JP2006055815A - Oxygen enrichment apparatus and air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an oxygen enrichment apparatus capable of eliminating the transmission of bubbling sound to a living room and preventing unintentional dilution of oxygen concentration of oxygen-enriched air. <P>SOLUTION: The oxygen enrichment apparatus 15 comprises an oxygen enrichment membrane module 61, a vacuum pump 65, an air supply fan 54, and an oxygen-enriched air discharge path 67. The oxygen enrichment membrane module 61 comprises a casing 62 and an oxygen enrichment membrane 63. The oxygen enrichment membrane 63 is installed in the casing 62 in a manner that a space in the casing 62 is divided into a primary side space S1 and a secondary side space S2. The vacuum pump 65 is installed for producing first oxygen-enriched air in the secondary side space S2 by reducing the pressure of the secondary side space S2 so as to pass the air supplied to the primary side space S1 through the oxygen enrichment membrane 63 toward the secondary side space S2. The air supply fan 54 is installed to supply the first oxygen-enriched air to an object space to be enriched with oxygen. The oxygen-enriched air discharge path 67 is installed for discharging the firsts oxygen-enriched air to a installation space SP of the air supply fan from the vacuum pump 65. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an oxygen enricher that performs oxygen enrichment using an oxygen enriched film, and an air conditioner equipped with the oxygen enricher.

  In recent years, oxygen enrichers have been widely accepted by general consumers for the purpose of maintaining and promoting health and improving work efficiency. As an oxygen enrichment apparatus, one that uses an oxygen enrichment film to concentrate oxygen in the air to about 30% is widely known. Such an oxygen enrichment apparatus mainly includes an oxygen enrichment membrane module. And a vacuum pump. In the oxygen-enriched membrane module, the oxygen-enriched membrane is arranged so as to divide the space in the casing into a primary side space and a secondary side space, and the secondary side space is depressurized via a hose, piping, etc. Connected to the suction side of the pump. Moreover, a hose, piping, etc. are normally connected also to the discharge | emission side of a pressure reduction pump, and the hose, piping are guide | induced to the space used as oxygen enrichment objects, such as a living room, for example. In such a configuration, when the decompression pump is operated, the secondary side space of the oxygen-enriched membrane module is depressurized and a pressure difference is generated between the primary side space. Then, the air supplied to the primary space passes through the oxygen-enriched membrane using the pressure difference as a drive source and reaches the secondary space. At this time, oxygen in the air is concentrated to become air having an oxygen concentration of about 30% (hereinafter referred to as oxygen-enriched air).

  By the way, it is widely known among those skilled in the art that most oxygen-enriched membranes in practical use selectively transmit not only oxygen but also moisture. For this reason, in the oxygen enrichment apparatus as described above, the oxygen-enriched air has a relatively higher humidity than the air supplied to the primary side space, and the dew point increases in the secondary side space. . Therefore, in the rainy season when the humidity is high or in the winter when the temperature is low, dew condensation water is often generated in the hose or pipe connected to the discharge side of the decompression pump. In this way, if condensed water is generated and accumulated in hoses and pipes that are led to living rooms, etc., there may be a noise in the vicinity of the outlets of the hoses and pipes, which may cause discomfort to residents in the rooms. It was.

In order to remove this fear, those skilled in the art of oxygen enrichment devices have disclosed an invention (see Patent Document 1). In the present invention, an outside air introduction pipe is connected to a flow path of oxygen-enriched air from the secondary space of the oxygen-enriched membrane module to the suction side of the decompression pump, and the wind speed of the oxygen-enriched air becomes a predetermined value or less. In this case, a control valve capable of controlling the introduction of outside air is opened, and the condensed water accumulated in the hose and the piping is discharged to the drain pan of the indoor unit of the air conditioner. According to the present invention, when condensed water is generated and accumulated in hoses or pipes connected to a living room or the like, the wind speed of the oxygen-enriched air decreases and reaches a predetermined wind speed. Since the outside air is blown into the flow path and the accumulated condensed water is discharged from the hose or the pipe, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a flashing sound near the outlet of the hose or the pipe.
JP 2004-148243 A

However, when the above-described invention is adopted to eliminate the possibility that the blown sound propagates to the living room or the like, the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-enriched air supplied to the living room or the like is reduced unintentionally every time outside air is introduced. Inconvenience will be newly generated.
An object of the present invention is to provide an oxygen-enriching device that can remove the fear that a blown sound will propagate to a living room and the like and can prevent the oxygen concentration of oxygen-enriched air from being unintentionally diluted. It is in.

  An oxygen enrichment apparatus according to a first aspect includes an oxygen enrichment membrane module, a decompression pump, an air supply fan, and an oxygen-enriched air discharge path. The oxygen enriched membrane module has a casing and an oxygen enriched membrane. The oxygen-enriched membrane can selectively permeate oxygen and moisture contained in the air. And this oxygen enrichment film | membrane is arrange | positioned in a casing so that the space in a casing may be divided | segmented into a primary side space and a secondary side space. The decompression pump depressurizes the secondary space so that the air supplied to the primary space passes through the oxygen-enriched film toward the secondary space, and the first oxygen-enriched in the secondary space. It is provided to generate chemical air. Here, “first oxygen-enriched air” refers to air enriched with oxygen and moisture. The air supply fan is provided to supply the first oxygen-enriched air to the oxygen-enriched space. Note that the “oxygen-enriched space” here refers to a space to be oxygen-enriched, for example, a room where a human lives. The oxygen-enriched air discharge path is provided for discharging the first oxygen-enriched air from the decompression pump to the air supply fan installation space. The “air supply fan installation space” here refers to a space where the air supply fan is installed.

