JP2002213777A - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dehumidifier capable of realizing a comfortable indoor environment at a low running cost. SOLUTION: The dehumidifier 10 comprises an indoor air circulator 39 for sending indoor air into a moisture absorption chamber 32b to return the air into a room 42, a warm water heater 51 for primarily heating the air, an electric heater 62 for secondarily heating the primarily heated air, an outdoor air circulator 56 for supplying the secondarily heated air into a drying chamber 32c to exhaust the air out of the room, and an absorbent moving means 32 for repeating movements of transferring the absorbent absorbing the moisture in the chamber 32b to the chamber 32c and returning the absorbent after drying to the chamber 32b. In order to dry the absorbent with warm water capable of being acquired at a low cost, the running cost required to dehumidify can be reduced, and total running cost obtained by adding a running cost necessary to cool the dried air to a comfortable temperature to the running cost required to dehumidify can be suppressed to a lower value than the running cost necessary to air condition wet air to comfortable temperature and humidity by the air conditioner.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a dehumidifier for dehumidifying indoor water.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a hot and humid area, air conditioners are frequently used in order to lower the discomfort index of indoor air. Although air conditioners are extremely effective, they have the problem of high running costs.

In order to lower the discomfort index of indoor air at a lower cost, a dehumidifier using a moisture absorbent may be used. In this type of dehumidifier, a rotary rotor contains a desiccant, and an indoor air circulation path is provided in which indoor air to be dehumidified is sent to the moisture absorption chamber and then returned to the room.
A part of the rotating rotor is located in the moisture absorbing chamber. When the indoor air to be dehumidified is sent into the moisture absorbing chamber, the moisture in the indoor air is absorbed by the desiccant, the indoor air is dehumidified, and the dehumidified air is returned to the room. Unless the moisture absorbent that has absorbed moisture is dried, moisture cannot be absorbed again. Then, the rotating rotor is rotated to move the desiccant absorbing the moisture into the drying chamber. Heated air is sent into the drying chamber, and the moisture-absorbing agent is dried by the heated air to recover the moisture-absorbing action. The air obtained by evaporating the moisture from the desiccant is discharged outside the room. An electric heater is used to obtain heated air for drying. In order to continuously obtain the above phenomenon, the rotating rotor is rotated to sequentially pass through the moisture absorbing chamber and the drying chamber. The moisture absorbent inside the moisture absorbing chamber dehumidifies the indoor air, the moisture absorbent moves to the drying chamber, and the moisture absorbing moisture dries while passing through the drying chamber, and the moisture absorbing capacity is restored to the moisture absorbing chamber. The cycle of being sent is repeatedly executed. This dehumidifier is capable of strongly dehumidifying indoor air, is effective in lowering the indoor discomfort index, and is widely used in humid Southeast Asian countries. However, the temperature of the indoor air cannot be reduced.

[0004]

An air conditioner is capable of cooling and dehumidifying, but has a high running cost. Although the dehumidifier can be operated at low cost, it cannot be cooled. The present invention realizes a technique for improving the discomfort index of indoor air at a lower cost. The present invention achieves its object by the following events.

[0005] In an air conditioner, dehumidification is performed at the same time as lowering the temperature of room air. That is, by passing the indoor air through the heat exchanger through which the cooled refrigerant passes, the indoor air is cooled and, at the same time, moisture in the indoor air is dewed and dehumidified. Latent heat is released when moisture in the air condenses. Thus, the amount of power required to cool wet air is greater than the amount of power required to cool dry air. Further, the air conditioner cannot independently control the temperature and the humidity. Room air cannot be saturated air below the temperature of the cooled refrigerant and cannot be further dried. Although the temperature of the room air is higher than the temperature of the cooled refrigerant, the air-conditioned air is dry. It cannot be air-conditioned. In this case, both are comfortable. If it can be sufficiently dehumidified, it is comfortable even at 28 ° C., but it cannot be sufficiently dehumidified by an air conditioner, so it must be cooled down to 25 ° C. The air conditioner has two reasons, namely, "the amount of power required to cool wet air is larger than the amount of power required to cool dry air." In addition, cooling must be sufficient to achieve air conditioning to a comfortable temperature and humidity. " Dehumidification was performed before cooling by the air conditioner, and the following phenomena were obtained: "The amount of power required to cool dry air is small,""If it is sufficiently dry, it is relatively hot and comfortable." If this were the case, the running costs required to air-condition a comfortable indoor environment would be kept low.

