JP2009299760A - Thermal insulation device of heat apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal insulation device for easily saving a space even in a storage place, without making a thermal insulation material bulky in carrying, to be used for thermally insulating a heat apparatus body of a heat apparatus such as a hot water storage tank of a heat pump water heater. <P>SOLUTION: Silica is turned into sol in solution, and its moisture is removed by a supercritical fluid. Amorphous silica fine powder formed by drying and having the particle size of 1-20 nm, is distributed over nonwoven fabric composed of fiber, and one surface of a mat member 1 formed by surrounding a rectangular fibrous mat 10 of setting porosity to 97% or more with a covering body 12, is laid on a surface of the heat apparatus body. An adherence applying means 2 such as a pressure sensitive adhesive tape is arranged on a surface of the mat member 1, and heat is insulated by bringing a reverse surface of the mat member 1 into close contact with the surface of the heat apparatus body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a heat insulating device used for a heat apparatus that requires heat insulation such as a hot water storage tank of a heat pump water heater.

Various heat insulating materials are known for heat insulation of a heat equipment body that requires heat insulation. For example, glass wool has been used conventionally. However, since this heat insulating material made of glass wool is inexpensive and can be folded, it is convenient for handling such as transportation and storage, but it has a defect in adhesion, and it is necessary to take measures against the occurrence of condensation. Therefore, in recent years, a heat insulating material made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) has been used instead of glass wool.

However, the heat insulating material made of expanded polystyrene (EPS) has good adhesion by thermoforming according to the shape of the main body of the heat equipment, and has little water absorption, so there is little concern about the occurrence of condensation. On the other hand, it is necessary to increase the thickness in order to improve the heat insulation performance. In the heat equipment such as a hot water storage tank, there is a growing interest in energy saving, and the power consumption of the heat equipment itself is attracting attention. If the entire periphery is surrounded by a heat insulating material made of foamed polystyrene (EPS), these heat insulating materials are bulky, so that the outer shape of the entire thermal equipment becomes large, resulting in significant inconvenience for downsizing.

Then, the heat insulation apparatus which uses the heat insulation structure provided with a heat insulating material layer, a heat insulation gas layer, and a forced convection layer like patent document 1 for thermal apparatuses, such as an oven, is proposed. This heat insulating material layer is obtained by adding inorganic fibers and organic fibers such as ceramic fiber, glass fiber, rock wool fiber, asbestos fiber, carbon fiber, aramid fiber to powder having a particle diameter of 1 to 20 nm with fine particle silica, For example, a fine porous body formed by compacting fine particles to form a small gap between the fine particles, preferably so that the gap is 1 to 60 nm. In this way, the influence of the heat conduction of the gas can be further reduced, and convection does not occur and the heat conductivity can be made lower than that of still air.

Further, as in Patent Document 2, a vacuum heat insulating material made by inserting a core material into an outer bag and sealing with a reduced pressure inside is used as a heat insulating material for a hot water storage tank, and the vacuum heat insulating material is attached to the hot water storage tank. When attaching, attach between the vacuum heat insulating material and the hot water storage tank without sticking partly with double-sided tape, can minimize the heat conduction from the outer bag of the vacuum heat insulating material, and the performance of the vacuum heat insulating material Insulation devices that can be maximized have been proposed.

Further, as in Patent Document 3, the first heat insulating portion is made of, for example, polystyrene foam, and is formed to have a uniform thickness along a part of the peripheral surface of the hot water storage tank body, and the second heat insulating portion is vacuum heat insulating. It consists of material and is formed so that it may become thinner than the thickness dimension of a 1st heat insulation part. The second heat insulating part is formed along the other part of the peripheral surface of the hot water tank main body, and is formed using a member having high airtightness and heat insulating properties, such as a polyethylene sheet. The hot water storage tank is formed by covering a part of the hot water tank main body with the first heat insulating part and then covering the other part of the hot water tank main body with the second heat insulating part. Moreover, since the 2nd heat insulation part which covers the other part of the hot water storage tank main body is formed smaller in thickness than the 1st heat insulation part, the external dimension of a heat insulating material becomes small by that much.

JP-A-2-221793 JP 2007-107738 A JP 2007-163038 A

However, in the proposal described in Patent Document 1, as a heat insulating structure composed of a heat insulating material layer, a heat insulating gas layer, and a forced convection layer so that any shape such as a cylindrical shape or a spherical shape can be formed in accordance with the shape of the main body of the thermal equipment. However, the structure is complicated, and there are inconveniences such as bulkiness and a large storage space when the heat insulating structure is transported.

