JP2018071880A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a humidifier capable of preventing damage to a humidifying fan.SOLUTION: A humidifier 60 comprises: a humidifying rotor 63; a humidifying heater 71; a humidifying fan 75; and a shielding member 93. The humidifying rotor 63 has a moisture absorption region for absorbing water and a moisture desorption region for desorbing the water absorbed in the moisture absorption region by being heated. The humidifying heater 71 heats the moisture desorption region. The humidifying fan 75 has a suction port 81a which sucks heated air heated by the humidifying heater 71 so that it passes through the humidifying rotor 63. The shielding member 93 is a member with which the heated air after passing through the humidifying rotor 63 and before being sucked through the suction port 81a collides. The shielding member 93 changes flow of the heated air so as to prevent it from locally hitting the humidifying fan 75.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a humidifier including a humidification rotor capable of repeatedly performing moisture absorption for adsorbing moisture in the air and moisture release for releasing moisture in the air.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a humidifying device including a humidifying rotor capable of repeating adsorption and release of water is known as a humidifying device used for an air cleaner with a humidifying function. For example, a humidifier disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-91002) has a moisture absorption region that adsorbs moisture in the air and a moisture release region that releases the adsorbed moisture into the air. A humidification rotor is provided. In this humidifier, the moisture release area of the humidification rotor is heated by the humidification heater, and the moisture adsorbed in the moisture release area is released into the air. Air containing moisture released from the moisture release area is sent to a predetermined space by the humidifying fan. The humidification fan is disposed on the opposite side of the humidification heater with the humidification rotor interposed therebetween.

  In such a humidifying device, the air heated by the humidifying heater is sucked into the intake port of the humidifying fan by the suction force of the humidifying fan through the moisture release area of the humidifying rotor. When the suction port of the humidifying fan faces the moisture release area of the humidification rotor, the high-temperature air heated by the humidification heater passes through the moisture release area and is then sucked into the suction port of the humidification fan. . However, the humidifying fan may be locally heated by the high-temperature air sucked into the suction port of the humidifying fan. Therefore, when the humidifying fan is formed of a material having low heat resistance, the humidifying fan may melt and be damaged.

  The objective of this invention is providing the humidification apparatus which can prevent the failure | damage of the humidification fan.

  A humidifying device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a humidifying rotor, a humidifying heater, a humidifying fan, and a shielding member. The humidification rotor has a moisture absorption region that adsorbs water, and a moisture release region that releases water adsorbed in the moisture absorption region when heated. The humidifying heater heats the moisture release area. The humidifying fan has a suction port. The suction port sucks heated air so that heated air, which is air heated by the humidifying heater, passes through the humidification rotor. The shielding member is a member that collides with heated air after passing through the humidification rotor and before being sucked into the suction port. The shielding member is a member that changes the flow of heated air.

  In the humidifying device according to the first aspect, the moisture adsorbed in the moisture release area is released by heating the moisture release area of the humidification rotor by the humidifying heater. Heated air, which is high-temperature air heated by the humidifying heater, passes through the moisture release area of the humidification rotor and then becomes moisture air containing moisture released from the moisture release area, and enters the inlet of the humidification fan. Inhaled. The humidifying fan sucks the heated air that has become humidified air, thereby generating a flow of heated air that passes through the humidifying rotor. The shielding member prevents the high-temperature humidification air from locally hitting the humidification fan by changing the flow of the humidification air before being sucked into the humidification fan. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the humidification fan from being damaged by heating the resin fan rotor or the like of the humidification fan above the heat-resistant temperature by the humidification air. Therefore, the humidifier according to the first aspect can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by suppressing the heating of the humidifying fan by the shielding member.

  The humidifier according to the second aspect of the present invention is the humidifier according to the first aspect, and the shielding member has heat resistance against heated air.

  In the humidifying device according to the second aspect, the shielding member has heat resistance against the heated air, so that the shielding member is prevented from being damaged by heat. When the shielding member is broken, there is a possibility that the heated air hits the humidifying fan locally. Therefore, the humidifier according to the second aspect can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by preventing the shielding member from being damaged.

  The humidifier which concerns on the 3rd viewpoint of this invention is a humidifier which concerns on a 1st viewpoint or a 2nd viewpoint, Comprising: A shielding member is metal.

  In the humidifier according to the third aspect, since the shielding member is made of metal, the shielding member is prevented from being damaged by heat. When the shielding member is broken, there is a possibility that the heated air hits the humidifying fan locally. Further, the humidification rotor is heated by the radiant heat from the shielding member heated by the heated air, so that the amount of moisture released from the moisture release region of the humidification rotor increases. Therefore, the humidifier according to the third aspect can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by preventing the shielding member from being damaged, and can increase the amount of humidification by the radiant heat from the shielding member. .

  A humidifying device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the humidifying device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the shielding member is disposed between the humidification rotor and the suction port, and the suction port It is the board which opposes.

  In the humidifying device according to the fourth aspect, since the shielding member is a plate arranged to face the suction port of the humidification fan, the heated air that has passed through the humidification rotor is sucked into the suction port of the humidification fan. It is easy to be diffused by hitting the shielding member before being covered. That is, the flow of the heated air that has passed through the humidification rotor is dispersed by hitting the shielding member, and reaches the suction port of the humidification fan. Thereby, the shielding member can prevent effectively that heated air hits a humidification fan locally. Therefore, the humidifying device according to the fourth aspect can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by disposing the shielding member so as to face the suction port of the humidifying fan.

  A humidifying device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the humidifying device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the humidifying fan has a fan rotor that rotates about a rotation axis. The suction port is located at the center of the fan rotor when viewed along the rotation axis. The fan rotor does not have heat resistance against heated air.

