JPH07174391A - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve safety in regenerating a ventilating absorbing material comprising silica gel and the like and enhance effective regeneration. CONSTITUTION:The invention relates to a dehumidifier, in which an internal passage of a casing 3 having an inlet opening part 1 and an exhaust opening part 2 is provided with a fan 4, an intesively-heat-generating heater 5 and ventilated absorbent 6 in this order from the inlet opening side toward the outlet opening side. The dehumidifier is provided with a temperature detecting element 8 arranged at the exhaust opening part 2 for detecting exhaust gas temperature during regeneration, a switch for turning on and off the intensively heat generating heater 5, a control means for turning on and off the switch and a processing means for processing output signals from the temperature detecting element 8 and detecting the level of the outputs before giving according to the detection the direction of the control of turning on and off the switch.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dehumidifying device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a dehumidifying device capable of performing more effective regeneration while improving the safety at the time of regenerating a breathable hygroscopic material made of silica gel or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, various dehumidifying devices such as a humidity controller have been known as devices for absorbing moisture in the air and adjusting the humidity to an appropriate level. For example, the dehumidifying device shown in FIG. 6 is provided. Has been done. In the dehumidifier illustrated in FIG. 6, a fan (d) and a heater (e) are provided in an internal ventilation path of a casing (c) having an intake port (a) and an exhaust port (a) at both left and right ends. In addition, a moisture-absorbing material (f) having a ventilation property, such as silica gel formed in a honeycomb shape, is sequentially disposed from the intake port (a) side to the exhaust port (a) side.

By driving the fan (d) to take in the air inside the storage such as the storage from the intake port (a) into the internal ventilation path of the casing (c), and let the moisture absorbent (f) pass through the air. It is possible to dehumidify the water contained therein and to discharge it to the inside of the refrigerator through the exhaust port (a) as an appropriate humidity. The heater (e) is mainly used to regenerate the hygroscopic material (f) that adsorbs moisture. That is, the fan (d) is driven, and the air outside the storage such as the storage taken in from the intake port (a) is heated by the heater (e), turned into warm air, and then applied to the breathable hygroscopic material (f). It is possible to release the adsorbed water to return it to the initial state and regenerate it.

[0004] In addition, (K) shown in FIG. 6 is a circuit section including a power source section, a control section and the like for operating and controlling the operation of the fan (D) and the heater (E).

[0005]

However, in the conventional dehumidifier shown in FIG. 6, for example, there remains a problem to be solved regarding the regeneration of the ventilation moisture absorbent (f) such as honeycomb silica gel. It was the actual situation. In other words, the importance of increasing the regeneration efficiency of the breathable hygroscopic material (f) is so great that if the exhaust gas temperature is not taken into consideration and regeneration is performed for a sufficient time, for example, about 10 minutes, the exhaust gas temperature will rise to 80 ° C or higher. turn into. The heat-resistant temperature of the adhesive used in the dehumidifier is about 60 ° C.
Since the ignition temperature of wood is about 90 ° C., such regeneration poses a risk of ignition and equipment failure. In addition, the human body also feels the heat. Furthermore, when using honeycomb-shaped silica gel as the moisture absorbent (f),
With the regeneration, the temperature of the silica gel itself rises, and the binder used for maintaining the honeycomb shape tends to scatter due to the temperature rise, making it difficult to maintain the shape of the silica gel.

