JPH0725209Y2 - Dehumidifying air generator using adsorbent - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a dehumidifying air generator using an adsorbent (eg, synthetic zeolite), and more particularly to a device that exhibits a suitable effect as a device for drying plastic molding raw materials. .

[Prior Art] As this type of dehumidified air generator, there are (a) chemical factory equipment, (b) air conditioning equipment, (c) plastic molding material dryer, and the like. Among these, the one for the plastic molding raw material dryer of (c) is as a dehumidifying air source for drying the plastic raw material (often in the form of pellets) to an extremely low water content before the injection into the plastic molding machine,
In recent years, along with the development of high-performance plastics (so-called engineering plastics), their importance is rapidly increasing.

The following is a summary of the design conditions of the dehumidifying air generator for each of the above applications.

(A) Dehumidifying air generator for chemical factory equipment: When used as a chemical factory equipment, an extremely low dew point (for example, a temperature lower than -70 ° C) is required, and most individual single-piece designs are required. On the other hand, there are few restrictions on the size of the device, and therefore an ideal design that conforms to the operating principle is possible, and in many cases the required performance is obtained using a large and complicated dehumidifying air generator.

(B) Dehumidifying air generator for air conditioning equipment: In this case, the target market is wider than in the case of (a). Also, a dew point that is not too low is not required, and normally dehumidification up to + 10 ° C to + 12 ° C dew point is only required (for example, when dehumidifying up to + 12 ° C dew point, dehumidifying air at 35 ° C to a relative humidity of 5%). It suffices to wet it), and the device design is easy.

(C) Dehumidifying air generator for drying plastic molding raw materials: In this case, dehumidification up to a dew point of -50 ° C to -60 ° C is required depending on the type of plastic and the application. The required dew point is similar to the case (a). However, even for relatively small plastic molding machines, dehumidifying air generators are required for each machine, so there are severe restrictions on cost and installation space, and dehumidifying air generators that are equipment for chemical plants can be used as they are. It is completely impossible to miniaturize it for drying plastic molding raw materials.

As described above in item (c), conventionally, in the field for drying plastic molding raw materials, dehumidified air generators have been commercialized, ignoring the basic technical conditions of using adsorbents. However, such a conventional dehumidifying air generator is not practically sufficient, and in particular, some plastics (for example, PET where the moisture introduced into the molding machine has a decisive influence on the physical properties of the molded product). ), The problem was remarkable. Therefore, many of the conventional dehumidifying air generators cannot be used in application fields where demands for dehumidification such as PET are severe, and when it is possible to use remarkably oversized devices. This leads to waste of equipment and running costs.

Next, the technical conditions of the dehumidified air generator using the adsorbent are listed below.

1) Regarding the air flow direction of each stroke, if the air flow direction at the time of adsorption is the forward direction and the opposite direction is the reverse direction, the desorption and removal high temperature (eg 250 to 300 ° C) air flow direction must be the reverse direction. I have to.

2) Furthermore, regarding the air circulation direction, the process after desorption,
That is, it is desirable that the circulation direction of the low-temperature air for the cooling process is the positive direction.

3) Regarding the quality of air for the cooling process, it is highly desirable that the air for the cooling process is dehumidified air.

4) In relation to the dimensional conditions of the adsorbent layer, there is an appropriate flow rate for the adsorption process that has a certain range determined by the type and particle size of the adsorbent. In order to comply with this, it is necessary to provide an appropriate cross-sectional area of the adsorbent layer with respect to the flow rate of air to be dehumidified in the direction perpendicular to the air flow direction.

5) Similarly, regarding the size of the adsorbent layer, it is necessary that the adsorbent layer has a necessary minimum thickness in the air flow direction. This thickness is necessary to obtain the required dew point and to keep it for a suitable constant time.

Here, in order to construct an apparatus that satisfies the above conditions 1) to 5) in the sequential switching of the stroke cycles of adsorption and regeneration (that is, desorption and cooling) of a plurality of adsorption towers, conditions 1) and 2) On the basis of 3), the gas flow path for each stroke cycle is complicated and a large number of automatic switching valves are required to switch the gas flow paths.