  In the humidifying device according to the fifth aspect, the fan rotor of the humidifying fan is made of resin, for example. Therefore, when the heated air sucked into the suction port of the humidifying fan hits the fan rotor locally, the fan rotor may be damaged by heat. However, the shielding member can prevent the heated air from hitting the fan rotor locally. Therefore, the humidifier according to the fifth aspect can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by suppressing the heating of the fan rotor by the shielding member.

  The humidifier according to the first aspect of the present invention can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by suppressing the heating of the humidifying fan by the shielding member.

  The humidifying device according to the second aspect of the present invention can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by preventing the shielding member from being damaged.

  The humidifier according to the third aspect of the present invention can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by preventing the shielding member from being damaged, and can increase the amount of humidification by radiant heat from the shielding member. it can.

  The humidifying device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by disposing the shielding member so as to face the suction port of the humidifying fan.

  The humidifier according to the fifth aspect of the present invention can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged by suppressing the heating of the fan rotor by the shielding member.

It is a lineblock diagram of air conditioner 10 provided with humidification unit 60 which is one embodiment of the humidification device concerning the present invention. It is a top view of the outdoor unit 30 in the state where the top plate 48 of the casing 40 is removed. FIG. 3 is a front view of the outdoor unit 30 in a state where a protective grill 56 is removed from the outdoor unit 30 of FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the flow of air passing through a humidification rotor 63. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an adsorption duct 68, a humidifying duct 73, a humidifying fan 75, and a second humidifying duct 180. 7 is a perspective view of a rotor frame wall 65. FIG. 7 is a front view of a rotor frame wall 65. FIG. It is a schematic diagram of the area | region enclosed by the surrounding surface 65b shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows the shielding member 93 attached to the vicinity of the air discharge hole 65e for humidification. It is a figure which shows the shielding member 193 facing the air discharge hole 65e for humidification in the modification B.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are specific examples of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

(1) Configuration of Air Conditioner 10 FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an air conditioner 10 including a humidifying unit 60 that is an embodiment of a humidifier according to the present invention. The air conditioner 10 is a refrigeration apparatus including a refrigeration cycle that uses a refrigerant circulating in a refrigerant circuit. The air conditioner 10 mainly includes an indoor unit 20 and an outdoor unit 30. The indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 30 are connected to each other by the refrigerant communication pipes 14 and 16 and the air supply hose 18. In FIG. 1, the flow of air passing through the indoor unit 20 and the outdoor unit 30 is indicated by white arrows.

  The air conditioner 10 has a plurality of operation modes such as a cooling operation, a heating operation, a dehumidifying operation, a humidifying operation, and an air supply operation. In the humidifying operation and the air supply operation, air is sent from the outdoor unit 30 to the indoor unit 20 through the air supply hose 18 in order to supply air into the room. In particular, in the humidifying operation, high humidity air containing a large amount of moisture is sent from the outdoor unit 30 to the indoor unit 20, so that moisture is taken in from the outside air in the outdoor unit 30. The outdoor unit 30 includes a humidification unit 60 having a function of taking moisture from outside air. In FIG. 1, the flow of air passing through the humidification unit 60 is indicated by dotted arrows.

(2) Configuration of Indoor Unit 20 The indoor unit 20 mainly includes an indoor heat exchanger 21 and an indoor fan 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the indoor fan 22 is disposed on the downstream side of the indoor heat exchanger 21, and is driven by an indoor fan motor 22a. When the indoor fan 22 is driven, the indoor air sucked from the indoor suction port 23 at the upper part of the indoor unit 20 passes through the indoor heat exchanger 21 and is blown out from the indoor outlet 24 at the lower part of the indoor unit 20. The indoor fan 22 is, for example, a cross flow fan.

  In the indoor unit 20, the indoor air supply port 25 is provided in the upstream space of the indoor heat exchanger 21. One end of the air supply hose 18 is connected to the indoor air supply port 25, and the other end of the air supply hose 18 is connected to the humidification unit 60 of the outdoor unit 30. The high-humidity air sent from the humidification unit 60 is supplied to the upstream space of the indoor heat exchanger 21 through the indoor air supply port 25. When the indoor fan 22 is driven in a state where high-humidity air is supplied to the upstream space of the indoor heat exchanger 21, the humidity of the conditioned air blown from the indoor outlet 24 of the indoor unit 20 is increased. be able to.

(3) Configuration of Outdoor Unit 30 The outdoor unit 30 mainly includes a casing 40, a compressor 31, an outdoor heat exchanger 33, an outdoor fan 39, and a humidification unit 60. A four-way switching valve 32, an electric expansion valve 34, an accumulator 36, a liquid side closing valve 37, and a gas side closing valve 38 are attached to the refrigerant circuit inside the outdoor unit 30.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view of the outdoor unit 30 with the top plate 48 of the casing 40 removed. FIG. 3 is a front view of the outdoor unit 30 with the protective grill 56 removed from the outdoor unit 30 of FIG. In FIG. 2, the flow of air passing through the outdoor unit 30 is indicated by dotted arrows.

(3-1) Casing 40
The casing 40 mainly includes a left side plate 45, a front plate 46, a right side plate 47, a top plate 48 (see FIG. 3), a bottom plate 49 (see FIG. 3), and a back surface portion 44. The internal space of the casing 40 is partitioned into a blower chamber 41 and a machine chamber 42 by a partition member 43. The blower chamber 41 is a space in which the outdoor heat exchanger 33, the outdoor fan 39, and a part of the humidification unit 60 are arranged. The machine room 42 is a space in which the compressor 31 and a part of the humidification unit 60 are arranged.

  The partition member 43 is a plate-like member extending substantially in parallel with the right side plate 47 from the top plate 48 side toward the bottom plate 49 side. The partition member 43 extends in an arc shape from the inner side of the front plate 46 toward the end of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 on the right side plate 47 side. As a result, the partition member 43 has a function of shielding the air flow so that the air flow does not flow from the blower chamber 41 toward the machine chamber 42.

