JP5890974B2 - Dry air humidifier - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a dry air humidifier that humidifies dry air (compressed air), and more particularly to a dry air humidifier that can be directly connected to an air line to adjust the humidity of the dry air.

  In general, humidifiers include a vaporizing humidifier that evaporates normal temperature water, a steam humidifier that sprays water vapor, and a water spray humidifier that sprays water at normal temperature as water droplets.

  As a vaporizing humidifier, water is supplied to a filter using a capillary phenomenon and vaporized by bringing it into contact with air, but the amount of humidification is determined by the contact area between air and water. To increase the contact area, the contact area must be increased, and the humidifier becomes larger. In the steam type, humidity is controlled by spraying saturated water vapor on the air, but condensation tends to occur when saturated steam is sprayed on the air, and precise humidity control is difficult unless air and steam are mixed well. . The water spray type is to adjust the humidity by spraying water at room temperature into water droplets of several tens of μm or less and mixing it with air, but also releases metal ions such as magnesium and calcium contained in the water. Therefore, it cannot be used in an environment such as a clean room where these ion sources are pollutants.

  By the way, these humidifiers are assumed to be installed and used in a space where humidification is necessary, and are connected to an air line that supplies compressed air (dry air), and the dry air in the air line is accurately conditioned. However, it is difficult with the conventional humidification method.

  Then, the humidifier using the hollow fiber membrane which is 1 type of a vaporization type humidifier is proposed (patent document 1).

  FIG. 4 shows a humidifier 40 using a hollow fiber membrane. A hollow fiber membrane module 42 is provided in the housing 41, and a water supply chamber 43 is formed outside the hollow fiber membrane module 42 to constitute the humidifier 40. The hollow fiber membrane module 42 is formed by bundling a large number of hollow fiber membranes having an inner diameter of several hundreds μm into a module.

  A dry air supply line 44 that supplies dry air to the hollow fiber membrane module 42 is connected to the lower center of the housing 41, and a wet air line 45 that discharges humidified air from the hollow fiber membrane module 42 is connected to the upper portion of the housing 41. . A water supply line 47 for supplying water from the water tank 46 to the water supply chamber 43 and a pump 48 are connected to the lower side surface of the housing 41, and water from the water supply chamber 43 is connected to the upper side surface of the pump 48. A discharge line 49 that circulates back to the water supply line 47 on the suction side is connected.

  A three-way valve 50 is connected to the dry air supply line 44, and a bypass line 51 that bypasses the dry air from the dry air supply line 44 to the wet air line 45 is connected to the three-way valve 50. A humidity sensor 52 is connected to the wet air line 45 on the downstream side of the bypass line 51, and the detected value of the humidity sensor 52 is input to the controller 53, and the three-way valve 50 is switched by the controller 53.

  In the humidifier 40, water in the water tank 46 is supplied from the water supply line 47 to the water supply chamber 43, and dry air from the dry air supply line 44 is supplied into each hollow fiber membrane of the hollow fiber membrane module 42. Water that has permeated the inside through the thread membrane evaporates into dry air, and the wet air is discharged from the hollow fiber membrane module 42 to the wet air line 45. The humidity of the wet air is detected by the humidity sensor 52, and the detected value is input to the controller 53. The three-way valve 50 adjusts the wet air discharged from the wet air line 45 to the set humidity. By adjusting the amount of dry air bypassed to the bypass line 51, the set humidity can be obtained.

  In the humidification control by the humidifier 40 using this hollow fiber membrane, since dry air is flown in the hollow fiber membrane and water is evaporated in the hollow fiber membrane, the contact area of air and water is large, and the humidification efficiency is high. In addition, the humidifier 40 can be used by directly connecting it in the middle of a pipe for supplying dry air (compressed air).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-71795

  However, since the hollow fiber membrane is used, there is a problem that the cost is high and a pump for supplying and circulating water is also required, which complicates the system. Further, when metal ions such as calcium and magnesium are contained in water, there is a problem that the metal ions are released into wet air, and there is a problem that only pure water can be used.

  Then, the objective of this invention is providing the dry air humidifier which can solve the said subject and can simplify a system.

The invention of claim 1 in order to achieve the above object, a dry air inlet at the bottom of the elongated cylindrical humidifier body, the wet air outlet formed on the top, to connect the water supply line to the humidifier body top, the humidification The coil body is provided with a coil brush that is spirally wound in an inner winding so that the ends of the hair are intertwined with each other at the center, and the humidified body is vertically partitioned by the spiral hair from the dry air inlet. A dry air humidifier characterized in that the wet air outlet is connected to form an air flow path that rises in a spiral shape, and the water from the water supply line is allowed to flow spirally while penetrating the spiral hair of the coil brush . It is.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the coil brush includes a base metal fitting having a U-shaped cross section formed in an inner spiral shape in accordance with the inner diameter of the humidifier body, and a brushed inner side of the inner spiral spiral base metal fitting. The dry air humidifier according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of bristles .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dry air humidifier according to the first or second aspect, wherein the length of the hair is longer than the radial length of the humidifier body, and an air flow path is formed along the spiral of the coil brush. It is.