[0006] Running costs are also required to dehumidify indoor air. The running costs required to cool the dry air to a comfortable temperature, plus the running costs required to dehumidify, add up to the total running cost, and the moist air is conditioned by an air conditioner to a comfortable temperature and humidity. If the running cost is lower than the running cost required for the cleaning, the running cost can be reduced by first dehumidifying and then cooling by the air conditioner. The present inventor has conducted various experiments, and found that the method of drying a moisture absorbent using an electric heater requires the running cost necessary for dehumidification and the cooling of dried air to a comfortable temperature. It was confirmed that the total running cost, including the running costs, was higher than the running cost required to air-condition humid air to a comfortable temperature and humidity with an air conditioner. The problem cannot be achieved simply by using the dehumidifying technology and the air conditioning technology together.

Therefore, in the present invention, the running cost required for dehumidifying is reduced by adding the running cost required for cooling the dried air to a comfortable temperature to the running cost required for dehumidifying, and the total running cost is calculated. ,
The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the running cost required for air conditioning moist air to a comfortable temperature and humidity by an air conditioner.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems, Actions and Effects The point of the present invention is to reduce the running cost of the dehumidifier, and more specifically, the air required for drying the desiccant used in the dehumidifier. The purpose is to reduce the heating cost. In the present invention, by using hot water and electricity together,
We succeeded in reducing running costs. The dehumidifier of the present invention sends indoor air to the moisture absorbing chamber, and returns the indoor air that has been dehumidified and dehumidified by the desiccant in the moisture absorbing chamber back to the room. An electric heater for secondary heating of the primary heated air,
The secondary heated air is sent to the drying chamber to dry the moisture absorbent that has been absorbed, and then the drying air circulation path that is released outside the room, and the moisture absorbent that has been absorbed in the moisture absorption chamber is transferred to the drying chamber and dried in the drying chamber. And a moisture absorbent moving means for repeating a process of returning the moisture absorbent to the moisture absorbing chamber. Here, “indoor” is a general term for the space to be dehumidified, and “outdoor” is a general term for the outside of the space to be dehumidified. For example, when the living room is dehumidified and the garage is not dehumidified, the living room is indoors and the garage is outdoor.

In the above dehumidifier, the drying air is primarily heated by the hot water heater. Since inexpensive gas or the like can be used for generating hot water, the running cost of the dehumidifier can be reduced. In this dehumidifier,
The air is further heated using an electric heater. As a result, the desiccant can be dried efficiently. Compared to the running cost of heating the drying air only with the electric heater, the primary heating with hot water can keep the running cost low. On the other hand, when the drying air is heated only by the hot water heater, a large amount of hot water is required, and the running cost increases. According to the method of primary heating with hot water and then secondary heating with an electric heater, the running cost can be reduced the most. With this method, for the first time, the running cost necessary for dehumidification is reduced to a comfortable temperature. The total running cost, which is the sum of the running cost required for cooling down to the maximum, and the running cost required for air-conditioning the humid air to a comfortable temperature and humidity with an air conditioner, can be reduced.

[0010] In the above dehumidifier, it is preferable that the desiccant is stored in the rotary rotor and the rotary rotor is rotated, so that the desiccant stored in the rotary roller passes through the moisture absorbing chamber and the drying chamber in order.