  In the conventional oxygen enrichment apparatus, the oxygen-enriched air discharge passage extending from the decompression pump is led directly to the oxygen-enriched space such as a living room. However, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the oxygen-enriched air discharge path extending from the decompression pump is led to the air supply fan installation space in the apparatus, and the air is supplied from the decompression pump through the oxygen-enriched air exhaust path. The first oxygen-enriched air discharged to the fan installation space is supplied to the oxygen-enriched target space such as a living room by an air supply fan. For this reason, if this oxygen enrichment device is installed outdoors as in the conventional case, it is assumed that condensed water accumulates in the oxygen-enriched air discharge path and a blown noise occurs in the oxygen-enriched air exhaust path. However, the sound is generated outside the room, and the sound does not propagate to the room. Further, since it is not necessary to worry about such a loud sound, it is not necessary to forcibly discharge the condensed water accumulated in the oxygen-enriched air discharge path using the outside air. As described above, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, it is possible to remove the fear that a blown sound is propagated to a living room or the like, and it is possible to prevent the oxygen concentration of the first oxygen enriched air from being unintentionally diluted. .

An oxygen enrichment apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the decompression pump is disposed at a position higher than the supply fan installation space. The oxygen-enriched air discharge path is disposed so as to descend downward from the decompression pump toward the air supply fan installation space.
In this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the decompression pump is disposed at a position higher than the supply air fan installation space, and the oxygen-enriched air discharge path is disposed so as to descend downward from the decompression pump toward the supply air installation space. The For this reason, in this oxygen-enriched device, even when condensed water is generated from the oxygen-enriched air in the oxygen-enriched air discharge path, the condensed water is supplied through the oxygen-enriched air exhaust path. It will be discharged into the air fan installation space. Therefore, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, it is possible to prevent condensation water from accumulating in the oxygen-enriched air discharge path. As a result, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, it is possible to prevent the generation of a blown sound and to prevent the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-enriched air from being unintentionally diluted. Note that the dew condensation water discharged to the air supply fan installation space may be dried by the air flow generated by the air supply fan, or may be discharged outdoors.

An oxygen enrichment apparatus according to a third invention is the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the first invention or the second invention, wherein the oxygen-enriched air discharge passage is formed by condensed water from the first oxygen-enriched air. In some cases, the dew condensation water is connected to the air supply fan installation space so that it is dried by the air flow generated by the air intake of the air supply fan.
In this oxygen-enriched device, the oxygen-enriched air discharge passage is dried by the air flow generated by the suction of air from the air supply fan when the dew-condensed water is generated from the first oxygen-enriched air. Connected to the supply fan installation space. For this reason, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, dew condensation water can be processed, without discharging dew condensation water outdoors.

  An oxygen enrichment apparatus according to a fourth invention is the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the third invention, and further includes a drain pan. The drain pan is provided to receive dew condensation water generated from the enriched air such as the first oxygen. And this drain pan is arrange | positioned in an air flow generation | occurrence | production area | region among supply air installation space. Here, the “air flow generation region” refers to a region where an air flow is generated due to air suction of the air supply fan.

  In this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the drain pan is disposed in the air flow generation region in the supply air fan installation space. For this reason, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the dew condensation water generated in the oxygen-enriched air discharge path is deposited on the drain pan and dried by the air flow generated by the air suction of the air supply fan. Therefore, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the condensed water can be treated without discharging the condensed water to the outdoors. Moreover, when an electrical component or the like is disposed in the vicinity of the air supply fan installation space, the electrical component can be protected.

  An oxygen enrichment device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the oxygen enrichment device according to any of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, further comprising an outside air introduction passage. The outside air introduction passage is a passage for guiding outside air to the air supply fan installation space. Here, “outside air” refers to outdoor air. The supply fan supplies the second oxygen-enriched air to the oxygen-enriched space. Here, “second oxygen-enriched air” refers to air in which the first oxygen-enriched air is mixed with the outside air.

In this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the air supply fan supplies the second oxygen-enriched air to the oxygen-enriched space. For this reason, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the oxygen concentration of the first oxygen-enriched air is diluted by the outside air, but air having an oxygen concentration higher than the oxygen concentration of normal air is steadily supplied to the living room or the like. At the same time as enrichment, it is possible to provide air supply ventilation in the living room.
An oxygen enrichment apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, further comprising humidification means. The humidifying means is provided for humidifying the outside air to generate the humidified outside air. The supply fan supplies the third oxygen-enriched air to the oxygen-enriched space. Here, “third oxygen-enriched air” refers to air in which first oxygen-enriched air and humidified outside air are mixed.

In this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the air supply fan supplies the third oxygen-enriched air to the oxygen-enriched space. For this reason, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the oxygen concentration of the first oxygen-enriched air is diluted by the humidified outside air, but air having an oxygen concentration higher than that of normal air is constantly supplied to a living room or the like. The room can be humidified at the same time as oxygen enrichment.
An oxygen enrichment apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to any of the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, further comprising an oxygen-enriched air introduction path and a flow path switching mechanism. The oxygen-enriched air introduction path is a flow path for guiding oxygen-enriched air blown out from the air supply fan to the oxygen-enriched space. The flow path switching mechanism can switch between the first state and the second state. In the first state, the oxygen-enriched air is supplied to the oxygen-enriched target space via the oxygen-enriched air introduction path by the supply fan. In the second state, the air present in the oxygen-enriched target space is discharged to the outside through the oxygen-enriched air introduction path by the air supply fan.

