Ventilation and air purification system

Abstract

To provide a ventilation air purification system that, while improving the energy efficiency, suppresses an increase in the infection risk of infection disease due to deterioration of air quality which is caused by a local concentration of people in an indoor space.SOLUTION: A ventilation air purification system comprises detection means 54 for detecting an overall air pollution level in an entire indoor space R, estimation means 64 for estimating a standard individual person density in individual areas Ra, Rb from the overall air pollution level detected by the detection means 54, and detection means 66 for detecting an actual individual person density in the individual areas Ra, Rb. Ventilation air quantity control means 52 determines a target ventilation air quantity of an overall ventilation section 10 in accordance with the overall air pollution level, and circulation air quantity control means 62 determines a target circulation air quantity of individual air purification sections 20a, 20b in accordance with a person density standard excess width, which is the excess of the actual individual person density from the standard individual person density.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a ventilation air purification system including ventilation air volume control means for controlling the ventilation air volume of an overall ventilation section that exchanges the air in the entire indoor space with outside air for ventilation to a predetermined target ventilation air volume, and circulation air volume control means for controlling the circulation air volume of an individual air purification section that circulates and purifies the air in an individual area that is part of the indoor space to a predetermined target circulation air volume.

Background Art

[0002] In order to achieve efficient ventilation, a technique has been proposed in which an individual air purification section that circulates and purifies the air in an individual area that is part of the indoor space is installed separately from the overall ventilation section, and a part of the increased ventilation air volume is replaced with the circulation air volume of the individual air purification section (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] That is, the ventilation air purification system described in Patent Document 1 includes ventilation air volume control means (ventilation control unit 200) for controlling the ventilation air volume (outside air volume) of the overall ventilation section (ventilation device 20), and circulation air volume control means (air conditioner control unit 202) for controlling the circulation air volume (return air volume) of the individual air purification section (air conditioner 30). In the ventilation air volume control means (ventilation control unit 200), the ventilation air volume (outside air volume) of the overall ventilation section (ventilation device 20) is determined according to the overall air pollution level (CO2 concentration, number of occupants) in the entire indoor space. In the circulation air volume control means (air conditioner control unit 202), the value obtained by subtracting the ventilation air volume (outside air volume) from the total air volume set value corresponding to a reference ventilation rate (for example, 2 times per hour) is determined as the circulation air volume (return air volume) of the individual air purification section (air conditioner 30). Then, a part of the air volume to be ventilated is replaced with the air volume of the air to be purified, and ventilation is performed so that the sum of the air volume actually ventilated in the overall ventilation section and the air volume actually purified in the air purification section becomes the total air volume set value. By this, it is said that an efficient ventilation rate can be ensured.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-086036 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] For example, as a measure to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, it is desirable to enhance ventilation by the general ventilation system. However, increasing the ventilation airflow of the general ventilation system to enhance ventilation leads to a deterioration in energy efficiency. Therefore, although the deterioration in energy efficiency can be suppressed by replacing a portion of the airflow of the air to be ventilated with the airflow of the air to be purified, as in the ventilation air purification system described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the deterioration of air quality caused by localized concentration of occupants in the indoor space cannot be suppressed.

[0006] In other words, occupants in an indoor space are not evenly distributed but may be concentrated in specific individual areas. In such cases, the density of people in those specific individual areas increases locally compared to other individual areas, leading to a deterioration of air quality. However, in the ventilation air purification system described in Patent Document 1, the circulating airflow of the individual air purification unit in an individual area is set to a value obtained by subtracting the ventilation airflow determined according to the overall air pollution level in the entire indoor space from the overall airflow setting value corresponding to the standard ventilation rate, regardless of the uneven distribution of occupants in the indoor space. Therefore, it is not possible to suppress the deterioration of air quality caused by the increase in the density of people in specific individual areas as described above.

[0007] In view of these circumstances, the main objective of the present invention is to provide a ventilation air purification system that includes a ventilation airflow control means for controlling the ventilation airflow of a general ventilation unit that ventilates the air of the entire indoor space to a predetermined target ventilation airflow, and a circulation airflow control means for controlling the circulation airflow of an individual air purification unit that purifies the air of an individual area that is part of the indoor space, while improving energy efficiency and suppressing the increased risk of infectious disease infection caused by deterioration of air quality due to localized concentration of occupants in an indoor space. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The first characteristic configuration of the present invention is a ventilation air purification system comprising: ventilation air volume control means for controlling the ventilation air volume of a general ventilation unit that ventilates the entire indoor space by exchanging it with outside air to a predetermined target ventilation air volume; and circulation air volume control means for controlling the circulation air volume of an individual air purification unit that circulates and purifies the air in an individual area which is a part of the indoor space to a predetermined target circulation air volume, A total air pollution level detection means for detecting the air pollution level in the entire indoor space as the total air pollution level, A reference individual population density estimation means that estimates the density of people in the individual area as a reference individual population density from the overall air pollution level detected by the overall air pollution level detection means, The system includes a means for detecting the actual density of people in the aforementioned individual area as the actual individual density of people, The ventilation airflow control means determines the target ventilation airflow according to the overall air pollution level, The key feature of the circulating airflow control means is that it determines the target circulating airflow according to the excess amount of the population density standard, which is the excess of the actual individual population density compared to the standard individual population density.

