Air cleaning system

Abstract

To provide an air cleaning system which can easily maintain cleanliness of the air even though contaminants are not discharged to the outdoors.SOLUTION: Air cleaning system 80 includes: air conditioners 20A, 20B; a plurality of air supply ducts 50 in which one end is connected to the air conditioners 20A, 20B, and in which a blowout port 50A provided at the other end opens to each of a plurality of chambers 72; an air cleaner 30 capable of discharging cleaning substances for cleaning contaminants to the plurality of air supply ducts 50; a control device 10 for controlling the drive of the air cleaner 30; and a sensor 40 provided at each of the plurality of chambers 72, and for detecting the contaminant amount in the air. The control device 10 drives the air cleaner 30 in the case where the sensor 40 has detected the contaminant amount equal to or greater than a predetermined value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air purification system. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 describes a central air conditioning system that maintains good air cleanliness. This central air conditioning system is equipped with pollutant sensors that detect pollutants in the living space, and when any of the pollutant sensors detects a pollutant level equal to or higher than a predetermined value, an air purification mode is executed. In this air purification mode, the ventilation volume of the room in which the pollutant level equal to or higher than the predetermined value is detected is increased. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-136770 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the technology of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the cleanliness of the air is maintained by replacing the air. In such an air conditioning system, it is necessary to exhaust pollutants to the outside. If there is a room without an air inlet, the pollutants generated in that room will easily be exhausted to other rooms or corridors through gaps in the building fixtures or vents, and spread throughout the building. For this reason, in such an air conditioning system, it is preferable to provide an air inlet for each room. However, when providing an air inlet for each room, it is necessary to provide an air conditioning path such as a duct that opens into the air inlet, which makes the configuration of the air conditioning system complicated.

[0005] In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an air purification system that can easily maintain the cleanliness of air without discharging pollutants to the outside. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The air purification system of the first embodiment comprises an air conditioning unit, a plurality of air supply ducts having one end connected to the air conditioning unit and the other end having air outlets opening into each of a plurality of rooms, an air purifier capable of releasing a purification substance to purify pollutants into the plurality of air supply ducts, a control unit that controls the operation of the air purifier, and sensors provided in each of the plurality of rooms for detecting the amount of pollutants in the air, and the control unit drives the air purifier when the sensors detect an amount of pollutants equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0007] In the air purification system of the first aspect, a purification substance for purifying pollutants can be discharged from the air purifier to the plurality of air supply ducts. When the sensors provided in each of the plurality of rooms detect an amount of pollutants equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the air purifier is activated.

[0008] As a result, the purification material is released into the room together with the conditioned air, purifying the pollutants. This allows the pollutants to be purified inside the room, making it easier to maintain the cleanliness of the air without having to exhaust the pollutants outside.

[0009] Furthermore, since pollutants can be purified within a room, pollutants generated in that room are less likely to be discharged into other rooms, corridors, etc. through gaps in fixtures or air vents.

[0010] The second aspect of the air purification system is the air purification system of the first aspect, wherein the air purifier has a switching mechanism capable of switching the air supply duct from which the purification material is released, and the control device controls the switching mechanism to release the purification material into an air supply duct connected to a room in which an amount of pollutants equal to or greater than a predetermined value has been detected.

[0011] In the air purification system of the second aspect, the purification substance is selectively discharged to the air intake duct connected to the room where the amount of pollutants detected is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. This allows for pinpoint purification of rooms where the amount of pollutants is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount. This allows for a higher air purification efficiency relative to the output of the air purifier compared to when the purification substance is discharged to all air intake ducts.

[0012] The air purification system of the third aspect is the air purification system of the first or second aspect, further comprising a return air duct that returns air to the air conditioning unit from an intake port provided in any part of the building having the plurality of rooms, and the air purifier is provided with a filter that collects pollutants contained in the air in the return air duct.

[0013] In the air purification system of the third aspect, the air purifier is provided with a filter that collects pollutants contained in the air in the return air duct, and therefore can remove the pollutants that remain unpurified by the purification substance, resulting in higher air purification performance compared to a configuration without a filter. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, it is easy to maintain the cleanliness of the air without discharging pollutants to the outside. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an air purification system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the control device according to the embodiment; FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a control device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing an air purification process according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, an air purification system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Components indicated by the same reference numerals in each drawing are the same components. However, unless otherwise specified in the specification, each component is not limited to one, and may be present in multiple numbers.

[0017] In addition, the description of the same configuration and reference numerals in each drawing may be omitted. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the object of the present invention, such as omitting configurations or replacing them with different configurations.