In this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the flow path switching mechanism can switch between the first state and the second state. For this reason, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, not only oxygen-enriched air is supplied to the oxygen enrichment target space, but also the oxygen enrichment target space can be exhausted and ventilated.
An oxygen enrichment apparatus according to an eighth invention is the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to any one of the first to seventh inventions, further comprising a hygroscopic agent. The hygroscopic agent adsorbs moisture in the air. The air supplied to the primary space of the oxygen-enriched membrane module is dehumidified air. Here, “dehumidified air” refers to air dehumidified by a hygroscopic agent.

In this oxygen enrichment apparatus, the air supplied to the primary side space of the oxygen enrichment membrane module is dehumidified air. For this reason, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, it is possible to suppress the formation of dew condensation water from the first oxygen enriched air in the oxygen enriched air discharge path. Moreover, even if dew condensation water is generated, the generation amount can be reduced.
An air conditioner according to a ninth aspect includes an indoor unit, an outdoor unit, and an oxygen enrichment device. The oxygen enrichment apparatus is the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to any one of the first invention to the eighth invention. And an oxygen enrichment apparatus is attached to an outdoor unit.

  In this air conditioner, the oxygen enricher is attached to the outdoor unit. For this reason, even if condensed water accumulates in the oxygen-enriched air discharge path and a noise is generated in the oxygen-enriched air exhaust path, the noise is generated outside the room. Sound does not propagate to the room. Further, since it is not necessary to worry about such a loud sound, it is not necessary to forcibly discharge the condensed water accumulated in the oxygen-enriched air discharge path using the outside air. As described above, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, it is possible to remove the fear that a blown sound is transmitted to a living room or the like, and it is possible to prevent the oxygen concentration of oxygen enriched air from being unintentionally diluted.

If the oxygen-enriching apparatus according to the first invention is installed outdoors, the oxygen concentration of the enriched air such as the first oxygen can be reduced unintentionally. Can be prevented.
In the oxygen enrichment device according to the second aspect of the present invention, even when condensed water is generated from the oxygen-enriched air in the oxygen-enriched air discharge path, the condensed water travels through the oxygen-enriched air exhaust path. It will be discharged into the air supply fan installation space. Therefore, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, it is possible to prevent condensation water from accumulating in the oxygen-enriched air discharge path. As a result, in this oxygen enrichment apparatus, it is possible to prevent the generation of a blown sound and to prevent the oxygen concentration of the oxygen-enriched air from being unintentionally diluted.

In the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the condensed water can be treated without discharging the condensed water to the outdoors.
In the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the condensed water can be treated without discharging the condensed water to the outdoors. Moreover, when an electrical component or the like is disposed in the vicinity of the air supply fan installation space, the electrical component can be protected.

In the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the invention, the oxygen concentration of the first oxygen-enriched air is diluted by the outside air, but air having an oxygen concentration higher than that of normal air is constantly supplied to a living room or the like. At the same time as oxygen enrichment, air supply ventilation in the living room can be performed.
In the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the invention, the oxygen concentration of the first oxygen-enriched air is diluted by the outside air, but air having an oxygen concentration higher than that of normal air is constantly supplied to a living room or the like. The room can be humidified at the same time as oxygen enrichment.

In the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the invention, not only the oxygen-enriched air is supplied to the oxygen enrichment target space, but also the oxygen enrichment target space can be exhausted and ventilated.
In the oxygen enrichment apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the formation of dew condensation water from the oxygen enriched air in the oxygen enriched air discharge path. Moreover, even if dew condensation water is generated, the generation amount can be reduced.

  In the air conditioning apparatus according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to remove the fear that a blown sound will propagate to a living room and the like, and to prevent the oxygen concentration of oxygen-enriched air from being diluted unintentionally.

Hereinafter, embodiments of an air-conditioning apparatus according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
(1) Schematic Configuration of Air Conditioner FIG. 1 is an external view of an air conditioner 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The air conditioner 1 is divided into an indoor unit 2 attached to an indoor wall surface U and the like, and an outdoor unit 3 installed outside the room. The outdoor unit 3 includes an outdoor refrigerant unit 4 and an optional unit 15. The optional unit 15 (oxygen enrichment device) includes a humidification unit 5 and an oxygen enrichment unit 6. The indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3 are connected to the refrigerant circuits of both units via a refrigerant pipe 7. In addition, the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3 are used when supplying heated air from the humidifying unit 5 or humidified air or oxygen-enriched air from the oxygen-enriched unit 6 to the indoor unit 2 side. Connected by. In the present embodiment, the optional unit 15 is arranged so as to be superimposed on the upper side of the outdoor refrigerant unit 4 so that the installation space does not increase. The air supply pipe 8 is connected to the side surface, the front surface, the back surface, and the like of the humidifying unit 5, and is connected to the indoor unit 2 through the indoor wall surface U. Here, the supply pipe 8 having an inner diameter of about 20 mm to 30 mm is used.

(2) Arrangement of Equipment in Each Unit and Configuration of Refrigerant Circuit FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the arrangement of each equipment in the indoor unit 2 and the outdoor unit 3 of the air conditioner 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. . FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a refrigerant circuit of the air conditioner 1, a schematic configuration diagram of the humidification unit 5, and a schematic configuration diagram of the oxygen enrichment unit 6.
The indoor unit 2 is provided with an indoor heat exchanger 11. This indoor heat exchanger 11 is a cross fin tube type heat exchanger panel composed of a heat transfer tube configured by connecting a plurality of hairpin-shaped tubes and a plurality of fins through which the heat transfer tubes are inserted. Heat is exchanged between the refrigerant that is supplied to the indoor heat exchanger 11 through the refrigerant pipe 7 and flows through the heat transfer tubes, and the air that contacts the heat transfer tubes and the fins. In the indoor unit 2, an indoor fan 12 and an indoor fan motor 13 that rotationally drives the indoor fan 12 are provided. The indoor fan 12 is a cylindrical cross-flow fan having a large number of blades on the peripheral surface, and generates an air flow in a direction intersecting the rotation axis. The indoor fan 12 sucks indoor air into the indoor unit 2 and blows out air after heat exchange with the refrigerant flowing in the heat transfer tube of the indoor heat exchanger 11 into the room. Furthermore, the pipe end of the air supply pipe 8 is inserted into the indoor unit 2 so that heated air supplied from the humidifying unit 5 or humidified air or oxygen-enriched air supplied from the oxygen-enriched unit 6 is contained in the room. After being blown out once into the unit 2, it is blown into the room by the indoor fan 12 together with the air sucked from the room.