[0009] According to this configuration, the ventilation airflow of the overall ventilation unit that ventilates the entire indoor space is controlled by the ventilation airflow control means to a target ventilation airflow determined according to the overall air pollution level in the indoor space, thereby suppressing the rise in the overall air pollution level of the indoor space. As a result, in individual areas where the actual individual population density is below the standard individual population density estimated from the overall air pollution level (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "low-density individual areas"), the overall ventilation system provides sufficient ventilation to suppress the deterioration of air quality in those low-density individual areas. Furthermore, in these low-density individual areas, there is no need to increase the circulating airflow of the individual air purification units that circulate and purify the air, thus suppressing the decrease in energy efficiency that would occur with an increase in the circulating airflow. On the other hand, in individual areas where the actual individual population density is greater than the standard individual population density estimated from the overall air pollution level due to the concentration of occupants (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "high-density individual areas"), the circulating airflow rate of the individual air purification unit that circulates and purifies the air in the high-density individual area is controlled by the circulating airflow rate control means to a target circulating airflow rate determined according to the population density standard excess range, which is the excess amount of the actual individual population density compared to the standard individual population density. Therefore, deterioration of air quality due to the increase in the actual individual population density in the high-density individual area is efficiently suppressed. Accordingly, the present invention provides a ventilation air purification system comprising a ventilation air volume control means for controlling the ventilation air volume of a general ventilation unit that ventilates the air of the entire indoor space to a predetermined target ventilation air volume, and a circulation air volume control means for controlling the circulation air volume of an individual air purification unit that purifies the air in an individual area which is part of the indoor space. This system aims to improve energy efficiency while providing a technology to suppress the increased risk of infectious disease infection caused by deterioration of air quality resulting from localized concentration of occupants in an indoor space.

[0010] A second characteristic configuration of the present invention is that, when the target circulating airflow, which is determined according to the excess range of the human density standard, exceeds the maximum circulating airflow, which is the upper limit of the setting range for the circulating airflow in the individual air purification unit, the circulating airflow of the individual air purification unit is set to the maximum circulating airflow, The ventilation airflow control means increases the target ventilation airflow, which is determined according to the overall air pollution level, in accordance with the circulating airflow deficit, which is the difference between the maximum circulating airflow and the target circulating airflow.

[0011] According to this configuration, in highly densely populated individual areas where the actual individual population density is greater than the standard individual population density estimated from the overall air pollution level, when increasing the target circulating airflow of the individual air purification unit in response to an increase in the excess population density standard, even if the target circulating airflow determined according to the excess population density standard exceeds the maximum circulating airflow of the individual air purification unit, the circulating airflow of the individual air purification unit will be limited to the maximum circulating airflow. Consequently, air purification by the individual air purification unit alone will be insufficient to suppress air quality deterioration, which can lead to increased risk of infectious disease transmission. Therefore, in cases where there are densely populated individual areas where the circulating airflow of the individual air purification unit is limited to a maximum circulating airflow that is smaller than the target circulating airflow, the target ventilation airflow of the overall ventilation unit is increased in proportion to the circulating airflow deficit, which is the difference between the maximum circulating airflow and the target circulating airflow in the densely populated individual area. Thus, the deficiency in the effect of suppressing air quality deterioration by air purification in the individual air purification unit in the densely populated individual area can be compensated for by increasing the ventilation airflow of the overall ventilation unit.

[0012] A third feature configuration of the present invention is the inclusion of a carbon dioxide concentration sensor capable of measuring the carbon dioxide concentration in the air within the indoor space, The overall air pollution detection means detects the overall air pollution level based on the carbon dioxide concentration in the air in the indoor space measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor. The aforementioned standard individual population density estimation means estimates the number of occupants in the entire indoor space based on the carbon dioxide concentration in the indoor space measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor, and calculates the standard individual population density by apportioning the estimated number of occupants in the indoor space to the individual areas.

