Ventilation fans and blowers

Abstract

Improve the energy efficiency of fans and blowers. [Solution] The ventilation fan 1 of the embodiment has an electric fan 20 driven by a motor 30, a power generation unit 60 that generates power based on the rotation of the motor, and a storage battery 70 that stores the power generated by the power generation unit.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a ventilation fan and a blower. [Background technology]

[0002] In the field of ventilation fans and blowers, research is being conducted to reduce electricity consumption. The higher the energy efficiency of ventilation fans and blowers, the better, and further improvements are desired. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 152850 / 1983 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to improve the energy efficiency of ventilation fans and blowers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the ventilation fan of the embodiment has an electric fan driven by a motor, a power generation unit that generates power based on the rotation of the motor, and a storage battery that stores the power generated by the power generation unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a ventilation fan according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a storage battery of the ventilation fan according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0007] (Embodiment 1) This invention can be applied to ventilation fans and blowers (electric fans, circulators). In this embodiment, the invention will be described as being applied to a ventilation fan. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a ventilation fan 1 according to this embodiment. The ventilation fan 1 includes an electric fan 20, a motor 30, a power generation unit 60, a storage battery 70, a control unit 80, and the like.

[0008] The electric fan 20 is driven to rotate by a motor 30 and blows the surrounding air in a predetermined direction. The electric fan 20 is attached to a wall, a window, etc. so that it can blow air from inside the room to outside the room or from outside to inside the room. The motor 30 is driven to rotate using a commercial power source as a power source.

[0009] The power generating unit 60 generates power based on the rotation of the motor 30 and charges the storage battery 70. The power generating unit 60 includes a generator 61 and a control unit 62.

[0010] The generator 61 rotates based on the rotation of the motor 30 and outputs AC power. The generator 61 is composed of a motor. The rotating shaft of the motor constituting the generator 61 is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor 30 by, for example, gears, a belt, or the like. The rotating shaft of the generator 61 rotates based on the rotation of the rotating shaft of the motor 30, and the generator 61 outputs AC power of, for example, 24V or 100V. The frequency of the AC power output by the generator 61 is determined by the number of poles of the generator 61, the rotation speed of the motor 30, the gear ratio of the gears, and the like. When it is not necessary to limit the frequency of the AC power output by the generator 61, the rotating shaft of the generator 61 and the rotating shaft of the motor 30 may be formed by a single common rotating shaft.

[0011] The control unit 62 converts the AC power output by the generator 61 to a predetermined voltage and charges the storage battery 70. The control unit 62 includes a rectifier 621 and a current driver 623.

[0012] The rectifier 621 converts the AC power output by the generator 61 into DC power. The rectifier 621 is composed of, for example, a capacitor, a diode, etc. The rectifier 621 supplies the rectified DC power to the current driver 623. The current driver 623 is composed of, for example, a DC / DC converter. The current driver 623 converts the input DC voltage into a voltage suitable for charging the storage battery 70. The current driver 623 may be a constant current source that supplies a current suitable for charging the storage battery 70.

[0013] 2 is a configuration diagram of the storage battery 70. The storage battery 70 has a first storage battery 72, a second storage battery 73, a first switch 74, a second switch 75, and a charge monitoring sensor 71.

[0014] The first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73 are, for example, lithium ion batteries. The first switch 74 is a circuit for switching the storage battery to be used. The first switch 74 selects the first storage battery 72 or the second storage battery 73 as the output of the storage battery 70 based on the control of the control unit 80. The second switch 75 is a circuit for selecting the storage battery to be charged by the power generation unit 60. The second switch 75 connects the output of the power generation unit 60 to the first storage battery 72 or the second storage battery 73 based on the control of the control unit 80. The first switch 74 and the second switch 75 can be configured with a FET (Field Effect Transistor), a relay, or the like.

[0015] The charging monitoring sensor 71 monitors the charging states (battery output voltage) of the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73. The charging monitoring sensor 71 can be configured with a voltage measuring device or the like. The charging monitoring sensor 71 notifies the control unit 80 of information as to whether the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73 are in a fully charged state (battery output voltage information).

