JP7478982B2 - Air purification system and air purification method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an air purification system and an air purification method.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a purification method that uses a sound detection sensor to detect the location where a cough or sneeze occurs and then sprays an airflow containing a medicine toward the detected location.

JP 2019-150564 A

When a sick person coughs or sneezes, infectious substances such as viruses or bacteria, such as the influenza virus, are released from the sick person's mouth. If infectious substances are suspended in the air in high concentrations, people nearby will inhale a large amount of infectious substances at once, increasing the likelihood of contracting the disease. On the other hand, if the concentration of infectious substances is reduced, the amount of infectious substances inhaled by people will be reduced, making it harder for them to become infected with the disease.

The present invention aims to provide an air purification system and an air purification method that can effectively dilute infectious substances.

An air purification system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a blower unit that blows air, a detection unit that detects the position in a space where a cough or sneeze occurs, and a control unit that controls the blower unit, and the control unit controls the blower unit to blow the air according to the size of the space toward the position detected by the detection unit.

An air purification method according to one aspect of the present invention includes the steps of detecting a position in a space where a cough or sneeze sound is generated, and controlling a blower unit to blow air toward the detected position according to the size of the space.

Another aspect of the present invention can be realized as a program that causes a computer to execute the air purification method. Alternatively, the present invention can be realized as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium that stores the program.

The present invention allows for effective dilution of infectious substances.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air purifying device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the wind blown out by the air purifying device according to the first embodiment in a small space. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic view of the wind blown out by the air purifying device according to the first embodiment in a large space. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the air purifying device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air purifying device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the air purifying device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air purifying device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the air purifying device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of an air purification system according to a modified example of the embodiment.

The air purification system and air purification method according to the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that each of the embodiments described below shows a specific example of the present invention. Therefore, the numerical values, shapes, materials, components, arrangement and connection of the components, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Therefore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in the independent claims will be described as optional components.

In addition, each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily an exact illustration. Therefore, for example, the scales of each figure do not necessarily match. In addition, in each figure, substantially the same configuration is given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted or simplified.

(Embodiment 1)
[composition]
First, the configuration of the air purification system according to the first embodiment will be described.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an air purifying device 1 according to this embodiment. The air purifying device 1 is an example of an air purifying system, and is a device that integrally includes the components of an air purifying system.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air purifying device 1 includes a blower unit 10, a detection unit 20, and a control unit 30. The blower unit 10, the detection unit 20, and the control unit 30 are housed inside the outer housing of the air purifying device 1 or attached to the outside.

The blower unit 10 blows out wind 70. In this embodiment, the blower unit 10 blows out wind 70 with strong directionality. Specifically, the blower unit 10 is a circulator that blows out wind 70 that is highly linear along one straight line and does not spread much. The blowing direction of the wind 70 (hereinafter referred to as the blowing direction) means the straight direction of the wind 70.

As shown in FIG. 1, the blower unit 10 includes a wind direction adjustment section 11 and a wind speed adjustment section 12.

The airflow direction adjustment unit 11 adjusts the blowing direction of the airflow 70. The airflow direction adjustment unit 11 is, for example, a rotating table that rotates the orientation of the airflow unit 10 itself. Alternatively, the airflow direction adjustment unit 11 may be a movable louver provided at the airflow 70 outlet of the airflow unit 10. The airflow direction may be swung within a predetermined range. As long as the airflow direction can be changed, the specific configuration of the airflow direction adjustment unit 11 is not particularly limited.

The wind speed adjustment unit 12 adjusts the wind speed of the wind 70. A specific example of wind speed adjustment by the blower unit 10 will be described later. The wind speed adjustment unit 12 adjusts the wind speed of the wind 70, for example, by adjusting the rotation speed of a fan that generates the wind 70. The wind speed adjustment unit 12 is realized by a power supply and a control circuit that supply current to a motor that rotates the fan.

The detection unit 20 detects the position where a cough or sneeze sound occurs in a space. In this embodiment, the detection unit 20 includes at least one microphone. As shown in FIG. 1, the detection unit 20 includes a microphone array 21. The detection unit 20 detects the position where the sound occurred (hereinafter referred to as the sound source position) by the microphone array 21 detecting the cough or sneeze sound.