[0013] The overall air pollution level of an indoor space can be determined by relating it to the carbon dioxide concentration in the air throughout that indoor space. Therefore, according to this configuration, the overall air pollution level detection means can detect the carbon dioxide concentration in the air throughout the entire indoor space, as measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor, or an index based on it, as the overall air pollution level. In this case, the standard individual occupancy density estimation means can estimate the number of occupants in the entire indoor space by a simple method such as dividing the carbon dioxide concentration of the entire indoor space by the carbon dioxide concentration that is thought to be generated per person. Furthermore, the standard individual occupancy density estimation means can calculate the number of occupants in the individual area by apportioning the estimated number of occupants in the entire indoor space to the individual area by a simple method such as multiplying it by the ratio of the floor area of ​​the individual area to the entire indoor space. Then, the standard individual occupancy density estimation means can calculate the standard individual occupancy density in the individual area by the number of occupants in that individual area itself, or the number of occupants per unit floor area obtained by dividing it by the floor area.

[0014] A fourth feature configuration of the present invention is the inclusion of a human presence sensor capable of measuring the number of people in the indoor space, The overall air pollution level detection means detects the overall air pollution level based on the number of people in the indoor space measured by the human presence sensor. The aforementioned standard individual population density estimation means calculates the standard individual population density by allocating the number of occupants in the indoor space, measured by the human presence sensor, to the individual areas.

[0015] The overall air pollution level of the indoor space can be grasped as corresponding to the carbon dioxide concentration of the air in the entire indoor space, and the carbon dioxide concentration increases or decreases according to the number of occupants in the entire indoor space. Therefore, according to this configuration, the overall air pollution level detection means can detect the number of occupants in the entire indoor space measured by the human presence sensor or an index based thereon as the overall air pollution level. In that case, the reference individual occupancy density estimation means can allocate the number of occupants in the entire indoor space to individual areas by a simple method such as multiplying the number of occupants in the entire indoor space by the floor area ratio of the entire indoor space of the individual area, etc., and calculate the number of occupants in the individual area. Then, the reference individual occupancy density estimation means can calculate the number of occupants in the individual area itself or the number of occupants per unit floor area obtained by dividing it by the floor area as the reference individual occupancy density in the individual area.

[0016] The fifth characteristic configuration of the present invention includes a human presence sensor capable of measuring the number of occupants in the individual area, The actual individual occupancy density detection means detects the actual individual occupancy density based on the number of occupants in the individual area measured by the human presence sensor.

[0017] [[ID=玖]] According to this configuration, the actual individual occupancy density detection means can detect the number of occupants per unit floor area obtained by dividing the number of occupants in the individual area measured by the human presence sensor by the floor area of the individual area as the actual individual occupancy density.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1] Schematic configuration diagram showing the common configuration of the ventilation air purification system according to this embodiment [Figure 2] Schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of the ventilation air purification system according to the first embodiment [Figure 3] Schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of the ventilation air purification system according to the second embodiment

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] It should be noted that in the above translation, for the tag <0>, it is translated as in the English text to maintain the consistency of the format. You can adjust it according to the actual situation. An embodiment of a ventilation air purification system according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a ventilation air purification system (hereinafter referred to as "this system") 100 according to this embodiment is configured as a system for performing ventilation and air purification of an indoor space R having a plurality of individual areas Ra and Rb.

[0020] In the indoor space R, a general ventilation unit 10 for exchanging the air in the entire indoor space R with outside air OA for ventilation is provided. The general ventilation unit 10 is configured as a ventilation device, an outside air treatment air conditioner, or the like. That is, in the general ventilation unit 10, the outside air OA taken in from the outside by the outside air intake fan 12 is supplied to the indoor space R, and the indoor air taken in from the indoor space R by the exhaust fan 13 is discharged to the outside as exhaust EA. The general ventilation unit 10 is provided with a control device 50 for the general ventilation unit for controlling the operation of the general ventilation unit 10.

