JPH04366335A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve a humidifying capability in a humidifier comprising plate members for absorbing water and dispersing moisture toward contacted humidifying gas from the surface and a water feeding means for feeding water against the plate members. CONSTITUTION:Porous dispersion plates 1b for absorbing water and dispersing moisture content from its surfaces against contacted and humidifying gas are set in order to construct plate members 1. Moisture holding part 1a having a higher moisture absorption characteristic than that of the dispersion porous plate members 1b are provided for substantial entire rear surface of the dispersion porous plates 1b.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a humidifier comprising a plate-shaped body that absorbs water and releases retained moisture from its surface to a gas to be contacted and humidified, and a water supply means for supplying water to the plate-shaped body. Concerning vessels.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in such humidifiers, the plate-like body is made of a porous material such as ceramic, which has a uniform pore diameter and a uniform porous density. By the way, in order to improve the humidifying capacity of this type of humidifier, it is necessary to increase the water absorption and water retention properties of the plate-shaped body, and to increase the dispersion of retained moisture from the surface of the plate-shaped body to the target gas for contact humidification. be. Therefore, conventionally, in order to increase the water absorption and water retention properties of a plate-shaped body, ceramic porous materials (hereinafter referred to as dense ceramic porous materials) in which the pore diameter of the porous body is small and the density of the porous body is high have been used. Ceramic porous materials (hereinafter referred to as coarse ceramic materials) with large pore diameters and low porous density can be used to increase the density of the plate-like material or to increase the dissipation of water. This problem was dealt with by improving air permeability by using ceramic porous materials.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such conventional humidifiers, the plate-shaped body is made of a homogeneous porous material, so the properties of the plate-shaped body are limited to water absorption, water retention, and moisture dissipation. It was not possible to simultaneously secure high levels of both characteristics. That is, when the water absorption and water retention properties of the plate-like body are increased using a dense ceramic porous material, the air permeability becomes poor and the water dissipation property becomes small, which limits the improvement of the humidifying ability. When a rough ceramic porous material is used to increase water dissipation, the water retention becomes smaller, and the water retention is low compared to the high water dissipation, resulting in partial dry areas in the plate-like material, resulting in a plate-like shape. The reality is that water cannot be retained uniformly over the entire body, and this limits the improvement of humidification ability.As a result, in order to secure a large humidification ability, it is necessary to change the shape of the plate-shaped body. There is a problem in that the humidifier needs to be made larger, and as a result, the humidifier becomes larger and the ease of installing the humidifier in an air conditioner or the like deteriorates. The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to effectively improve the humidifying capacity of this type of humidifier by rationally configuring the plate-like body.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] A first feature of the humidifier according to the present invention is that the plate-like body absorbs water and radiates retained moisture from its surface to the gas to be contacted and humidified. A porous plate-like part for dissipation is provided, and a water-retaining plate-like part having higher water absorption than the porous plate-like part for dissipation is provided on almost the entire back surface of the porous plate-like part for dissipation. be. A second characteristic configuration of the humidifier according to the present invention is that the porous plate-shaped part for dissipation is formed of a ceramic porous material,
The water retention plate-like part is formed of a ceramic porous material having a porous body having a smaller pore diameter and a higher porous density than the water-dissipating porous plate-like part. A third characteristic configuration of the humidifier according to the present invention is that the porous plate-shaped part for dissipation is formed of a ceramic porous material, and the plate-shaped part for water retention is formed of a super absorbent polymer material. be.

[0005]

