JP2003329268A - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dehumidifier, for improving heat recovery rate of a heat recovery heat exchanger, and reducing the power consumption of a heating heater to improve the dehumidifying quantity per power consumption. <P>SOLUTION: This dehumidifier 1 includes a dehumidifying opening part 38 storing a dehumidifying rotor 2 to be driven to rotate, and permitting dehumidifying air to pass therethrough, a rotor case 31 having a regenerating opening part 39 for passing regenerating air, a heating heater 5 for heating the regenerating air, a heat recovery heat exchanger 7 for transmitting heat of the regenerating air passed through the regenerating opening part 39 to regenerating air before passing the regenerating opening part 39, a dehumidifying passage X having a dehumidifying fan 3, and a regenerating passage Y having a regenerating fan 4. The rotating direction of the dehumidifying rotor 2 is set so that the regenerating air passed through a rear area part C in the rotating direction of the rotor of the regenerating opening part 39 flows into the downstream part of the second passage part 9 and the regenerating air passed through a front area part H in the rotating direction of the rotor of the regenerating opening part 39 flows into the upstream part 9a of the second passage part 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dehumidifier having a drain hole for allowing condensed water to flow into a water storage tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-205034 discloses
The moisture absorption rotor provided so as to cross the dehumidification passage and the regeneration passage formed in the casing is rotationally driven to absorb the moisture in the air passing through the dehumidification passage while traversing the dehumidification passage, and regenerated while traversing the regeneration passage. There is disclosed a dehumidifier that removes water from a moisture absorption rotor by hot air circulating in the passage, condenses water vapor generated by the removal with a heat exchanger, and collects it in a water storage tank.

According to the publication, in the dehumidifier, the condensed water is stored in the middle of the drainage channel for collecting the condensed water generated in the heat exchanger into the water storage tank, and the drainage channel is blocked by the rise of the water level. Cut off the air communication between the heat exchanger and the water storage tank,
A so-called water trap type water storage recess is provided, and a technique for preventing high temperature and high humidity regeneration air circulating in the regeneration passage from leaking from the drainage channel to the water storage tank side is described.

[0004]

However, in the case of such a water trap system, the drainage channel is closed from the start of the operation of the dehumidifier to the predetermined water level before the condensed water is stored in the water storage recess. However, the regeneration passage communicates with the space inside the water tank.

Therefore, the air in the water storage tank, that is, the outside air, flows into the regeneration passage through the drainage passage, and the regeneration air corresponding to the inflow is dehumidified from the regeneration passage through the gap of the moisture absorption rotor. It may leak into the passage and be discharged to the outside, leading to a decrease in dehumidification capacity.

Further, after the condensed water is stored in the water storage recess,
Since condensed water is always accumulated, it can cause bacteria to grow and generate an offensive odor when not used for a long period of time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and an object thereof is to cut off the communication between the regeneration passage and the space in the water storage tank at the same time as the start of operation, and to prevent the condensed water from the heat exchanger. It is to provide a dehumidifier that can appropriately discharge to a water storage tank.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 provides a main body, a disk-shaped moisture absorption rotor rotatably drivable in the main body, and dehumidifying air from the outside into the main body. A dehumidifying passage that sucks in and passes through the rotor rotation region of the moisture absorbing rotor over a predetermined angle range and then discharges it to the outside, and regenerating air for regenerating the moisture absorbing rotor, which is closed and circulated in the main body to heat the regenerating air. A regeneration passage through which the moisture absorption rotor passes over an angle range other than the predetermined angle range;
A cooling heat exchanger that is provided in the middle of the regeneration passage to cool the regeneration air after passing through the moisture absorption rotor to cause dew condensation,
The drain pan, which is installed in the middle of the regeneration passage and collects the dew condensation water that has condensed in the cooling heat exchanger, and the condensation water that is formed on the bottom of the drain pan and is collected in the drain pan, is discharged from the regeneration passage to the outside. With possible drain holes,
When the pressure in the drain pan is lower than the external pressure, the drain hole is closed, and when the pressure in the drain pan and the external pressure are almost the same, the drain hole is opened and the negative pressure condition is maintained. And a drain hole opening / closing means for opening the drain hole when the water pressure applied to the drain hole by the condensed water collected in the drain pan is larger than the force for closing the drain hole.

