JPH1061978A - Humidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the lowering of humidifying performance due to stationary or aging-based changes in the amount of feed air by correcting variations in the humidifying performance caused by the state of installation. SOLUTION: In this humidifier, an adsorbent is provided in a rotary type heat exchanger 1 to let a first air flow 5 and a second air flow 6 pass and moisture in the first air flow 5 gets adsorbed on the absorbent and the first air flow 5 as dry air is discharged outdoors while the second air flow 6 heated by a heater 8 for regeneration hits the adsorbent so that the moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent is evaporated to be desorbed into the second air flow 6 thereby discharging the second air flow 6 as humidified air into a room. Pressure sensors 9 and 10 are provided to detect pressures of the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 and a microcomputer 13 is provided to correct the pressures of the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 based on outputs from the pressure sensors 9 and 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for adsorbing moisture in room air using an adsorbent, desorbing the moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent with warm air heated by a heater, and supplying the dehumidified air indoors. And a humidifying device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among conventional humidifiers which do not require water supply, a rotary dry humidifier is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-2866.
No. 34, a dry humidification method and a dry humidification device have been proposed. This takes in moisture from outdoor air and humidifies the interior of the room, and its configuration is shown in FIG.

In the dry humidifier, when outdoor air entering from a regeneration inlet, which is an inlet of an outdoor air passage, passes through a solid adsorbent 41 rotating about a tube axis as a center, moisture is adsorbed and dried. The generated air is discharged from the regeneration outlet to the outside of the room. Room air entering from a processing inlet, which is an inlet of an indoor air passage, is heated by a heater 42 and the solid adsorbent 41 is heated.
When passing through, the adsorbed moisture is desorbed (desorbed from the solid adsorbent 41 and adsorbed on the heated air), becomes high humidity air, and is returned to the room as humidified air from the processing outlet. As a method of driving the rotation of the solid adsorbent 41,
It is rotationally driven by a rotational drive motor 43.

Further, as a humidifying device for improving the humidifying efficiency by controlling the amount of air blow, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-185
No. 793 has proposed a humidity controller.

[0005] The humidity controller changes the ratio of the air volume of the air blowing means required for adsorption to the adsorbent and the air volume of the air blowing means required for desorption from the adsorbent depending on whether the room is dehumidified or humidified. Control is performed so as to use the optimal air volume for each.

[0006] As an air conditioner with a humidifying function which has been integrated with an air conditioner and a humidifying function, for example, an air conditioner described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-17343 has been proposed.

The air conditioner includes a heater for humidifying regeneration of a non-water supply type humidifier and a regeneration zone for an adsorbent inside a rotary heat exchanger, at an outlet side of a heat exchanger in an indoor air circulation path inside the indoor unit. And the indoor air preheated by the heat exchanger is heated by the humidifying and regenerating heater, and the air is circulated to the regeneration zone of the adsorbent, and the air adsorbed by the adsorbent is circulated by flowing the outdoor air. Is desorbed by heating.

[0008]

However, in the conventional dry humidifier shown in FIG. 9, the ventilation path formed between the humidifier and the indoor or outdoor air inlet or air outlet at the time of installation is individual. Steady due to the difference between the pressure loss that changes depending on the house and the pressure loss set as the design value, and the decrease in air flow due to clogging of the solid adsorbent 41 in the rotary heat exchanger and failure of the driving parts. If the blowing amount changes over time or over time, the conventional dry humidifier does not have a means for detecting the change in the blowing amount, despite the possibility that an increase in blowing sound or a decrease in humidification performance may occur. It was impossible to grasp accurately.

Further, in the conventional humidifier, since the amount of air to be used for adsorption and the ratio of the amount of air to be used for desorption and the ratio of both the amount of air are changed by the change of the amount of air to be blown, the optimum amount of air cannot be realized. Efficiency was reduced.

Furthermore, when an abnormality occurs in the humidifying device, the abnormality cannot be detected, and appropriate control cannot be performed according to the situation. Therefore, not only may the humidifying function not work properly, but also ignition may occur. -There was a danger of smoking.

