JP5058062B2 - Humidifier - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a humidifier that humidifies air using a moisture permeable membrane.

  In recent years, a device using a moisture permeable membrane has been proposed as a humidifying device for humidifying air such as outside air introduction air or room air. A hydrophobic porous membrane is used for the moisture permeable membrane used in the humidifying device, and the characteristic of the porous membrane, that is, the property of allowing water vapor to pass but not allowing water to pass (moisture permeability) is used. . That is, with this moisture permeable membrane as a boundary surface, water for humidification is placed in one region, and air to be treated is placed in the other region, thereby moving water vapor through the moisture permeable membrane. The air to be treated is configured to be humidified.

  As a humidifier using the moisture permeable membrane, for example, a hydrophilic nonwoven fabric capable of holding water is sandwiched between both sides by a moisture permeable membrane that allows water vapor to pass but does not allow water to pass through. A three-layer structure in which the two are heat-sealed around the periphery is used. A water supply port for water supply is opened at the end of the three-layer structure, and bonded together with a rib for securing a ventilation layer and a plastic frame having a water supply port. Configure the device.

  This humidifying unit is incorporated in an air passage of a blower having a blower, and pre-humidified air as air to be treated is passed through the ventilation layer of the humidifying unit. In this way, a form in which the air before humidification is humidified to be air after humidification by allowing the air before humidification to flow in contact with the surface of the three-layer structure is often used (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-168484 A

  In the humidification unit described above, the wind direction of the air before humidification that is passed through the humidification unit is continuously in a substantially constant direction. Humidification using a moisture permeable membrane is natural evaporation, that is, a vaporization type, so the air before humidification is gradually given water vapor from the windward part of the three-layer structure, and the water vapor amount of the air before humidification is as it goes to the leeward part. It increases and eventually becomes air after humidification containing water vapor necessary for humidification.

  The humidified water supplied for humidification is usually tap water such as tap water, and contains many kinds of evaporation residues. In the humidification method using this moisture permeable membrane, only the water vapor of the humidified water is used, and the contained evaporation residue remains inside the moisture permeable membrane of the three-layer structure and precipitates. The deposited evaporation residue coats the inside of the porous moisture permeable membrane, becomes a resistance when water vapor passes through the moisture permeable membrane, and reduces the humidifying performance of the humidifying unit.

  Since the humidification method using the moisture permeable membrane is a vaporization method, the amount of water vapor passing through the moisture permeable membrane is larger in the upwind portion of the three-layer structure than in the leeward direction portion. That is, the upwind portion occupies most of the obtained humidification amount. As a result, when evaporation residue that deposits inside the moisture permeable membrane is considered, the amount of water vapor passing through the leeward part is greater than that of the leeward part, so the evaporation residue starts to deposit relatively early. As a result, the humidification performance is lowered early. Therefore, if the humidification unit is continuously used in this state, the performance of the windward portion important for securing the humidification amount as the humidification unit is deteriorated early, and the area used for humidification of the three-layer structure is early. There is a drawback that the humidification performance of the entire humidification unit is also reduced at an early stage.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. In a humidifier using a moisture permeable membrane, the evaporation residue is prevented from depositing on the moisture permeable membrane to prevent the evaporation residue from precipitating. An object of the present invention is to obtain a humidifier capable of extending the service life.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a humidifier according to the present invention includes a humidified air passage through which air can pass and a moisture permeable membrane that allows water vapor to pass therethrough, and is disposed in the humidified air passage. The humidifying part that humidifies with water vapor the air passing over the other surface with water in contact with the surface, and the flow direction of the air passing over the other surface of the moisture permeable membrane from one side across the humidifying part And a wind direction reversing unit that reverses the direction toward the other side across the humidifying unit and the direction toward the other side across the humidifying unit from the other side across the humidifying unit.