The microphone array 21 includes a number of microphones arranged in a predetermined plane. For example, the microphones are arranged in a ring shape, but they may also be arranged in a matrix. Alternatively, the microphones may be arranged in a line. The detection unit 20 detects the position of the sound source based on the phase difference of the sounds detected by each of the microphones included in the microphone array 21.

Whether the sound detected by the microphone array 21 is a cough or sneeze sound is determined by pattern analysis. For example, the detection unit 20 stores a cough or sneeze sound pattern in advance in a memory. The detection unit 20 compares the sound detected by the microphone array 21 with the sound pattern stored in the memory to determine whether the sound detected by the microphone array 21 is a cough or sneeze sound. The cough or sneeze sound pattern is a standard cough or sneeze sound pattern, but may be a cough or sneeze sound pattern of a specific person. For example, the detection unit 20 may store the cough or sneeze sound pattern of a user (e.g., a resident or a visitor) of the space in which the air purifying device 1 is placed as a comparison target. This can improve the accuracy of cough or sneeze determination. The detection unit 20 may also perform machine learning to determine the sound of a cough or sneeze.

Reflected sound can also be determined by pattern analysis. Since reflected sound varies depending on the material of the obstacle, a sample pattern of reflected sound may be stored in advance for each material of the obstacle. Alternatively, a sample pattern of reflected sound may be stored in advance for each candidate object that may be an obstacle, such as a wall, furniture, or home appliance in the space to which the air purification system is applied. Furthermore, the detection unit 20 may determine reflected sound by performing machine learning. By performing machine learning, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining reflected sound of coughing or sneezing sounds.

The microphone array 21 may have directionality in its detection range. Specifically, the microphone array 21 may have a strong detection range in the horizontal direction and a weak detection range in the vertical direction. This makes it easier to distinguish between sound reflected by an obstacle to be detected and sound reflected by the ceiling or floor.

In this embodiment, the detection unit 20 detects the size of the space after the microphone array 21 detects the sound of a cough or sneeze. The size of the space is, for example, the distance to an obstacle located on an extension of a straight line connecting the blower unit 10 to the sound source position.

The detection unit 20 detects the distance to an obstacle by using the microphone array 21 to detect the reflected sound of a cough or sneeze from an obstacle. The reflected sound of a cough or sneeze is quieter than the direct sound of the cough or sneeze and is detected after the direct sound. For example, the detection unit 20 detects the position where the reflected sound occurred, i.e., the position of the obstacle, based on the phase difference of the reflected sounds detected by each of the multiple microphones included in the microphone array 21. The detection unit 20 can detect the distance from the blower unit 10 to the obstacle based on the position of the obstacle and the position of the blower unit 10.

The control unit 30 controls the air blowing unit 10. Specifically, the control unit 30 controls the air blowing unit 10 based on the detection result by the detection unit 20. More specifically, the control unit 30 controls the air blowing unit to blow air 70 according to the size of the space in which the coughing or sneezing sound occurs, toward the position detected by the detection unit 20 (specifically, the sound source position). The specific adjustment of the air 70 by the control unit 30 will be described later.

The control unit 30 is realized, for example, by an LSI (Large Scale Integration) which is an integrated circuit (IC). The integrated circuit is not limited to an LSI, and may be a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. For example, the control unit 30 may be a microcontroller. The processor or microcontroller includes, for example, a non-volatile memory in which a program is stored, a volatile memory which is a temporary storage area for executing the program, an input/output port, a processor for executing the program, and the like. The control unit 30 may also be a programmable FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a reconfigurable processor in which the connections and settings of the circuit cells in the LSI can be reconfigured. The functions executed by the control unit 30 may be realized by software or hardware.

[Wind according to the size of the space]
Next, the wind 70 blown out by the blower unit 10 of the air purifying device 1 according to the present embodiment in accordance with the size of the space will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. As described above, the size of the space is the distance from the blower unit 10 to an obstacle. The control unit 30 blows out the wind 70 in accordance with the distance to the obstacle.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the wind 70 blown out by the air purifying device 1 in a small space 80. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the wind 70 blown out by the air purifying device 1 in a large space 81.

