阅读说明：本技术 灰尘测量设备和方法 (Dust measuring apparatus and method ) 是由 朴哲佑 成奉祚 于 2018-03-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及灰尘测量设备和方法,该灰尘测量设备和方法可以通过基于根据粒径的数浓度分布导出质量浓度,来提高灰尘测量的准确度。本发明的灰尘测量设备包括：充电单元,该充电单元用于向进料充电,使其带电荷；第一集尘单元,该第一集尘单元包括彼此隔开的第一集尘电极和第二集尘电极,材料通过这两个电极,并且不同的电压施加到这两个电极；第二集尘单元,该第二集尘单元用于收集已经通过第一集尘单元的材料；电流测量单元,该电流测量单元用于测量流过第二集尘单元的电流；以及控制单元,该控制单元用于通过使用由电流测量单元测量的电流值来计算材料的质量浓度,并且基于质量浓度来调节施加到充电单元和第一集尘单元的电压。(The present invention relates to a dust measuring apparatus and method that can improve the accuracy of dust measurement by deriving a mass concentration based on a number concentration distribution from particle diameters. The dust measuring apparatus of the present invention includes: a charging unit for charging the charge material to charge it; a first dust collecting unit including a first dust collecting electrode and a second dust collecting electrode spaced apart from each other, through which materials pass, and to which different voltages are applied; a second dust collecting unit for collecting the material that has passed through the first dust collecting unit; a current measuring unit for measuring a current flowing through the second dust collecting unit; and a control unit for calculating a mass concentration of the material by using the current value measured by the current measuring unit, and adjusting voltages applied to the charging unit and the first dust collecting unit based on the mass concentration.)

1. A dust measuring apparatus, comprising:

a charger for charging introduced dust;

a first dust collector including first and second dust collecting electrodes disposed to be spaced apart from each other, wherein different voltages are applied to the first and second dust collecting electrodes, respectively, such that the first and second dust collecting electrodes collect the charged dust;

a second dust collector for collecting the dust passing through the first dust collector;

a current measuring unit for measuring a current flowing in the second dust collector; and

a controller configured to:

calculating a mass concentration of the dust using the current value measured in the current measuring unit; and is

Adjusting voltages respectively applied to the charger and the first dust collector based on the mass concentration.

2. The dust measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

measuring a first current flowing in the second dust collector when no voltage is applied to the first dust collector;

measuring a second current flowing in the second dust collector while the voltage is applied to the first dust collector; and is

Calculating the mass concentration using the first current and the second current.

3. The dust measuring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to:

calculating a number concentration and an average particle diameter of the dust using the first current and the second current;

calculating a particle size-based number concentration distribution using the number concentration and the average particle size; and is

Calculating the mass concentration based on the number concentration distribution.

4. The dust measuring apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the number concentration is calculated using the following equation 1, and the average particle diameter is calculated using the following equation 2:

N＝S_N(I₁-I₂) (1)

wherein, in the above equation, I₁Representing said first current, I₂Representing said second current, N representing said number concentration of said dust, S_NTo representNumber concentration constant, d_p,avRepresents the average particle diameter of the dust, and S_dpRepresents an average particle diameter constant.

5. The dust measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to increase the voltages respectively applied to the charger and the first dust collector when the mass concentration is higher than a predetermined reference value.

6. The dust measuring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a fan module for moving the dust from the charger toward the second dust collector,

wherein the controller is configured to control operation of the fan module based on the mass concentration.

7. The dust measuring apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to increase an amount of air generated in the fan module when the mass concentration is higher than a predetermined reference value.

8. The dust measuring apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second dust collector includes a filter formed in a mesh shape and made of a metal material,

wherein the filter is electrically connected to the current measuring unit, and

wherein the current measuring unit measures a current flowing through the filter.

9. The dust measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the charger includes a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein a voltage is applied to the first electrode, and wherein the second electrode includes a first portion and a second portion that are arranged above and below the first electrode, respectively, and

wherein a plasma region is defined between the first and second portions of the first and second electrodes, respectively.