  According to the present invention, the flow direction of the air passing over the surface of the moisture permeable membrane is reversed by the wind direction reversing portion, so that it is possible to prevent the evaporation residue from preferentially depositing on the moisture permeable membrane, The lifetime of the moisture permeable membrane can be extended.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a humidifier according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the humidifier 30, a duct 1 that conveys pre-humidified air (air) 14 and post-humidified air (air) 15 is connected to the outer shell 2 of the humidifier 30 by a flange 3. The inside of the humidifier 30 is divided into an upwind chamber 10a, a leeward chamber 10b, and a humidified space (humidified air passage) 10c. The windward chamber 10a includes a first inlet 9a and a second inlet 9b through which the pre-humidified air 14 flows into the humidified space 10c. The leeward chamber 10b has a first outlet 9c and a second outlet 9d through which the humidified air 15 flows out of the humidified space 10c. The humidification unit 4 is installed in the humidification space 10c between the windward chamber 10a and the leeward chamber 10b so as to divide the humidification space 10c into two. In addition, a first inflow port 9a and a first outflow port 9c are formed in the humidification space 10c on one side of the humidification unit 4, and the second inflow port 9b in the humidification space 10c on the other side of the humidification unit. And a second outlet 9c are formed. Furthermore, the humidifier 30 opens one of the inlets 9a and 9b and opens one of the windward damper (wind direction reversing part) 5a and the other outlets 9c and 9d that closes the other. Is provided with a leeward damper (wind direction reversing part) 5b.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the humidifying three-layer structure 36 stacked inside the humidifying unit 4. In the humidifying three-layer structure 36, both surfaces of the hydrophilic nonwoven fabric 38 are covered with the moisture permeable membrane 40, and the moisture permeable membrane 40 and the hydrophilic nonwoven fabric 38 form a three-layer structure. A water supply port (not shown) is formed in the humidifying three-layer structure 36, and the water for humidification is continuously supplied to the water supply port with a constant pressure by a pipe (not shown) connected to the outside of the outer shell 2. Has been. The hydrophilic nonwoven fabric 38 absorbs water passing through the water supply port. The water absorbed by the hydrophilic nonwoven fabric 38 comes into contact with the inner surface (one surface) 40 a of the moisture permeable membrane 40.

  The moisture permeable membrane 40 has a property of not allowing water to permeate but allowing water vapor to permeate. Therefore, the water that has contacted the inner surface 40 a of the moisture permeable membrane 40 does not pass through the moisture permeable membrane 40 and leak outside the humidifying three-layer structure 36. Further, the moisture permeable membranes 40 that cover both surfaces of the hydrophilic nonwoven fabric 38 are heat-sealed at the ends thereof, and water does not leak from the periphery of the humidifying three-layer structure 36.

  A humidifying three-layer structure 36 is laminated inside the humidifying unit 4 so as to provide a space through which the pre-humidified air 14 can pass. Accordingly, when the pre-humidified air 14 passes through the humidifying unit 4, it passes through the outer surface (the other surface) 40 b of the moisture permeable membrane and is humidified by the water vapor that has passed through the moisture permeable membrane 40.

  The windward damper 5a and the leeward damper 5b are operated by the windward damper operating device 6a and the leeward damper operating device 6b, respectively. In order to drive the damper operating devices 6a and 6b, a damper operating signal line 11 is provided between the control device 7 and the damper operating devices 6a and 6b. Further, a humidity signal line 12 is provided between the humidity detection device 8 such as a Humidystat and the control device 7, and a signal transmitted from the humidity detection device 8 via the humidity signal line 12 is transmitted to the control device 7. Is configured to receive.

  Next, an operation during a normal humidifying operation will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the flow direction of the pre-humidified air 14 is reversed during a normal humidifying operation. First, when the humidifying operation is performed, the damper operating devices 6 a and 6 b are driven by the control device 7. By driving each damper actuating device 6a, 6b, the windward damper 5a is moved to the left side (first inlet 9a side), the first inlet 9a is closed, and the second inlet 9b is opened. On the other hand, the leeward damper 5b moves to the right side (second outlet 9d side), opens the first outlet 9c, and closes the second outlet 9d. As a result, the pre-humidified air 14 flows in the humidified space 10c in a direction passing from the other side across the humidifying unit 4 to one side (right side to left side in the drawing). Thereby, the air 14 before humidification is humidified when passing through the humidification unit 4, and is guided as the humidified air 15 to the duct 1 connected to the outer shell 2 of the humidifier 30.

