JP5857597B2 - Air volume adjusting damper device and air conditioner - Google Patents

Description

  The technology disclosed in the present application relates to an air volume adjusting damper device and an air conditioner.

  Some air conditioners that perform air conditioning by supplying wind to an object can adjust the air volume by changing the inclination angle of the damper blades arranged in the wind passage. Further, there is known a device that detects a wind speed by a wind speed sensor installed upstream of the damper blade in the wind flow direction.

Utility Model Registration No. 2529478 Registered Utility Model No. 3051862

  In order to know the amount of air that has passed through the wind passage portion, it is desirable to install a wind speed sensor downstream of the damper blade in the wind flow direction. However, even if the wind speed sensor is simply installed on the downstream side, the air volume changes according to the inclination angle of the damper blades, so it is difficult to know the air volume that has passed through with high accuracy.

  It is an object of the disclosed technology of the present application to provide an air volume adjusting damper device capable of knowing with high accuracy the air volume of the wind passing through the air passage section, and an air conditioner using the air volume adjusting damper device. .

An air volume adjusting damper device disclosed in the present application includes a damper blade, an inclination angle sensor, a wind speed sensor, and an air volume calculating unit. The tilt angle sensor detects the tilt angle of the damper blade. A wind speed sensor detects the wind speed of the wind which passed the wind passage part. The air volume calculation unit obtains a wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient corresponding to the tilt angle detected by the tilt angle sensor, and uses the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient to calculate the wind speed passing through the wind passage section from the wind speed detected by the wind speed sensor. Calculate the air volume.

  According to the air volume adjusting damper device disclosed in the present application, it is possible to know the air volume of the wind that has passed through the wind passage section with high accuracy.

It is a schematic front view which shows the structure of the air conditioning apparatus provided with the damper apparatus for air volume adjustment of 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic front view which shows the damper apparatus for air volume adjustment of 1st Embodiment. The damper apparatus for air volume adjustment of 1st Embodiment is shown, (A) is the state which mounted | worn the grill, (B) is the state which removed the grill. It is a front view which expands and shows a wind speed sensor and its vicinity partially in the air volume adjustment damper apparatus of 1st Embodiment, (A) is an inclination angle of 0 degree | times, (B) is an inclination angle of 45 degree | times. This is the case. (A) It is a graph which shows an example of the relationship between the inclination angle of a damper blade | wing, and a wind speed air volume conversion coefficient, (B) is a graph which shows an example of the relationship between the inclination angle of a damper blade | wing, and an air volume. It is a graph which shows qualitatively an example of the relationship between inclination-angle (theta) and an air volume in each of an opposing wing type damper and a parallel wing type damper.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an air volume adjusting damper device and an air conditioner disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air conditioner 14 of this embodiment is installed in a data center, a server room, etc., for example, and sends cooling air with respect to the server etc. which are examples of a cooling target object. The underfloor 18 is supplied with cooling air CW (indicated by an arrow F0) for cooling an object to be cooled from an air conditioner (not shown), and flows through the cooling air flow path 20. In this embodiment, the air conditioner 14 includes a plurality of air volume adjustment damper devices 12 arranged along the direction of the arrow F0.

  An opening 26 is formed in the floor surface 22 at a position in the vicinity of the server rack 24 (forward and downward in the illustrated example). As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, one or more grilles 28 each having a plurality of slits 28 </ b> S are fitted in the opening 26 in parallel with the floor surface 22. Then, below the grill 28 (between the grill 28 and the cooling air flow path 20), a plurality of dampers 12 for adjusting the air volume are provided along the flow direction of the air flowing in the cooling air flow path 20 in the underfloor 18 (arrow F0 direction). Has been placed. The cooling air CW that has flowed through the cooling air flow path 20 passes through the air volume adjusting damper device 12 and reaches the floor as indicated by an arrow F1. In the following description, the term “wind flow direction” simply refers to the wind flow direction (arrow F1 direction) in the air volume adjustment damper device 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the air volume adjusting damper device 12 includes a frame body 30. The frame body 30 includes four side walls 30 </ b> S so as to form a rectangular frame shape when viewed in the normal direction of the floor surface 22. The inside of the frame 30, that is, the area surrounded by the four side walls 30 </ b> S is the wind passage portion 32.