  The outdoor refrigerant unit 4 is connected to the compressor 21, a four-way switching valve 22 connected to the discharge side of the compressor 21, an accumulator 23 connected to the suction side of the compressor 21, and the four-way switching valve 22. The outdoor heat exchanger 24 and the electric expansion valve 25 connected to the outdoor heat exchanger 24 are provided. The outdoor heat exchanger 24 is a cross fin tube type heat exchanger panel including a heat transfer tube configured by connecting a plurality of hairpin-shaped tubes and a plurality of fins through which the heat transfer tubes are inserted. It arrange | positions so that the back surface and side surface of the refrigerant | coolant unit 4 may be adjoined. The electric expansion valve 25 is connected to a liquid side communication pipe 32 via a filter 26 and a liquid closing valve 27, and is connected to one end of the indoor heat exchanger 11 via this liquid side communication pipe 32. The four-way switching valve 22 is connected to the gas side communication pipe 31 via the gas closing valve 28, and is connected to the other end of the indoor heat exchanger 11 via the gas side communication pipe 31. These communication pipes 31 and 32 correspond to the refrigerant pipe 7 in FIGS. 1 and 2. Further, in the outdoor refrigerant unit 4, in order to discharge the air after heat exchange by the outdoor heat exchanger 24 to the outside, the air is taken in from the back and side surfaces of the outdoor refrigerant unit 4 toward the front. An outdoor fan 29 that blows out is provided. The outdoor fan 29 is a propeller fan that is rotationally driven by the outdoor fan motor 30.

(3) Structure of humidifier Next, the structure inside the humidification unit 5 is demonstrated based on FIG.2 and FIG.3.
The humidifying unit 5 includes a humidifying unit casing located above the outdoor refrigerant unit 4. Inside the humidifying unit casing 50 is a humidifying unit component device 50 such as a moisture absorbing rotor 51, a heater assembly 53, a humidifying fan 54, and an adsorption fan 56. Has been placed.

  The moisture absorption rotor 51 is a honeycomb-structured ceramic rotor having a generally disc shape, and has a structure in which air can easily pass. Specifically, the rotor has a circular shape in a plan view, and has a fine honeycomb (honeycomb) shape in a cross section cut along a horizontal plane. And the outdoor air introduce | transduced through the humidification unit air inlet flow path 60 passes through many cylinder parts of the moisture absorption rotor 51 whose cross section is polygonal. The main part of the moisture absorption rotor 51 is obtained by baking an adsorbent such as zeolite, silica gel, or alumina. This adsorbent such as zeolite has the property of adsorbing moisture in the air in contact and desorbing the adsorbed moisture when heated. The hygroscopic rotor 51 can be driven to rotate by a rotor drive motor 52.

The heater assembly 53 is disposed so as to cover one surface of the substantially half portion 51 b of the moisture absorption rotor 51. The heater assembly 53 can heat the air sucked from the outside and discharge it to the hygroscopic rotor 51 side.
The humidification fan 54 is disposed on the other surface side of the substantially half portion 51 b of the moisture absorption rotor 51 and at a position corresponding to the heater assembly 53. The humidifying fan 54 is a centrifugal fan that is rotated by a humidifying fan motor 55, and an outlet thereof is connected to the air supply pipe 8 via a humidified air supply channel 58. The humidifying fan 54 is a humidified air obtained by passing through a substantially half portion 51b of the moisture absorbing rotor 51 that has adsorbed moisture, or a heated air obtained by passing through a substantially half portion 51b of the moisture absorbing rotor 51 that has not adsorbed moisture. Is sent to the air supply pipe 8 via the humidified air supply flow path 58 and supplied to the indoor unit 2. A drain pan 91 for receiving condensed water generated from the oxygen enriching unit 6 is disposed in the vicinity of the humidifying fan 54, and the condensed water accumulated in the drain pan 91 is generated by air suction of the humidifying fan 54. It evaporates by the air flow, is sent to the air supply pipe 8 through the humidified air supply flow path 58 together with the humidified air and the heated air, and is supplied to the indoor unit 2.

  The suction fan 56 is a centrifugal fan that is rotated by the suction fan motor 57 and is arranged so that outdoor air introduced through the humidification unit air inlet channel 60 can be passed through the moisture suction rotor 51. The adsorption fan 56 removes the dehumidified air obtained by adsorbing and removing moisture when passing through the substantially half portion 51 a of the hygroscopic rotor 51 through the dehumidified air discharge channel 59, and the oxygen-enriched film of the oxygen enriching unit 6. Supply to module 61.