Further, in the proposal described in Patent Document 2, the vacuum heat insulating material is produced by inserting a core material into an outer bag and sealing the inside with a reduced pressure, and is attached to the main body of a hot water storage tank having a cylindrical curved surface. When attaching, if bent to match the shape of the main body of the hot water storage tank, the inner surface of the vacuum heat insulating material will be wrinkled, the adhesion will deteriorate, and if the vacuum heat insulating material has holes, the heat insulation and heat insulation effect will be reduced.

Furthermore, the proposal described in Patent Document 3 aims to reduce the outer dimension of the heat insulating material and save the installation space, but uses a vacuum heat insulating material having high airtightness as in Patent Document 2. Therefore, the adhesiveness is deteriorated, and if the vacuum heat insulating material is perforated, the heat insulating and heat retaining effect is reduced.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a heat insulating device that is flexible and has good adhesion without being bulky when a heat apparatus main body such as a hot water storage tank of a heat pump water heater is insulated.

The heat insulating device for a thermal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the silica fine powder having a particle diameter of 1 to 20 nm is obtained by making silica in a solution, removing the water with a supercritical fluid, and drying. A mat member formed by surrounding a rectangular fibrous mat having a porosity of 97% or more distributed in a non-woven fabric made of fibers and surrounded by a covering is attached to the surface of the main body of the thermal apparatus, and the mat An adhesion providing means is provided on the surface of the member, and the back surface of the mat member is adhered to the surface of the main body of the thermal equipment.

The heat insulation apparatus for a thermal device according to claim 2, wherein the adhesion providing means is made of an adhesive tape that presses and adheres the back surface of the mat member from the surface of the mat member to the surface of the main body of the thermal device. .

The heat insulating device for a thermal apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the fibrous mat is a mat member having a leaf spring that biases the fibrous mat in the thickness direction, and the leaf spring assists the adhesion action of the adhesion imparting means. Features.

The heat insulation device for a thermal device according to claim 4 is a tank body of a heat pump water heater in which the heat device body constitutes a hot water storage tank, and a foam insulation material made of a foam resin material is formed on a part of the upper surface of the mat member. The foam heat insulating material and the mat member are juxtaposed on the outer peripheral surface of the tank main body in a stacked state, and the adhesion providing means presses the mat member together with the foam heat insulating material against the surface of the tank main body. It is characterized by that.

The heat insulating material of the present invention is a non-woven fabric comprising amorphous fine silica powder having a particle diameter of 1 to 20 nm formed by solating silica in a solution, removing the moisture with a supercritical fluid, and drying. Since the mat member is formed by surrounding a rectangular fibrous mat having a porosity of 97% or more with a covering, it is flexible and adheres to the surface of the heat equipment body. In addition, the surface of the mat member is provided with an adhesion imparting means such as an adhesive tape so that the back surface of the mat member is in close contact with the surface of the main body of the heat device, thereby insulating the heat device. Therefore, compared to the case of using only a conventional heat insulating material made of expanded polystyrene (EPS), the thickness can be kept the same or thinner, so that the volume of the entire thermal device can be made compact. is there. In particular, since the mat member has a leaf spring that biases it in the thickness direction and assists the close contact action of the close contact imparting means, the heat insulation effect of the thermal equipment body is further improved.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a heat pump water heater as an example of the heat equipment that requires heat insulation according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the heat pump water heater includes a heating unit A and a hot water storage tank unit B. The heating unit A includes an air heat exchanger D provided with a compressor C, a water refrigerant heat exchanger E, an expansion valve G, and a fan F. The hot water storage tank unit B includes a hot water storage tank T for storing hot water for hot water supply, which is connected to the heating unit A and the refrigerant pipes J and K in an annular shape. The tank body T1 of the hot water storage tank T, which is a thermal device, is cylindrical, and the top surface and the peripheral surface of the tank body T1 are covered with the mat member 1 of the present invention. In this case, the tank body T1 has a curved surface shape such as a cylindrical shape, but may be a flat surface such as a rectangular parallelepiped.

The mat member 1 is flexible and has a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 2, and a fibrous mat 10 having a thickness of 5 mm to 10 mm is surrounded by a covering 12 such as a polyethylene sheet.

The fibrous mat 10 is made of a non-woven silica fine particle having a particle diameter of 1 to 20 nm on a non-woven fabric having a wire diameter of about 1 to 20 microns made of inorganic fiber such as glass or silica or organic fiber such as polyester resin. By dispersing, for example, the silica fine powder is distributed on the nonwoven fabric by a manufacturing method as shown in JP-T-2007-524528, and the porosity becomes 97% or more. The mat member 1 is configured by covering the fibrous mat 10 with a covering 12 such as a polyethylene sheet. The covering 12 is used to prevent the fine silica powder from being distributed on the surface and the inside of the fiber mat 10, so that when used as a heat insulating material, it is prevented from adhering to the worker or being scattered around. Yes, the fiber mat 10 may be accommodated in the form of a bag, the tape may be attached to the surface of the fiber mat 10, or the surface of the fiber mat 10 may be coated with a material having no pores.

