JP5355501B2 - Air conditioning system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a smaller size and power saving of an overall air conditioning system by reducing the number of blowers and realize cost reduction. <P>SOLUTION: The air conditioning system has a processing-side channel 21 through which processing air from a test room 2 flows, a regeneration-side channel 23 through which regeneration air flows by actuation of a regeneration blower 22, and a dehumidification module 24 that includes a dehumidification rotor which is rotary driven across the processing-side channel 21 and the reproduction-side channel 23, and the inlet 21a and the outlet 21b of the processing side channel 21 are respectively connected to an upstream side and a downstream side of refrigerators 13<SB POS="POST">1</SB>to 13<SB POS="POST">3</SB>of a circulation channel 4 through which the air of the test room 2 is circulated, so that the processing air flows through the processing channel 21 by a difference of pressure between the upstream side and the downstream side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an air conditioning system, and more particularly to an air conditioning system that performs dehumidification using a desiccant.

  As an air conditioning system for performing dehumidification using a desiccant, that is, a hygroscopic agent, for example, there is one using a desiccant dehumidifier disclosed in Patent Document 1.

  In such a desiccant dehumidifier, a space in the housing is partitioned to form a treatment-side flow channel for flowing dehumidification air and a regeneration-side flow channel for flowing regeneration external air, and a hygroscopic agent is spread over both flow channels. A held dehumidifying rotor is provided to be rotatable.

  In the dehumidification region where the dehumidification rotor is rotated slowly and the dehumidification rotor faces the processing-side flow path, the dehumidification air passes through the dehumidification rotor and the moisture contained in the air is adsorbed by the hygroscopic agent and dehumidified The dehumidified air is supplied to the location to be dehumidified. In the regeneration region where the dehumidification rotor faces the regeneration-side flow path, heated regeneration outside air passes through the dehumidification rotor, and moisture adsorbed by the moisture absorbent is dehumidified and desorbed to the regeneration outside air, thereby absorbing moisture. The agent is regenerated.

  In this way, the dehumidification rotor rotates and dehumidification and regeneration are continuously repeated, so that the air is dehumidified and supplied to the dehumidification target location.

Japanese Patent No. 3988819

  In the air conditioning system using the desiccant dehumidifier as described above, it is necessary to supply dehumidification air and regeneration outside air to the processing-side flow path and the regeneration-side flow path, respectively. is there. For this reason, the space which installs an air blower is needed, the whole air conditioning system becomes large, and there exists a subject that the energy cost for driving will also become high in order to install an air blower while installing equipment cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the number of blowers to reduce the size and power consumption of the entire air conditioning system and to reduce the cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

(1) The air conditioning system of the present invention includes a circulation channel through which air in a humidity control target chamber circulates by operation of a circulation fan, a cooler provided in the circulation channel, and a process from the humidity control target chamber A processing-side flow path through which regeneration air flows, a regeneration-side flow path through which regeneration air flows by the operation of the regeneration blower, and a dehumidification rotor rotatably provided across the processing-side flow path and the regeneration-side flow path When, and a driving means for rotating the dehumidification rotor, the dehumidification rotor is in the dehumidification region facing the processing side flow path, and dehumidifying processed hygroscopic moisture of the processing air, the reproducing side stream in the reproducing area facing the road, are reproduced by moisture releasing the moisture absorbed in the air for the regeneration, the inlet and outlet of the process side flow passage, the pressure difference between the air in the humidity control target chamber occurs, the circulation Upstream of the cooler provided in the flow path And downstream respectively connected, is introduced from the inlet of the process air into the process side flow path by the pressure differential, the humidity control target dehumidification treated treated air by the dehumidifying region from the outlet It leads to the room.

  According to the air conditioning system of the present invention, the inlet and the outlet of the processing side flow path are connected to a place where the pressure difference of the air in the humidity control target chamber is generated, and the processing air is supplied by the pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet. Since it is made to flow through the flow path, it is not necessary to provide a blower for flowing the processing air to the processing side flow path as in the above-described conventional example, so that the entire air conditioning system is reduced in size and power saving. In addition, the cost can be reduced.