According to the present invention, when the dehumidifier is started, the pressure in the dehumidifying passage becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure in the outside, and the pressure in the regenerating passage also decreases accordingly. Also, the pressure inside the drain pan becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure outside. In this way, when the pressure in the regeneration passage becomes a negative pressure state lower than the atmospheric pressure of the outside, the drain hole opening / closing means closes the drain hole (in this state, the condensed water is not accumulated in the drain hole). . This allows
The outside air is prevented from flowing into the drain pan from the outside through the drain hole, the regeneration air is prevented from leaking from the regeneration passage to the dehumidification passage, and the dehumidification ability is prevented from being lowered.

Further, the dew condensation water is collected by the drain pan during the operation of the dehumidifier, a predetermined amount of dew condensation water is accumulated in the drain hole, and the water pressure applied to the drain hole causes the drain hole opening / closing means to close the drain hole. When the force becomes larger than the closing force, the drain hole opening / closing means opens the drain hole. Thus, the condensed water is automatically discharged to the outside without letting the outside air flow into the regeneration passage from the drain hole.

When the dehumidifier and the regeneration passage are brought to atmospheric pressure due to the dehumidifier's operation being stopped and the pressure inside the drain pan and the pressure outside are substantially equal, the drain hole opening / closing means discharges the condensed water in the drain hole. Then, the drain hole is opened. As a result, the condensed water in the drain pan is discharged, the condensed water is prevented from remaining in the drain pan, and the offensive odor caused by the growth of bacteria is prevented.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the dehumidifier of the first aspect, when the drain hole opening / closing means is in a negative pressure state in which the pressure inside the drain pan is lower than the outside atmospheric pressure, When the pressure of the inside of the drain pan and the outside is almost equal, the weight of the weight of the drain pan is almost equalized due to the movement of the air that passes through the drain hole and flows into the drain pan from the outside. The structure is characterized in that the drain hole is opened by moving by.

According to the present invention, when the pressure in the drain pan is in a negative pressure state lower than the atmospheric pressure of the outside, the air passing through the drain hole and flowing into the drain pan from the outside is used. The drain hole opening / closing means is moved to automatically close the drain hole. When the pressure inside the drain pan and the pressure inside the drain pan are almost equal, the drain hole opening / closing means is moved by its own weight to automatically open the drain hole.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the dehumidifier according to the second aspect, the drain hole has a passage hole portion whose upper end opens at a bottom surface of the drain pan and which hangs downward by a predetermined length. The drain hole opening / closing means includes a body that can move vertically in the passage hole, a lid that is provided at the lower end of the body and that closes the lower end of the drain hole by raising the body, and an upper end of the body. And a claw portion that can be hung in a state where a predetermined gap is formed between the lid portion and the lower end of the drain hole by lowering the body portion.

According to the present invention, when the inside of the drain pan is in a negative pressure state, the drain hole opening / closing means is moved upward by utilizing the air which has passed through the drain hole and is about to flow into the drain pan from the outside. Thus, the lid portion is pressed against the lower end of the drain hole with a predetermined pressing force to close the drain hole.

When the pressure inside the regeneration passage and the atmospheric pressure outside are substantially equal to each other, the drain hole opening / closing means is moved downward by utilizing its own weight to move the lid portion downward from the lower end of the drain hole. Separate and open the drain hole.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a dehumidifier 1 to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a dehumidifier main body 3
0 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the dehumidifier main body 30 seen from the rear, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view conceptually showing a state of the rotor case 31 seen from the front, and FIG. It is a figure explaining the dehumidification circuit of the dehumidifier 1 in this form.

First, the basic structure of the dehumidifier 1 will be described below with reference to FIG.

The dehumidifier 1 has a disk-shaped moisture absorption rotor 2 rotatably housed therein. Dehumidification air, which is the air to be dehumidified, is introduced from the outside into the dehumidifier 1 by a dehumidification fan 3 to absorb moisture. Regeneration in which the dehumidifying passage X for dehumidifying through the rotor 2 and discharging the dehumidified air to the outside and the regenerating air for regenerating the moisture absorbing rotor 2 in the dehumidifier 1 are circulated to regenerate the moisture absorbing rotor 2. It has a passage Y.