  As shown in FIG. 3, an electrical component unit 50 is installed in the blower chamber 41. The electrical component unit 50 is equipped with a control board on which electronic components for driving the compressor 31 and the outdoor fan 39 are integrated.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a circular outdoor air outlet 46 a is formed in the front plate 46. A ring-shaped bell mouth 52 is attached to the outdoor air outlet 46a along the peripheral edge thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, a protective grill 56 is attached to the front plate 46 of the casing 40. The protective grill 56 covers the outdoor outlet 46a. The protective grill 56 is formed with a plurality of openings for blowing air from the internal space of the casing 40 to the external space.

(3-2) Compressor 31
As shown in FIG. 1, the compressor 31 is disposed in the machine room 42. The compressor 31 is fixed to the bottom plate 49. Since the compressor 31 is at a high temperature during operation, the temperature of the machine room 42 is higher than that of the blower room 41.

(3-3) Outdoor heat exchanger 33
As shown in FIG. 2, the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is formed in an L shape so as to face the back surface portion 44 and the left side plate 45 of the casing 40. The vertical dimension of the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is substantially equal to the distance between the top plate 48 and the bottom plate 49.

(3-4) Outdoor fan 39
The outdoor fan 39 is disposed on the downstream side of the outdoor heat exchanger 33. The outdoor fan 39 includes an outdoor fan motor 39a and a propeller 39b. The propeller 39b is driven by the outdoor fan motor 39a. A part of the propeller 39b is arranged in a space surrounded by the bell mouth 52.

  When the propeller 39b is driven by the outdoor fan motor 39a, outside air is sucked from the back surface portion 44 side of the outdoor heat exchanger 33. The sucked outside air passes through the outdoor heat exchanger 33 and is blown out from the outdoor outlet 46a (see FIG. 3). Since the front surface of the outdoor outlet 46a is covered with a protective grill 56 (see FIG. 2), the propeller 39b cannot be touched from the outside of the outdoor unit 30.

(3-5) Humidification unit 60
As shown in FIG. 2, the humidification unit 60 is disposed between the front plate 46 and the back surface portion 44 so as to straddle the blower chamber 41 and the machine chamber 42. Specifically, a part of the humidifying unit 60 is disposed in the blower chamber 41, and the other part is disposed in the machine chamber 42. The humidification unit 60 is disposed above the blower chamber 41 and the machine chamber 42 and has a function as a part of the partition member 43.

  The humidification unit 60 mainly includes a humidification rotor 63, a humidification heater 71, an adsorption duct 68, a humidification duct 73, a humidification fan 75 (see FIG. 1), and a second humidification duct 180.

(3-5-1) Humidification rotor 63
The humidification rotor 63 is a disk-shaped member. The humidification rotor 63 adsorbs and releases moisture contained in the air while rotating around the rotation axis. The rotating shaft of the humidifying rotor 63 passes through the center of the circular main surface of the humidifying rotor 63 and extends along the horizontal direction. That is, the humidification rotor 63 is arranged so that its main surface is along the vertical direction.

  The humidification rotor 63 is disposed so as to face the front plate 46. As shown in FIG. 3, a portion of the humidification rotor 63 faces the outdoor suction port 46 b that is an opening formed in the front plate 46. The outdoor suction port 46b has a fan shape with a central angle of about 240 °. The fan-shaped center of the outdoor suction port 46 b is located on the rotation axis of the humidification rotor 63. The humidification rotor 63 is surrounded by the rotor frame wall 65. The rotor frame wall 65 will be described later.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the flow of air passing through the humidification rotor 63. In FIG. 4, the flow of air passing through the humidification rotor 63 is indicated by white arrows, and the rotation direction of the humidification rotor 63 is indicated by dotted arrows. As shown in FIG. 4, the humidification rotor 63 includes a moisture adsorption region 63a and a moisture release region 63b. The moisture adsorption region 63a is a part of the main surface of the humidification rotor 63 and is a region facing the outdoor suction port 46b. The moisture release area 63b is a part of the main surface of the humidification rotor 63 and is not an area facing the outdoor suction port 46b. Similar to the outdoor suction port 46b, the moisture adsorption region 63a has a fan shape with a central angle of about 240 °. The moisture release region 63b is adjacent to the moisture adsorption region 63a and has a sector shape with a central angle of about 120 °. The moisture adsorption region 63a is a region where moisture contained in the air is adsorbed. The moisture release region 63b is a region where the adsorbed moisture is released into the air. The moisture adsorption region 63a is disposed closer to the bell mouth 52 than the moisture release region 63b.

  When the humidification rotor 63 rotates around the rotation axis, the moisture adsorption region 63a becomes the moisture release region 63b, and the moisture release region 63b becomes the moisture adsorption region 63a. Thereby, the humidification rotor 63 can repeat adsorption | suction and discharge | release of the water | moisture content contained in the air by rotating around the rotating shaft.

  The moisture adsorption region 63a and the moisture release region 63b have a honeycomb structure formed by firing of zeolite or the like. Adsorbents such as zeolite adsorb moisture in the air at room temperature and release the adsorbed moisture when exposed to high-temperature air and heated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of teeth 63 t are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the humidification rotor 63 along the circumferential direction. Thereby, the humidification rotor 63 functions as a gear having a plurality of teeth 63t. As shown in FIG. 3, the teeth 63t of the humidification rotor 63 mesh with the pinion gear 64a. The pinion gear 64 a is rotated by the power of the rotor driving motor 64. The humidification rotor 63 can rotate around its rotation axis by the rotational movement of the pinion gear 64a.

