JP2002018228A - Humidity controlling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a humidity controlling apparatus which can improve its energy efficiency while the generation of failure of operation of a motor-driven expansion valve, or the like is suppressed by ensuring its condensation action in a case where a heat exchanger provided on the downstream side of a compressor of a heat pump is utilized as a heating means for air. SOLUTION: In this humidity controlling apparatus in which the heat exchanger 10 provided on the downstream side of the compressor is used to heat air to at least condensation temperature of a refrigerant carrier, cooling means 29 and 57 for cooling the refrigerant carrier flowing out from the heat exchanger 10 are provided on the outlet side of the heat exchanger 10. The cooling means 29 is an auxiliary heat exchanger 29 for performing heat exchange between a high pressure refrigerant carrier before an expansion mechanism 28 arranged on the outlet side of the heat exchanger 10 and a low pressure refrigerant carrier after the expansion mechanism 28. Or, the cooling means 57 is an auxiliary condenser 57 arranged on the outlet side of the heat exchanger 10 and this auxiliary condenser 57 is arranged outside of a room.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a humidity control apparatus capable of performing a dehumidifying operation, a humidifying operation, a ventilation operation, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a conventional humidity controller.
Here, as an example, a case where the humidity control device functions as a dehumidification device will be described. As shown in the figure, the dehumidifying device includes an adsorption rotor 81, a sensible heat rotor 82, and a heater 83 disposed between the rotors 81 and 82. The adsorbing rotor 81 is formed, for example, of an adsorbent such as silica gel, zeolite, or alumina into a honeycomb shape or a porous granule, and adsorbs moisture from flowing air, and releases moisture to heated air. It is configured as follows. That is, the inflowing outside air OA is supplied to the adsorption rotor 81.
The moisture is absorbed and dehumidified by the
The temperature rises due to the heat of adsorption of (1). Then, the dehumidified air SA whose temperature has increased is deprived of heat by the sensible heat rotor 82 to have an appropriate temperature, and the dehumidified air SA is supplied indoors. On the other hand, the indoor air RA flowing from the indoor side is
Preheated by the sensible heat rotor 82,
Heated by And to this heated air,
By releasing moisture from the suction rotor 81, the suction rotor 81 is released.
Is regenerated, and the regenerated air EA containing moisture is exhausted to the outside. That is, in the above dehumidifier, the dehumidified air SA is supplied into the room by transferring the moisture adsorbed from the outdoor air using the adsorption rotor 81 to the regenerated air EA.

When the adsorption rotor 81 is to be regenerated, the relative humidity of the regeneration air EA at the entrance of the adsorption rotor 81 must be lower than the relative humidity of the dehumidified air SA at the exit of the adsorption rotor 81. Since the absolute humidity of the room air RA is higher than that of the dehumidified air SA, the relative humidity of the regeneration air EA at the inlet of the suction rotor 81 is usually larger than the relative humidity of the dehumidified air SA at the outlet of the suction rotor 81. To lower the temperature, it is necessary to heat the room air RA to increase the temperature as described above. By the way, in the adsorption rotor 81, heat of adsorption is generated at the time of dehumidification, and its temperature is usually 70 ° C. or higher. When moisture is adsorbed at such a high temperature, the regeneration requires that the room air RA be heated to 90 ° C. or higher. For this reason, regeneration of the suction rotor 81 requires a very large amount of energy.

In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to employ a cooling adsorption element. This cooling adsorption element will be described. FIG. 5 shows a main part of the structure of the cooling adsorption element. As shown in the figure, the main body of the cooling and adsorbing element alternately connects two types of honeycomb structures 91 and 92 by 90 °.
Only one honeycomb structure 91 is made of an adsorbent such as silica gel, zeolite, or alumina. Then, when the outdoor air OA passes through the structure 91 made of the adsorbent, moisture is adsorbed and dehumidified, and the dehumidified air SA is supplied into the room. On the other hand, air RA from the room flows in the other structure 92 at right angles to the outdoor air OA, and absorbs heat of adsorption in the course of the flow. According to such a cooling / adsorbing element, the dehumidified air SA is cooled and its temperature rise is suppressed. Therefore, even if the absolute humidity is the same as that of the suction rotor 81, the relative humidity increases. Will do. Therefore, the relative humidity at the time of regeneration may be correspondingly high, and the required heating temperature of the room air RA decreases. Incidentally, the dehumidified air SA is about 40 ° C., and the regenerated air RA is about 60 ° C.
° C. Further, according to this cooling adsorption element, since the function of the conventional adsorption rotor 81 and the function of the sensible heat rotor 82 can be shared, there is an advantage that the structure is compact.