For the purpose of avoiding the complexity of the gas flow path and the valve for switching it, the fact that an adsorption dryer using a flat slide valve control device is known is described in, for example, JP-A-46-7440. There is. JP-A-46-7440 discloses the first
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2, a plurality of adsorption towers are horizontally arranged around a vertical rotation axis, and the upper and lower ends of each adsorption tower are airtightly arranged above and below the adsorption tower. The connected disks are integrated with the adsorption tower on the rotor side of the disk-shaped valve and rotate about the vertical rotation axis, while the non-rotating disks are in close contact with and facing each rotor. Disclosed is a technique in which the non-rotating disk is opened corresponding to each stroke position of adsorption / regeneration, and the opening is communicated with a device corresponding to each stroke via a gas flow path.
It should be noted here that, for the purpose of reducing the installation area, both the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the actual product contain the adsorbent in the space between the vertical double tubes, and the above condition 4 is satisfied. ), The required area of the adsorbent layer is made vertical and the air is made to flow horizontally to save the air passage area in the adsorption tower, and as a result, the installation area of the device is made as narrow as possible. Is. Here, in FIGS. 1 and 2, if a considerable passing area is taken in the horizontal direction,
The diameter of the adsorption tower would be much larger than that shown.

Therefore, the above-mentioned known technique can achieve the above conditions 1) and 2), but it is impossible to simultaneously achieve the above conditions 4) and 5) while reducing the installation area. If the installation area is reduced, the above condition 5), that is, "sufficient thickness of the adsorbent layer" cannot be achieved as a result.
And in the method of horizontally passing air through a thin adsorbent bed having an air passage area in the vertical direction, there arises a problem of non-uniform density due to gravity, and the non-uniform wind velocity cannot be avoided. It also involves technical problems. Further, in the above-mentioned known technique, a plurality (usually 4 to 5) of adsorption towers are installed around one rotating shaft. However, the outer diameter of the rotating object is quite large, and the installation area is unsuitable as a plastic molding factory facility. It leaves the problem of being suitable.

Incidentally, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 49-7166 has a portion in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 that seems to disclose a technique in which a plurality of adsorption towers are provided in the vertical direction. For the reasons stated, it is reasonable to consider that such disclosure has not been made.

First, in the above-mentioned publication, the outer size of the switching valve is shown to be extremely large compared to the diameter of the inlet and outlet holes (1b, 11b, etc.), indicating that the drawing is only a conceptual diagram. Further, the size of the chamber (adsorption tower) filled with the molecular sieve (adsorbent) shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 6 of the above publication is shown to be much smaller than the outer size of the switching valve. . Here, regarding these two dimensional ratios, even if the outer size of the switching valve is not intentionally downsized,
There is a technical necessity that the outer size of the switch must be much larger than that of the switching valve. From this fact, it is clear that FIGS. 2 and 4 of the publication are merely conceptual diagrams.

Further, the above-mentioned publication does not describe the arrangement of a plurality of adsorption chambers and the action and effects associated therewith, and lacks a concrete description as to how the adsorption chambers are attached to the valve plate.

In addition to this, the above-mentioned publication shows in FIG. 6 that the adsorption chambers are horizontally arranged and the air is allowed to flow horizontally, but any comparison with the case where a plurality of chambers are vertically arranged is described. Not not.

In addition, FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 6 of the above publication.
In the figure, the upper and lower plates of the valve are expressed based on the perspective drawing method, but the lower structure such as the heating device and the blower is not a perspective view, but the upper adsorption chambers 5 and 6 and those and the valve plate. It is not possible to determine what construction method is used for the conduits that connect to each other in terms of size, position, and direction. Therefore, FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 6 are for the purpose of showing the angular position of each hole in the valve plate and its function, and it is determined that the other parts are merely added as a system diagram. To be done.

That is, FIGS. 2 and 4 of the above publication do not clearly show that the adsorption chambers are arranged in the vertical direction, and the operational effects obtained by arranging the adsorption chambers in the vertical direction are described at all. As such, it should be considered that such a configuration is not disclosed in the above-mentioned publication.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been proposed in view of various problems in the prior art, and satisfies all the above technical conditions 1) to 5) of the dehumidified air generator using the adsorbent. It is an object of the present invention to provide a dehumidified air generating device using an adsorbent, which is capable of achieving the above-mentioned features, can significantly reduce the required installation area, and can keep the manufacturing cost low.

