JPH07198162A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance dehumidification and reduce uncomfortableness during use in summer. CONSTITUTION:In cooling operation cold heating medium is made to flow into a supplementary heat exchanger 5 and moisture-absorbing medium of a high concentration (moisture absorbing liquid such as lithium chloride) is made to flow into a dehumidifying module 10 so that the moisture absorbing medium flowing in the dehumidifying module 10 is cooled to suppress temperature rise. In heating operation the moisture absorbing medium of a low concentration such as lithium chloride {d the like is made to flow into the dehumidifying module 10 and warm heating medium is made to flow into the supplementary heat exchanger 5. Then. the warm heating medium of the supplementary heat exchanger 5 makes the dehumidifying module 10 perform humidification.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner equipped with a dehumidifying module for dehumidifying or humidifying indoor air.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an air conditioner capable of dehumidifying and humidifying a room.
Is composed of a container 12 and a large number of porous tubes 11 which are provided in the container 12 and allow the passage of moisture, and are connected to a moisture absorbing / releasing section 13 on the outdoor side through a medium circulation path 14. A hygroscopic medium 15 such as lithium chloride is circulated in the container 12 and the moisture absorbing / releasing section 13 via a medium circulation path 14. Reference numeral 16 is a pump for circulating the hygroscopic medium 15. The moisture absorbing / releasing section 13 has a medium chamber 17 into which the hygroscopic medium 15 flows, and an air chamber 18 arranged adjacent to the medium chamber 17 via a semipermeable membrane 19 that allows the passage of moisture. The air chamber 18 communicates with the atmosphere via a switching valve 20 such as a four-way switching valve.

Next, the operating state of the air chamber 18 will be described. First, during the dehumidifying operation, the switching valve 20 is switched to depressurize the air chamber 18 of the moisture absorbing / releasing section 13 by a pump (not shown). Then, due to the pressure difference between the hygroscopic medium 15 and the air chamber 18, moisture is released from the hygroscopic medium 15 through the semipermeable membrane 19 into the air chamber 18. At this time, in the dehumidifying module 10 on the indoor unit side, moisture is absorbed from the humid air sucked by the fan into the hygroscopic medium 15 through the porous tube 11, and the dehumidified air is returned to the room.

On the other hand, during the humidifying operation, the switching valve 20 is switched so as to increase the pressure in the air chamber 18 by operating a pump (not shown). Then, due to the pressure difference between the hygroscopic medium 15 and the pressure in the air chamber 18, moisture is absorbed into the hygroscopic medium 15 through the semipermeable membrane 19. At this time, in the dehumidification module 10, moisture is released from the hygroscopic medium 15 through the porous tube 11 to the room air sucked by the fan, and the humidified air is returned to the room. In this way, the dehumidification module 10 dehumidifies and humidifies the room.

[0005]

By the way, FIG. 4A shows the relationship between time and dehumidification amount, and FIG. 4B shows time and hygroscopic medium 1.
5 shows the relationship with the concentration of 5 and (c) shows the relationship between time and the temperature of the hygroscopic medium 15. As shown in FIG. 4, the dehumidifying amount decreases with time because the hygroscopic medium 15
Although the liquid concentration largely decreases due to the absorption of moisture, the increase in the liquid temperature due to the absorption of moisture and the increase in the pressure of the hygroscopic medium 15 are also one of the causes. As described above, the liquid dehumidifier (dehumidification module 10) using the hygroscopic medium 15 using lithium chloride generates heat during moisture absorption, and thus the hygroscopic medium 15 is used.
However, there is a problem that even if the concentration is the same, the temperature rises, the difference between the water vapor pressure of the air and the hygroscopic liquid pressure becomes small, and dehumidification becomes difficult.

When the liquid dehumidifier (dehumidification module 10) used in summer is used, the temperature of the blown air during dehumidification also rises as the temperature of the hygroscopic medium 15 rises, as shown in FIG. 4 (c). The room temperature rises and becomes uncomfortable.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner capable of increasing a dehumidifying amount and eliminating discomfort during use in summer. To provide.

[0008]

Therefore, in the air conditioner of claim 1, a heat exchanger 5 for supplying cold and warm heat medium, a blower 4 for blowing air to the heat exchanger 5, and a hygroscopic medium 15 are provided. The indoor unit 1 is provided with a dehumidifying module 10 for dehumidifying and humidifying indoor air, and the heat exchanger 5 is arranged in front of the dehumidifying module 10 when viewed in the blowing direction.

The air conditioner according to a second aspect of the invention is characterized in that the heat exchanger 5 and the dehumidifying module 10 are arranged in thermal contact with each other.