(4) Configuration of Oxygen Enriching Unit Next, the internal configuration of the oxygen enriching unit 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the oxygen-enriched membrane module 61. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the vacuum pump 65 and the arrangement space SP such as a humidifying fan.
The oxygen enrichment unit 6 includes an oxygen enrichment unit casing located above the humidification unit 5, and includes an oxygen enrichment membrane module 61, a vacuum pump 65 (decompression pump), and an oxygen enrichment membrane module 61. An arrangement space SP of a humidifying fan or the like, which is a space in which the oxygen-enriched air suction passage 69 that connects the secondary space S2 of the vacuum pump 65 and the suction port of the vacuum pump 65, the humidifying fan 54 and the drain pan 91 belonging to the humidifying unit 5 are arranged And an oxygen-enriched air supply flow path 67 connecting the outlet of the vacuum pump 65 and the like.

  The oxygen-enriched membrane module 61 is mainly composed of a module casing 62 and an oxygen-enriched module disposed in the module casing 62 so as to divide the space in the module casing 62 into a primary space S1 and a secondary space S2. And a chemical film 63. The oxygen-enriched film 63 has a property of easily transmitting oxygen and water in the air and not easily transmitting nitrogen, in other words, a property of selectively transmitting oxygen and water.

  In the primary side space S1, an air inlet 62a into which dehumidified air supplied from the adsorption fan 56 via the oxygen enrichment unit air inlet channel 59 is introduced, and the primary air without passing through the oxygen enrichment film 63. An air discharge port 62b through which air remaining in the side space S1 is discharged is provided. A filter 64 is disposed on the air inlet 62a side of the primary side space S1. The air remaining in the primary space S1 without passing through the oxygen-enriched membrane is discharged from the air outlet 62b to the outside of the oxygen-enriched unit 6 through the oxygen-enriched unit air discharge channel 68. It is like that. The secondary space S2 is provided with an oxygen-enriched air discharge port 62c through which oxygen-enriched air having an increased oxygen concentration passing through the oxygen-enriched film 63 is discharged.

  In FIG. 4, a single oxygen-enriched film 63 is disposed in the module casing 62 to form the primary side space S1 and the secondary side space S2. The configuration of 61 is not limited to this, and a plurality of primary-side spaces and secondary-side spaces can be formed by arranging a plurality of oxygen-enriched membranes such as hollow fiber membranes and plate-like membranes in the module casing. In addition, the primary side spaces or the secondary side spaces may be communicated with each other so as to have a functionally similar configuration to that of FIG.

  The vacuum pump 65 is a pump for sucking the air in the primary side space S1 through the oxygen enriched film 63 and discharging the air in the secondary side space S2 to the oxygen enriched air supply channel 67. The vacuum pump 65 is driven by a pump motor 66, and in this embodiment, an oilless type is used so that lubricating oil is not mixed into the oxygen-enriched air. When the vacuum pump 65 is operated, a pressure difference is generated between the primary side space S1 and the secondary side space S2 in the oxygen enriched membrane module 61. Therefore, the primary side space S1 of the oxygen enriched membrane 63 is generated. Oxygen in the air introduced into the gas selectively passes through the secondary space S2 to obtain oxygen-enriched air. The oxygen-enriched air is discharged from the secondary space S2 by the vacuum pump 65 to the oxygen-enriched air supply channel 67 through the oxygen-enriched air suction channel 69.

The oxygen-enriched air supply channel 67 is a channel for allowing the oxygen-enriched air discharged from the oxygen-enriched membrane module 61 by the vacuum pump 65 to flow into the humidifying fan or the like arrangement space SP of the humidifying unit 6. That is, the oxygen-enriched air obtained by the oxygen-enriching unit 6 is supplied to the room by the humidifying fan 54 via the air supply pipe 8.
Here, the oxygen-enriched air supply channel 67 is disposed so as to be inclined downward toward the humidifying fan or the like arrangement space SP (see the wedge symbol W in FIG. 2). Further, here, the outlet of the oxygen-enriched air supply channel 67 is arranged so as to come directly above the drain pan 91 arranged in the arrangement space SP such as the humidifying fan. As described above, since the oxygen-enriched film 63 has a property of selectively transmitting not only oxygen in the air but also water, the oxygen-enriched air generated in the secondary space S2 of the oxygen-enriched film module 61 Will contain moisture at a higher concentration than the dehumidified air supplied to the primary space S1. Therefore, there is a risk that moisture in the oxygen-enriched air may condense near the outlet of the oxygen-enriched air supply channel 67, such as during the rainy season, when the humidity of the outside air is relatively high, or in the winter when the outside air temperature decreases. high. The reason why the outlet of the oxygen-enriched air supply channel 67 is arranged to be directly above the drain pan 91 arranged in the humidifying fan or the like arrangement space SP is thus condensed water that may be generated from the oxygen-enriched air. This is because the water is accumulated in the drain pan 91.

(5) Operation | movement of an air conditioning apparatus Next, operation | movement of the air conditioning apparatus 1 is demonstrated using FIG.2 and FIG.3.
<Operation of refrigerant circuit>
First, the cooling operation will be described. During the cooling operation, the four-way switching valve 22 is in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, that is, the discharge side of the compressor 21 is connected to the gas side of the outdoor heat exchanger 24, and the suction side of the compressor 21 is the outdoor heat. It is in a state connected to the gas side of the exchanger 24. Moreover, the liquid closing valve 27, the gas closing valve 28, and the electric expansion valve 25 are open.