[0018] <Air purification system> As shown in FIG. 1, an air purification system 80 according to an embodiment of the present invention is formed by including a control device 10, an air conditioner 20, an air purifier 30, and a sensor 40.

[0019] The air purification system 80 is a system that purifies pollutants generated in each room 72 (any of rooms 72A to 72E) of a building 70 by adding a purification substance discharged from an air purifier 30 to conditioned air supplied from an air conditioner 20. In this air purification system 80, the control device 10 controls the air purifier 30 according to the amount of pollutants in the air in each room 72 detected by a sensor 40.

[0020] (Air conditioner) Air conditioners 20 (air conditioners 20A and 20B) are air conditioning equipment provided on the first and second floors of building 70, respectively, and include an indoor unit 22, an outdoor unit 24, and a remote control 26. Air conditioner 20 can air-condition multiple rooms with one indoor unit 22 and outdoor unit 24. The indoor unit 22 and outdoor unit 24 are connected by a refrigerant pipe (not shown).

[0021] In this embodiment, the air conditioner 20A on the second floor conditions the rooms 72A and 72B on the second floor, and the air conditioner 20B on the first floor conditions the rooms 72C, 72D, and 72E on the first floor.

[0022] One end of each of a plurality of supply air ducts 50 is connected to the indoor unit 22. The air outlets 50A at the other end of the supply air duct 50 connected to the indoor unit 22 of the air conditioner 20A on the second floor open to each of the plurality of rooms 72A and 72B. The air outlets 50A at the other end of the supply air duct 50 connected to the indoor unit 22 of the air conditioner 20B on the first floor open to each of the plurality of rooms 72C, 72D, and 72E.

[0023] Two air supply ducts 50 are connected to the room 72A on the second floor, and two air outlets 50A are provided. In this way, in the present invention, a single room can be provided with a plurality of air outlets 50A. Each air outlet 50A is provided with a louver (not shown).

[0024] The air supply duct 50 may be connected directly to the indoor unit 22, as in the case of the air conditioner 20A on the second floor, or may be connected to the indoor unit 22 via a chamber 54 or the like, as in the case of the air conditioner 20B on the first floor. Thus, in this invention, "an air supply duct one end of which is connected to an air conditioner" also includes an air supply duct which is consolidated and branched by a chamber 54 or the like.

[0025] Like the air conditioner 20A on the second floor, a return air duct 52 may be connected to the indoor unit 22. The return air duct 52 is a duct that returns air drawn in from an air inlet 52A provided in any part of the building 70 to the indoor unit 22.

[0026] Note that, like the air conditioner 20B on the first floor, the return air duct 52 may not be provided and the indoor unit 22 may directly draw air from the indoor space of the building 70.

[0027] In addition, louvers (not shown) are provided at the boundaries between each room 72 and between each room 72 and the corridor, etc., to serve as air circulation paths. These louvers can also be substituted by undercuts in the fixtures.

[0028] A remote control 26 is provided for each of the air conditioners 20A and 20B, and enables a user to input instructions to start and stop each of the air conditioners 20A, 20B and the air conditioning temperature. Alternatively, in the present invention, a remote control capable of controlling both the air conditioners 20A and 20B may be used.

[0029] Furthermore, the user can instruct the control device 10 to execute and stop control of the air purifier 30 via the remote control 26. That is, on the remote control 26, the user who uses the air purification system 80 executes operations for starting and ending the air purification program 13A (input of "instruction information" to be described later).

[0030] The remote control 26 also has a display screen. On this display screen, information (characters, graphics, buttons) for performing the various inputs described above is displayed. Note that the input of instruction information may be performed via a controller other than the remote control 26 (for example, a controller incorporated in the control device 10).

[0031] The air conditioner 20 may include an outside air supply duct, an outside air exhaust duct, a heat exchanger (not shown), etc. In this case, the user can also instruct the ventilation to be started or stopped via the remote control .

[0032] (Air purifier) The air purifier 30 is a device provided integrally with the indoor unit 22 or the chamber 54, and holds a generating device capable of generating a purification substance that purifies pollutants inside. When the air purifier 30 is operated, the purification substance is released into the air intake duct 50. The purification substance released into the air intake duct 50 diffuses into the room 72 together with the conditioned air.

[0033] Purifying substances generated by the generator include hydrogen ions, oxygen ions, other positive ions, negative ions, ozone, etc. The generator may be capable of generating one type of these purifying substances, or may be capable of generating multiple types.