[Function] In other words, in the first characteristic structure described above, the water-retaining plate-like portion has the function of absorbing a large amount of water supplied from the water supply means and retaining a large amount of water due to its high water absorbency. By providing this water-retaining plate-like part on almost the entire back surface of the porous plate-like part for dissipation, compared to naturally dissipating the retained moisture from the surface of the water-retaining plate-like part itself to the target gas for contact humidification. For example, due to the water absorbing property of the porous plate-like part for dissipation, the porous plate-like part for dissipating the water retained in the plate-like part for water retention by following the water dissipation of the porous plate-like part for dissipation from the target gas for contact humidification. can be effectively transferred to the side of the body. Therefore, if the porous plate-like part for dissipation is made to have a high water dissipation property by appropriately selecting the pore diameter and density of the porous body constituting the porous plate-like part for dissipation, the porous plate-like part for dissipation itself Even if the water retention capacity of the water retention plate is low, water can be supplied from the water supply means to keep the water retention plate in a large amount of water retention state, while effectively transferring a sufficient amount of moisture to the dissipation porous plate to remove the transferred water. can be efficiently dissipated from the surface of the porous plate-shaped dispersion portion to the gas to be subjected to contact humidification. In other words, compared to a conventional humidifier in which the plate-like body is made of a porous material with uniform pore size and density, a dense porous material is used to increase the water absorption and water retention of the plate-like body. Then, while the water absorption and water retention properties of the plate-like body are similarly high due to the presence of the water-retaining plate-like part, the existence of the porous plate-like part for dissipation whose material can be selected with the main purpose of dissipation, and By effectively transferring water from the water retention plate to the dissipation porous plate, a larger amount of water can be transferred to the humidified gas while effectively utilizing the high water absorption and water retention properties of the water retention plate. However, it can be dissipated. In addition, compared to conventional humidifiers that use coarse porous material to increase the moisture dissipation properties of the plate-shaped body, the moisture dissipation properties of the plate-shaped body are improved by using a porous plate for dissipation. The presence of a water-retaining plate-like part with high water absorption and water-retaining properties, and
By effectively transferring moisture from the water retention plate part to the dissipation porous plate part, the porous plate part for dissipation is made to run out of water while the porous plate part for dissipation is sufficiently replenished with water. Without,
A large amount of moisture can be continuously diffused from the porous plate-shaped diffusion portion to the gas to be humidified. In addition, in the second characteristic configuration, in carrying out the first characteristic configuration, the porous plate-shaped part for dissipation is formed of a ceramic porous material;
By forming the water retention plate-like part from a ceramic porous material whose porous body has a smaller pore diameter and a higher density than the porous plate-like part for water dissipation, It should have higher water absorption than the plate-like part. In addition, in a third characteristic configuration, in carrying out the first characteristic configuration, the porous plate-shaped part for dissipation is formed of a porous ceramic material, whereas the plate-shaped part for water retention is formed of a super absorbent polymer material. By forming the porous plate-like portion for water retention, the water-retaining plate-like portion has higher water absorbency than the porous plate-like portion for dissipating water.

[0006]

[Effects of the Invention] As a result of the above-mentioned actions, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain properties of a plate-like body that are equivalent to improving both water absorption/retention properties and water dissipation properties of the plate-like body at the same time. As a result, the humidifying capacity of this type of humidifier can be greatly improved compared to conventional systems in which the plate-shaped body is made of a homogeneous porous material, and furthermore, the size of the humidifier can be reduced by shrinking the plate-shaped body. As a result, it has become possible to improve the ease of installing the humidifier in an air conditioner or the like.

[0007]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] The first embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. Fig. 1 is a basic structural diagram of a humidifier, and the humidifier H is composed of a plurality of plate-like bodies 1 that absorb water and radiate retained moisture from the surface, in parallel to each other, and The lower ends of the bodies 1 are erected so as to be immersed in water stored in a water storage tray 2 serving as a water supply means W. and,
By supplying the gas RA to be humidified along the surface of each plate-shaped body 1 and bringing the gas RA to be humidified into contact with the surface of each plate-shaped body 1 , the plate-shaped bodies 1 . . . The gas RA to be humidified is humidified by dissipating the moisture absorbed and held in the gas RA to be humidified.

As shown in FIG. 2, each plate-shaped body 1 is formed into a three-layer plate structure in which porous plate-shaped parts 1b, 1b for dissipation are provided on the entire surface of each of both sides of the plate-shaped part 1a for water retention. The porous plate-shaped part 1b for water dissipation is formed of a coarse ceramic porous material having a large pore diameter and a small density of the porous body, whereas the water-retaining plate part 1a is formed of a dense ceramic porous material having a smaller pore diameter and a higher porous density than the porous plate-like part 1b for diffusion. In other words, the water retention plate part 1a made of a dense ceramic porous material ensures high water absorption and water retention, and the water retention plate part 1b made of a coarse ceramic porous material ensures high water absorption and water retention. 1a high water absorption
The retained moisture is efficiently dissipated into the humidified gas RA while making effective use of its water retention properties. In addition, when forming the plate-like body 1 into a three-layer plate structure as described above, the thickness of the water-retaining plate-like part 1a is set to be equal to the thickness of the water-retaining porous plate-like part 1 on each side.
It is made larger than the thickness of b.

Further, the water storage tray 2 is provided with a float switch 3 that is turned on and off depending on the water level of the water storage tray 2, and a solenoid valve 4 that is opened and closed by the float switch 3 is connected to a supply water pipe 5 to the water storage tray 2. In this way, the water level stored in the water storage tray 2 is maintained at a predetermined level.