The present invention corrects not only the variation in humidification performance caused by the installation condition, but also prevents a decrease in humidification performance due to a change in the amount of air blown steadily or with time. The humidification performance can be obtained efficiently and stably, and it can be used safely by appropriate control even in the event of an abnormality or failure of the device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a humidifying device capable of detecting and repairing abnormalities.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a humidifying apparatus including an adsorbent through which a first air flow and a second air flow pass, and wherein the adsorbent uses the adsorbent. The water in the first airflow is adsorbed, the first airflow that has become dry air is exhausted to the outside of the room, and the second airflow heated by the heater for regeneration is applied to the adsorbent so as to be applied to the adsorbent. A humidifier for evaporating adsorbed moisture to be desorbed into the second air flow and exhausting the second air flow, which has become humidified air, into a room,
Pressure detecting means for detecting the pressure of the air flow and the second air flow; and correcting means for correcting the pressure of the first air flow and the second air flow based on the output from the pressure detecting means. It is a feature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the humidifying apparatus according to the first aspect, the correcting means controls a rotation speed of a blower for forming the air flow. Things.

Further, a humidifying device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the humidifying device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the correcting means controls a damper for adjusting a pressure of the air flow. Is what you do.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a humidifying apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the humidifying apparatus detects an abnormality based on an output from the pressure detecting means and controls the humidifying operation. Is provided.

In addition, a humidifying apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the humidifying apparatus according to the fourth aspect, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying the abnormality. According to the above configuration, the humidifying device according to claim 1 of the present invention is configured such that the pressure detecting means for detecting the pressures of the first air flow and the second air flow, and the first humidifying device is provided based on an output from the pressure detecting means. Correction means for correcting the pressures of the air flow and the second air flow are provided, so that the air pressures of the first air flow and the second air flow can be detected. The pressure loss changes due to the difference in the ventilation path formed between the inlet and the air outlet depending on the individual house, and the air volume does not reach the designed value, or the adsorbent in the humidifier is clogged or the drive components It is possible to accurately grasp a steady or time-dependent change in the amount of air blown when the amount of air blow is reduced due to a failure. Also,
By correcting the pressure of the first airflow and the pressure of the second airflow to an appropriate value by the correction means, it is possible to correct the change in the blown air amount. Thereby, humidification performance can be ensured.

Further, in the humidifying device according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the correction means controls the number of rotations of the blower forming the air flow, the air flow of the first air flow and the second air flow is controlled. And the stability and reliability of the humidification performance can be secured.

Further, in the humidifying device according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the correcting means controls a damper for adjusting the pressure of the air flow, the two air flows are transmitted by opening and closing the damper. The air volume ratio can be corrected,
The ratio of the amount of air blown between the first air flow and the second air flow can be optimized, and the stability and reliability of the humidification performance can be secured.

In addition, the humidifier according to claim 4 of the present invention is provided with operation control means for detecting an abnormality based on the output from the pressure detection means and controlling the humidification operation. If an abnormality occurs, an abnormality can be detected and appropriate humidification operation control can be performed, so that not only can the humidification function be secured, but also dangers such as ignition and smoke can be avoided, and safety can be reduced. Can be secured.

In addition, the humidifying device according to claim 5 of the present invention is provided with a notifying means for notifying the abnormality.
When an abnormality occurs in the humidifying device, it is possible to inform the user of the abnormality, and it is not necessary to perform an excessive humidifying operation. In addition, early maintenance can reduce the cost of repairs, leading to a reduction in repair time.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A humidifying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a humidifier according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing modified examples of the humidifying device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The humidifying device has a rotary heat exchanger 1 in which an adsorbent for adsorbing moisture is formed, a large driving gear 2 is fixed to the outer periphery, and a small driving gear 3 is attached. By rotating the motor 4 for
It is rotationally driven at a slow speed such as rph.

The first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 are room air, and the air flow introduced from the room by the blower 7 is divided into two directions to become the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6. . The first air flow 5 is provided to the rotary heat exchanger 1.
When passing through the first air flow passage, moisture is adsorbed by the adsorbent to become dry air, which is discharged outside the room. Further, the second air flow 6 is heated when passing through the regeneration heater 8, and the heated air is adsorbed when passing through the second air flow passage of the rotary heat exchanger 1. Moisture is desorbed and becomes high-humidity air, which is supplied to the room again.

With such a method, dry air is exhausted from the room to the outside, and air containing moisture flows into the room from the outside by natural ventilation, so that the amount of moisture in the room increases and the humidity can be increased. Become.