This regeneration passage Y has a regeneration fan 4 for circulating the regeneration air, a heater 5 for heating the regeneration air before passing through the moisture absorbing rotor 2, and a regeneration after passing through the moisture absorbing rotor 2. It has a cooling heat exchanger 6 for cooling the working air to cause dew condensation. In addition, in the regeneration passage Y, the temperature of the regeneration air after passing through the moisture absorption rotor 2 is used to increase the temperature of the regeneration air before passing through the moisture absorption rotor 2 for heat recovery. A container 7 is provided. The heat recovery heat exchanger 7 raises the temperature of the regeneration air before passing through the heating heater 5 to reduce the power consumption of the heating heater 5 to save energy.

The moisture absorption rotor 2 is housed in the rotor case 31 and is rotated at a very slow rotation speed of, for example, one rotation in 3 minutes. In the rotor case 31, a dehumidifying opening 38 that is interposed in the middle of the dehumidifying passage X and opens over a predetermined angular range of the rotor rotation region of the moisture absorbing rotor 2, and a predetermined portion that is interposed in the middle of the regeneration passage Y. A regeneration opening 39 that is open outside the angular range is formed so that the dehumidifying air to be dehumidified and the regenerating air that regenerates the moisture absorbing rotor 2 pass through.

When the dehumidifying air is sucked into the dehumidifier 1 through the dehumidifying passage X, it passes through the dehumidifying opening 38,
At that time, the moisture is absorbed by the moisture absorbing rotor 2, is dehumidified, and is discharged to the outside. On the other hand, the portion of the moisture absorption rotor 2 that has absorbed moisture is regenerated by the regeneration air by advancing into the regeneration opening 39 from the dehumidification opening 38 by the rotation of the moisture absorption rotor 2, and radiates the moisture absorbed. . Moisture released from the moisture absorption rotor 2 becomes water vapor, flows in the regeneration passage Y, is cooled by the cooling heat exchanger 6, and is collected in the water storage tank 26 as condensed water.

In the dehumidifier 1 having the above-described structure, the dehumidifying air that has passed through the dehumidifying passage X is discharged to the outside by the dehumidifying fan 3 provided at the downstream end of the dehumidifying passage X when the operation is started. Is a negative pressure state lower than the atmospheric pressure outside the dehumidifier 1, that is, the atmospheric pressure. Also,
The regeneration passage Y forms a closed circulation path as shown in FIG. 5, but the dehumidification opening 38 has a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, and the dehumidification opening 38 and the regeneration opening 39 are rotors. Since the case 31 and the moisture absorption rotor 2 communicate with each other through the gap, the pressure in at least the regeneration opening 39 in the regeneration passage Y to the suction port of the regeneration fan 4 is also in a negative pressure state lower than atmospheric pressure. Moreover, the pressure in the dehumidification passage X and the regeneration passage Y returns to atmospheric pressure due to the stop of the operation.

In the above dehumidification circuit, the dehumidifying air and the regenerating air passing through the moisture absorbing rotor 2 are directed to face each other, but the present invention is not limited to this.
As described below, the dehumidifying air and the regenerating air may pass through the moisture absorption rotor 2 in the same direction.

Next, a specific structure of the dehumidifier 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The dehumidifier 1 has a vertically and horizontally wide housing 23 composed of a front cover 21 and a rear cover 22,
The dehumidifier body 30 is housed in the housing 23.
A suction port 24 for sucking outside air into the dehumidifier 1 is formed on the front surface of the housing 23.
A blowout port 25 for discharging the air dehumidified in the dehumidifier 1 is formed in the upper part of the unit 3. In addition, the housing 23
A water storage tank 26 is detachably accommodated in the lower part of the container by pulling it forward.

The rotor case 31 is provided in the housing 23.
And a fan casing 32, and a dehumidifier main body 30 having a moisture absorption rotor 2, a dehumidification fan 3, a regeneration fan 4, a cooling heat exchanger 6, a heat recovery heat exchanger 7, and a drain pan 34 is housed.