FIGS. 3 to 6 show a floor-standing air conditioner equipped with a humidifier H constructed as described above. A suction port 8 and a blowout port 9 are formed on the top surface, and an air passage chamber 10 inside the machine that guides the air sucked in from the suction port 8 to the blowout port 9 includes a fin-tube cold/hot water coil 13 and a humidifier. Container H, blower 14
are installed in the interior in that order from the upstream side, and by driving the blower 14, the indoor air RA of the air-conditioned room R introduced from the suction port 8 is cooled by the cold/hot water coil 13 during cooling, and heated during heating. During heating, after humidifying this heated room air RA with humidifier H, supply air SA
The air is supplied from the air outlet 9 to the room R to be air-conditioned.

[0011] In the humidifier H, as a water supply means W to each plate-like body 1 having a three-layer plate structure consisting of the water-retaining plate-like part 1a and the dissipating porous plate-like parts 1b, 1b on both sides thereof as described above. In this example, a plurality of water receiving pipes 15 each having a slit-shaped opening into which the lower end of the plate-like body 1 is inserted are inserted into a water receiving tray 16.
In this structure, the valve 18 is biased toward the closing side by a spring and is opened by a pin 20 attached to the water receiving tray 16. Connect the tank 19 to the water tray 16
By attaching the water tank 19 to the water tank 19, the water in the water tank 19 is supplied to each of the water receiving pipes 15 through the header pipe 17, and the water level stored in each of the water receiving pipes 15 is maintained at a predetermined water level. The lower end of each plate-shaped body 1 inserted into the water-receiving pipe 15 is kept immersed in the water stored in the water-receiving pipe 15, and the water stored in the water-receiving pipe 15 is absorbed into the plate-shaped body 1. It is designed to let you do so.

[0012]Fin tube type cold/hot water coil 13
After the heated indoor air RA passes between the water receiving pipes 15, it rises along the surface of the plate-like body 1 and is humidified by moisture dissipation from the plate-like body 1. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a mounting seat portion for fixing the plate-like body 1.

Incidentally, in the structure in which the plate-like bodies are arranged side by side as shown in FIG. 1, the water-retaining plate-like part 1a made of a dense ceramic porous material has a water-dissipating porous plate-like part made of a coarse ceramic porous material on each of both sides. Humidification capacity of the applied structure of the present invention using a plate-like body 1 with a three-layer plate structure provided with a portion 1b and the conventional structure using a plate-like body with a single-layer structure composed only of a homogeneous ceramic porous material A comparative experiment was conducted. Note that the plate-shaped body of the conventional structure includes the water-retaining plate part 1 in the structure to which the present invention is applied.
A single-layer structure made of only a dense ceramic porous material of the same quality as the ceramic porous material used in A is used. The experimental results are shown in FIG. 11 as a graph. or,
The conditions for the experiment were that, for both the structure to which the present invention was applied and the conventional structure, five plate-shaped bodies measuring 155 mm in width, 135 mm in length, and 10 mm in thickness were attached at a pitch of 50 mm as shown in Figure 1, and the temperature was 25°C and the humidity was Air with 45% RH is blown in the direction along the plate surface of the plate at a wind speed of 2.5 m/s, and the humidification capacity is calculated from the relationship between the elapsed time and the cumulative amount of water supplied to the water storage tray 2 per hour. The amount of water supplied was calculated and used as the humidification capacity. That is, as a result of this experiment, as shown in FIG. 11, in the structure to which the present invention is applied, the humidifying capacity is 42.3 g per hour, whereas in the conventional structure, the humidifying capacity is 21.7 g per hour. , it can be seen that the structure to which the present invention is applied clearly has a greater humidifying ability.

[Second Embodiment] According to FIGS. 7 to 9, the second embodiment
An example will be explained. Figure 7 is a basic structural diagram of a humidifier.
The plate-like body 1 has the same structure as that of the first embodiment, namely, a water-retaining plate-like part 1a made of a dense ceramic porous material, and a dissipating porous plate-like part made of a coarse ceramic porous material on each side. It has a three-layer plate structure with 1b. Plate body 1
A reinforcing frame 22 shaped like a window frame is attached to the edge of each of both sides of the drain pan 24, and a plurality of plate-like bodies 1 reinforced by the reinforcing frames 22 are erected in parallel to each other on the drain pan 24. They are lined up.

