JP6021965B2 - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a dehumidifier using a desiccant block.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a dehumidifying device that dehumidifies the inside of a dehumidifying target space using a desiccant block that adsorbs and desorbs moisture (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a dehumidifying device that performs dehumidification by combining cooling and heating by a heat exchanger of a refrigeration cycle and adsorption / desorption by a desiccant rotor. This dehumidifier is provided with an air passage chamber through which air in the dehumidification target space passes in the order of a refrigeration cycle radiator, a desiccant rotor desorption section, a refrigeration cycle evaporator, and a desiccant rotor adsorption section.

  The air in the dehumidification target space taken into the air passage chamber is heated in the radiator, and the heated air is humidified by the desorption portion of the desiccant rotor. Thereafter, the humidified air is cooled to the dew point temperature or lower by the evaporator and is cooled and dehumidified. The cooled and dehumidified air is further dehumidified by the adsorption portion of the desiccant rotor, and then returned to the dehumidifying target space. As the desiccant rotor rotates, the dehumidifying operation is continuously performed. By combining the adsorption / desorption action of the desiccant block with the cooling and heating action of the refrigeration cycle, a higher dehumidification amount can be realized compared to dehumidification using only the refrigeration cycle or only the desiccant block. It has become.

JP 2006-150305 A (summary, FIG. 1)

  The state at the start of operation of the desiccant rotor of Patent Document 1 depends on the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space. When the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space is high, the desiccant rotor adsorbs a large amount of moisture. For this reason, when the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidifying target space is high at the start of operation, the desiccant rotor cannot be dehumidified even when high-humidity air passes, and it may take time to start up the dehumidifying capacity.

  This invention is made | formed in order to solve the above subjects, and it aims at providing the dehumidification apparatus which can start dehumidification capability at an early stage from the time of a driving | operation start.

  In the dehumidifying device of the present invention, the compressor, the flow path switching device, the first heat exchanger, the decompression unit, and the second heat exchanger are connected to each other using refrigerant piping, and the air in the dehumidifying target space flows. Between the housing in which the air channel chamber is formed, the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are installed in the air channel chamber, and the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger in the air channel chamber And a desiccant block that adsorbs and desorbs moisture, a blower that is provided in the air passage chamber of the housing and distributes the air in the dehumidification target space to the air passage chamber, and an air in the dehumidification target space that is installed in the housing A humidity detection unit that detects the humidity of the refrigerant, and a control device that controls the operation of the refrigerant circuit based on the humidity of the air detected by the humidity detection unit. A humidity determination unit for determining whether the relative humidity is equal to or higher than a set humidity threshold; A first operation mode in which the heat exchanger operates as a condenser or a radiator, the first heat exchanger operates as an evaporator, and the desiccant block adsorbs moisture from the air in the dehumidifying target space passing through the air channel chamber; The second heat exchanger operates as an evaporator, the first heat exchanger operates as a condenser or a radiator, and a second operation mode in which moisture held in the desiccant block is desorbed is a humidity determination unit. An operation control unit that controls the refrigerant circuit so as to switch based on the determination result, and the operation control unit is the first when the humidity determination unit determines that the relative humidity is less than the set humidity threshold value. The operation is started in the operation mode, and the operation is started in the second operation mode when it is determined that the relative humidity is equal to or higher than the set humidity threshold.

  According to the dehumidifying device of the present invention, the operation start is controlled by controlling whether the start is started in the first operation mode or the second operation mode according to the humidity of the air in the dehumidifying target space at the start of the operation. Depending on the state of the desiccant block at the time, it is possible to determine whether to start from moisture adsorption or desorption, so that the dehumidifying ability can be started up early from the start of activation.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an air wetness diagram which shows the state change of the air at the time of the 1st operation mode in the dehumidification apparatus of FIG. It is an air wetness diagram which shows the state change of the air at the time of the 2nd operation mode in the dehumidification apparatus of FIG. It is the graph which showed the dehumidification amount fluctuation | variation by the 1st operation mode and 2nd operation mode in case the relative humidity of the air of dehumidification object space is high humidity. It is the graph which showed the dehumidification amount fluctuation | variation by the 1st operation mode and 2nd operation mode in case the relative humidity of the air of dehumidification object space is low humidity. It is the graph which showed the dehumidification amount fluctuation | variation by the operation mode when a desiccant block does not react. It is the graph which showed the relationship between the relative humidity of the air of the dehumidification object space, and the operation mode at the time of starting. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the dehumidification apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the dehumidification apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the dehumidifying device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a dehumidifying apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A dehumidifying device 1 in FIG. 1 includes a casing 10, a refrigerant circuit in which a compressor 2, a flow path switching device 3, a first heat exchanger 4, a decompression device 5, and a second heat exchanger 6 are connected by a refrigerant pipe 30. And have. As the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant circuit, natural refrigerants such as R410A, HFC refrigerant, HC refrigerant, CO ₂ , and NH ₃ can be applied. When a CO ₂ refrigerant is applied and the high pressure is higher than the critical pressure, the condenser operates as a radiator.