Therefore, when attention is paid to safety and the regeneration of the ventilation moisture absorbent (f) is examined, a low heat generation type heater having an exhaust temperature of up to about 60 ° C. is adopted, and it takes time until sufficient regeneration ( It may be possible to take about 20 minutes, for example, but in this case, the reproducing time naturally takes more than twice as long as that in the above case, and the reproducing efficiency is lowered. Further, in this case, there is a problem in that it is actually difficult to sufficiently regenerate the ventilation moisture absorbent (f). Even if regeneration is performed for a long time with a low heat generation type heater, it can be regenerated, for example, up to about 80% of the saturated water absorption of silica gel, and water remains in the silica gel. As a result, the moisture absorption capacity of the dehumidifying device is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, solves the drawbacks of the conventional dehumidifying device, improves the safety at the time of regenerating a breathable hygroscopic material made of silica gel or the like, and It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved dehumidifying device capable of performing effective regeneration.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention introduces a fan, a high heat generation heater, and a ventilated hygroscopic material into an internal air passage of a casing having an intake port and an exhaust port. A dehumidifying device sequentially arranged from the mouth side to the exhaust port side, wherein the dehumidifying device further comprises:
A temperature detecting element arranged at the exhaust port for detecting the exhaust temperature at the time of regeneration, a switch for turning on / off the high heat heater, a control means for controlling the opening / closing of the switch, and an output of the temperature detecting element. There is provided a dehumidifying device comprising: a processing unit that processes a signal, detects an output level of the signal, and then instructs the control unit to control ON / OFF of a switch based on the detected output level.

Further, according to the present invention, the processing means further stores the output level of the output signal from the temperature detecting element according to the passage of time, and the stored output level and the temperature detecting element currently input. It is also preferable that the output level of the output signal is compared with the output level of the output signal and the heating / regenerated state of the ventilation absorbent is determined based on the comparison.

[0010]

[Operation] In the dehumidifying device of the present invention, since the high heat generation heater is used as the heater for heating and regenerating the ventilation-type moisture absorbent, it is possible to efficiently regenerate the ventilation-type moisture absorbent. Also, the dehumidifier is placed at the exhaust port,
A temperature detecting element for detecting the exhaust temperature at the time of regeneration, a switch for turning on / off the high-heater heater, a control means for controlling the on / off of the switch, and an output signal of the temperature detecting element for processing the output. After detecting the level, the control means is provided with a processing means for instructing the control means to switch on and off based on the detected level, and the high heat generation heater is switched off before the exhaust gas temperature becomes higher than necessary, causing ignition or failure. It is possible to prevent danger such as.

With the above configuration, it is possible to improve the safety during the regeneration of the breathable hygroscopic material and to perform more effective regeneration.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, and the dehumidifying device of the present invention will be described in more detail. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the dehumidifying device of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 1, an inlet port (1) and an exhaust port portion (2) are provided at both left and right ends, respectively, and in an internal ventilation path of a casing (3) installed outside a storage room or the like, A fan (4), a high heat generation type PTC heater (5), and a silica gel (6) formed into a honeycomb shape as a ventilation moisture absorbent.
Are sequentially arranged from the intake port (1) side to the exhaust port (2) side.

Further, a circuit part (7) having a power supply part, a control part and the like for operating and controlling the operation of the fan (4) and the PTC heater (5) is provided inside the casing (3). There is. Further, the exhaust port (2) is provided with a thermistor (8) as a temperature detecting element for detecting the exhaust temperature during regeneration.

When dehumidifying with this dehumidifier, the fan (4) is driven to take in the air (9) inside the storage such as the storage from the intake port (1) into the internal ventilation passage of the casing (3), By passing through the honeycomb silica gel (6), the moisture in the air is dehumidified, and the dehumidified air (10) is blown out from the exhaust port (2) into the chamber. On the other hand, at the time of regenerating the honeycomb silica gel (6), the high heat generation PTC heater (4) is turned on, the fan (4) is driven, and the outside air (11) is taken in from the intake port (1). After being heated by the heater (4) and turned into warm air, it is applied to the honeycomb-shaped silica gel (6) to release the adsorbed moisture and discharge the warm air (12) containing moisture to the outside of the refrigerator.

As described above, in this dehumidifying device, the directions of intake and blowout of air from the intake port (1) and the exhaust port (2) are changed during dehumidification and regeneration. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views showing the operating states of the dehumidifying device during dehumidification and regeneration, respectively. FIG. 2a shows the dehumidifying device during dehumidification, and FIG. 2b shows the regenerating process.