  When the outdoor fan 29 of the outdoor refrigerant unit 4, the compressor 21, and the indoor fan 12 of the indoor unit 2 are activated in this refrigerant circuit state, the gas refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 21 and compressed, and then switched to four-way switching. It is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 24 via the valve 22, and the outdoor air is heated and condensed. Here, the outdoor air is taken into the outdoor refrigerant unit 4 from the back and side surfaces of the outdoor refrigerant unit 4 by driving the outdoor fan 29 (see arrow F1 in FIG. 2), and after crossing the outdoor heat exchanger 24, It is discharged from the front surface of the outdoor refrigerant unit 4 (see arrow F2 in FIG. 2). The condensed liquid refrigerant is decompressed by the electric expansion valve 25 and then sent to the indoor unit 2 via the liquid side communication pipe 32. Then, the liquid refrigerant sent to the indoor unit 2 is evaporated by cooling the indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger 11. Here, the indoor air is taken into the indoor unit 2 by driving the indoor fan 12 (see arrow F3 in FIG. 2), crosses the indoor heat exchanger 11, and then blown out from the indoor unit 2 into the room. (See arrow F4 in FIG. 2). The evaporated gas refrigerant is again sucked into the compressor 21 via the gas side communication pipe 31, the four-way switching valve 22 and the accumulator 23. In this way, the cooling operation is performed.

Next, the heating operation will be described. During the heating operation, the four-way switching valve 22 is in the state indicated by the broken line in FIG. 2, that is, the discharge side of the compressor 21 is connected to the gas side of the outdoor heat exchanger 24, and the suction side of the compressor 21 is the outdoor heat. It is in a state connected to the gas side of the exchanger 24. Further, the liquid closing valve 27 and the gas closing valve 28 are in an open state.
When the outdoor fan 29 of the outdoor refrigerant unit 4, the compressor 21, and the indoor fan 12 of the indoor unit 2 are activated in this refrigerant circuit state, the gas refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 21 and compressed, and then switched to four-way switching. It is sent to the indoor unit 2 via the valve 22 and the gas side communication pipe 31. The gas refrigerant sent to the indoor unit 2 is condensed by heating the indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger 11. The condensed liquid refrigerant is sent to the outdoor refrigerant unit 4 via the liquid side communication pipe 32. The liquid refrigerant sent to the outdoor refrigerant unit 4 is depressurized by the electric expansion valve 25, and is then evaporated by cooling the outdoor air by the outdoor heat exchanger 24. The evaporated gas refrigerant is again sucked into the compressor 21 via the four-way switching valve 22 and the accumulator 23. In this way, the heating operation is performed. In addition, since the flow of outdoor air and room air is the same as that at the time of cooling operation, description is abbreviate | omitted.

<Operation of humidification unit (humidification operation)>
Hereinafter, the operation of the humidification unit 5 when performing the humidification operation will be described.
The humidifying unit 5 takes outdoor air from outside into the humidifying unit casing through the humidifying unit air inlet channel 60 by rotating the suction fan 56 (see arrow F5 in FIG. 2). The air that has entered the humidification unit casing passes through approximately half of the portion 51a of the moisture absorption rotor 51 and passes through the adsorption fan 56 and the oxygen enrichment unit air inlet passage 59 to form the primary of the oxygen enriched membrane module 61. It is supplied to the side space S1. At this time, the air taken into the humidifying unit casing from the outside becomes dehumidified air in which moisture contained in the air is adsorbed and removed when passing through a substantially half portion 51 a of the moisture absorption rotor 51. Therefore, the dehumidified air is supplied to the primary space S1 of the oxygen-enriched membrane module 61 (see arrow F8 in FIG. 2).

  The substantially half portion 51a of the moisture absorption rotor 51 that has adsorbed moisture in this adsorption process becomes the substantially half portion 51b on the side of the moisture absorption rotor 51 on which moisture is not adsorbed by the half rotation of the moisture absorption rotor 51. That is, the adsorbed moisture moves to a position corresponding to the heater assembly 53 and the humidifying fan 54 as the moisture absorption rotor 51 rotates. The moisture that has moved here is desorbed into the air flow generated by the humidifying fan 54 by the heat from the heater assembly 53.

  When the humidifying fan 54 is rotationally driven, air is taken into the humidifying unit casing from the outside through the humidifying unit air inlet channel 60 (see arrow F5 in FIG. 2), and the air is approximately half in which moisture of the moisture absorbing rotor 51 is adsorbed. Passes through the portion 51 b to the humidifying fan 54. The humidifying fan 54 sends the air that has passed through the hygroscopic rotor 51 to the indoor unit 2 via the humidified air supply channel 58 and the air supply pipe 8 (see arrows F6 and F7 in FIG. 2). The air sent out to the indoor unit 2 is humidified air containing moisture adsorbed by the hygroscopic rotor 51. In this way, the humidified air supplied from the humidifying unit 5 to the indoor unit 2 is blown out into the room.

<Operation of humidification unit (heating operation)>
Hereinafter, the operation of the humidifying unit 5 when performing the heating operation will be described.
When performing the heating operation, the humidification unit 5 operates only the heater assembly 53 and the humidification fan 54 without rotating the moisture absorption rotor 51. Specifically, the external air passes through the moisture-absorbing rotor 51 without being adsorbed without passing through the adsorption process, and the moisture is removed after the humidification operation is finished. This is performed by passing air from the outside through the hygroscopic rotor 51 and heating it. The heated air obtained by such a heating operation is sent to the indoor unit 2 via the humidified air supply flow path 58 and the air supply pipe 8 by the humidifying fan 54 as in the humidifying operation (arrow F5 in FIG. 2, See F6 and F7).

<Operation of oxygen enrichment unit>
Hereinafter, the operation of the oxygen enrichment unit 6 when performing the oxygen enrichment operation will be described. The oxygen enrichment operation is performed in conjunction with the humidification operation or the heating operation of the humidification unit 5. For this reason, in the following description, it is assumed that humidified air or heated air is being sent to the indoor unit 2 via the humidified air supply channel 58 and the air supply pipe 8 by the humidifying fan 54.