The rotor case 31 includes the front cover 21.
And a rotor accommodating portion 36 that rotatably accommodates the moisture absorption rotor 2 on the rear surface side of the flat plate portion 35. The moisture absorption rotor 2 accommodates, in a ring-shaped frame, a honeycomb material capable of passing air along the rotation axis direction and holding a dehumidifying agent such as zeolite, silica gel, lithium chloride, or calcium chloride on the surface or inside thereof. The rotor case 31 has a center of rotation supported by the rotor case 31. Moisture absorption rotor 2
Is a rotor motor 37 via a reduction mechanism (not shown).
And is driven to rotate in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front side at a predetermined rotation speed (for example, a rotation speed that makes about one rotation in about 3 minutes) (see FIG. 4).

The rotor case 31 is provided with a dehumidifying opening 38 through which dehumidifying air passes and a regenerating opening 39 through which regenerating air passes. The dehumidification opening 38 and the regeneration opening 39 penetrate the rotor case 31 in the front-rear direction, and are formed so that the front surface 2a and the rear surface 2b of the moisture absorption rotor 2 are partially exposed. The opening 38 for dehumidification has a predetermined angular range of the rotor rotation area of the moisture absorption rotor 2 (about two-thirds of the rotor rotation area in the present embodiment).
Range), and the regeneration opening 39 covers the dehumidification opening 38 over an angular range outside the predetermined angular range (about one-third of the rotor rotation range in this embodiment). It is provided so as to open at positions adjacent to each other in the rotation direction of the moisture absorption rotor 2.

A heat recovery heat exchanger housing chamber 40 for housing the heat recovery heat exchanger 7 is provided above the rotor case 31. The heat exchanger 7 for heat recovery is provided with the support wall 4 facing each other.
A plurality of pipes (partition wall portions) 42 arranged in parallel between 1
It is constituted by penetrating and holding. The heat recovery heat exchanger housing chamber 40 has the heat recovery heat exchanger 7
The first passage portion 8 (inside the pipe 42) through which the regeneration air before passing through the regeneration opening portion 39 is passed by the pipe 42 of
And is divided into the second passage portion 9 (between the pipes 42) through which the regeneration air after passing through the regeneration opening portion 39 passes,
The heat of the regeneration air passed through the second passage portion 9 is configured to be transferred to the regeneration air passed through the first passage portion 8. In the drawing, reference numeral 43 closes the upper part of the heat recovery heat exchanger housing chamber 40 to form a communication passage that communicates between the second passage portion 9 and a cooling heat exchanger 6 described later. It is a lid.

A heater 5 and a cooling heat exchanger 6 are attached to the front of the rotor case 31 (see FIG. 2). The heater 5 heats the regeneration air before passing through the regeneration opening 39, and generates heat when supplied with power.

Reference numeral 44 in FIGS. 1 and 2 denotes an upstream cover member. The upstream cover member 44 is used for the rotor case 3
1, the partition between the dehumidifying opening 38 and the regenerating opening 39 is provided on the front side of the first passage 1, and the first passage portion 8 of the heat recovery heat exchanger housing chamber 40 is divided.
And the upstream side of the regeneration opening 39, and the heater 5 is housed inside thereof.

The cooling heat exchanger 6 has a support wall 45 facing it.
It is configured by penetrating and holding a plurality of pipes 46 that are arranged in parallel between the pipes, and the pipes 46 extend in the up-down direction at the position in front of the dehumidification opening portion 38, and the dehumidification opening portion 38 is It is arranged at a position where the dehumidifying air before it passes. In addition, the upper portion of the cooling heat exchanger 6 is provided with the second passage portion 9 of the heat recovery heat exchanger housing chamber 40 via the communication passage.
Connected to.

The cooling heat exchanger 6 is attached to the rotor case 31 in a posture in which the pipe 46 is slightly inclined with respect to the vertical direction (inclination angle of about 15 degrees in the present embodiment). The surface tension of the dew condensation water that has condensed due to (1) is unbalanced, and the dew condensation water is positively flowed down to prevent the dew condensation water from accumulating in the pipe 46.