The first air flow 5 is applied to the rotary heat exchanger 1
A first pressure sensor 9 is provided in the path before entering, and detects the pressure of the first airflow 5. Further, a second pressure sensor 10 is provided in a path before the second air flow 6 enters the regeneration heater 8, and the second air flow 6
Pressure is detected.

The detection contents detected by the pressure sensors 9 and 10 are read into the microcomputer 13 from the environment detection circuit 24 in the operation control device 39 described later, and the arithmetic unit 16 determines the amount of air to be blown.

In the present embodiment, the common blower 7 for forming the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 is used.
As a second embodiment, a blower 11 for forming a first air flow 5 and a blower 1 for forming a second air flow 6 as shown in FIG.
2 may be used. Although the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 are indoor air, as shown in FIG. 3, outdoor air is used as the first air flow 5 and indoor air is used as the second air flow 6 as a third embodiment. Air may be used. In this case, the first airflow 5 passing through the rotary heat exchanger 1 and the second airflow 5
The air flow 6 does not need to enter the rotary heat exchanger 1 from the same direction, and may form a counter flow. Further, the humidifying method does not need to be a rotary type, and may be a stationary type or an orthogonal type.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the operation control device 39 of the humidifier according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG.
14 are read-only memories (R
OM) stores all the operation programs. The set temperature and the like can be changed using a key switch described later. 15 is a data write memory (RAM),
The signals from the input key circuit 23 and the environment detection circuit 24 are stored in the RAM 15 through the input control units 19 and 20. 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes an operation unit for comparing data stored in the RAM and performing addition and subtraction, and 17 denotes a microcomputer 13
Is a control unit that controls the operation of each unit in the
Numerals 21 and 22 denote timers, and control units 21 and 22 for operating the respective devices according to signals taken out from the RAM 15.

The input key circuit 2 including the key switch as an external circuit of the microcomputer 13
3. Environment detection circuit 24 for detecting temperature, humidity, air pressure, etc. with sensors, temperature, mode, wind direction, air volume,
Display device 2 for displaying humidity setting, abnormality notification, etc.
5, the heater 8 for regeneration, the blowers 7, 11, 12, the motor 4 for rotational drive, the load drive circuit 26 for the humidifier for controlling the dampers 27, 28, 29, etc., the power supply circuit 30, and the reset circuit 31 are connected. Have been.

In the humidifier, the pressures of the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 are detected by the pressure sensors 9 and 10,
The detection signals from the pressure sensors 9 and 10 are stored in the RAM 15 in the operation control device 39,
The detection signal is compared with a design value (blowing amount) input in advance to the ROM 14 to determine the blowing amount. If the blowing amount is less than the design value, for example, the blowers 7, 1
If the DC power supplies 1 and 12 use a DC power supply, the power supply voltage is increased to increase the rotation speeds of the blowers 7, 11, and 12 to increase the amount of blown air. By lowering the rotation speed, the rotation speeds of the blowers 7, 11, and 12 are reduced, and the amount of air is reduced, so that control is performed to obtain an optimum amount of air.

In this case, with the humidifier shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, not only the amount of air flow but also the air flow ratio between the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 can be adjusted. Can be expected.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a humidifier according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment,
The components having the same functions as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a first damper for adjusting the amount of air blown by the first air flow 5, and reference numeral 28 denotes a second damper for adjusting the amount of air blown by the second air flow 6.

The pressures of the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 are detected by the pressure sensors 9 and 10, respectively.
0 from the RA in the operation control device 39.
When stored in M15, the arithmetic unit 16 calculates the ratio of the amount of air blown by the first air flow 5 to the amount of air blown by the second air flow 6, and the ratio of the amount of air blown is set in the ROM 14 in advance. If the ratio of the first airflow 5 is larger than the value (the ratio of the amount of blown air), the first damper 27 is closed, the second damper 28 is opened, or both are performed, so that the first airflow 5 is increased. Reduce the ratio of air flow. When the ratio of the first airflow 5 is smaller than the design value, the first damper 27 is opened, the second damper 28 is closed, or both are performed, so that the airflow of the first airflow 5 is increased. Is controlled so as to increase the ratio of the air flow and to realize the optimum air flow rate ratio.

The position where the dampers 27 and 28 are provided is as follows.
As shown in FIG. 5, it is not necessary to be between the rotary heat exchanger 1 and the air outlet, and it may be provided at any position after being divided into the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6. Further, the damper may be provided only on one of the path through which the first airflow 5 passes and the path through which the second airflow 6 passes.