  The housing 10 is formed in a box shape, and a wall surface 11 is provided inside the housing 10 to be divided into an air passage chamber 10A and a machine chamber 10B. The compressor 2 and the flow path switching device 3 are disposed in the machine room 10B, and the first heat exchanger 4, the decompression device 5, and the second heat exchanger 6 are disposed in the air path chamber 10A. A through hole is formed in the wall surface 11, and the refrigerant pipe 30 passes through the through hole and connects the flow path switching device 3 to the first heat exchanger 4 and the flow path switching device 3 to the second heat exchanger 6. To do. In addition, the gap portion between the through hole and the connection pipe is configured to be kept airtight, so that the gap between the through hole of the wall surface 11 and the refrigerant pipe 30 is between the air passage chamber 10A and the machine chamber 10B. Can prevent airflow.

  The air passage chamber 10 </ b> A is for the air in the dehumidification target space to circulate, and is formed in a rectangular shape, for example. 10 A of air channel rooms have the suction inlet 20a which introduces the air of the dehumidification object space around the dehumidification apparatus 1 inside, and the blower outlet 20b which discharges the dehumidified air outside. The inlet 20a and the outlet 20b are arranged in a straight line, for example, and the air flowing into the air channel chamber 10A flows in a straight line. Here, when a desiccant rotor is used as in the conventional case, it is necessary to ventilate the adsorbing part and the desorbing part of the desiccant rotor, and the air passage chamber 10A having a bent part must be formed. The presence of a bent portion in the air passage chamber 10A increases the pressure loss when air is conveyed. On the other hand, in the dehumidifier 1 of FIG. 1, the pressure loss at the time of conveying air can be made small by forming the air path AC linearly. Therefore, the power consumption of the blower 8 that conveys air can be reduced, and a more efficient dehumidifying device 1 can be provided.

  The compressor 2 sucks and compresses the refrigerant to bring it into a high temperature / high pressure state, and is composed of, for example, an inverter compressor whose capacity can be controlled. The flow path switching device 3 is composed of, for example, a four-way valve, and switches the flow path through which the refrigerant flows in the refrigerant circuit. In FIG. 1, a state in which the flow of the refrigerant is switched is shown by a solid line direction and a dotted line direction.

  When switched to the solid flow path in FIG. 1, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 flows into the flow path switching device 3, the first heat exchanger 4, the decompression device 5, the second heat exchanger 6, and the flow path switching. A refrigeration cycle that flows in the order of the apparatus 3 and returns to the compressor 2 is configured. In this case, the first heat exchanger 4 operates as a condenser (heat radiator), and the second heat exchanger 6 operates as an evaporator. On the other hand, when the flow path of the flow path switching device 3 is switched to the dotted flow path in FIG. 1, the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 is transferred to the compressor 2, the flow path switching device 3, and the second heat exchanger 6. A refrigeration cycle is configured in which the decompression device 5, the first heat exchanger 4, and the flow path switching device 3 flow in this order and return to the compressor 2. In this configuration, the second heat exchanger 6 operates as a condenser (heat radiator), and the first heat exchanger 4 operates as an evaporator.

  Each of the first heat exchanger 4 and the second heat exchanger 6 includes, for example, a plate fin tube heat exchanger, and exchanges heat between the refrigerant flowing in the heat transfer tube and the air flowing around the fins. The decompression device 5 is composed of an electronic expansion valve whose opening degree is variable. The desiccant block 7 is obtained by molding a desiccant material into a solid and rectangular shape, and is made of a material that adsorbs and desorbs moisture, such as zeolite, silica gel, and a polymeric adsorbent. The first heat exchanger 4 and the second heat exchanger 6 are installed in the air channel chamber 10 </ b> A of the housing 10.

  The desiccant block 7 is fixed in a stationary state between the first heat exchanger 4 and the second heat exchanger 6 in the air passage chamber 10A. For this reason, the motor which rotationally drives the desiccant block 7, its fixed structure, etc. are unnecessary, and the structure of 10 A of air channel chambers can be simplified. Therefore, the dehumidifying apparatus 1 can be made compact, the apparatus configuration can be simplified, and a low-cost apparatus can be obtained.

  The blower 8 is provided in the air passage chamber 10A of the housing 10 and distributes the air in the dehumidifying target space to the air passage chamber 10A. Here, the 1st heat exchanger 4, the desiccant block 7, the 2nd heat exchanger 6, and the air blower 8 are arrange | positioned in series in 10 A of air channel chambers. The air sucked into the air passage AC from the suction port 20a by driving the blower 8 flows linearly in the order of the first heat exchanger 4, the desiccant block 7, the second heat exchanger 6, and the blower 8, and then the blower The air is exhausted from the outlet 20b to the outside of the dehumidifier 1. At this time, since the air passage chamber 10A is formed in a rectangular shape, each of the first heat exchanger 4, the second heat exchanger 6 and the desiccant block 7 mounted in the air passage chamber 10A is the air passage chamber 10A. A rectangular outer shape structure can be adopted according to the shape, and each component can be mounted in the air channel chamber 10A with high density.