[Constitution of the Invention] The present invention comprises a plurality of adsorption towers each having an adsorbent bed and arranged so as to be rotatable at the same time. The plurality of adsorption towers are rotated in synchronization with the rotation of the adsorption towers. A rotor and a stator fixed at a position opposed to the rotor, the gas passages from each adsorption tower are connected to the rotor, and the stator is provided with a flexible gas passage. In a dehumidified air generator using an adsorbent that is connected to a rotor and a stator to form a switching valve, the vertical positions of a plurality of adsorption towers are different, and the same adsorption tower is used. At least a part of the projected figures projected on the horizontal plane overlap each other, and each adsorption tower is attached to a support which is rotatable about a straight line that extends vertically through the adsorbent bed of at least one adsorption tower. Tori , The rotor rotates about an axis that substantially coincides with the rotation axis, and the rotor is located closer to the adsorption tower than the stator, and each of the openings formed in the rotor is It is connected to the inlet or outlet of the corresponding adsorption tower by a gas flow path, and the rotor rotates in synchronization with the adsorption tower to change the combined position of the rotor and the stator. The process is switched.

In practicing the present invention, two sets of rotors and stators may be provided on each of the upper and lower sides of a plurality of adsorption towers, and one set of rotors and stators may be provided on either the upper side or the lower side. It may be provided. When the rotor and the stator are provided on only one side, if two adsorption towers are provided, the rotor has four openings and the stator has eight openings, and three adsorption towers are provided. If so, six openings are formed in each of the rotor and the stator.

[Operation] Based on the configuration described above, the present invention arranges a plurality of adsorption towers in the vertical direction, that is, in the vertical direction, and arranges the projection planes of the respective adsorption towers on the same plane so that at least one part thereof overlaps. Therefore, the installation area required for the installation of the dehumidified air generator may be the same extent as the projected area of a single adsorption tower, and as a result, the installation area that could not be achieved by the dehumidified air generator in the prior art. Large-scale reductions and savings have become possible. And, in connection with the fact that the installation area of the device can be greatly reduced, the individual adsorption towers satisfy the conditions 4) and 5) described above, that is, the appropriate adsorbent layer cross-sectional area and the required adsorption area. It can be configured to have the same thickness as the agent layer.

In the present invention, the switching valve is constituted by the rotor and the stator, and switching between the adsorption and regeneration strokes of the adsorption tower is performed by changing the combination position with the rotor as the rotor rotates. Then, the above conditions 1) to 3) are satisfied by adopting a structure in which the opening of the rotor is connected to the inlet or outlet (entrance / inlet) of the corresponding adsorption tower via the gas flow path. The adsorption tower can be smoothly rotated even if it has a large piping (gas flow path) system.

Furthermore, since each adsorption tower is attached to the support described above, the weight of the plurality of adsorption towers is not loaded on the rotor or the stator. As a result, the rotor and the stator can be downsized, and the sealing property of the switching valve can be improved.

In addition, when one set of rotor and stator are provided on either the upper side or the lower side of the plurality of adsorption towers, the dimension in the height direction is further reduced, which is well suited to the purpose of saving the installation space. .

[Preferred Embodiment] In carrying out the present invention, it is preferable that the gas flow path is unevenly distributed on one side surface of the adsorption tower. This is because the side on which the gas flow path is not provided is used as a work space for performing necessary maintenance such as adsorbent exchange.

In relation to the above-mentioned condition 4), the cross-sectional area of air in the adsorption tower needs to be 15 to 50 times as large as the cross-sectional area of the inside of the pipe for transporting the adsorption air (dimensions, for example, in the case of molecular sieve). Inner diameter, if 4 to 7 times). Such an area ratio is not clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 of the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 49-7166. Therefore, in the present invention, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 49-7166, FIG. Alternatively, it is possible to meet the request described in the above condition 4), which could not be satisfied by the technique disclosed in FIG.

Further, in implementing the present invention, the rotating shaft does not necessarily have to be located at the center of the adsorption tower.

Further, it is preferable that the projection figures on the same plane of the plurality of adsorption towers are completely overlapped, but the projection figures are not limited to those completely overlapped, and the projection figures may be displaced, at least. It suffices if some of them overlap.

The air passage direction in the adsorption tower does not have to be the vertical direction (vertical direction), and may be the horizontal direction or the oblique direction.

The present invention is not limited to air as the gas to be dehumidified, and can be applied to all other gases as long as they do not adversely affect the adsorbent.

In the present invention, the shape of the adsorption tower can be freely selected, and the shape of the adsorbent bed in the direction in which air passes can be variously changed, such as circular or polygonal.

The type of adsorbent used during implementation is also molecular sieve (air inlet temperature for desorption is usually 250 ° C to 300 ° C)
However, other adsorbents can also be used.
For example, a fibrous material such as silica gel, alumina, or paper (for example, a honeycomb structure) is also included.