2 and 3, when a person 90 coughs or sneezes, a sound source position 91 is detected by the detection unit 20. On the extension of the straight line connecting the blower unit 10 (in this embodiment, the air purifying device 1) to the sound source position 91, a wall surface 82 or 83 that defines the space 80 exists as an obstacle. Therefore, the control unit 30 blows out wind 70 according to the distance D1 or D2 from the blower unit 10 to the wall surface 82 or 83. The distances D1 and D2 are obtained by the microphone array 21 detecting the sound of the person 90 coughing or sneezing reflected by the wall surface 82 or 83.

Obstacles such as walls 82 and 83 can diffuse the wind 70 blown from the blower unit 10 toward the sound source position 91. In other words, the shorter the distance to the obstacle, the easier it is for the wind 70 to diffuse, and therefore the greater the effect of diluting infectious substances. Conversely, the longer the distance to the obstacle, the harder it is for the wind 70 to diffuse, and therefore the less effective it is at diluting infectious substances. For this reason, the control unit 30 adjusts the speed of the wind 70 depending on the distance to the obstacle, thereby sufficiently diluting infectious substances.

For example, the control unit 30 increases the wind speed the longer the distance to the obstacle, so that the wind 70 reaches the obstacle at a certain speed or higher and is more likely to be dispersed by the obstacle. Also, the control unit 30 decreases the wind speed the shorter the distance to the obstacle. Even if the wind speed is low, the distance to the obstacle is short, so that the wind 70 reaches the obstacle at a certain speed or higher and is able to be sufficiently dispersed by the obstacle. By decreasing the wind speed, it is possible to suppress an increase in power consumption. In other words, it is possible to achieve energy savings while maintaining the effect of diluting infectious substances.

2 and 3, the distance D1 from the blower unit 10 (air purifying device 1) to the wall surface 82 is shorter than the distance D2 from the blower unit 10 to the wall surface 83. In the space 80 shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 30 controls the blower unit 10 to blow out wind 71 with a low wind speed. In the space 81 shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 30 controls the blower unit 10 to blow out wind 72 with a high wind speed. In other words, the wind speed of the wind 71 blown out in the narrow space 80 is lower than the wind speed of the wind 72 blown out in the space 81 which is larger than the space 80.

In addition, the control unit 30 may control the air volume based on the size of the space instead of or in addition to the air speed. For example, the control unit 30 may control the air blowing unit 10 so that the air volume of the air 71 blown into a narrow space 80 is less than the air volume of the air 72 blown into a space 81 larger than the space 80. Alternatively, the control unit 30 may control the blowing range of the air 70 based on the size of the space.

[motion]
Next, the operation of the air purifying device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the air purifier 1 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air purifying device 1 waits until the microphone array 21 of the detection unit 20 detects the sound of a cough or sneeze made by the person 90 (No in S10). During the wait, the air blowing unit 10 swings the air blowing direction, for example, so that the air 70 spreads throughout the entire space. Alternatively, the air blowing unit 10 may blow air 70 with the air blowing direction fixed in one direction. Alternatively, the air blowing unit 10 may stop blowing air 70.

If the microphone array 21 detects a cough or sneeze sound (Yes in S10), the detection unit 20 detects the sound source position based on the detected sound (S12). Next, the control unit 30 detects the reflected sound of the cough or sneeze sound by an obstacle, and detects the distance to the obstacle as the size of the space (S14).

Next, the control unit 30 controls the blower unit 10 to blow out the wind 70 according to the size of the space (S16). Specifically, the control unit 30 controls the blower unit 10 to blow out the wind 70 according to the distance to the obstacle.

[Effects, etc.]
As described above, the air purifying device 1, which is an example of an air purification system according to the present embodiment, includes the blower unit 10 that blows out air 70, the detection unit 20 that detects the position in a space where a cough or sneeze sound has occurred, and the control unit 30 that controls the blower unit 10. The control unit 30 controls the blower unit 10 so that the blower unit 10 blows out air 70 according to the size of the space toward the position detected by the detection unit 20.