As described above, the intake port (1) and the exhaust port (2) provided at both ends of the casing (3) are provided with the flow path switching lids (13) for changing the intake and outlet directions of air. It is movably installed. By the rotation of the flow path switching lid (13), the intake and blowout directions of air are switched between dehumidification and regeneration. The flow path switching lid (13) can be rotated by the flow path switching small motor (14) illustrated in FIG. The small flow path switching motor (14) is also incorporated in the casing (3) and electrically connected to the circuit section (7).

FIG. 3 is a correlation diagram illustrating the regeneration characteristics of the heater. When the honeycomb silica gel (6) of FIG. 1 is regenerated by a low-heat heater whose exhaust temperature at saturation is 60 ° C. or less, as shown in Table 1, the regeneration time is long and the limit regeneration amount is Few. Therefore, since the regeneration efficiency is low and the regenerated water content is small, silica gel (6)
The absorbed moisture remains inside. As a result, the moisture absorption capacity is reduced, and the performance of the dehumidifying device as a whole is also deteriorated.

On the other hand, when the silica gel (6) is regenerated by using a high heat-generating heater whose exhaust temperature at saturation is about 70 to 100 ° C., the regeneration time is shortened and the limit regeneration amount is increased. The regeneration efficiency is good, and the moisture absorption capacity is kept good. The performance of the dehumidifier as a whole is also highly stable.

[0019]

[Table 1]

In the dehumidifying apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, since the high heat generation type PTC heater (5) is employed as described above, the honeycomb silica gel (6) has a good regeneration efficiency, and the honeycomb shape is excellent. The moisture absorption capacity of the silica gel (6) is maintained well, and the performance of the dehumidifier as a whole is improved. Further, in this dehumidifying device, the operation of the heater (5) is automatically made to correspond to the exhaust temperature so that the exhaust temperature does not become too high when the honeycomb silica gel (6) is regenerated by the high heat generation PTC heater (5). I try to control it. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the thermistor (8) is provided in the exhaust port (2) opened by the flow path switching lid (13) at the time of regeneration, and the exhaust temperature of the warm air (12) at the time of regeneration is provided. Is detected.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the circuit section illustrated in FIG. In the example of FIG. 4, the circuit unit (7) of the dehumidifier has a power supply circuit (15) and a processing circuit (16). Power circuit (15)
Is connected to a power supply (18) through a power switch (17), and a high heat generation PTC heater (5) is electrically connected to a loop including the power supply circuit (15) and the power supply (18). Further, the PTC heater (5) has a power supply (18).
A switch (19) for connecting / disconnecting the power supply from is also connected.

On the other hand, the processing circuit (16) displays the operation of the thermistor (8) functioning as a temperature sensor, the humidity sensor (20) for detecting the humidity of the air in the refrigerator, the fan motor (4) and the dehumidifier. The display units (21) are connected to each other. The processing circuit (16) functions as a processing means, and for example, a microcomputer can be adopted.

Further, in this example, the circuit section (7) has a heater relay (22) as a control means for controlling ON / OFF of a switch (19) connected to the PTC heater (5).
Is also equipped with. This heater relay (22) is also connected to the processing circuit (16). The circuit section (7) having such a circuit configuration operates as follows, for example, when the honeycomb silica gel (6) is regenerated by the high heat generation PTC heater (5).

The thermistor (8) illustrated in FIG. 1 detects the exhaust temperature of the hot air (12) at the exhaust port (2), and the output signal is processed by the processing circuit (16) to detect the output level. To do. Fig. 5 shows changes in exhaust temperature and water content of silica gel (6) during regeneration.
The exhaust gas temperature rises, the water content is gradually released from the silica gel (6), and the water content gradually decreases. After that, although the water content decreases, the exhaust temperature remains constant. It is considered that the heat energy of the warm air is consumed for vaporizing the water contained in the silica gel (6), and as a result, the exhaust temperature becomes constant. Then, when the adsorbed water is further released from the silica gel (6) and the regeneration is sufficiently performed, the exhaust gas temperature rises again.