Further, the air passage direction during the adsorption process is not limited to the direction from top to bottom.

Further, the present invention can be applied even to a dehumidified air generator that does not satisfy the above conditions 1) to 5).

When the above condition 3) is satisfied, that is, when the cooling process is performed using dry air, a part of the dehumidified air may be returned using the pressure of the drying air blower. A blower may be provided exclusively for recycling cooling air.

An electric motor for rotating the adsorption tower may be used as a power means for synchronously rotating the rotor of the slide valve composed of the rotor and the stator, or a power source other than the electric motor may be used. A pipe used as a gas flow path can be used for a part or most of the support of the adsorption tower.

In particular, in the case of a system equipped with two adsorption towers, in order to prevent waste of dry air used in the cooling step, the adsorption tower is moved to the adsorption tower after the time required for the cooling step has passed (after the cooling step is completed). It is preferable to provide means for cutting off the introduction of the dry air. Such means includes, for example, forming an extra opening in the stator.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, the dehumidified air generator of the present invention, which is generally designated by reference numeral 10, comprises three adsorption towers 12, 14, 16 which are cylindrical gauges arranged vertically. This adsorption tower 12, 14,
16 are placed on the flat plates 18, 20, and 22, respectively, and the flat plate 1
8, 20, 22 are attached to a support 24. The support 24 is composed of a U-shaped portion 26 and rotating shaft portions 28 and 30.

Above the three adsorption towers 12, 14, 16 there is provided a rotor 32 and a fixed stator 34 facing the rotor 32, while below the adsorption towers 12, 14, 16 as well. A rotor 36 and a stator 38 are provided. Flexible gas passages 40, 42, 44 are connected to the lower stator 38, and the gas passage 4 is connected to the rotor 36 facing the stator 38.
6, 48, 50 are connected. The other end of the gas flow path 46 is connected to the inlet / outlet part 52 provided in the upper part of the adsorption tower 12, and the other end of the gas flow path 48 is connected to the inlet / outlet part 54 of the adsorption tower 14.
The other end of the gas flow path 50 is connected to the entrance / exit portion 56 of the adsorption tower 16. On the other hand, in the upper rotor 32, gas flow paths 58, 6
0 and 62 are connected. The other end of the gas flow path 58 is an inlet / outlet portion (inlet or outlet) provided in the lower part of the adsorption tower 12.
64, and the other end of the gas flow path 60 is at the entrance and exit of the adsorption tower 14.
The gas flow path 62 is connected to the inlet / outlet portion 68 of the adsorption tower 16. The gas passages 70, 72, 74 are connected to the stator 34 facing the rotor 32. The gas flow paths (40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 5 in FIG.
0, 58, 60, 62, 70, 72, 74) are not limited to flexible ones.

In FIG. 1, provided below the rotary shaft portion 30 of the support 24 is an installation base 76.

The flow of air, the arrangement of gas passages, and the operation of the dehumidified air generator 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. In FIG. 2, the adsorption tower 12 is in the adsorption step, the adsorption tower 14 is in the cooling step, and the adsorption tower 16 is in the desorption step in the illustrated state.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 78 indicates a hopper for drying the wet plastic with dehumidified air and supplying the desiccant plastic to a plastic molding machine (not shown).
The moist air discharged from the outlet 80 of the hopper 78 is a gas flow path.
It flows in 82 and reaches the blower 88 through the filter 84 and the cooler 86. The cooler 86 is provided based on the fact that when dehumidifying humid air, the lower the temperature, the better the hygroscopicity. Here, the order of the filter 84 and the cooler 86 may be exchanged. The discharge side of the blower 88 is connected to the gas passage 40, and this gas passage 40 is connected to the stator 38 as described above. In this embodiment, the stator 38 is the third
As shown in the figure, it is configured as a disk having three openings 40A, 42C, 44D. Rotor facing stator 38
The 36 also has a similar configuration, and is not shown.

As described above, the rotor 36 and the stator 38 constitute a so-called sliding valve, and the opening 40A of the stator 38 to which the gas flow path 40 is connected has an opening of the rotor 36 which is opposed to the rotor 36 while being sealed in a flow-tight manner. (Not shown), so that in the embodiment of FIG.
It is gas-tightly sealed and connected to the gas flow path 46 via 36. Similarly, in FIG. 2, the gas passage 42 is connected to the gas passage 48, and the gas passage 44 is connected to the gas passage 50.