To configure the water supply means W for the plate-like bodies 1, water sprinkling pipes 25 are arranged above each plate-like body 1, and these water sprinkling pipes 25 are connected to a header pipe 26 in a comb-teeth shape, and A pump 27 and a flow rate regulating valve 28 are interposed in a water supply pipe 29 that communicates and connects the header pipe 26 and the drain pan 24. Also, drain pan 2
Float switch 30 that turns on and off depending on the water level in step 4
An electromagnetic valve 31 which is opened and closed by the float switch 30 is interposed in a make-up water pipe 32 to the drain pan 24. In other words, by driving the pump 27, the water stored in the drain pan 24 is transferred to each water sprinkling pipe 25.
By circulating and supplying humidifying water to each plate-shaped body 1 through the water sprinkling holes of the respective water sprinkling pipes 25, the water level of the water stored in the drain pan 24 is kept at a predetermined level in response to water consumption due to humidification. In order to achieve this, a solenoid valve 31 is opened and closed by a float switch 30 to replenish water from a replenishment water pipe 32 as appropriate.

[0016] In the sprinkler-type water supply structure for the plate-like bodies 1 as described above, the gas to be humidified RA is supplied along the surface of each plate-like body 1, and the gas to be humidified RA is distributed along the surface of each plate-like body 1. By contacting the surface of the plate-shaped body 1, the plate-shaped body 1
... (i.e., water sprinkled from the water sprinkling pipe 25) is diffused to the humidification target gas RA to humidify the humidification target gas RA.

FIG. 8 shows the overall equipment configuration when the above-mentioned humidifier H is applied to an air conditioning system that air-conditions a room R to be air-conditioned using a two-stage air conditioner consisting of a front-stage air conditioner and a rear-stage air conditioner. The front air conditioner 33 as an outside air conditioner is equipped with a preheater 34 and a humidifier H, and the rear air conditioner 35 as a main air conditioner is equipped with a cold/hot water coil 36, a humidifier H, and a fan. 37 is installed inside.

In the heating operation, the air volume adjustment damper 3
The front air conditioner 33 is
The outside air OA introduced into the room is preheated by the preheater 34 and then humidified by the humidifier H, and the adjusted outside air OA and the return air from the air-conditioned room R guided by the return air duct 46 interposed with the air volume adjustment damper 45 are generated. Duct 40 for confluence air with RA
In the latter air conditioner 35, the above-mentioned combined air, which is heated by the cold/hot water coil 36 with hot water flowing through it and rehumidified by the humidifier H, is supplied as supply air SA. The air is supplied to the room R to be air-conditioned through an air duct 41. A portion of the return air RA from the air-conditioned room R is discharged outdoors by an exhaust fan 42 through an exhaust duct 44 in which an air volume adjustment damper 43 is interposed.

FIG. 9 shows that the steam spray type humidifier 49 performs the primary air conditioning for each of the rooms R1 and R2 to be air-conditioned, and in order to supplementally humidify the specific room R2 to be air-conditioned, the plate-shaped body and the like are used. The overall equipment configuration when the installed humidifier H is applied is shown. The primary air conditioner 47 that air-conditions each air-conditioned room R1, R2 is equipped with a heat exchanger 48, a steam spray humidifier 49, and a fan 50, and the secondary air conditioner 47 that air-conditions the specific air-conditioned room R2 auxiliary. The air conditioner 51 is equipped with a heat exchanger 52, the above-mentioned humidifier H with parallel plates, and a fan 53.

In the heating operation, the air volume adjustment damper 5
The combined air of the outside air OA introduced from the outside air duct 55 with the air conditioner 4 interposed therein and the return air RA1 led from the respective air-conditioned rooms R1 and R2 via the return air ducts 63 and 65 is supplied to the primary air conditioner 47. The combined air is heated by the heat exchanger 48 in the heating operation state and humidified by the steam spray humidifier 49, which is then used as the supply air SA1, and the air volume adjusting dampers 56, 5
Each air-conditioned room R1,
A part of the return air RA from each of the air-conditioned rooms R1 and R2 is discharged outdoors through an exhaust duct 68 equipped with an air volume adjustment damper 61 and an exhaust fan 62. be. 59 and 60 are each air-conditioned room R1 and R
64 is a damper that adjusts the amount of return air supplied to the air conditioner 47; On the other hand, circulation ducts 66 and 67 with the secondary air conditioner 51 interposed therein are provided for the specific air conditioning target room R2, and the indoor air RA2 of the specific air conditioning target room R2 guided by the return air side circulation duct 66 is The temperature is re-regulated by the heat exchanger 52 and re-humidified as necessary by the humidifier H having a structure in which plate-like bodies are arranged side by side.
A2 is connected to the specific air conditioning target room R2 via the air supply side circulation duct 67.
By circulating and supplying the air, the temperature and humidity of the specific air-conditioned room R2 can be adjusted more precisely.