  In the oxygen enrichment unit 6, the dehumidified air supplied by the adsorption fan 56 is flowing in the primary space S1 of the oxygen enrichment membrane module 61 via the oxygen enrichment unit air inlet passage 59 (FIG. 2). When the vacuum pump 65 is driven by the arrows F9 and F11), the air introduced into the oxygen-enriched membrane module 61 passes through the oxygen-enriched membrane 63 and becomes oxygen-enriched air. The oxygen-enriched air is discharged to the humidifying fan or the like arrangement space SP by the vacuum pump 65 (see arrow F10 in FIG. 2), and is mixed with the heated air or humidified air flowing through the humidifying fan or the like arrangement space SP. It is sent to the air supply pipe 8 by the fan 54 and supplied to the indoor unit 2 (see arrow F7 in FIG. 2). Here, when the condensed water is generated from the oxygen-enriched air, the condensed water is stored in the drain pan 91, evaporated and dried by the air flow generated by the air suction of the humidifying fan 54, and supplied with the heated air or the humidified air. It is sent to the trachea 8 and supplied to the indoor unit 2 (see arrow F7 in FIG. 2).

(6) Features of the air conditioner The air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment has the following features.
(A)
In the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the oxygen-enriched air supply passage 67 extending from the decompression pump 65 is led to the arrangement space SP such as a humidifying fan in the optional unit 15, and the oxygen-enriched air supply from the decompression pump 65. The oxygen-enriched air discharged to the humidifying fan arrangement space SP via the flow path 67 is supplied to the indoor unit 2 by the humidifying fan 54. Further, in this air conditioner 1, the decompression pump 65 is disposed at a position higher than the humidifying fan etc. arrangement space SP, and the oxygen-enriched air supply passage 67 descends from the decompression pump 65 toward the humidifying fan etc. arrangement space SP. It arranges so that it may become a gradient. Further, in the air conditioner 1, when condensed water is generated from the oxygen-enriched air, the condensed water is accumulated in the drain pan 91 and evaporated and dried by the air flow generated by the air suction of the humidifying fan 54. The heated air or humidified air is sent to the air supply pipe 8 and supplied to the indoor unit 2. For this reason, in this air conditioning apparatus 1, generation | occurrence | production of a blow sound is prevented and oxygen-enriched air which has the stable oxygen concentration is supplied indoors.

(B)
In the air conditioning apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the humidifying fan 54 supplies humidified air or heated air to the indoor unit 2 together with oxygen-enriched air. For this reason, in this air conditioner 1, indoor oxygen enrichment and indoor humidification and air supply ventilation can be performed.
(C)
In the air conditioning apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the air supplied to the primary side space S1 of the oxygen-enriched membrane module 61 is dehumidified air. For this reason, in this air conditioning apparatus 1, it is possible to suppress the formation of condensed water from the oxygen-enriched air in the oxygen-enriched air supply channel 67. Moreover, even if dew condensation water is generated, the generation amount can be reduced.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described based on drawing, a specific structure is not restricted to these embodiment, It can change in the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention.
(1)
In the embodiment, the humidification unit and the oxygen enrichment unit are arranged in a stack on the upper side of the outdoor refrigerant unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this arrangement. For example, both units are provided on the upper side of the outdoor refrigerant unit. May be arranged side by side, or both units may be placed separately from the outdoor refrigerant unit.

(2)
In the above embodiment, all the dehumidified air is supplied to the oxygen enrichment unit, but only a part of the dehumidified air is supplied to the oxygen enrichment unit 6 and the remaining dehumidified air is discharged to the outside. Also good.
(3)
In the above-described embodiment, the drain pan 91 is disposed in the downward direction of the outlet of the oxygen-enriched air supply flow path 67. The drain pan 91 may be disposed below the outlet. In this way, the dew condensation water is received by the drain pan 91 along the side wall, so that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a water rebound sound.

(4)
In the above-described embodiment, the drain pan 91 is disposed in the arrangement space SP such as the humidifying fan. However, if there is no electrical component in the vicinity of the arrangement space SP such as the humidifying fan, the drain pan 91 may be removed.
(5)
In the embodiment, the drain pan 91 is arranged in the arrangement space SP such as the humidifying fan. However, a drain outlet may be provided in place of the drain pan 91 and the condensed water may be discharged out of the outdoor unit 3.

(6)
In the above-described embodiment, the oxygen-enriched air is supplied to the indoor unit 2 together with the humidified air or the heated air. However, a control valve is provided in the humidified unit air inlet channel 60 extending from the moisture absorbing rotor 51 to the humidifying fan arrangement space SP. The supply of oxygen-enriched air and the supply of humidified air or heated air may be selectively performed.

(7)
Instead of the air conditioner 1 according to the embodiment, an air conditioner 101 as shown in FIG. 6 may be adopted. This air conditioner 101 has the same configuration as the air conditioner 1 of the above embodiment except for the humidifying unit 105 of the optional unit 150. Further, the humidifying unit 105 has the same configuration as the humidifying unit 5 of the above embodiment except that the first flow path switching damper 95a, the second flow path switching damper 95b, and the indoor air discharge path 97 communicating with the outdoors are provided. Have Therefore, here, the humidification unit 105 will be described focusing on the functions and the like of these components.

