WO2013133642A1

WO2013133642A1 - Air purifier

Info

Publication number: WO2013133642A1
Application number: PCT/KR2013/001845
Authority: WO
Inventors: 배준형
Original assignee: 코웨이 주식회사
Priority date: 2012-03-07
Filing date: 2013-03-07
Publication date: 2013-09-12

Abstract

The present invention provides an air purifier. The air purifier comprises: a housing which is provided with a blower unit and a filter unit; a vision-allowing unit which is disposed on one side of the housing, has an opening formed to pass therethrough and is provided so as to switch to a transparent state or an opaque state by means of an electrical signal such that the user can check whether the filter unit has trapped any dust; and a control unit for effecting control in such a way that the vision-allowing unit switches to transparent or opaque if a signal is input.

Description

air cleaner

The present invention relates to an air cleaner, and more particularly, to an air cleaner that can directly check the dust collection state of the filter.

In general, an air purifier is a device for sucking contaminated indoor air to filter dust, odor particles, etc. contained in the air with a filter to purify the sucked air with clean air. The purified air is discharged again to the outside of the air cleaner, that is, the room.

That is, the air purifier is a device provided to purify the ambient air by inhaling and purifying the contaminated ambient air and then discharging the clean air to the outside.

To this end, the air purifier may include a blower for introducing the ambient air to discharge the purified air, and a filter for filtering dust, odor particles, etc. contained in the introduced air.

However, in the case of the conventional air purifier, it is difficult to visually check whether dust is collected through the filter of the purifier, so that users have a problem about air purification by the purifier.

In order to check whether the dust is collected, the user needs to directly check the filter by opening the cover of the cleaner, which is cumbersome and inconvenient.

Conventionally, in order to solve this problem, a pollution degree display window using a pollution degree sensor is shown to show the air pollution level of the surroundings, and shows that the purifier is reacting to such dust. However, since this method is indirect, the dust is directly purified. There is a need for a device that can show what is there.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the conventional problems as described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an air cleaner that can visually check the dust collection process of the filter unit by a simple operation while being kept in an opaque state so that the interior is not normally opened. It's there.

In another aspect, an object of the present invention is to provide an air cleaner that can be confirmed by the filtration process of the cleaner to ensure the reliability of the cleaner product.

As a technical aspect for achieving the above object, the present invention, the housing is provided with a blowing unit and the filter unit; and is disposed on one side of the housing, is provided with an opening formed through the transparent state by an electrical signal or Provides an air purifier including a visible portion that is switched to the opaque state is provided so that it is possible to check whether the dust collection of the filter unit; and a control unit for controlling the visible portion to be transparent or opaque when a signal is input.

Preferably, the visible portion may include a transparent window installed to seal the opening; and a liquid crystal film attached to one side of the transparent window and provided to be converted into an opaque state or a transparent state under the control of the controller. have.

Preferably, the user is provided with a function button to be operated, the operation unit formed on one side of the housing; may further include.

Preferably, the control unit, when the function button is operated can switch the visible portion to a transparent state for a predetermined time.

Preferably, when the function button is operated continuously, the controller may switch the visible part to the transparent state for a predetermined time when the last function button is operated.

Preferably, the operation unit includes a visible part operating button, and the control unit may switch the visible part to a transparent state when the visible part operating button is operated.

Preferably, the controller may maintain the visible part in a transparent state for a predetermined time after the visible part operating button is operated.

Preferably, the air purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a filter replacement display unit displaying whether or not the filter is replaced at a predetermined filter replacement time.

Preferably, the controller may switch the visible portion to a transparent state for a predetermined time when a filter replacement time is displayed from the filter replacement display.

Preferably, the air purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a pollution degree sensor for measuring the pollution degree of the filter unit, and the control unit receives a measurement value of the pollution degree sensor, and the measurement value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. In this case, the visible part may be switched to a transparent state.

Preferably, the control unit receives the time that the blower is operated, and may switch the visible part to the transparent state at a predetermined time when the blower is operated.

Preferably, the controller may switch the visible portion to a transparent state at predetermined time intervals.

According to such an air purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention, the visible part may be maintained in an opaque state so that the interior is not normally opened by the visible part, thereby providing an effect of visually confirming the dust collection process of the filter part by a simple operation. Can be.

In addition, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the filtration process of the cleaner is visually confirmed, thereby obtaining an effect of enhancing the reliability of the cleaner product.

