JP6339039B2 - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Description

The present invention also relates to a dehumidifier. The dehumidifier is intended to dehumidify indoor air for the purpose of drying the interior of the room, as well as to dehumidify the moisture of the clothes for the purpose of drying the clothes, and achieve both of these purposes. Things are included.

  When the dehumidifying operation is performed in the dehumidifier, the internal heater operates and the dehumidifying rotor rotates. Normally, when a dehumidifier is used, organic substances contained in the air adhere to the dehumidification rotor, but the organic substances adhering to the dehumidification rotor are released from the dehumidification rotor by heating the dehumidification rotor by a heater that operates during the dehumidification operation. And does not accumulate in the dehumidifying rotor.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a dehumidifier including a heater and a dehumidification rotor (humidifier) as described above.

JP 2003-144833 A

  However, for example, when the dehumidifier has a mode (air blowing mode) in which only air is blown and only the air blowing mode is executed and the dehumidifying operation is not performed, the internal heater and the dehumidifying rotor do not operate. In this case, the organic matter adhering to the dehumidifying rotor is not released but accumulated in the dehumidifying rotor. In this state, the dehumidifying efficiency is lowered by the organic matter attached to the dehumidifying rotor.

  The present invention provides a dehumidifier that can suppress accumulation even if organic matter adheres to the dehumidification rotor, and as a result, suppresses a decrease in dehumidification efficiency and realizes energy saving.

  A first aspect of the present invention includes a processing air path having a suction port and a blowout port, a blowing unit for sucking the processing air from the suction port into the processing air path and blowing it out of the blowout port, and a driving unit. And a dehumidification rotor that absorbs moisture from the processing air, a heating unit that heats the dehumidification rotor, an input unit that receives selection of an air blowing mode, and when the air blowing mode is selected by the input unit, There is provided a dehumidifier comprising a controller for controlling the heating means and the air blowing means so as to perform a cleaning operation of a dehumidifying rotor.

  With this configuration, since the dehumidification rotor is heated by the heating means at the start of the air blowing mode, accumulation can be suppressed even if organic substances adhere to the dehumidification rotor. Therefore, it is possible to provide a dehumidifier that can suppress a decrease in dehumidification efficiency and realize energy saving. Here, the blowing mode is a mode in which at least the blowing unit is operated without operating the heating unit.

  When the air blowing mode is selected at the input unit, the control device further controls the driving unit to perform the cleaning operation of the dehumidification rotor. In the cleaning operation, the heating unit is operated for a predetermined cleaning time. It is preferable that the dehumidifying rotor is heated, the air blowing means operates, and the driving means rotationally drives the dehumidifying rotor.

  Since the heating means is controlled to operate during a predetermined cleaning time, the dehumidifying rotor can be reliably cleaned without requiring additional components such as a sensor.

  The predetermined cleaning time is a time required for at least the dehumidifying rotor to reach a temperature during a normal dehumidifying operation. In the cleaning operation, after the predetermined cleaning time elapses, the driving means moves the dehumidifying rotor from one rotation to five. It is preferable that heating of the dehumidification rotor by the heating means is stopped after the rotation.

  After the predetermined cleaning time has elapsed, the dehumidification rotor is rotated once or more and then the heating means is stopped, so that the entire dehumidification rotor can be heated to the temperature during normal dehumidification operation, and organic substances adhering to the rotor can be further released. Can do. This is because heating of the dehumidification rotor by the heating means is usually performed partially. That is, depending on the size and arrangement of the heating means and the dehumidification rotor, the entire dehumidification rotor cannot often be heated at the same time, and in order to heat the entire dehumidification rotor, it is necessary to rotate at least one rotation or more.

  When the air blowing mode is selected, the air blowing means operates, the driving means rotationally drives the dehumidifying rotor, and heating of the dehumidifying rotor by the heating means for the cleaning operation after a predetermined waiting time; and the air blowing means It is preferable to perform the above operation and the rotational drive of the dehumidifying rotor by the driving means.