  In addition, since a conventional apparatus uses a desiccant rotor, a circular rotor is disposed in a rectangular air passage AC. Therefore, dead spaces are formed at the four corners in the rotor arrangement portion, and the air passage chamber 10A cannot be configured compactly. On the other hand, in this Embodiment 1, by using the rectangular desiccant block 7, it can arrange | position without dead space and high-density mounting can be performed. As a result, the air passage chamber 10A can be configured compactly.

  Furthermore, in the conventional dehumidifying apparatus, it is necessary to divide the air passage chamber between the adsorbing portion and the desorbing portion, and a seal structure is required for hermetically separating the boundary portion between the adsorbing portion and the desorbing portion. On the other hand, in the dehumidifying device 1 of FIG. 1, there is one air passage AC, and the adsorption and desorption of the desiccant block 7 can be switched by switching the flow path switching device 3. For this reason, a seal structure is not required as in the prior art, the apparatus configuration can be simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

  When each of the first heat exchanger 4, the second heat exchanger 6, and the desiccant block 7 mounted in the air path AC has a rectangular shape according to the shape of the air path AC as described above. As described above, it is preferable because the effect of downsizing can be obtained, but it is not necessarily limited to a rectangle.

  Further, the dehumidifier 1 is installed in the drain pan 40 disposed below the first heat exchanger 4 and the second heat exchanger 6 in the air passage chamber 10 </ b> A, and in the machine chamber 10 </ b> B, and is connected to the drain pan 40. And a drain tank 42 connected via 41. The drain pan 40 receives the generated drain water dropped from the first heat exchanger 4 and the second heat exchanger 6 during operation. The drain water received in the drain pan 40 flows into the drain tank 42 in the lowermost part of the dehumidifier 1 via the pipe 41 shown by the broken line in FIG.

  Next, the dehumidifying operation operation of the dehumidifying device 1 will be described. In the dehumidifying device 1, two operation modes of the first operation mode and the second operation mode are realized by the channel switching of the channel switching device 3. In the first operation mode, the second heat exchanger 6 operates as a condenser or a radiator, the first heat exchanger 4 operates as an evaporator, and the desiccant block 7 passes through the air passage chamber 10A. This is an operation mode for adsorbing moisture from the air. The second operation mode is an operation mode in which the second heat exchanger 6 operates as an evaporator and the first heat exchanger 4 operates as a condenser or a radiator to desorb moisture held in the desiccant block 7. It is.

(First operation mode: operation of the refrigeration cycle)
In the first operation mode, the flow path of the flow path switching device 3 is switched to the dotted line in FIG. 1, the first heat exchanger 4 on the upstream side of the air passage chamber 10A serves as an evaporator, and the downstream side of the air passage chamber 10A. This is an operation mode in which the second heat exchanger 6 is a condenser. First, a low-pressure refrigerant is sucked by the compressor 2 and then compressed to become a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant. The gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 flows into the second heat exchanger 6 through the flow path switching device 3. The refrigerant that has flowed into the second heat exchanger 6 dissipates heat to the air flowing through the air path AC, cools and condenses while heating the air, becomes high-pressure liquid refrigerant, and flows out of the second heat exchanger 6. The liquid refrigerant that has flowed out of the second heat exchanger 6 is decompressed by the decompression device 5 and becomes a low-pressure two-phase refrigerant. Thereafter, the refrigerant flows into the first heat exchanger 4, absorbs heat from the air flowing through the air passage AC, and is heated and evaporated while cooling the air to become a low-pressure gas. Thereafter, the refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 2 through the flow path switching device 3.

(First operation mode: Air operation)
FIG. 2 is an air wetting diagram showing a change in the air state in the first operation mode in the dehumidifying device of FIG. In FIG. 2, the vertical axis represents the absolute humidity of the air, the horizontal axis represents the dry bulb temperature of the air, the curve represents the saturated air, and the relative humidity in the saturated air is 100%. The air (point A in FIG. 2) in the dehumidifying target space of the dehumidifier 1 is cooled in the first heat exchanger 4 after flowing into the dehumidifier 1. The refrigerant circuit is operated such that the refrigerant temperature in the first heat exchanger 4 is lower than the dew point temperature of the air, and the air is cooled and dehumidified by the first heat exchanger 4, and the relative temperature is high at low temperature. It will be in the state of humidity (point B in FIG. 2).

  Thereafter, the air having a high relative humidity flows into the desiccant block 7, and moisture is adsorbed by the desiccant block 7. As a result, the amount of water contained in the air is reduced and further dehumidified. On the other hand, the air flowing into the desiccant block 7 is heated by the heat of adsorption generated along with the adsorption, and the temperature of the air rises to a high temperature and low humidity state (point C in FIG. 2). Then, air flows into the 2nd heat exchanger 6, is heated, and becomes high temperature (D point of FIG. 2). Then, the air flows into the blower 8 and is exhausted from the air outlet 20b to the outside of the dehumidifier 1.