As a result, air 70 is blown out in accordance with the size of the space, so that the appropriate air 70 can effectively diffuse infectious substances, and the infectious substances can be effectively diluted.

For example, the size of the space is the distance from the blower unit 10 to an obstacle located on an extension of a straight line connecting the sound source position.

This allows the diffusion of the wind 70 caused by the obstacles to be used to diffuse the infectious material over a wider area. This allows the infectious material to be more effectively diluted.

For example, the detection unit 20 further includes a microphone that detects sound, and detects the distance to an obstacle after detecting the sound.

This allows the direction of the obstacle to be detected based on the sound source position when the blower unit 10 is used as a reference, improving the accuracy of detecting the distance to the obstacle. As a result, an appropriate wind 70 can be blown out, effectively diluting infectious substances.

For example, the detection unit 20 detects the distance to an obstacle by using a microphone to detect sound reflected by the obstacle.

This makes it possible to exclude from detection objects reflected from objects (e.g., ceilings or floors) other than obstacles located on the extension line of the sound source position, and to accurately detect reflected sounds from obstacles located on the extension line of the sound source position. Therefore, since the distance to the obstacle can be detected with high accuracy, an appropriate wind 70 can be blown out to effectively dilute infectious substances.

Also, for example, the air purification method according to this embodiment includes a step of detecting the position in the space where the sound of a cough or sneeze occurs, and a step of controlling the blower unit 10 to blow air 70 according to the size of the space toward the detected position. Also, for example, the program according to this embodiment is a program that causes a computer to execute the air purification method.

This effectively dilutes infectious materials, just as in the case of the air purification system described above.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

The air purification system according to embodiment 2 is different from the air purification system according to embodiment 1 in the method of detecting the distance to an obstacle. Specifically, the air purification system according to this embodiment detects the distance using ultrasound. The following description will focus on the differences from embodiment 1, and the description of the commonalities will be omitted or simplified.

[composition]
First, the configuration of air purifying device 101 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of air purifying device 101 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, the air purifying device 101 differs from the air purifying device 1 according to embodiment 1 in that it includes a detection unit 120 instead of the detection unit 20. The detection unit 120 includes a microphone array 21 and an ultrasonic oscillator 121.

The ultrasonic oscillator 121 emits ultrasonic waves. Specifically, after the detection unit 120 detects a cough or sneeze, the ultrasonic oscillator 121 emits ultrasonic waves toward an obstacle located on an extension of a straight line connecting the blower unit 10 to the sound source position, based on the detected sound source position.

The detection unit 120 detects the distance by detecting the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves emitted from the ultrasonic oscillator 121 by the obstacle. In this embodiment, the microphone array 21 detects the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves. The detection unit 120 calculates the distance to the obstacle using, for example, the time from when the ultrasonic waves are emitted until when the reflected waves of the emitted ultrasonic waves are received, and the speed at which the ultrasonic waves propagate through the air (the speed of sound).

The microphone array 21 is the same as in the first embodiment, and has reception sensitivity not only in the audible range but also in the ultrasonic range. Alternatively, the detection unit 120 may have an ultrasonic receiver different from the microphone array 21. In this case, the microphone array 21 does not need to have reception sensitivity in the ultrasonic range.

[motion]
Next, the operation of the air purifying device 101 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the air purifying device 101 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, the process up to the detection of the sound source position (S12) is the same as that of the air purifying device 1 according to the first embodiment. After detecting the sound source position, the ultrasonic oscillator 121 of the detection unit 120 emits ultrasonic waves (S23). Specifically, the ultrasonic oscillator 121 emits ultrasonic waves toward an obstacle located on an extension of a straight line connecting the blower unit 10 and the sound source position. Since the air purifying device 101 integrally includes the ultrasonic oscillator 121 and the blower unit 10, the ultrasonic oscillator 121 emits ultrasonic waves toward the sound source position, and the ultrasonic waves are reflected by an obstacle located behind the sound source position (i.e., on an extension of a straight line connecting the blower unit 10 and the sound source position).