  As a heating means for heating the air for regeneration flowing through the regeneration side flow path, an electric heater, a hot water coil, a steam coil, a means utilizing waste heat, or the like can be used.

  Due to the operation of the circulation fan, the air in the humidity control target room circulates in the circulation flow path, and is cooled by the cooler provided in the circulation flow path and returned to the humidity control target room. Can be lowered. In addition, due to the operation of the circulation fan, a difference occurs in the air pressure between the upstream side and the downstream side of the cooler provided in the circulation flow path.

  According to this embodiment, the inlet and the outlet of the processing side channel are connected to the upstream and downstream sides of the cooler of the circulating channel where the pressure difference is generated by the operation of the circulation fan. Due to the pressure difference, the processing air from the humidity control target chamber can be passed through the processing-side flow path to perform dehumidification processing. That is, by providing a circulation fan for circulating the air in the humidity control target chamber in the circulation channel provided with the cooler, the processing air can be caused to flow through the processing side channel for the dehumidification process.

  The circulation channel is preferably provided with a heating means for heating the air circulating through the circulation channel. In this case, the circulating air is cooled by a cooler and heated by the heating means. Therefore, the temperature of the humidity control target room can be adjusted.

  (3) In still another embodiment of the air conditioning system of the present invention, the regeneration air on the downstream side of the dehumidification rotor of the regeneration side channel can be introduced into the humidity control target chamber.

  According to this embodiment, in the regeneration-side flow path, by introducing the regeneration air on the downstream side of the dehumidification rotor that absorbs the moisture of the dehumidification rotor and is high in humidity into the humidity control object chamber, It becomes possible to humidify the chamber. Therefore, it is not necessary to humidify by a humidifier in a low humidity region where the humidity is relatively low, and energy consumption for humidification can be reduced.

  (4) In another embodiment of the air conditioning system of the present invention, at least one of the heating means for heating the air for regeneration, the driving means for rotationally driving the dehumidification rotor, and the blower for regeneration is provided. Control means for controlling and controlling the humidity of the processing air is provided.

  According to this embodiment, at least one of the temperature of the regeneration air by the heating means, the rotational speed of the dehumidification rotor by the driving means, and the air volume of the regeneration air by the regeneration blower is controlled by the control means. Thus, it is possible to control the dehumidification capacity of the dehumidification rotor that is regenerated in the regeneration region, that is, the humidity of the processing air that is dehumidified by the dehumidification rotor in the dehumidification region.

  (5) In still another embodiment of the air conditioning system of the present invention, a damper is provided for controlling the supply amount of the processing air dehumidified in the dehumidifying region to the humidity control target chamber.

  According to this embodiment, the humidity of the humidity control target chamber can be adjusted by controlling the supply amount of the dehumidified processing air supplied to the humidity control target chamber.

  (6) In another embodiment of the air conditioning system of the present invention, regeneration air heated by waste heat can be introduced into the regeneration side flow path.

  According to this embodiment, since the regeneration air heated and heated by waste heat can be used, energy consumption for heating the regeneration air can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, the inlet and outlet of the processing side flow path are connected to a place where the pressure difference between the air in the humidity control target chamber occurs, and the processing air is transferred to the processing side flow path by the pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet. Since it is made to flow, it is not necessary to provide a blower for flowing processing air in the processing side flow path as in the conventional example, and accordingly, the entire air conditioning system can be reduced in size and power can be saved. At the same time, the cost can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a main part of an environmental test apparatus including an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the dehumidifying module of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 of still another embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 schematically shows a configuration of a main part of an environmental test apparatus including an air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The environmental test apparatus shown in the figure includes a humidity control target chamber 6 surrounded by a heat insulating material 1. The humidity control target chamber 6 is partitioned by a partition wall 5 into a test chamber 2 and a circulation channel 4 through which air in the test chamber 2 circulates. Only a part of the test chamber 2 is illustrated. Although not shown in the drawing, the test chamber 2 is provided with samples to be tested for environmental tests such as electronic components, electronic devices, and polymer materials.