[0021] In the exhaust duct through which the exhaust EA taken into the general ventilation unit 10 flows, a carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40 capable of measuring the carbon dioxide concentration of the indoor air in the entire indoor space R discharged to the outside as the exhaust EA is installed. That is, the carbon dioxide concentration measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40 corresponds to the average carbon dioxide concentration of the indoor air in the entire indoor space R. [[ID=十四]] [[ID=十五]]

[0022] [[ID=十六]] Each of the multiple individual areas Ra and Rb, which are part of the indoor space R, is equipped with an individual air purification unit 20a, 20b, which circulates and purifies the air in the respective individual areas Ra and Rb. These units are installed, for example, on the ceiling of the individual areas Ra and Rb. The individual air purification units 20a and 20b are configured as an air purifier 20A (see Figure 2) or an air conditioning unit with an air purification function 20B (see Figure 3), although details will be described later. Specifically, in each individual air purification unit 20a and 20b, indoor air RA is taken in from the individual areas Ra and Rb through a pre-filter 26 by a circulation fan 22, passes through an air purification filter 24 for filtration and purification, and the purified indoor air RA is returned to the individual areas Ra and Rb as purified supply air SA. The air purification filter 24 can be any filter that can remove infectious aerosols from the air it passes through, and can be a medium-efficiency filter or a HEPA filter (high-efficiency filter). It may also be charged to improve particle collection efficiency. Each individual air purification unit 20a, 20b is provided with an individual air purification unit control device 60a, 60b that controls the operation of the individual air purification unit 20a, 20b.

[0023] Each individual area Ra and Rb is equipped with motion sensors 42a and 42b capable of measuring the number of people in that area. For example, image-type or thermopile-type motion sensors capable of measuring the location and number of people can be used as such motion sensors 42a and 42b.

[0024] [First Embodiment] The detailed configuration of the ventilation air purification system of the first embodiment will be described below, mainly based on Figure 2. In the ventilation air purification system of this embodiment, individual air purification units 20a and 20b, provided in the respective individual areas Ra and Rb, are configured as air purifiers 20A that primarily perform air purification in the individual areas Ra and Rb. Furthermore, control devices 60a and 60b for the individual air purification units, which control the operation of the air purifiers 20A, are provided in the respective individual areas Ra and Rb. Furthermore, in each individual area Ra and Rb, an air conditioning device 30 such as a packaged air conditioner is provided separately from the air purification device 20A, and the air conditioning device 30 can be used to appropriately control the air conditioning of the individual areas Ra and Rb.

[0025] The control device 50 for the general ventilation unit, which controls the operation of the general ventilation unit 10, functions as a ventilation airflow control means 52 and a general air pollution level detection means 54, which will be described later, by executing a predetermined computer program.

[0026] The ventilation airflow control means 52 is configured to control the ventilation airflow of the overall ventilation unit 10, which corresponds to the amount of outside air OA supplied to the entire indoor space R, to a predetermined target ventilation airflow determined by a determination method described later, by, for example, adjusting the air output of the outside air intake fan 12 and the exhaust fan 13, or the opening degree of dampers (not shown) provided in the ducts leading to them.

[0027] The overall air pollution detection means 54 is configured to detect the air pollution level in the entire indoor space R as the overall air pollution level. Furthermore, the overall air pollution level of the indoor space R can be understood as corresponding to the carbon dioxide concentration of the air in the entire indoor space R. Utilizing this, the overall air pollution detection means 54 determines that the higher the carbon dioxide concentration of the indoor air in the indoor space R measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40, the higher the overall air pollution level. In other words, the overall air pollution detection means 54 detects the carbon dioxide concentration of the air in the entire indoor space R measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40, or an index based on it, as the overall air pollution level.

[0028] In the ventilation airflow control means 52, for example, the target ventilation airflow is increased as the overall air pollution level detected by the overall air pollution level detection means 54 increases. The target ventilation airflow is determined according to the overall air pollution level detected by the overall air pollution level detection means 54, and the ventilation airflow of the overall ventilation unit 10 is controlled to the determined target ventilation airflow. This suppresses the rise in the overall air pollution level of the indoor space R.

[0029] In each individual area Ra, Rb, the air purifier control device 60A, which controls the operation of the air purifier 20A, functions as a circulating air volume control means 62, a reference individual human density estimation means 64, and an actual individual human density detection means 66, which will be described later, by executing a predetermined computer program.

[0030] The circulating airflow control means 62 is configured to control the circulating airflow of the air purifier 20A, which corresponds to the amount of purified supply air SA supplied to individual areas Ra and Rb, to a predetermined target circulating airflow determined by a determination method described later, for example, by adjusting the air output of the circulation fan 22 or the opening degree of a damper (not shown) provided in the duct leading to it.