10. A method of a dust measuring apparatus for measuring dust, the dust measuring apparatus including a charger for charging introduced dust, a first dust collector for collecting the charged dust, and a second dust collector for collecting the dust passing through the first dust collector, the method comprising the steps of:

measuring a first current flowing in the second dust collector when a first voltage is applied to the charger and a second voltage is not applied to the first dust collector;

measuring a second current flowing in the second dust collector while the first voltage is applied to the charger and the second voltage is applied to the first dust collector; and

calculating the mass concentration of the dust using the first current and the second current.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

adjusting voltages respectively applied to the charger and the first dust collector based on the mass concentration.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of adjusting the voltages respectively applied to the charger and the first dust collector comprises:

increasing the voltages respectively applied to the charger and the first dust collector when the mass concentration is higher than a predetermined reference value.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of measuring the first current comprises:

applying a third voltage to the first dust collector, wherein the third voltage is less than the second voltage.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of calculating mass concentration comprises:

calculating a number concentration and an average particle diameter of the dust using the first current and the second current;

calculating a particle size-based number concentration distribution using the number concentration and the average particle size; and

calculating the mass concentration based on the number concentration distribution.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the number concentration is calculated using equation 1 below and the average particle size is calculated using equation 2 below:

N＝S_N(I₁-I₂) (1)

wherein, in the above equation, I₁Representing said first current, I₂Representing said second current, N representing said number concentration of said dust, S_NDenotes the number concentration constant, d_p,avRepresents the average particle diameter of the dust, and S_dpRepresents an average particle diameter constant.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

moving the dust from the charger toward the second dust collector using a fan module; and

controlling operation of the fan module based on the mass concentration.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein controlling operation of the fan module based on the mass concentration comprises:

increasing an amount of air generated in the fan module when the mass concentration is higher than a predetermined reference value.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the second dust collector includes a filter formed in a mesh shape and made of a metal material, and

wherein the first current and the second current are measured by a current measuring unit measuring a current flowing in the filter.

19. The method of claim 10, wherein the charger comprises a first electrode and a second electrode, wherein the first voltage is applied to the first electrode, and wherein the second electrode comprises a first portion and a second portion disposed above and below the first electrode portion, respectively, and

wherein the method further comprises the steps of: a plasma region is defined in the charger between the first electrode and the first and second portions of the second electrode, respectively.

20. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

detecting light scattered on the dust by a PM sensor to calculate a concentration of the dust,

wherein, the step of calculating the mass concentration comprises:

calculating the mass concentration using the value measured by the PM sensor and the first current and the second current.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for measuring dust, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for measuring dust, which can derive mass concentration from a particle diameter-based number concentration distribution to improve accuracy of dust measurement.

Background

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for measuring dust. In particular, the present disclosure may be used in a dust removing apparatus applied to an air conditioning system, an air purifier, and the like, to remove dust from air and discharge purified air.

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating a dust removing device according to an embodiment of the related art. Hereinafter, an air conditioner capable of purifying and cooling contaminated air will be described.

Referring to fig. 1, a general air conditioner includes: a suction grill 10 for sucking indoor contaminated air into the apparatus by the suction grill 10; a dust measuring apparatus 100 for removing contaminants contained in the air sucked by the suction grill 10; a heat exchanger 20 for reducing the temperature of the air by heat-exchanging the air purified by the dust measuring apparatus 100; a blower 30 for discharging air, the temperature of which is lowered while the air passes through the heat exchanger 20, to the outside of the system; and a discharge grill 40, the discharge grill 40 for changing a direction of air discharged to the outside by the blower 30.

The dust measuring apparatus 100 performs a function of removing contaminants such as dust contained in contaminated indoor air. Generally, the dust measuring apparatus 100 may use an electrostatic precipitation scheme in which a high voltage is discharged to carry away contaminants and then dust is collected.

Conventionally, a PM sensor capable of measuring Particulate Matter (PM) is used to measure the amount of dust in air flowing into a dust removing apparatus. The PM sensor uses a heater to generate an updraft and scatters light emitted from the LED on dust moving along the updraft. Subsequently, the scattered light is detected by the photodiode, and when dust is present, the output voltage value of the photodiode decreases. That is, the PM sensor may measure the number density of the introduced air by converting the ratio of the low voltage per unit time into the density based on the output voltage value of the photodiode.

