensors with a driving body instead of a stereo camera. In such a configuration, an infrared sensor is driven by a driving body and scans the room to acquire a thermal image of the room. After the scanning of the room is completed, the infrared sensor returns to the original position, scans the room again at a predetermined time interval, and acquires a thermal image.

At this time, any means can be used for the driving body. For example, in order to rotate the moving body sensor 8 in the left-right direction, the turntable 9 described later may rotate the moving body sensor 8 in the left-right direction together with the casing 1.

In addition to this, the moving body sensor 8 may be configured by combining a distance measuring sensor such as a millimeter wave radar or a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranking) and a driving body. In such a configuration, the distance measuring sensor scans the room by the driving body and acquires the distance measuring data in the room.

Further, the moving body sensor 8 may be a monocular camera. With such a configuration, the monocular camera captures an image of the room and acquires image data. The acquired image is processed by an image processing technique described later.

Further, the moving body sensor 8 may be a communication device attached to or possessed by the moving body and a communication device provided in the air purifier 100. In this case, information for determining the position of the moving object is acquired by communication between the communication devices. The communication device included in the air purifier 100 may be arranged in any arrangement as long as the above communication is possible, and the communication standard to be used may be any standard.

Further, it is desirable that the moving body sensor 8 can also acquire information for determining the three-dimensional structure in the room. Here, the three-dimensional structure of the room means the three-dimensional structure of the room space represented by the dimensions and shapes of the ceiling, wall surface and floor surface. Hereinafter, it will be described that the moving body sensor 8 can also acquire information for determining the three-dimensional structure of the room.

In the examples of FIGS. 1 and 2, the moving body sensor 8 is a stereo camera, and acquires a plurality of images of the room taken from different angles at the same time. A plurality of images taken from different angles in the absence of a moving object are output to the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 as information for determining the three-dimensional structure in the room. The three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 determines the three-dimensional structure in the room by image processing described later.

Further, when the moving body sensor 8 is configured by combining a distance measuring sensor such as a millimeter wave radar or LIDAR and a driving body, the distance measuring sensor scans the room by the driving body in a situation where the moving body does not exist, and has a three-dimensional structure in the room. Acquire information for determining. Further, when the moving body sensor 8 is a monocular camera, an image captured in the room is acquired as information for determining the three-dimensional structure of the room.

In addition to determining the three-dimensional structure of the room based on the information acquired by the moving body sensor 8, the room is based on information input by the user by input means such as a button or a touch panel (not shown) included in the air purifier 100. The three-dimensional structure may be determined. Alternatively, the three-dimensional structure of the room may be input to a device such as a smartphone owned by the user, and the information may be received by the air purifier 100.

The turntable 9 is arranged between the casing 1 and the pedestal 10 described later. The turntable 9 rotates in the left-right direction. As the turntable 9 rotates in the left-right direction, the casing 1 rotates in the left-right direction. Therefore, as the turntable 9 rotates, the outlet 3 also rotates in the left-right direction, so that the left-right direction of the airflow blown into the room can be adjusted.

The means for adjusting the air flow in the left-right direction does not necessarily have to be the turntable 9. For example, a movable louver that drives in the left-right direction may be attached to the outlet 3 to adjust the air flow in the left-right direction. In that case, the turntable 9 may not be present.

The pedestal 10 is arranged in direct contact with the floor surface and holds the casing 1 via the turntable 9.

The control means 11 acquires the information acquired by the pollutant sensor 7 and the moving object sensor 8 as an input signal. The control means 11 sends an output signal to the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6 and the turntable 9 in response to the input signal, and controls the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6 and the turntable 9. As a result, the air purifier 100 operates. FIG. 3 shows the function of the control means 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the control means 11 includes, for example, a pollutant determination unit 12, a moving object determination unit 13, a moving object position determination unit 14, a three-dimensional structure determination unit 15, a storage unit 16, and an operation control unit 17.

The control means 11 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) storing a control program, a working memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a communication circuit (FIG. FIG. Not shown).

The pollutant determination unit 12 acquires the amount of the pollutant acquired by the pollutant sensor 7 as an input signal. The pollutant determination unit 12 determines the amount of pollutants (hereinafter referred to as the cleaning amount) to be cleaned by the air purifier 100 by performing an arithmetic calculation on the input signal. Here, the type of calculation performed by the pollutant determination unit 12 is arbitrary. For example, the pollutant determination unit 12 may determine the cleaning amount by multiplying the amount of the pollutant acquired by the pollutant sensor 7 by the area of the suction port 2. Alternatively, considering that the distribution of pollutants in the air is not uniform, the cleaning amount may be a value obtained by multiplying the cleaning amount determined by the above calculation by an arbitrary coefficient.

When a plurality of pollutant sensors 7 are provided, the above calculation may be performed after averaging the amounts of pollutants acquired by each pollutant sensor 7. The cleaning amount determined by the pollutant determination unit 12 is sent to the storage unit 16 as an output signal.

The moving body determination unit 13 acquires the information acquired by the moving body sensor 8 as an input signal. The moving body determination unit 13 determines whether or not a moving body exists in the room from the input signal. For example, when the moving body sensor 8 is a stereo camera, the moving body sensor 8 takes images at predetermined time intervals and acquires indoor images at different times. The moving object determination unit 13 determines, for example, whether or not there is a change in the brightness of the pixels with respect to the plurality of images. When there is a change in the brightness of the pixels, it is determined that there is a moving object in the room.

When the moving body sensor 8 has a configuration in which an infrared sensor is combined with a driving body, the moving body sensor 8 scans the room and acquires heat distribution information. Further, the scanning is repeated at predetermined time intervals. In this way, the moving body sensor 8 acquires a plurality of heat distribution information at different times. The moving body determination unit 13 determines, for example, whether or not there is a temperature change with respect to the plurality of heat distribution information. If there is a temperature change, it is determined that there is a moving object in the room.

Further, when the moving body sensor 8 has a configuration in which a distance measuring sensor such as a millimeter wave radar or LIDAR and a driving body are combined, the moving body sensor 8 scans the room and acquires the distance measuring information. Further, the scanning is repeated at predetermined time intervals. In this way, the moving body sensor 8 acquires a plurality of distance measurement information at different times. The moving body determination unit 13 determines whether or not there is a change in the distance with respect to the plurality of distance measurement information. If there is a change in distance, it is determined that there is a moving object in the room.

When the moving body sensor 8 is a monocular camera, the moving body sensor 8 takes images at predetermined time intervals and acquires indoor images at different times. The moving object determination unit 13 determines, for example, whether or not there is a change in the brightness of the pixels with respect to the plurality of images. When there is a change in the brightness of the pixels, it is determined that there is a moving object in the room.

When the moving body sensor 8 is a communication device attached to or owned by the moving body and a communication device provided in the air purifier 100, the moving body determination unit 13 receives the communication device provided in the air purifier 100. From the signal, it is determined whether or not there is a moving object in the room.