In addition, according to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to switch to an opaque state or a transparent state by a simple operation, it is possible to obtain the effect of preventing the appearance of the product is degraded due to the internal perspective in normal times.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing an air cleaner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a view showing a cross section of the air purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the operation of the air purifier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Firstly, the embodiments described below are embodiments suitable for understanding the technical features of the air cleaner according to the present invention. However, the technical features of the present invention are not limited by the embodiments described or applied to the embodiments described below, and various modifications are possible within the technical scope of the present invention.

1 to 3 illustrate an air cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the air cleaner 100 includes a housing 110 including a blower 115 and a filter 113.

In addition, a front cover 111 having a suction port 116 for sucking indoor air is installed at the front surface of the housing 110, and a discharge port 117 is formed at the upper portion of the blower 115 to discharge purified air. Can be. However, the suction port 116 and the discharge port 117 are not limited to the illustrated shape, and various shapes may be applied without limitation as long as the air may be sucked and purified and then discharged to the outside.

The housing 110 is provided with a filter unit 113 including the plurality of filters, and a blowing unit 115 provided with a blowing fan 118 that sucks indoor air by rotational force and discharges purified air back to the room. ) May be included.

The filter unit 113 includes a plurality of filters, and the sucked indoor air may be purified while passing through the filter unit 113. The filter unit 113 may include a pre-filter 113a, a medium filter 113b, an activated carbon filter 113c, and a hepa filter 113d.

The prefilter 113a may be configured using an antibacterial material, and may remove relatively large dust, mold, hair, and pet hair. The medium filter 113b may be configured using an antibacterial material, and may remove medium dust, pet hair, and the like. In addition, the pre-filter 113a and the medium filter 113b are not limited to the above-described filter and may be formed of a combination of various filters. At least one of the pre-filter 113a and the medium filter 113b may be configured as a functional filter such as a yellow dust filter, an infant-only filter, a birdhouse-only filter, and a collector-only filter.

The activated carbon filter 113c may function to adsorb and remove tobacco smoke, volatile organic compounds, and other odorous substances as a deodorizing filter of coal or coconut shell.

The HEPA filter 113d can cleanly remove up to 99% of harmful substances such as harmful house dust, mites, viruses, molds, and contaminant dust having a particle size of 0.3 micron, which are contained in the incoming indoor air.

Air cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, to include the housing 110, the visible portion 130 and the controller 150 Can be.

The visible part 130 is disposed at one side of the housing 110 and has an opening 131 formed therethrough. The visible part 130 is converted into a transparent state or an opaque state by an electrical signal, thereby causing dust of the filter part 113 to be removed. It may be provided to check whether the collection.

That is, the visible part 130 is normally maintained in an opaque state so that the interior of the purifier 100 cannot be seen, and when the transparent state is caused by the electrical signal, the user may see dust in the filter part 113. The captured state can be directly visually confirmed.

In this case, the housing 110 may be provided with an opening 131 formed therethrough so as to check the filter portion 113. The opening 131 is not limited to the shape and position shown in FIG. 1, and various modifications may be made if the filter unit 113 may be directly checked through the housing 110.

The opening 131 may be formed at the front cover 111 of the housing 110, and is installed adjacent to the inlet 116 through which external air is introduced so as to easily check a process of filtering air. It may be provided.

Meanwhile, when a signal is input, the controller 150 may control the visible unit 130 to be switched to transparent or opaque.

That is, when the visible unit 130 receives a signal from the controller 150, the visible unit 130 may be maintained in an opaque state and then converted into a transparent state, or may be converted into an opaque state when converted into a transparent state.

As such, the air cleaner 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is maintained in an opaque state so that the inside is not normally opened by the visible part 130, and the dust collecting process of the filter part 113 by a simple operation. It can provide an effect that can be seen with the naked eye.

Accordingly, the filtration process of the cleaner can be visually confirmed to obtain an effect of ensuring reliability of the cleaner product.

In addition, it is possible to switch to an opaque state by a simple operation, it is possible to obtain the effect of preventing the appearance of the product is lowered due to the internal perspective.

On the other hand, specifically, the visible portion 130, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the transparent window 133 is installed to seal the opening 131, one of the transparent window 133 The liquid crystal film 135 may be attached to a side surface and provided to be converted into an opaque state or a transparent state under the control of the controller 150.

The transparent window 133 may be installed at the front or rear of the opening 131, and may be fixed to the opening 131 through the fixing member 112 provided in the housing 110. At this time, the coupling structure or material of the transparent window 133 is not limited and may be variously modified if it can see through the filter unit 113 through the opening 131, for example, made of a material such as glass Can be formed.

The liquid crystal film 135 may be attached to any one surface of the transparent window 133, and may be preferably installed inside the transparent window 133 to prevent wear.