(Second operation mode: operation of the refrigeration cycle)
In the second operation mode, the flow path of the flow path switching device 3 is switched so that the first heat exchanger 4 on the upstream side becomes a condenser and the second heat exchanger 6 on the downstream side becomes an evaporator. It is an operation mode. First, a low-pressure gas is sucked by the compressor 2 and then compressed to become a high-temperature and high-pressure gas. The refrigerant discharged from the compressor 2 flows into the first heat exchanger 4 through the flow path switching device 3. The refrigerant that has flowed into the first heat exchanger 4 dissipates heat to the air flowing through the air passage AC, is cooled and condensed while heating the air, becomes a high-pressure liquid refrigerant, and flows out of the first heat exchanger 4. The liquid refrigerant flowing out of the first heat exchanger 4 is decompressed by the decompression device 5 and becomes a low-pressure two-phase refrigerant. Thereafter, the refrigerant flows into the second heat exchanger 6 and absorbs heat from the air flowing through the air passage AC, and while the air is cooled, the refrigerant itself is heated and evaporated to become a low-pressure gas. Then, the refrigerant is sucked into the compressor 2 through the flow path switching device 3.

(Second operation mode: air operation)
FIG. 3 is an air wetting diagram illustrating a change in the air state in the second operation mode in the dehumidifying device of FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, the vertical axis represents the absolute humidity of air, the horizontal axis represents the dry bulb temperature of air, the curve in FIG. 3 represents saturated air, and the relative humidity in saturated air is 100%. The air in the dehumidifying target space of the dehumidifying device 1 (point A in FIG. 3) flows into the dehumidifying device 1 and is then heated in the first heat exchanger 4 so that the temperature increases and the relative humidity decreases (in FIG. E point).

  Thereafter, air flows into the desiccant block 7, but since the relative humidity of the air is low, the moisture held in the desiccant block 7 is desorbed (released), and the amount of moisture contained in the air increases. On the other hand, desorption heat accompanying desorption is deprived from the air flowing into the desiccant block 7, the temperature of the air is lowered, and the temperature becomes low and high humidity (point F in FIG. 3). Thereafter, the air flows into the second heat exchanger 6 and is cooled. The refrigerant circuit is operated such that the refrigerant temperature in the second heat exchanger 6 is lower than the dew point temperature of the air, and the air is cooled and dehumidified by the second heat exchanger 6 at a low temperature. The absolute humidity is low (point G in FIG. 3). Thereafter, the air flows into the blower 8 and is exhausted from the air outlet 20b to the outside of the dehumidifier 1.

  As described above, in the second operation mode, air that is humid compared to the first operation mode flows into the second heat exchanger 6 that functions as an evaporator, so that a large amount of dew condensation is generated to generate dew condensation water. The amount of dehumidification can be increased. On the other hand, in the first operation mode, dehumidification by adsorption of the desiccant block 7 is performed in addition to dehumidification by cooling with the refrigerant in the first heat exchanger 4. Therefore, the 1st operation mode can reduce the absolute humidity of blowing air compared with the 2nd operation mode.

  Switching between the first operation mode and the second operation mode described above is performed by the control device 60. Specifically, the dehumidifying device 1 is installed in the air channel chamber 10A and has been described above using the humidity detector 50 that detects the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidifying target space and the relative humidity detected by the humidity detector 50. And a control device 60 for controlling the operation mode.

  The humidity detector 50 is installed, for example, in the suction port 20a, and measures the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space sucked from the suction port 20a. The installation location of the humidity detector 50 is not limited to the suction port 20a, and the air passage through which the air after passing through the second heat exchanger 6 passes after passing through the first heat exchanger 4, passing through the desiccant block 7, and so on. The humidity detector 50 may be attached to the inside of the air passage chamber 10A other than the interior of the room or the outlet 20b and the surface of the housing 10. Moreover, the humidity detection part 50 should just be an apparatus which can estimate the relative humidity of the air of dehumidification object space, for example, may detect the relative humidity of suction air from the state of suction air. Or the humidity detection part 50 consists of a sensor which measures dew point temperature, and may employ | adopt methods, such as estimating a relative humidity from dew point temperature.

  Further, the humidity detection unit 50 may be installed in a dehumidification target space, and the control device 60 may obtain temperature / humidity information via wired or wireless communication, or a user inputs an indoor humidity from an input unit. It may be. Or the humidity detection part 50 may memorize | store temperature / humidity information from the temperature / humidity information at the time of completion | finish of the last driving | operation, and may utilize it for the determination at the time of driving | operation restart. In this case, since it is not necessary to directly detect the relative humidity from the air side, the cost can be reduced and the sensor space of the suction port 20a can be reduced.