However, when a conventional optical measurement scheme is used, the total number concentration can be measured, but the number concentration distribution based on the particle diameter cannot be measured. In particular, the mass concentration of the dust is used for the flow regulation of the floating dust. In order to calculate the mass concentration, it is necessary to infer the mass concentration from the measured number concentration. However, since the number concentration distribution based on the particle diameter cannot be measured, the accuracy of the inferred mass concentration is very poor. In addition, in the case of optical measurement, it is difficult to measure dust having a size equal to or less than 300nm, which occupies most of the dust.

In the prior art, multiple impact samplers or cascaded impact samplers are required to obtain a particle size based number concentration distribution. However, miniaturization of such a multiple-impact sampler or cascade-impact sampler is difficult, and the measurement accuracy is low because the impact sampler cannot separate dust of a desired particle size of 100%. Further, when an impact sampler is not used, the number concentration based on the particle diameter cannot be cut. Further, because the current values of all particle sizes are measured, accuracy is greatly reduced when introducing particles larger or smaller than usual.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical purpose

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and method for measuring dust, in which, since a number concentration distribution based on particle diameters is measured, conversion of the number concentration distribution into a mass concentration can be achieved, thereby improving the accuracy of dust measurement.

Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus and method for measuring dust, which is advantageous in miniaturization and does not generate a pressure difference during operation because a mass concentration can be calculated without using a separate particle size classifying apparatus, such as an impact sampler (impactor).

The object of the present disclosure is not limited to the above object. Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure, which are not mentioned above, may be understood from the following description, and may be more clearly understood from the embodiments of the present disclosure. Further, it will be readily understood that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by the features and combinations thereof as disclosed in the appended claims.

Technical scheme

An aspect of the present disclosure provides a dust measuring apparatus including: a charger for charging the introduced dust; a first dust collector including first and second dust collecting electrodes disposed to be spaced apart from each other, wherein different voltages are applied to the first and second dust collecting electrodes, respectively, such that the first and second dust collecting electrodes collect charged dust; a second dust collector for collecting dust passing through the first dust collector; a current measuring unit for measuring a current flowing in the second dust collector; and a controller that calculates a mass concentration of the dust using the current value measured in the current measuring unit, and adjusts voltages applied to the charger and the first dust collector, respectively, based on the mass concentration.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of a dust measuring apparatus for measuring dust, the dust measuring apparatus including a charger for charging introduced dust, a first dust collector for collecting the charged dust, and a second dust collector for collecting the dust passing through the first dust collector, the method including the steps of: measuring a first current flowing in the second dust collector when the first voltage is applied to the charger and the second voltage is not applied to the first dust collector; measuring a second current flowing in the second dust collector while applying the first voltage to the charger and the second voltage to the first dust collector; and calculating the mass concentration of the dust using the first current and the second current.

Technical effects

The dust measurement apparatus according to the present disclosure may calculate a particle diameter-based number concentration distribution to derive a mass concentration as an adjustment criterion, thereby achieving higher accuracy than a conventional dust measurement sensor (e.g., an optical PM sensor). Thereby, it is possible to improve the control accuracy of the apparatus including the dust measuring apparatus, thereby providing a high degree of satisfaction to the user and improving the operation efficiency. In addition, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, when the dust measuring apparatus according to the present disclosure is used together with a conventional dust measuring sensor (e.g., an optical PM sensor), the accuracy may be further improved.