[0016] The control unit 80 is a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory, an auxiliary memory, and an interface. The CPU executes various processes according to the programs stored in the auxiliary memory. The main memory has a RAM (Random Access Memory) and the like. The main memory is used as a working area for the CPU. The auxiliary memory has a ROM (Read Only Memory) and non-volatile memory such as a semiconductor memory. The auxiliary memory stores programs executed by the CPU, various parameters, and the like. The control unit 80 controls switching between the first switch 74 and the second switch 75 and controls charging to the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73.

[0017] The power stored in the storage battery 70 can be used for indoor lighting such as LEDs, charging a smartphone, etc. When used as an AC power source for a television or audio device, the DC voltage output from the storage battery 70 can be converted to AC voltage using a DC / AC converter.

[0018] Next, the operation of the ventilation fan 1 will be described. The rotation of the rotation shaft of the motor 30 of the ventilation fan 1 rotates the rotation shaft of the generator 61 of the power generating unit 60, and the generator 61 outputs AC power. The control unit 62 converts the AC power output by the generator 61 into a voltage and current suitable for charging the storage battery 70 (first storage battery 72 and second storage battery 73), and charges the storage battery 70.

[0019] When the storage battery is in a fully charged state, the output voltage of the storage battery tends to be high. The output voltage of the storage battery gradually decreases according to the remaining capacity. When the remaining capacity of the storage battery is exhausted, the output voltage of the storage battery tends to decrease suddenly. The remaining capacity of the storage battery can be estimated by focusing on the voltage characteristics of the storage battery. The storage battery 70 has a charging monitoring sensor 71 that monitors the output voltage of the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73. The charging monitoring sensor 71 notifies the control unit 80 of the values ​​of the output voltage of the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73.

[0020] The control unit 80 judges whether the output voltage of the storage battery 70 (first storage battery 72 and second storage battery 73) is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold voltage based on the output information of the charge monitoring sensor 71. The threshold voltage is set to a value of the output voltage when the storage battery 70 has a predetermined remaining capacity (for example, the remaining capacity is 90% or 95%) compared to when the storage battery 70 is in a fully charged state. When the output voltage of the storage battery 70 is lower than the threshold voltage, the control unit 80 controls the power generation unit 60 to charge the storage battery 70. On the other hand, when the output voltage of the storage battery 70 is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage, the control unit 80 controls the second switch 75 (or the power generation unit 60) so as not to charge the storage battery 70.

[0021] The control unit 80 monitors the charging states of the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73, for example, based on information on the output voltages of the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73 obtained by the charge monitoring sensor 71. When the first switch 74 selects the first storage battery 72, the control unit 80 controls the first switch 74 to select the second storage battery 73 when the output voltage of the first storage battery 72 falls below a predetermined threshold indicating a decrease in the remaining battery charge.

[0022] The control unit 80 controls the second switch 75 so that the storage battery not selected by the first switch 74 is charged. Furthermore, when the output voltage of the storage battery to be charged becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value indicating that the storage battery is nearly fully charged, the control unit 80 controls the second switch 75 so that the storage battery to be charged is not charged. In this case, the power generation unit 60 is in a state in which neither the first storage battery 72 nor the second storage battery 73 is charged. Alternatively, the control unit 80 controls the power generation unit 60 so that neither the first storage battery 72 nor the second storage battery 73 is charged. The reason for not charging the storage battery that is nearly fully charged is to reduce the probability of failure of the storage battery.

[0023] The ventilation fan 1 according to the embodiment includes a power generating unit 60 having a generator 61 that rotates based on the rotation of the motor 30 and outputs AC power, and a control unit 62 that converts the AC power output by the generator 61 into a predetermined voltage. The ventilation fan 1 according to the embodiment stores the power output by the power generating unit 60 in a storage battery 70. The energy supplied to the motor 30 is used as energy to rotate the motor 30. However, a portion of the energy supplied to the motor 30 is lost as thermal energy in the motor 30. By providing the power generating unit 60, the ventilation fan 1 according to the embodiment makes effective use of the thermal energy lost in the motor 30. This allows the ventilation fan 1 according to the embodiment to improve energy efficiency.