At the bottom of the cooling heat exchanger 6, a pipe 46 is provided.
Drain pan 34 that collects water that condenses and drops inside
Is provided. The drain pan 34 includes a drain hole 47 for guiding the condensed water collected by the drain pan 34 to the water storage tank 26, and a duct 4 for supplying the regeneration air flowing into the drain pan 34 to the regeneration fan 4 again.
Have eight. In addition, the drain passage 47 has a reproduction passage Y.
Drain hole opening / closing means 60 for discharging the condensed water without collecting the external air into the water and collecting it in the water storage tank 26.
Is provided, but the detailed structure thereof will be described later.

A downstream cover member 50 and a fan casing 32 are attached to the rear portion of the rotor case 31. The downstream cover member 50 partitions between the dehumidifying opening 38 and the regenerating opening 39 on the rear side of the rotor case 31,
Downstream of the regeneration opening 39 and the heat recovery heat exchanger housing chamber 4
It connects with the 0 second passage part 9.

The fan casing 32 is the rotor case 3
The dehumidifying fan accommodating chamber 49 has a structure in which the dehumidifying fan accommodating chamber 49 is formed in cooperation with the rotor case 31 by stacking and mounting the dehumidifying fan 3 in the rear part of the dehumidifying fan 1. It is housed. A discharge port 51 is formed in the upper part of the dehumidification fan storage chamber 49, which is continuous with the outlet 25 of the housing 23 and discharges the air in the dehumidification fan storage chamber 49 to the outside.

Therefore, as shown by the thick hollow arrow in the figure, the dehumidifying fan 3 is driven to rotate to suck the external dehumidifying air into the housing 23 through the suction port 24, and the dehumidifying air is heated by the cooling heat. Passing between the pipes 46 of the exchanger 6 and passing through the dehumidifying opening 38 to cause the moisture absorbing rotor 2 to absorb moisture.
The dehumidified air can be made to flow into the dehumidification fan storage chamber 49, and can be discharged to the outside of the housing 23 from the discharge port 51 in the upper portion of the dehumidification fan storage chamber 49 through the outlet port 25. X (see FIG. 5) is formed.

A reproduction fan accommodating chamber 52 is formed in the rear portion of the fan casing 32 by the cooperation of the fan casing 32 and the fan cover 33, and the reproduction fan 4 is accommodated in the reproduction fan accommodating chamber 52. Is rotatably driven. Dehumidification fan 3 and regeneration fan 4
Are coaxially connected to each other on the front and rear sides of the fan casing 32, and are rotatably driven by a fan motor (not shown).

Then, the upper part of the reproduction fan accommodating chamber 52 is
The regeneration air sent by the regeneration fan 4 is communicatively connected to the heat recovery heat exchanger housing chamber 40 so that the regeneration air passes through the first passage portion 8 and flows into the upstream cover member 44. In addition, the drain pan 3 is provided below the reproduction fan accommodating chamber 52.
The tip of the duct 48 of No. 4 is open for communication (see FIG. 3).

Therefore, as indicated by the thick arrow in the figure,
By the rotational drive of the reproduction fan 4, the reproduction fan accommodation chamber 5
The regeneration air in 2 is sent to the upper part of the regeneration fan accommodation chamber 52, passes through the first passage portion 8 of the heat recovery heat exchanger accommodation chamber 40, and moves from the rear surface side to the front surface side of the rotor case 31. , Flows inward of the upstream cover member 44.

Then, after being heated by the heater 5 in the upstream cover member 44, it passes through the regeneration opening 39, flows from the front surface 2a side of the moisture absorption rotor 2 to the rear surface 2b side, and inside the downstream cover member 50. Ascends and flows into the heat recovery heat exchanger 7 from the lower surface of the heat recovery heat exchanger housing chamber 40,
The heat recovery heat exchanger housing chamber 40 passes through the second passage portion 9 (between the pipes 42) along the outer periphery of the moisture absorption rotor 2 in the longitudinal direction of the heat recovery heat exchanger 7 to form the second passage. It flows out from the downstream portion 9b of the portion 9.