The gas flow path 46, which is connected to the gas flow path 40 via the stator 38 and the rotor 36, is connected to the inlet / outlet portion 52 of the adsorption tower 12. Here, the adsorption tower 12 is provided with an adsorbent bed 90, and the adsorbent bed 90 has a cross-sectional area that satisfies the above condition 4) and a thickness that satisfies the condition 5). Similarly, the adsorption tower 14 includes the adsorbent bed 92, and the adsorption tower 16 includes the adsorbent bed 94.

The moist air flowing in the gas flow path 46 is adsorbent bed 90.
The air that has been dehumidified and dried when passing through the flow path flows through the inlet / outlet part 64 in the gas flow path 58 and reaches the rotor 32.
The rotor 32 and the stator 34 form a slide valve in a gas-tightly sealed state like the rotor 36 and the stator 38, and the dried air flows into the gas passage 70 without leaking to the outside. Inflow. The gas flow path 70 is connected to a dry air inlet 98 formed in the hopper 78, and the dry air flowing out from the inlet 98 into the hopper 78 is (60 ° C.
170 ° C) Dry the wet plastic put in from the inlet 100 to form moist air, and the gas flow path from the outlet 80 again.
Inflow into 82. Then, the dried plastic is supplied to a plastic molding machine (not shown) through the outlet 120. The gas flow path 70 connected to the stator 34 branches into a gas flow path 104 on the way, and the gas flow path 104 is connected to the gas flow path 42 by a connecting means (not shown). As a result, a part of the dry air dehumidified by the adsorption tower 12 flows through the gas passage 42, the stator 38, and the rotor 36 and is supplied to the adsorption tower 14, and is desorbed by the heated air. The subsequent adsorption tower 14 is cooled.

The air (dry air) flowing out from the adsorption tower 14 is a gas flow path 6
The gas flow passage 72 flows through the 0, the rotor 32, and the stator 34, and the gas flow passage 72 merges with the gas flow passage 82.
Here, instead of joining the gas channel 72 with the gas channel 82,
It is also possible to join the gas flow path 70 through the gas flow path 73 shown by the dotted line in FIG.

In the desorption process, first, the atmosphere is sucked through the filter 106 and sent to the gas flow path 74 through the gas flow path 108 and the blower 110. The air flowing in the gas flow path 74 is heated by the heater 114, flows in the gas flow path 62 via the stator 34 and the rotor 32 (250 ° C. to 300 ° C.), and flows in the adsorption tower 16 from the inlet / outlet part 68. The adsorbent bed 94 that has undergone the adsorption process for a predetermined amount or for a predetermined amount of time is desorbed. The desorbed heated air flows out of the adsorption tower 16 through the inlet / outlet portion 56, and the gas passage
The gas is discharged from the gas flow path 44 into the atmosphere through the rotor 50, the rotor 36, and the stator 38.

Here, considering that the time required for the desorption process is much shorter than the time required for performing the adsorption process to the level at which the adsorbent performing the adsorption process requires desorption, the adsorbent bed is sufficiently desorbed. A sensor 116 for detecting that the sensor 116 has been operated is provided in the gas flow path 44, and the signal of the sensor 116 is supplied to the line 118,
The blower 110 and the heater 114 can be transmitted via 120 to stop the operation. With this configuration, energy consumption of the blower 110 and the heater 114 can be saved.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, when the adsorbent bed 90 of the adsorption tower 12 is in a state where desorption is required, the adsorption towers 12, 14,
The strokes of the adsorption towers 12, 14 and 16 may be switched by rotating the 16, rotors 32 and 36 and the support 24 (FIG. 1). Referring again to FIG. 1, the adsorption tower is driven by a driving means such as a reduction motor.
If the rotors 12, 14, 16 and the rotors 32, 36 and the support 24 are rotated about the Z axis, that is, a straight line connecting the centers of the rotation shaft portions 28 and 30 of the support 24, the adsorption towers 12, 14, 16 and rotor 32, 36
Rotate synchronously with the Z axis as the axis of rotation, and the gas flow paths 46, 48, 5
0, 52, 54 and 56 also rotate around the Z axis without changing their relative positions with respect to the adsorption tower and the rotor. The combined position of the rotor and the stator is changed. For example, in FIG. 2, the gas flow paths 40 and 48 are connected via the stator 38 and the rotor 36, and the gas flow paths 60 and 70 are connected to the rotor 32 and the stator 34. If the adsorption tower 14 is connected via the cooling tower, the adsorption tower 14 is switched from the cooling stroke to the desorption stroke. In this case, the gas flow path 44
And 46 and the gas channels 58 and 74 are connected, the adsorption tower 12 is switched from the adsorption process to the desorption process, and the gas channels 42 and 50 are connected and the gas channels 62 and 72 are connected. Then, the adsorption tower 16 is switched from the desorption process to the cooling process.