When determining the existence of a moving body in the room by any of the above means, it may be determined that the moving body exists in the room when the moving body moves beyond a specific threshold value. Here, the operation exceeding the threshold value includes, for example, moving a distance equal to or greater than the threshold value, moving a limb a distance greater than or equal to the threshold value, and the like. By making such a determination, for example, when a person moves slightly during sleep, it is not determined that a moving object exists in the room, so that it is possible to suppress the operation of the air purifier 100 and the generation of driving noise. ..

The moving body position determination unit 14 acquires the information acquired by the moving body sensor 8 as an input signal. The moving body position determination unit 14 determines the position of the moving body in the room from the input signal. For example, when the moving body sensor 8 is a stereo camera, the moving body sensor 8 acquires a plurality of images of the room taken from different angles at the same time. The moving body position determination unit 14 determines the position of the moving body by performing distance measurement using, for example, the parallax of each camera with respect to the plurality of images captured from the different angles. The position of the moving body determined by the moving body position determination unit 14 is sent to the storage unit 16 as an output signal.

Further, when the moving body sensor 8 has a configuration in which a distance measuring sensor such as a millimeter wave radar or LIDAR and a driving body are combined, the moving body sensor 8 scans the room and acquires the distance measuring information. Further, the scanning is repeated at predetermined time intervals. In this way, the moving body sensor 8 acquires a plurality of distance measurement information at different times. The moving body position determination unit 14 determines that the moving body exists at a place where the distance has changed, for example, with respect to the plurality of distance measuring information, and determines the position of the moving body from the distance measuring information at the place.

When the moving body sensor 8 is a monocular camera, the moving body sensor 8 takes images at predetermined time intervals and acquires indoor images at different times. At this time, the moving object sensor 8 performs imaging after changing the imaging conditions such as the focal point of the lens. The moving body position determination unit 14 acquires distance measurement information by image processing using blurring or color shift in each pixel of the plurality of images, and determines the position of the moving body.

When the moving body sensor 8 is a communication device attached to or owned by the moving body and a communication device provided in the air purifier 100, the moving body position determination unit 14 determines the position of the moving body from the signal received by the air purifier 100. To judge.

The three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 acquires the information acquired by the moving body sensor 8 as an input signal. The three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 determines the three-dimensional structure in the room from the input signal. For example, when the moving body sensor 8 is a stereo camera, the moving body sensor 8 acquires a plurality of images of the room taken from different angles at the same time in a situation where there is no moving body in the room. The three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 measures the plurality of images by using, for example, the parallax of each camera, and determines the three-dimensional structure in the room. The indoor three-dimensional structure determined by the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 is sent to the storage unit 16 as an output signal.

Further, when the moving body sensor 8 has a configuration in which a distance measuring sensor such as a millimeter wave radar or LIDAR is combined with a drive, the moving body sensor 8 scans the room in a situation where there is no moving body and acquires distance measuring information. The three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 determines the three-dimensional structure in the room based on the distance measurement information.

When the moving body sensor 8 is a monocular camera, the moving body sensor 8 acquires a plurality of images in which shooting conditions such as the focus of a lens are changed in a situation where there is no moving body. The three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 acquires distance measurement information by image processing using blurring or color shift in each pixel of the plurality of images, and determines the three-dimensional structure in the room.

Further, when the moving body sensor 8 is a communication device attached to or owned by the moving body and a communication device provided in the air purifier 100, for example, the moving body to which the moving body sensor 8 is attached moves along the wall surface. Acquires distance measurement information based on the moving distance of the moving object. The three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 determines the three-dimensional structure in the room from the distance measurement information.

Further, when the user inputs the three-dimensional structure of the room into an input means such as a button or a touch panel (not shown) of the air purifier 100 or a device such as a smartphone owned by the user, the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 performs the above input result. To determine the three-dimensional structure of the room.

The storage unit 16 stores information necessary for controlling the operation of the air purifier 100. The storage unit 16 contains control information of the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9 while the air purifier 100 is operating, and the pollutant determination unit 12, the moving object determination unit 13, and the moving object position determination unit 14. And the output result of the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 is stored.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the function of the storage unit in the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, the storage unit 16 stores the control log 16A, the determination log 16B, and the program 16C. The control log 16A stores control information of the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9. The determination log 16B was determined by the cleaning amount determined by the pollutant determination unit 12, the presence or absence of a moving object determined by the moving object determination unit 13, the position of the moving object determined by the moving object position determination unit 14, and the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15. It is a memory of the three-dimensional structure of the room. The program 16C stores the processing flow of the control means 11 described later and the processing contents in each step of the processing flow.

Further, the storage unit 16 has a database 16D that stores the control conditions of the air purifier 100 according to the position of the moving body determined by the moving body position determination unit 14. As shown in FIG. 4, the database 16D stores the control conditions (control condition 1, control condition 2, ...) Of the air purifier 100 corresponding to the positions of the moving objects (position 1, position 2, ...). doing. Although the above control conditions are set in the air conditioner 100 in advance, the operation control unit 17 described later can be updated according to the operating condition of the air conditioner 100.

The operation control unit 17 outputs a command value for operating the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9. The operation control unit 17 reads out the control conditions stored in the database 16D according to the position of the moving body determined by the moving body position determination unit 14. The operation control unit 17 outputs a command value to the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9 according to the read control conditions. In this way, the air purifier 100 operates.

Subsequently, the operation of the air purifier 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The duplicated description will be simplified or omitted as appropriate. Further, in each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts or corresponding parts.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the air purifier 100. Specifically, FIG. 5 shows a processing flow of the control means 11. The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 is an operation example for achieving the object of the present disclosure, and flows can be added or omitted as needed.

In S101, the moving body determination unit 13 determines whether or not a moving body exists in the room. If the moving body determination unit 13 determines that a moving body exists in the room, the process proceeds to S103. If the moving body determination unit 13 determines that there is no moving body in the room, the process proceeds to S102.

In S102, the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition when there is no moving object in the room. For example, the air purifier 100 drives the turntable 9 and operates so that the direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 changes in the left-right direction. At this time, although not shown in FIG. 5, the flow may be returned to S101 after the air purifier 100 has been operated for a certain period of time. Further, the air purifier 100 may be stopped after the air purifier 100 has been operated for a certain period of time.

In S103, the moving body position determination unit 14 determines the position of the moving body. The position of the moving body determined by the moving body position determination unit 14 is stored in the determination log 16B. Further, in S103, the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 determines the three-dimensional structure in the room. The three-dimensional structure in the room determined by the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 is stored in the determination log 16B.

