JPH05172426A - Air conditioner assembled with built-in heat transfer unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a desired air conditioning temperature and control the operation before an operator as required without applying any troublesome manual controlling operation in an air conditioning device assembled with a heat transfer unit having a Peltier effect element. CONSTITUTION:An automatic control device 8 is installed in an air conditioner assembled with a heat transfer unit. This automatic control device 8 is connected to a control switch 12, a suction temperature sensor 10, a dew formation sensor 9 and a heat radiation temperature sensor 11 so as to control a voltage supplied to a Peltier effect element 7 and the number of revolution of a fan.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner incorporating a heat transfer unit using a Peltier effect element, and more particularly to an air conditioning operation control mechanism including temperature setting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A technique for cooling and heating using a thermoelectric element having a Peltier effect has been known for some time. It has been put to practical use as a device, a heating or heat insulating device, etc. A specific basic configuration of these heat devices is provided with respective heat exchangers which are in contact with both end faces of a thin plate-shaped Peltier effect element and serve as heat sinks or heat sinks. That is, when the Peltier effect element is energized, heat is absorbed at one end surface and at the same time heat is dissipated at the other end surface, thereby performing a cooling action or a heating action on the load. The heat absorption surface and the heat dissipation surface of the element are reversed by changing the energization direction.

By utilizing the cooling action and the heating action of such a Peltier effect element, a small air conditioner called a so-called personal air conditioner which is suitable for local air conditioning with low output has been put into practical use.

Generally, in the air conditioner of this type described above,
In order for the heat absorption side heat exchange element to perform a favorable cooling action during the cooling operation, it is necessary for the heat exchange element on the opposite side to radiate heat corresponding to the heat absorption. However, if sufficient heat dissipation is not performed, the heat is accumulated in the heat dissipation side heat exchange body, and the temperature of the heat dissipation side heat exchange body rises. When heat is excessively accumulated in the heat exchange body on the heat radiation side, heat transfer by the Peltier effect element becomes impossible, and as a result, the heat absorption function, that is, the cooling operation by the heat exchange body on the heat absorption side becomes impossible. At this time, the temperature of the heat dissipation side heat exchanger becomes excessively high. In order to prevent such a situation, a temperature sensor is conventionally provided to monitor the temperature of the heat radiation side heat exchanger during the cooling operation and prevent the temperature from becoming excessively high.
When the temperature sensor senses an excessively high temperature, an automatic stop function and a warning function are provided so as to stop energizing the Peltier effect element and turn on the warning light.

Further, in the conventional air conditioner of this type, the electric power to the Peltier effect element is always supplied at a constant value, and the room temperature of the air-conditioned room is controlled by turning on / off the electricity to the element. That is, in this case, the temperature difference between the two electrodes of the element during energization becomes a constant value, and the heat transfer capacity by the Peltier effect element is based on this constant temperature difference, so that only constant capacity operation was possible. That is, as long as the power supply to the element is not stopped, no matter how high the room temperature is during heating or how low the room temperature is during cooling, the constant temperature difference between the two poles of the element causes unnecessary heating or cooling. .. In such an air conditioner, uneconomical room temperature control is unavoidable, and in order to maintain a desired room temperature, the room temperature must be constantly monitored and manually turned on / off frequently.

On the other hand, during the cooling operation, dew condensation may occur on the surface of the heat exchange body on the heat absorption side. This condensed water poses a serious problem for this type of air conditioner using a Peltier effect element. That is, the Peltier effect element is connected to a lead wire for feeding power, and the element and the heat exchange element are in contact with each other. Therefore, there is a high possibility that condensed water will infiltrate even into the connecting portion of the lead wire, and in such a case, a short circuit occurs between the electrodes, which causes a failure.

The present invention has been devised in order to effectively solve the above-mentioned conventional technical problems. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a heat transfer unit built-in air conditioner that automatically controls operation so as to maintain a desired set temperature without performing complicated operation switching manually.

Further, the dew condensation water generated by the cooling operation is
Eliminates the risk of short-circuiting due to penetration into the power supply contact of the Peltier effect element.

[0009]

The heat transfer unit built-in air conditioner according to the present invention has the following structure in order to solve the conventional technical problems and achieve the object. That is, in an air conditioner incorporating a heat exchange unit having a Peltier effect element sandwiched between one end face side of which is a heat absorbing side and the other end face side of which is a heat radiating side. A suction temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the air sucked into the air conditioner from the zone, setting means for setting a desired target temperature of the air-conditioned area, measurement temperature by the suction temperature sensor, and the setting means And a control unit that controls power supply to the Peltier effect element based on the set difference from the target temperature.

Further, the heat transfer unit built-in air conditioner according to the present invention is provided with a dew condensation sensor on the surface of the heat exchanging body, which is on the heat absorbing side during the cooling operation, for detecting dew condensation occurring in the heat exchanging body. The means may stop the power supply to the Peltier effect element based on the output signal from the dew condensation sensor.