  The control device 7 has a timer inside, and transmits a signal to move the damper to each of the damper actuating devices 6a and 6b when the operation time in the state 1 has passed a certain time. Then, the windward damper 5a is moved to the right side (second inlet 9b side) and the leeward damper 5b is moved to the left side (first outlet 9c side), and the state shown in state 2 is obtained. In this state, the flowing direction of the pre-humidified air 14 that passes through the humidifying unit 4 is opposite to the state 1.

  Each of the states 1 and 2 described above is repeated by the dampers 5a and 5b alternately switching the opening / closing operations of the inflow ports 9a to 9c at regular time intervals by a timer provided in the control device 7. Thereby, the flow direction of the air 14 before humidification which passes the humidification unit 4 by a fixed time interval, ie, the flow direction of the air 14 before humidification which passes on the outer surface 40b of the moisture-permeable film 40, can be reversed.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the pre-humidified air 14 that passes over the outer surface 40b of the moisture permeable membrane 40 is gradually humidified in the process toward the downstream region (leeward part) 40d. Since the air passing through the downstream region 40d has already been humidified to some extent in the upstream region 40c, the amount of humidification in the downstream region 40d is smaller than the amount of humidification in the upstream region (windward portion) 40c. Accordingly, the amount of humidification increases in the upstream region 40c, and the amount of water vapor that passes through the moisture permeable membrane 40 also increases. As a result, more evaporation residue is deposited in the upstream region 40c of the moisture permeable membrane 40, and the upstream region 40c first deteriorates in humidification performance.

  However, in the first embodiment, during the humidifying operation of the humidifier 30, the wind direction of the pre-humidified air 14 that passes through the humidifying unit 4 can be periodically reversed, so that the permeation used in the humidifying unit 4 is used. It is possible to prevent evaporation residues from precipitating in the upstream region 40c of the wet film 40 and to bear the load at both ends of the moisture permeable film 40. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the humidification amount.

  The reversal of the flow direction of the pre-humidification air 14 that passes through the humidification unit 4 can also be realized by reversing the inflow direction and the outflow direction of air with respect to the humidifier itself. However, in a general air conditioning system, the air flow direction is often a constant direction, and it is difficult to reverse the air inflow direction and the outflow direction with respect to the humidifier itself. However, in the first embodiment, by moving the inflow side damper 5a and the outflow side damper 5b, the flow direction of the pre-humidification air 14 in the humidification space 10c is reversed and before the humidification unit 4 is passed. The flow direction of the air 14 is reversed, and the air inflow direction and the outflow direction with respect to the humidifier 30 itself do not change. Therefore, if it is the humidification apparatus 30 of this Embodiment 1, it can install in the middle of a general air conditioning system, and the lifetime of the moisture-permeable film 40 can also be achieved.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a formation state of the bypass air passage during the non-humidifying operation of the humidifying device according to the second embodiment. The configuration of the humidifier according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and will be described using the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment. When the control device 7 receives the humidification signal from the humidity detection device 8, the damper operation devices 6 a and 6 b are driven by the control device 7. By driving each damper actuating device 6a, 6b, the windward damper 5a is moved to the left side (first inlet 9a side), and the leeward damper 5b is moved to the right side (second outlet 9d side). It will be in the state shown in As a result, the air before humidification flows in the direction passing through the humidification unit 4 from the right to the left in the drawing. Thereby, when the pre-humidified air 14 passes through the humidifying unit 4, it is humidified, and is led as the humidified air 15 to the duct 1 connected to the outer shell 2 of the humidifier 30.