  The partition wall 5 has an air suction port 7 for sucking the air on the test chamber 2 side to the circulation channel 4 side on the lower side, and the air conditioned air from the circulation channel 4 side to the test chamber 2 side on the upper side. It has an air outlet 8 for blowing out. At the air outlet 8, the outlet of the circulation fan 9 faces the test chamber 2 side.

  In the test chamber 2, a humidity sensor 10 including a wet bulb thermometer and a temperature sensor 11 including a thermocouple are installed in the vicinity of the air outlet 8, and detection outputs of both the sensors 10 and 11 are provided. Is given to the controller 29 described later.

In the circulation channel 4, each of the coolers (evaporators) 13 _{1 to} 133 of the _three refrigerators 12 _{1 to} 12 ₃ from the air suction port 7 (upstream) side to the air outlet (downstream) 8 side A heater 14 composed of a heater, a humidifier 15 that heats and evaporates water to humidify, and the above-described circulation fan 9 are disposed.

Each of the coolers 13 _{1 to} 13 ₃ constitutes a refrigerant circuit together with the refrigerator main bodies 16 _{1 to} 16 ₃ including the compressor and the expansion valves 18 ₁ to 18 ₃ , and performs a refrigeration cycle by circulating the refrigerant. The power supply frequency of the refrigerator main bodies 16 _{1 to} 16 ₃ is varied by the inverters 19 _{1 to} 19 ₃ to control the rotation speed of the compressor. Note that the number of coolers is appropriately selected according to required specifications. Further, in this embodiment, it has a solenoid valve ₁₇ 1-17 ₃ may be omitted.

  The air conditioning system 3 of this embodiment includes an adsorption desiccant dehumidifier 20 that performs dehumidification using a desiccant, that is, a hygroscopic agent, in order to dehumidify the air in the test chamber 2.

  The desiccant dehumidifier 20 includes a processing-side flow path 21 through which processing air from the test chamber 2 flows, and a regeneration side through which external air as regeneration air flows through the introduction flow path 32 by the operation of the regeneration blower 22. A dehumidification module 24 including a dehumidification rotor that is rotationally driven across the flow path 23, the processing-side flow path 21 and the regeneration-side flow path 23, and is provided upstream of the dehumidification module 24 in the regeneration-side flow path 23. And a regeneration heater 25 for heating the outside air as the air.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 2, the dehumidification module 24 includes a disk-shaped dehumidification rotor 26 rotatably supported in a housing (not shown), and the dehumidification rotor 26 via a drive belt 27 at a constant rotational speed. And a motor 28 as a dehumidifying rotor driving means that slowly rotates. The housing is partitioned into a processing side channel 21 through which processing air from the test chamber 2 flows and a regeneration side channel 23 through which outside air as regeneration air flows by the operation of the regeneration fan 22.

  The dehumidifying rotor 26 is a so-called desiccant rotor carrying an adsorbent such as zeolite or silica gel inside, and is rotatably supported so as to be orthogonal to the air flow in the flow paths 21 and 23.

  In the dehumidifying rotor 26, the circumferential region 26 a of the disk-shaped rotating surface becomes a dehumidifying region facing the processing side flow channel 21 and a regenerating region facing the regeneration side flow channel 23 according to the rotation. When air for use passes through the dehumidifying region, moisture in the air is adsorbed by the moisture absorbent and dehumidified, and in the regeneration region, moisture absorbed when the outside air heated by the regeneration heater 25 passes through It is regenerated by releasing it into the open air.