The silica fine powder is an airgel substance that can be removed by solating silica in a solution and removing the water with a supercritical fluid such as a supercritical carbon dioxide extraction method, followed by drying. The airgel substance is, for example, a known airgel substance described in paragraph No. 0038 of the specification of JP-T-2003-512277. That is, an airgel is a substance having open pores having a porosity of about 80% by volume or more and a pore size ranging from about 0.5 to 500 nanometers, and was used for gelation. The solvent can be made from the material from any gel-forming material that can be removed by drying without destroying or substantially shrinking the pore structure during drying. This drying can be achieved by supercritical extraction, air drying, freeze drying, vacuum evacuation, and the like. Preferably, the airgel is produced by supercritical extraction of the solvent used to produce the starting gel (or any liquid in place of the solvent). The airgel is preferably at least 85% by volume, but more preferably has a porosity of about 90% or more by volume. Furthermore, as described in paragraph 0081 of the same specification, airgel is an efficient heat insulating material.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a pair of mat members 1 (see FIG. 2) that are flexible and have an annular shape when combined are prepared, and one surface of the mat member 1 is an outer surface of a cylindrical tank body T1. Are attached to the top surface T11 and the peripheral surface T12 from the left and right, and are joined together with the tank body T1 with an adhesive tape (adhesion imparting means) 2 made of aluminum material or glass material which is not easily damaged by the seam 11 By doing so, the mat member 1 is brought into close contact with the tank body T1 to insulate the heat source generated from the hot water storage tank T. In this case, the adhesive tape 2 serves as an adhesion providing means provided on the surface of the mat member 1, but the adhesive tape 2 on the peripheral surface T12 of the cylindrical tank body T1 has a binding band (not shown) on the surface of the mat member 1. The mat member 1 may be wound around the tank body T1 in the radial direction.

(Embodiment 2)
6 to 8, an embodiment for improving the adhesion of the mat member 1 will be described. A leaf spring 3 for biasing in a semicircular arc shape in the thickness direction of the fiber mat 1 is provided, and the fiber mat 10 having a semicircular arc cross section is surrounded by a covering 12 such as a polyethylene sheet as in FIG. A pair of mat members 1 are prepared. In this case, the leaf spring 3 is made up of a plurality of pieces spaced apart in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 7, and is housed inside the fibrous mat 10, but may be configured to be exposed on the outer surface. One side of the mat member 1 is attached to the outer surface of the cylindrical tank body T1 from the left and right sides, and is made of an aluminum material or a glass material which is an adhesion providing means provided on the surface of the mat member 1 at the joint 11. The mat member 1 is brought into close contact with the tank body T1 by being joined together with the tank body T1 with the adhesive tape 2 to insulate the heat source generated from the hot water storage tank T. In this case, the leaf spring 3 has an action of assisting the close contact action of the close contact applying means.

(Embodiment 3)
9 and 10 show a hot water supply unit H in which a hot water storage tank T having a cylindrical tank body T1 is housed in a hot water supply unit housing H1 together with a heating unit A using a heat device as a heat pump water heater, and has a thickness of 50 mm. An embodiment in which a foam heat insulating material 4 made of an expanded polystyrene resin and a mat member 1 having a thickness of 5 mm to 10 mm are juxtaposed in the circumferential direction of the tank body T1. In this case, the mat member 1 may have a configuration in which a leaf spring 3 for biasing the fibrous mat 10 in the thickness direction as shown in FIG. 6 is provided.

In the position between the hot water storage tank T and the heating unit A, the foam heat insulating material 4 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tank main body T1 for heat insulation. Similarly, the position of the corner of the hot water supply unit housing H1 (see FIG. In FIG. 9, the foam heat insulating material 4 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the tank body T1 facing two corners).

On the other hand, the outer peripheral surface of the tank body T1 facing the wall surface position (three surfaces in FIG. 9) of the hot water supply unit housing H1 is located on both sides of the mat member 1 in the recess 22 formed in the side surface 21 of the foam heat insulating material 4. The foam heat insulating material 4 and the mat member 1 are juxtaposed in the circumferential direction of the tank main body T1 with the upper surface (the surface opposite to the tank main body T1) in contact with each other. Thus, the adhesive tape 2 which is an adhesion | attachment provision means is provided in the part with which the foam heat insulating material 4 and the mat member 1 overlapped, and it is made to press and adhere to the surface of the foam heat insulating material 4 and the mat member 1. FIG. In this case, although not shown, the foam heat insulating material 4 and the mat member 1 may be fastened with a band as an adhesion providing means.