(3-5-2) Humidifier 71
The humidifying heater 71 is disposed between the moisture release region 63b of the humidification rotor 63 and the front plate 46 so as to face the moisture release region 63b. As shown in FIG. 4, the humidifying heater 71 heats the air sent to the moisture releasing region 63 b in order to release moisture from the moisture releasing region 63 b of the humidifying rotor 63. The air heated by the humidifying heater 71 releases moisture from the humidifying rotor 63 when passing through the moisture release region 63b, and becomes high-humidity air.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the air heated by the humidifying heater 71 is air that has passed through the moisture release region 63 b of the humidifying rotor 63. This air is outside air taken in from a humidifying opening 40a (see FIG. 1) formed in the casing 40.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the moisture discharge region 63b, the region through which the outside air taken in from the humidifying opening 40a passes is more rotated than the region through which the air heated by the humidifying heater 71 passes. It is located downstream in the direction. The outside air taken in from the humidifying opening 40a passes through the moisture releasing region 63b before being heated by the humidifying heater 71, whereby heat is recovered from the moisture releasing region 63b.

(3-5-3) Adsorption duct 68
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the suction duct 68, the humidification duct 73, the humidification fan 75, and the second humidification duct 180.

  The adsorption duct 68 is a member for guiding outside air, which is air containing moisture, to the moisture adsorption region 63 a of the humidification rotor 63. The suction duct 68 has an air inlet 681 that opens toward the outdoor suction port 46 b of the front plate 46. The shape of the air inlet 681 is a sector shape with a central angle of about 240 °, like the outdoor suction port 46b. The air inlet 681 is connected to the outdoor suction port 46b.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the outside air sucked from the outdoor suction port 46b flows through the adsorption duct 68, reaches the moisture adsorption region 63a of the humidification rotor 63, and passes through the moisture adsorption region 63a. At this time, the moisture contained in the outside air is adsorbed by the moisture adsorption region 63a. The air that has passed through the moisture adsorption region 63a is discharged from the air outlet 683 of the adsorption duct 68 (see FIG. 2). The air outlet 683 is in contact with a space (a space on the upstream side of the bell mouth 52) that becomes negative pressure when the outdoor fan 39 rotates. Therefore, since the atmospheric pressure on the air outlet 683 side becomes lower than the air pressure on the air inlet 681 side due to the rotation of the outdoor fan 39, the outside air is sucked from the air inlet 681.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the outdoor suction port 46b opens to the front plate 46, like the outdoor blowout port 46a. As shown in FIG. 4, the air that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 33 by the outdoor fan 39 is pushed out and blown out of the casing 40 from the outdoor outlet 46 a. Therefore, the air blown out from the outdoor air outlet 46a is not sucked into the outdoor air inlet 46b. Thereby, it is avoided that the low-temperature air that has passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 33 and is blown out from the outdoor outlet 46a during the heating operation is sucked into the air inlet 681 via the outdoor inlet 46b. When low-temperature air is sucked into the air inlet 681, the amount of moisture that can be adsorbed by the humidification rotor 63 decreases. Therefore, the fall of the moisture content which the humidification rotor 63 can adsorb | suck is suppressed by avoiding that the air which blown off from the outdoor blower outlet 46a is suck | inhaled by the outdoor suction inlet 46b.

(3-5-4) Humidification duct 73
The humidification duct 73 guides the air that has been heated by the humidification heater 71 and passed through the moisture release region 63 b to the humidification fan 75. The air flow guided to the humidification duct 73 is generated by the humidification fan 75.

  The air guided to the humidifying duct 73 is heated by the humidifying heater 71 to become high-temperature air, and further releases moisture from the moisture releasing area 63b when passing through the moisture releasing area 63b. As shown in FIG. 4, the air that has become high temperature and high humidity after passing through the moisture release region 63 b is changed in flow by a shielding member 93 to be described later, and then flows in the humidification duct 73 to be a humidification fan. Guided to 75.

(3-5-5) Humidification fan 75
The humidifying fan 75 is disposed in the machine room 42. As shown in FIG. 1, the humidifying fan 75 includes a fan rotor 75a and a fan motor 75b. The fan rotor 75a rotates around the rotation axis, and sends out the humidified air that passes through the moisture release region 63b of the humidification rotor 63 in a predetermined direction. The fan motor 75b drives the fan rotor 75a. The humidifying fan 75 is arranged so that the rotation axis of the fan rotor 75a is along the horizontal direction. The rotation shaft of the fan rotor 75a is connected to the rotation shaft of the fan motor 75b. The fan rotor 75a is made of resin.

  The fan rotor 75 a is surrounded by the fan casing 81. The outlet of the fan casing 81 is connected to the inlet of the second humidifying duct 180. The fan motor 75 b is covered with a motor cover 82. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the fan casing 81 has a suction port 81 a through which air sucked by the humidifying fan 75 passes. The suction port 81 a corresponds to the inlet of the fan casing 81 and is connected to the outlet of the humidifying duct 73. The suction port 81a of the humidifying fan 75 is provided so as to be positioned at the center of the fan rotor 75a when viewed along the rotation axis of the fan rotor 75a. The air flowing through the humidifying duct 73 and sucked into the suction port 81a is sent to the second humidifying duct 180 by the rotating fan rotor 75a.

(3-5-6) Second humidification duct 180
The second humidifying duct 180 is a duct that guides the high-temperature and high-humidity air sent by the humidifying fan 75 to the connection port of the air supply hose 18 (see FIG. 1). Almost all of the second humidifying duct 180 is disposed in the machine room 42. However, a part of the second humidifying duct 180 that is connected to the connection port of the air supply hose 18 is located on the opposite side of the machine room 42 with the right side plate 47 interposed therebetween (see FIG. 2). ).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the second humidifying duct 180 has a horizontal duct portion 181 and a vertical duct portion 182. The horizontal duct portion 181 guides high-temperature and high-humidity air in the horizontal direction. The vertical duct part 182 is connected to the horizontal duct part 181 and guides the hot and humid air passing through the horizontal duct part 181 downward. The horizontal duct portion 181 extends from the inside of the machine room 42 toward the right side plate 47. The vertical duct part 182 extends downward from the connection part with the horizontal duct part 181. The end of the vertical duct portion 182 is connected to the connection port of the air supply hose 18.