  The control device 60 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer and includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and a control program is stored in the ROM. The control device 60 performs various controls such as control of the operation of the refrigerant circuit such as switching of the flow path switching device 3, rotation speed control of the blower 8, rotation speed control of the compressor 2, and opening degree control of the decompression device 5. It is.

  Based on the determination result of the humidity determination unit 61 and the humidity determination unit 61 that determines whether or not the relative humidity detected by the humidity detection unit 50 at the start of operation is equal to or higher than the set humidity threshold href. And an operation control unit 62 that controls which operation mode of the first operation mode or the second operation mode is started.

  The humidity determination unit 61 stores a set humidity threshold value href in advance, and the set humidity threshold value href is set to a value larger than, for example, 50% relative humidity. When the humidity determination unit 61 determines that the relative humidity is less than the set humidity threshold value href, the operation control unit 62 starts the operation in the first operation mode. On the other hand, when the humidity determination unit 61 determines that the relative humidity is equal to or higher than the set humidity threshold href, the operation control unit 62 starts operation in the second operation mode.

  The state of the desiccant block 7 at the start of operation depends on the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space. In other words, the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidifying target space represents the moisture retention amount of the desiccant block 7 at the start of operation. Therefore, the humidity determination unit 61 determines which one of the first operation mode and the second operation mode is suitable by threshold processing according to the moisture retention amount of the desiccant block 7 at the start of operation. Then, the operation control unit 62 selects an operation mode in which the rising of the dehumidifying capacity is faster and starts the operation.

  Specifically, FIG. 4 is a graph showing dehumidification amount fluctuations in the first operation mode and the second operation mode when the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space is high. As shown in FIG. 4, when the air in the dehumidification target space is highly humid, the amount of moisture retained in the desiccant block 7 at the start of operation increases. When the first operation mode is selected in a state where the moisture retention amount of the desiccant block 7 is large, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the adsorption reaction is less likely to occur in the desiccant block 7 and mainly the first heat exchanger 4. Only the cooling dehumidification due to is the dehumidification amount.

  Therefore, the operation control unit 62 performs control so that the operation is started in the second operation mode when the air in the dehumidification target space at the start of operation is highly humid. Then, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, the air flowing into the second heat exchanger 6 is dehumidified by the desorption reaction of the desiccant block 7 from the start of operation, and the dehumidification amount generated as dew condensation in the second heat exchanger 6. Will increase. For this reason, the dehumidification capability at the time of starting of the dehumidification apparatus 1 can be increased, and the dehumidification capability can be started at an early stage from the start of operation. Thereafter, when the operation control unit 62 switches from the second operation mode to the first operation mode, the absolute humidity of the blown air can be reduced by the adsorption reaction of the desiccant block 7 as shown by the dotted line in FIG. .

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing dehumidification amount fluctuations in the first operation mode and the second operation mode when the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space is low. When the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidifying target space is low, the amount of moisture retained in the desiccant block 7 is reduced. When the second operation mode is selected in a state where the moisture retention amount of the desiccant block 7 is small, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 5, the desorption reaction hardly occurs, and only the cooling dehumidification by the second heat exchanger 6 mainly occurs. Dehumidification amount.

  Therefore, the operation control unit 62 performs control so that the operation is started in the first operation mode when the air in the dehumidifying target space at the start of operation is low in humidity. Thereby, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 5, the dehumidifying amount of the dehumidifying device 1 is not only the amount of dew generation in the second heat exchanger 6 but also dehumidified by the adsorption reaction of the desiccant block 7. For this reason, the dehumidification capability at the time of starting of the dehumidification apparatus 1 can be increased, and the dehumidification capability can be started at an early stage from the start of operation. Thereafter, when the operation control unit 62 switches from the first operation mode to the second operation mode, the desorption reaction of the desiccant block 7 causes the air flowing into the second heat exchanger 6 to become highly humid, which causes condensation. The amount of dehumidification generated can be increased, and the dehumidifying ability at the start of operation can be increased.

  When the humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space is medium, either the adsorption reaction or desorption reaction of the desiccant block 7 occurs in either the first operation mode or the second operation mode, and the dehumidification is performed to some extent. be able to. In such a situation, the desiccant block 7 is saturated earlier than usual regardless of which mode is started. For this reason, compared with the time of a normal driving | operation, the time when the desiccant block 7 does not react becomes easy to generate | occur | produce.

  FIG. 6 is a graph showing a comparison of the dehumidification amount between the first operation mode and the second operation mode when the desiccant block 7 is not reacted. In FIG. 6, when the first operation mode and the second operation mode are compared, in the first operation mode, the air in the dehumidification target space flows into the first heat exchanger 4 functioning as an evaporator and is cooled and dehumidified. On the other hand, in the second operation mode, the air temperature in the dehumidifying target space is heated by the first heat exchanger 4 that functions as a condenser and then flows into the second heat exchanger 6 that functions as an evaporator. For this reason, in the second operation mode, air having a temperature higher than that of the air in the dehumidifying target space is dehumidified. Therefore, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 6, the dehumidification amount in the second operation mode is lower than the dehumidification amount in the first operation mode. Therefore, when the humidity of the air in the dehumidifying target space is medium, it is preferable to start the operation in the first operation mode.