  Thereby, even when the inside of the dehumidifier is at a high temperature when the air blowing mode is selected, the air blowing means operates, the dehumidifying rotor rotates, and after a predetermined waiting time, the heating for the cleaning operation is performed with the internal temperature lowered. Since the means can be operated, the inside of the dehumidifier can be prevented from becoming unexpectedly high temperature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing air path having an inlet and an outlet, an air blowing means for sucking the processing air in the processing air path from the inlet and blowing it out of the outlet, and a driving means. And a dehumidification rotor that is installed so as to be rotatable and absorbs moisture from the treated air;
In a dehumidifier having a heating unit that heats the dehumidification rotor and an input unit that allows a user to select a ventilation mode, the dehumidification by the heating unit is performed so that a cleaning operation is performed when the ventilation mode is selected by the input unit. Provided is a method for controlling a dehumidifier, which performs heating of the rotor and rotational driving of the dehumidification rotor by the driving means.

  Since the dehumidification rotor is heated by the heating means at the start of the air blowing mode, accumulation of organic substances can be suppressed even if it adheres to the dehumidification rotor. Therefore, it is possible to provide a dehumidifier that suppresses a decrease in dehumidification efficiency and saves energy.

The system diagram of the dehumidifier of this invention. The perspective view of the dehumidification rotor and heater of this invention. The control flow which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the time change of the dehumidification rotor temperature which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. The control flow which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The graph which shows the time change of the dehumidification rotor temperature which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a dehumidifier 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 1, the structure of the dehumidifier 2 is demonstrated.

  The dehumidifier 2 sucks air (process air) outside (for example, the room to be dehumidified), dehumidifies it, and blows it out. The dehumidifier 2 has a processing air path 4 and a regeneration air path 6, and a plurality of components to be described later are arranged in these paths 4 and 6. Some of these components are controlled by the control device 3. The control device 3 is electrically connected to the input unit 7, and the user can select an operation mode to be described later using the input unit 7. Inside the processing air path 4, processing air that is the object of dehumidification flows. Inside the regeneration air path 6, regeneration air for regenerating (drying) the dehumidifying rotor flows.

  The processing air path 4 connects the inlet 8 to the outlet 10 of the dehumidifier 2. In the processing air path 4, the main heat exchanger 12, the dehumidifying rotor 14, the sub heat exchanger 16, and the main fan (in order from the suction port 8 toward the blowout port 10, in other words, along the direction in which the processing air flows. A blowing means) 18 is arranged. The processing air is sucked in from the suction port 8 by the main fan 18, passes through the main heat exchanger 12, the dehumidification rotor 14, and the sub heat exchanger 16 in order, and is blown out from the air outlet 10.

  The dehumidifying rotor 14 includes a hygroscopic material such as zeolite, and absorbs moisture from the processing air passing therethrough. As shown in FIG. 2, the dehumidifying rotor 14 can be rotated by making it a disk shape and pivotally supporting the center with a base 13 so as to be able to absorb moisture uniformly throughout. For example, driving means 15 such as a motor 15 is provided, and thereby the dehumidifying rotor 14 is rotationally driven. The driving unit 15 is electrically connected to the control device 3 and controlled to perform a predetermined operation described later.

  The regeneration air path 6 is a closed path, and a regeneration fan 20 is provided on the regeneration air path 6. The regeneration air is circulated in the regeneration air path 6 by the regeneration fan 20. In the regeneration air path 6, a regeneration fan 20, a heater (heating means) 22, a dehumidification rotor 14, a sub heat exchanger 16, and a main heat exchanger 12 are arranged in this order in the circulation direction of the regeneration air. The regenerative air passes through the heater 22, the dehumidifying rotor 14, the sub heat exchanger 16, and the main heat exchanger 12 in order and circulates back to the heater 22 again.

  The heater 22 is, for example, an electric heater, and heats the regeneration air entering the dehumidification rotor 14 and the dehumidification rotor 14 to respective predetermined temperatures. As shown in FIG. 2, the heater 22 is accommodated in the heater case 24 and is disposed in the vicinity of the dehumidifying rotor 14. The heater 22 is disposed so as to partially heat the upper portion of the dehumidifying rotor 14. The heater 22 is electrically connected to the control device 3 and controlled to perform a predetermined operation described later.