  By controlling the heating temperature by the regeneration heater 25, the dehumidifying capacity of the dehumidifying rotor 26 can be controlled. That is, when the heating temperature is increased, the moisture absorbent of the dehumidifying rotor 26 is sufficiently dried to increase the dehumidifying ability. Conversely, when the heating temperature is lowered, the desiccant of the dehumidifying rotor 26 is not sufficiently dried, and the dehumidifying capacity is reduced. By controlling the heating temperature of the regeneration heater 25 in this way, it is possible to control the dehumidifying capacity in the dehumidifying area of the dehumidifying rotor 26, that is, the humidity of the air to be dehumidified in the dehumidifying area.

In the air conditioning system 3 of this embodiment, the air in the test chamber 2 is sucked from the air suction port 7 on the lower side of the circulation flow path 4 by the circulation fan 9, and the three coolers 13 _{1 to} 13 ₃ , heating It flows through the circulation flow path 4 in which the chamber 14 and the humidifier 15 are arranged, and the temperature and humidity are adjusted, and the air is blown out from the upper air outlet 8 to the test chamber 2 through the circulation fan 9.

  In this embodiment, in order to reduce the number of blowers of the desiccant dehumidifier 20 to reduce the size and power consumption of the entire air conditioning system, the configuration is as follows.

In other words, in this embodiment, the inlet 21 a and the outlet 21 b of the processing side channel 21 are provided at locations where an air pressure difference occurs in the humidity control target chamber 6, specifically, the three coolers 13 of the circulation channel 4. They are connected to each portion of ₁ to 13 ₃ of the upstream and downstream.

The coolers 13 _{1 to} 13 ₃ , which are heat exchangers, have a large pressure loss. When the circulation fan 9 is activated, the air pressure difference between the upstream side and the downstream side of the coolers 13 _{1 to} 13 ₃ increases. . Accordingly, in the circulation channel 4, optionally one place 4b of the pressure difference is large cooler _131-134 any one position of the _three upstream 4a and downstream, the inlet 21a and outlet 21b of the processing side flow path 21 By connecting each of them, a part of the air sucked from the test chamber 2 through the air suction port 7 is introduced into the processing side channel 21 from the inlet 21a as dehumidifying air.

In this case, the air sucked into the circulation channel 4 from the test chamber 2 through the air suction port 7 flows from the downstream side to the upstream side in the circulation channel 4, but a part of the air is divided into the processing side channel 21. However, the diversion ratio, that is, the ratio of the flow rate of air on the circulation flow path 4 side and the flow rate of air on the processing flow path 21 side is, for example, the air path resistance on the circulation flow path 4 side. Can be defined by setting.
When the number of coolers installed in the circulation channel 4 is small and the air path resistance is insufficient, for example, an air path resistor such as punching metal is installed in the circulation channel 4 and adjusted. Can do.

  The ratio between the air flow rate on the circulation flow path 4 side and the air flow rate on the processing flow path 21 side may be set according to the required temperature / humidity range, the capacity of the dehumidification module 20, and the like. Although not limited, in this embodiment, for example, it is set to be within a range of 9: 1 to 7: 3.

  The air introduced from the test chamber 2 through the air suction port 7 and the inlet 21a into the processing-side flow path 21 as indicated by an arrow in the figure is dehumidified by the dehumidifying rotor 26 of the dehumidifying module 24 and indicated by the arrow in the figure. In this way, the gas is supplied from the outlet 21 b into the test chamber 2 through the circulation fan 9. On the other hand, outside air as regeneration air taken into the regeneration-side flow path 23 by the regeneration blower 22 as indicated by an arrow in the figure is heated by the regeneration heater 25 and then dehumidified rotor 26 of the dehumidification module 24. , The moisture absorbent of the dehumidifying rotor 26 is heated, the moisture in the moisture absorbent is released and dried, and then exhausted to the outside as indicated by the arrows in the figure.

The air conditioning system 3 of this embodiment is based on the detection outputs of the humidity sensor 10 and the temperature sensor 11 that detect the humidity and temperature of the test chamber 2, respectively, the refrigerators 12 _{1 to} 12 ₃ , the heater 14, and the humidifier. 15 and the above-described controller 29 as control means for controlling the temperature and humidity of the test chamber 2 to the temperature and humidity set by a setting unit (not shown).