[0005]

In the case where the suction rotor 81 is used and the case where the cooling suction element is used, a heating means for heating air is provided downstream of the compressor of the heat pump. Attempts have been made to improve the energy efficiency of such heat exchangers (hereinafter referred to as a condenser for convenience). However, when the condenser of the heat pump is used as the heating means, it is necessary to heat the air to a high temperature of 60 ° C. or more, or 90 ° C. or more. became. That is, the heating temperature of the air is changed to the temperature of a commonly used refrigerant (for example, R22, 40).
7C, 410A), which makes it difficult to produce sufficient condensation in the condenser.

Next, the above reasons will be discussed. First, as shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that a gas refrigerant at 84 ° C. is supplied from the compressor to the condenser C, and the condensation temperature is 47 ° C. At this time, air at 40 ° C. is supplied as a counter flow, and if it is to be heated to 60 ° C., the air will be heated to 1 ° C. from 47 ° C.
At 3 ° C., it is necessary to heat only with the sensible heat of the gas refrigerant. In order to obtain such a large heating width, the amount of air with respect to the supplied refrigerant amount is naturally limited. That is, in order to heat the air by the above temperature range only by the sensible heat of the gas refrigerant, it is necessary to reduce the air volume or increase the supplied refrigerant volume accordingly. And in such a state, looking at the gas-liquid mixing part, the air volume is insufficient for this part, so that the heat of condensation cannot be sufficiently taken, and the refrigerant cannot condense to the liquid state. As a result, uncondensed refrigerant of the gas-liquid mixed refrigerant flows out of the condenser. When the non-condensed refrigerant flows out in this manner, a sufficient liquid seal cannot be obtained at the electric expansion valve located at the rear position, and a malfunction occurs. In addition, since a sufficient condensation action cannot be obtained, the COP of the compression cycle decreases,
The intended purpose of improving energy efficiency cannot be achieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and has as its object to use a heat exchanger provided downstream of a compressor of a heat pump as a means for heating air. It is an object of the present invention to provide a humidity control apparatus capable of improving the energy efficiency of a motor-operated expansion valve or the like while suppressing the occurrence of operation failure by ensuring the condensation action.

[0008]

Accordingly, the humidity control apparatus of the first aspect uses a heat exchanger 10 provided downstream of the compressor to heat the air, and heats the air to a temperature higher than the condensation temperature of the refrigerant. In the humidity control apparatus, cooling means 29, 5 for cooling the refrigerant flowing out of the heat exchanger 10 are provided at the outlet side of the heat exchanger 10.
7 is provided.

In the humidity control apparatus of the first aspect, the heat exchanger 1
Since the cooling means 29, 57 for cooling the refrigerant are provided on the outlet side of the zero, it is possible to sufficiently condense the refrigerant flowing out of the heat exchanger 10 in a gas-liquid two-phase state.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the cooling means 29 includes a high-pressure refrigerant upstream of the expansion mechanism 28 and a high-pressure refrigerant downstream of the expansion mechanism 28 disposed on the outlet side of the heat exchanger 10. It is characterized in that it is an auxiliary heat exchanger 29 for exchanging heat with a low-pressure refrigerant.

In the humidity control apparatus of the second aspect, as the cooling means 29, heat exchange is performed between the high-pressure refrigerant upstream of the expansion mechanism 28 and the low-pressure refrigerant downstream of the expansion mechanism 28, which are disposed on the outlet side of the heat exchanger 10. Since the auxiliary heat exchanger 29 is used, condensation can be ensured by transfer of heat in the cycle, so that a decrease in system efficiency can be suppressed.

Further, in the humidity control apparatus according to the third aspect, in the second aspect, the refrigerant evaporated in the auxiliary heat exchanger 29 is transferred to the compressor 5.
It is characterized by being returned to

In the humidity control apparatus according to the third aspect, the heat exchanger 1
Although the compression cycle is constituted by 0 and the auxiliary heat exchanger 29, such a mode is suitable when the sensible heat load is small and mainly only the latent heat load is generated.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the humidity control apparatus according to the first aspect, the cooling means 57 is an auxiliary condenser 57 disposed on the outlet side of the heat exchanger 10, and the auxiliary condenser 57 is disposed outside the room. It is characterized by doing.

In the humidity control apparatus according to the fourth aspect, since the auxiliary condenser 57 installed outdoors is used, the configuration can be simplified and is suitable for the implementation.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the humidity control apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the auxiliary condenser 57 is provided with an air blowing means, and when the latent heat load is large, the air blowing by the air blowing means is suppressed, and the heat exchange is performed. It is characterized in that the condensation temperature in the vessel 10 is raised.