  The main heat exchanger 12 exchanges heat between the processing air before passing through the dehumidifying rotor 14 in the processing air path 4 and the regeneration air before passing through the heater 22 in the regeneration air path 6. Since this process air is sucked from the suction port 8 and before passing through the dehumidification rotor 14, the temperature is low in the entire system. Therefore, in the main heat exchanger 12, the processing air is heated and the regeneration air is cooled.

  The sub heat exchanger 16 includes processing air after passing through the dehumidification rotor 14 in the processing air path 4, and regeneration air before passing through the main heat exchanger 12 after passing through the dehumidification rotor 14 in the regeneration air path 6. Heat exchange between the two. This regeneration air is the regeneration air after being heated by the heater 22 and then passing through the dehumidifying rotor 14. Since the amount of heat generated by the heater 22 is large, the regeneration air has a higher temperature than the processing air for heat exchange. Therefore, also in the sub heat exchanger 16, the processing air is heated and the regeneration air is cooled.

  The control device 3 is constructed by hardware including a storage device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory), and software installed therein. Thereby, various operations including a cleaning operation described later are realized.

  Next, the dehumidifying operation and the air blowing operation of the dehumidifier 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the dehumidifying operation is executed when the user selects a mode (dehumidifying mode) related to dehumidification with the input unit 7. Alternatively, the dehumidifying operation may be performed as a normal operation after the dehumidifier 2 is activated without selecting the dehumidifying mode.

  When the processing air is sucked from the suction port 8, the processing air passes through the processing air path 4 and is heated by the main heat exchanger 12. The heated processing air flows to the dehumidifying rotor 14. In the dehumidifying rotor 14, the processing air is dehumidified. The dehumidified process air flows to the sub heat exchanger 16. The process air is also heated in the sub heat exchanger 16. The heated processing air passes through the main fan 18 and is blown out from the outlet 10.

  The regeneration air circulates in the regeneration air path 6. The regeneration air passes through the regeneration fan 20, is heated by the heater 22, and flows to the dehumidification rotor 14 through the regeneration air path 6. In the dehumidification rotor 14, the high-temperature regeneration air absorbs moisture from the dehumidification rotor 14 and regenerates the dehumidification rotor 14. Regenerated air absorbed by the dehumidifying rotor 14 flows to the sub heat exchanger 16. In the sub heat exchanger 16, the regeneration air is cooled. A part of the cooled regeneration air condenses. The moisture of the condensed regeneration air is recovered as condensed water. The cooled regeneration air flows to the main heat exchanger 12. The regeneration air is also cooled in the main heat exchanger 12. Similar to the sub heat exchanger 16, a part of the cooled regeneration air is condensed, and the moisture of the condensed regeneration air is recovered as condensed water. The cooled regeneration air passes through the regeneration fan 20 and flows to the heater 22. Then repeat these.

  As described above, the processing air is dehumidified by the dehumidification rotor 14 and blown out from the blower outlet 10, and the regeneration air is circulated by repeating the regeneration of the dehumidification rotor 14.

  Secondly, the air blowing operation is executed by the user selecting a mode (air blowing mode) related to air blowing with the input unit 7. The air blowing mode of the present embodiment is a mode in which the main fan 18 is operated without operating the heater 22 and the dehumidifying rotor 14 is rotationally driven. For this reason, dehumidification is not substantially performed in the air blowing mode, and the sucked air is blown out as it is. Therefore, the path through which the processing air passes is the same processing air path 4 as in the dehumidification mode, but the processing air sucked from the suction port 8 does not significantly change the moisture content while passing through the processing air path 4. The air is blown out from the air outlet 10. Similarly, even if the regeneration fan 20 is operated, the path through which the regeneration air passes is the same regeneration air path 6 as in the dehumidification mode, but since the heater 22 is not operated, the dehumidification rotor 14 is substantially not operated. Not playing.

  Incidentally, the influence on the dehumidifying rotor 14 is different between the dehumidifying mode and the air blowing mode. In general, since the processing air contains organic substances in the air, the organic substances adhere to the dehumidification rotor 14 when the processing air passes through the dehumidification rotor 14. In the dehumidifying mode, the temperature of the dehumidifying rotor 14 is increased by the heater 22, so that organic substances are released due to the characteristics of the hygroscopic material such as zeolite. However, in a mode in which the heater 22 is not used as in the air blowing mode, the temperature of the dehumidifying rotor 14 does not increase, and organic matter is not released from the dehumidifying rotor 14 and is accumulated. If organic matter accumulates in the dehumidification rotor 14, it may lead to a decrease in efficiency of the dehumidifier 2, and this needs to be prevented.