Conventionally, if the entire circumference of the tank body T1 is covered only with a foam insulation material having a thickness of, for example, 50 mm of foamed polystyrene resin, the entire tank is bulky. Therefore, the tank body T1 is combined with a vacuum insulation material having a thickness of about 9 mm. There has been known a heat insulating device that uses this vacuum heat insulating material to make the hot water supply unit housing compact so that the distance 5 between the tangential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the water heater and the wall surface of the hot water supply unit housing H1 can be reduced. Therefore, in the present invention, since the mat member 1 having the same thickness as or thinner than the vacuum heat insulating material can be used, the thickness can be reduced in the tangential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the tank body T1, so that the hot water supply unit housing H1. Can be made compact.

Thus, since the mat member 1 is made of a nonwoven fabric made of fibers made of a rectangular fiber mat, the mat member 1 is provided with flexibility so as to be in close contact with the entire circumference or part of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical thermal device. be able to. Further, the mat member 1 absorbs infrared rays with an amorphous silica fine powder having a particle diameter of 1 to 20 nm and has a porosity of 97% or more, so that the heat insulating effect is improved. Furthermore, since the adhesion providing means is provided on the surface of the mat member 1, the mat member 1 is easily adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the main body of the thermal apparatus, and the adhesion is improved.

9 was used as a tank body having the configuration shown in FIG. 9, and a heat insulating material having a mat member having a thickness of 9 mm was coated on the tank body, and the heat insulation effect was measured by substituting power consumption (WH).

The foam heat insulating material 4 made of a styrene resin having a thickness of 50 mm and the mat member 1 having a thickness of 9 mm are combined to cover the tank body T1, and the foam heat insulating material 4 and the mat member 1 made of a styrene resin on the outer peripheral surface. Was tightened with a band (corresponding to an adhesion providing means) (not shown) and the power consumption (WH) was measured to be 771WH.

On the other hand, instead of the mat member 1, the tank body T1 is covered with a heat insulating material in which a foam heat insulating material 4 made of a foamed polystyrene resin having a thickness of 50 mm and a vacuum heat insulating material having a thickness of 9 mm is combined. The foamed heat insulating material 4 made of resin and the vacuum heat insulating material were fastened with a band (corresponding to a close contact applying means) (not shown), and the power consumption (WH) was measured to be 879WH, and the close contact with the mat member 1 was applied. The power consumption of the heat pump water heater was a little higher than that using the means.

Therefore, the heat insulation effect in the heat insulation device of the heat equipment using the adhesion providing means 2 with the mat member 1 having the same thickness as the vacuum heat insulation material is equal to or improved than the heat insulation effect of the heat equipment using the vacuum heat insulation material. It had been. Thus, since the mat member 1 is flexible and thin, it is possible to provide a heat insulating device in which the heat insulating material is not bulky at the time of transportation and the storage space can be easily saved.

It is the schematic which made the heat pump water heater of this invention an embodiment. It is a top view of the mat member of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the hot water storage tank which shows Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a top view same as the above. It is a front view same as the above. It is sectional drawing of the mat member which shows Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a front view of a mat member same as the above. It is sectional drawing of the hot water storage tank which uses the mat member same as the above. It is sectional drawing of the hot water storage tank which shows Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a partial enlarged view same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

1 Matt member 2 Adhesive tape (adhesion imparting means)
3 Leaf spring T Hot water storage tank T1 Tank body (thermal equipment body)

Claims (4)

The silica is made into a sol in a solution, and its moisture is removed with a supercritical fluid and dried. Amorphous silica fine powder having a particle diameter of 1 to 20 nm is distributed on a nonwoven fabric composed of fibers, and the porosity is reduced. One side of a mat member formed by enclosing a rectangular fibrous mat of 97% or more with a covering is attached to the surface of the main body of the thermal apparatus, and an adhesion providing means is provided on the surface of the mat member to provide the mat. A heat-insulating device for a thermal device, wherein the back surface of the member is closely attached to the surface of the main body of the thermal device. The heat insulating device for a thermal device according to claim 1, wherein the adhesion applying means is made of an adhesive tape that presses and adheres the back surface of the mat member to the surface of the main body of the thermal device from the surface of the mat member. 3. The fiber mat according to claim 1, wherein the fibrous mat is a mat member having a leaf spring that is urged in the thickness direction, and the leaf spring assists the close contact action of the close contact imparting means. Thermal equipment insulation equipment. The heat equipment main body is a tank body of a heat pump water heater that constitutes a hot water storage tank, and the foam heat insulating material and the mat are in a state where a foam heat insulating material made of a foam resin material is overlapped on a part of the upper surface of the mat member. 4. The member according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the member is juxtaposed on the outer peripheral surface of the tank main body, and the adhesion providing means presses the mat member together with the foam heat insulating material against the surface of the tank main body. The heat insulation apparatus of the thermal equipment as described in any one of these.