[0034] The air purifier 30 may have a switching mechanism (not shown). The switching mechanism is a mechanism capable of switching the air supply duct 50 from which the purification substance is released. In other words, the air purifier 30 is provided with a switching mechanism, and thus can selectively release the purification substance to a room 72 designated by the control device 10, rather than to all rooms 72, under the control of the control device 10.

[0035] An example of the switching mechanism is a solenoid valve provided in each communication hole between the purification substance generation source of the air purifier 30 and each air supply duct 50. The air purifier 30 can release the purification substance to any of the air supply ducts 50 by opening and closing the solenoid valve provided for each air supply duct 50.

[0036] An example of the switching mechanism is a movable discharge nozzle. The air purifier 30 can discharge the purification material into any of the air supply ducts 50 by inserting the discharge nozzle into the air supply duct 50.

[0037] The air purifier 30 may be provided with a filter that collects pollutants. For example, in the air conditioner 20A, this filter can collect pollutants (pollutants that could not be purified by the purification substance) contained in the air in the return air duct 52. In the air conditioner 20B, the filter can collect pollutants contained in the air before it is sent from the chamber 54 to each supply air duct 50.

[0038] Moreover, such a filter may be provided separately from the air purifier 30. In this case, the filter is provided somewhere in the return air path of the air conditioner 20A or 20B after indoor air is sucked in from the return air duct 52 or the indoor unit 22 and before the air is released to the supply air duct 50.

[0039] (Sensor) The sensors 40 are air quality detection sensors that are provided in each of the rooms 72 (rooms 72A, 72B, 72C, and 72E) to which the air supply duct 50 is connected, and are capable of detecting the amount of pollutants in the air (the amount of pollutants per unit volume of air, i.e., the concentration). As the sensor 40, for example, a sensor that can detect the PM2.5 concentration, house dust concentration, etc. in the air, as well as the CO2 concentration, odor, air temperature, humidity, etc. can be used.

[0040] In addition, PM2.5 and house dust are examples of pollutants in the present invention. PM2.5 includes carbon components, nitrates, sulfates, ammonium salts, as well as inorganic elements such as silicon, sodium, and aluminum, but also includes particles with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less. House dust includes mites, mold, bacteria, pollen, etc.

[0041] Moreover, odor-causing substances are an example of pollutants in the present invention. In this embodiment, an embodiment in which the sensor 40 can detect air temperature, humidity, and the like in addition to various pollutants has been described, but the sensor in the present invention may be one that can detect at least one type of pollutant.

[0042] It is not necessary to provide the sensor 40 in all rooms of the building 70. For example, the sensor 40 is not provided in the room 72D. For example, the sensor 40 may not be provided in a room where pollutants are unlikely to be generated, such as a warehouse. In addition, a purification substance may or may not be discharged into such a room 72D.

[0043] <Control device> The control device 10 is a device that controls the operation of the air purifier 30 to emit a purification substance and purify the pollutants when a predetermined amount or more of pollutants are generated in the room 72. Note that, although the control device 10 is provided separately from the remote control 26 in Fig. 1, they may be integrated together. The control device 10 may also be incorporated into a HEMS (Home Energy Management System) controller of the building 70.

[0044] (Electrical configuration of the control device) 2, the control device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit: processor) 11, a memory 12 as a temporary storage area, a non-volatile storage unit 13, a medium read / write device (R / W) 16, a communication interface (I / F) unit 18, and an external I / F unit 19. The CPU 11, the memory 12, the storage unit 13, the medium read / write device 16, the communication I / F unit 18, and the external I / F unit 19 are connected to each other via a bus B1. The medium read / write device 16 reads information written in a recording medium 17 and writes information to the recording medium 17.

[0045] (Storage part) The storage unit 13 is realized by an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flash memory, etc. An air purification program 13A is stored in the storage unit 13 as a storage medium. The air purification program 13A is stored in the storage unit 13 by setting a recording medium 17, on which the air purification program 13A is written, in the medium reading and writing device 16, and the medium reading and writing device 16 reading the air purification program 13A from the recording medium 17. The CPU 11 reads the air purification program 13A from the storage unit 13 and expands it in the memory 12, and sequentially executes the processes of the air purification program 13A.

[0046] A purification substance database 13B is stored in the memory unit 13. The purification substance database 13B stores a correspondence relationship between the purification substance that can be released from the air purifier 30 and the pollutants that can be purified by the purification substance. In addition, the purification substance database 13B stores, for each pollutant, a pollutant amount that is a threshold value by which the control unit 11C described later determines whether or not to release the purification substance.