  The dehumidifier 2 of this embodiment includes a cleaning mode that suppresses the accumulation of organic substances in the dehumidification rotor 14 in the air blowing mode.

  Next, the control including the cleaning mode of the dehumidifier 2 which is a feature of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the user selects the air blowing mode with the input unit 7 (step S1), the cleaning mode from step S2 to step S7 is activated. In the cleaning mode, the main fan 18 is rotated by the control device 3 (step S2), the dehumidifying rotor 14 is rotated (step S3), and the heater 22 is turned on to operate (step S4). Then, this state is maintained for a predetermined cleaning time t1 (step S5). The cleaning time t1 is about the time that the dehumidification rotor 14 is predicted to reach the temperature during the normal dehumidifying operation based on past experiments and the like, and is 10 minutes in the present embodiment, for example. After the elapse of the predetermined cleaning time t1, the dehumidification rotor 14 is rotated once and then stopped (step S6), the heater is stopped (step S7), the cleaning mode is ended, and the normal air blowing mode is started (step S6). S8).

  FIG. 4 is a graph showing a temporal change in the temperature of the dehumidifying rotor 14 according to the present embodiment. The vertical axis represents the dehumidification rotor temperature, and the horizontal axis represents time. The origin corresponds when the air blowing mode is selected.

When the user selects the air blowing mode with the input unit 7, the main fan 18 rotates, the dehumidification rotor 14 rotates, and the heater 22 is turned on. Accordingly, the temperature of the dehumidifying rotor 14 increases with time. Predetermined cleaning time t1, since the dehumidification rotor 14 is secured degree reaches a temperature T _h of the normal dehumidifying action, organic substances adhering to the dehumidifying rotor 14 at this time is released. By that the dehumidifying rotor 14 is rotated one revolution at time t _r after the elapse of a predetermined cleaning time t1, the temperature of the entire dehumidifier rotor 14 can warm to a temperature T _h of the normal dehumidifying action. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the heater 22 does not heat the entire dehumidifying rotor 14 but partially heats the upper portion of the dehumidifying rotor 14. Therefore, in order to heat the whole dehumidification rotor 14, it is necessary to rotate at least one rotation or more. Therefore, there is no need to rotate the dehumidification rotor 14 at time t _r is always one revolution, it may be a more example 5 rotation. After the dehumidifying rotor 14 makes one rotation and stops, the heater 22 is turned off, the temperature of the dehumidifying rotor 14 is lowered, and a normal air blowing mode is entered.

  As described above, since the dehumidifying rotor 14 is heated by the heater 22 at the start of the air blowing mode, accumulation of organic substances can be suppressed even if the organic matter adheres to the dehumidifying rotor 14. Accordingly, it is possible to provide the dehumidifier 2 that can suppress a decrease in dehumidification efficiency and can realize energy saving.

Further, since the control to turn on the heater 22 is performed during the predetermined cleaning time t1, the dehumidifying rotor 14 can be reliably cleaned without requiring additional components such as a sensor. Therefore, dehumidification rotor 14, as in the case of the normal dehumidifying action rises to a predetermined temperature T _h, it can be suppressed accumulation of organic matter. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the operation of the heater 22 is time-controlled, an increase in cost can be prevented. That is, for example, when the temperature of the dehumidification rotor 14 is measured using a temperature sensor and control is performed to raise the temperature to a temperature at which accumulation of organic matter can be suppressed based on this, the dehumidification rotor 14 is configured to rotate. It is difficult to directly install a temperature sensor. Accordingly, when measuring the temperature, it is necessary to use a non-contact temperature sensor or the like, but this leads to an increase in cost.