Thereafter, in the same manner, each adsorption tower can repeat the cycle of each process of adsorption → desorption → cooling.

Here, in FIG. 1, the weights of the adsorption tower and the gas flow path are all loaded on the support 24, particularly the rotary shaft portion 30, and the base 76, and are not loaded on the rotor 36 and the stator 38. . Therefore, the rotor 36 and the stator 38 can be formed with a relatively small size, and the sealing property of the slide valve constituted by both can be improved.

Further, as can be understood from FIG. 1, the installation area of the dehumidified air generator 10 shown in the figure is reduced to the horizontal plane projected area of one adsorption tower, and the installation space is greatly reduced. .

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 4, the same members as those in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, two adsorption towers I and II are provided. The stator 38 is formed with four openings 122, 124, 126, 128.
Two openings 130 and 132 are formed in 36. Rotor
A gas passage 134 communicating with the adsorption tower I is connected to the opening 130 of 36, and a gas passage 136 communicating with the adsorption tower II is connected to the other opening 132. Adsorption towers I and II
Is further connected to the gas flow paths 138 and 140, respectively,
The gas flow paths 138 and 140 are connected to the openings 142 and 144 of the rotor 32, respectively. The stator 34 fixed to face the rotor 32 has four openings 146, 148, 15
0 and 152 are provided.

Here, the gas flow paths 40 for supplying the moist air to be dehumidified are connected to the openings 122 and 124 of the stator 38, respectively, and the gas for supplying the dry air used in the cooling process to the openings 126. The flow path 42 is connected to the opening 12
Reference numeral 8 is connected to the gas passage 44 for releasing the heated air used in the desorption process to the atmosphere. And the stator
The openings 146 and 148 of 34 are respectively connected to the gas flow path 70 that supplies dry air to the hopper, and the opening 150 is a gas flow path that joins the dry air used in the cooling process to the gas flow path 82. The opening 152 is connected to the gas flow path 74 for supplying the heated air used in the desorption process.

In this example, one adsorption tower performs the adsorption stroke,
The other adsorption tower performs either a desorption process or a cooling process.

In order to perform the adsorption stroke in the adsorption tower I, the opening 130 of the rotor 36 is made to face any one of the openings 122, 124 of the stator 38, and the opening 142 of the rotor 32 is made the opening 146 of the stator 34. Any one of 148 may be opposed.

In order to perform the desorption process on the adsorption tower I, the combination position of the rotor and the stator is changed so that the opening of the rotor 36 is changed.
130 and the opening 128 of the stator 38 may face each other, and the opening 142 of the rotor 32 and the opening 152 of the stator 34 may face each other.

When the adsorption tower I is to be further cooled, the opening 130 of the rotor 36 is opposed to the opening 126 of the stator 38,
Moreover, the opening 142 of the rotor 32 may be opposed to the opening 150 of the stator 34.

Similarly, if you change the combined position of the rotor and stator,
The cycle of each process of adsorption → desorption → cooling of the adsorption tower II can be repeated. The adsorption towers I and II are preferably cycled, for example, in the order shown in FIG. 5, in which the right process is performed after the left process in FIG.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a third embodiment of the present invention, which is equipped with four adsorption towers I ⁻ , II ⁻ , III ⁻ , IV ⁻ , and the rotors 34, 36 each have four openings. Division (184, 186, 18
8, 190 and 160, 162, 164, 166), and their openings and adsorption towers are connected to gas flow paths 168, 170, 172, 174,
176, 178, 180, 182 are connected. And the combination position of the rotor and the stator, each of the adsorption columns ^{I -, II -, III -} , I
As shown in FIG. 7, V ⁻ repeats the cycle of adsorption process → desorption process → cooling process. The operation thereof is almost the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment, so that the detailed description will be omitted.