In addition, the dust measuring apparatus according to the present disclosure may accurately measure the mass concentration by adding only the wire mesh filter and the current measuring unit to the conventional dust filter, thereby accurately measuring the mass concentration. Thus, a conventional production line can be used as it is. In addition, the mass concentration can be calculated without using a separate particle size classifying apparatus, which is advantageous in terms of miniaturization, so that the dust measuring apparatus according to the present disclosure can be easily installed in other electronic apparatuses (e.g., an air cleaner or an air conditioner), and high compatibility can be achieved. Thereby, a product including the dust measuring apparatus can be miniaturized, and the cost and unit cost required for production can be reduced with high versatility.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a view illustrating a dust removing device according to an embodiment of the related art.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a dust measurement device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 and 4 are diagrams for illustrating an operation of a dust measuring apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a graph illustrating a method for obtaining the number concentration of dust flowing into the dust measuring apparatus of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a graph illustrating a method for obtaining an average particle diameter of dust flowing into the dust measuring apparatus of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a graph illustrating a method for obtaining a particle diameter-based number concentration distribution of dust flowing into the dust measuring apparatus of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart for illustrating a method for measuring dust according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The terms or words used in the specification and claims should not be construed as limited to general or dictionary meanings. Further, the inventors should interpret the terms or words as meanings and concepts consistent with the technical idea of the present disclosure based on the principle that the concept of the terms can be appropriately defined so as to best describe their invention. In addition, the components shown in the embodiments and the drawings described in the present specification are only one of the most preferable embodiments of the present disclosure, and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present disclosure. Thus, it is to be understood that various equivalents and modifications may exist in place of the embodiments and components at the time of this application.

Hereinafter, an apparatus and method for measuring dust according to some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to fig. 2 to 8.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a dust measurement device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 2, the dust measuring apparatus 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may include a charger 110, a first dust collector 120, a second dust collector 130, a current measuring unit 140, a controller 150, and a fan module 160.

The dust flowing into the dust measuring apparatus 100 may sequentially pass through the charger 110, the first dust collector 120, and the second integrator 130. In this regard, the fan module 160 may move dust from the charger 110 toward the second dust collector 130.

A first voltage may be applied to the charger 110 to charge (e.g., charge or discharge) the flowing dust. The charger 110 may discharge a high voltage to charge dust contained in the air entering the charger 110 positively or negatively. In this regard, the light energy of the plasma may be generated inside the charger 110.

The dust charged in the charger 110 may pass through the first dust collector 120. The first dust collector 120 may include a first dust collecting electrode 122 to which a second voltage is applied and a second dust collecting electrode 124 spaced apart from the first dust collecting electrode 122 and grounded. The first dust collector 120 may collect a portion of the charged dust passing through the first dust collector 120.

The second dust collector 130 can collect dust passing through the first dust collector 120. The second dust collector 130 may include a filter 135 formed in a mesh shape and made of a metal material. In this regard, the filter 135 may collect dust passing through the first dust collector 120, and the magnitude of current flowing through the filter 135 may vary based on the amount of dust filtered by means of the filter 135.

The current measuring unit 140 measures the current flowing in the second dust collector 130. In detail, the current measuring unit 140 may measure the magnitude of the current flowing through the filter 135 and transmit the measured magnitude to the controller 150.

For example, the current measurement unit 140 may measure a first current I flowing in the second dust collector 130 when the first voltage is applied to the charger 110 and the second voltage is not applied to the first dust collector 120₁. In addition, the current measuring unit 140 may measure a second current I flowing in the second dust collector 130 when the first voltage is applied to the charger 110 and the second voltage is applied to the first dust collector 120₂. The current measurement unit 140 may measure the measured first current I₁And a second current I₂To the controller 150.

The controller 150 may control operations of the charger 110, the first dust collector 120, the second dust collector 130, the current measuring unit 140, and the fan module 160. In detail, the controller 150 may adjust whether or not a voltage is applied to the charger 110 and the first dust collector 120 and the magnitude of the applied voltage, and adjust the air volume of the fan module 160. In addition, measurement data from the current measurement unit 140 may be received.

In addition, the controller 150 may calculate a mass concentration of dust flowing into the charger 110 using the current value measured by the current measuring unit 140, adjust voltages applied to the charger 110 and the first dust collector 120 based on the mass concentration, and adjust the air volume of the fan module 160.