[0047] (Functional configuration of the control device) Next, the functional configuration of the control device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 2, the control device 10 includes a detection information acquisition unit 11A, an input information acquisition unit 11B, and a control unit 11C. The CPU 11 of the control device 10 executes an air purification program 13A to function as the detection information acquisition unit 11A, the input information acquisition unit 11B, and the control unit 11C.

[0048] 3, the control device 10 is connected to the sensor 40, the remote control 26, and the air purifier 30 via the external I / F unit 19. The control device 10 may be connected to the sensor 40, the remote control 26, and the air purifier 30 via the communication I / F unit 18.

[0049] (Detection information acquisition unit) The detection information acquisition unit 11A acquires detection information from each sensor 40. Specifically, when a sensor 40 detects a pollutant in the air, the detection information acquisition unit 11A acquires the type of the pollutant and the amount of the pollutant.

[0050] (Input information acquisition section) The input information acquisition unit 11B detects input information input by the user via the remote control 26. This input information includes "instruction information" for starting and ending the air purification program 13A.

[0051] (Control unit) When the sensor 40 in any of the rooms 72 detects an amount of pollutants equal to or greater than a predetermined value and the detection information acquisition unit 11A acquires the information, the control unit 11C drives the air purifier 30. That is, the control unit 11C determines whether the amount of pollutants acquired by the detection information acquisition unit 11A is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. When the amount of pollutants is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the control unit 11C drives the air purifier 30 to release a purification substance.

[0052] For example, when the sensor 40 in the room 72A shown in FIG. 1 detects the pollutant D in the room 72A and the concentration of the pollutant D in the room 72A is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a purification substance is released from the air purifier 30 and a purification substance C is released from each air outlet 50A.

[0053] If the air purifier 30 is equipped with a switching mechanism, the control device 10 can control the switching mechanism to discharge the purification material to the air supply duct 50 connected to the room 72A where a pollutant amount equal to or greater than a predetermined value has been detected. At this time, the purification material C is discharged only from the air outlet 50A that opens into the room 72A.

[0054] Here, the "predetermined value" determined by the control unit 11C is a threshold value stored in the purification substance database 13B. When the sensor 40 of any of the chambers 72 detects an amount of pollutants equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the control unit 11C reads out the purification substance database 13B and determines whether the detected amount of pollutants is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

[0055] <effect> Next, the operation of air purification system 80 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. In response to an execution instruction from the user via remote control 26, CPU 11 of control device 10 executes air purification program 13A, thereby executing the fragrance control process shown in Fig. 4.

[0056] (Air purification treatment) When the air purification process is started, in step S102, the CPU 11 determines whether or not detection information has been acquired. When the CPU 11 acquires detection information from any of the sensors 40, the process proceeds to step S104. When a negative determination is made in step S102, step S102 is repeated to wait for acquisition of detection information.

[0057] In step S104, the CPU 11 reads out the purification substance database 13B and judges whether the detected amount of pollutants is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If the judgment in step S104 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S106. On the other hand, if the judgment in step S104 is negative, the process proceeds to step S114.

[0058] In step S106, CPU 11 drives air purifier 30 to release the purification substance into air intake duct 50. At this time, if air purifier 30 is provided with a switching mechanism, CPU 11 controls the switching mechanism to release the purification substance into air intake duct 50 connected to room 72 in which a pollutant amount equal to or greater than a predetermined value has been detected. After step S106, the process proceeds to step S108.

[0059] In step S108, the CPU 11 acquires the detection information. After step S108, the process proceeds to step S110, where the purification substance database 13B is read out to determine whether the detected amount of pollutants is less than a predetermined value. If the determination in step S110 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S112. On the other hand, if the determination in step S110 is negative, the process returns to step S108.

[0060] In step S112, the CPU 11 stops driving the air purifier 30. After step S112, the process proceeds to step S114.

[0061] In step S114, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the timing to end the air purification process has arrived, and if the determination is affirmative, the air purification process is ended. As one example, this end timing arrives in response to a user input via the remote control 26 (an instruction to end the air purification process or an instruction to end the air conditioning control of the air conditioner 20). If the determination is negative in step S110, the process returns to step S102.

[0062] <Effects> In the air purification system 80 according to the embodiment of the present invention, a purification substance for purifying pollutants can be discharged from the air purifier 30 to the plurality of air supply ducts 50. When the sensors 40 provided in each of the plurality of rooms 72 detect an amount of pollutants equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the air purifier 30 is driven.