In this case, the process of transferring the moisture absorbent absorbed in the moisture absorption chamber to the drying chamber with the rotation of the rotary rotor and returning the moisture absorbent dried in the drying chamber to the moisture absorption chamber is repeated, and the cycle of moisture absorption and drying is repeated. It is repeated endlessly.

In the above dehumidifier, a temperature sensor is provided at one or more of the downstream position of the hot water heater, the downstream position of the electric heater, and the downstream position of the drying chamber, and the hot water heating is performed based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. It is preferable to control the heating amount of the heater and / or the electric heater.

According to this dehumidifier, the heating amount of the hot water heater and / or the electric heater is controlled by the temperature detected by the temperature sensor. For this reason, the temperature of the air sent into the drying chamber can be changed or kept constant according to the operating condition of the dehumidifier. For example, when the downstream temperature of the hot water heater becomes high, the amount of heating of the electric heater is reduced to maintain the dehumidifying capacity constant, or the amount of heating of the electric heater or the hot water heater is increased to strengthen the indoor air. It can be dehumidified.

[0014] In the dehumidifying apparatus according to the first or second aspect, it is preferable to temporarily increase the heating amount of the hot water heater and / or the electric heater at the start of operation or when a high dehumidification is required.

At the start of operation, since the humidity in the room is high, it is more comfortable to reduce the humidity quickly, and it is also desirable to reduce the humidity quickly because the indoor humidity has increased due to the opening of the door. There are cases. At the start of such operation or at the time of high dehumidification demand, the dehumidifier described above temporarily increases the amount of heating of the hot water heater and / or electric heater to increase the dehumidification capacity. Can be.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The dehumidifier described in the above claims can be suitably implemented in the following forms. (Mode 1) It is possible to operate with only one of the hot water heater and the electric heater. With such a configuration, when the hot water heater or the electric heater fails, or when the amount of heating by both the hot water heater and the electric heater is not necessary, the drying air is heated by either one to remove the moisture absorbent. Drying can be performed. (Mode 2) The heating amount of the electric heater is controlled by the chopper control method. When the heating amount of the electric heater is controlled by the chopper control method, the power loss can be reduced. Here, the chopper control method refers to a method of controlling the heater heating amount by intermittently turning on and off the applied voltage, instead of controlling the voltage by changing the resistance value.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the dehumidifier. FIG.
1 is a system diagram showing a system configuration of a dehumidifier. FIG.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a peripheral portion of a rotating roller. As shown in FIG. 1, the dehumidifier 10 has an indoor air inlet 12 for sucking indoor air, and a dehumidified air outlet 14 for returning dehumidified air to the room via an air conditioner. Also,
An outdoor air inlet 22 for sucking air for drying the desiccant from the outside and an outdoor air outlet 24 for discharging the air dried for the desiccant to the outside are provided. Further, a hot water supply port 16 for receiving hot water heated by a gas water heater (not shown) and a hot water discharge port 18 for returning hot water heated from the air sucked from the outdoor air inlet 22 to the gas water heater are provided. In addition, a power cord (not shown) is provided.

Next, the system configuration of the dehumidifier 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotating rotor 32 having a cylindrical outer shape can rotate around a shaft 32a. A large number of honeycomb-shaped air passages are formed in the rotating rotor 32 in the axial direction, and a hygroscopic agent (silica gel) is attached to the air passage walls. This hygroscopic agent has the property of absorbing moisture in the air and then drying when exposed to high-temperature air to regain its hygroscopic ability. The rotating rotor 32 is connected to an electric motor 34 via a belt belt 36.
Shaft 34a. As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of half containers 100
And 108 are fixed, and each half container 100,
The end surfaces 106 and 114 of 108 are almost in close contact with the end surface of the rotating roller 32. A substantially V-shaped partition wall 102, 110 is formed in each half container 100, 108.
The end faces 104 and 112 of the rollers 02 and 110 are also substantially in close contact with the end faces of the rotating roller 32. The periphery of the rotating roller 32 is surrounded by half containers 100 and 108, and the surrounded space is divided into two spaces by V-shaped partitions 102 and 110. V-shaped partitions 102, 110
The smaller space is used as the drying chamber 32c, and the larger space is used as the moisture absorbing chamber 32b. Note that FIG.
Here, illustration of the half containers 100 and 108 is omitted for clarity of illustration.