The detection unit 120 detects the distance to the obstacle as the size of the space by detecting the reflected ultrasonic waves from the obstacle (S24). Next, the control unit 30 controls the blower unit 10 to blow out wind 70 according to the size of the space (S16). Specifically, the control unit 30 controls the blower unit 10 to blow out wind 70 according to the distance to the obstacle.

[Effects, etc.]
As described above, in the air purification device 101, which is an example of an air purification system according to this embodiment, the detection unit 120 further includes an ultrasonic oscillator 121 that emits ultrasonic waves, and detects the distance to an obstacle by detecting the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves by the obstacle.

This allows the distance to an obstacle to be detected with high accuracy based on ultrasound, allowing an appropriate wind 70 to be emitted and infectious materials to be effectively diluted.

The detection unit 120 of the air purifying device 101 may detect the reflected sound of a cough or sneeze from an obstacle, as in the first embodiment, and further detect the distance to the obstacle based on the detected reflected sound. That is, the detection unit 120 may use the reflected sound of a cough or sneeze and the reflected ultrasonic wave to detect the distance to the obstacle. For example, the detection unit 120 may determine the average value of the distance detected based on the reflected sound of a cough or sneeze and the distance detected based on the reflected ultrasonic wave as the distance to the obstacle. Alternatively, the detection unit 120 may select one of the distance detected based on the reflected sound of a cough or sneeze and the distance detected based on the reflected ultrasonic wave as the distance to the obstacle.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, a third embodiment will be described.

The air purification system according to embodiment 3 is different from the air purification system according to embodiment 1 in the method of detecting the distance to an obstacle. Specifically, the air purification system according to this embodiment detects the distance using light. The following description will focus on the differences with embodiment 1, and the description of the commonalities will be omitted or simplified.

[composition]
First, the configuration of air purifying device 201 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of air purifying device 201 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the air purifying device 201 differs from the air purifying device 1 according to embodiment 1 in that it includes a detection unit 220 instead of the detection unit 20. The detection unit 220 includes a microphone array 21, a light emitting element 221, and a light receiving element 222.

The light-emitting element 221 emits light. After the detection unit 220 detects the sound of a cough or sneeze, the light-emitting element 221 emits light toward an obstacle located on an extension of a straight line connecting the air blower unit 10 to the sound source position based on the detected sound source position. The light is, for example, visible light, but may also be infrared light. The light-emitting element 221 is, for example, a solid-state light-emitting element such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) element, but is not limited to these. The light-emitting element 221 may also be a discharge lamp such as a fluorescent lamp.

The light receiving element 222 receives the light emitted from the light emitting element 221 and reflected by an obstacle. The light receiving element 222 is a photoelectric conversion element that generates an electrical signal according to the intensity of the received light. The light receiving element 222 is, for example, a photodiode, but may also be a phototransistor or a photomultiplier tube.

The detection unit 220 detects the distance by receiving light emitted from the light-emitting element 221 and reflected by an obstacle with the light-receiving element 222. For example, the detection unit 220 calculates the distance to the obstacle using the ToF (Time of Flight) method. Specifically, the detection unit 220 calculates the distance to the obstacle using the time from when the light-emitting element 221 emits light to when it receives the reflected light of the emitted light, and the speed of light.

[motion]
Next, the operation of air purifying device 201 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a flow chart showing the operation of air purifying device 201 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, the process up to the detection of the sound source position (S12) is the same as that of the air purifying device 1 according to the first embodiment. After detecting the sound source position, the light emitting element 221 of the detection unit 220 emits light (S33). Specifically, the light emitting element 221 emits light toward an obstacle located on an extension of a straight line connecting the blower unit 10 and the sound source position. Since the air purifying device 201 integrally includes the light emitting element 221 and the blower unit 10, the light emitting element 221 emits light toward the sound source position, and the light is reflected by an obstacle located behind the sound source position (i.e., on an extension of a straight line connecting the blower unit 10 and the sound source position).