[0024] Moreover, the storage battery 70 of the ventilation fan 1 according to the embodiment has a charging monitoring sensor 71 that monitors the charging state of the storage battery 70. When the charging monitoring sensor 71 detects that the storage battery 70 is not fully charged, the power generating unit 60 charges the generated power to the storage battery 70. On the other hand, when the charging monitoring sensor 71 detects that the storage battery 70 is fully charged, the power generating unit 60 does not charge the generated power to the storage battery 70. In this way, when the storage battery 70 is not saturated, the power generating unit 60 converts the kinetic energy (rotational energy) of the motor 30 into electrical energy to charge the storage battery 70, thereby improving the energy efficiency of the ventilation fan 1. Furthermore, when the storage battery 70 is saturated, the power generating unit 60 does not charge the storage battery 70, thereby preventing smoke and fire accidents of the storage battery (battery).

[0025] In the above description, the control unit 62 is configured with the rectifier 621 and the current driver 623, but the configuration of the control unit 62 is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 62 may be configured with an AC / DC converter.

[0026] In the above description, the first switch 74 is used to select the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73 as the output of the storage battery 70. As another embodiment, the first switch 74 may not be provided and the outputs of the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73 may be used as they are. In this case, the second switch 75 is controlled by the control unit 80 so that the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73 are not charged when the first storage battery 72 and the second storage battery 73 are in a fully charged state.

[0027] In addition, in the above explanation, the case where there are two batteries has been described, but there is no need to limit the number of batteries. The number of batteries may be one, three, or four. The more batteries there are, the greater the storage capacity becomes, and the longer the operating time of the ventilator fan can be. When there is one battery, the first switch 74 and the second switch 75 shown in FIG. 2 are not necessary.

[0028] (Embodiment 2) In the second embodiment, the present invention is applied to a blower (electric fan, circulator). The configuration of the blower is the same as that shown in FIG. 1. In the case of a blower, the electric fan 20 is not attached to a wall or a window. The blower blows indoor air in a specified direction. The rest of the description is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0029] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the invention and its equivalents described in the scope of the utility model registration claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1. Ventilator 20…Electric fan 30…Motor 60...Power generation section 61...Generator 62…Control unit 621... Rectifier 623...Current driver 70…Battery 71...Charging monitoring sensor 72…First storage battery 73…Second storage battery 74…First switch 75…Second switch 80...Control unit

Claims

1. An electric fan driven by a motor; a power generating unit that generates power based on the rotation of the motor; A storage battery that stores the power generated by the power generation unit; A ventilation fan having

2. The power generation unit is a generator that rotates based on the rotation of the motor and outputs AC power; a control unit for converting the AC power output by the generator into a predetermined voltage suitable for charging the storage battery; The ventilation fan according to claim 1 ,

3. The storage battery has a charge monitoring sensor that monitors a charge state of the storage battery, the power generation unit charges the generated power to the storage battery when it detects that the storage battery is not in a fully charged state based on output information from the charge monitoring sensor, and does not charge the generated power to the storage battery when it detects that the storage battery is in a fully charged state. The ventilation fan according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The storage battery is A first storage battery; A second storage battery; A first switch for selecting the first storage battery or the second storage battery as an output of the storage battery; a second switch that selects the first storage battery or the second storage battery as a storage battery to be charged by the power generation unit; The ventilation fan according to claim 1 ,

5. An electric fan driven by a motor; a power generating unit that generates power based on the rotation of the motor; A storage battery that stores the power generated by the power generation unit; A blower having

6. The power generation unit is a generator that rotates based on the rotation of the motor and outputs AC power; a control unit for converting the AC power output by the generator into a predetermined voltage suitable for charging the storage battery; 6. The blower of claim 5, further comprising:

7. The storage battery has a charge monitoring sensor that monitors a charge state of the storage battery, the power generation unit charges the generated power to the storage battery when it detects that the storage battery is not in a fully charged state based on output information from the charge monitoring sensor, and does not charge the generated power to the storage battery when it detects that the storage battery is in a fully charged state.

7. The blower according to claim 5 or 6.

8. The storage battery is A first storage battery; A second storage battery; A first switch for selecting the first storage battery or the second storage battery as an output of the storage battery; a second switch that selects the first storage battery or the second storage battery as a storage battery to be charged by the power generation unit; 6. The blower of claim 5, further comprising:

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