In this embodiment, the common air blower 7 for forming the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 is used.
As in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a blower 11 for forming the first airflow 5 and a blower 12 for forming the second airflow 6 may be used. In addition, the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6
Is room air, but outdoor air may be used as the first air flow 5 and room air may be used as the second air flow 6 as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. In this case, the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 passing through the rotary heat exchanger 1
Does not need to enter the rotary heat exchanger 1 from the same direction, and may form a counter flow. Further, the humidifying method does not need to be a rotary type, and may be a stationary type or an orthogonal type.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a humidifying device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment,
The components having the same functions as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the drawing, reference numeral 29 is provided at a branch point between the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6, and is a common second air flow for adjusting the amount of air blown between the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6. 3 dampers.

The pressures of the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 are detected by the pressure sensors 9 and 10, respectively.
0 from the RA in the operation control device 39.
When stored in M15, the arithmetic unit 16
The ratio between the amount of air blown by the airflow 5 and the amount of air blown by the second airflow 6 is calculated, and the ratio of the amount of blown air is calculated based on a design value (ratio of the amount of blown air) previously input to the ROM 14. When the ratio is high, the third damper 29 is moved to the side of the first air flow 5 to reduce the ratio of the amount of air blown by the first air flow 5. If the ratio of the first airflow 5 is smaller than the design value, the third
The damper 29 is moved to the side of the second air flow 6 to increase the ratio of the amount of air blown by the first air flow 5. At the same time, the calculation unit 16 calculates the total amount of air flow, and the total amount
If the value is insufficient with respect to the design value (total amount of air flow) input to the OM 14 in advance, for example, if the air blower 7 uses a DC power supply, the power supply voltage is increased to increase the rotation of the air blower 7. Increase the number, increase the amount of air flow, and, if it exceeds the design value, lower the power supply voltage to lower the number of rotations of the blower 7 and reduce the amount of air blow, so that the optimum air volume ratio and air volume Humidifying operation is performed efficiently.

In the present embodiment, the common blower 7 for forming the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 is used.
As in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a blower 11 for forming the first airflow 5 and a blower 12 for forming the second airflow 6 may be used. In addition, the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6
Is room air, but outdoor air may be used as the first air flow 5 and room air may be used as the second air flow 6 as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. In this case, the first air flow 5 and the second air flow 6 passing through the rotary heat exchanger 1
Does not need to enter the rotary heat exchanger 1 from the same direction, and may form a counter flow. Further, the humidifying method does not need to be a rotary type, and may be a stationary type or an orthogonal type.

In the humidifier according to the above-described embodiment, for example, depending on the detection contents of the pressure sensors 9 and 10, for example,
If it is determined that the air flow is not detected at all, such as "no air volume is detected", the operation control device 39 may, for example, "stop all loads of the humidifier" or, for example, " By performing control such as "stopping energization", safety can be ensured, temperature rise of the humidifier can be prevented, and ignition and smoke can be prevented.

At this time, at the same time, the operation control device 39
By using the display device 25 inside to display a notification or an alarm sound to notify the user of the abnormality, the user can confirm the abnormality, and the user does not need to perform an unreasonable humidification operation. Therefore, it does not fall into a dangerous state. In addition, early maintenance can reduce the cost of repairs, leading to a reduction in repair time.

It should be noted that it is not necessary to provide a special device as a device for displaying an alarm and for generating an alarm sound, and it may be used also as another display device or an alarm sound generator. Further, as the abnormality display, not only the fact that there is an abnormality is displayed but also the content of the abnormality may be displayed to identify the cause.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an air conditioner obtained by integrating the humidifier according to the above-described embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a view showing an exhaust port of the air conditioner shown in FIG.
(A) is a perspective view near the exhaust port, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of the exhaust port in (a).

The humidifier 32 according to the embodiment described above.
Are integrated in the air conditioner indoor unit 33 as shown in FIG. 7, and dry air or ventilation air is discharged through an exhaust port 34 as shown in FIG. Figure 8
By attaching a weather cover 35 or the like as shown in FIG. In FIG. 8B,
Reference numeral 36 denotes an exhaust duct, 37 denotes a refrigerant pipe of the air conditioner, and 38 denotes a drain pipe, which are integrally formed and have a structure in which a pipe hole is shared.