  Invention of Claim 4 is a dry air humidifier in any one of Claims 1-3 by which an auto drain is connected to the lower part of a humidifier main body.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a humidity sensor is provided at the wet air outlet, a water supply valve is connected to the water supply line, the detected value of the humidity sensor is input to the controller, and the controller sets the wet air from the wet air outlet. It is a dry air humidifier in any one of Claims 1-4 which control the said water supply valve so that it may become humidity.

  According to the present invention, when dry air and water are vaporized by bringing them into contact with each other, a coil brush is used for contact, and the system is simple and exhibits an excellent effect that humidification corresponding to a wide range of flow rates can be performed. It is.

It is a figure which shows one embodiment of this invention. It is a detailed perspective view of the coil brush of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example which applied the dry air humidifier of this invention to the humidification of the small precision processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the humidifier using the conventional hollow fiber membrane.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a dry air humidifier, and a dry air humidifier 10 is configured by providing a coil brush 12 described later in a vertically long humidifier body 11.

  A dry air inlet 13 is formed in the lower part of the humidifier body 11 and a wet air outlet 14 is formed in the upper part.

  A dry air supply line 15 is connected to the dry air inlet 13 of the humidifier body 11, and a wet air discharge line 16 is connected to the wet air outlet 14.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the coil brush 12 provided in the humidifier body 11 has permeable bristle, for example, a diameter of 0.1 mm, and a large number of grooves on the outer peripheral surface thereof. A large number of hairs 18 such as nylon fibers having a star-shaped cross section are raised, and the base metal fitting 17 is formed in a spiral shape so that the hair tips 18a are intertwined with each other. The pedestal fitting 17 of the coil brush 12 is formed to be the same as the inner diameter of the humidifier body 11, and the hair 18 is formed longer than the radius of the humidifier body 11, and the pedestal fitting 17 is wound inwardly and spirally. The hair tips 18a are formed so as to be entangled with each other.

  The coil brush 12 is housed in the humidifier body 11 so that the spiral hair 18 partitions the humidifier body 11 in the vertical direction, and the humidifier body 11 has a dry air inlet 13 and a wet air outlet 14. They are connected to form a spiral air flow path 19.

  The coil brush 12 is formed to have an appropriate diameter depending on the flow rate of the dry air to be subjected to the humidity conditioning process, and is formed so that the flow rate of the dry air passing through the air flow path 19 is 4 to 10 m / sec. For example, when the flow rate of dry air is 50 L / min, the inner diameter of the humidifier body 11 is 40 mmφ, the outer diameter of the base bracket 17 is an outer diameter that can be inserted into the humidifier body 11, and the length is the outer diameter ( It is about 4 to 10 times (160 to 400 mm) of about 40 mmφ, and the spiral angle is 20 to 40 degrees.

  A water supply line 20 for supplying water to the coil brush 12 is connected to the upper portion of the humidifier body 11, and a water supply valve 21 is connected to the water supply line 20. A drainage line 22 is connected to the lower portion of the humidifier body 11, and a certain amount of drain from the drainage line 22 is accumulated in the drainage line 22 to seal the drainage line 22 and more than a certain amount of drainage is accumulated. An auto drain 23 that drains sometimes is connected.

  A humidity sensor 24 is connected to the wet air discharge line 16, and a detected value of the humidity sensor 24 is input to the controller 25. The controller 25 controls the opening and closing of the water supply valve 21 based on the detection value of the humidity sensor 24.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  The dry air such as compressed air is supplied from the dry air supply line 15 into the humidifier body 11 through the dry air inlet 13, and the humidifier body is rotated while spirally along the spiral air flow path 19 formed by the coil brush 12. 11 rises. On the other hand, water (pure water or distilled water) is supplied from the water supply line 20, and the water flows down spirally while penetrating the bristles 18 of the coil brush 12. As a result, the water that has penetrated into the bristles 18 of the coil brush 12 evaporates into the dry air that rises in the air flow path 19 and is conditioned, and is discharged from the wet air outlet 14 to the wet air discharge line 16.

