JPH0792236B2 - Aroma generator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an aroma generating device that can be used for controlling the odor environment of a living space such as an office building.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, with the spread of office buildings, especially intelligent buildings, many OA devices such as computers have been introduced in the workplaces of such buildings to cope with informationization and internationalization. Are required to process a large amount of flooding information accurately and speedily, and so-called techno-stress caused by extreme tension is becoming a social problem.

On the other hand, natural essential oil (essential oil), which is often used as a material for fragrances, has been widely used as a therapeutic drug with efficacy and effects in traditional therapy since ancient times.
In recent years, for example, it has been recognized that a terpene compound such as pinene contained in the forest's spirit refreshes the mood by being exposed to the forest's energy called phytoncide, such as "forest bathing". As one of the methods for relieving stress such as stress, it is considered to take an aromatic substance into the body, and it has been proposed to use psychologically and physiologically by active control of aroma called aromacology.

Also, as the need for improving the living environment increases,
As playfulness has been demanded, the use of scents for corporate image, and the use of scents for production according to programs at shows and convention centers have begun to attract attention.

Therefore, conventionally, a small fragrance generating device has been installed as a means for flowing a scent in an office or the like, and a scent is forcibly discharged by a fan.

However, with such a method, the effect of diffusing the scent is small, and the effect can be obtained almost only in the vicinity, and it is necessary to secure the installation space of the scent generating device independently, and further, the unique control and maintenance etc. It was troublesome.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such inconvenience, by combining it with an air conditioner installed in office buildings, etc., it is possible to use a blower of an air conditioner to forcibly generate perfume and obtain a large diffusion effect, and install it. The fragrance generator built into the air conditioner that does not require a separate space was first proposed.

(JP-A 1-127828) JP-A 1-127828 discloses that a fragrance spray nozzle is provided in the air flow passage of an air conditioner equipped with a heat exchanger and a blower, and a liquid fragrance is used in the fragrance spray nozzle. And a spray amount control valve provided in the same pipe and controlled by a control unit, the opening and closing of the spray amount control valve and the opening degree of the spray amount control valve through the control unit. The liquid perfume in the liquid perfume cylinder is sprayed into the air flow passage of the air conditioner through the pipe and the spray nozzle by controlling the air conditioner, and the injected perfume is mixed with the conditioned air by the air conditioner to be blown into the air-conditioned space. To be distributed evenly throughout the space.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

In the conventional example, the fragrance spray nozzle is installed in the air flow passage of the air conditioner, the liquid fragrance cylinder is installed separately in the machine room, and the liquid fragrance cylinder and the fragrance spray nozzle are connected by a pipe, and this pipe Since the spray amount control valve was installed on the way, it required piping equipment and space, and it was difficult to install it in anything other than a large-scale air conditioner equipped with a machine room, etc., and the range of use was limited. .

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the inconvenience of the conventional example, and when incorporated into an air conditioner, the structure is simple, no piping space is required, and the installation space is small, and it can be easily incorporated into an existing air conditioner. An object of the present invention is to provide an aroma generating device which can be applied and has a wide range of application.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention constitutes a scent control unit by storing a fragrance container having a nozzle, a control unit for controlling the spray amount, and a spray switch connected to the control unit in a scent control unit box. The gist is that the tip of the spray nozzle is projected from the scent control unit box and opened in the air flow passage of the air conditioner.

[Action]

According to the present invention, the fragrance container, the control unit for controlling the spray amount and the switch for spraying, the spray nozzles are collectively stored in the scent control unit box, and the tip of the spray nozzle is projected from the scent control unit box.
The fragrance control unit box allows the fragrance generator to be compactly assembled as a unit, and by simply attaching this unit box to the air conditioner so that the spray nozzle tip opens into the air flow passage of the air conditioner,
The sprayed fragrance can be mixed into the conditioned air by the air conditioner, and the fragrance can be uniformly distributed in the entire air-conditioned space.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a scent control unit showing an essential part of one embodiment of an aroma generating device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of an air conditioner incorporating the scent control unit, and FIG. In the vertical side view, the case where it is implemented in an office space of an office building will be described below. The overall configuration of the air conditioner will be described below. In the figure, 1 indicates an air conditioner installed in an office space 2 of an office building. The air conditioner 1 is, for example, a fan coil unit provided with a filter 4 on a return port 3 formed on the front surface of the case 1a, and a heat exchanger 5 by a coil and a blower 6 are sequentially arranged in the case 1a behind the filter 4. The fan motor 7 installed above the case 1a is connected to the blower 6, and the blower outlet 8 is formed above the blower 6.

Further, reference numeral 9 in the figure denotes an air conditioner control device, which is an office space 2
A thermostat 10 for temperature detection and a humidistat 11 for humidity detection installed inside were connected to the air conditioner controller 9.

According to the present invention, the fragrance control unit 12 is provided in the air conditioner 1 having such a configuration. As shown in FIG. 1, the fragrance control unit 12 includes an appropriate number of liquid fragrance cylinders 14 as fragrance containers in the unit box 13 (shown in the drawing) (3 in the example of)
A dispenser 15 for pushing out a fixed amount of liquid flavor is provided on the liquid flavor cylinder 14, a spray nozzle 16 is provided in the dispenser 15, and the tip of the spray nozzle 16 is provided with a nozzle opening 17 formed in a unit box 13. It protruded out of the unit box 13 via.

Further, in the unit box 13, a spray switch 18 such as a solenoid switch is provided for each liquid fragrance cylinder 14, and an operator 18a of the spray switch 18 faces the dispenser 15.