(Second Embodiment)
5 and 6 show graphs representing the control flow of the dehumidifier 2 and the temperature change of the dehumidification rotor 14 of the second embodiment. The structure of the dehumidifier 2 which concerns on this embodiment is the same as that of 1st Embodiment of FIG.1 and FIG.2, and only control by the control apparatus 3 differs from 1st Embodiment. Therefore, description of the same parts as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the dehumidifier 2 of the present embodiment is controlled differently from the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the user selects the air blowing mode with the input unit 7 (step S1), the main fan 18 is rotated by the control device 3 (step S9), and the dehumidifying rotor 14 is rotated (step S10). The cleaning mode is awaited for a predetermined waiting time t2 (step S11). This waiting time t2 is about the time during which the temperature can be lowered even when the internal temperature of the dehumidifier 2 is high, and is 3 minutes in this embodiment. Thereafter, the cleaning mode from step S2 to step S7 is activated as in the first embodiment.

  Thereby, even when the inside of the dehumidifier 2 is unexpectedly high when the air blowing mode is selected, the heater 22 for the cleaning operation can be operated in a state where the internal temperature is lowered by the predetermined standby time t2 (see FIG. 6). ). That is, the heater 22 is turned on from an unexpectedly high temperature inside the dehumidifier 2 to prevent the inside from further rising in temperature. For example, when the inside of the dehumidifier 2 is unexpectedly hot, the power outlet is unintentionally disconnected while the dehumidifier 2 is in use, the internal main fan 18 and the regeneration fan 20 are stopped, and the air enters the inside. A case where the air stays and the internal air temperature rises due to the residual heat of the heater 22 is considered.

  In the first and second embodiments, the motor 15 is driven to rotate the dehumidification rotor 14 in the air blowing mode, but the motor 15 is not necessarily driven. For example, the main fan 18 is operated to operate the motor. You may perform control which does not drive 15. Even in the cleaning mode, the motor 15 is driven in the first and second embodiments, but the motor 15 is not necessarily driven. For example, the main fan 18 is operated, the heater 22 is operated, and the motor 15 is operated. You may perform control which does not drive. Further, instead of the predetermined cleaning time, the temperature of the dehumidifying rotor 14 may be measured using a non-contact temperature sensor or the like, and cleaning may be performed based on the measured temperature.

  The dehumidifier of the present invention is intended to dehumidify indoor air for the purpose of drying the interior of the room, and to dehumidify the moisture of the clothes for the purpose of drying the clothes, or both of these. Includes those that achieve their objectives.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Dehumidifier 3 Control apparatus 4 Process air path 6 Regeneration | regeneration air path 7 Input part 8 Inlet 10 Outlet 12 Main heat exchanger (1st heat exchanger)
13 Base 14 Dehumidification rotor 15 Motor (drive means)
16 Sub heat exchanger (second heat exchanger)
18 Main fan (air blowing means)
20 Regenerative fan 22 Heater (heating means)
24 Heater case

Claims (2)

A processing air path having an inlet and an outlet in the room to be dehumidified ;
Blower means for sucking process air into the process air path from the inlet and blowing out from the outlet;
A dehumidification rotor that is rotatable by drive means and absorbs moisture from the treated air;
Heating means for heating the dehumidifying rotor;
An input unit for receiving a selection of a ventilation mode;
A control device that controls the heating unit and the blowing unit so as to perform a cleaning operation of the dehumidification rotor when the blowing mode is selected in the input unit ;
When the air blowing mode is selected at the input unit, the control device further controls the driving means to perform a cleaning operation of the dehumidifying rotor,
In the cleaning operation, the heating means heats the dehumidification rotor for a predetermined cleaning time, the air blowing means operates, the driving means rotationally drives the dehumidification rotor ,
The predetermined cleaning time is a time required for at least the dehumidifying rotor to reach a temperature during a normal dehumidifying operation. In the cleaning operation, after the predetermined cleaning time has elapsed, the driving unit rotates the dehumidifying rotor one or more times. wherein by the heating means to stop heating the dehumidification rotor, dehumidifier after is. When the air blowing mode is selected, the air blowing means operates, the driving means rotationally drives the dehumidifying rotor, and heating of the dehumidifying rotor by the heating means for the cleaning operation after a predetermined waiting time; and the air blowing means operation and performs the rotation of the dehumidification rotor by said driving means, dehumidifier according to claim 1.

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