JPH05317635A - Air dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute the simple air dryer by using a water absorbent soln. having a high absorption capacity. CONSTITUTION:The water absorbent soln. is impregnated into a conductive sheet 7 having air permeability. The air to be dried is passed in the sheet 7 to absorb the moisture in the air into the water absorbent soln. An electric source for evaporating the moisture adsorbed in the sheet 7 by the self-heat generation caused by energizing is connected to the sheet.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an air dryer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is known to use hygroscopic agents such as activated carbon and silica gel to dry indoor air.
However, these moisture absorbents have a water adsorption capacity of 20 to 30.
% (Weight ratio), which is extremely small as an air drying capacity.

On the other hand, lithium bromide, lithium chloride and the like have a water adsorption capacity of 300% or more, and it is considered that they can be used as a hygroscopic agent. However, since all of these are solutions, when using this as a hygroscopic agent, in addition to the container that stores it, many additional structures such as pipes, pumps and sprays are required, and the structure is complicated and expensive. Not only does it have the drawback that it cannot be used easily.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to construct a simple air dryer using a water absorbing agent solution having a high water absorbing capacity such as lithium bromide and lithium chloride.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a moisture absorbing mechanism comprising a water-absorbing agent solution contained in a conductive sheet having air permeability is disposed in an air intake passage for air to be dried. The sheet is characterized by being connected with a power source for evaporating the adsorbed moisture of the sheet by self-heating due to energization.

[0006]

A breathable conductive sheet, for example, a felt made of activated carbon fiber, can hold 30% or more of its own volume and 10 times or more its weight.
It also has high conductivity. On the other hand, a water absorbing agent solution, for example, a concentrated solution of lithium bromide, can absorb three times or more of its volume of water.

Here, the activated carbon felt is impregnated with a concentrated solution of a water-absorbing agent which is 2 to 3 times its own weight to form a moisture absorption mechanism. When air to be dried is circulated through this, the activated carbon felt is impregnated from the air. It is possible to absorb a volume of water equal to or more than that of the concentrated water-absorbing agent solution.

In order to remove the water adsorbed on the activated carbon felt, a power source is connected to both ends of the activated carbon felt and a current is passed. Since the activated carbon felt is electrically conductive, it causes self-heating, and the absorbed water evaporates, thereby recovering the water absorption capacity of the activated carbon felt.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
Shows an overall configuration of the present invention, and 1 is a case, the front surface of which is open, and air to be dried is allowed to flow into the interior from the opening surface. Reference numeral 2 denotes a duct connected to the back surface of the case 1, and a blower 3 is installed inside the duct. Air is sucked into the duct 2 from the case 1 by the blower 3.

A duct 4 for dry air and a duct 5 for discharging steam are connected to the duct 2. The air that has passed through the duct 2 is switched to one of the ducts 4 and 5 by the switchable shutter 6 and is discharged.

Reference numeral 7 is a conductive sheet having air permeability, which is impregnated with a water absorbing agent solution. By arranging the sheet 7 in the case 1, the moisture absorption mechanism 8 is configured.
As the sheet 7, in addition to the sheet made of activated carbon fiber,
A sheet made of metal thread can be used. In addition to lithium bromide, lithium chloride or the like can be used as the water absorbing agent solution.

The seat 7 is preferably bent in a bellows shape in order to have a large contact area with air. Then, electrodes 9 are provided at both ends thereof, and a power source 11 for heat generation is connected thereto via a switch 10 (see FIG. 3).

In the above structure, the air sucked by the blower 3 passes through the breathable sheet 7 and enters the duct 2. In the process of passing through the sheet 7, the air comes into contact with the water absorbing agent solution impregnated in the sheet 7, and the moisture in the air is adsorbed to become dry air. This dry air enters the duct 4 when the shutter 6 closes the duct 5 as shown by the solid line in the figure, and returns to the original chamber.

When a large amount of water is adsorbed on the seat 7, the shutter 6 is closed as shown by the dotted line in the figure, and then the switch 10 is closed to connect the power source 11 to the seat 7. As a result, an electric current flows through the sheet 7 to cause self-heating, and the moisture adsorbed by this is evaporated. The steam generated by this is from duct 4 to duct 5
Enters and is discharged to the outside.

In this case, since the water-absorbing material itself generates heat,
There is no heat conduction loss, and the supplied power is effectively used to generate heat of vaporization. After the water on the sheet 7 is sufficiently evaporated, the switch 10 is opened and the shutter 6 is returned to its original position, so that the air drying operation is restarted.

According to an experiment conducted by the present inventor, an activated carbon sheet having a width of 30 cm, a length of 200 cm and a thickness of 1 cm was impregnated with 1000 cc of lithium bromide, and the impregnated case 1 had a length of 30 cm, a width of 30 cm and a depth of 10 cm. When the moisture absorption mechanism 8 is folded and stored as shown in FIG.
It was possible to adsorb cc of water. The absorption of 1000 cc of water is equivalent to the treatment of 140 cubic meters of water saturated with air, and it can be said that the absorption capacity is sufficiently high from the viewpoint of the small volume absorption mechanism. The electric power required to evaporate the adsorbed 1000 cc of water was only 0.7 kWh, and 1 kWh was sufficient even when including the heating amount of the water absorbing agent solution.

[0017]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a moisture absorbing mechanism is formed by incorporating a water absorbing agent solution into a conductive sheet having air permeability, and using this, moisture in the air is utilized. Since it absorbs water, it has an advantage that it has a superior water adsorption capacity as compared with a conventional device using activated carbon and the structure and operation are simple.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a seat.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 case 2 duct 3 blower 7 sheet 8 moisture absorption mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A moisture absorbing mechanism comprising a water-absorbing agent solution contained in a conductive sheet having air permeability is arranged in a suction passage of air to be dried, and the sheet is self-heated by energization. An air dryer that is connected to a power source to evaporate the adsorbed moisture on the sheet.