  The first flow path switching damper 95a and the second flow path switching damper 95b are disposed in the air supply fan installation space SP. These flow path switching dampers 95a and 95b are controlled in conjunction with each other, and can switch the humidifying unit 105 between the first state and the second state. In the first state, the humidifying unit air inlet channel 60 is connected to the suction port of the humidifying fan 54 by the first channel switching damper 95a, and the air supply pipe 8 is blown from the humidifying fan 54 by the second channel switching damper 95b. Connected to the exit. As a result, in the first state, the oxygen enrichment operation described in the section <Operation of oxygen enrichment unit> in the above embodiment is performed (see solid arrows). On the other hand, in the second state, the air supply pipe 8 is connected to the suction port of the humidifying fan 54 by the first flow path switching damper 95a, and the indoor air discharge path 97 is blown by the humidifying fan 54 by the second flow path switching damper 95b. Connected to the exit. As a result, in the second state, the indoor air is discharged to the outdoors by the humidifying fan 54 via the air supply pipe 8 (see the broken line arrow). Therefore, this air conditioner 101 can perform not only indoor oxygen enrichment but also indoor exhaust ventilation.

  The flow path switching dampers 95a and 95b may be integrated by, for example, rotating.

  The oxygen-enriching device according to the present invention has a feature that can eliminate the possibility that a blown sound propagates to a living room and the like and can prevent the oxygen concentration of oxygen-enriched air from being unintentionally diluted. It can also be applied to an air conditioner.

1 is an external view of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of each apparatus in the indoor unit of the air conditioning apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and an outdoor unit. It is the schematic block diagram of the refrigerant circuit of the air conditioning apparatus by which 1st Embodiment of this invention was employ | adopted, the schematic block diagram of a humidification unit, and the schematic block diagram of an oxygen enrichment unit. It is a schematic diagram of an oxygen-enriched membrane module. It is a perspective view showing the positional relationship of arrangement space, such as a vacuum pump and a humidification fan. It is the schematic block diagram of the refrigerant circuit of the air conditioning apparatus as which other embodiment (7) was employ | adopted, the schematic block diagram of a humidification unit, and the schematic block diagram of an oxygen enrichment unit.

Explanation of symbols

1 Air conditioner 2 Indoor unit (indoor unit)
4 Outdoor refrigerant unit (outdoor unit)
8 Air supply pipe (oxygen-enriched air introduction path)
15 Optional unit (oxygen enrichment device)
51 Hygroscopic rotor (adsorbent)
54 Humidification fan (air supply fan)
60 Humidification unit air inlet passage (outside air introduction passage)
61 Oxygen-enriched membrane module 62 Oxygen-enriched unit casing 63 Oxygen-enriched membrane 65 Vacuum pump (vacuum pump)
67 Oxygen-enriched air supply channel (oxygen-enriched air discharge channel)
91 Drain pan 95a First flow path switching damper (flow path switching mechanism)
95b Second flow path switching damper (flow path switching mechanism)
S1 Primary side space S2 Secondary side space SP Humidity fan arrangement space (air supply fan installation space)

Claims (9)

The casing (62) and the space in the casing are selectively disposed in the casing so as to divide the space in the casing into a primary space (S1) and a secondary space (S2). An oxygen-enriched membrane module (61) having an oxygen-enriched membrane (63) that can be permeated;
The secondary space is depressurized so that the air supplied to the primary space passes through the oxygen-enriched film toward the secondary space, and the oxygen and A vacuum pump (65) for generating first oxygen-enriched air which is air enriched with water;
An air supply fan (54) for supplying the first oxygen-enriched air to an oxygen-enriched target space, which is a space to be oxygen-enriched,
An oxygen-enriched air discharge path (67) for discharging the first oxygen-enriched air from the decompression pump to an air supply fan installation space (SP) that is a space in which the air supply fan is installed;
An oxygen enrichment device (15) comprising: The decompression pump is disposed at a position higher than the air supply fan installation space,
The oxygen-enriched air discharge path is disposed so as to have a downward slope from the decompression pump toward the supply fan installation space.
The oxygen enrichment apparatus according to claim 1. The oxygen-enriched air discharge path is configured so that the condensed air is dried by an air flow generated by air suction of the air supply fan when the condensed water is generated from the first oxygen-enriched air. Connected to the fan installation space,
The oxygen enrichment apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. Condensed water generated from the first oxygen-enriched air, which is disposed in an air flow generation region, which is a region where an air flow is generated due to air suction of the supply fan in the supply fan installation space, is received. Further comprising a drain pan (91) for
The oxygen enricher according to any one of claims 1 to 3. An outside air introduction passage (60) that is a passage for guiding outside air that is outdoor air to the air supply fan installation space;
The air supply fan supplies second oxygen-enriched air, which is air in which the first oxygen-enriched air and the outside air are mixed, to the oxygen-enriched space.
The oxygen enricher according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Humidifying means for humidifying the outside air to generate humidified outside air;
The air supply fan supplies third oxygen-enriched air, which is air in which the first oxygen-enriched air and the humidified outside air are mixed, to the oxygen-enriched target space.
The oxygen enrichment apparatus according to claim 5. An oxygen-enriched air introduction path (8) for guiding the oxygen-enriched air blown from the air supply fan to the oxygen-enriched target space;
A first state in which the oxygen-enriched air is supplied to the oxygen-enriched target space through the oxygen-enriched air introduction path by the air supply fan; and the oxygen-enriched target space by the air supply fan A flow path switching mechanism (95a, 95b) capable of switching between a second state in which the existing air is discharged to the outside through the oxygen-enriched air introduction path;
Further comprising
The oxygen enricher according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A moisture absorbent (51) that adsorbs moisture in the air;
The air supplied to the primary side space of the oxygen-enriched membrane module is dehumidified air dehumidified by the hygroscopic agent.
The oxygen enricher according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Indoor unit (2),
Outdoor unit (4),
An oxygen enrichment device (15) according to any of claims 1 to 8,
With
The oxygen enrichment device is attached to the outdoor unit.
Air conditioner (1).

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