CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0157580, filed on Dec. 7, 2018 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for detecting the quality of air.

2. Description of the Related Art

Sensors for detecting the quality of indoor/outdoor air are known. Recently, as it has become generally known that fine dust (PM 10) or ultra-fine dust (PM 2.5) is harmful to the human body, sensors for detecting the quality of indoor/outdoor air have greatly attracted the attention of the general public.

Korean Patent No. 1912624 (hereinafter, referred to as the ‘conventional art 1’) discloses an outdoor-air-quality detection apparatus that is networked with a user's terminal. The air-quality detection apparatus disclosed in the conventional art 1 is configured to transmit the quality of air detected by a sensor to a network through a communication interface so that a user confirms the quality of air using the user's terminal.

The sensor includes a fine dust sensor, a temperature/humidity sensor, a volatile organic compound detection sensor, and the like, and is configured to detect the overall quality of air.

Although the conventional art 1 suggests that the sensor and the communication interface are mounted on a substrate accommodated in a main body, the concrete structure for mounting these components on the substrate is not described or disclosed.

Since the air-quality detection apparatus of the conventional art 1 is secured to a wall using a fixing frame40, it is not portable. However, in recent years, since interest in the quality of indoor air in, for example, offices, homes, and the like, as well as the quality of outdoor air is high, a small-sized compact air-quality detection apparatus is required so that a user may easily carry the air-quality detection apparatus and use the same at a desired place.

When an air-quality detection apparatus is configured to detect the overall quality of air using various types of sensors, it is important not only to compactly arrange the sensors to minimize the volume of the apparatus but also to optimize the arrangement of the sensors so that each sensor does not affect the accuracy of detection by other sensors.

In particular, in order to accurately detect values (temperature and humidity) using a temperature/humidity sensor, it is preferable to avoid disposing a heat-generating element near the temperature/humidity sensor. However, some types of sensors inevitably generate a large amount of heat during operation. For example, a dust sensor includes a heater for heating air. Thus, when the dust sensor and the temperature/humidity sensor are disposed in a compact structure and accommodated in a single casing, there is the need to devise a structure for preventing the heat generated by the dust sensor from affecting the accuracy of detection by the temperature/humidity sensor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and the first object of the present disclosure is to provide an air-quality detection apparatus in which, when a temperature/humidity sensor and another sensor, which is a heat-generating element, are accommodated in a single casing, the influence of heat generated by the other sensor on the temperature/humidity sensor is reduced.

The second object of the present disclosure is to provide an air-quality detection apparatus in which a heat insulation structure is formed in a casing in order to prevent heat generated by a dust sensor from being transferred to a temperature/humidity sensor, and the heat insulation structure is realized using a printed circuit board (PCB) having the temperature/humidity sensor mounted thereon without using a separate heat insulation material or heat blocking material.

The third object of the present disclosure is to provide an air-quality detection apparatus in which a separate vent hole for detecting temperature and humidity is not formed in a casing, but a hole for guiding air to a dust sensor or a coupling member passage hole necessary for the assembly of a cover is used as a passage for guiding external air to a temperature/humidity sensor.

The fourth object of the present disclosure is to provide an air-quality detection apparatus that is compact by optimizing the arrangement of sensors and PCBs accommodated in a casing, particularly, by realizing compact arrangement of the sensors while securing the accuracy of the respective sensors.

The fifth object of the present disclosure is to provide an air-quality detection apparatus in which PCBs on which sensors are mounted are disposed in a multi-layered structure in a casing, thereby enabling convenient assembly and maintenance/repair of the PCBs.

The sixth object of the present disclosure is to provide an air-quality detection apparatus having an Internet-of-Things (IoT) function capable of transmitting the detected air quality over a communication network.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an air-quality detection apparatus including a first printed circuit board (PCB) and a second PCB mounted in a casing body. The casing body may include a bottom and a side wall extending upwards from the circumference of the bottom, the first PCB may be disposed horizontally above the bottom, and the second PCB may be disposed horizontally above the first PCB.

A temperature/humidity sensor may be mounted on the bottom surface of the first PCB. A CO2 sensor may be mounted on the second PCB. Since the temperature/humidity sensor and the CO2 sensor are disposed at opposite positions, with the first PCB interposed therebetween, the first PCB may prevent heat generated by the CO2 sensor from being transferred to the temperature/humidity sensor.

When the first PCB is viewed from above, the temperature/humidity sensor may be disposed in a region that does not overlap the CO2 sensor. The CO2 sensor may be mounted on the bottom surface of the second PCB.

The casing body may include a support rib protruding from the bottom to support the bottom surface of the first PCB. The temperature/humidity sensor may be disposed within an interval by which the first PCB is spaced apart from the bottom by the support rib.

A gap may be formed between the first PCB and the side wall such that a space between the bottom and the bottom surface of the first PCB, spaced apart from the bottom by the support rib, communicates with the space above the first PCB therethrough.

A dust sensor may be disposed above the first PCB. The first PCB may prevent heat generated by the dust sensor from being transferred to the temperature/humidity sensor.

A third PCB may be disposed horizontally above the second PCB, and the dust sensor may be mounted on the top surface of the third PCB. The dust sensor may include a chamber mounted on the top surface of the third PCB to receive air introduced thereinto and a light emitter configured to emit light into the chamber. The chamber may include at least one communication hole formed therein to allow external air to flow into and out of the chamber.

A cover may be provided to cover an open top surface defined opposite the bottom by the side wall. The cover may include at least one vent hole formed therein so as to overlap the at least one communication hole when viewed from above. A portion of the at least one vent hole that does not overlap the at least one communication hole may communicate with the gap through the space in the casing body.

The air-quality detection apparatus may further include an exterior panel including a lid disposed above the cover and a locking hook protruding downwards from the lid to be coupled to the casing body. The cover may include a hook passage formed therein to allow the locking hook to pass therethrough. A gap may be formed between the locking hook and the hook passage so as to communicate with the interior of the casing body.