[0031] The reference individual population density estimation means 64 and the actual individual population density detection means 66 are means for estimating or detecting the individual population density, which is the density of people in individual areas Ra and Rb. In this embodiment, the population density is an index that indicates the number of occupants per unit floor area. The standard individual occupancy rate estimation means 64 is configured to estimate the individual occupancy rate in individual areas Ra and Rb as the standard individual occupancy rate from the overall air pollution level detected by the overall air pollution level detection means 54 of the control device 50 for the overall ventilation unit described above. In the standard individual occupancy rate estimation means 64, the number of occupants in the entire indoor space R is estimated based on the carbon dioxide concentration in the indoor space R measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40, for example, by dividing the total carbon dioxide concentration in the entire indoor space R measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40 by the carbon dioxide concentration that is thought to be generated per person. The number of occupants in the entire indoor space R is then apportioned to the individual areas Ra and Rb, for example, by multiplying the estimated number of occupants in the entire indoor space R by the floor area ratio of the individual areas Ra and Rb to the entire indoor space R, and the number of occupants in the individual areas Ra and Rb is calculated. The calculated number of occupants, or the number of occupants per unit floor area obtained by dividing it by the floor area of ​​the individual areas Ra and Rb, is then calculated as the standard individual population density for the individual areas Ra and Rb.

[0032] The actual individual human density detection means 66 is configured to detect the actual human density in individual areas Ra and Rb as the actual individual human density, based on the number of occupants in the individual areas Ra and Rb measured by the human presence sensors 42a and 42b. In the actual individual human density detection means 66, for example, the number of occupants in the individual areas Ra and Rb measured by the human presence sensors 42a and 42b, or the number of occupants per unit floor area obtained by dividing that number by the floor area of ​​the individual areas Ra and Rb, is detected as the actual individual human density.

[0033] The excess of the actual individual population density detected by the actual individual population density detection means 66 compared to the standard individual population density estimated by the standard individual population density estimation means 64 is called the population density standard excess range. This population density standard excess range serves as an indicator of the degree to which occupants in the indoor space R are concentrated in their individual areas Ra and Rb. The circulating airflow control means 62 determines the target circulating airflow according to the population density standard excess range, which is the excess of the actual individual population density compared to the standard individual population density, and controls the circulating airflow of the air purifier 20A to the determined target circulating airflow, for example, by increasing the target circulating airflow as the population density standard excess range increases.

[0034] For example, in this embodiment, with reference to Figure 1, we assume that the indoor space R contains a high-density individual area Ra where the actual individual density is greater than the standard individual density estimated from the overall air pollution level due to the concentration of individual occupants, and a low-density individual area Rb where the actual individual density is less than or equal to the standard individual density estimated from the overall air pollution level. With the configuration described above, for the low-density individual area Rb, the exceedance of the human density standard is 0, so the circulation airflow control means 62 sets the circulation airflow of the air purifier 20A to 0 or a predetermined minimum circulation airflow. Then, in the low-density individual area Rb, sufficient ventilation to maintain appropriate air quality is performed by the general ventilation unit 10. Furthermore, since there is no need to increase the circulation airflow of the air purifier 20A in the low-density individual area Rb, the decrease in energy efficiency that would occur with an increase in circulation airflow is suppressed. On the other hand, in the case of the highly densely populated individual area Ra, the circulating airflow of the air purifier 20A is controlled by the circulating airflow control means 62 to a target circulating airflow determined according to the excess amount of the human density standard. As a result, in the highly densely populated individual area Ra, in addition to ventilation by the general ventilation unit 10, sufficient air purification is performed by the air purifier 20A, and the deterioration of air quality due to the increase in actual individual human density, which is a factor that increases the risk of infectious disease transmission, is efficiently suppressed.

[0035] In the air purifier 20A, a maximum circulating airflow rate is generally set, which is the upper limit of the settable range for circulating airflow. In this case, the circulating airflow rate of the air purifier 20A can only be adjusted within a range below that maximum circulating airflow rate, and it is not possible to set a circulating airflow rate that exceeds that maximum circulating airflow rate. Therefore, in the circulation airflow control means 62 of the high-density individual area Ra, even if the target circulation airflow determined according to the above-mentioned excess range of human density criteria exceeds the maximum circulation airflow of the air purifier 20A, the circulation airflow of the air purifier 20A is set to the said maximum circulation airflow. The circulation airflow deficit, which is the difference between the maximum circulation airflow and the target circulation airflow, is transmitted from the circulation airflow control means 62 to the ventilation airflow control means 52. Then, the ventilation airflow control means 52 increases the target ventilation airflow by a larger amount the greater the circulating airflow deficit transmitted from the circulating airflow control means 62, and the target ventilation airflow determined according to the overall air pollution level is increased according to the circulating airflow deficit. With this configuration, in a highly densely populated individual area Ra, if the circulating airflow of the air purifier 20A exceeds the maximum circulating airflow determined according to the excess amount of human density criteria, the circulating airflow of the air purifier 20A is limited to the maximum circulating airflow. As a result, the air purification by the air purifier 20A alone is insufficient to suppress the deterioration of air quality, which is a factor in increasing the risk of infectious disease transmission. However, the target ventilation airflow of the overall ventilation unit 10 is increased in accordance with the above-mentioned circulating airflow deficit. Therefore, the deficiency in the effect of suppressing the deterioration of air quality by air purification by the air purifier 20A is compensated for by the increase in the ventilation airflow of the overall ventilation unit 10.