In the humidity control apparatus according to the fifth aspect, since the humidity control ability can be controlled by controlling the condensation temperature according to the latent heat load, the comfort in use can be improved.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, specific embodiments of the humidity control apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a refrigerant circuit diagram of a multi-type heat pump system including a humidity control device according to an embodiment of the present invention as a humidity control device.

In FIG. 1, 1 indicates an outdoor unit, 2 indicates a first indoor unit, 3 indicates a second indoor unit, and 4 indicates a humidity controller. The outdoor unit 1 includes a compressor 5, an outdoor heat exchanger 6, an outdoor fan 7, and a main electric expansion valve 8. Each of the indoor units 2 and 3 has indoor heat exchangers 11 and 12, indoor fans 13 and 14, and electric expansion valves 15 and 16. The humidity controller 4 includes a heat exchanger (hereinafter, referred to as a condenser for convenience) 10 provided downstream of the compressor 5, an adsorption rotor 17, and a sensible heat rotor 18. In addition, 2
Reference numerals 1 and 22 are refrigerant switching units.

Next, an operation state of the multi-type heat pump system will be described. First, the flow of the refrigerant when performing the heating operation in each of the indoor units 2 and 3 will be described. At this time, each of the refrigerant switching units 21 and 22 keeps each of the indoor heat exchangers 11 and 12 in communication with the gas pipe 20 connected to the discharge side of the compressor 5. Further, the first on-off valve 23 between the discharge side of the compressor 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is closed, and the second on-off valve 2 between the suction side of the compressor 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is closed.
4, the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is communicated with the suction side of the compressor 5. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 5 is condensed in each of the indoor heat exchangers 11 and 12, while being evaporated in the outdoor heat exchanger 6 while controlling the main electric expansion valve 8.
Heating operation is performed by returning to Next, the flow of the refrigerant when performing the cooling operation in each of the indoor units 2 and 3 will be described. At this time, each of the refrigerant switching units 21 and 22
Each of the indoor heat exchangers 11 and 12 is set to be in communication with the suction side of the compressor 5. Further, the first on-off valve 23 between the discharge side of the compressor 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is opened, and the second on-off valve 24 between the suction side of the compressor 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is closed. The outdoor heat exchanger 6 is connected to the discharge side of the compressor 5 in advance. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 5 is supplied to the outdoor heat exchanger 6.
While the electric expansion valves 15 and 16 on the indoor unit side are condensed.
The cooling operation is performed by evaporating in each of the indoor heat exchangers 11 and 12 and returning it to the compressor 5 while controlling the temperature.

The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 5 is always supplied to the condenser 10 of the humidity controller 4 through the gas pipe 20 as long as the humidity control on-off valve 19 is open. The condensed refrigerant evaporates in the indoor units 2 and 3 when the indoor units 2 and 3 perform the cooling operation, and evaporates in the indoor units 2 and 3 when the indoor units 2 and 3 perform the heating operation. Then, the condensed refrigerant flowing out of each of the indoor units 2 and 3 evaporates in the outdoor heat exchanger 6.

The flow of the refrigerant when the first indoor unit 2 performs the cooling operation and the second indoor unit 3 performs the heating operation will be described. First, each of the refrigerant switching units 21 and 22 communicates the first indoor heat exchanger 11 with the suction side of the compressor 5 and the second indoor heat exchanger 12 with the discharge side of the compressor 5 as shown in the figure. State. At this time, when the on-off valve 19 for the humidity controller is closed and the humidity controller 4 is not used, the first on-off valve 23 between the discharge side of the compressor 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is closed,
The second on-off valve 24 between the suction side of the compressor 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is closed to shut off the communication between the outdoor heat exchanger 6 and the compressor 5. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 5 is supplied to the second
While being condensed in the indoor heat exchanger 12, the first indoor unit 2 is evaporated by the first indoor heat exchanger 11 and returned to the compressor 5 while controlling the electric expansion valve 15 on the first indoor unit side.
Performs the cooling operation, and performs the heating operation in the second indoor unit 3. On the other hand, when the humidifier on-off valve 19 is open and the humidifier 4 is in use, the first on-off valve 23 between the discharge side of the compressor 5 and the outdoor heat exchanger 6 is closed and compressed. Suction side of unit 5 and outdoor heat exchanger 6
The second open / close valve 24 is opened to connect the outdoor heat exchanger 6 to the suction side of the compressor 5. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 5 is condensed by the condenser 10 and the second indoor heat exchanger 12, while controlling the main electric expansion valve 8 and the electric expansion valve 15 on the first indoor unit side to perform outdoor heat exchange. The cooling operation is performed by the first indoor unit 2 and the heating operation is performed by the second indoor unit 3 by evaporating the refrigerant in the heat exchanger 6 and the first indoor heat exchanger 11 and returning it to the compressor 5.