An indoor air suction passage 38 for sucking the air in the room 42 is provided between the indoor air suction port 12 and the moisture absorption chamber 32b of the rotary rotor 32, and an indoor air suction fan 39 is mounted in the middle of this passage. I have. The indoor air suction fan 39 is electrically driven, increases the pressure of the sucked air, and sends it to the downstream side (the side of the rotating rotor 32). An indoor air discharge passage 43 is provided between the moisture absorbing chamber 32b of the rotating rotor 32 and the dehumidified air outlet 14. An air conditioner 82 is provided downstream of the dehumidified air outlet 14 to cool the dehumidified air and return it to the room 42. This air conditioner 8
2 has a general configuration that cools air using the latent heat of vaporization of the refrigerant, and a description thereof will be omitted.

A hot water heater 51 is provided downstream of the outdoor air inlet 22. The hot water heater 51 has a function of performing heat exchange between hot water and air, and primary heats outdoor air with hot water supplied from the gas water heater 46. The gas water heater 46 includes a pump 46b and a gas combustion type burner 46a. The gas water heater 46 and the hot water heat exchanger 51 communicate with each other by pipes (55, 59), whereby a circulation path of hot water is formed between the gas water heater 46 and the hot water heater 51. Piping 59
A flow control valve 49 is mounted in the middle of the process to adjust the amount of hot water entering the hot water heater 51. The hot water heater 51 and the electric heater 62 communicate with each other by an outdoor air suction passage 52. The electric heater 62 has a function of generating heat by the action of electric resistance and secondary heating the passing air. Downstream of each of the hot water heater 51 and the electric heater 62, a heat exchanger downstream temperature sensor 68 and an electric heater downstream temperature sensor 66 are mounted. The heat exchanger downstream temperature sensor 68 and the electric heater downstream temperature sensor 66 are thermistor type temperature sensors whose electric resistance value (detection value) changes depending on the temperature. The electric heater 62 and the drying chamber 32 c of the rotary rotor 32 communicate with each other through an outdoor air suction passage 53. The drying chamber 32c and the outdoor air suction fan 56 communicate with each other through an outdoor air discharge passage 54, and the outdoor air suction fan 56 and the outdoor air discharge port 24 communicate with each other through an outdoor air discharge passage 64. The outdoor air suction fan 56 is electrically driven, increases the pressure of the sucked air, and sends out the air downstream (toward the outdoor air outlet 24).

The controller 72 has a built-in CPU, processes an input signal according to a predetermined program, and outputs a control signal. The controller 72 is connected to the heat exchanger downstream temperature sensor 68, the electric heater downstream temperature sensor 66, the electric heater 62, the flow control valve 49, and the gas water heater 46 by electric wires (shown by dotted lines in FIG. 2). I have.
The controller 72 receives detection values of the heat exchanger downstream temperature sensor 68 and the electric heater downstream temperature sensor 66.
Further, control signals are sent from the controller 72 to the electric heater 62, the flow control valve 49, and the gas water heater 46. The remote controller 73 is an operation terminal operated by the user, outputs a command signal to the controller 72, and outputs
Set the dehumidifying air temperature, operation mode, etc.

Next, the operation of the dehumidifier 10 will be described. When the indoor air suction fan 39 operates, the room air (humid air) in the room 42 is sucked from the indoor air suction port 12 and sent to the moisture absorption chamber 32 b of the rotary rotor 32 via the indoor air suction passage 38. The room air sent to the moisture absorbing chamber 32b flows inside the rotary rotor 32 in the axial direction, and in this process, the moisture absorbent absorbs moisture in the air. The air whose moisture has been absorbed and dehumidified in the moisture absorbing chamber 32b is discharged from the dehumidified air outlet 14 through the indoor air discharge passage 43, and is returned to the room 42 after being cooled by the air conditioner 82.
In order to cool the dehumidified air, the air conditioner 82 does not cause a dew condensation phenomenon, and is effectively cooled with a small amount of power consumption.