[0036] In the above embodiment, the overall air pollution detection means 54 detected the overall air pollution level based on the carbon dioxide concentration of the air in the indoor space R measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40. However, the carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40 can be omitted, and the overall air pollution level can be detected by another method. For example, the overall air pollution level of an indoor space R can be determined as corresponding to the carbon dioxide concentration of the air in the entire indoor space R, and this carbon dioxide concentration increases or decreases according to the number of people in the entire indoor space R. Utilizing this, the overall air pollution detection means 54 can be configured to detect the overall air pollution level based on the number of people in the entire indoor space R measured by all the motion sensors 42a and 42b provided in each individual area Ra and Rb. For example, the overall air pollution level detection means 54 determines that the overall air pollution level is higher the larger the total number of occupants in the indoor space R, which is obtained by summing the number of occupants measured by each of the human presence sensors 42a and 42b. In other words, the overall air pollution level detection means 54 detects the total number of occupants in the indoor space R, as measured by the human presence sensors 42a and 42b, or an index based on it, as the overall air pollution level.

[0037] Furthermore, the standard individual population density estimation means 64 calculates the number of occupants in the entire indoor space R by multiplying the number of occupants in the entire indoor space R calculated by the overall air pollution detection means 54 by the floor area ratio of individual areas Ra and Rb to the entire indoor space R, thereby apportioning the number of occupants in the individual areas Ra and Rb. The calculated number of occupants itself, or the number of occupants per unit floor area obtained by dividing it by the floor area of ​​the individual areas Ra and Rb, is calculated as the standard individual population density in the individual areas Ra and Rb.

[0038] [Second Embodiment] The detailed configuration of the ventilation air purification system of the second embodiment will be described below, mainly based on Figure 3. Note that some configurations similar to those of the first embodiment (see Figure 2) will be omitted from the explanation.

[0039] In the ventilation air purification system of this embodiment, the individual air purification units 20a and 20b provided in each individual area Ra and Rb are configured as air conditioning devices 20B, such as packaged air conditioners with an air purification function, which perform air conditioning for the individual areas Ra and Rb and have an added air purification function to perform air purification for the individual areas Ra and Rb. Specifically, the air conditioning device 20B is configured to take in indoor air RA from the individual areas Ra and Rb through a pre-filter 26 using a circulation fan 22, purify the taken-in indoor air RA by passing it through an air purification filter 24 and purify it by filtration, and also pass it through a temperature control coil 28 for temperature control, and return the purified and temperature-controlled indoor air RA to the individual areas Ra and Rb as purified and temperature-controlled supply air SA. Furthermore, an air conditioning device control device 60B that controls the operation of the air conditioning device 20B is provided in each individual area Ra and Rb as an individual air purification unit control device 60a and 60b that controls the operation of each individual air purification unit 20a and 20b.

[0040] The control device 50 for the general ventilation unit, which controls the operation of the general ventilation unit 10, employs the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above (see Figure 2). In each individual area Ra and Rb, the air conditioning control device 60B, which controls the operation of the air conditioning unit 20B, functions as a circulating airflow control means 62, a reference individual occupancy rate estimation means 64, an actual individual occupancy rate detection means 66, and an air conditioning circulating airflow rate determination means 68, which will be described later, by executing a predetermined computer program. The reference individual occupancy rate estimation means 64 and the actual individual occupancy rate detection means 66 employ the same configuration as those of the air purification control device 60A in the first embodiment described above (see Figure 2).

[0041] The circulating airflow control means 62 is configured to control the circulating airflow of the air conditioning unit 20B, which corresponds to the amount of purified supply air SA supplied to individual areas Ra and Rb, to a predetermined target circulating airflow determined by a determination method described later, for example, by adjusting the air output of the circulation fan 22 or the opening degree of a damper (not shown) provided in the duct leading to it. The air conditioning circulating airflow rate determination means 68 is configured to determine the air conditioning circulating airflow rate so that, for example, the indoor temperature of individual areas Ra and Rb becomes a predetermined set indoor temperature.