In S104, the operation control unit 17 sets the position N (N = 1, 2, ...) Closest to the position of the moving body stored in the database 16D with respect to the position of the moving body stored in the determination log 16B. Explore. After searching the position N, the operation control unit 17 reads out the control condition N corresponding to the position N. The operation control unit 17 issues a command to the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9 according to the control condition N. As a result, the air purifier 100 operates.

At this time, the operation control unit 17 controls the wind direction setting means 6 so that the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 is directed in the direction in which the moving body is present in the left-right direction and toward the ceiling or wall surface in the room in the up-down direction. To set. 6 (a) and 6 (b) show the function of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment in a situation where there is no object that obstructs the air flow in the room. In FIGS. 6A and 6B, the air purifier 100 is operating under the control condition N. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 blows out toward the ceiling, flows along the ceiling, descends along the rear wall, and reaches the floor surface. The airflow that reaches the floor surface takes in air containing a large amount of pollutants around a moving body (a person in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b)) that is a source of pollutants, and flows along the floor surface. The airflow flowing along the floor surface reaches the suction port 2 and is sucked into the inside of the casing 1. By generating such an air flow, the air in the room can be efficiently purified.

When the moving body is a person, control may be performed to shift the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 from the direction in which the person exists under the control condition N. By performing such control, the airflow does not hit the person, and it is possible to suppress the discomfort to the person.

In S104, the operation control unit 17 may change the control condition N based on the three-dimensional structure of the room stored in the determination log 16B. For example, when the distance from the floor surface to the ceiling in the room is large, the rotation speed of the blower means 4 may be larger than the value of the control condition N.

In S105, the control condition N, that is, the command value issued by the operation control unit 17 to the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9 is stored in the control log 16A. The cleaning amount determined by the pollutant determination unit 12 is stored in the determination log 16B. At this time, it is desirable that the timing at which the cleaning amount is stored in the determination log 16B is after the determination result of the pollutant determination unit 12 becomes constant in time.

In S106, the operation control unit 17 issues a command to change the control condition N by a predetermined value. Specifically, the command is issued as follows. In S104, the air purifier 100 operates according to the control condition N. Under the control condition N, the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 is the direction in which the moving body exists. In S106, the operation control unit 17 issues a command to the turntable 9 to change the left-right direction of the air flow _{to either the left or right by a predetermined angle Δθ h.} Similarly, in S106, the operation control unit 17 issues a command to the blower means 4 and the wind direction setting means 6 to change the velocity of the airflow to ΔV and the vertical direction of the airflow to be up or down by a predetermined angle Δθv. Assuming that the control condition N in which the control condition N is changed as described above is N', the air purifier 100 operates according to the control condition N'in S106.

In S106, it is not always necessary to change all the control conditions of the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9. When changing two or more control conditions, the order in which the control conditions are changed may be set arbitrarily.

Further, at this time, the control condition N'is stored in the control log 16A. Alternatively, the command issued to the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9 issued by the operation control unit 17 is stored in the control log 16A.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the function of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment in a situation where an object that obstructs the air flow is indoors. In FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N, and in FIGS. 7 (c) and 7 (d), the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'. Further, FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (c) are views of the room as viewed from the side. 7 (b) and 7 (d) are views of the room as viewed from above.

When the air purifier 100 is operating under the control condition N, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the airflow is obstructed by the objects existing in the room. As a result, the airflow does not reach the suction port 2 and the air in the room is not purified. On the other hand, when the air purifier 100 is operating under the control condition N', the airflow is not obstructed by the objects existing in the room as shown in FIGS. 7 (c) and 7 (d). Further, as shown in FIG. 7D, the airflow along the floor surface flows near the air containing a large amount of pollutants around the moving body. At this time, the airflow along the floor surface takes in air containing a large amount of the above pollutants. Therefore, when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N', the airflow along the floor surface contains a large amount of pollutants, reaches the suction port 2 without being hindered by obstacles, and is sucked into the casing 1. Is done. As a result, cleaning of the indoor air is achieved.

In S107, the pollutant determining means 12 determines the amount of cleaning when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'. Subsequently, the operation control unit 17 stores the amount of cleaning stored in the determination log 16B when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N and the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'. Compare the amounts. Further, the operation control unit 17 determines whether the cleaning amount has increased when the control condition of the air purifier 100 is changed from the control condition N to the control condition N'. If the amount of cleaning when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'is larger than the amount of cleaning when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N, the control condition N is changed to the control condition N'. Judge that the amount has increased. At this time, the process proceeds to S108. On the other hand, if the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'is equal to or less than the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N, the control condition N is changed to the control condition N'. However, it is judged that the amount of cleaning did not increase. At this time, the process proceeds to S109.

In S107, when the control condition N is changed to the control condition N', the standard for determining whether the cleaning amount has increased may be arbitrarily set. For example, it may be determined whether or not the cleaning amount has increased due to the difference between the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'and the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not the cleaning amount has increased by the ratio of the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'and the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N. Further, at this time, if the difference or ratio of the cleaning amounts is larger than a certain threshold value, the cleaning amount increases, and if it is equal to or less than a certain threshold value, the cleaning amount may be determined to be equivalent or less.

Further, while the air purifier 100 is operating, it may be determined whether the amount of cleaning has increased in consideration of the fact that the amount of pollutants contained in the indoor air decreases with time. For example, the above determination may be performed after multiplying the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'by a predetermined value.

In S108, the operation control unit 17 updates the database 16D. Specifically, the operation control unit 17 searches for the same control conditions as the control conditions N stored in the control log 16A from the control conditions stored in the database 16D. The operation control unit 17 searches for the control condition N and then updates the control condition N to the control condition N'. As a result, when the air purifier 100 operates from the next time onward, if the position of the moving body determined in S103 is the position N, the operation control unit 17 reads out the control condition N'in the database 16D. When the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N', it can be expected that the amount of cleaning will be larger than that when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N. Therefore, the air in the room can be efficiently purified immediately after the air purifier 100 starts operating. After the update of the database 16D is completed, the process proceeds to S104 again.

In S108, the control condition N may be updated to the control condition N'by any method. For example, the database 16D may store only the control condition N'. Further, the database 16D may store both the control condition N and the control condition N'. In this case, it is desirable that the database 16D stores the control condition N'to be read before the control condition N when the position of the moving body is the position N.

When the process proceeds from S108 to S104, the above operation is performed again in S104 to S107. In S104, the operation control unit 17 issues a command to the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9 based on the control conditions stored in the database 16D. At this time, since the database 16D has been updated, the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'. In S105, the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'is stored in the determination log 16B. In S106, the operation control unit 17 issues a command to change the control condition N'by a predetermined value. As a result, the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N ″. In S107, the cleaning amount stored in the determination log 16B when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'is compared with the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N'', and the control condition N is compared. It is determined whether the amount of cleaning has increased by changing'to the control condition N'.