Then, it flows into the cooling heat exchanger 6,
After being cooled by the dehumidifying air passing between the pipes 46 from the front side to the rear side, it is returned to the regeneration fan accommodation chamber 52 again through the duct 48. A regeneration passage Y (see FIG. 5) is formed by the above closed circulation passage.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the drain hole opening / closing means 60, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view for explaining a mounting state of the drain hole opening / closing means 60. The drain hole 47 has a cylindrical shape that hangs from the bottom of the drain pan 34 toward the upper opening (not shown) of the water storage tank 26 set in the dehumidifier 1, and its passage hole 47A. Has an inner diameter that allows condensed water condensed by the cooling heat exchanger and collected in the drain pan to flow down and flow into the water storage tank. In the present embodiment, the inner diameter a of the passage hole portion 47A; φ6
mm, axial length b; 7 mm.

The drain hole opening / closing means 60 includes the drain hole 4
7, a disk-shaped lid portion 61 having an area that closes the drain hole 47 when it comes into contact with the lower end of the drain hole 47, and stands upright on the upper surface of the lid portion 61 and passes through the inside of the drain hole 47 so that the tip of the drain pan 34.
It has a flat body portion 62 projecting inward.

Then, the body portion 62 has a claw portion 63 that protrudes in a direction away from each other at the upper end of the body portion 62 and can be caught on the bottom surface of the drain pan 34 to suspend the drain hole opening / closing means 60 itself, and the body portion. A notch portion 64 is formed by cutting out a predetermined length from the front end to the base end of 62, and has a so-called clip shape.

The drain hole opening / closing means 60 having the above structure
In the present embodiment, is made of a polypropylene material, the diameter c of the lid 61 is φ9 mm, and the plate pressure d of the flat plate is d;
1 mm, lateral width e; 5 mm, length f; 11 mm, length g of the claw portion 63; 3 mm, distance h between the tips of the claw portions 63; 7 mm, cutout width j of the cutout portion; 2.5 mm, cutout length The k is 10 mm and the moving distance is m; 4 mm, and the weight is set to 0.115 g.

Drain hole 47 of the drain hole opening / closing means 60
The drain hole 47 is attached from the lower end side. The distance h between the tips of the claws 63 is
Although it is set to a value larger than the inner diameter a of the passage hole portion 47A, it can be inserted into the drain hole 47 by deforming both the claw portions 63 toward each other by the notch portion 64. Then, when the claw portion 63 projects into the drain pan 34 from the drain hole 47 by such insertion, its deformation is recovered by its own elastic force and spreads beyond the diameter of the passage hole portion 47A, so that the bottom surface in the drain pan 34 is covered. It can be hung while hooked.

Next, the operation and action of the drain hole opening / closing means 60 having the above structure will be described below with reference to the conceptual diagrams of FIGS. First, before the dehumidifier 1 is operated, the pressure in the dehumidification passage X and the pressure in the regeneration passage Y are both substantially equal to the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, in the drain hole opening / closing means 60, as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 8, the claw portion 63 is hooked on the bottom surface in the drain pan 34 and is suspended in the drain hole 47. Is open.

When the dehumidifying fan 3 and the regeneration fan 4 are rotationally driven by the operation of the dehumidifier 1, the dehumidifying passage X
The inside and the regeneration passage Y have a negative pressure, and the drain pan 34 also has a negative pressure. In the present embodiment, the inside of the drain pan 34 is in a negative pressure state of about −100 Pascal with respect to the atmospheric pressure.

When the pressure inside the drain pan 34 becomes negative,
External air tries to enter the drain pan 34 from the side of the water storage tank 26 through the drain hole 47, and a force for moving the drain hole opening / closing means 60 upward acts. As a result, the drain hole opening / closing means 60 moves upward, and the lid 61 is brought into contact with and pressed against the lower end of the drain hole 47 as shown by the solid line in FIG. Therefore, the drain hole 47 is closed, communication between the inside of the drain pan 34 and the outside is blocked, and external air can be prevented from flowing into the regeneration passage Y through the drain hole 47. As a result, it is possible to prevent the regeneration air corresponding to the inflow of the external air from leaking from the regeneration passage Y to the dehumidification passage X through the gap between the moisture absorption rotor 2 and the rotor case 31 and being discharged to the outside. it can.

Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the dew condensation water that has condensed in the pipe 46 of the heat exchanger 6 for cooling due to the operation of the dehumidifier 1 and has fallen into the drain pan 34 is drain hole 47.
The drain hole opening / closing means 60 moves downward due to its weight (water pressure).

By the downward movement of the drain hole opening / closing means 60, the contact surface of the lid portion 61 with the lower end of the drain hole 47 is released, and a gap is formed between the drain hole 47 and the lid portion 61. Condensation water enters this gap and stays due to surface tension, so that the drain pan 3 still remains.
The communication between the inside and the outside is blocked.

Then, the water level of the condensed water is at a predetermined height position (in the present embodiment, about 10 mm from the lower end of the drain hole 47).
Surface position), the surface tension of the condensed water between the lid 61 of the drain hole opening / closing means 60 and the lower end of the drain hole 47 collapses. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the condensed water is discharged to a predetermined water level (up to a height position of about 7 to 8 mm in the present embodiment).

During the operation of the dehumidifier 1, the condensed water is repeatedly stored and discharged in the drain hole 47. that time,
Since the dew condensation water always remains in the gap between the drain hole 47 and the drain hole opening / closing means 60, the surface tension of the dew condensation causes the dew condensation in a state where the air communication between the inside of the drain pan 34 and the outside is surely blocked. It can be discharged from the regeneration passage Y to the water storage tank 26 by the amount.

Strictly speaking, dehumidifying air corresponding to the volume of the condensed water discharged from the drain hole 47 flows into the regeneration passage Y from the dehumidification passage X through the gap between the moisture absorption rotor 2 and the rotor case 31. However, if the drain hole opening / closing means 60 does not exist, the drain hole 47
The amount of external air flowing in from the chamber is only a small amount, and since the high-temperature and high-humidity regeneration air does not leak outside, it does not affect the dehumidification function.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, when the operation of the dehumidifier 1 is stopped, the inside of the drain pan 34 becomes the atmospheric pressure, so that the force pulling the condensed water in the drain hole 47 upward disappears. Then, the dew condensation water stored in the drain pan 34 and the drain hole 47 flows out through the drain hole 47, drops downward, and flows into the water storage tank 26.

At this time, dew condensation water remains on the upper surface of the lid portion 61, but in the present embodiment, even when the operation of the dehumidifier 1 is restarted in such a state, the drain hole opening / closing means 60 moves upward. It is desirable that the negative pressure value in the drain pan 34, the shape of the drain hole 47, the shape and weight of the drain hole opening / closing means, etc. be set.

In this embodiment, the case where the condensed water is temporarily stored in the lower portion of the drain hole 47 and the drain pan 34 has been described as an example (see FIG. 9), but as another embodiment. The water level may be moved only in the drain hole 47 by storing and discharging the dew condensation water, and the dew condensation water may not be stored in the drain pan 34, and the drain pan 34 may only collect the dew condensation water.

When the operation is stopped, the drain hole 47 is open, so that the inside of the drain pan 34 and the drain hole 47 are closed.
The condensed water adhering to the inside or the drain hole opening / closing means 60 naturally dries. Therefore, after the operation of the dehumidifier 1 is stopped, it is possible to prevent the dew condensation water from remaining in the drain pan 34 and the propagation of bacteria causing an offensive odor.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the clip-type drain hole opening / closing means 60 that moves vertically in the drain hole 47 is adopted has been described as an example.
A butterfly valve type may be adopted. Also, the body 6
2 may be provided with a convex portion to further reduce the opening area of the drain hole 47, and the drain hole opening / closing means 60 may be pulled upward under a lower negative pressure state to close the drain hole 47.

[0062]

As described above, according to the dehumidifier according to the present invention, the pressure inside the dehumidifying passage becomes lower than the external atmospheric pressure due to the start of operation of the dehumidifier, and the pressure inside the regenerating passage accordingly. The pressure inside the drain pan provided in the middle of the regeneration passage also becomes a negative pressure state lower than the outside air pressure, and the drain hole opening / closing means closes the drain hole, so during operation of the dehumidifier. The communication between the regeneration passage and the outside can be cut off. Therefore, the external air is prevented from flowing into the regeneration passage from the drain hole, and the regeneration air corresponding to the inflow leaks from the regeneration passage to the dehumidification passage through the gap between the moisture absorption rotor and the rotor case, and the dehumidification is performed. It is possible to prevent the ability from decreasing.