  From each upper end of the side wall 30S, when the frame 30 is planarly viewed, the support plate 30P extends in a flange shape that extends outward. The grill 28 is supported on the support plate 30P.

  A plurality of (9 in the illustrated example) damper blades 34 are disposed between the two opposing side walls 30A and 30B. Each of the damper blades 34 is formed in a long plate shape. Each of the damper blades 34 is provided with a support shaft 36 along the center in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction). The plurality of damper blades 34 are arranged along directions that intersect the flow direction F1 of the cooling air CW and the direction of the support shaft 36, respectively. In the illustrated example, in particular, the support shaft 36 is orthogonal to the flow direction F1 of the cooling air CW in the air passage portion 32.

  The support shafts 36 of the plurality of damper blades 34 are parallel to each other, and both end portions are rotatably supported by the side walls 30A and 30B. Therefore, the plurality of damper blades 34 are arranged along the direction F1 of the cooling air CW and the direction orthogonal to each of the support shafts 36.

  Each of the damper blades 34 rotates about the support shaft 36, so that the inclination angle θ with respect to the virtual plane PL orthogonal to the flow direction of the cooling air CW (the direction of the arrow F1) in the air passage 32 is 0 to 90 degrees. It changes in the range up to.

  Then, by changing the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 in this way, the cross-sectional area of the wind passage portion 32, that is, the area of the opening portion when the cooling air CW passes through the wind passage portion 32 can be adjusted. . Specifically, when the inclination angle θ is 0 degree, the opening area of the wind passage portion 32 is minimum (substantially zero). When the inclination angle is 90 degrees, the opening area of the wind passage portion 32 is maximized.

  In particular, in this embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 2, the adjacent damper blades 34 are inclined in opposite directions when viewed in the direction of the support shaft 36 (the inclination angles θ of the two damper blades 34 are equal). ), The damper blade 34 is connected by the blade opening / closing mechanism 38. That is, the damper blade 34 is a counter blade type damper blade as a whole. For example, all the damper blades 34 can be integrally rotated around the support shaft 36 by manually operating the blade opening / closing mechanism 38. Further, a stopper mechanism (not shown) is provided so that the damper blade 34 is held at a predetermined inclination angle θ. Of course, an actuator may be provided to automate the rotation of the damper blade 34.

  As shown in detail in FIGS. 4A and 4B, each of the damper blades 34 is obtained by partially bending the edge portion in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the support shaft 36) in the plate thickness direction. A step portion 34D is formed. As can be seen from FIG. 4A, the step portion 34D is formed so as to partially overlap the step portion 34D of the adjacent damper blade 34 when the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 is 0 degrees. In other words, the damper blade 34 can effectively suppress the passage of the cooling air CW by being overlapped by the step 34D even when the inclination angle θ is 0 degree.

  On the other hand, if the damper blades 34 are inclined at a predetermined inclination angle θ (for example, about 45 degrees as shown in FIG. 4B), as can be seen from FIG. The step portion 34 </ b> D is separated, and gaps 54 and 56 are generated between the damper blades 34. In particular, in the portion 50 where the adjacent step portion 34 </ b> D has moved upward, the cooling air CW is collected along the damper blades 34 on both sides of the gap 54 and passes through the gap 54.

  The frame 30 is provided with an inclination angle sensor 40. The tilt angle sensor 40 detects the tilt angle of the damper blade 34 and sends data to the air volume calculation unit 42.

  Two guide plates 44 are spanned between the side walls 30A and 30B. A support plate 46 is formed on one or both of the guide plates 44 on the downstream side (upper side in FIG. 2) in the flow direction of the cooling air CW (the direction of the arrow F1). A wind speed sensor 48 is attached to the support plate 46. The wind speed sensor 48 detects the wind speed V of the cooling air CW that has passed through the wind passage section 32 and sends data to the air volume calculation section 42.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, the wind speed V of the cooling air CW that has passed through the air passage portion 32 (between the damper blades 34) is detected downstream in the flow direction from the air passage portion 32 and upstream of the grill 28. doing.