At this time, if the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N ″ is larger than the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N ″, the process proceeds to S108. In S108, the database 16D is updated. That is, as long as the control condition is changed in S106 and the cleaning amount increases when the air purifier 100 operates under the changed control condition, the processes of S104 to S108 are repeated. On the other hand, if the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N ″ is equal to or less than the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N ″, the process proceeds to S109.

Although not shown, the process may be returned to S103 at an arbitrary timing while the processes of S104 to S108 are repeated, and the position of the moving body may be determined again. For example, the processing of S104 to S108 may be repeated an arbitrary number of times and then the processing may be returned to S103, or the processing of S104 to S108 may be repeated an arbitrary number of seconds and then the processing may be returned to S103.

In S109, the operation control unit 17 returns the control condition of the air purifier 100 to the previous control condition. Here, for example, it is assumed that the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N ″ in S107 is the same or less than the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N ″. In this case, the operation control unit 17 reads out the control condition N'stored in the control log 16A and issues a command to the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9. As a result, the control condition of the air purifier 100 is returned from the control condition N ″ to the previous control condition N ″. At this time, the cleaning amount when the control condition is returned to the control condition N ″ in S109 is equal to or more than the cleaning amount when the air purifier 100 operates under the control condition N ″. Therefore, the air purifier 100 can always purify the air in the room most efficiently.

The air purifier 100 operates according to the control flow described above. The operation described so far is, for example, a control flow when the air purifier 100 is newly installed in a room, and the content of any step of the control flow may be changed as necessary, or the step may be omitted. You may. For example, S105, S106, S107, and S108 may be omitted after the update of the database 16D is sufficiently repeated and the optimum control conditions for the positions of the moving objects are determined. Alternatively, when the database 16D stores a plurality of control conditions N, N', N'', ... With respect to a certain position of the moving object, the control conditions of the blower 4, the wind direction setting means 6 and the turntable 9 in S106. Is not changed by a predetermined value, but may be changed in the order of control conditions N, N', N'', .... At this time, the control conditions N, N ″, and N ″ are in the order in which the cleaning amount is expected to be large.

As described above, the air purifier 100 of the present embodiment changes the control conditions based on the cleaning amount when the air flow is obstructed by an object existing in the room. Since the control conditions are constantly changed so that the amount of cleaning increases, the air purifier 100 can operate under the optimum conditions for purifying the air in the room.

Further, the database 16D of the storage unit 16 stores control conditions that are expected to have a large amount of cleaning according to the position of the moving object. After determining the position of the moving object, the air purifier 100 operates immediately according to the control conditions stored in the database 16D. Therefore, the air purifier 100 can operate under the optimum control conditions for purifying the air in the room immediately after the start of operation.

Further, the database 16D may store a plurality of control conditions N, N ″, N ″, ..., Depending on the position of the moving object. At this time, in S106, instead of changing the control condition of the air purifier 100 by a predetermined value, a plurality of control conditions N, N', N'', ... Are selected in order, and the air purifier 100 is selected. It may be operated. In this case, since the plurality of control conditions N, N', N'', ... Are selected in the order in which the amount of cleaning is expected to be large, the air purifier 100 cleans the air in the room. The optimum conditions can be selected in a short time.

Embodiment 2
Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Of the configurations and operations of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment, those having the same numbers as those in the first embodiment are substantially the same as the configurations and operations of the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the relevant part will be omitted.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the functions of the control means 11 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the control means 11 in the present embodiment includes a control change value determination unit 18, a time determination unit 19, and a change number determination unit 20.

Further, the operation of the air purifier 100 of the present embodiment is different from the operation of the air purifier 100 of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the air purifier 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the operation of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment has S110 between S103 and S104, S111 between S106 and S107, and S112 between S107 and S109.

The control change value determination unit 18 acquires the three-dimensional structure in the room determined by the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 as an input signal. The control change value determination unit 18 determines the magnitude of the change in control conditions (hereinafter referred to as the change value) when the operation of the air purifier 100 is changed in S106 based on the three-dimensional structure in the room. In S106, the operation control unit 17 changes, for example, the control conditions of the turntable 9 and changes the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 by an angle Δθh. In the first embodiment, Δθh is set to a predetermined value, but in the present embodiment, Δθh is determined by the control change value determination unit 18 based on the three-dimensional structure in the room.

The method for determining Δθh will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a difference in Δθh when the structure of the room is different. As shown in FIG. 10A, for example, when the depth of the room is narrow and the width of the room is wide, the control change value determination unit 18 sets Δθh to a small value. On the contrary, when the depth of the room is wide and the width of the room is narrow, the control change value determination unit 18 sets Δθh to a large value.

Note that Δθh may be only one value, or may be selected from a plurality of Δθh according to the control conditions of the turntable 9.

Further, in S106, the operation control unit 17 changes the control conditions for the blower means 4 and the wind direction setting means 6 in addition to the turntable 9. The control change value determination unit 18 also determines the change values of the control conditions of the blower means 4 and the wind direction setting means 6 based on the three-dimensional structure in the room. For example, if the height from the floor surface to the ceiling in the room is large, the control change value determination unit 18 sets the change value of the control condition of the wind direction setting means 6 to a large value, and the height from the floor surface to the ceiling in the room is high. If it is small, set the change value to a small value. Similarly, with respect to the blower means 4, the control change value determination unit 18 sets the change value of the control condition to a large value if the width of the room is large, and to a small value if the width of the room is small.

The time determination unit 19 acquires the control conditions of the indoor three-dimensional structure, the ventilation means 4, the wind direction determination means 6, and the turntable 9 as input signals. The time determination unit 19 determines the time until the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 returns to the suction port 2 based on the three-dimensional structure in the room and the above control conditions.

At this time, the time determination unit 19 obtains the time until the air flow returns by an arbitrary method. For example, the time determination unit 19 obtains the time until the airflow returns by computer simulation based on the wind speed and direction of the blown airflow and the three-dimensional structure of the room. Specifically, the distance between the three-dimensional structure in the room and the path followed by the airflow from the direction of the airflow is determined, and the time until the airflow returns is determined by dividing the distance by the wind speed of the airflow.

Further, the time determination unit 19 may determine the time until the airflow returns by referring to a plurality of airflow patterns stored in advance in the storage unit 16, or communicates with an external device or the cloud to communicate with the external device or the cloud. The judgment may be made by referring to the airflow pattern stored in the cloud.

The change count determination unit 20 acquires the three-dimensional structure of the room, the change value of the control condition determined by the control change value determination unit 18, and the number of times the control condition is changed in S106 as an input signal. The change count determination unit 20 determines whether the change of the control condition in S106 is sufficiently repeated from the three-dimensional structure in the room, the change value of the control condition, and the number of changes.