(4) Detailed Configuration of Humidification Rotor 63 and Rotor Frame Wall 65 The rotor frame wall 65 is a member for rotatably supporting the humidification rotor 63 at a predetermined position. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the rotor frame wall 65. FIG. 7 is a front view of the rotor frame wall 65. In FIG. 7, the disk-shaped outline of the humidification rotor 63 supported by the rotor frame wall 65 is indicated by a dotted line. In FIG. 7, the rotation direction of the humidification rotor 63 is indicated by a dotted arrow. FIG. 7 is a view of the humidifying rotor 63 as viewed along the rotating shaft 63c.

  The rotor frame wall 65 has an annular portion 65 a surrounding the humidifying rotor 63. As shown in FIG. 7, the surrounding surface 65 b that is the inner peripheral surface of the annular portion 65 a is a surface that faces the outer peripheral surface of the humidifying rotor 63 on the radially outer side of the humidifying rotor 63. The radial direction of the humidification rotor 63 is the radial direction of the circular main surface of the humidification rotor 63.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a resin bearing member 65 c is attached to the rotor frame wall 65. The bearing member 65 c has a shaft 66. The shaft 66 is a tapered protrusion for rotatably supporting the humidification rotor 63. When viewed along the rotation shaft 63 c of the humidification rotor 63, the bearing member 65 c is located at the center of the annular portion 65 a of the rotor frame wall 65.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the humidification rotor 63 has a shaft through hole 67 through which the shaft 66 passes. The shaft through hole 67 is formed in the central portion of the main surface of the humidification rotor 63. As with the shaft 66, the shaft through hole 67 has a tapered shape. The humidifying rotor 63 is attached to the rotor frame wall 65 by passing the shaft 66 of the bearing member 65c attached to the rotor frame wall 65 through the shaft through hole 67 of the humidifying rotor 63.

  While the humidification rotor 63 is rotated around the rotation shaft 63 c by the power of the rotor driving motor 64, the inner peripheral surface of the shaft through hole 67 of the humidification rotor 63 slides with the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 66. That is, the inner peripheral surface of the shaft through hole 67 corresponds to the sliding surface of the sliding bearing.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a region surrounded by a surrounding surface 65b shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the disk-shaped outline of the humidification rotor 63 supported by the rotor frame wall 65 is indicated by a dotted line. In FIG. 8, the rotation direction of the humidification rotor 63 is indicated by a dotted arrow. The region surrounded by the surrounding surface 65 b is mainly divided into a moisture absorption air passage region 91 and a moisture release air passage region 92. The moisture release air passage region 92 is further divided into a heating air passage region 92a and a cooling air passage region 92b. The moisture absorption air passage area 91 has a sector shape with a central angle of about 240 °. The moisture passing air passage area 92 has a sector shape with a central angle of about 120 °. When the humidification rotor 63 attached to the rotor frame wall 65 is viewed along the rotation shaft 63 c, the moisture adsorption region 63 a of the humidification rotor 63 exists in the moisture absorption air passage region 91, and the moisture release of the humidification rotor 63 is performed. The region 63b exists in the moisture release air passage region 92.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the rotating humidifying rotor 63 passes through the hygroscopic air passage region 91, the heating air passage region 92a, and the cooling air passage region 92b in this order when viewed along the rotation shaft 63c. . The moisture absorption air passage area 91 and the heating air passage area 92a are partitioned by a first partition 65d1. A space between the heating air passage region 92a and the cooling air passage region 92b is partitioned by a second partition wall 65d2. The cooling air passage region 92b and the moisture absorption air passage region 91 are partitioned by a third partition wall 65d3.

  The moisture absorption air passage region 91 is a region through which air passing through the moisture adsorption region 63 a of the humidification rotor 63 passes. As shown in FIG. 4, the outside air sucked from the outdoor suction port 46b flows through the adsorption duct 68, reaches the moisture adsorption region 63a of the humidification rotor 63, and passes through the moisture adsorption region 63a. At this time, the outside air sucked from the outdoor suction port 46 b passes through the moisture absorption air passage region 91.

  The heating air passage region 92 a is a region through which air passing through the moisture release region 63 b of the humidification rotor 63 passes. As shown in FIG. 4, the high-temperature air heated by the humidifying heater 71 reaches the moisture release region 63b of the humidification rotor 63 and passes through the moisture release region 63b. At this time, the air heated by the humidifying heater 71 passes through the heating air passage region 92a.

  The cooling air passage region 92 b is a region through which air that passes through the moisture adsorption region 63 a of the humidification rotor 63 passes. As shown in FIG. 4, before the outside air taken in from the humidification opening 40a is heated by the humidification heater 71, it reaches the moisture release region 63b of the humidification rotor 63 and passes through the moisture release region 63b. At this time, the outside air taken in from the humidifying opening 40a passes through the cooling air passage region 92b.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the rotor frame wall 65 has a humidifying air discharge hole 65 e. The humidifying air discharge hole 65e is a hole formed in the heating air passage area 92a. The humidifying air discharge hole 65 e is connected to the inlet of the humidifying duct 73. In the heating air passage area 92a, the high-temperature air that has passed through the moisture discharge area 63b of the humidification rotor 63 flows into the humidification duct 73 via the humidification air discharge hole 65e and passes through the humidification duct 73. The air is sucked into the suction port 81a of the humidifying fan 75.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a shielding member 93 is attached in the vicinity of the humidifying air discharge hole 65e. 6 and 7, the shielding member 93 is a member shown as a hatched region. FIG. 9 is a view showing the shielding member 93 attached in the vicinity of the humidifying air discharge hole 65e. FIG. 9 shows the suction port 81a of the humidifying fan 75. The suction port 81a is located in the vicinity of the humidification air discharge hole 65e in the direction along the rotation shaft 63c. The suction port 81a is located at the same position as the humidification air discharge hole 65e when viewed along the rotation shaft 63c of the humidification rotor 63. In FIG. 9, the flow direction of high-temperature and high-humidity air that has passed through the moisture release region 63 b of the humidification rotor 63 is indicated by white arrows.