  At this time, the humidity sensor 24 detects the humidity of the wet air (absolute humidity), and the controller 25 opens and closes the water supply valve 21 so that the humidity becomes a set value, thereby supplying the coil brush 12 from the water supply line 20. The amount of water to be controlled is controlled to adjust the wet air to the set humidity.

  In this case, the dry air flows through the air flow path 19 formed by the coil brush 12 at a flow rate of 4 to 10 m / sec, and contacts the water flowing down the coil brush 12 while the dry air flows through the air flow path 19. Even when the flow rate is high, sufficient evaporation can be achieved. Moreover, since the surface area of the hair 18 of the coil brush 12 is large and the contact area of air and water can be increased, the humidity adjustment range can be controlled in a wide range. Further, unlike a humidifier using a conventional hollow fiber membrane, the system is simple, the pressure loss is small, and the flow range of dry air can be widened.

  Excess water that has flowed down the coil brush 12 is accumulated in the auto drain 23 from the drain line 22. When the drain line 22 is sealed by the auto drain 23 and more than a certain amount of drain has accumulated, the auto drain 23 The drain is automatically drained from.

  As described above, in the present invention, when the dry air and water are vaporized by bringing them into contact with each other, the system is simple and humidification corresponding to a wide range of flow rates can be performed.

  Next, an example in which the dry air humidifier 10 of the present invention is used for humidification control of a small precision processing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 30 denotes a booth that accommodates a small precision processing device group 31. An air supply chamber 33 partitioned by a HAPA filter 32 is formed in the upper portion of the booth 30, and an air conditioner 34 is connected to the air supply chamber 33. After the conditioned air from the air conditioner 34 is supplied from the air supply chamber 33 through the HAPA filter 32 to the small precision processing device group 31 in a down flow, the conditioned air is exhausted from the lower part of the booth 30 and is appropriately conditioned by the air conditioner 34. The temperature inside the booth 30 is maintained at the set temperature by circulating through the booth 30.

  This small precision processing device group 31 needs to supply air-conditioning air whose temperature and humidity are controlled to the inside of the device. However, if it is attempted to control air conditioning using an FFU (fan filter unit), the small precision processing device group 31 directly FFU. It will be necessary to install, and the small precision processing apparatus group 31 will become large.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the temperature control air line 36 provided in the supply chamber 33 with wet air conditioned from the compressor 35 via the dry air supply line 15, the dry air humidifier 10, and the wet air discharge line 16 is provided. The temperature is set to a preset value while passing through the temperature control air line 36, and is supplied from the temperature control air line 36 to each device of the small precision processing device group 31 via the line filter 37.

  In the humidification air-conditioning control in the small precision processing device group 31 installed in the booth 30, each device of the small precision processing device group 31 is supplied with wet air adjusted for absolute humidity by the dry air humidifier 10 and temperature controlled air. Since the wet air can be indirectly temperature-controlled by the conditioned air to the air supply chamber 33 in the temperature adjustment air line 36 through the line 36 and supplied to each device through the piping, it is sufficient in the booth 30. A large work space.

  The small precision processing device group 31 has a wide air flow range, such as supplying temperature-humidity controlled air to all devices or supplying air to a specific device, but the dry air humidifier of the present invention. No. 10 can be appropriately adjusted to the set humidity even if the flow rate range fluctuates greatly.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Dry air humidifier 11 Humidifier main body 12 Coil brush 13 Dry air inlet 14 Wet air outlet 18 Hair 20 Water supply line

Claims (5)

A dry air inlet is formed in the lower part of the vertically long humidifier body , a wet air outlet is formed in the upper part, a water supply line is connected to the upper part of the humidifier body, and the hair ends are entangled with each other at the center in the humidifier body. An air flow that spirally rises by providing a spiral coil brush on the inner winding, with the spiral hair partitioning the inside of the humidifier body up and down and connecting the wet air outlet from the dry air inlet. A dry air humidifier characterized by forming a path and allowing water from the water supply line to flow down spirally while penetrating the spiral hair of the coil brush . The coil brush is composed of a base metal fitting having a U-shaped cross section formed in an inner spiral shape according to the inner diameter of the main body of the humidifier, and a plurality of hairs brushed inside the inner spiral base metal fitting. The dry air humidifier according to claim 1 configured .   The dry air humidifier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a length of the hair is longer than a radial length of the humidifier body, and an air flow path is formed along a spiral of the coil brush.   The dry air humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an auto drain is connected to a lower portion of the humidifier body.   Humidity sensor is provided at the wet air outlet, a water supply valve is connected to the water supply line, the detected value of the humidity sensor is input to the controller, and the controller supplies the above water supply valve so that the wet air from the wet air outlet becomes the set humidity The dry air humidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which controls