Therefore, the processing circuit (16) illustrated in FIG.
In, when it is detected that the output level of the output signal from the thermistor (8) changes from a constant state again,
A signal to stop the operation of the PTC heater (5) is output to the heater relay (22). Based on the signal from the processing circuit (16), the heater relay (22) turns off the switch (19). Then, the PTC heater (5) is turned off.
The regeneration of silica gel (6) is completed.

At the time when the output level of the output signal from the thermistor (8) rises again from the constant level, the exhaust temperature is 60 ° C. as shown in FIG. 5, for example.
And the water content of silica gel (6) corresponds to 20%. Therefore, the exhaust gas temperature does not rise above the heat resistant temperature of the adhesive (about 60 ° C.) or the ignition temperature of the wood (about 90 ° C.), and there is no risk of ignition, equipment failure, or the like. In addition, the human body does not need to feel excessive heat. At the same time, the binder used for maintaining the honeycomb shape of the silica gel (6) is also prevented from scattering. The honeycomb shape of silica gel (6) can be maintained for a long period of time. The safety of the dehumidifier is ensured, and the honeycomb silica gel (6) is sufficiently regenerated.

In the operation control of the PTC heater (5) by the circuit section (7) illustrated in FIG. 4, the output level of the output signal from the thermistor (8) in the processing circuit (16) is changed according to the passage of time. It is also possible to store the stored output level and compare the stored output level with the output level of the output signal actually input from the thermistor (8), and detect the output level change accompanying the above-mentioned rise in exhaust temperature from this comparison. .

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above examples. It goes without saying that various aspects are possible in details such as the type, structure and configuration of the fan, the heater and the ventilation moisture absorbent, and the circuit configuration of the circuit section.

[0029]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent ignition, device failure, etc., and improve the safety of the dehumidifying device. It is possible to reproduce in a short time, and the reproduction efficiency is improved. Along with this, the dehumidifying efficiency is kept highly stable, and the performance of the dehumidifying apparatus as a whole becomes good.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a dehumidifying device of the present invention.

2A and 2B are cross-sectional views showing operating states of the dehumidifying device during dehumidification and regeneration, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a correlation diagram illustrating the reproduction characteristics of the heater.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a circuit unit illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a correlation diagram showing changes in exhaust temperature and water content of silica gel during regeneration.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional dehumidifying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Inlet Port 2 Exhaust Port 3 Casing 4 Fan 5 PTC Heater 6 Honeycomb Silica Gel 7 Circuit Section 8 Thermistor 9 Air Inside 10 Air Dehumidifying Air 11 Outside Air 12 Hot Air 13 Flow Switch 13 Small Switch Motor 15 power supply circuit 16 processing circuit 17 power supply switch 18 power supply 19 switch 20 temperature sensor 21 display unit 22 heater relay

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A dehumidifying device in which a fan, a high-heat-generation heater, and a ventilating hygroscopic material are sequentially arranged from an intake port side to an exhaust port side in an internal ventilation passage of a casing having an intake port and an exhaust port. The dehumidifier further has a temperature detecting element arranged at the exhaust port for detecting the exhaust temperature at the time of regeneration, a switch for turning on / off the high heating heater, and controlling the on / off of this switch. And a processing means for processing an output signal of the temperature detecting element, detecting an output level of the output signal, and then instructing the control means to control ON / OFF of a switch based on the detected output level. Dehumidifier. 2. The processing means further stores the output level of the output signal from the temperature sensing element according to the passage of time, and stores the stored output level and the output signal from the temperature sensing element currently input. The dehumidifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dehumidifying device is compared with an output level, and the heating / regenerating state of the ventilation moisture absorbent is judged based on the comparison.