Next, the structure of the humidity controller 4 will be described. Here, a case will be described in which the humidity controller 4 functions as a dehumidifier (see FIG. 1A). As shown in the figure, the dehumidifier 4 has a relatively flat rectangular parallelepiped casing 31, and one side 31a of a pair of sides 31a and 31b opposed in the longitudinal direction of the casing 31.
a has an indoor side outlet 36 and an indoor side inlet 3 which communicate with the room.
7 is formed, and an outdoor air outlet 38 and an outdoor air inlet 39 communicating with the outdoor are formed on the other side 31b.
The inside of the casing 31 is divided into a dehumidifying passage 32 and a regeneration passage 33 by a partition plate 34 extending in the longitudinal direction, and external air sucked from the outdoor-side suction port 39 passes through the dehumidifying passage 32 to be connected to the indoor side. While being supplied into the room from the outlet 36, the internal air sucked from the indoor side inlet 37 is exhausted to the outside from the room side outlet 38 through the regeneration passage 33. Also, in the installation state,
The disk-shaped suction rotor 17 that rotates around the horizontal axis has its end face sequentially facing the dehumidifying passage 32 and the regeneration passage 33. The adsorption rotor 17 is formed by forming an adsorbent such as silica gel, zeolite, alumina, or the like into a honeycomb shape or a porous particle shape, and adsorbs moisture from flowing air while releasing moisture to heated air. It is configured as follows. Further, a condenser 10 is provided as a heating means on the upstream side of the adsorption rotor 17 in the regeneration passage 33,
Further, in the installed state, the disk-shaped sensible heat rotor 18 rotating around a horizontal axis is connected to the suction rotor
7 and a portion of the regeneration passage 33 on the upstream side of the condenser 10 in order. The condenser 10 has an inlet connected to a discharge gas pipe 20 of the compressor 5 and an outlet connected to a liquid pipe 25 of a heat pump system.

By the way, near the air inlet / outlet of each of the passages 32 and 33, a damper (not shown) capable of switching the air passage is provided. Therefore, when the humidifier 4 is to function as a humidifier, as shown in FIG.
And the indoor-side suction port 37 are switched to an outdoor-side air outlet 38 and an outdoor-side air inlet 39 that communicate with the outdoor, respectively, while the outdoor-side air outlet 38 and the outdoor-side air inlet 39 that communicates with the outdoor communicate with the indoor, respectively. Indoor side outlet 36 Indoor side inlet 37
It is configured to be able to switch between and. At this time, the passage functioning as the dehumidification passage 32 functions as the moisture absorption passage 32, and the passage functioning as the regeneration passage 33 functions as the humidification passage 33.

Next, a description will be given of an air flow path when the humidity controller 4 functions as a dehumidifier. First, the outside air OA flowing from the outdoor-side suction port 39 of the dehumidifying passage 32 is dehumidified by adsorbing moisture by the adsorption rotor 17, and its temperature is raised by heat of adsorption of the adsorption rotor 17. Then, the dehumidified air whose temperature has increased is deprived of heat by the sensible heat rotor 18 to have an appropriate temperature,
Dehumidified air SA is supplied from the indoor side outlet 36 toward the room. On the other hand, the room air RA flowing from the indoor side suction port 37 of the regeneration passage 33 is preheated by the sensible heat rotor 18 and further heated by the condenser 10. Then, moisture is released from the adsorption rotor 17 by the heated air, the adsorption rotor 17 is regenerated, and the regenerated air EA containing the moisture is exhausted from the outdoor outlet 38 to the outside.

Next, a description will be given, with reference to FIG. 1 (b), of a flow path of air when the humidity controller 4 functions as a humidifier. At this time, the passage functioning as the dehumidifying passage 32 functions as the moisture absorbing passage 32 and the regeneration passage 33
The passage that has functioned as a humidifying passage. Then, first, the indoor air RA flowing from the indoor suction port 37 of the moisture absorption passage 32 is dried by the adsorption rotor 17 absorbing moisture, and the temperature is raised by the heat of adsorption of the adsorption rotor 17. Then, the temperature of the dry air whose temperature has been increased is deprived of heat by the sensible heat rotor 18 to become an appropriate temperature, and the air EA is discharged from the outdoor outlet 38 to the outside. On the other hand, the outdoor-side suction port 39 of the humidification passage 33
The outside air OA flowing from the air is preheated by the sensible heat rotor 18 and further heated by the condenser 10. The heated air absorbs moisture from the suction rotor 17 to become humidified air SA, which is supplied from the indoor side outlet 36 into the room.