The above determination will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a method of determining whether or not the change of the control condition in S106 is sufficiently repeated. In FIG. 11, for example, in S106, the angle Δθh of the turntable 9 in the left-right direction is changed. Further, if S106 is repeated and the left-right direction of the turntable 9 is changed by an angle θr or more in total, it is set that the change of the control condition is sufficiently repeated. At this time, θr is M times Δθh (M is an appropriate numerical value). In such a case, the change count determination unit 20 determines that the change of the control condition has been sufficiently repeated if the control condition is changed more than the numerical value M.

At this time, θr may be set in advance, or may be set by the change count determination unit 20 based on the three-dimensional structure in the room. Note that Δθh and θr do not affect each other and are set to arbitrary values.

In FIG. 11, θr is set to be symmetrical with respect to the line connecting the air purifier 100 and the moving body, but this does not indicate that θr is always a target with respect to the above line. .. θr may be asymmetric with respect to the above line, for example.

Subsequently, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. Regarding the operation of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment, the description of the parts common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

In S110, the control change value determination unit 18 determines the change values of the control conditions of the blower means 4, the wind direction determination means 6, and the turntable 9 in S106 based on the determination result of the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15. The change value of the control condition determined by the control change value determination unit 18 is stored in the determination log 16B.

In S111, the time determination unit 19 determines the time until the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 returns to the suction port 2 based on the determination result of the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 and the control conditions changed in S106. do. Further, in proceeding from S111 to S107, the air purifier 100 continues to operate for a time or longer until the airflow returns under the control conditions changed in S106.

Further, in S111, the control log 16A also stores how many times the control condition is changed by S106.

In S112, the change count determination unit 20 changes the control condition in S106 based on the change value of the control condition stored in the determination log 16B and the number of times the control condition is changed in S106 stored in the control log 16A. Determine if it has been repeated enough. When it is determined that the change of the control condition in S106 is sufficiently repeated, the process proceeds to S109. If it is determined that the change of the control condition in S106 is not sufficiently repeated, the process returns to S106.

When the process returns to S106, the control condition is changed again in S106. After the control conditions are changed in S106, the process proceeds from S111 to S107. Further, if it is determined in S107 that the cleaning amount has not increased and in S112 it is determined that the change of the control condition is not sufficiently repeated, the process returns to S106 again. That is, as long as the above determination is made in S107 and S112, the processes of S106, S111, S107 and S112 are repeated.

Further, while the processes of S106, S111, S107 and S112 are repeated, the change value of the control condition in S106 does not have to be the same every time. For example, in the first S106, it is assumed that the left-right direction of the turntable 9 is changed from the direction in which the moving body exists to the left-right direction of the angle Δθh. At this time, in the second S106, for example, the left-right direction of the turntable 9 may be further changed in the same direction as the first time by the angle Δθh, or may be changed twice in the direction different from the first time by twice the angle Δθh.

In the present embodiment configured as described above, the following effects are exhibited in addition to the effects of the first embodiment. When the control conditions are changed in S106, the air purifier 100 can determine the changed values of the control conditions according to the three-dimensional structure of the room. This makes it possible for the air purifier 100 to find conditions for increasing the amount of cleaning in a short time.

Further, the air purifier 100 operates under the same control conditions for a time until the air blown out from the outlet 3 returns to the suction port 2 after the control conditions are changed in S106. As a result, when the cleaning amount is detected in S107 after the control condition is changed in S106, the determination in S107 can be performed after the cleaning amount is changed due to the change in the control condition in S106. ..

Further, the air purifier 100 determines in S112 whether the change of the control condition is sufficiently repeated. When the air purifier 100 determines that the number of times the control condition is changed is not sufficient, the process is not completed and the control condition is changed again. This makes it possible for the air purifier 100 to reliably find the condition that maximizes the amount of cleaning.

The control change value determination unit 18, the time determination unit 19, the change number determination unit 20, S110, S111, and S112 added in the present embodiment may be added to the first embodiment. For example, only the control change value determination unit 18 and S110 may be added to the first embodiment.

Embodiment 3
Next, a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Of the configurations and operations of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment, those having the same numbers as those in the first embodiment are substantially the same as the configurations and operations of the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the relevant part will be omitted.

FIG. 12 is an overall perspective view of the cleaning system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the cleaning system according to the present embodiment includes an air purifier 100 and an electric vacuum cleaner 200.

Further, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the function of the storage unit 16 of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the database 16D in the present embodiment further stores the paths of moving objects (path 1, path 2, ...).

Further, the operation of the air purifier 100 of the present embodiment is different from the operation of the air purifier 100 of the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the air purifier 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, the operation of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment has S113 between S101 and S103, and S114 at the branch destination of S113.

The electric vacuum cleaner 200 is, for example, a known robot vacuum cleaner. Although not shown in FIG. 12, the vacuum cleaner 200 has a distance measuring sensor, a camera, and the like. The vacuum cleaner 200 determines the three-dimensional structure of the room to be cleaned by the vacuum cleaner 200 by the distance measuring sensor, the camera, or the like. The electric vacuum cleaner 200 determines a route for cleaning based on the determined three-dimensional structure, and self-propells the route for cleaning. In the following, the moving body will be described as the vacuum cleaner 200.

The electric vacuum cleaner 200 may determine the three-dimensional structure by communicating with the air purifier 100. For example, it is assumed that each of the electric vacuum cleaner 200 and the air purifier 100 is provided with communication means. In this case, the air purifier 100 may transmit the three-dimensional structure in the room determined by the three-dimensional structure determination unit 15 to the airflow generator 300 by communication. Alternatively, the vacuum cleaner 200 and the air purifier 100 may communicate with each other via a server capable of communicating with the vacuum cleaner 200 and the air purifier 100 to specify the three-dimensional structure of the room.

The database 16D of the storage unit 16 in the present embodiment stores the route of the vacuum cleaner 200. Here, the path of the vacuum cleaner 200 represents the relationship between the time elapsed since the vacuum cleaner 200 started cleaning and the position of the vacuum cleaner 200. For example, suppose that the vacuum cleaner 200 is at position L1 at a certain time T1, moves to position L2 at another time T2, and moves to position L3 at another time T3. At this time, the relationship between the above T1, T2, T3 and L1, L2, L3 is stored in the database 16D as the path of the vacuum cleaner 200.

Subsequently, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. Regarding the operation of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment, the description of the parts common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

In S113, the moving body position determination unit 14 determines the path of the moving body. For example, when the vacuum cleaner 200 determined by the moving body position determination unit 14 is at the position L1 at a certain time T1, moves to the position L2 at another time T2, and moves to the position L3 at another time T3, the moving body The position determination unit 14 determines that the path of the vacuum cleaner 200 is the path 1. When the route of the vacuum cleaner 200 is determined, the process proceeds to S114.

Any method can be used to determine the route of the vacuum cleaner 200. For example, when each of the vacuum cleaner 200 and the air purifier 100 is provided with communication means, the route may be transmitted from the vacuum cleaner 200 to the air purifier 100 by communication. Alternatively, the vacuum cleaner 200 and the air purifier 100 may communicate with each other via a server on which the vacuum cleaner 200 and the air purifier 100 can communicate with each other to transmit the route.