The rotating rotor 32 is connected via a belt 36 to
It is slowly rotated by an electric motor 34. The moisture absorbent that has absorbed moisture in the moisture absorption chamber 32 b is
Is moved to the drying chamber 32c with the rotation of. Hot water is circulated between the hot water heater 51 and the gas water heater 46 by the operation of the pump 46b. The hot water heated by the burner 46 a contained in the gas water heater 46 passes through a hot water heater 51. On the other hand, the air sucked from the outside by the operation of the outdoor air suction fan 56 is heated by the hot water when passing through the hot water heater 51 to become high temperature. The high-temperature outdoor air passes through the electric heater 62 downstream of the hot-water heater 51 and further rises in temperature, and flows through the drying chamber 32 c of the rotary rotor 32. The moisture absorbent absorbs moisture in the moisture absorption chamber 32b and moves to the drying chamber 32c with the rotation of the rotary rotor 32, and is dried by the high-temperature outdoor air to evaporate the moisture. The moisture evaporated from the desiccant in the drying chamber 32c, together with the air passing through the drying chamber 32c, the outdoor air suction fan 56 and the outdoor air discharge passage (5).
4, 64), and is discharged outside through the outdoor air discharge port 24.

The controller 72 processes the signals sent from the heat exchanger downstream temperature sensor 68 and the electric heater downstream temperature sensor 66 in accordance with the settings of the remote controller 73, and controls the electric heater 62, the flow control valve 49, and the gas water heater 46. To output a control signal. The electric heater 62 changes the amount of heat generated in accordance with a control signal from the controller 72 to control the temperature of outdoor air downstream of the electric heater 62. in this case,
The power supplied to the electric heater is intermittently turned on and off to control the amount of heat generated by the heater. The flow control valve 49 is also the controller 7
The opening degree is changed in accordance with the control signal of (2), the flow rate of the hot water flowing through the hot water heater 51 is adjusted, and the temperature of the outdoor air downstream of the hot water heater 51 is controlled. The controller 7
2 is a dehumidifier 1 that constantly monitors the operation of the gas water heater 46 and determines the number of revolutions of the pump 46b and the combustion intensity of the burner 46a.
Control is performed in accordance with the operating condition of 0.

The device of this embodiment is a device that first dehumidifies and then cools the dry air, thereby realizing a relatively comfortable high-temperature indoor environment. In addition, the running costs required for that purpose are suppressed. A healthy environment can be realized at low cost. In the apparatus of this embodiment, the temperature of the drying air is increased to about 70 ° C. by primary heating with a hot water heater, and then to 75 ° C. by secondary heating with an electric heater. A large amount of hot water and a special hot water heater are required for heating to 75 ° C. using only a hot water heater. In order to heat to 75 ° C. using only an electric heater, a large-sized electric heater is required.
When drying is performed at a temperature of about 70 ° C. at which the heater can be heated efficiently without difficulty, a large air volume is required. The present invention
Based on the combination of various conditions, we confirmed that primary heating with a hot water heater and secondary heating with an electric heater would provide the most efficient system and effectively reduce running costs. ing. By using a system in which the drying air is primarily heated by a hot water heater and then secondary heated by an electric heater, the running cost of a device that first dehumidifies and then cools the dry air is lower than that of a normal air conditioner. Has been successfully held down.

As described above, the dehumidifying apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention
Although the present invention has been described, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments at all, the present invention can be implemented in various modified and improved forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, for example, It may be configured as described.