According to the above air conditioning system, the humidity controller 4 and the first or second indoor unit 2, 3 are arranged in the same room, thereby performing dehumidification, humidification operation, and heating operation while performing cooling operation. It is possible to perform the humidification and dehumidification operation while performing.

Next, the features of this embodiment will be described. This is because the liquid connection pipe 2 connects the outlet side of the condenser 10 and the liquid pipe 25 of the heat pump system.
6, a branch pipe 27 is provided, a third electric expansion valve 28 is interposed in the branch pipe 37, and the distal end thereof is connected to the suction side of the compressor 5. And the condenser 10
Is provided with an auxiliary heat exchanger 29 that enables heat exchange between the high-pressure liquid refrigerant on the outlet side of the third electric expansion valve 28 and the low-pressure liquid refrigerant on the outlet side of the third electric expansion valve 28.

As described above, the amount of air passing through the condenser 10 of the humidity controller 4 is restricted.
0, the refrigerant is not sufficiently condensed, and the uncondensed refrigerant of the gas-liquid mixed refrigerant flows out of the condenser 10, and a sufficient liquid seal cannot be obtained in the electric expansion valves 8, 15, and 16 located at the subsequent positions. In addition, a malfunction such as malfunction occurs, and a sufficient condensation action cannot be obtained.
However, as a cooling means for the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 10, the auxiliary heat exchanger 2
Provision of 9 makes it possible to solve such a problem. That is, a part of the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 10 becomes the low-pressure liquid refrigerant after passing through the third electric expansion valve 28, and this low-pressure liquid refrigerant evaporates in the auxiliary heat exchanger 29, and The refrigerant in the gas-liquid mixed state that has flowed out is cooled and completely condensed. Then, the completely condensed liquid refrigerant flows out to the liquid pipe 25. On the other hand, the gas refrigerant flowing out of the auxiliary heat exchanger 29 is returned to the suction side of the compressor 5. As described above, since the completely condensed cooling refrigerant flows out to the liquid pipe 25, the electric expansion valves 8, 15, 16
It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a malfunction such as a malfunction of the device and a decrease in the COP of the compression cycle. Further, in the auxiliary heat exchanger 29, the heat exchange between the high-pressure refrigerant upstream of the expansion mechanism 28 and the low-pressure refrigerant downstream of the expansion mechanism 28 disposed on the outlet side of the condenser 10 causes heat in the cycle. , The condensation can be ensured, and a decrease in system efficiency can be suppressed. Further, in the above embodiment, when the outside air temperature is low and only a dehumidification load is generated in the middle period or the like, that is, when a sensible heat load is small and only a latent heat load (dehumidification load, humidification load) is mainly generated. The operation of each of the indoor units 2 and 3 is stopped, and the condenser 10 and the third
The electric expansion valve 28 and the auxiliary heat exchanger 29 may perform a humidity control operation that forms a compression cycle.

Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment of the humidity control apparatus of the present invention, mainly taking a dehumidification operation as an example. FIG. 2 mainly shows a ventilation path, and FIG. 3 shows an example of the installation. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the humidity control device 41 is used in combination with a multi-type air conditioning system 49. In addition, in the same figure, 47 has shown the indoor unit of the humidity control apparatus 41, and 48 has shown the outdoor unit, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, the humidity control device 41 includes at least two cooling / suction elements 50 and 60. These cooling adsorption elements 5
Reference numerals 0 and 60 have the same structure as that described in the conventional example. For convenience, one of the cooling adsorbing elements is the first cooling adsorbing element 50 and the other is the second cooling adsorbing element 60. Called. The outside air OA flows into each of the cooling / adsorbing elements 50 and 60 during dehumidification, and the humidified air inlets 51 and 61 into which heated air flows during regeneration and dehumidified air SA flows out during dehumidification. Humidity control air outlets 52 and 62 through which the released regeneration air EA flows out are provided;
Further, cooling air inlets 53 and 63 into which room air RA flows in and cooling air outlets 54 and 64 from which cooling air flows out are provided at positions orthogonal to this.