  The shielding member 93 is formed of a metal such as aluminum. The shielding member 93 includes two fixing portions 93a, a plurality of connecting portions 93b, and one shielding portion 93c. The fixing portion 93 a is a portion for fixing the shielding member 93 to the rotor frame wall 65. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the fixing portion 93a is a portion that is fixed to each of the first partition wall 65d1 and the second partition wall 65d2 by screws or the like. The connecting portion 93b is a portion that connects the fixing portion 93a and the shielding portion 93c. In FIG. 9, each fixing | fixed part 93a is connected to the shielding part 93c via the two connection parts 93b. The shielding part 93c is a plate-like part disposed at a position facing the humidifying air discharge hole 65e. In FIG. 9, the shielding part 93c is a square plate-shaped member.

  The shielding part 93 c of the shielding member 93 is not in contact with the rotor frame wall 65. The shielding part 93c is located between the humidification rotor 63 attached to the rotor frame wall 65 and the humidification air discharge hole 65e. That is, the shielding part 93c is disposed between the humidification rotor 63 and the suction port 81a of the humidification fan 75, and faces the suction port 81a. As shown in FIG. 7, when viewed along the rotation shaft 63c of the humidification rotor 63, the shielding portion 93c of the shielding member 93 is disposed at a position covering the humidification air discharge hole 65e.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the high-temperature air heated by the humidifying heater 71 reaches the moisture release region 63b of the humidification rotor 63 and passes through the moisture release region 63b. Thereafter, the humidifying air, which is high-temperature and high-humidity air that has passed through the moisture release region 63b, collides with the shielding part 93c as shown in FIG. Thereby, the flow of humidification air diffuses toward the peripheral edge of the shielding part 93c, and the humidification air is dispersed. Thereafter, the dispersed humidifying air flows around the shielding portion 93 c, flows into the humidifying duct 73 from the humidifying air discharge hole 65 e, and is sucked into the suction port 81 a of the humidifying fan 75.

(5) Operation of Air Conditioner 10 The operation of the air conditioner 10 in each of the cooling operation mode, the heating operation mode, and the humidification operation mode will be described.

(5-1) Cooling Operation During the cooling operation, the four-way switching valve 32 connects the discharge side of the compressor 31 and the gas side of the outdoor heat exchanger 33, and the suction side of the compressor 31 and the indoor heat. The gas side of the exchanger 21 is connected. In FIG. 1, the state of the four-way switching valve 32 during the cooling operation is indicated by a solid line.

  The liquid side closing valve 37 and the gas side closing valve 38 are in an open state. The opening degree of the electric expansion valve 34 is adjusted so that the degree of superheat of the refrigerant at the refrigerant outlet of the indoor heat exchanger 21 becomes constant at a predetermined target value.

  In the refrigerant circuit in such a state, when the operation of the compressor 31, the outdoor fan 39, and the indoor fan 22 is started, the low-pressure gas refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 31 and compressed to become a high-pressure gas refrigerant. The high-pressure gas refrigerant is sent to the outdoor heat exchanger 33 via the four-way switching valve 32 and condensed by heat exchange with the outdoor air supplied by the outdoor fan 39 to become a high-pressure liquid refrigerant. The high-pressure liquid refrigerant is reduced in pressure by the electric expansion valve 34 to become a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant, and then sent to the indoor unit 20 via the liquid-side closing valve 37 and the liquid refrigerant communication pipe 14.

  The refrigerant in the gas-liquid two-phase state sent to the indoor unit 20 enters the indoor heat exchanger 15, where the liquid refrigerant evaporates by heat exchange with the indoor air in the indoor heat exchanger 15, and becomes a low-pressure gas refrigerant. The low-pressure gas refrigerant is sent to the outdoor unit 30 via the gas refrigerant communication pipe 16 and the gas-side closing valve 38, and flows into the accumulator 36 via the four-way switching valve 32. The low-pressure gas refrigerant that has flowed into the accumulator 36 is again sucked into the compressor 31.

  In this manner, the air conditioner 10 performs a cooling operation in which the outdoor heat exchanger 33 functions as a refrigerant condenser and the indoor heat exchanger 21 functions as a refrigerant evaporator.

(5-2) Heating Operation During the heating operation, the four-way switching valve 32 connects the discharge side of the compressor 31 and the gas side of the indoor heat exchanger 21, and the suction side of the compressor 31 and the outdoor heat. The gas side of the exchanger 33 is connected. In FIG. 1, the state of the four-way switching valve 32 during the heating operation is indicated by a dotted line.

  The liquid side closing valve 37 and the gas side closing valve 38 are in an open state. The opening degree of the electric expansion valve 34 is adjusted so that the pressure of the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is reduced to a pressure at which the liquid refrigerant can be completely evaporated in the outdoor heat exchanger 33.

  In the refrigerant circuit in such a state, when the operation of the compressor 31, the outdoor fan 39, and the indoor fan 22 is started, the low-pressure gas refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 31 and compressed to become a high-pressure gas refrigerant. The high-pressure gas refrigerant is sent to the indoor unit 20 via the four-way switching valve 32, the gas side closing valve 38 and the gas refrigerant communication pipe 16.

  The high-pressure gas refrigerant sent to the indoor unit 20 is condensed by heat exchange with room air in the indoor heat exchanger 21 to become a high-pressure liquid refrigerant. The high-pressure liquid refrigerant is sent to the outdoor unit 30 via the liquid refrigerant communication pipe 14 and the liquid side shut-off valve 37.