[0011]

According to the heat transfer unit built-in air conditioner according to the present invention, the suction temperature sensor constantly measures the temperature of suction air from the air-conditioned region and sends a signal to the automatic controller. The target temperature of the air-conditioned area is input and set in the automatic controller by the setting means. The automatic controller that received the signal from the suction temperature sensor
In order to stop the power supply to the Peltier effect element or to bring the temperature close to the set temperature, the air conditioning operation is made to have a gradual speed according to the difference between the set temperature and the measured temperature.

Further, during cooling, when the temperature of the heat absorbing side heat exchange element surface in the air conditioner falls below the dew point of the air in the air-conditioned area and dew condensation occurs on the heat exchange element surface, the dew condensation sensor detects this. And sends a detection signal to the automatic controller. Upon receipt of this signal, the automatic controller stops the power supply to the Peltier effect element.

[0013]

[Embodiment] The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. In the air conditioner of the present invention, the direction of heat transfer is reversed by reversing the polarity of electricity supplied to the Peltier effect element, but unless otherwise specified in the following description, heat absorption is based on the direction of heat transfer during cooling operation. And terms such as heat dissipation are used.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of an air conditioner incorporating a heat transfer unit according to the present invention. As the heat transfer unit, a unit in which a rectangular thin plate-shaped Peltier effect element 7 and a spacer 13 made of a metal thin plate having the same shape as that of the heat transfer unit are overlapped is further sandwiched by heat exchangers 2 and 5 on both sides thereof. There is. The laminated body of the Peltier effect element 7 and the spacer 13 is arranged in a zigzag manner so that the two heat exchange elements 2 and 5 have a substantially equal interval in a plan view, and a heat insulating material 14 such as cork is arranged around the zigzag. Both heat exchangers are placed,
I am trying to insulate between the five. The spacer 13 is interposed in order to maintain the necessary heat insulation distance between the heat exchange elements 2 and 5 without impairing the thermal conductivity between the heat exchange element 2 and the element 7 which sandwiches the spacer 13 therebetween. It is set up.

In both the heat exchange bodies 2 and 5, the heat exchange body 2 is on the heat radiation side and the heat exchange body 5 is on the heat absorption side during the cooling operation. Each heat exchange body 2, 5 has a large number of parallel fins that rise vertically from a flat plate-like portion that sandwiches the element 7 and the spacer 13, and is configured so that air flows through the gaps between the fins. There is. In FIG. 1, only one fin of each heat exchanger 2, 5 is shown.

The inside of the air conditioner is divided into two air flow paths by the heat transfer unit configured as described above. This air conditioner is of a type installed on the floor of a room such as a computer room. However, air is sucked from the room by the fan 4 into one flow path, and the air is absorbed on the heat absorption side heat exchanger 5. Is cooled while flowing between the fins and is blown again from the outlet 6 to the air-conditioned region. In the other flow path, the underfloor air sucked by the fan 1 flows between the fins of the heat radiation side heat exchange body 2 to remove the heat of the heat exchange body 2 and flow out from the outlet 3 to the outside of the apparatus. As can be seen from the arrangement of the fans 1 and 4, the indoor air and the underfloor air flow in opposition. The underfloor air becomes a carrier of the absorbed heat amount and is discharged to the outside through an appropriate flow path.

This air conditioner has an automatic controller 8. This automatic controller 8 is shown outside the air conditioner in FIG. 1, but this is a display for the purpose of explanation and is actually provided inside the device. It is preferably built-in. On the other hand, the heat exchange body 5 on the heat absorption side
Is provided with a dew condensation sensor 9 and is electrically connected to the automatic controller 8. When the temperature of the heat absorption side heat exchange element 5 becomes lower than the dew point temperature of the air in the air-conditioned area to cause dew condensation on the surface during the cooling operation, the dew condensation sensor 9 comes into contact with the dew condensation water, for example. It becomes electrically conductive and outputs an ON signal to the automatic controller 8. A heat radiation temperature sensor 11 is attached to the heat radiation side heat exchanger 2, and outputs a signal to the automatic controller 8 when the temperature of the heat radiation side heat exchange body 5 becomes higher than a set temperature. Further, a suction temperature sensor 10 for measuring the temperature of the suction air is provided at a position where the airflow from the fan 4 is directly received, and the measured value signal is output to the automatic controller 8. Power is supplied to the Peltier effect element 7 and the fans 1 and 4 by an automatic controller 8
They are wired so that their voltage and current can be controlled via. In addition, the control switch 1 is provided so that the user can set or change the driving state to a desired state.
2 is provided at a position convenient to the user and is electrically connected to the automatic controller 8. The automatic controller 8 incorporates a microcomputer and controls the control described below.