[0042] The excess of the actual individual population density detected by the actual individual population density detection means 66 compared to the standard individual population density estimated by the standard individual population density estimation means 64 is called the population density standard excess range. This population density standard excess range serves as an indicator of the degree to which occupants in the indoor space R are concentrated in their individual areas Ra and Rb. The circulating airflow control means 62 determines the circulating airflow for air purification according to the population density standard excess range, which is the excess of the actual individual population density compared to the standard individual population density, for example, by increasing the circulating airflow for air purification as the population density standard excess range increases. The circulating airflow control means 62 then determines the target circulating airflow by adding this circulating airflow for air purification to the circulating airflow for air conditioning determined by the circulating airflow for air conditioning determination means 68, and controls the circulating airflow of the air conditioning device 20B to the determined target circulating airflow.

[0043] For example, in this embodiment, with reference to Figure 1, we assume that the indoor space R contains a high-density individual area Ra where the actual individual density is greater than the standard individual density estimated from the overall air pollution level due to the concentration of individual occupants, and a low-density individual area Rb where the actual individual density is less than or equal to the standard individual density estimated from the overall air pollution level. With the configuration described above, in the low-density individual area Rb, since the threshold for exceeding the human density standard is 0, the circulating airflow control means 62 sets the circulating airflow of the air conditioner 20B to the circulating airflow determined by the circulating airflow determination means 68. As a result, in the low-density individual area Rb, sufficient ventilation to maintain appropriate air quality is performed by the general ventilation unit 10. Furthermore, in the low-density individual area Rb, there is no need to increase the circulating airflow of the air conditioner 20B relative to the circulating airflow for air conditioning, thus suppressing the decrease in energy efficiency associated with an increase in the circulating airflow.

[0044] On the other hand, in the case of the highly densely populated individual area Ra, the circulating airflow of the air conditioning unit 20B is controlled by the circulating airflow control means 62 to a target circulating airflow determined by the air conditioning circulating airflow determination means 68, plus the circulating airflow for air purification determined according to the excess amount of the human density standard. As a result, in the highly densely populated individual area Ra, in addition to ventilation by the general ventilation unit 10, sufficient air purification is performed by the air conditioning unit 20B, and deterioration of air quality due to increased actual human density, which is a factor that increases the risk of infectious disease transmission, is efficiently suppressed.

[0045] In this embodiment, the target circulating airflow of the air conditioning system 20B was set by adding the circulating airflow for air purification to the circulating airflow for air conditioning. However, for example, the larger of the circulating airflow for air conditioning and the circulating airflow for air purification can be set as the target circulating airflow of the air conditioning system 20B. That is, if the actual density of individuals is relatively low, and the circulating airflow for air purification determined accordingly is less than or equal to the circulating airflow for air conditioning determined by the circulating airflow for air conditioning system 68, the target circulating airflow will be set to the circulating airflow for air conditioning, and the circulating airflow of the air conditioning system 20B will be maintained at the normal circulating airflow for air conditioning. In this case, the air conditioning system 20B will perform normal air conditioning while also performing appropriate air purification. On the other hand, if the actual density of people is relatively high, and the circulating airflow for air purification determined accordingly exceeds the circulating airflow for air conditioning determined by the circulating airflow determination means 68, the target circulating airflow of the air conditioning unit 20B will be set to the larger circulating airflow for air purification, and the circulating airflow of the air conditioning unit 20B will be increased compared to the normal circulating airflow for air conditioning. In this case, the air conditioning unit 20B will perform air conditioning while adequately purifying the air to suppress the deterioration of air quality caused by the increase in the actual density of people.

[0046] [Another embodiment] Other embodiments of the present invention will now be described. Note that the configurations of each embodiment described below are not limited to being applied individually, but can also be applied in combination with the configurations of other embodiments.

[0047] (1) In the above embodiment, an index indicating the number of occupants per unit floor area was used as the degree of human density. However, other indicators may be used as the degree of human density as long as they show a larger value when the number of occupants is denser in the indoor space R or individual areas Ra, Rb. For example, an index showing the reciprocal of the minimum distance between occupants measured by the human presence sensors 42a, 42b in the indoor space R or individual areas Ra, Rb can be used as the degree of human density.

[0048] (2) In the above embodiment, a carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40 for measuring the average carbon dioxide concentration of indoor air in the entire indoor space R is installed in the exhaust duct of the overall ventilation unit 10 where indoor air taken in from each individual area Ra and Rb converges. However, the installation location of the carbon dioxide concentration sensor 40 can be changed as appropriate. For example, carbon dioxide concentration sensors 40 can be installed in multiple locations across each individual area Ra and Rb or the entire indoor space R, and the carbon dioxide concentration of the entire indoor space R can be obtained by averaging the carbon dioxide concentrations measured by all of these carbon dioxide concentration sensors 40.