  When the room air is humidified to the set humidity, a humidity stop signal is transmitted from the humidity detection device 8. When receiving the humidification stop signal, the control device 7 controls the dampers 5a and 5b so as to shift to the bypass mode of the state 2. In the bypass mode of the state 2, the leeward damper 5b moves to the left side (first outlet 9c side) by driving the leeward damper operating device 6b. Thus, the leeward damper 5b and the leeward damper 5a close the inlet and outlet on the same side with respect to the humidifying unit 4. In this state, the air 14 before humidification does not pass through the humidification unit 4. As a result, a bypass air passage that does not allow the pre-humidification air 14 to pass through is formed on the outer surface 40b of the moisture permeable membrane 40, and the humidification unit 4 does not humidify the pre-humidification air 14. Accordingly, the pre-humidified air 14 is directly led to the second outlet 9d of the leeward chamber 10b and discharged from the humidifier 30.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram comparing the humidification amount from the humidification unit 4 when the stop control of the humidification operation by the transition from the humidification operation to the non-humidification operation is performed. In the conventional humidifier, when shifting to the non-humidifying operation, for example, the supply of humidified water to the humidifying unit 4 has been stopped. However, even when the water supply to the humidifying unit 4 is stopped, since the hydrophilic nonwoven fabric 38 contains humidified water, the amount of humidification does not suddenly become zero, and the humidified water contained in the hydrophilic nonwoven fabric 38 is not contained. As water evaporates, it tends to slowly decrease over time. Therefore, in the past, it was impossible to respond immediately to the humidification stop request, and the responsiveness of the stop control of the humidification operation was not good.

  On the other hand, in the humidifying device 30 according to the second embodiment, when the humidification operation in the state 1 is shifted to the bypass mode in the state 2, most of the pre-humidification air 14 does not pass through the humidification unit 4, so There is little humidification. As shown in FIG. 5, in the second embodiment, the humidification amount suddenly becomes a value close to zero due to the shift to the non-humidification operation, and it can be seen that the responsiveness of the stop control of the humidification operation is good.

  When the humidity of the indoor air decreases and the control device 7 receives the humidification signal from the humidity detection device 8 again, the operation shifts to the humidification operation state of state 3. The control device 7 stores the states of the dampers 5a and 5b in the state 1 which is the state before the non-humidifying operation (state 2), and the control device 7 has the positions of the windward damper 5a and the leeward damper 5b. The damper actuating devices 6a and 6b are controlled to be relatively opposite to the state 1. As a result, the flow direction of the pre-humidified air 14 passing through the humidification unit 4 is reversed between the state 1 and the state 3.

  Thereafter, when time elapses and the room air is humidified again to the set humidity, the control device 7 receives the humidification stop signal from the humidity detection device 8, and the dampers 5a and 5b are shifted to the bypass mode of state 4. To control. In the bypass mode of state 4, the first inlet 9a and the first outlet 9c opposite to state 2 are closed. Even in the state 4, since most of the pre-humidified air 14 does not pass through the humidifying unit 4 as in the state 2, it is possible to obtain a good responsiveness to the stop control of the humidifying operation.

  As described above, by performing the control to repeat the cycle from state 1 to state 4 in FIG. Furthermore, since the flow direction of the pre-humidified air 14 that passes through the humidifying unit 4 is reversed between the state 1 and the state 3 in which the humidifying operation is performed, the lifetime of the moisture permeable membrane 40 can be extended.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the humidifier according to the third embodiment. About the same part as the thing of Embodiment 1, the same code | symbol as the thing of Embodiment 1 is used, and description about them is abbreviate | omitted. The third embodiment is characterized in that the humidifier has a blower.

  A blower 42 is built in the windward chamber 10 a of the humidifier 30. The pre-humidified air 14 from the duct 1 is supplied into the windward chamber 10a by the blower 42, and is exhausted from any one of the inlets 9a and 9b not closed by the windward damper 5a.