[0010]

In the air conditioner according to the first aspect of the present invention, when a cold refrigerant is passed through the heat exchanger 5 in the summer, the dehumidifying module 10 can be cooled by the wind from the blower 4 via the heat exchanger 5, and the dehumidifying module 10 can be dehumidified. The temperature rise of the hygroscopic medium 15 of the module 10 can be suppressed. As a result, the amount of dehumidification increases and the usable concentration range is expanded.

In the air conditioner of the second aspect, the heat exchanger 5 and the dehumidifying module 10 are in thermal contact with each other, so that the dehumidifying module 10 can be reliably cooled by the heat exchanger 5. In addition, the efficiency of the humidifying action during heating can be improved, whereby the effect of claim 1 can be achieved more reliably.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, specific embodiments of the air conditioner of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Since the configuration of the dehumidifying module 10 is the same as that of FIG. 3, the description thereof will be omitted and the gist of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the indoor unit 1 of the air conditioner according to the present invention, in which the auxiliary heat exchanger 5 and the dehumidifying module 10 are brought into thermal contact with each other in the main body case 7 to the outlet 3 side. It is located in. Further, a blower 4 that blows air on the auxiliary heat exchanger 5 is arranged on the suction port 2 side. 6 is a drain pan. The auxiliary heat exchanger 5 is used to assist the operation of the dehumidifying module 10, and acts as an evaporator or a condenser with a cross fin coil or the like in operation with an indoor unit (not shown). It is a thing.

Here, during the cooling operation, a cold heat medium is caused to flow through the auxiliary heat exchanger 5, and a high-concentration hygroscopic medium (hygroscopic liquid such as lithium chloride) is caused to flow through the dehumidifying module 10 so that the air from the blower 4 is used as auxiliary heat. Apply the heat exchanger 5 to the auxiliary heat exchanger 5
By cooling the dehumidifying module 10 via the, the hygroscopic medium flowing in the dehumidifying module 10 is cooled to suppress the temperature rise. At this time, the auxiliary heat exchanger 5
The temperature is not lowered to the dew point temperature. When the room temperature is 25 ° C or higher, dehumidification is performed by both the auxiliary heat exchanger 5 and the dehumidification module 10, and when the room temperature is 25 ° C or lower, the dehumidification module 10 is operated independently.

FIG. 2 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4, in which the broken line is the case of the conventional example shown in FIG. 4 and the solid line is the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the dehumidification amount can be increased by cooling the dehumidification module 10 by the auxiliary heat exchanger 5 which is blown by the blower 4 as described above. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the hygroscopic medium is used for concentration difference heat storage, the concentration range of the hygroscopic medium that can be used by cooling the dehumidification module 10 is widened, and the heat storage density is increased. Further, as shown in FIG. 2C, the temperature of the dehumidified air blown out from the dehumidifying module 10 becomes lower than the room temperature, the room temperature is not increased even in the summer operation, and the user does not feel uncomfortable. Further, during the cooling operation, the auxiliary heat exchanger 5 shares only the sensible heat load, and the dehumidifying module 10 shares the latent heat load.
It is possible to raise the vaporization temperature of and improve efficiency.

On the other hand, during the heating operation, the dehumidifying module 1
When a low-concentration hygroscopic medium such as lithium chloride or water is flown to 0 and a warm heat medium is flown to the auxiliary heat exchanger 5, the dehumidifying module 10 can be humidified by the warm heat medium of the auxiliary heat exchanger 5. .

[0017]

In the air conditioner according to the first aspect of the present invention, when a cold refrigerant flows through the heat exchanger in the summer, the dehumidifying module can be cooled by the wind from the blower through the heat exchanger, and The temperature rise of the hygroscopic medium can be suppressed. As a result, the amount of dehumidification increases and the usable concentration range is expanded.

In the air conditioner of the second aspect, the heat exchanger and the dehumidifying module are in thermal contact with each other, so that the dehumidifying module can be reliably cooled by the heat exchanger. In addition, the efficiency of the humidifying action during heating can be improved, whereby the effect of claim 1 can be achieved more reliably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an air conditioner that performs dehumidification and humidification.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Indoor Unit 4 Blower 5 Auxiliary Heat Exchanger 10 Dehumidification Module 15 Hygroscopic Medium

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heat exchanger (5) for supplying cold and hot heat medium, and a blower (4) for blowing air to the heat exchanger (5).
A dehumidifying module (10) for dehumidifying and humidifying indoor air by a hygroscopic medium (15) is provided in the indoor unit (1), and the heat exchanger (5) is viewed from the air blowing direction. An air conditioner characterized by being arranged in front of (10). 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger (5) and the dehumidifying module (10) are arranged in thermal contact with each other.