[0049] (3) In the above embodiment, when the target circulating air volume of the individual air purification units 20a, 20b (air purifier 20A, air conditioning unit 20B), which is determined according to the excess amount of the human density standard, exceeds the maximum circulating air volume of the individual air purification units 20a, 20b, the circulating air volume of the individual air purification units 20a, 20b is set to the maximum circulating air volume, and the target ventilation air volume of the general ventilation unit 10 is increased according to the circulating air volume deficit, which is the deficit of the maximum circulating air volume relative to the target circulating air volume. However, this configuration for increasing the ventilation air volume of the general ventilation unit 10 may be omitted or modified as appropriate.

[0050] (4) In the above embodiment, the individual air purification units 20a and 20b were configured as fixed units fixed to the ceiling of the individual areas Ra and Rb, but they may also be movable units that can be moved and installed in the individual areas Ra and Rb as needed. Furthermore, as movable individual air purification units 20a and 20b, in addition to portable units that can be moved by the user's own power, self-propelled (robot-type) units equipped with self-propulsion means that can move on their own judgment or by external commands may also be adopted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 10 General ventilation section 20a Individual air purification unit 20b Individual air purification unit 20A Air Purifier (Individual Air Purification Unit) 20B Air conditioning system (individual air purification unit) 40. Carbon Dioxide Concentration Sensor 42a Motion sensor 42b Motion Sensor 52 Ventilation airflow control means 54. Means for detecting overall air pollution levels 62 Circulation air volume control means 64 Standard individual crowd density estimation means 66. Means for detecting the density of actual individuals OA outside air R Indoor space Ra Individual Area (High-Density Individual Area) Rb Individual Area (Low-Density Individual Area) RA Indoor air

Claims

1. A ventilation and air purification system comprising: a ventilation airflow control means for controlling the ventilation airflow of a general ventilation unit that ventilates the entire indoor space by exchanging it with outside air to a predetermined target ventilation airflow; and a circulation airflow control means for controlling the circulation airflow of an individual air purification unit that circulates and purifies the air in an individual area which is a part of the indoor space to a predetermined target circulation airflow, A total air pollution level detection means for detecting the air pollution level in the entire indoor space as the total air pollution level, A reference individual population density estimation means that estimates the density of people in the individual area as a reference individual population density from the overall air pollution level detected by the overall air pollution level detection means, The system includes a means for detecting the actual density of people in the aforementioned individual area as the actual individual density of people, The ventilation airflow control means determines the target ventilation airflow according to the overall air pollution level, A ventilation and air purification system in which the circulating air volume control means determines the target circulating air volume according to the excess amount of the population density standard, which is the excess of the actual individual population density relative to the standard individual population density.

2. If the target circulating airflow, determined according to the excess range of the human density standard, exceeds the maximum circulating airflow, which is the upper limit of the setting range for the circulating airflow in the individual air purification unit, the circulating airflow in the individual air purification unit is set to the maximum circulating airflow, The ventilation air purification system according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation airflow control means increases the target ventilation airflow, which is determined according to the overall air pollution level, according to the circulating airflow deficit, which is the difference between the maximum circulating airflow and the target circulating airflow.

3. The system includes a carbon dioxide concentration sensor capable of measuring the carbon dioxide concentration in the air within the aforementioned indoor space. The overall air pollution detection means detects the overall air pollution level based on the carbon dioxide concentration in the air in the indoor space measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor. The ventilation air purification system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the standard individual population density estimation means estimates the number of occupants in the entire indoor space based on the carbon dioxide concentration in the indoor space measured by the carbon dioxide concentration sensor, and calculates the standard individual population density by apportioning the estimated number of occupants in the indoor space to the individual areas.

4. The aforementioned indoor space is equipped with a human presence sensor capable of measuring the number of people in the room, The overall air pollution level detection means detects the overall air pollution level based on the number of people in the indoor space measured by the human presence sensor. The ventilation and air purification system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the standard individual population density estimation means calculates the standard individual population density by apportioning the number of occupants in the indoor space measured by the human presence sensor to the individual areas.

5. The system is equipped with a human presence sensor capable of measuring the number of people in the individual area, The ventilation air purification system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the actual individual occupancy density detection means detects the actual individual occupancy density based on the number of occupants in the individual area measured by the human presence sensor.

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