  Next, the operation of the air conditioning system 3 having the above configuration will be described.

By the operation of the circulation fan 9, the air in the test chamber 2 is sucked into the circulation channel 4 and the processing side channel 21 through the air suction port 7. The air sucked into the circulation channel 4 is adjusted in temperature when passing through the coolers 13 _{1 to} 13 ₃ and the heater 14, is humidified by the humidifier 15, and passes through the circulation fan 9. 2 is blown out. On the other hand, the air sucked into the processing side channel 21 passes through the dehumidifying area of the dehumidifying rotor 26 in the dehumidifying module 24 and is dehumidified, and is blown out into the test chamber 2 through the circulation fan 9. Further, the dehumidification rotor 26 in the dehumidification module 24 is regenerated by releasing moisture to the outside air, which is the regeneration air heated by the regeneration heater 25, in the regeneration region facing the regeneration-side flow path 23.

The controller 29 controls the refrigerators 12 _{1 to} 12 ₃ , the heater 14, the humidifier 15, and the regeneration heater 25 based on the detection outputs of the humidity sensor 10 and the temperature sensor 11 in the test chamber 2. The temperature and humidity inside are controlled to the set temperature and humidity.

The thus-treated side flow path 21, through the cooler _{131-134 3} upstream and the downstream side and connected to the inlet 21a and the air inlet 21a in the test chamber 2 by pressure difference between the outlet 21b Therefore, it is sucked into the processing side channel 21 and dehumidified by the dehumidifying module 24 and returned to the test chamber 2, so that it is not necessary to install a blower in the processing side channel 21 as in the conventional example, and the entire air conditioning system Miniaturization and power saving can be achieved, and cost can be reduced.

The cooling is, while performing the circulation channel 4 condenser _{131-134 3} installed in, dehumidification is performed by the dehumidifier module 24, there is no need to dehumidify excessively cool the air to a dew point temperature or less , Energy consumption can be reduced. Furthermore, since the excess is no need to cool the air, the cooling temperature, the cooler _{131-134 3} can be increased to a temperature that does not adhere frost, which eliminates the need for defrost, divided There is no need to stop the refrigerators 12 _{1 to} 12 ₃ to interrupt the environmental test in order to form frost. Further, when the frost cooler _{131-134 3} it is necessary to control the cooling temperature to be adhered, it is possible to suppress the frost formation by performing dehumidification module 24 dehumidification advance, refrigeration to defrost The continuous operation time until the machines 12 _{1 to} 12 ₃ are stopped can be extended.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 3 is a block diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 of another embodiment of the present invention.

In the air conditioning system 3 ₁ of this embodiment, the downstream side of the dehumidifying modules 24 of the reproducing-side flow path 23, together with the branch channel 30 connected to the downstream side of the circulation channel 4 is connected, the branch flow path A damper 31 that controls the supply amount of the air for regeneration to the branch channel 30 is provided at a connection portion between the regeneration channel 30 and the regeneration side channel 23.

The regeneration air downstream of the dehumidification module 24 absorbs moisture released from the hygroscopic agent when passing through the regeneration region of the dehumidification rotor 26 as described above, and the humidity becomes high. By supplying high regeneration air into the test chamber 2 via the branch flow path 30, the test chamber 2 can be humidified. The controller 29 ₁ controls the flow rate of the air for regeneration is supplied by controlling the opening degree of the damper 31 to the test chamber 2 for adjusting the humidity.

  In this way, since the high-humidity regeneration air on the downstream side of the dehumidifying module 24 is introduced into the test chamber 2 and humidified, it is not necessary to humidify the humidifier 15 in a low-humidity region where the humidity is relatively low. Energy consumption for humidification can be reduced. The branch flow path 30 is connected to the downstream side of the circulation flow path 4, but may be connected to the upstream side.