FIG. 8 (FIGS. 8A to 8F) FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are FIG. 4 and FIG.
This is an embodiment of the present invention equipped with two adsorption towers as in the figure, but with further improvements. In this example,
Only one set of the switching mechanism, that is, the rotor 232 and the stator 234 facing the rotor 232 is provided below the adsorption towers I and II. By doing so, the two adsorption tower rotors 23
It is possible to adopt a simple cantilever structure in which a supporting tool for supporting and rotating 2, 234 and the like is provided only on the lower side, and the structure above the adsorption towers I and II can be simplified. That is, components such as the rotating shaft portion 28, the stator 32, the rotor 34, etc. above the adsorption tower 12 in the embodiment of FIG. As a result, the height of the entire device can be reduced.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, it is possible to combine the required two sets of rotor / stator into one set by combining the rotor 232 of FIG. 8A and the stator 234 of FIG. 8B. become.

The rotor 232 shown in FIG. 8A is formed with four openings, and a total of four openings are connected to the inlet and outlet of the two adsorption towers.
The gas passage of the book is connected to this. In FIG. 8A, the symbol U represents the upper inlet / outlet portion of the adsorption tower, and the symbol L represents the lower inlet / outlet portion of the adsorption tower. I and II respectively show the adsorption towers as in FIGS.

FIG. 8B shows a stator 234 having eight openings formed therein. The symbols A, D and C of the openings are the same as the definitions shown in FIG. Since one adsorption tower is used for the adsorption process in two stages, it was distinguished by A1 and A2. i
Represents the inflow direction of gas, and o represents the exit direction of gas. A1i and A2i are the same as those of A1o and
A2o is connected to the gas flow path 70. Then, Di is connected to the gas flow channel 74, Do is connected to the gas flow channel 44, and Ci is the gas flow channel 42.
In addition, Co is connected to the gas flow path 72.

The rotor 232 shown in FIG. 8A and the stator 242 shown in FIG. 8B are combined and provided in the lower part of the adsorption tower as seen from above for each step in FIGS. 8C to 8F. At 4 positions, each step as one cycle in FIG. 5 is achieved. The arrows in each of FIGS. 8C to 8F schematically show the rotation direction and angle of the rotor up to the illustrated step.

In addition to the combination shown in FIGS. 8A to 8F, the openings of the rotor 232 and the stator 234 may be arranged in combination as shown in FIG.

The set of rotor 232 and stator 234 shown in FIG.
Can be provided not only below the plurality of adsorption towers but also above them. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an apparatus using the rotor 232 and the stator 234. The same members as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. The same members as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. Since the structure and operation of these are as described above, detailed description will be omitted.

In the above description, the upper side and the lower side of the adsorbent bed of the adsorption tower are indicated by U and L, respectively, but the gas passing through the adsorbent is not limited to the vertical direction as described above. This also applies to the system having three adsorption towers.

Next, also in the embodiment provided with three adsorption towers shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the rotor / stator combination is provided only above or below the plurality of adsorption towers. Is beneficial. The means for that will be described below.

FIG. 10A shows the rotor 332 and FIG. 10B shows the stator 334. The definition of the symbols in the figure is the same as in the case of the embodiment of FIG. Since there are three adsorption towers here, they are shown in "II
The symbol "I" is added.

The rotor 332 of FIG. 10A and the stator 334 of FIG. 10B are combined, and the state of each step is seen from above in FIGS. 10C to 10E. These three positions correspond to each step of one cycle. It is shown. The arrows in each of FIGS. 10C to 10E schematically show the rotation direction and angle of the rotor before reaching the illustrated steps.

In the system provided with three adsorption towers or the system provided with four adsorption towers, the apparatus height is considerably high. Therefore, the system including only one set of rotor and stator can deal with the problem that the device height becomes too high.

Comparing the system equipped with three adsorption towers with the system equipped with two adsorption towers, in the latter one adsorption tower is performing desorption and cooling while the other adsorption tower is performing desorption and cooling. It is necessary to perform two steps, and since it is an intermittent operation, it is required to increase the capacity of desorption equipment (for example, desorption heater and blower). On the other hand, in the three-adsorption tower system, the desorption and cooling processes are always operated at the same time as the adsorption process, so that the desorption equipment capacity (electric heater equipment, blower capacity, etc.) is halved compared to the method equipped with two adsorption towers. Due to the importance of these practical industrial merits, a system equipped with three adsorption towers is useful for large-scale equipment.

Although the attached drawings show three adsorption towers, two adsorption towers, and four adsorption towers, the technique of the present invention is applied even when the number of adsorption towers is larger. Add that you can.