[0063] As a result, the purification material is released into the room together with the conditioned air, purifying the pollutants. This allows the pollutants to be purified inside the room, making it easier to maintain the cleanliness of the air without having to exhaust the pollutants outside.

[0064] In addition, since pollutants can be purified within the room, pollutants generated in the room 72 are unlikely to be discharged into other rooms, corridors, etc. through gaps in fixtures or air vents.

[0065] Furthermore, in the air purification system 80 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the air purifier 30 may have a switching mechanism capable of switching the air intake duct 50 into which the purification substance is discharged. In this case, the purification substance can be selectively discharged into the air intake duct connected to the room 72 in which a pollutant amount equal to or greater than a predetermined value has been detected.

[0066] This allows for pinpoint purification of rooms where a certain amount of pollutants is present, thereby increasing the air purification efficiency relative to the output of the air purifier 30, compared to when the purification material is released to all of the air intake ducts 50.

[0067] In the air purification system 80 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the air purifier 30 may include a filter that collects pollutants contained in the air in the return air duct 58, etc. In this case, it is possible to remove the pollutants that have not been purified by the purification substance. This results in higher air purification performance compared to a configuration without a filter.

[0068] <Other embodiments> In the above embodiment, the air purifier 30 is provided integrally with the indoor unit 22 and the chamber 54, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the air purifier 30 may be provided separately from the indoor unit 22 and the chamber 54 as long as it can release the purification material into each air supply duct 50.

[0069] The air purifier 30 may also have a moisture releasing function. In this case, the purification substance is released while being supported by water molecules, thereby improving purification efficiency.

[0070] Alternatively, the air purifier 30 may be capable of emitting water molecules (including steam) separately from the purification material. In this case, the control device 10 controls the operation of the air purifier 30 according to the humidity of the room 72 detected by the sensor 40, thereby adjusting the humidity in the room.

[0071] In the above embodiment, for example, the hardware structure of the processing unit that executes each process of the detection information acquisition unit 11A, the input information acquisition unit 11B, and the control unit 11C may be the various processors shown below. As described above, the various processors include a CPU, which is a general-purpose processor that executes software (programs) and functions as a processing unit, as well as a programmable logic device (PLD), which is a processor whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacture such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a dedicated electric circuit, which is a processor having a circuit configuration designed specifically for executing a specific process such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc.

[0072] The processing unit may be configured with one of these various processors, or may be configured with a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (for example, a combination of multiple FPGAs, or a combination of a CPU and an FPGA).The processing unit may also be configured with a single processor.

[0073] As an example of configuring the processing unit with one processor, first, there is a form in which one processor is configured with a combination of one or more CPUs and software, as represented by computers such as client and server, and this processor functions as the processing unit. Second, there is a form in which a processor is used that realizes the functions of the entire system including the processing unit with one IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, as represented by System On Chip (SoC), etc. In this way, the processing unit is configured using one or more of the above various processors as a hardware structure.

[0074] Furthermore, as the hardware structure of these various processors, more specifically, an electric circuit combining circuit elements such as semiconductor elements can be used. Thus, the present invention can be embodied in various forms. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 10 Control device 20 Air conditioner 20A air conditioner 20B Air conditioner 30. Air Purifier 40 Sensors 50 Air supply duct 50A outlet 52 Return air duct 52A Inlet 58 Return Air Duct 70 Building 72 rooms Room 72A Room 72B Room 72C 72D E 80 Air Purification System

Claims

1. An air conditioner; a plurality of air supply ducts each having one end connected to the air conditioning device and having an air outlet provided at the other end that opens into each of a plurality of rooms; an air purifier capable of discharging a purification substance for purifying pollutants into the plurality of air supply ducts; A control device for controlling the operation of the air purifier; a sensor provided in each of the plurality of chambers for detecting an amount of pollutants in the air; Equipped with The control device includes: When the sensor detects an amount of pollutants equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the air purifier is driven. Air purification system.

2. The air purifier comprises: A switching mechanism is provided for switching the air supply duct through which the purification material is discharged, The control device includes:

2. The air purification system of claim 1, wherein the switching mechanism is controlled to release the purification material into an air supply duct connected to a room in which a pollutant amount equal to or greater than a predetermined value has been detected.

3. A return air duct is provided for returning air to the air conditioning device from an intake port provided in any part of the building having the plurality of rooms, The air purifier is provided with a filter that captures contaminants contained in the air in the return air duct.

3. An air purification system according to claim 1 or 2.

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