  Each of the guide plates 44 is arranged in parallel along the flow direction of the cooling air CW. As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 4, the guide plate 44 is disposed at a substantially central portion in the direction in which the plurality of damper blades 34 are arranged (the direction of the arrow A <b> 1). In particular, in the present embodiment, the stepped portion 34D surrounds the portion 50 that moves upward so that it is outside of the support shafts 36A, 36B of the two adjacent damper blades 34A, 34B in the arrangement direction. Has been placed.

  In a state where the damper blades 34A and 34B are inclined, a part of the cooling air CW moves along the lower surface of the damper blade 34, and the step portion 34D passes through the gap 54 of the portion 50 moved upward. The guide plate 44 is disposed so as to surround the portion 50 where the step 34D moves upward. For this reason, the guide plate 44 can guide the cooling air CW that has passed through the gap 54 toward the wind speed sensor 48 as indicated by the arrow F2. Thereby, compared with the structure which does not guide the cooling wind CW to the wind speed sensor 48, the wind speed of the cooling wind CW can be detected efficiently.

  Further, for example, in the configuration in which the guide plate 44 is disposed so as to surround the portion 51 (see FIG. 2) where the step portion 34D moves downward, the cooling air CW is not collected by the damper blades 34 on both sides thereof. The air volume F passing through the gap 56 in this portion is substantially reduced. On the other hand, since the cooling air CW is collected along the damper blades 34 in the gap 54, the cooling air is efficiently guided to the wind speed sensor 48 by using the collected cooling air CW, and the wind speed of the cooling air is increased. Can be detected.

  The air volume calculation unit 42 can output the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34, the wind speed V of the cooling air CW, and the estimated air volume F ′ to a display device (not shown) or the like.

  Next, functions and effects of the air volume adjusting damper device 12 and the air conditioner 14 will be described.

  In the air conditioner 14 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, cooling air CW (see arrow F <b> 0) from an air conditioner (not shown) flows through the cooling air flow path 20 in the underfloor 18. Further, the cooling air CW passes through the slit 28S of the grill 28 from the air passage 32 of the air volume adjusting damper device 12 (see arrow F1) and is supplied above the floor surface 22. With this cooling air CW, a server or the like, which is an example of a cooling object installed on the floor surface 22, is cooled.

  The airflow calculation unit 42 receives the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 detected by the inclination angle sensor 40. In addition, the wind speed of the cooling air CW detected by the wind speed sensor 48 is input to the air volume calculation unit 42.

  The amount of air F passing through the wind passage 32 varies according to the wind speed V detected by the wind speed sensor 48. Here, when the airflow to the airflow adjustment damper device 12 is changed while the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 is kept constant, the airflow F passing through the airflow passage 32 is detected by the wind speed sensor 48. It was found experimentally that it is proportional to the wind speed V. That is, the estimated air volume F ′ can be calculated by the following calculation formula (1). The calculation formula (1) is stored in the air volume calculation unit 42.

F ′ = K · V (1)

  K is a conversion coefficient for converting the wind speed V into the air volume F (hereinafter referred to as “wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient”). It has also been found that the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient K takes a unique value determined depending on the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34. That is, by changing the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 and measuring the wind speed V and the air volume F in advance for each inclination angle, the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient K for each inclination angle θ can be determined.

  In consideration of this point, the air volume calculation unit 42 stores a correspondence relationship between the specific inclination angles θ1, θ2 to θi to θn and the wind speed / airflow conversion coefficients K1, K2 to Ki to Kn as a table 42T. FIG. 5A shows, as an example, a graph of the value of the wind speed / air quantity conversion coefficient K when the inclination angle θ is changed by 10 degrees from 0 degree to 90 degrees. Also from the graph of FIG. 5 (A), it can be seen that the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient K changes in the range of 0.05 to 0.20 depending on the inclination angle θ.

  The result of calculating the estimated air volume F ′ from the wind speed V detected by the wind speed sensor 48 using the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient K obtained as described above, together with the actual value of the air volume F (measured air volume Fr), is shown in FIG. A graph is shown in (B).