In S114, the operation control unit 17 predicts the position where the vacuum cleaner 200 moves according to the path of the vacuum cleaner 200 determined in S113, and commands the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9. Emit.

For example, in S113, the path of the vacuum cleaner 200 is determined to be the path 1, the vacuum cleaner 200 is at the position L1 at a certain time T1, and the air purifier 100 has the control condition 1 corresponding to the position L1 stored in the database 16D. Suppose it is working with. In this case, the air purifier 100 predicts that the vacuum cleaner 200 will move to position L2 at another time T2. In this case, before the vacuum cleaner 200 reaches the position L2, the operation control unit 17 reads out the control condition 2 corresponding to the position L2 stored in the database 16D. The operation control unit 17 issues a command to the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6, and the turntable 9 in accordance with the control condition 2. As a result, the air purifier 100 is controlled to operate according to the control condition 2 before the vacuum cleaner 200 reaches the position L2.

The timing at which the operation control unit 17 issues a command to the blower means 4, the wind direction setting means 6 and the turntable 9 to change the control conditions of the air purifier 100 can be arbitrarily set. For example, the vacuum cleaner 200 may issue a command when the vacuum cleaner 200 is separated from the position L1 by a predetermined distance. Further, the operation control unit 17 may issue a command in a plurality of times. For example, during the time ΔT (T2-T1) from the position L1 to the position L2 of the vacuum cleaner 200, the operation of the air purifier 100 gradually approaches the control condition 2 from the control condition 1. The operation control unit 17 may issue a command a plurality of times.

The air purifier 100 operates according to the control flow shown in FIG. Note that any step may be added to the control flow shown in FIG. 14 as necessary, or the step may be omitted. For example, after a certain period of time when S114 is executed, the position of the vacuum cleaner 200 may be determined by the same method as in S103, and a step of determining whether the vacuum cleaner 200 is moving along the predicted route may be provided. .. Further, when the above processing is added, if it is determined that the vacuum cleaner 200 is not moving according to the predicted route, the processing may be advanced to S104. Further, if the update of the database 16D is not sufficiently repeated and the control condition that can increase the cleaning amount with respect to the position of the vacuum cleaner 200 is not found, the determination in S113 may not be performed. good.

In the present embodiment configured as described above, the following effects are exhibited in addition to the effects of the first embodiment. The air purifier 100 can operate under control conditions according to the position of the vacuum cleaner 200 before moving to a certain position according to the path to which the vacuum cleaner 200 moves. As a result, the air purifier 100 can keep the air in the room clean when the vacuum cleaner 200 cleans it.

In the present embodiment, the moving body is not necessarily limited to the vacuum cleaner 200. For example, the moving body may be a robot that guides the room. Alternatively, when a person performs cleaning or the like, the moving body may be a person. When the moving body is a person, the method of determining the path of the moving body by the moving body position determination unit 14 is to store, for example, the position, moving direction, moving speed, etc. of the person when the person performs cleaning or the like in the database 16D, and the method thereof. A method of determining the route from the cumulative data may be used.

Further, the cleaning system of the present embodiment may be composed of the electric vacuum cleaner 200 and the air purifier 100 of the second embodiment. In this case, S113 is added between S101 and S103 and S114 is added to the branch destination of S113 in the flowchart showing the operation of the air purifier 100 in the second embodiment shown in FIG.

Embodiment 4
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Of the configurations and operations of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment, those having the same numbers as those in the first embodiment are substantially the same as the configurations and operations of the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the relevant part will be omitted.

FIG. 15 is an overall perspective view of the cleaning system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 15, the cleaning system according to the present embodiment includes an air purifier 100 and an electric vacuum cleaner 201.

The air purifier 100 includes a support 30 on one surface of the casing 1. The support tool 30 detachably supports the vacuum cleaner 201. The method in which the support tool 30 supports the vacuum cleaner 201 may be any method.

Further, the air purifier 100 includes recesses 31 and 32 on one surface of the casing 1. The recesses 31 and 32 are square pillar-shaped recesses that can accommodate at least a part of the vacuum cleaner 201, for example.

Further, a charging device 33 is provided in the recess 31. As will be described later, the charging device 33 electrically connects to the secondary battery provided in the vacuum cleaner 201 in a state where the vacuum cleaner 201 is mounted on the air purifier 100. At this time, the charging device 33 can charge the secondary battery.

The vacuum cleaner 201 includes a head portion 51, a suction pipe 52, a vacuum cleaner main body 53, a socket 54, a dust collection box 55, and a handle 56. The head portion 51 includes a suction port for a vacuum cleaner (not shown). Further, the suction port of the vacuum cleaner may be provided with a rotating brush or the like. The head portion 51 is connected to one end of the suction pipe 52. The suction pipe 52 is a hollow cylinder. The vacuum cleaner main body 53 is attached to the suction pipe 52. The vacuum cleaner main body 53 includes a vacuum cleaner blower (not shown), a vacuum cleaner control device, and a secondary battery. Further, the vacuum cleaner main body 53 includes a socket 54 and is connected to the dust collecting unit 55.

The socket 54 is electrically connected to a secondary battery provided in the vacuum cleaner main body 53. The socket 54 is connected to the charging device 33 with the vacuum cleaner 201 described later mounted on the air purifier 100.

The handle 56 is provided on the vacuum cleaner main body 53 or the suction pipe 52. In the example shown in this embodiment, the handle 56 is apparently attached to the end of the suction pipe 52 on the opposite side of the head portion 51. The handle 56 includes a vacuum cleaner input device (not shown). The input device of the vacuum cleaner is provided with, for example, a power button and a button for switching the operation mode. The information input from the input device of the vacuum cleaner is input to the control device of the vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner control device controls the vacuum cleaner blower.

In the vacuum cleaner 201 having the above configuration, when the user presses the power button of the input device of the vacuum cleaner, the blower of the vacuum cleaner operates. As a result, an air flow for sucking contaminants is generated from the head portion 51. The sucked contaminants are sent to the vacuum cleaner main body 53 via the suction pipe 52. The pollutants sent to the vacuum cleaner main body 53 are separated from the air flow and stored in the dust collecting unit 55. As a method for the dust collecting unit 55 to separate pollutants from the air flow, any method such as separation by centrifugal force can be used. The user holds the handle 56 and moves the head portion 51 back and forth to perform cleaning.

Further, when the user does not use the vacuum cleaner 201, the vacuum cleaner 201 is placed on the air purifier 100. The user can mount the vacuum cleaner 201 on the air conditioner 100 by moving the vacuum cleaner 201 in the direction of the arrow ii shown in FIG. FIG. 16 is an overall perspective view showing a state in which the vacuum cleaner 201 is mounted on the air purifier 100. The support tool 30 supports the vacuum cleaner 201 by sandwiching the suction pipe 52. The recess 31 accommodates the vacuum cleaner main body 53 and the dust collection box 55, and the recess 32 accommodates the head portion 51.