When the dew condensation water accumulates in the drain pan during the operation of the dehumidifier and the water pressure applied to the drain hole becomes larger than the force of the drain hole opening / closing means to close the drain hole, the drain hole opening / closing is performed. Since the means opens the drain hole, if a certain amount of dew condensation water is accumulated in the drain pan during operation of the dehumidifier, external air is automatically discharged to the outside from the drain hole without flowing into the regeneration passage. be able to.

When the pressure inside the drain pan becomes almost equal to the outside due to the operation stop of the dehumidifier, the drain hole opening / closing means opens the drain hole. Therefore, the drain hole should be opened during the operation stop of the dehumidifier. Therefore, all the condensed water collected in the drain pan can be discharged. As a result, it is possible to prevent the dew condensation water from remaining in the drain pan and prevent the generation of offensive odor due to the growth of bacteria.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a dehumidifier to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a dehumidifier main body.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the dehumidifier main body as viewed from the rear.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a state where the rotor case is viewed from the front.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a dehumidifying circuit.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a drain hole opening / closing means.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a mounting state of the drain hole opening / closing means.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the operation of the drain hole opening / closing means.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the drain hole opening / closing means.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the drain hole opening / closing means.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the operation of the drain hole opening / closing means.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 dehumidifier 2 Moisture absorption rotor 3 dehumidification fan 4 Playing fans 5 heater 6 Cooling heat exchanger 7 Heat recovery heat exchanger 8 First passage 9 Second passage 30 Dehumidifier body 31 rotor case 32 fan casing 34 drain pan 38 Dehumidifying opening 39 Playback opening 47 drain hole 60 Drain hole opening / closing means 61 Lid 62 torso 63 Claw 64 notch X dehumidification passage Y reproduction passage

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body, a disk-shaped moisture absorption rotor rotatably driven in the main body, and dehumidifying air is sucked into the main body from the outside so that a predetermined rotation angle range of a rotor rotation region of the moisture absorption rotor is achieved. A dehumidifying passage that is exhausted to the outside after being passed over, recirculates the regenerating air for regenerating the moisture absorbing rotor within the main body, and heats the regenerating air outside the predetermined angle range of the moisture absorbing rotor. A regeneration passage for passing through the angular range, a cooling heat exchanger provided in the middle of the regeneration passage for cooling and condensing the regeneration air after passing through the moisture absorption rotor, and in the middle of the regeneration passage. A drain pan for collecting condensed water condensed in the cooling heat exchanger, and a condensed water collected in the drain pan formed on the bottom surface of the drain pan for the regeneration passage. A drain hole that can be discharged from the inside to the outside, and when the pressure in the drain pan is in a negative pressure state lower than the external pressure, the drain hole is closed, and the pressure inside and outside the drain pan is reduced. The drain holes are opened when they are approximately equal, and the drain is in the negative pressure state and when the water pressure applied to the drain holes by the condensed water collected in the drain pan is larger than the force that closes the drain holes. A drain hole opening / closing means for opening the hole; 2. The drain hole opening / closing means passes through the drain hole and flows into the drain pan from the outside when the pressure in the drain pan is in a negative pressure state lower than the outside atmospheric pressure. The drain hole is closed by moving using the flow of the air to be tried, and when the pressure inside and outside the regeneration passage is almost equal, it moves by its own weight to open the drain hole. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. The drain hole has a passage hole portion having an upper end opening at a bottom surface of the drain pan and hanging downward by a predetermined length, and the drain hole opening / closing means vertically moves in the passage hole portion. A body portion movable in a direction, and a lid portion provided at a lower end of the body portion and capable of closing the lower end of the drain hole by raising the body portion,
A claw portion which is provided at an upper end of the body portion and can be hung in a state where a predetermined gap is formed between the lid portion and the lower end of the drain hole when the body portion is lowered. The dehumidifier according to Item 2.