[Third Embodiment] In the first and second embodiments described above, the water-retaining plate portion 1a is made of a dense ceramic porous material to construct the plate-like body 1 having a three-layer structure as shown in FIG. However, instead of this, the porous plate-like parts 1b for dissipation provided on the entire surfaces of both sides of the water-retaining plate-like part 1a are formed of a coarse ceramic porous material, while the water-retaining plate in the middle layer The shaped portion 1a is made of a super absorbent polymer material. Then, using the plate-like body 1 in which the water-retaining plate-like part 1a is made of a highly water-absorbing polymer material, a humidifier H having the same structure as the first and second embodiments described above as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7 is installed. Configure.

[Other Embodiments] ■ In each of the above embodiments, the plate-like body 1 is provided with porous plate-like parts 1b, 1b for dissipation on the entire surface of each of both sides of the water-retaining plate-like part 1a. Although it has a layered structure, it may have a two-layer structure in which the porous plate-like part 1b for dissipation is provided only on the entire surface of one side of the water-retaining plate-like part.

[0023] In each of the above embodiments, when the water retention plate portion 1a is formed of a porous material with a porous material having a smaller pore diameter and a higher density than the water dissipation porous plate portion 1b, the water retention plate portion 1a is Although the structure is such that the material suddenly changes between the plate-like part 1a and the porous plate-like part for dissipation 1b, instead of this, the boundary part between the water-retaining plate part 1a and the porous plate-like part for dissipation 1b is changed. , the porous body has a structure in which the pore diameter of the porous body gradually becomes larger and the density of the porous body gradually decreases toward the side of the porous plate-like part 1b for dissipation, that is, the pore diameter and density of the porous body are determined by the thickness of the plate-like body 1. A structure that changes gradually in the direction may also be adopted.

■ Instead of the water supply structure consisting of the water receiving pipes 15 and the header pipe 17 in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. Slit-shaped openings 69a for passing the target gas are arranged in parallel at the bottom of the water tray 69, and each plate-shaped body 1 is
It may be attached to the attachment seat 21 at the bottom of the water tray 69 between these slit-shaped openings 69a for passing the gas to be humidified.

The shape of the plate-like body 1 is not limited to a flat plate, but can be modified in various ways, such as a bent plate. The material of the porous plate-like part 1b for dissipation is not limited to a ceramic porous material, and various porous materials can be applied, and the material of the water-retaining plate-like part 1a can also be a porous material or a water-absorbing polymer. The material is not limited to the material, and various materials can be used as long as they have higher water absorption than the constituent material of the porous plate-like part 1b for diffusion.

[0026]Although reference numerals are written in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the accompanying drawings.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1] Perspective view of a humidifier

[Figure 2] Perspective view of plate-like body

[Figure 3] A perspective view of a floor-standing air conditioner showing an application example of a humidifier

[Figure 4] Same, side sectional view

[Figure 5] Same, enlarged plan view

[Figure 6] Same, enlarged sectional view

[Figure 7] Perspective view of a humidifier that adopts another basic structure

[Figure 8
] Overall equipment configuration diagram showing examples of humidifier applications

[Figure 9] Overall equipment configuration diagram showing an example of humidifier application

[Fig. 10] A perspective view of a water supply structure showing another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing the humidification capacity of the humidifier according to the present invention and the conventional humidifier.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Plate-shaped body 1a　Water retention plate part 1b Porous plate-shaped part for diffusion W Water supply means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plate-shaped body (1) that absorbs water and releases retained moisture from its surface to a gas to be subjected to contact humidification, and a water supply means (W) that supplies water to the plate-shaped body (1). The humidifier is equipped with a porous plate-like part (1b) for absorbing water and dissipating retained moisture from the surface of the gas to be humidified by contact. A water-retaining plate-like part (1a) having a higher water absorbency than the above-mentioned porous plate-like part for dissipating (1b) is provided on almost the entire back surface of the porous plate-like part for dissipating (1b). vessel. 2. The water dissipation porous plate part (1b) is formed of a ceramic porous material, and the water retention plate part (1a
2. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein said porous plate-shaped portion for dissipation (1b) is formed of a ceramic porous material having a smaller pore diameter and a higher density than said porous plate-shaped part for dissipation. 3. The porous plate-like part for water dissipation (1b) is formed of a porous ceramic material, and the plate-like part for water retention (1a
2. The humidifier according to claim 1, wherein said humidifier is made of a super absorbent polymer material.