In detail, the controller 150 may calculate the number concentration of dust (or the total number concentration of dust) and the average particle diameter flowing into the dust measuring apparatus 100 based on the measured current value. In addition, the controller 150 may calculate a number concentration distribution based on the particle diameter using the calculated number concentration and the average particle diameter. Subsequently, the controller 150 may calculate the mass concentration using the particle diameter-based number concentration distribution. A detailed description thereof will be described later.

Fig. 3 and 4 are diagrams for illustrating an operation of a dust measuring apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 3, the operation of the dust measuring apparatus 100 when the first voltage is applied to the charger 110 and the voltage is not applied to the first dust collector 120 will be described.

When the contaminated air flows in, the charger 110 discharges a high voltage to charge the contaminants positively or negatively. The charger 110 may include a first electrode 112 to which a high voltage is applied and second electrodes 114 and 116 grounded corresponding to the first electrode 112.

The first electrode 112 may be formed in a line type, a carbon brush type, or a needle type. The second electrodes 114 and 116 may be disposed above or below the first electrode 112, and may be disposed in a shape of parallel plates facing each other.

For example, referring to fig. 1 and 3, when polluted air in a room is sucked by means of the suction grill 10 of the air conditioning system and supplied to the charger 110, a high voltage is continuously applied to the first electrode 112 while the polluted air passes, thereby forming an electric field toward the second electrodes 114 and 116. In this regard, foreign substances such as dust contained in the air passing through the charger 110 are positively or negatively charged by the high-voltage electric field.

During the above operation, strong light energy is emitted from the first electrode 112 of the charger 110 to generate a plasma phenomenon. The plasma phenomenon means that light energy of 3 to 4eV is emitted, and the light energy destroys bonds between organic compounds and heterocyclic compounds contained in polluted air in a room.

Typically, the contaminants consist of organic compounds comprising carbon C, hydrogen H and oxygen O, and heterocyclic compounds consisting of atoms other than carbon C. Heterocyclic compounds comprising NO_X、SO_XAnd the like. In this regard, nitrogen oxides NO may be generated during the process in which the bonds of the contaminants are broken while the contaminants pass through the plasma region of the charger 110_XCarbon dioxide CO₂And the like. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Subsequently, the dust passing through the charger 110 may be provided to the first dust collector 120. The first dust collector 120 may include a first dust collecting electrode 122 to which a voltage is applied and a second dust collecting electrode 124 spaced apart from the first dust collecting electrode 122 and grounded. The first dust collector 120 may collect a portion of the charged dust passing through the first dust collector 120.

However, in fig. 3, since no voltage is applied to the first dust collecting electrodes 122, the collecting action of the dust by the first dust collectors 120 does not occur. The dust passing through the first dust collector 120 is transferred to the second dust collector 130.

The second dust collector 130 includes a filter 135 formed in a mesh shape and made of a metal material. Further, the filter 135 collects dust flowing into the second dust collector 130.

In this regard, the dust is filtered by the filter 135, and the amount of current flowing through the second dust collector 130 may vary according to the size and amount of the dust filtered by the filter 135.

In this regard, the current measuring unit 140 may measure the first current I flowing in the second dust collector 130₁And measuring the first current I₁To the controller 150.

Referring to fig. 4, the operation of the dust measuring apparatus 100 when the first voltage is applied to the charger 110 and the second voltage is applied to the first dust collector 120 will be described.

The charger 110 operates in the same manner as described with reference to fig. 3. Redundant description will be omitted.

Subsequently, the dust passing through the charger 110 may be provided to the first dust collector 120.

At this time, a second voltage (e.g., -6kV to 7kV high voltage) is applied to the first dust collector 120. Accordingly, an electromagnetic field (E-field) can be defined between the first dust collecting electrode 122 and the second dust collecting electrode 124.

For example, a high voltage of a positive electrode may be applied to the first dust collecting electrode 122, and positively charged dust in the charger 110 may be repelled by an amount of positive power applied to the first dust collecting electrode 122 and may be collected to the second dust collecting electrode 124. However, this is merely an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In addition, although fig. 4 illustrates that the first dust collecting electrode 122 is disposed at an upper portion and the second dust collecting electrode 124 is disposed at a lower portion, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The positions of the first and second dust collecting electrodes 122 and 124 may be changed.