  As can be seen from FIG. 5B, when the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 is changed from 0 degree to 90 degrees by 10 degrees, the wind speed V changes greatly. That is, simply measuring the wind speed V downstream of the damper blade 34 in the flow direction of the cooling air CW and multiplying it by a certain constant (for example, the area of the air passage portion 32) can obtain the air volume F with high accuracy. Is difficult. This is considered to be caused by, for example, the direction of the cooling air passing through the gap 54 not being directly above depending on the inclination direction of the damper blade 34. For example, in the case where the gap 54 is configured as shown in FIG. 4B, it is assumed that the cooling air CW is directed leftward. Further, the relationship between the wind speed V passing through the wind passage portion 32 and the air volume F also depends on the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 as described above, but simply measuring the wind speed V corresponds to the inclination angle θ. This is probably because the change in the air flow F cannot be reflected.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient K corresponding to the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 is obtained, and the estimated air volume F ′ is calculated from the wind speed V using the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient K. As a result, the estimated air volume F ′ obtained by the calculation has a small error from the actually measured air volume Fr (within 5% in the illustrated example). That is, in the air volume adjusting damper device 12 of the present embodiment, the air volume F of the cooling air CW passing through the air passage portion 32 can be calculated with high accuracy.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, since the estimated air volume F ′ of the cooling air CW is output from the air volume adjusting damper device 12 itself, it is not necessary to newly provide a device for measuring the air volume F. Therefore, the estimated air volume F ′ can be obtained at the timing (without delay) when the cooling air CW is discharged by the air volume adjusting damper device 12. Also, the air volume adjusting damper device 12 capable of calculating the estimated air volume F ′ with high accuracy can be realized at low cost.

  In the present embodiment, the guide plate 44 is provided at a position downstream of the damper blade 34 in the flow direction of the cooling air CW and upstream of the wind speed sensor 48. A part of the cooling air CW that has passed through the wind passage 32 (the cooling air CW that has passed through the gap 56) is guided to the wind speed sensor 48 by the guide plate 44. Therefore, the wind speed V can be detected with high accuracy by the wind speed sensor 48 as compared with the configuration in which the guide plate 44 is not provided.

  The air conditioner 14 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of air volume adjusting damper devices 12 having the above-described configuration. Therefore, the efficiency of cooling (air conditioning) can be improved by changing the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 for each air volume adjusting damper device 12 according to the heat generation state (temperature distribution) due to the operation of the cooling target (server or the like). It is possible to raise. In other words, the air volume is relatively large for the cooling object that needs to be cooled, and the cooling air with a relatively small air volume is used for the cooling object that has a low necessity for cooling. The overall energy efficiency of the device 14 is increased.

  Thus, in the configuration in which the cooling air CW is set to an appropriate air volume for each air volume adjusting damper device 12, the estimated air volume F 'can be calculated with high accuracy. For this reason, since the cooling air CW as the whole of the air conditioner 14 can be collectively managed from, for example, the control room, the energy efficiency is further enhanced in this respect.

  In the above, as an example of the damper blade 34, an example in which the adjacent damper blades 34 are inclined in the opposite direction to form the opposed blade type damper blade as a whole. However, the damper blade may be, for example, a parallel wing type damper blade. In this parallel wing type damper blade, all the damper blades are inclined in the same direction at the same inclination angle.

  Here, FIG. 6 qualitatively shows the relationship between the inclination angle θ and the air volume F in the opposed wing damper and the parallel wing damper. Further, a case where the inclination angle θ and the air volume F change linearly (linear function) is indicated by a straight line L1.

  In the case of the parallel wing damper, the air volume F increases even when the inclination angle θ is small, and the difference from the straight line L1 is large. On the other hand, in the case of the opposed wing type damper, the difference from the straight line L1 is small regardless of the inclination angle θ. That is, it is easier to adjust the air volume F according to the inclination angle θ in the opposed wing damper than in the parallel wing damper.

  In the above example, the support shaft 36 that is the rotation shaft of the damper blade 34 is provided at the center in the width direction of the damper blade 34. However, even if the support shaft 36 is provided at a location other than the center. Good.

  In the above description, the inclination angle of the damper blade 34 is also exemplified with respect to the virtual plane PL. However, for example, even if the inclination angle of the damper blade 34 is measured on the basis of the wind flow direction in the wind passage portion 32. Good. Assuming that the tilt angle thus designed is θ ′, there is a relationship of θ + θ ′ = 90 degrees. Therefore, even if θ ′ is used as the tilt angle, θ ′ can be easily converted to θ and the above calculation method can be used. Can be applied.