  Thus, when the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidifying target space is medium humidity and high humidity, the operation is started in the second operation mode, and when the relative humidity is low, the operation is started in the first operation mode. It is desirable. Considering the above matters, the set humidity threshold value href in the humidity determination unit 61 is set to a value of 50% or higher relative humidity.

  FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space and the operation mode at startup. As shown in FIG. 7, in the selection of the operation mode at the start of operation, the relative humidity range for selecting the first operation mode is larger than the relative humidity range for selecting the second operation mode. Therefore, for example, when the set humidity threshold href is set to 50% and the relative humidity is 50% or more, the second operation mode is started. The set humidity threshold value href may be 50% or more. For example, if the relative humidity at the initial stage of startup is less than 70%, the operation is started in the first operation mode, and if it is 70% or more, the operation is started in the second operation mode. Operation may be started.

  Further, the operation control unit 62 controls the flow path switching device 3 so as to alternately repeat the first operation mode and the second operation mode after the operation is started in the first operation mode or the second operation mode. . For example, when the first operation mode is continuously performed for a predetermined time or more, the amount of water contained in the desiccant block 7 has an upper limit. Therefore, when the operation is performed for a predetermined time or more, moisture is adsorbed to the desiccant block 7. The amount of dehumidification is reduced. Therefore, the control device 60 switches to the second operation mode when the retained moisture amount of the desiccant block 7 is close to the upper limit, and performs an operation of releasing moisture from the desiccant block 7. In addition, the control device 60 performs the second operation mode for a while, and switches to the first operation mode again when the amount of moisture retained in the desiccant block 7 is appropriately reduced. As described above, by alternately performing the first operation mode and the second operation mode, the adsorption / desorption action of the desiccant block 7 is sequentially performed, so that the effect of increasing the dehumidification amount due to the adsorption / desorption action of the desiccant is maintained.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the dehumidifying apparatus in FIG. 1, and an operation example of the dehumidifying apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. First, when an instruction to start operation is given to the dehumidifying device 1 (step ST1), the humidity detection unit 50 detects the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidifying target space (step ST2). Then, in the humidity determination part 61 of the control apparatus 60, it is determined whether the relative humidity of the air of dehumidification object space is more than the setting humidity threshold value href (step ST3).

  When it is determined that the relative humidity is equal to or higher than the set humidity threshold value href (YES in step ST3), the operation is performed in the second operation mode in which the first heat exchanger 4 is a condenser and the second heat exchanger 6 is an evaporator. Is started (step ST4). Then, cooling dehumidification by the first heat exchanger 4 and dehumidification operation by adsorption of the desiccant block 7 are executed from the start of operation. On the other hand, when it is determined that the relative humidity is less than the set humidity threshold value href (NO in step ST3), the first heat exchanger 4 becomes an evaporator and the second heat exchanger 6 on the downstream side of the air passage chamber 10A. The operation is started in the first operation mode in which becomes a condenser (step ST5). Then, cooling dehumidification by the first heat exchanger 4 and dehumidification by adsorption of the desiccant block 7 are performed from the start of operation. After a certain time has elapsed since the operation was started in the first operation mode or the second operation mode, the operation mode is switched in the operation control unit 62 (step ST6).

  According to the first embodiment, the operation control unit 62 selects the operation mode at the start of operation according to the humidity of the dehumidification target space, so that the amount of dehumidification at the start of operation increases and the indoor humidity is targeted at an early stage. Humidity can be reached. That is, when the operation mode at the start of operation is set to either the first operation mode or the second operation mode in advance, depending on the moisture retention amount of the desiccant block 7 at the start of operation, the operation mode may be early from the start of operation. Dehumidification ability may not be demonstrated. Therefore, the humidity determination unit 61 grasps the state of the desiccant block 7 based on the relative humidity, and the operation control unit 62 starts operation in the first operation mode or the second operation mode that matches the state of the desiccant block 7. Thereby, since the dehumidification in the desiccant block 7 is implemented at an early stage from the start of operation, the start of the dehumidification capability can be accelerated.

  In addition, when the set humidity threshold value href is 50% or more relative humidity, the operation is started in the first operation mode not only when the relative humidity of the dehumidifying target space is high but also when the humidity is medium. The dehumidifying ability at the start can be started early.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the dehumidifying apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and the dehumidifying apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, in the dehumidifying apparatus 100 of FIG. 9, the site | part which has the same structure as the dehumidifying apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 attaches | subjects the same structure, and abbreviate | omits the description. The dehumidifying device 200 in FIG. 9 is different from the dehumidifying device 1 in FIG. 1 in the configuration of the humidity detector.