The detection unit 220 detects the distance to the obstacle as the size of the space by detecting the light reflected by the obstacle (S34). Next, the control unit 30 controls the blower unit 10 to blow out wind 70 according to the size of the space (S16). Specifically, the control unit 30 controls the blower unit 10 to blow out wind 70 according to the distance to the obstacle.

[Effects, etc.]
As described above, in air purification device 201, which is an example of an air purification system according to this embodiment, detection unit 220 further includes a light-emitting element 221 and a light-receiving element 222, and detects the distance to an obstacle by having light-receiving element 222 receive light that is emitted from light-emitting element 221 and reflected by the obstacle.

This allows the distance to an obstacle to be detected accurately based on light, so that an appropriate wind 70 can be blown out to effectively dilute infectious substances.

The detection unit 220 of the air purifying device 201 may detect the reflected sound of a cough or sneeze from an obstacle, as in the first embodiment, and further detect the distance to the obstacle based on the detected reflected sound. That is, the detection unit 220 may use the reflected sound of a cough or sneeze and the reflected light to detect the distance to the obstacle. For example, the detection unit 220 may determine the average value of the distance detected based on the reflected sound of a cough or sneeze and the distance detected based on the reflected light as the distance to the obstacle. Alternatively, the detection unit 220 may select one of the distance detected based on the reflected sound of a cough or sneeze and the distance detected based on the reflected light as the distance to the obstacle.

In addition, since the spectrum of reflected light differs depending on the material of the obstacle, the detection unit 220 may detect the material of the obstacle by analyzing the spectrum of reflected light. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of identifying the reflected sound from the obstacle based on the detected material. Since the detection unit 220 can detect the reflected sound according to the detected material, it is possible to accurately detect the distance to the obstacle based on the reflected sound.

(others)
Although the air purification system and the air purification method according to the present invention have been described based on the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment.

For example, the blower unit 10 and the detection unit 20, 120, or 220 may be arranged at different positions in the space. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an air purification system 2 according to a modified embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the air purification system 2 includes a blower unit 10, a detection unit 20, and a control unit 30, similar to the air purification device 1 according to the first embodiment. The blower unit 10 and the detection unit 20 are arranged at different positions in the space 80. The control unit 30 is arranged outside the space 80, and the blower unit 10 and the detection unit 20 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other by wire or wirelessly. In this case, the detection unit 20 calculates the distance from the obstacle (specifically, the wall surface 82) to the detection unit 20 based on the reflected sound, and corrects the calculated distance based on the positional relationship between the blower unit 10 and the detection unit 20 to calculate the distance from the blower unit 10 to the obstacle.

The ultrasonic oscillator 121 of the detection unit 120 emits ultrasonic waves in the direction in which the obstacle may be present, taking advantage of the fact that the obstacle is located on the extension of the straight line connecting the blower unit 10 and the sound source position 91. For example, the ultrasonic oscillator 121 may scan the direction of ultrasonic emission using the sound source position 91 as the reference position. Specifically, the ultrasonic oscillator 121 may move the emission direction in a direction away from the blower unit 10 (a direction approaching the wall surface 82) with the direction from the detection unit 120 toward the sound source position 91 as the starting direction for scanning. This allows the ultrasonic oscillator 121 to detect an obstacle located on the extension of the straight line connecting the blower unit 10 and the sound source position 91 by ultrasonic waves. The same applies to the detection unit 220 that uses light.

For example, the detection unit 20, 120, or 220 may not include a microphone. The detection unit 20, 120, or 220 may include an image sensor that captures an image in a space to generate a moving image. For example, the detection unit 20, 120, or 220 analyzes the movements of a person included in the moving image by performing image processing. When a person coughs or sneezes, the detection unit 20, 120, or 220 detects the mouth of the person at the time of coughing or sneezing as the sound source position. In this way, the detection unit 20, 120, or 220 may indirectly detect the sound source position using an image without detecting the sound.

For example, the blower unit 10 may blow air that is less linear and spreads easily. For example, the blower unit 10 may be a device with a blowing function, such as an electric fan, an air conditioner, or an air purifier.