Subsequently, the dust passing through the first dust collector 120 is transferred to the second dust collector 130. That is, a portion of the dust is collected by the first dust collector 120, and the remaining portion of the dust is transferred to the second dust collector 130.

Similarly, the second dust collector 130 includes a filter 135 formed in a mesh shape and made of a metal material, and the filter 135 collects dust flowing into the second dust collector 130.

In this regard, the current measuring unit 140 may measure the second current I flowing in the second dust collector 130₂And measuring the second current I₂To the controller 150.

Fig. 5 is a graph illustrating a method for obtaining the number concentration of dust flowing into the dust measuring apparatus of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, the x-axis of FIG. 5 represents the first current I₁And a second current I₂The difference between them, and the y-axis represents the number concentration of the dust.

The controller 150 may use the first current I received from the current measurement unit 140₁And a second current I₂The number concentration of dust (or the total number concentration of dust) flowing into the dust measuring apparatus 100 is calculated.

The number concentration (or the total number concentration of dust) can be calculated using the following equation 1.

[ EQUATION 1 ]

N＝S_N(I₁-I₂)

In the equation, N represents the number concentration (e.g., the total number concentration of dust), I₁Denotes a first current, I₂Represents a second current, and S_NRepresenting a number concentration constant. In this regard, the number concentration constant may be the slope of the line shown in the graph of fig. 5.

That is, the number density constant may be calculated by means of the graph of fig. 5. Further, the controller 150 may use the first current I₁And a second current I₂The number concentration of the introduced dust (or the total number concentration of the dust) is calculated.

Fig. 6 is a graph illustrating a method for obtaining an average particle diameter of dust flowing into the dust measuring apparatus of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, the x-axis of FIG. 6 represents the first current I₁Divided by the first current I₁And a second current I₂The difference therebetween, and the y-axis represents the average particle diameter of the dust.

The controller 150 may use the first current I received from the current measurement unit 140₁And a second current I₂The average particle diameter of the dust flowing into the dust measuring apparatus 100 is calculated.

The average particle diameter can be calculated using the following equation 2.

[ EQUATION 2 ]

In the equation, d_p,avDenotes the average particle diameter of dust, I₁Denotes a first current, I₂Represents a second current, and S_dpRepresents an average particle diameter constant. In this regard, the average particle diameter constant may be the slope of the straight line shown in the graph of fig. 6.

That is, it is possible to use the graph of FIG. 6The average particle size constant is calculated and the controller 150 may use the first current I₁And a second current I₂The average particle diameter of the introduced dust was calculated.

That is, the average particle diameter constant may be calculated by means of the graph of fig. 6, and the controller 150 may use the first current I₁And a second current I₂The average particle diameter of the introduced dust was calculated.

Fig. 7 is a graph illustrating a method for obtaining a particle diameter-based number concentration distribution of dust flowing into the dust measuring apparatus of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 7, the x-axis of fig. 7 represents the size of dust (or particles), and the y-axis represents the number concentration of dust. In this regard, fig. 7 schematically shows the scanning mobility particle size analyzer (hereinafter SMPS) values measured for nano-DMAs of 4 to 162nm, SMPS values for long DMAs of 14.1 to 710.5nm, and aerodynamic particle size Analyzer (APS) values measured at a size of 542 to 19000 nm.

The controller 150 may use the first current I₁And a second current I₂The "particle diameter-based number concentration distribution" (lognormal particle diameter distribution: N (d) was calculated from the calculated number concentration of dust and the average particle diameter_p)). The "number concentration distribution based on particle diameter" may be expressed as a logarithmic value.

The number concentration distribution based on the particle diameter can be calculated using the following [ equation 3 ].

[ EQUATION 3 ]

In the equation, N represents the number concentration (e.g., the total number concentration of dust), d_pDenotes the particle diameter of dust, d_p,avDenotes the average particle diameter of dust, and σ denotes the standard deviation.

Typically, the standard deviation of the number concentration distribution based on the particle size of the suspended particles within the chamber may be about 1.7 (in the case of a single source aerosol). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Subsequently, the controller 150 may calculate the mass concentration using the particle diameter-based number concentration distribution.