When the vacuum cleaner 201 shown in FIG. 16 is mounted on the air purifier 100, the charging device 33 and the secondary battery provided in the vacuum cleaner main body 53 are electrically connected via the socket 54. .. At this time, the charging device 33 brings the secondary battery into a chargeable state. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the air purifier 100 also has a function as a charging stand of the vacuum cleaner 201.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the vacuum cleaner 201 is a so-called stick-type vacuum cleaner, but the vacuum cleaner 201 is not limited to the stick-type vacuum cleaner. The electric vacuum cleaner 201 may be, for example, a disk-shaped robot vacuum cleaner. When the electric vacuum cleaner 201 is a disk-shaped robot vacuum cleaner, the shapes and positions of the support 30, the recesses 31, 32 and the charging unit 33 are changed to the shapes and positions suitable for the disk-shaped robot vacuum cleaner. .. For example, the recess 31 is provided at a position close to the floor surface, and the support 30 is an unevenness provided inside the recess 31 and supports the robot vacuum cleaner by meshing with the unevenness of the outer shape of the robot vacuum cleaner.

Further, the operation of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment is the same as the operation of the air purifier 100 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5, and thus the description thereof will be omitted. The air purifier 100 in the present embodiment may perform the same operation as the air purifier 100 in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 9 or the air purifier 100 in the third embodiment.

In the present embodiment configured as described above, the following effects are exhibited in addition to the effects of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the vacuum cleaner 201 can be mounted on the air purifier 100, and it is possible to save space rather than providing an installation place for each.

Further, in the present embodiment, the vacuum cleaner 201 can be charged by mounting the vacuum cleaner 201 on the air purifier 100. As a result, the number of power supply ports required can be reduced as compared with the case where the vacuum cleaner 201 and the air purifier 100 are separately connected to the power supply ports.

Embodiment 5
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Of the configurations and operations of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment, those having the same numbers as those in the first embodiment are substantially the same as the configurations and operations of the first embodiment. Therefore, the description of the relevant part will be omitted.

FIG. 17 is an overall perspective view of the cleaning system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the cleaning system according to the present embodiment includes an air purifier 100 and an air flow generator 300.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the cleaning system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, the operation of the air purifier 100 in this embodiment communicates with the airflow generator 300 in S104 and S106. In addition, FIG. 19 also shows a flowchart showing an operation example of the airflow generator 300.

The airflow generator 300 is a device that generates an airflow by rotating a fan or blades. As shown in FIG. 17, the airflow generator 300 is, for example, a fan having a blade 61 and a swinging portion 62. The airflow generator 300 generates an airflow by rotating the blades 61. Further, the airflow generator 300 changes the direction of the airflow by rotating the swinging portion 62.

As the airflow generator 300, any device may be used as long as it has a function of generating an airflow and a function of setting the direction of the airflow. For example, the airflow generator 300 may be an indoor unit of an air conditioner having a fan and a flap.

Further, the air purifier 100 and the airflow generator 300 have a communication means 21. The communication means 21 is a communication device using an arbitrary communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the function of the control means of the cleaning system according to the present embodiment. The cleaning system according to the present embodiment includes a control means 11 of the air purifier 100 and a control means 23 of the airflow generator 300.

The control means 11 of the air purifier 100 of the present embodiment has a device position determination unit 22. The device position determination unit 22 determines the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located when viewed from the air purifier 100. For example, when the moving body sensor 8 is a stereo camera that captures an indoor space, the device position determination unit 22 acquires an image taken by the stereo camera as an input signal. The device position determination unit 22 determines the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located by detecting features such as a logo attached to the outer shape of the airflow generator 300 in the acquired image. The direction in which the airflow generator 300 determined by the device position determination unit 22 is located is stored in the determination log 16B.

The method by which the device position determination unit 22 determines the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located is not limited to the above method. For example, the communication means 21 provided in each of the device position determination unit 22 and the airflow generator 300 may be used to determine the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located by so-called wireless positioning. At this time, the distance between the air purifier 100 and the airflow generator 300 may be determined.

The control means 23 has an operation control unit 24 that controls the operation of the airflow generator 300. The operation control unit 24 issues a command for operating the blade 61 and the swing unit 62. As a result, the airflow generator 300 operates.

The control means 23 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage medium such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) storing a control program, a working memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a communication circuit (FIG. FIG. Not shown).

Further, the control means 11 and the control means 23 can communicate with each other by the communication means 21. In the communication by the communication means 21, the air purifier 100 and the airflow generator 300 can transmit the information stored and determined by each. Further, the air purifier 100 and the air flow generator 300 can also transmit control information to each other.

Next, the operation of the cleaning system according to the present embodiment will be described. Regarding the operation of the air purifier 100 in the present embodiment, the description of the parts common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

In S104, after the operation of the air purifier 100 is started, the air purifier 100 and the airflow generator 300 communicate with each other by the communication means 21. The air purifier 100 communicates with at least the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 of the air purifier 100 and the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located when viewed from the air purifier 100. Communicate to. Further, even after the operating conditions of the air purifier 100 are changed in S106, the air purifier 100 transmits the left-right direction of the airflow and the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located to the airflow generator 300 by communication.

The communication between the air purifier 100 and the airflow generator 300 is not limited to S104 and S106, and may be performed at any timing as needed.

After communication between the air purifier 100 and the airflow generator 300 is performed in S104 or S106, the operation of the airflow generator 300 proceeds to S115. In S115, the airflow generator 300 determines whether the airflow generator 300 is located in the direction of the airflow blown out from the air purifier 100. The operation control unit 24 compares the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 with the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located when viewed from the air purifier 100. When it is determined that the left-right direction of the airflow and the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located coincide with each other, the process proceeds to S116. When it is determined that the left-right direction of the airflow and the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located do not match, the process ends.

In S115, any method may be used as the method for the operation control unit 24 to determine that the left-right direction of the airflow and the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located coincide with each other. For example, it may be determined that the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located matches the left-right direction of the blown airflow if the direction is within a predetermined fixed angle.

In S116, the airflow generator S116 starts operation. At this time, the operation control unit 24 controls the airflow generator 300 so that the airflow generated from the airflow generator 300 goes toward the air purifier 100 along the floor surface in the room. Specifically, the operation control unit 24 determines the direction in which the air purifier 100 is located when viewed from the air flow generator 300, based on the direction in which the air flow generator 300 is located when viewed from the air purifier 100. judge. The operation control unit 24 issues a command to the blade 61 and the swing unit 62 to generate an air flow in the determined direction.