The liquid crystal film 135 is a film that is converted to a transparent or opaque state by receiving an electrical signal according to the situation, the film is attached to the glass window of the conference room or bathroom. The driving principle of the liquid crystal film 135 is to bond liquid crystal molecules into a capsule to form a liquid crystal film, and then attach a special LCD film attached to a transparent film with a conductive film by using a glass plate. The switching can be determined as ON / OFF of power supply.

In addition, the transparent / opaque transition is such that when a current flows (power ON state), electricity flows between the two conductive films, and the polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) is aligned in a predetermined direction so that glass, film, or the like is formed. When the current is not transparent (when the power is OFF), the liquid crystal grains are randomly aligned and light is not transmitted, so that glass or film is opaquely converted.

Therefore, the liquid crystal film 135 applied to the embodiment of the present invention may be connected to the controller 150 which receives an electrical signal, and may be transparently or opaquely converted according to the signal of the controller 150. have.

That is, the liquid crystal film 135 is provided so as not to penetrate the aesthetics by maintaining the opaque state and not seeing the inside of the product in normal times, and when the user wants to see the filter unit 113 manually or automatically. The control unit 150 may be converted into a transparent state so that the dust collecting state of the filter unit 113 may be viewed.

On the other hand, with reference to the block diagram of Figure 3 looks at the operation of the air cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Air cleaner 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a function button 171 to be manipulated by the user, may further include an operation unit 170 formed on one side of the housing 110.

When the function button 171 is operated, the controller 150 may switch the liquid crystal film 135 to a transparent state for a predetermined time.

The air cleaner 100 may include an operation unit 170 including a power on / off button and a plurality of function buttons 171 (eg, air volume button, automatic button, mood button, etc.). The user may perform various functions by pressing the function button 171 as necessary.

At this time, the air purifier 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention performs the corresponding function when the function button 171 is operated, and at the same time the electricity to the control unit 150 so that the liquid crystal film 135 is converted into a transparent state. Can send a positive signal. For example, when the MOOD button of the operation unit 170 is clicked, the liquid crystal film 135 may be switched to a transparent state for a predetermined time and the mood lamp may be turned on.

Accordingly, the liquid crystal film 135 may be automatically switched to a transparent state without an operation for operating the visible unit 130 separately, and the filter unit 113 may be frequently used when various functions of the cleaner are operated. There is an advantage that can be seen.

The time at which the liquid crystal film 135 is switched to the transparent state may be arbitrarily set by the user, and when the function button 171 is operated, the controller 150 may be operated for a predetermined time.

In this case, when the function button 171 is continuously operated, the controller 150 may switch the liquid crystal film 135 to a transparent state for a predetermined time when the last function button 171 is operated.

That is, in order to turn on the air cleaner 100 and set various functions, the plurality of function buttons 171 may be repeatedly pressed several times. In this case, the operation of the continuous function button 171 is performed in this case. Only during the last operation, the liquid crystal film 135 may be converted into a transparent state, thereby preventing unnecessary waste of power.

On the other hand, the air purifier 100 has a visible part operation button 173 on the operation unit 170, the control unit 150 controls the liquid crystal film 135 when the visible part operation button 173 is operated. Can be configured to transition to a transparent state.

Accordingly, when the user wants to check the collection state of the filter unit 113 separately from other functions of the air cleaner 100, the liquid crystal film 135 is predetermined by pressing the visible part operation button 173. Can be converted to a time transparent state.

For example, the controller 150 maintains the liquid crystal film 135 in a transparent state only while the user operates the visible part operating button 173, that is, only while the user presses the visible part operating button 173. It can be configured to.

Also, as another example, the controller 150 switches the liquid crystal film 135 to a transparent state when the visible part operation button 173 is pressed by the user, and the liquid crystal film 135 when the visible part operation button 173 is pressed again. ) Into an opaque state. That is, one visible button operation button 173 can be configured to have an on / off function.

Meanwhile, in another embodiment, the controller 150 switches the liquid crystal film 135 to a transparent state for a predetermined time when the visible part operation button 173 is operated, and then automatically switches to an opaque state after a predetermined time. It may be configured to.

Meanwhile, the air cleaner 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a filter replacement display unit 180 indicating whether the filter is replaced at a predetermined filter replacement time.

The filter replacement display unit 180 is mounted inside the housing 110 to receive a signal by a pollution degree sensor (not shown) measuring the pollution level of the filter unit 113 to display a filter replacement time, or to set a predetermined time. When it is time to replace the filter, it can be displayed through the display window. In addition, the alarm may be activated with an indication of when to replace the filter.