(1) The controller 72 is connected to the dehumidifier 10
When the operation is started or when high dehumidification is required, the heating amount of the hot water heater 51 and / or the electric heater 62 is temporarily increased to increase the dehumidification ability. With this configuration, when the operation of the dehumidifier 10 in which the humidity of the room air is high is started, or when the humidity in the room becomes high due to, for example, opening the door,
Humidity can be reduced early. (2) By operating the remote controller 73, the electric heater 62
Operation of either one of the gas heater 46 and the gas water heater 46 can be stopped. With this configuration, the user can select the operation of the electric heater 62 and the gas water heater 46. (3) A humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the indoor air sucked into the dehumidifying device 10 is provided, and control corresponding to the detected humidity is performed by the controller 72 (for example, when the humidity is low, the outdoor air is discharged by the electric heater 62). Reduce the amount of heating). With this configuration, the dehumidifier 10 can perform a fine-grained operation according to the humidity. (4) The temperature of the outdoor air sent into the drying chamber of the rotating rotor may be controlled based on the temperature detected by the downstream temperature sensor of the heat exchanger without providing the downstream temperature sensor of the electric heater. Since the air temperature downstream of the hot water heater is lower than that downstream of the electric heater, the heat exchanger downstream temperature sensor has higher durability (has a longer life) than the electric heater downstream temperature sensor. Therefore, if the temperature of outdoor air is controlled without providing an electric heater downstream temperature sensor, a more durable dehumidifier can be obtained. (5) Part of the room air is used for drying, also serving as ventilation of the room air. Since the indoor air is dry, the desiccant can be dried more efficiently than when the outdoor air is used. The air used for drying is released into the room, and the room air is ventilated accordingly. (6) The temperature sensor may be provided at one or more of the downstream position of the hot water heater 51, the downstream position of the electric heater 62, and the downstream position of the drying chamber 32c. The amount of heating required to dry the product appropriately can be adjusted without excess or deficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a dehumidifier according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram of the dehumidifier of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a peripheral portion of a rotating roller.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Dehumidifier 12: Indoor air inlet 14: Dehumidified air outlet 16: Hot water supply port 18: Hot water outlet 22: Outdoor air inlet 24: Outdoor air outlet 32: Rotating rotor, 32a: Shaft, 32b: Moisture absorbing chamber , 32
c: Drying room 39: Indoor air suction fan 42: Room 46: Gas water heater, 46a: Burner, 46b: Pump 49: Flow control valve 51: Hot water heater 56: Outdoor air suction fan 62: Electric heater 66: Electric heater Downstream temperature sensor 68: Heat exchanger downstream temperature sensor 72: Controller 73: Remote control 82: Air conditioner 100: Half container 102: Partition wall 104: End surface 106: End surface 108: Half container 110: Partition wall 112: End surface 114: End surface

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An indoor air circulation path for sending indoor air into a moisture absorption chamber and returning air dehumidified by the moisture absorbent in the moisture absorption chamber to the interior, a hot water heater for primary heating of drying air, and primary heating. An electric heater for secondary heating of the heated air, a secondary heating air is sent to the drying chamber, and the moisture absorbent that has absorbed moisture is dried and then discharged outside the room, and the moisture is absorbed in the moisture absorbing chamber. A dehumidifier comprising: a desiccant moving unit that repeats a step of transferring a desiccant to a drying chamber and returning the desiccant dried in the drying chamber to the desiccant chamber. 2. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the desiccant is contained in a rotating rotor, and the rotating rotor rotates and passes through the moisture absorbing chamber and the drying chamber in order. 3. A temperature sensor is provided at one or more of a downstream position of the hot water heater, a downstream position of the electric heater, and a downstream position of the drying chamber, and the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the hot water heater based on a temperature detected by the temperature sensor. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the amount of heating of the electric heater is controlled. 4. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the amount of heating of the hot water heater and / or the electric heater is temporarily increased at the time of starting operation or at the time of requesting high dehumidification.