The mass concentration can be calculated using equation 4 below.

Equation 4

Mass concentration (. mu.g/cm)³) Number concentration (number/cm)³) X particle volume (cm)³) X particle mass density (μ g/cm)³)

In the equation, the volume of the particle can be calculated as the circumferential ratio ÷ 6 × particle diameter³And can assume 1g/cm³(＝1000μg/cm³) The mass density of the particles is calculated. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

That is, the controller 150 may use the first current I₁And a second current I₂The number concentration and the average particle diameter of the dust flowing into the dust measuring apparatus 100 are calculated, the number concentration distribution based on the particle diameter is calculated using the number concentration and the average particle diameter, and the mass concentration is calculated based on the number concentration distribution.

Thus, the dust measurement apparatus 100 of the present disclosure can calculate the particle diameter-based number concentration distribution to derive the mass concentration as the adjustment standard, thereby improving the accuracy more than the conventional dust measurement scheme.

In addition, the dust measuring apparatus 100 according to the present disclosure may accurately measure the mass concentration of introduced dust by adding only a wire mesh filter and a current measuring unit to an existing dust filter. Therefore, the present production line can be used without change. In addition, the mass concentration can be calculated without using a separate particle size classifying apparatus, which is advantageous in terms of miniaturization, so that the dust measuring apparatus 100 according to the present disclosure can be easily installed in other electronic apparatuses (e.g., an air cleaner or an air conditioner), and high compatibility can be achieved. Thereby, a product including the dust measuring apparatus can be miniaturized, and the cost and unit cost required for production can be reduced with high versatility.

In further embodiments of the present disclosure, a third voltage (described with reference to fig. 4) less than the second voltage may be applied to the first set of the first dust collectors 120The dust electrode 122. In this regard, the third current I measured by the current measuring unit 140₃Can replace the first current I₁For calculation. Thus, the controller 150 of the present disclosure can calculate the mass concentration of particles having a size equal to or greater than 300nm, and can achieve higher accuracy of mass concentration measurement.

Further, in another additional embodiment, the dust measurement device 100 of the present disclosure may further include a conventional dust measurement sensor. Hereinafter, an optical PM sensor will be described as an example of a conventional dust measurement sensor.

In this regard, the dust measuring apparatus 100 may also perform detecting light scattered on dust passing through the charger 110 by the PM sensor to calculate the concentration of dust. Specifically, the PM sensor generates an updraft using a heater, and scatters light emitted from the LED to dust moving along the updraft. Subsequently, the scattered light is detected by the photodiode, and when dust is present, the output voltage of the photodiode drops. That is, the PM sensor may measure the number density of the introduced air by converting the ratio of the low voltage per unit time into the density based on the output voltage value of the photodiode.

Then, when calculating the mass concentration, the controller 150 may calculate the mass concentration by referring to the value measured by the PM sensor and the first current I measured by the current measurement unit 140₁And a second current I₂Both of which are used to calculate the mass concentration.

Thereby, the dust measuring apparatus 100 of the present disclosure can further improve the accuracy of the mass concentration calculation, provide a high degree of satisfaction to the user, and improve the operation efficiency.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart for illustrating a method for measuring dust according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to fig. 8, in a method for measuring dust according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, first, a voltage is applied to a charger 110, and no voltage is applied to a first dust collector 120 (S110). In this regard, the dust flowing into the charger 110 is charged by the voltage applied to the charger 110 and transferred to the first dust collector 120. However, since no voltage is applied to the first dust collector 120, the dust transferred to the first dust collector 120 is not collected, and the dust moves to the second dust collector 130. The dust can be collected by the filter 135 included in the second dust collector 130.

Subsequently, the current measuring unit 140 measures the first current I flowing in the second dust collector 130₁(S115). A first current I₁Is sent to the controller 150.