The humidity controller 41 is provided with a heat pump. As shown, the heat pump includes a compressor 56 and a condenser 10 connected to a discharge side of the compressor 56.
And an auxiliary condenser 57 connected downstream of the condenser 10, and first and second evaporators 58 and 59 connected in parallel with each other.
And electric expansion valves 66 and 67 interposed in front of the evaporators 58 and 59, respectively, and condenses the gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 56 in the condenser 10 and the auxiliary condenser 57, respectively. At the same time, the evaporators 58 and 59 evaporate the
6 is returned. The compressor 56, the auxiliary condenser 57, and the electric expansion valves 66 and 67 are disposed outside the room, and the condenser 10 is connected to the cooling air outlets 54 and 64.
The cooling air flowing out of the heater is heated. The arrangement positions of the evaporators 58 and 59 will be described later.

Next, the ventilation path will be described. First, on the indoor side, a first outlet passage 43 through which dehumidified air SA flows into the room, and a first inlet passage 44 through which room air RA flows from the room are provided. Further, a second outlet passage 45 through which the regenerated air EA flows out and a second inlet passage 46 through which the outdoor air OA flows are provided on the outdoor side. A first evaporator 58 is provided in the first outlet passage 43, and the first outlet passage 43 is further connected to the humidified air outlet 52 of the first cooling / adsorbing element 50 and the second cooling / adsorbing element 60. A first three-way switching valve 71 for switching communication with the wet air outlet 62 is provided. A second evaporator 59 is provided in the first inlet passage 44, and the first inlet passage 44 is further connected to the cooling air inlet 53 of the first cooling adsorbing element 50 and the cooling air of the second cooling adsorbing element 60. A second three-way switching valve 72 for switching communication with the inlet 63 is provided. Second
In the outlet passage 45, the second outlet passage 45 is connected to the humidity control air outlet 52 of the first cooling adsorption element 50 and the second cooling adsorption element 6.
A third three-way switching valve 73 for switching communication with the zero humidified air outlet 62 is provided. The second inlet passage 46 is for switching communication between the second inlet passage 46 to a humid air inlet 51 of the first cooling / adsorbing element 50 and a humid air inlet 61 of the second cooling / adsorbing element 60. Fourth three-way switching valve 7
4 are interposed. The air flowing out of the cooling air outlets 54 and 64 of the first and second cooling adsorption elements 50 and 60 is heated by the condenser 10. A fifth three-way switching valve 75 for switching communication between the humidified air inlet 51 of the cooling adsorbing element 50 and the humidified air inlet 61 of the second cooling adsorbing element 60 is provided. Further, in the first inlet passage 44,
A bypass passage 68 is provided for bypassing the front position of the second evaporator 59 and the front position of the first evaporator 58 in the first outlet passage 43. It passes through the first evaporator 58.

The operation of the humidity controller 41 will be described. First, a first air connection configuration in which dehumidification is performed by the first cooling and adsorption element 50 and regeneration of the second cooling and adsorption element 60 will be described with reference to FIG. in this case,
The outdoor air OA is dehumidified by the first cooling / adsorbing element 50 and is supplied into the room as dehumidified air SA. On the other hand, after the room air RA cools the first cooling / adsorbing element 50, it is heated to regenerate the second cooling / adsorbing element 60, and the air EA from which moisture has been released is exhausted to the outside. Specifically, the outside air OA sucked from the second inlet passage 46 flows into the first cooling / adsorbing element 50 through the humid air inlet 51 to be dehumidified, and the dehumidified humid air SA is conditioned. From the wet air outlet 52 via the first outlet passage 43, the first evaporator 5
It is cooled at 8 and flows into the room. On the other hand, the room air RA is cooled by the second evaporator 59 in the first inlet passage 44, flows into the cooling air inlet 53 of the first cooling / adsorbing element 50, and cools the first cooling / adsorbing element 50. Thereafter, the air exits the cooling air outlet 54 and is heated by the condenser 10. The heated air is introduced into the conditioned air inlet 61 of the second cooling / adsorbing element 60, and moisture is released from the second cooling / adsorbing element 60. Then, the regeneration air EA is exhausted from the second outlet passage 45 to the outside through the humidity control air outlet 62.