Since the three liquid flavor cylinders 14 have different effects on the human body depending on the type of aroma, different flavors such as citrus (citrus scent), floral (flower scent), and woody (wood) are used. Scent) separately.

Reference numeral 19 in the figure also shows a control unit housed in the unit box 13, and the control unit 19 is provided with a timer means, and the timer means is an on / off control of the spray switch of the aroma generating system which is preset and stored according to the time. And the air temperature at the outlet of the heat exchanger 5 detected by the thermostat 20 and the blower 6
The amount of spray is adjusted and set according to the volume of air, and the type and concentration of perfume is set to match the size of the indoor space, the space application, time, and how the scent is used as the spray pattern and spray schedule. Remember. Such a spraying schedule can change the fragrance tone up to 6 times a day, for example.
It is also possible to register the spray patterns for a week, and depending on the storage capacity, these spray schedules may be stored in the storage unit on the air conditioner control device 9 side to which the control unit 19 is connected.

The control unit 19, the liquid fragrance cylinder 14 and the like are integrally housed in the unit box 13 to form the scent control unit 12, and the scent control unit 12 is disposed in the air flow passage of the air conditioner 1 in the illustrated example. The spray nozzle 16 is attached at an appropriate position such as the outer surface of the case 1a so that the tip opening of the spray nozzle 16 is located between the exchanger 5 and the blower 6.

Next, the usage and operation will be described with reference to the float chart of FIG. When the air conditioner 1 is in operation (step a), the return air taken in from the return port 3 is adjusted in temperature and humidity by the heat exchanger 5 through the filter 4, and then is blown out by the blower 6. Office space 2 from 8
The air is blown out into the office space 2 to perform air conditioning.

At the set time for supplying the scent into the office space 2 (step B), the timer unit in the control unit 19 outputs the fragrance to the spray switch 18 of the liquid fragrance cylinder 14 set by the spray schedule at the same time. The spray chamber is calculated based on the air temperature signal from the heat exchanger 5 outlet from the thermostat 20 and the air volume signal from the blower 6 (steps C, D, and E).

When the cylinder 14 of the fragrance thus selected is set and the spray amount is set, the operator 18a of the spray switch 18 pushes the dispenser 15 so that the set amount of the fragrance is supplied, whereby the fragrance in the cylinder 14 is set. Is ejected through the spray nozzle 16 into the air flow passage formed between the heat exchanger 5 and the blower 6. At the same time, the timer is set, and during the set time, the liquid perfume is sprayed from the spray nozzle 16 into the air conditioned by the heat exchanger 5 and mixed into the air, and the blower 6
Blows out to the office space 2 through the air outlet 8 to air-condition the office space 2 and at the same time provide a scent environment to relieve stress on the office worker (step
To, Chi).

And when the timer set time comes, the control unit
An OFF signal is output from 19 to the spraying switch 18 to stop spraying (stepping, turning).

Although the three liquid perfume cylinders 14 are stored in the unit box 13 in the above-described first embodiment, the number of the liquid perfume cylinders 14 is not limited to a plurality, and a second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, the scent control unit 12 may be composed of a unit box 13 containing one liquid fragrance cylinder 14.

The operation in this case is also basically the same as that of the first embodiment, but since there is only one liquid fragrance cylinder 14, there is only one kind of fragrance, and there is no operation to select it. In the figure, the same components as those of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, in the fragrance generator of the present invention, since the liquid fragrance cylinder, the control unit and the like are collectively housed in one unit box to form the scent control unit,
Just by attaching this to the air conditioner, the fragrance can be sprayed into the conditioned air by the device to evenly distribute the scent in each part in the office space, and the masking effect for unpleasant odor can be achieved and the office worker can be refreshed. By doing so, it is possible to improve not only the quality of the living space but also the comfort. Also, with a simple structure that does not require piping equipment, etc., it can be easily incorporated into existing air conditioners, and various shows,
It can be used as a means of directing in entertainment and exhibitions, and has a wide range of applications.

Furthermore, since it is integrated as a scent control unit, maintenance can be performed easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fragrance control unit showing a main part of a first embodiment of an aroma generating device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view in a state of being attached to an air conditioner, and FIG. Figure,
FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the fragrance control unit showing the essential parts of the second embodiment, FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional front view in the state of being attached to the same air conditioner, and FIG. It is a vertical side view same as the above. 1 ... Air conditioner, 1a ... Case 2 ... Office space, 3 ... Return port 4 ... Filter, 5 ... Heat exchanger 6 ... Blower, 7 ... Fan motor 8 ... Blowout port, 9 ...... Air conditioner control device 10,20 ...... Thermostat 11 ...... Humidistat 12 …… Aroma control unit, 13 …… Unit box 14 …… Liquid fragrance cylinder, 15 …… Dispenser 16 …… Spray nozzle, 17 …… Nozzle opening 18 …… Spraying switch, 18a …… Operator 19 …… Control unit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akira Okamoto 1-2-7 Moto-Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo Kashima Construction Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tadashi Aikawa 1-2-7 Moto-Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo No. Kashima Construction Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shigeharu Uenoyama 1050 Shinba-cho, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Stock Company Shiseido Research Institute (72) Inventor Masahiro Yata 1050, Nii-cho, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama-shi Kanagawa Shiseido Research Institute (72) Inventor Yasuharu Kawazoe 10-2-305 Higashikubo-cho, Nishi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture (72) Yukiko Fukuda 7-18 Nagatayamadai, Minami-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A fragrance control unit comprising a fragrance container having a nozzle, a control unit for controlling the amount of spray, and a spray switch connected to the control unit in a scent control unit box. An aroma generating device having a tip protruding from a scent control unit box and opening into an airflow passage of an air conditioner.