[Advantage of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the dehumidified air is generated by vertically arranging the adsorption tower and bringing the vertical axis penetrating the center of the adsorption tower to the rotation center of the adsorption tower. It is possible to satisfy all the above operating conditions 1) to 5) of the apparatus and to reduce the installation space. The drive shaft (rotary shaft) penetrates the center of the slide valve on the side where the drive unit for rotating the adsorption tower such as the deceleration motor is provided, but the stator side is independent of the rotary shaft. Further, since the total adsorption tower load is received by the drive shaft and is not a force received by the rotor of the valve, the rotor side only needs to have mechanical strength as a slide valve. It is sufficient that they are connected with each other with sufficient strength to transmit the required rotational force. Along with this, the rotor and the stator can be downsized to improve the sealing performance of the slide valve constituted by the both. Further, it becomes possible to perform the cooling step by the desorbed air, and the amount of water that can be adsorbed can be doubled as compared with the case where the outside air is cooled and used.

Further, the tower can be removed and maintenance can be easily performed regardless of the positions of the stator and the rotor.

Moreover, it has the advantage that the air path can be freely designed.

In addition, if one set of the rotor and the stator is provided above or below the plurality of adsorption towers, the structure on the side where the rotor and the stator are not provided can be simplified, and the entire apparatus can be provided. Since the height of the space is reduced, it meets the demand for space saving.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an air flow in the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a stator used in the first embodiment. ,
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a table showing a cycle for explaining the cycle of the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention. 7 is the third
8A is a plan view of a rotor used in a fourth embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8B is a plan view of the same stator, FIG. 8C, FIG. 8D, and FIG. Figure 8E, No.
FIG. 8F is a plan view showing a state in which the rotor of FIG. 8A and the stator of FIG. 8B are combined, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the rotor and stator combined in a manner different from those of FIGS. 8C to 8F. FIG. 10A is a plan view of a rotor used in the fifth embodiment of the present invention,
Similarly, FIG. 10B is a plan view of the stator, FIG. 10C, FIG. 10D,
FIG. 10E is a plan view showing a state in which the rotor of FIG. 10A and the stator of FIG. 10B are combined, FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the fourth embodiment. Is. 10 ...... dehumidified air generator, 12,14,16, I, II, I -, II
^-, III ^-, IV ^- ...... adsorption tower, 24 ...... support, 32,36,23
2,332 …… Rotor, 34,38,234,334 …… Stator, 9
0,92,94 …… Adsorbent bed, Z …… Rotary axis

Claims (5)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A plurality of adsorption towers each having an adsorbent bed and rotatably arranged at the same time, wherein the plurality of adsorption towers include rotors that rotate in synchronization with the adsorption towers when the adsorption towers rotate. A stator fixed at a position facing the rotor is provided, a gas passage from each adsorption tower is connected to the rotor, and a flexible gas passage is connected to the stator. In a dehumidified air generator that uses an adsorbent that forms a switching valve with a rotor and a stator, the vertical positions of a plurality of adsorption towers are different, and the adsorption towers are projected on the same horizontal plane. At least some of the projected figures are overlapped with each other, and each adsorption tower is attached to a support that is rotatable about a straight line that extends vertically through the adsorbent bed of at least one adsorption tower. Rotor The rotor rotates about an axis that substantially coincides with the rotation axis, and the rotor is located closer to the adsorption tower than the stator, and each of the openings formed in the rotor is formed by a gas flow path. It is connected to the inlet or outlet of the corresponding adsorption tower, and the rotor rotates in synchronization with the adsorption tower to change the combined position of the rotor and the stator, so that each adsorption / regeneration stroke of the adsorption tower can be switched. A dehumidified air generator using an adsorbent characterized by being performed. 2. The adsorbent according to claim 1, wherein the gas flow passages connecting the respective joint ports of the rotor and the inlets or outlets of the adsorption towers are eccentrically arranged on one side surface of the adsorption towers. Dehumidifying air generator. 3. The adsorbent according to claim 1, wherein a set of rotor and stator is provided on either the upper side or the lower side of the plurality of adsorption towers. Dehumidifying air generator. 4. A dehumidification using an adsorbent according to claim 3, wherein the adsorbent has two adsorption towers, the rotor has four openings, and the stator has eight openings. Air generator. 5. An adsorption tower comprising three adsorption towers, wherein each of the rotor and the stator has six openings.
A dehumidified air generator using the adsorbent described.