After the operation in the first air connection mode as described above has been performed for a certain period of time, for example, for about 2 to 3 minutes, the first to fifth three-way switching valves 71 to 75 are respectively operated in the opposite manner. Switching to the switching position, the operation in the second pneumatic connection mode is performed. Although not shown, the second cooling / adsorbing element 60
This is an air connection mode in which dehumidification is performed and regeneration of the first cooling / adsorbing element 50 is performed at the same time. In this case, the outdoor air OA is dehumidified by the second cooling / adsorbing element 60 and is supplied into the room as dehumidified air SA. On the other hand, indoor air R
A cools the second cooling and adsorbing element 60, and then is heated to regenerate the first cooling and adsorbing element 50, and the air E from which moisture has been released.
A is exhausted outside the room. Specifically, the second entrance passage 4
Outside air OA sucked from the second cooling adsorbing element 60
To the dehumidified air flowing from the conditioned air inlet 61,
The dehumidified conditioned air SA is cooled by the first evaporator 58 from the conditioned air outlet 62 via the first outlet passage 43, and flows into the room. On the other hand, the room air RA is cooled by the second evaporator 59 in the first inlet passage 44, flows into the cooling air inlet 63 of the second cooling adsorption element 60, and
After cooling the cooling and adsorbing element 60, it exits through the cooling air outlet 64 and is heated by the condenser 10. The heated air is introduced into the humid air inlet 51 of the first cooling and adsorbing element 50,
Moisture is released and regenerated in the cooling and adsorbing element 50, and thereafter, the regenerated air EA is exhausted from the second outlet passage 45 to the outside through the humidified air outlet 52.

After the operation in the second air connection mode has been performed for a certain period of time, for example, about 2 to 3 minutes, the operation returns to the operation in the first air connection mode again. Continue the indoor cooling ventilation dehumidification operation. As described above, in the first air connection mode, when the first cooling / adsorbing element 50 is performing the dehumidifying operation, the second cooling / adsorbing element 60 is operated.
And in the second air connection mode, the first cooling / adsorbing element 50 is regenerated while the second cooling / adsorbing element 60 is performing the dehumidifying operation. , A continuous dehumidification operation can be performed. Further, since it is not necessary to form each of the cooling and adsorbing elements 50 and 60 in a rotor shape, it is possible to simplify and reduce the size of the apparatus. In addition, while the outside air OA is cooled and dehumidified and supplied to the room as dehumidified air SA, the room air R
Since A is exhausted outside the room as the regeneration air EA, ventilation, dehumidification, and cooling operations can be performed.

Incidentally, the humidification operation can be performed in the humidity control apparatus 41. That is, in the dehumidifying operation and the humidifying operation, if the first outlet passage 43 and the first inlet passage 44 on the indoor side and the second outlet passage 45 and the second inlet passage 46 on the outdoor side are exchanged, both are completely eliminated. This is because the same operation state is obtained. That is, in the ventilation path shown in FIG. 2, the first outlet passage 4 further connected to the indoor side
A switching mechanism for switching the third and first inlet passages 44 to connect to the outside of the room and for switching the second outlet passage 45 and the second entrance passage 46 connected to the outside to connect to the inside of the room. If provided, it is possible to switch between the dehumidifying operation and the humidifying operation with exactly the same device.

According to the humidity control device 41, since the heat pump can be used for both the heating source and the cooling source, the energy efficiency can be further improved. Moreover, in this case, the capabilities of the two evaporators 58 and 59 can be changed. Therefore, in the cooling and dehumidifying operation, when the sensible heat capacity is to be increased, the capacity of the first evaporator 58 on the dehumidified air SA side is increased, and when the dehumidification capacity (latent heat capacity) is to be increased, the indoor air RA is increased. (2) The capacity of the evaporator 59 may be increased. In addition, during the humidification operation, when it is desired to increase the humidification capacity, the capacity of the second evaporator 59 on the outdoor air OA side is increased, and when it is desired to increase the sensible heat capacity, the first evaporator on the regeneration air EA side is used. 58 abilities may be increased. As described above, the operation control can be performed according to the necessity, so that the use comfort is improved. Further, a bypass passage 68 is provided, and the room air RA is supplied from the bypass passage 68 through the first evaporator 58 to the dehumidified air S
Since air is supplied indoors together with A, the amount of air flow in the first evaporator 58 increases, and as a result, the heat exchange capacity in the first evaporator 58 increases. Therefore, the indoor cooling load can be sufficiently covered.

Next, features of the second embodiment will be described. This means that the auxiliary condenser 57 is connected in series on the downstream side of the condenser 10 and the auxiliary condenser 57 is arranged outside the room. As described above, in the condenser 10 of the humidity controller 41, the amount of air passing therethrough is limited, so that the refrigerant is not sufficiently condensed in the condenser 10, and the uncondensed refrigerant of the gas-liquid mixed refrigerant is discharged from the condenser 10. The motor-operated expansion valves 66 and 67 that flow out and are located behind them do not have a sufficient liquid seal, cause malfunctions, and do not have a sufficient condensation action. Although there was a problem that the COP was reduced, by disposing the auxiliary condenser 57 outdoors,
Such a problem can be solved. That is, the refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 10 is completely condensed in the auxiliary condenser 57 having a large cooling capacity. Since the completely condensed liquid refrigerant flows out to the evaporators 58 and 59, it is possible to prevent the malfunctions of the electric expansion valves 66 and 67 and the reduction of the COP in the compression cycle. Although not shown, the auxiliary condenser 57 is provided with a blower fan as blower means. By controlling the amount of air blown by the blower fan, an air conditioner corresponding to a dehumidification or humidification load (latent heat load) is provided. It is also possible to perform wet operation. That is, the condensing temperature of the condenser 10 is increased by decreasing the fan air flow (or by stopping the fan), thereby increasing the humidifying or dehumidifying ability. By performing such control, the use comfort is further improved.