  In this Embodiment 3, since it has the air blower 42 in the main body of the humidification apparatus 30, uses other than the case where it installs in the middle of a general air conditioning system, for example, the room where humidification amount is insufficient, is supplementarily. This is useful when you want to install an additional humidifying system independently.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an independent humidification system configured with the humidifying device 30 according to the third embodiment as an example. A humidifier 30 is installed on the ceiling of the room 19, and the indoor air supply duct 16 a and the indoor exhaust duct 16 b are connected to the humidifier 2 by the duct 1. By operating the humidifier 30 in this state, it is possible to control to make up for the insufficient humidity in the room 19 independently. Further, by providing a function of reversing the pre-humidified air 14 passing through the humidifying unit 4 at regular time intervals and a bypass mode for stopping the humidification, a decrease in the amount of humidification generated as the operation time of the humidifier 30 is accumulated. In addition, it is possible to realize a humidification system that has good responsiveness to stop control of the humidification operation.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the humidification apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing of the three-layer structure for humidification laminated | stacked inside a humidification unit. It is a figure which shows the state which reverses the flow direction of the air before humidification at the time of humidification driving | operation. It is a figure which shows the formation state of the bypass air path at the time of the non-humidification driving | operation of the humidification apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure for comparing the humidification amount from a humidification unit at the time of performing stop control of humidification operation. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the humidification apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the independent humidification system comprised including the humidification apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment 3. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Duct 2 Outer 3 Flange 4 Humidification unit 5a Upward damper (wind direction reversal part)
5b Downward damper (wind direction reversal part)
6a leeward damper actuator 6b leeward damper actuator 7 controller 8 humidity detector 9a first inlet 9b second inlet 9c first outlet 9d second outlet 10a windward chamber 10b leeward chamber 10c humidification space (Humidified air path)
11 Signal line for damper operation 12 Signal line for humidity 14 Air before humidification (air)
15 Air after humidification (air)
16a Air supply duct 16b Exhaust duct 19 Indoor 30 Humidifier 36 Three-layer structure for humidification (humidification part)
38 Hydrophilic nonwoven fabric 40 Moisture permeable membrane 40a Inner side surface (one side)
40b outer surface (the other surface)
40c Upstream area (windward part)
40d Downstream area (leeward part)
42 Blower

Claims (4)

A humidified air passage through which air can pass,
A humidifying unit that has a moisture permeable membrane that allows water vapor to pass therethrough and is disposed in the humidified air passage, and contacts the water on one surface of the moisture permeable membrane and humidifies the air passing on the other surface with the water vapor. When,
The flow direction of the air passing over the surface of the moisture permeable membrane is directed from one side sandwiching the humidifying unit to the other side sandwiching the humidifying unit, and the other side sandwiching the humidifying unit. A wind direction reversing unit that reverses to a direction toward one side across the humidifying unit,
A first inlet that is formed in the humidified air passage on one side of the humidifying section and allows the air to flow into the humidified air passage;
A first outlet that is formed in the humidified air passage on one side of the humidifying section and allows the air to flow out of the humidified air passage;
A second inlet that is formed in the humidified air passage on the other side of the humidifying section and allows the air to flow into the humidified air passage;
A second outlet that is formed in the humidified air passage on the other side across the humidifying section and allows the air to flow out of the humidified air passage;
The wind direction reversing unit opens one of the first inlet and the second inlet, closes the other, opens one of the first outlet and the second outlet, and closes the other. The flow direction of the air passing over the surface of the moisture permeable membrane is reversed by alternately switching the opening / closing operation to be performed, and the first inflow port and the first outflow port are closed, or the second flow an inlet to the second outlet by a closed, humidification device according to claim Rukoto to form a bypass air passage which does not pass through the air on the surface of the moisture permeable membrane. 2. The humidifier according to claim 1 , further comprising a wind direction controller that controls the air direction reversing unit to reverse the flow direction of air passing over the surface of the moisture permeable membrane at predetermined time intervals. A humidity detector for detecting the humidity of the air before flowing into the humidified air passage;
Humidifying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by further comprising a, a humidification control unit for Ru to form said bypass air passage by controlling the blowing direction unit based on a detection result of the humidity detecting portion. The humidifying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising a blower that allows air to pass through the humidified air passage.

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