2 to 5 show specific examples of the air conditioning operation control method. First, the user inputs the selection of cooling / heating and the desired temperature S into the control switch 12. On the other hand, the suction temperature sensor 10 measures the temperature of suction air from the air-conditioned area. The automatic controller 8 changes the supply voltage B to the Peltier effect element 7 and the rotation speed A of the fan 4 depending on the difference between the desired set room temperature S and the temperature measured by the sensor 10. That is, when the air temperature of the air-conditioned region is higher than the desired set room temperature S by x ° C. or more during cooling, or when the measured room temperature of the sensor 10 is lower than the desired set room temperature S by x ° C. or more during heating, the Peltier The maximum voltage is applied to the effect element 7, and the fan 4 also has the maximum rotation speed, and the cooling or heating operation is performed. On the contrary, when the measured temperature of the sensor 10 is lower than the desired set room temperature S by x ° C. or more during cooling, and when the measured temperature of the sensor 10 is higher than the desired set room temperature S by x ° C. or more during heating, The minimum voltage is applied to the Peltier effect element 7, and the fan 4 also has the minimum rotation speed, and the slow cooling or slow heating operation is performed. Also, the temperature difference is x ° C
When it is less than the above, the supply voltage to the Peltier effect element 7 changes linearly with respect to the temperature change in the range from the maximum to the minimum as shown in the figure. Regarding the rotation speed control method of the fan 4,
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the rotation speed A of the fan 4 is
Is proportional to the change in the supply voltage B to the Peltier effect element 7, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rotation speed A of the fan 4 is high due to the temperature difference.
Two examples of step control methods that change in steps of medium and weak are shown.

Regarding the fan 1, a control method in which the number of revolutions is kept constant and a control method in which the fan 1 is changed depending on the difference between the desired set room temperature S and the temperature measured by the sensor 10, as in the case of the fan 4, can be considered.

When dew condensation occurs on the heat absorption side heat exchanger 5 during the cooling operation, the dew condensation sensor 9 detects it, and the automatic controller 8 forcibly stops the power supply to the Peltier effect element 7. Let Similarly, even when the heat radiation temperature sensor 11 on the heat radiation side heat exchanger 2 detects abnormal overheating, the automatic controller 8 forcibly stops the power supply to the Peltier effect element 7. When the former dew condensation evaporates or the latter overheat is removed with the passage of time, the automatic controller 8 releases the stop of the power supply to the Peltier effect element 7.

In addition, the user can change the set temperature by using the control switch 12 that can be placed near the user,
Switching between cooling and heating or turning on / off the operation can be easily performed.

[0022]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects are exhibited. That is, when dew condensation occurs on the heat exchanger, the power supply to the Peltier effect element is automatically stopped to prevent a short circuit between the electrodes and reduce the number of failures.

Further, the automatic controller determines the difference between the desired set room temperature and the temperature of the intake air from the air-conditioned area, and automatically selects the required blowing air volume and blowing temperature to obtain the desired value. The air conditioning temperature can be obtained efficiently and easily.

Furthermore, by placing the control switch at the user's or administrator's hand, it is possible to facilitate various operations such as changing the set temperature, thereby enabling quicker emergency stop in an emergency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing a proportional control method of a heat absorption side fan during cooling of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a proportional control method for the heat absorption side fan during heating of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a step / control method for the heat absorption side fan during cooling of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a step / control method for the heat absorption side fan during heating of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Fan 2 Heat dissipation side
(Cooling) Heat exchanger 3 Outlet 4 Fan 5 Heat absorption side (Cooling) Heat exchanger 6 Outlet 7 Peltier effect element 8 Automatic controller 9 Condensation sensor 10 Suction temperature sensor 11 Heat dissipation (Cooling) temperature sensor 12 Control switch 13 Spacer 14 Insulation material A Change in rotation speed of air supply side fan B Change in voltage supplied to Peltier effect element S Set room temperature x Allowable temperature difference

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Motohiro Igahara 1-4-5 Minamimorimachi, Kita-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Shinko Industry Co., Ltd. 1015 Odanaka in Fujitsu Limited (72) Makoto Watanabe 1015 Kamiodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Kanagawa 1015 Inside Fujitsu Limited (72) Inventor, Yumi Nagashima 1015, Kamedota Naka, Nakahara-ku, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A heat exchange element (5, 2) on the one end face side of the Peltier effect element (7), which is the heat absorption side, and a heat exchange element (2, 5) on the other end face side, which is the heat radiation side. In an air conditioner incorporating a heat exchange unit, the suction temperature sensor (10) for measuring the temperature of the air sucked into the air conditioner from the air-conditioned area and the desired target temperature of the air-conditioned area Setting means to set (1
2) and control for controlling power supply to the Peltier effect element (7) based on the difference between the temperature measured by the suction temperature sensor (10) and the target temperature set by the setting means (12). A heat transfer unit built-in air conditioner comprising means (8). 2. The heat exchange element, which is on the heat absorbing side during cooling operation.
The surface of (5) is provided with a dew condensation sensor (9) for detecting the dew condensation generated in the heat exchange body (5), and the control means (8) is based on the output signal from the dew condensation sensor (9). The heat transfer unit built-in air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein power supply to the Peltier effect element (7) is stopped. 3. A heat transfer unit built-in air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein said setting means (12) is a remote control device separated from said air conditioner.