  The high-pressure liquid refrigerant sent to the outdoor unit 30 is decompressed by the electric expansion valve 34 to become a gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant, and then flows into the outdoor heat exchanger 33. The low-pressure gas-liquid two-phase refrigerant that has flowed into the outdoor heat exchanger 33 evaporates as a low-pressure gas refrigerant by heat exchange with the outdoor air supplied by the outdoor fan 39. The low-pressure gas refrigerant flows into the accumulator 36 via the four-way switching valve 32. The low-pressure gas refrigerant that has flowed into the accumulator 36 is again sucked into the compressor 31.

  In this manner, the air conditioner 10 performs a heating operation in which the indoor heat exchanger 21 functions as a refrigerant condenser and the outdoor heat exchanger 33 functions as a refrigerant evaporator.

(5-3) Humidification operation The humidification operation of the air conditioner 10 is performed in combination with the heating operation. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, the air inlet 681 (see FIG. 5) of the adsorption duct 68 of the humidifying unit 60 faces the outdoor suction port 46 b (see FIG. 3) of the front plate 46. The air outlet port 683 (see FIG. 2) opens to the upstream side of the bell mouth 52, which becomes negative pressure when the outdoor fan 39 rotates. When the outdoor fan 39 is operated, the air pressure on the air outlet 683 side becomes lower than the air inlet 681 side, and the outside air that has not passed through the outdoor heat exchanger 33 is sucked in from the air inlet 681. Moisture contained in the outside air sucked from the air inlet 681 is adsorbed by the moisture adsorption region 63 a of the humidification rotor 63.

  The humidification rotor 63 is located between the air inlet 681 and the air outlet 683 and in the vicinity of the air outlet 683. During the humidifying operation, the humidifying rotor 63 is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed around the rotation shaft 63c by the power of the rotor driving motor 64. By the rotation of the humidification rotor 63, the moisture adsorbed in the moisture adsorption region 63a is carried to the moisture release region 63b.

  At the same time, by driving the humidification fan 75, the outside air taken in from the humidification opening 40a is guided to the surroundings of the humidification heater 71 and heated. The air heated by the humidifying heater 71 passes through the moisture release region 63 b of the humidifying rotor 63. At this time, moisture is released from the portion exposed to the heated air in the moisture release region 63b. Thereafter, the high-humidity air containing moisture released from the moisture release region 63 b is guided to the humidification duct 73 and supplied into the second humidification duct 180 by the humidification fan 75. The high-humidity air supplied to the second humidification duct 180 is guided to the indoor unit 20 via the air supply hose 18.

(6) Features In the humidification unit 60 of the present embodiment, the moisture released area 63b of the humidification rotor 63 is heated by the humidifying heater 71, whereby the moisture adsorbed on the moisture release area 63b is released. The heated air, which is high-temperature air heated by the humidifying heater 71, passes through the moisture release region 63b of the humidification rotor 63 and then contains moisture released from the moisture release region 63b to become humidifying air. The heated air that has become the humidification air flows into the humidification duct 73 via the humidification air discharge hole 65e and is sucked into the suction port 81a of the humidification fan 75. The humidification fan 75 sucks the heated air, thereby generating a flow of heated air that passes through the humidification rotor 63 and is guided to the suction port 81a.

  In the humidification unit 60, a shielding member 93 is disposed in the vicinity of the humidification air discharge hole 65e through which the heated air that has become humidification air passes. The shielding member 93 is fixed to the rotor frame wall 65 to which the humidification rotor 63 is attached. The shielding member 93 is disposed between the humidification rotor 63 and the suction port 81a of the humidification fan 75, and has a portion facing the suction port 81a and the humidification air discharge hole 65e.

  The shielding member 93 has a function of changing the flow of humidification air that is heated air after passing through the moisture release region 63 b of the humidification rotor 63 and before being sucked into the suction port 81 a of the humidification fan 75. The shielding member 93 prevents the high-temperature humidification air from locally hitting the humidification fan 75 by changing the flow of the humidification air. Therefore, the humidifying fan 75 is prevented from being damaged by being locally heated by the humidifying air until the heat resistance temperature is exceeded. Therefore, the humidification unit 60 can prevent the humidification fan 75 from being damaged by suppressing the local heating of the humidification fan 75 by the shielding member 93.

  In the humidifying unit 60, the shielding member 93 is made of metal. For this reason, the shield member 93 is prevented from being damaged by heat, which is caused by the shield member 93 being heated by the heated air. If the shielding member 93 is broken, the heated air may hit the humidifying fan 75 locally. Therefore, the humidifying unit 60 can prevent the humidifying fan 75 from being damaged by preventing the shielding member 93 from being damaged.

  Further, since the shielding member 93 is made of metal, the shielding member 93 heated by the heated air emits radiant heat. Since the shielding member 93 is disposed between the humidification rotor 63 and the humidification air discharge hole 65e, the moisture release region 63b of the humidification rotor 63 is opposite to the humidification heater 71 by the radiant heat from the shielding member 93. Is heated from. Therefore, in the humidification unit 60, the moisture release region 63b of the humidification rotor 63 is easily heated to a higher temperature than when the shielding member 93 is not fixed to the rotor frame wall 65. Therefore, the amount of moisture released from the moisture release region 63b is increased by the radiant heat from the shielding member 93. Therefore, the humidification unit 60 can increase the humidification amount by the radiant heat from the shielding member 93.