The speed of the airflow generated by the airflow generator 300 may be arbitrarily set. For example, it may be operated at a constant velocity regardless of the three-dimensional structure of the room, or the velocity of the airflow may be determined according to the three-dimensional structure of the room. Alternatively, if the distance between the air purifier 100 and the airflow generator 300 is determined by wireless positioning or the like, the airflow velocity may be determined according to the distance.

20 (a) and 20 (b) are diagrams showing the function of the cleaning system after the operation of the airflow generator 300 is started in S116 in the present embodiment. In FIG. 20B, the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 of the air purifier 100 substantially coincides with the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located when viewed from the air purifier 100. At this time, the airflow generator 300 generates an airflow toward the air purifier 100 along the floor surface.

At this time, the airflow generated by the airflow generator 300 and the airflow blown out from the air purifier 100 merge near the floor surface. By merging the airflows, the velocity of the airflows near the floor surface is higher than when only the air purifier 100 generates the airflows. The merged airflow reaches the vicinity of the air purifier 100 along the floor surface and is sucked into the inside of the casing 1.

The processing of S115 and S116 does not necessarily have to be performed by the airflow generator 300. In S115, the air purifier 100 may determine whether or not the airflow generator 300 is located in the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3. For example, the device position determination unit 22 may have a function of comparing the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the outlet 3 with the direction in which the airflow generator 300 is located when viewed from the air purifier 100. .. Further, the command to operate the airflow generator 300 in S116 may be issued not by the operation control unit 24 of the airflow generator 300 but by the operation control unit 17 of the air purifier 100. In this case, the command issued by the operation control unit 17 is transmitted to the airflow generator 300 by the communication means 21.

The air purifier 100 in the present embodiment may be the air purifier 100 in the second embodiment. Further, instead of the air purifier 100, the cleaning system according to the third embodiment or the cleaning system according to the fourth embodiment and the airflow generator 300 may be configured.

In the present embodiment configured as described above, the following effects are exhibited in addition to the effects of the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, when the airflow generator 300 is located in the left-right direction of the airflow blown out from the air purifier 100, the airflow generator 300 generates an airflow toward the air purifier 100 along the floor surface. Let me. The airflow generated by the airflow generator 300 merges with the airflow blown out from the air purifier 100 to become a high-speed airflow. Increasing the velocity of the airflow can increase the amount of pollutants taken up by the airflow. Further, air containing a large amount of pollutants can be reliably reached near the air purifier 100. This makes it possible to efficiently purify the air in the room.

1 Casing, 2 Suction port, 3 Blow-out port, 4 Blower means, 5 Cleaning means, 6 Wind direction setting means, 6A plate-shaped louver, 6B louver drive body, 7 Dust sensor 8 Moving body sensor, 9 Turntable, 10 pedestal, 11 Control means, 12 Contaminant determination unit, 13 Moving object determination unit, 14 Moving object position determination unit, 15 Three-dimensional structure determination unit, 16 Storage unit, 17 Operation control unit, 18 Control change value determination unit, 19 Time determination unit, 20 Number of changes determination unit, 21 communication means, 22 device position determination unit, 23 control means, 24 operation control unit, 30 supports, 31, 32 recesses, 33 charging device, 51 head unit, 52 suction pipe, 53 vacuum cleaner body, 54 Socket, 55 Dust Collector, 56 Handle, 61 Blade, 62 Swing, 100 Air Purifier, 200, 201 Vacuum Cleaner, 300 Airflow Generator

Claims (9)

A ventilation means that sucks air from the suction port and generates an air flow to blow out the air from the outlet,
A pollutant determining means for determining the amount of pollutants in the air sucked by the blowing means, and a pollutant determining means.
A moving body position determining means for determining the position of a moving body, and
The amount of the first pollutant determined by the pollutant determining means when air is blown in the first blowing direction with respect to the position of the moving body determined by the moving body position determining means, and the first blowing direction. When air is blown out in different second blowing directions, the amount of the second pollutant determined by the pollutant determining means is compared, and the amount of the first pollutant is the amount of the second pollutant. When the amount is larger than the amount, the direction of the air blown out from the outlet is controlled to the first blowing direction, and when the amount of the second pollutant is larger than the amount of the first pollutant, the said A control means for controlling the direction of the air blown out from the outlet in the second blowout direction, and
An air purifier characterized by being equipped with. When the amount of the second pollutant is larger than the amount of the first pollutant, a storage means for storing the position of the moving object and the second blowing direction in correspondence with each other is provided.
The air purifier according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls to blow out air in the second blowing direction when the moving body is present at the position of the moving body stored in the storage means. .. When the storage means blows air into each of a plurality of different blowing directions including the first blowing direction and the second blowing direction and the different blowing directions with reference to the position of the moving body. The relative amounts of the amounts of the plurality of pollutants detected by the pollutant determining means are stored in correspondence with each other.
The control means refers to the relative amount of the plurality of contaminants stored in the storage means when the moving body is present at the position of the moving body stored in the storage means, and refers to the storage means. 2. The second aspect of the invention is characterized in that air is blown out in the blowing direction in which the amount of the corresponding pollutant stored in the storage means is relatively large among the plurality of blowing directions stored in the storage means. Described air purifier. Further equipped with an indoor structure determining means for determining the indoor structure,
The claim is characterized in that the control means controls to change the difference between the angles of the first blowing direction and the second blowing direction according to the structure of the room determined by the indoor structure determining means. Item 2. The air purifier according to any one of items 2 or 3. After the air blowing direction was changed from the first blowing direction to the second blowing direction from the structure of the room, the rotation speed of the blowing means, and the second blowing direction, the air was blown out from the blowing port. It also has a time determination unit that determines the time it takes for the air to reach the suction port.
4. The control means is characterized in that it controls by taking the time into consideration when determining which of the amount of the first pollutant and the amount of the second pollutant is larger. The air purifier described in. The air purifier according to any one of claims 2 to 5 is provided.
The moving body position determining means determines the time change of the moving body position, and determines the time change.
The storage means stores the time change of the position of the moving body determined by the moving body position determining means, and stores the time change.
When the moving body exists at the position of the moving body stored in the storage means, the control means refers to the time change of the position of the moving body, predicts the direction in which the position of the moving body changes, and predicts the moving body. A cleaning system characterized by controlling the direction of air blowout before reaching the specified position. With a vacuum cleaner
The air purifier according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which has a support for detachably supporting the vacuum cleaner and can mount the vacuum cleaner on the support.
A cleaning system characterized by being equipped with. The cleaning system according to claim 7, further comprising a charging device capable of charging the vacuum cleaner with the vacuum cleaner mounted. An airflow generator that generates airflow and
The air purifier according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is provided.
A cleaning system characterized in that when the airflow generator is located in the direction of blowing out air blown from the outlet, the airflow generator generates an airflow toward the air purifier.

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