Subsequently, a voltage is applied to the charger 110, and a voltage is applied to the first dust collector 120 (S120). In this regard, a first voltage is applied to the charger 110, and a second voltage is applied to the first dust collector 120. The first voltage and the second voltage may be different from each other. For example, the second voltage may be a high voltage of-6 kV to 7 kV. Thereby, an electromagnetic field (E-field) can be defined between the first dust collecting electrodes 122 and the second dust collecting electrodes 124 included in the first dust collector 120, and dust flowing into the first dust collector 120 can be collected. The remaining portion of the dust remaining after a portion of the dust is collected by the first dust collector 120 may be collected by the second dust collector 130.

Subsequently, the current measuring unit 140 measures the second current I flowing in the second dust collector 130₂(S115). A second current I₂Is sent to the controller 150.

Subsequently, the controller 150 uses the first current I₁And a second current I₂The number concentration and the average particle diameter of the dust are calculated (S130). In this regard, since the method for calculating the number concentration and the average particle diameter has been described with reference to fig. 5 and 6, a detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

Subsequently, the controller 150 calculates a number concentration distribution based on particle diameter using the number concentration and the average particle diameter of the dust (S140).

Subsequently, the controller 150 calculates the mass concentration using the number concentration distribution based on the particle diameter (S150). Since the method for calculating the number concentration distribution and the mass concentration based on the particle diameter has been described with reference to fig. 7, a detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

Subsequently, the controller 150 determines whether the calculated mass concentration is higher than a predetermined reference value (S160).

Subsequently, when the mass concentration is higher than the predetermined reference value, the controller 150 increases the voltages applied to the charger 110 and the first dust collector 120, respectively, or increases the air volume of the fan module 160 (S170). Thereby, the dust measuring apparatus 100 of the present disclosure can improve the dust collection rate and reduce the pollution level of the discharged air.

That is, the fan module 160 may move dust from the charger 110 to the second dust collector 130, and the controller 150 may adjust the air volume of the fan module 160 based on the calculated volume concentration.

In addition, the controller 150 may adjust the first voltage applied to the charger 110 or the second voltage applied to the first dust collector 120 based on the calculated mass concentration to adjust the dust collection rate in the first dust collector 120.

On the other hand, when the mass concentration is lower than the predetermined reference value, the controller 150 maintains the voltages respectively applied to the charger 110 and the first dust collector 120 and the air volume of the fan module 160 (S175).

In addition, in S110, a third voltage smaller than the second voltage may be applied to the first dust collector electrodes 122 of the first dust collector 120, instead of applying no voltage thereto. In this regard, the third current I measured by the current measuring unit 140₃Can replace the first current I₁For calculation. Thus, the controller 150 of the present disclosure can calculate the mass concentration of particles having a size equal to or greater than 300nm, and can achieve higher accuracy of mass concentration measurement.

Further, in another additional embodiment, the present disclosure may also include calculating the concentration of dust using a conventional dust measurement sensor. For example, the PM sensor may be used as a conventional dust measurement sensor.

Subsequently, when calculating the mass concentration, the controller 150 may calculate the mass concentration by referring to the value measured by the conventional dust measurement sensor and the first current I measured by the current measurement unit 140₁And a second current I₂Both of which are used to calculate the mass concentration.

Thereby, the dust measuring apparatus 100 of the present disclosure can further improve the accuracy of the mass concentration calculation, provide a high degree of satisfaction to the user, and improve the operation efficiency.

Thus, the method for measuring dust of the present disclosure may calculate a particle diameter-based number concentration distribution to derive a mass concentration as an adjustment standard, thereby achieving higher accuracy than a conventional dust measurement sensor (e.g., an optical PM sensor). Thereby, it is possible to improve the control accuracy of the apparatus including the dust measuring apparatus, thereby providing a high degree of satisfaction to the user and improving the operation efficiency. In addition, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, when the dust measurement apparatus 100 of the present disclosure is used together with a conventional dust measurement sensor (e.g., an optical PM sensor), the accuracy may be further improved.

It should be understood that the foregoing embodiments are illustrative in all respects, not restrictive. Further, the scope of the disclosure is to be indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. Further, the meaning and scope of the claims to be described later, and all changes and modifications derived from equivalent concepts should be construed as being included in the scope of the present disclosure.