  In the dehumidifying device 100 of FIG. 9, the humidity detector detects the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the first heat exchanger 4 and the temperature of the air after passing through the first heat exchanger 4. And an air temperature sensor 152. Here, in a situation where the operation control unit 62 controls the degree of superheat of the refrigerant passing through the evaporator using the decompression device 5, when the relative humidity is high, the temperature of the air passing through the evaporator and the evaporation of the refrigerant. There is a characteristic that the difference with temperature becomes small. Therefore, the humidity determination unit 61 calculates the relative humidity from the difference between the evaporation temperature of the first heat exchanger 4 and the air temperature after passing through the first heat exchanger 4.

  Here, since the refrigerant temperature and the air temperature described above can be detected only after the refrigerant circuit is activated, the operation control unit 62 first sets the first heat exchanger 4 as an evaporator and the second heat exchanger. 6 starts a test operation for detecting humidity in the first operation mode to become a condenser. Thereafter, the relative humidity is calculated from the difference between the evaporation temperature of the first heat exchanger 4 and the air temperature after passing through the first heat exchanger 4. When the calculated relative humidity is equal to or lower than the set humidity threshold value href, the first operation mode is continued. When the calculated relative humidity is larger than the set humidity threshold value href, the operation mode is switched to the second operation mode and the operation for dehumidification is started. It may be.

  The refrigerant temperature sensor 151 may be of any configuration as long as it detects the temperature of the refrigerant, for example, the refrigerant pipe temperature of the first heat exchanger, the heat exchanger fin temperature of the first heat exchanger, and the first heat. What is necessary is just to detect at least one or more of the saturation temperature converted to the pressure of the refrigerant passing through the exchanger and the refrigerant temperature obtained by measuring the temperature of the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant pipe as the refrigerant temperature.

  According to the second embodiment, the humidity detection unit can detect the relative humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space without directly measuring the relative humidity by detecting the relative humidity from the refrigerant circuit side. This eliminates the need to install a sensor in the dehumidified space. Since the refrigerant temperature sensor 151 and the air temperature sensor 152 can be used to detect the relative humidity in order to control the refrigerant circuit, the configuration can be simplified. Even in the case of the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the dehumidifying capability at the start of operation can be increased by setting the operation mode at the start of operation based on the relative humidity.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the dehumidifying apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, and the dehumidifying apparatus 200 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, in the dehumidifying apparatus 200 of FIG. 10, the same structure is attached | subjected to the site | part which has the same structure as the dehumidifying apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, and the description is abbreviate | omitted. 9 is different from the dehumidifying device 1 in FIG. 1 in that the refrigerant circuit has a third heat exchanger 201.

  The refrigerant circuit of FIG. 10 includes a third heat exchanger 201 in addition to the first heat exchanger 4 and the second heat exchanger 6. The third heat exchanger 201 is disposed downstream of the second heat exchanger 6 in the air passage chamber 10 </ b> A, one of which is connected to the discharge side of the compressor 2 and the other of the flow path switching device 3. Connected to the inflow side. In the first operation mode, the compressor 2, the third heat exchanger 201, the flow path switching device 3, the second heat exchanger 6, the decompression device 5, the first heat exchanger 4, the flow path switching device 3, the compression A refrigerant circuit through which the refrigerant flows in the order of the machine 2 is formed. During the second operation mode, the compressor 2, the third heat exchanger 201, the flow path switching device 3, the first heat exchanger 4, the decompression device 5, the second heat exchanger 6, the flow path switching device 3, the compressor 2 A refrigerant circuit through which the refrigerant flows in this order is formed.

  When the heat of condensation is dissipated in the third heat exchanger 201, the temperature of the air flowing into the desiccant block 7 in the second operation mode can be controlled. Therefore, the desorption reaction rate in the desiccant block 7 can be slowed down. On the other hand, under high humidity conditions, high humidity air may pass beyond the dehumidifying capacity of the second heat exchanger 6 that functions as an evaporator. Therefore, by reducing the desorption speed in such a case, it is possible to avoid a situation where the dehumidification cannot be completed, and it is possible to increase the amount of dehumidification that can be collected as condensation. Even in the case of the third embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the dehumidifying ability at the start of operation can be increased by setting the operation mode at the start of operation based on the relative humidity.

  In the dehumidifying apparatus 200 of FIG. 10, the humidity detection unit 50 is illustrated as being provided in the suction port 20a. However, as in the second embodiment, the relative humidity is detected from the refrigerant circuit. May be.

  Embodiments of the dehumidifying device of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made as follows, for example, without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, each operation time in the first operation mode and the second operation mode may be a predetermined time, but each operation time in each operation mode depends on the air condition and the operation state of the dehumidifier 1. There is an appropriate value. Therefore, the operation time of each operation mode may be determined based on the air condition and the operation state of the dehumidifier 1 so that the operation can be performed with the appropriate value.