Also, for example, the obstacle does not have to be the wall of the room in which the air purifying device 1 is placed. The obstacle may be furniture or home appliances placed in the room. The obstacle may be any solid object that can reflect sound, ultrasound, or light.

Also, for example, the air purifying device and air purifying system may not need to detect the size of the space. For example, the air purifying device and air purifying system may store information indicating the size of the space in a storage unit in advance. For example, the air purifying device and air purifying system may store three-dimensional data of the space 80 or 81. The detection unit may identify the position of the obstacle by referring to the three-dimensional data based on the positional relationship between the blower unit 10 and the sound source position 91.

The communication method between the devices described in the above embodiment is not particularly limited. When wireless communication is performed between the devices, the wireless communication method (communication standard) is, for example, short-range wireless communication such as ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or wireless LAN (Local Area Network). Alternatively, the wireless communication method (communication standard) may be communication via a wide area communication network such as the Internet. Furthermore, wired communication may be performed between the devices instead of wireless communication. Specifically, wired communication is communication using power line communication (PLC) or a wired LAN.

In the above embodiment, the process executed by a specific processing unit may be executed by another processing unit. The order of multiple processes may be changed, or multiple processes may be executed in parallel. The allocation of components of the air purification system to multiple devices is one example. For example, components included in one device may be included in another device. The air purification system may be realized as a single device.

For example, the processing described in the above embodiment may be realized by centralized processing using a single device (system), or may be realized by distributed processing using multiple devices. Also, the processor that executes the above program may be single or multiple. In other words, centralized processing or distributed processing may be performed.

In the above embodiment, all or part of the components such as the control unit may be configured with dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or semiconductor memory.

Furthermore, components such as the control unit may be composed of one or more electronic circuits. Each of the one or more electronic circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

The one or more electronic circuits may include, for example, a semiconductor device, an IC (Integrated Circuit), or an LSI (Large Scale Integration). The IC or LSI may be integrated into one chip or into multiple chips. Here, we refer to it as an IC or LSI, but the name may change depending on the degree of integration, and it may be called a system LSI, a VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration), or an ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration). Also, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that is programmed after the LSI is manufactured can be used for the same purpose.

The general or specific aspects of the present invention may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, or a computer program. Alternatively, the present invention may be realized as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium, such as an optical disk, a HDD, or a semiconductor memory, on which the computer program is stored. The present invention may also be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

In addition, the present invention also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to each embodiment that a person skilled in the art may conceive, and forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of each embodiment within the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

1, 101, 201 Air purifier (air purifier system)
2 Air purification system 10 Blower unit 20, 120, 220 Detection unit 21 Microphone array 30 Control unit 70, 71, 72 Wind 80, 81 Space 82, 83 Wall (obstacle)
91 Sound source position 121 Ultrasonic oscillator 221 Light emitting element 222 Light receiving element

Claims (6)

A blower unit that blows out air;
A detection unit for detecting the location of a cough or sneeze sound in the space;
A control unit for controlling the air blowing unit,
the control unit controls the air blowing unit to blow the air according to the size of the space toward the position detected by the detection unit;
The size of the space is a distance from the blower unit to an obstacle located on an extension of a straight line connecting the position,
The detection unit further includes a microphone for detecting the sound, and detects the distance after detecting the sound.
Air purification system. The air purification system according to claim 1 , wherein the detection unit detects the distance by detecting a reflected sound of the sound by the obstacle with the microphone. The air purification system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the detection unit further includes an ultrasonic oscillator that emits ultrasonic waves, and detects the distance by detecting a reflected wave of the ultrasonic waves by the obstacle. The air purification system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the detection unit further includes a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element, and detects the distance by the light-receiving element receiving light that is reflected by the obstacle and is emitted from the light-emitting element. Detecting a location within the space where a cough or sneeze sound originates;
and controlling a blower unit to blow air in accordance with the size of the space toward the detected position,
The size of the space is a distance from the blower unit to an obstacle located on an extension of a straight line connecting the position,
In the detecting step, a microphone detects the sound, and then the distance is detected.
Air purification methods. A program for causing a computer to execute the air cleaning method according to claim 5 .

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