In this case, when the filter replacement time is displayed from the filter replacement display unit 180, the controller 150 may convert the liquid crystal film 135 into a transparent state for a predetermined time.

That is, when the filter replacement is displayed or the filter replacement alarm is activated as described above, the liquid crystal film 135 is switched to the transparent state according to the electrical signal of the controller 150 for a preset time, and the filter unit 113 is automatically turned on. By passing through, the dust collecting state of the filter 113 can be confirmed.

On the other hand, although not shown, in another embodiment, the control unit 150 is configured to receive the measurement value of the contamination sensor, and if the measurement value measured by the contamination sensor is more than a predetermined value, the filter replacement display unit 180 It may be configured to directly convert the liquid crystal film 135 to a transparent state without going through).

Through this, when the degree of contamination of the filter unit 113 reaches the filter replacement level, the liquid crystal film 135 is automatically switched to a transparent state, so that the user can easily know the replacement time of the filter through the visible unit 130. do.

Here, the controller 150 may maintain the liquid crystal film 135 in a transparent state until the filter is replaced, or may repeat the liquid crystal film 135 in a transparent state and an opaque state.

On the other hand, in another embodiment, the controller 150 receives the time that the blowing fan 118 of the blower 115 is operated, the liquid crystal film at a predetermined time the blower fan 118 is operated It is also possible to convert the 135 to a transparent state.

That is, the controller 150 may check the dust collecting state of the filter unit 113 according to the operating time of the blower fan 118 so that the user can check the liquid crystal film (the liquid crystal film) at a predetermined time out of the operating time of the blower fan 118. 136) can be converted to a transparent state.

Here, the predetermined time for the control unit 150 to switch the liquid crystal film 136 to a transparent state may be set to correspond to the life of the filter, through which, during the filter replacement time according to the operating time of the blowing fan 118 The liquid crystal film 135 may be converted into a transparent state.

Meanwhile, in another embodiment, the controller 150 may convert the liquid crystal film 135 into a transparent state at a predetermined time.

That is, the controller 150 may convert the opaque liquid crystal film 135 into the transparent state at a time interval set by the user.

When using the air purifier according to one embodiment of the present invention, the visible portion is maintained in an opaque state so that the inside is not normally opened, and the dust collection process of the filter unit can be visually confirmed by a simple operation. The filtration process of the purifier is visually confirmed to obtain the effect of ensuring the reliability of the purifier product.

In addition, it is possible to switch to an opaque state or a transparent state by a simple operation, thereby obtaining an effect of preventing the appearance of the product from being degraded due to the internal perspective during normal operation.

While the invention has been shown and described in connection with specific embodiments so far, it will be appreciated that the invention can be varied and modified without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. It will be appreciated that those skilled in the art can easily know.

Claims

A housing having a blower and a filter;

A visible part disposed at one side of the housing and having an opening formed therethrough, the visible part being switched to a transparent state or an opaque state by an electrical signal so as to check whether dust is collected in the filter part; And,

A control unit which controls the visible unit to be transparent or opaque when a signal is input;

Air purifier comprising a.
The method of claim 1, wherein the visible portion

A transparent window installed to seal the opening; And

A liquid crystal film attached to one side of the transparent window and provided to be converted into an opaque state or a transparent state under the control of the controller;

Air purifier comprising a.
The method of claim 1,

The air purifier is provided with a function button operated by a user, the operation unit formed on one side of the housing.
The method of claim 3,

And the control unit switches the visible part to a transparent state for a predetermined time when the function button is operated.
The method of claim 4, wherein

The control unit, if the function button is operated continuously, the air purifier, characterized in that for switching the visible portion to a transparent state for a predetermined time when the last function button is operated.
The method of claim 3,

The operation unit has a visible part operation button,

And the control unit switches the visible part to a transparent state when the visible part operation button is operated.
The method of claim 6,

The control unit, characterized in that for maintaining the visible portion in a transparent state for a predetermined time after the operation of the visible portion operation button.
The method of claim 1,

And a filter replacement display unit which displays whether or not the filter is replaced at a predetermined filter replacement time.
The method of claim 8,

And the control unit switches the visible part to a transparent state for a predetermined time when a filter replacement time is displayed from the filter replacement display unit.
The method of claim 1,

Further comprising a pollution sensor for measuring the pollution degree of the filter unit,

And the control unit receives a measurement value of the pollution degree sensor and switches the visible part to a transparent state when the measurement value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.
The air purifier of claim 1, wherein the control unit receives a time at which the blower is operated and switches the visible part to a transparent state at a predetermined time when the blower is operated.
The method of claim 1,

And the controller switches the visible part to a transparent state every predetermined time.