As described above, by integrating the humidifying device 32 and the air conditioner indoor unit 33 according to the present embodiment, an air conditioner with a humidifying function can be realized.

Further, the humidifier 32 can be easily built in the air conditioner indoor unit 33 due to the miniaturization of the humidifier 32.
By integrating the air conditioner with the air conditioner 3, it is possible to configure an air conditioner capable of controlling the temperature and the humidity in which the control of only the temperature and the humidification with no water supply are added.

The humidifier 32 does not need to have a unit structure as shown in FIG. 7, but may be integrated with an air conditioner.

[0051]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the humidifying device described above, the pressure detecting means for detecting the pressures of the first air flow and the second air flow, and the pressure of the first air flow and the second air flow based on the output from the pressure detecting means. Since the correction means for correcting the air flow is provided, the air pressures of the first air flow and the second air flow can be detected, and the air pressure is formed from the humidifier to the indoor or outdoor air inlet or air outlet at the time of installation. When the pressure loss changes due to the different ventilation path for each house and the air volume does not reach the designed value, or when the air volume decreases due to clogging of the adsorbent in the humidifier or failure of the driving parts It is possible to accurately grasp the constant or time-dependent change in the amount of blown air. Further, by correcting the pressure of the first air flow and the pressure of the second air flow to an appropriate value by the correction means, it is possible to correct the change in the blowing amount. Thereby, humidification performance can be ensured.

Further, according to the humidifying device of the second aspect of the present invention, the correcting means controls the number of revolutions of the blower forming the air flow, so that the first air flow and the second air flow are controlled. A sufficient amount of air can be secured, and stability and reliability of the humidifying performance can be secured.

Further, according to the humidifying device of the third aspect of the present invention, since the correcting means controls the damper for adjusting the pressure of the airflow, the two airflows can be opened and closed by opening and closing the damper. Can be corrected, the ratio of the amount of air blown between the first air flow and the second air flow can be optimized, and the stability and reliability of the humidification performance can be secured.

In addition, according to the humidifying device of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the humidifying device is provided with operation control means for detecting an abnormality based on the output from the pressure detecting means and controlling the humidifying operation. If an abnormality occurs, the abnormality can be detected and appropriate humidification operation control can be performed.
Not only can the humidifying function be ensured, but also dangers such as ignition and smoking can be avoided, thus ensuring safety.

In addition, according to the humidifying device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the notifying means for notifying the abnormality is provided, so that when an abnormality occurs in the humidifying device, the abnormality is transmitted to the user. It becomes possible to perform the humidifying operation without being forced, so that a dangerous state does not occur. Also,
Early maintenance can reduce the cost of repairs, leading to shorter repair times.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a humidifying device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a humidifying device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a humidifier according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an operation control device of the humidifier according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a humidifying device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a humidifier according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an air conditioner in which the humidifying device according to the embodiment of the present invention is integrated.

8 is a diagram showing an exhaust port of the air conditioner shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a conventional humidifier.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 rotary heat exchanger 4 rotary drive motor 5 first air flow 6 second air flow 7, 11, 12 blower 8 regeneration heater 9, 10 pressure sensor (pressure detection means) 13 microcomputer (correction means) 25 display Means (notification means) 27, 28, 29 Damper 39 Operation control device (operation control means)

Claims (5)

[Claims] A first air flow that passes through the first air flow and the second air flow, and that adsorbs moisture in the first air flow, and converts the first air flow, which has become dry air, to the outside of the room. By evacuating and applying the second air flow heated by the regeneration heater to the adsorbent, moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent is evaporated to be desorbed into the second air flow, and humidification is performed. A humidifier for exhausting a second air flow that has become air into a room, comprising: a pressure detection unit configured to detect pressures of the first air flow and the second air flow; and A humidifying device, comprising: a correction unit configured to correct the pressures of the first air flow and the second air flow. 2. The humidifying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said correcting means controls a rotation speed of a blower for forming said air flow. 3. The humidifying device according to claim 1, wherein the correcting means controls a damper for adjusting a pressure of the air flow. 4. The humidifying device according to claim 1, further comprising an operation control unit that detects an abnormality based on an output from the pressure detection unit and controls a humidification operation. 5. The humidifying apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a notifying unit for notifying the abnormality.