The present invention relates to air-quality conditioning devices, and more particularly, to an air-quality conditioning device, which can be used in combination with a small-scale air conditioner or used singly for effectively controlling carbon dioxide concentration in an enclosed space, so as to maintain good air quality in the space.
It has been reported that excess intake of carbon dioxide into a human body slows down brain activity and response, and makes people easily feel sleepy. This particularly tends to occur in an enclosed space such as a restaurant, hospital, movie theater, building, factory, classroom, library, car or train. In such a space with all windows and doors being shut in operation of an air conditioner, carbon dioxide generated from people""s breath rapidly accumulates, which deteriorates air quality in the space and makes people feel sleepy due to excess intake of carbon dioxide.
As mentioned above, for people staying in the enclosed space for a long period of time, such as an office worker in an office or a student in a library or study room, the efficiency of working or studying can therefore be undesirably degraded by the excess concentration of carbon dioxide in the space. Moreover, in particular for a driver in an enclosed car, MRT or train, bad air quality affecting the driver""s consciousness even deteriorates the driving quality and safety.
In accordance with the foregoing problems, Chinese New Model Publication No. 256351 discloses an air conditioning device for controlling indoor carbon dioxide concentration in a manner of exchanging indoor air with outdoor air, in which a carbon dioxide detector is used for monitoring the indoor carbon dioxide concentration, while an outdoor air valve is adjusted in response to the monitored concentration value for providing a proper amount of outdoor air so as to maintain good indoor air quality.
However, the above air conditioning device can merely be applied to a large-scale indoor air conditioning system, and the device is complicated in structure, large in profile and costly in manufacture, so that it can not be widely used.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide an air-quality conditioning device, which is structurally simple, properly sized and cost-effectively manufactured. Moreover, the device can be used in combination with a small-scale air conditioner or used singly for effectively controlling carbon dioxide concentration in an enclosed space, so as to maintain good air quality in the space.
In accordance with the foregoing and other objectives, the present invention proposes an air-quality conditioning device, comprising a carbon dioxide concentration detecting: module, an air-conditioning controlling module and an air conditioning mechanism. The detecting module is used to detect concentration of carbon dioxide in an enclosed space; while the detected concentration reaches a predetermined upper limit value, the air conditioning mechanism is driven by the air-conditioning controlling module for introducing fresh air from outside to the enclosed space, so as to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide. Moreover, while the carbon dioxide concentration in the space is reduced to a predetermined lower limit value as detected by the detecting module, the air conditioning mechanism is further driven by the air-conditioning controlling module for stopping the introduction of outside air to the space. In such a manner of repetitively detecting and adjusting the carbon dioxide concentration by properly introducing the outside fresh air to the enclosed space, the carbon dioxide concentration can be effectively controlled so as to maintain good air quality in the space.
In this case, the carbon dioxide concentration detecting module employs a conventional optical sensing technique or an electrochemical technique for detecting the concentration of carbon dioxide.
In addition, the air conditioning mechanism has a freely-openable air inlet for introducing the, outside fresh air to the enclosed space. Furthermore, on or beside the air inlet there is formed an air-sucking means for facilitating the introduction of outside air. Moreover, on or beside the air inlet there is further disposed a filtering means for filtering out impurities in the introduced air.
Besides, the air-conditioning controlling module can also be constructed in a manner of generating a sound or visual signal to notify a user when the carbon dioxide concentration detected by the carbon dioxide concentration detecting module reaches the upper or lower limit value respectively, and accordingly the user can manually control the air conditioning mechanism for introducing the outside air or stopping the air introduction.
The air-quality conditioning device of the invention can be integrally constructed with a small-scale air conditioner such as a window-type air conditioner, a separable-type air conditioner or a car air conditioning system, as well as can be independently fabricated for being used singly or used in association with a pre-existing air conditioning device.