  Moreover, in the humidification unit 60, the shielding member 93 is disposed between the humidification rotor 63 and the humidification air discharge hole 65e. The shielding part 93c of the shielding member 93 is a plate facing the humidifying air discharge hole 65e. The humidification air discharge hole 65 e is connected to the suction port 81 a of the humidification fan 75 through the humidification duct 73. The suction port 81a is located in the vicinity of the humidification air discharge hole 65e in the direction along the rotation shaft 63c. That is, the shielding portion 93 c of the shielding member 93 faces the suction port 81 a of the humidifying fan 75. Thus, the heated air that has passed through the humidification rotor 63 strikes the shielding portion 93 c before being sucked into the suction port 81 a of the humidification fan 75. The heated air hitting the shielding part 93c is dispersed in the peripheral part of the shielding part 93c. The dispersed heated air flows around the shielding portion 93c, flows into the humidification duct 73 from the humidification air discharge hole 65e, and reaches the suction port 81a of the humidification fan 75. Thereby, the shielding member 93 can effectively prevent the heated air from hitting the humidifying fan 75 locally by the shielding part 93c disposed at a position facing the suction port 81a. Therefore, the humidifying unit 60 can prevent the humidifying fan 75 from being damaged by disposing the shielding member 93 having the shielding part 93c facing the suction port 81a of the humidifying fan 75.

  In addition, the humidifying fan 75 has a fan rotor 75a that rotates about a rotation axis. The suction port 81a of the humidifying fan 75 is located at the center of the fan rotor 75a when viewed along the rotation axis of the fan rotor 75a. Therefore, when the shielding member 93 is not attached to the rotor frame wall 65, the heated air sucked into the suction port 81a of the humidifying fan 75 tends to hit the fan rotor 75a locally, which causes the fan rotor 75a to be heated. May cause damage. In particular, when the fan rotor 75a is formed of a resin or the like that does not have heat resistance to heated air, the fan rotor 75a is easily damaged by the heat of the heated air. However, the humidification unit 60 includes a shielding member 93 for preventing the heated air from locally hitting the fan rotor 75a. Therefore, the humidification unit 60 can prevent the humidification fan 75 from being damaged by suppressing the heating of the fan rotor 75a by the shielding member 93.

(7) Modifications The specific configuration of the present invention can be changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. Next, modifications to which the embodiment of the present invention can be applied will be described.

(7-1) Modification A
In the humidification unit 60 of the embodiment, the shielding member 93 is made of metal. However, the shielding member 93 may be formed of a material other than metal as long as it has heat resistance against heated air. For example, the shielding member 93 may be formed of a heat resistant plastic.

  Also in this modification, since the shielding member 93 has heat resistance against heated air, the shielding member 93 is prevented from being damaged by heat. If the shielding member 93 is broken, the heated air may hit the humidifying fan 75 locally. Therefore, the humidifying unit 60 of this modification can prevent the humidifying fan 75 from being damaged by preventing the shielding member 93 from being damaged.

(7-2) Modification B
In the humidification unit 60 of the embodiment, the shielding member 93 includes a shielding portion 93c disposed between the humidification rotor 63 and the humidification air discharge hole 65e. The shielding part 93c is a flat plate as shown in FIGS. However, the shielding member 93 may have other shapes. Specifically, the shielding part 93c may have an arbitrary shape as long as it can prevent the heated air from locally hitting the humidifying fan 75.

  FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 and showing the shielding member 193 in this modification. The shielding member 193 faces the humidifying air discharge hole 65e and the suction port 81a, similarly to the shielding member 93 of the embodiment.

  The shielding member 193 includes a fixed portion 193a, a connecting portion 193b, and a shielding portion 193c. The fixing part 193a and the connecting part 193b are the same as the fixing part 93a and the connecting part 93b in the embodiment, respectively. The shielding part 193c is not a flat plate but a plate processed to have an inclined surface. Specifically, the shielding part 193c has four inclined surfaces 193d. The inclined surface 193d is a surface that is inclined so as to approach the humidifying air discharge hole 65e from the center of the shielding portion 193c toward the end portion. Therefore, the heated air that has passed through the humidification rotor 63 and hits the shielding portion 193c is likely to flow along the four inclined surfaces 193d of the shielding portion 193c when being dispersed in the peripheral portion of the shielding portion 193c. That is, the flow of the heated air that has passed through the humidification rotor 63 is easily diffused by the shielding portion 193c and is not easily inhibited by the shielding portion 193c. Therefore, the humidification unit 60 including the shielding portion 193c of the present modification prevents the high-temperature heated air from locally hitting the humidifying fan 75 while effectively diffusing the flow of heated air that has passed through the humidifying rotor 63. be able to.

(7-3) Modification C
In the humidification unit 60 of the embodiment, the shielding member 93 is disposed between the humidification rotor 63 and the humidification air discharge hole 65 e of the rotor frame wall 65. However, as long as the shielding member 93 is disposed between the humidifying rotor 63 and the suction port 81a of the humidifying fan 75, the shielding member 93 may be disposed at another location. For example, the shielding member 93 may be disposed in the humidification duct 73.

  The humidifier according to the present invention can prevent the humidifying fan from being damaged.

60 Humidification unit (humidifier)
63 Humidification rotor 71 Humidification heater 75 Humidification fan 75a Fan rotor 81a Suction port 93 Shielding member

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-91002

Claims (5)

A humidification rotor (63) having a moisture absorption area for adsorbing water and a moisture release area for releasing water adsorbed in the moisture absorption area when heated;
A humidifying heater (71) for heating the moisture release region;
A humidifying fan (75) having a suction port (81a) for sucking the heated air so that heated air, which is air heated by the humidifying heater, passes through the humidifying rotor;
A member that the heated air collides with after passing through the humidification rotor and before being sucked into the suction port, and a shielding member (93) that changes the flow of the heated air;
A humidifier (60) comprising: The shielding member has heat resistance to the heated air.
The humidifier according to claim 1. The shielding member is made of metal.
The humidifier according to claim 1 or 2. The shielding member is a plate disposed between the humidification rotor and the suction port and facing the suction port.
The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The humidifying fan has a fan rotor (75a) that rotates about a rotation axis,
The suction port is located at the center of the fan rotor when viewed along the rotation axis,
The fan rotor does not have heat resistance to the heated air.
The humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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