Although the embodiment of the humidity control apparatus of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications. That is, in the above embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the outdoor air OA is humidified and introduced into the room, but a configuration in which the indoor air RA is humidified and introduced again into the room may be employed. In the above embodiment, the indoor air RA is used as the regeneration air, but the outdoor air OA may be used as the regeneration air. The point is that air dehumidified or humidified in the suction rotor 17 or each of the cooling and adsorbing elements 50 and 60 may be supplied into the room. It is only necessary that the air can be exhausted to the outside, so that any air for the room and / or the outside may be used for that purpose. In each of the above embodiments, the heat exchanger provided on the downstream side of the compressor is referred to as a condenser. However, the condenser 10 is not intended for the main purpose of condensing the gas refrigerant. It should be noted that the main purpose is to utilize the sensible heat of the refrigerant discharged from the compressor and to heat the air by the sensible heat.

[0040]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the refrigerant flowing out of the heat exchanger in the gas-liquid two-phase state can be sufficiently condensed, the operation failure of the electric expansion valve or the like can be prevented. Energy generation can be improved while suppressing the occurrence of the vibration.

Further, in the humidity control apparatus according to the second aspect, as a cooling means, an auxiliary heat for exchanging heat between the high-pressure refrigerant upstream of the expansion mechanism and the low-pressure refrigerant downstream of the expansion mechanism, which is disposed at the outlet side of the heat exchanger. Since the exchanger is used, it is possible to ensure the condensation by transferring heat in the cycle, so that a decrease in system efficiency can be suppressed.

Further, in the humidity control apparatus of the third aspect, the compression cycle is constituted by the heat exchanger and the auxiliary heat exchanger. In such a mode, the sensible heat load is small, and mainly only the latent heat load is generated. It is suitable for such a case.

In the humidity control apparatus of the fourth aspect, since the auxiliary condenser installed outdoors is used, the structure can be simplified.
It is suitable for the implementation.

According to the humidity control apparatus of the fifth aspect, since the humidity control ability can be controlled by controlling the condensation temperature according to the latent heat load, the comfort in use can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a refrigerant circuit showing a state in which a humidity control apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied to a multi-type heat pump system.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a ventilation path during a dehumidifying operation in a humidity control apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a usage example of the humidity control apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional humidity control device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a function of a cooling adsorption element.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a temperature distribution in a heat exchanger.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Humidity control apparatus 10 Heat exchanger (condenser) 28 Electric expansion valve 29 Auxiliary heat exchanger 57 Auxiliary condenser

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takahiro Yamaguchi 1304 Kanaokacho, Sakai City, Osaka Daikin Industries, Ltd. Sakai Seisakusho Kanaoka Plant F-term (reference) 4D052 AA08 CB00 CE00 DA03 DB02 DB04 FA06 HA01 HA02 HA03 HB02

Claims (5)

[Claims] A heat exchanger (10) for heating air to a temperature higher than the condensation temperature of a refrigerant by using a heat exchanger (10) provided downstream of the compressor to heat the air.
A cooling means (29) (57) for cooling the refrigerant flowing out of the heat exchanger (10) at the outlet side of the air conditioner. 2. The cooling means (29) includes a heat exchanger (1).
An auxiliary heat exchanger (29) arranged on the outlet side of (0) for exchanging heat between the high-pressure refrigerant at the front of the expansion mechanism (28) and the low-pressure refrigerant at the rear of the expansion mechanism (28). Item 7. The humidity control apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the evaporated refrigerant in the auxiliary heat exchanger (29) is returned to the compressor (5).
Humidity control equipment. 4. The cooling means (57) includes a heat exchanger (1).
The humidity controller according to claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary condenser (57) disposed on the outlet side of (0), wherein the auxiliary condenser (57) is disposed outside the room. 5. The auxiliary condenser (57) is provided with a blowing means, which suppresses the blowing of the blowing means when the latent heat load is large, and raises the condensation temperature in the heat exchanger (10). The humidity control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the humidity control is performed.