  Moreover, in the 1st operation mode of this Embodiment, the heating by the 2nd heat exchanger 6 is implemented following the dehumidification by the 1st heat exchanger 4 and the dehumidification by the desiccant block 7 with respect to the conveyed air. Therefore, the blown air of the dehumidifying device 1 is in a state where the amount of moisture is low at a high temperature (FIG. 3, point G), and the relative humidity can be set to a low relative humidity of 20% or less, for example. Such low relative humidity air is air suitable for drying applications, and this air may be directly applied to an object to be dried such as laundry. Thereby, drying of to-be-dried material can be accelerated | stimulated and a more highly efficient drying function can be implement | achieved.

  When the dehumidifier 1 is used for drying an object to be dried, the blown air in the second operation mode is lower in temperature and humidity than the blown air in the first operation mode, and therefore only in the second operation mode. It is desirable to apply blown air to the object to be dried. Therefore, in order to correspond to such a use, the vane which changes a blowing wind direction may be provided in the blower outlet 20b of the dehumidification apparatus 1. FIG. The vane has a function of adjusting the blowing direction in the first operation mode and the blowing direction in the second operation mode in different directions, and the blown air from the outlet 20b only in the second operation mode. You may adjust a vane so that may hit a thing to be dried. Thereby, drying of to-be-dried material can be accelerated | stimulated more and a highly efficient drying function is realizable.

  1, 100, 200 Dehumidifier, 2 Compressor, 3 Flow switching device, 4 First heat exchanger, 5 Depressurizer, 6 Second heat exchanger, 7 Desiccant block, 8 Blower, 10 Housing, 10A Air passage Chamber, 10B machine room, 11 wall surface, 20a inlet, 20b outlet, 30 refrigerant piping, 40 drain pan, 41 piping, 42 drain tank, 50 humidity detection unit, 60 control device, 61 humidity determination unit, 62 operation control unit, 151 refrigerant temperature sensor, 152 air temperature sensor, 201 3rd heat exchanger, AC air path, href set humidity threshold.

Claims (8)

A refrigerant circuit in which a compressor, a flow path switching device, a first heat exchanger, a decompression unit, and a second heat exchanger are connected using refrigerant piping;
A housing in which an air passage chamber through which air in the dehumidification target space flows is formed, and the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger are installed in the air passage chamber,
A desiccant block that is disposed between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger in the air passage chamber and performs moisture adsorption and desorption;
A blower that is provided in the air passage chamber of the housing and distributes the air in the dehumidification target space to the air passage chamber;
A humidity detector that is installed in the housing and detects the humidity of the air in the dehumidification target space;
A controller for controlling the operation of the refrigerant circuit based on the humidity of the air detected by the humidity detector;
The control device includes:
A humidity determination unit that determines whether the relative humidity detected by the humidity detection unit at the start of operation is equal to or higher than a set humidity threshold;
The second heat exchanger operates as a condenser or a radiator, the first heat exchanger operates as an evaporator, and the desiccant block absorbs moisture from the air in the dehumidifying target space passing through the air passage chamber. A first operation mode, and the second heat exchanger operates as an evaporator, and the first heat exchanger operates as a condenser or a radiator, and desorbs moisture held in the desiccant block. An operation control unit that controls the refrigerant circuit so as to switch between two operation modes based on a determination result of the humidity determination unit;
With
The operation control unit starts operation in the first operation mode when the humidity determination unit determines that the relative humidity is less than the set humidity threshold, and determines that the relative humidity is equal to or greater than the set humidity threshold. A dehumidifier that starts operation in the second operation mode when the operation is performed.   The dehumidifying device according to claim 1, wherein the set humidity threshold is a relative humidity of 50% or more.   The dehumidifying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the set humidity threshold value uses humidity information calculated from a user input value or operation information at the end of the previous operation.   The dehumidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the humidity detector is installed on a suction port that flows into the first heat exchanger or on a surface of the housing. The humidity detector is
A refrigerant temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through the first heat exchanger; an air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of air after passing through the first heat exchanger;
Have
When the difference between the temperature of the air obtained from the air temperature sensor and the refrigerant temperature of the first heat exchanger obtained from the refrigerant temperature sensor is smaller than a set difference threshold, the humidity determination unit The dehumidifier according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the humidity is determined to be equal to or higher than a set humidity threshold.   The refrigerant temperature sensor includes: a refrigerant pipe temperature of the first heat exchanger; a heat exchanger fin temperature of the first heat exchanger; a saturated temperature converted to a pressure of the refrigerant passing through the first heat exchanger; The dehumidifier according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the refrigerant temperatures obtained by measuring the temperature of the refrigerant passing through the refrigerant is detected as the refrigerant temperature.   The said refrigerant circuit has a 3rd heat exchanger connected between the said compressor and the said flow-path switching apparatus, and was installed in the leeward side of the said 2nd heat exchanger in the said air channel room. The dehumidifying device according to any one of 6.   The dehumidifying device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the desiccant block is fixed in the air passage chamber.

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