  In the above description, a configuration is described in which the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient K is determined based on the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 and the estimated air volume F ′ is obtained from the wind speed V using the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient K. By the way, the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient K takes different values depending on the overall configuration of the air volume adjusting damper device 12. Further, in the above description, new knowledge has been obtained that the air volume F passing through the wind passage portion 32 is proportional to the wind speed V detected by the wind speed sensor 48. In addition to this, by conducting a more rigorous experiment, there is a possibility that the air volume F can be estimated more accurately in consideration of other factors. However, in any case, in this embodiment, a calculation formula for each inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 is obtained in advance. Based on this calculation formula, the air flow rate F of the cooling air CW that has passed through the air passage 32 is calculated using the wind speed V downstream of the air passage 32 (damper blade 34). Yes. For this reason, for example, the air volume is estimated without considering the configuration in which the wind speed is detected by detecting the wind speed upstream of the cooling air CW from the wind passage portion 32 (damper blade 34), and the inclination angle θ of the damper blade 34 is not considered. It is possible to estimate the air volume F with higher accuracy than the configuration to be performed.

  The air whose air volume is adjusted by the air volume adjusting damper device 12 is not limited to the cooling air CW. For example, the air for heating (including keeping warm) the object or the foreign object is blown off by the air pressure to be removed. May be a wind (cleaning wind).

  The air blowing position from the air volume adjusting damper device 12 (air conditioner 14) is not limited to the floor surface, and may be, for example, a ceiling surface or a wall surface.

  As mentioned above, although one embodiment of the technique disclosed in the present application has been described, the technique disclosed in the present application is not limited to the above, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Of course, it is possible.

12 Air volume adjusting damper device 14 Air conditioner 18 Under floor 20 Cooling air flow path 22 Floor surface 24 Server rack 26 Opening 28 Grill 28S Slit 30 Frame 30S Side wall 30P Support plate 32 Air passage portion 34 Damper blade 34D Step portion 36 Support shaft 38 Blade Opening / closing mechanism 40 Inclination angle sensor 42 Air volume calculation unit 42T Table 44 Guide plate 46 Support plate 48 Air speed sensor 54 Clearance 56 Clearance CW Cooling air PL Virtual plane θ Inclination angle

Claims (5)

A damper blade that can be adjusted by tilting the cross-sectional area of the wind passage portion through which the wind passes around a rotation axis that intersects the wind direction;
An inclination angle sensor for detecting an inclination angle of the damper blade;
A wind speed sensor for detecting the wind speed of the wind that has passed through the wind passage section;
A wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient corresponding to the tilt angle detected by the tilt angle sensor is obtained, and using the wind speed / air volume conversion coefficient, an air volume of the wind that has passed through the wind passage section from the wind speed detected by the wind speed sensor. An air volume calculation unit for calculating
An air volume adjusting damper device having   The air volume calculation unit stores an air volume calculation formula for each tilt angle, and uses the air volume calculation formula corresponding to the tilt angle detected by the tilt angle sensor based on the wind speed detected by the wind speed sensor. The damper apparatus for air volume adjustment of Claim 1 which calculates an air volume. Provided on the downstream side in the flow direction of the wind with respect to the damper blades and on the upstream side in the flow direction with respect to the wind speed sensor, on the outer side in the arrangement direction of the damper blades with respect to the rotation shaft of the adjacent damper blades. A guide plate for guiding a part of the wind that has passed through the wind passage section to the wind speed sensor
The damper apparatus for air volume adjustment of Claim 1 or Claim 2 which has these. The damper blade, together with the provided plurality along a direction perpendicular respectively with the wind direction and the rotation axis direction, the adjacent damper blades to each other is Ri opposing blade damper blades der inclined in opposite directions,
The said guide plate is arrange | positioned so that the overlap part in the state of the inclination angle of the said adjacent damper blade | wing of 0 degree | times may move to the said wind-speed sensor side by inclination, and it surrounds the part mutually spaced apart . Air volume adjustment damper device. A plurality of the air volume adjusting damper devices according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An air conditioner in which the angle of inclination of the damper blade is adjustable based on the air volume calculated by the air volume calculator for each of the air volume adjusting damper devices.

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