Further, in this embodiment, the introduction channel 32 for introducing the outside air as air for regeneration by the operation of the reproducing blower 22 introduces air in the machine room 34 or the like refrigerator _{131-134 3} is installed The introduction flow path 33 is connected, and a damper 35 for controlling the flow rate of air introduced from the machine chamber 34 is provided at the connection portion. The controller 29 ₁ controls the flow rate of the air introduced from the machine room 34 by controlling the opening degree of the damper 35.

  The air in the machine room 34 is heated and heated by waste heat from a compressor or the like, and the air heated by the waste heat is introduced into the regeneration-side flow path 23 as regeneration air. Energy consumption for heating the air for regeneration by the heater 25 can be reduced.

  Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 4 is a block diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 of still another embodiment of the present invention.

Air conditioning system 3 ₂ of this embodiment, the downstream side of the dehumidifying modules 24 of the process-side channel 21, a damper 36 is provided, by controlling the opening degree of the damper 36 by the controller 29 _2, which is dehumidified process The amount of supply to the test chamber 2 is controlled, and the humidity in the test chamber 2 is adjusted.

  Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

(Other embodiments)
In each of the above-described embodiments, description has been made by applying to an environmental test apparatus. However, the air conditioning system of the present invention is not limited to an environmental test apparatus, and can be applied to various uses that require indoor humidity control. It can also be applied to dry rooms in factories, freezer / refrigerated showcases in supermarkets that require defrosting countermeasures, and hospitals that need to control germs. Further, the air path resistance may be a heater or other equipment instead of a cooler, and any air resistance can be used as long as it provides air path resistance.

  In the above embodiment, the air heated by the waste heat of the machine room is used as the air for regeneration. However, as another embodiment of the present invention, the waste heat of the fuel cell or the like may be used.

  The present invention is useful as an air conditioning system that adjusts at least humidity.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Test chamber 3 Air conditioning system 4 Circulation flow path 6 Humidity control object room 9 Circulation fan 10 Humidity sensor 11 Temperature sensor 13 _{1 to} 13 ₃ Cooler 21 Process side flow path 21a Inlet 21b Outlet 22 Reproduction fan 23 Reproduction side flow path 24 Dehumidification Module 25 Regenerative Heater 26 Dehumidification Rotor 28 Motor 29 Controller 31, 35, 36 Damper

Claims (5)

A circulation channel through which air in the humidity control target chamber circulates by the operation of the circulation fan, a cooler provided in the circulation channel, a processing side channel through which the processing air from the humidity control target chamber flows, a reproducing-side flow path through which air for regeneration by the operation of the reproducing blower, a dehumidification rotor provided rotatably over the process side flow path and the regeneration side passage, drive for rotating the dehumidification rotor Means, and
The dehumidification rotor absorbs moisture from the processing air in the dehumidifying area facing the processing side flow path, and dehumidifies the moisture in the regeneration area facing the regeneration side flow path. It is regenerated by dehumidifying
The pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet of the processing side channel is respectively connected to the upstream side and the downstream side of the cooler provided in the circulation channel where the pressure difference of the air in the humidity control target chamber is generated. The processing air is introduced into the processing-side flow path from the inlet, and the processing air dehumidified in the dehumidifying region is led out from the outlet to the humidity control target chamber.
An air conditioning system characterized by that. The regeneration air on the downstream side of the dehumidification rotor of the regeneration side channel can be introduced into the humidity control target chamber.
The air conditioning system according to claim 1 . Control means for controlling the humidity of the processing air by controlling at least one of the heating means for heating the air for regeneration, the driving means for rotationally driving the dehumidifying rotor, and the blower for regeneration. Prepare
The air conditioning system according to claim 1 or 2 . A damper for controlling the supply amount of the processing air dehumidified in the dehumidifying region to the humidity control target chamber;
The air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . Regeneration air heated by waste heat can be introduced into the regeneration side channel,
The air conditioning system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 .

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