KR20040003796A - Cooling and Heating Device Using Hydrogen Storage Alloys - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A heating and cooling device using hydrogen storage alloys is provided to reduce flow resistance and noise by preventing a flow-boundary layer from being formed. CONSTITUTION: A heating and cooling device using hydrogen storage alloys comprises a housing(10) having air suction passages(11,12) for sucking in air from the outside, and indoor and outdoor exhaust passages(13,14) for guiding the heat-exchanged air to the room and to the outside; a pair of reactors(20,25) oppositely installed to the air suction passages inside the housing and filed with hydrogen storage; a switching plate(43) rotatably installed between the reactors, to separably guide the air passing through the reactors to the indoor and outdoor exhaust passages; a rotating unit to reciprocally rotate the switching plate within a predetermined angle range; indoor and outdoor blowing units(30,35) forcibly sucking in external air through the air suction passages and forcibly sending the air to the indoor and outdoor exhaust passages through each reactor; a hydrogen passage pipe(50) connected with the reactor; a pumping unit(60) connected to the hydrogen passage pipe to generate the forced sending force for forcibly sending hydrogen from one reactor to the other reactor; and a directional control valve(70) installed to the hydrogen passage pipe to control the forced sending direction of hydrogen.

Description

Cooling and Heating Device Using Hydrogen Storage Alloys

The present invention relates to a cooling and heating device, and in particular, cooling or heating the surrounding air by using endothermic or exothermic correlations between a reaction between hydrogen and a hydrogen storage alloy to generate cold or warm air, thereby eliminating the need for an outdoor unit. It is intended to provide a device.

In general, hydrogen storage alloys have an exothermic reaction when hydrogen is adsorbed, an endothermic reaction when hydrogen is released, and a heat pump (Hydrogen Storage Alloy) has a large capacity for storing hydrogen. It is known to be used in applications such as heat pumps and hydrogen storage devices.

However, in the related art, the air-conditioning device can be implemented using the above-described hydrogen storage alloy, but it is merely presented conceptually, and no specific system has been implemented in consideration of the characteristics of the hydrogen storage alloy.

In particular, in order to implement a heating and cooling device using a hydrogen storage alloy, although the efficiency of the cooling and heating device should be at least the same as the efficiency of the heating and cooling device using the existing refrigerant, there is no study on the correlation or arrangement of various components accordingly. It has not been put to practical use because it has not been achieved.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, to provide a cooling and heating device that can simplify the overall system by applying a technology using a hydrogen storage alloy to the air-conditioning device to perform a conventional cooling and heating function. will be.

Particularly, the present invention provides a hydrogen storage alloy that can reduce flow resistance and reduce noise by preventing the formation of a flow boundary layer of air that is sucked into the apparatus during operation of the air conditioning and heating system to which the hydrogen storage alloy is applied. The purpose is to provide a heating and cooling device.

1 is a main cross-sectional view schematically showing a heating and cooling device according to the present invention

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing main parts of a state in which the damper of FIG. 1 is switched. FIG.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the switching plate of the heating and cooling device of Figure 1

4 is a plan view of the switching plate of FIG.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10 housing 11, 12 air intake duct

13: indoor exhaust duct 14: outdoor exhaust duct

20, 25: 1st and 2nd reactor 30: Indoor blower fan

35: outdoor blower fan 40: damper

41: motor 42: rotating shaft

43: switching plate 44: irregularities

50: hydrogen flow path tube 60: pumping unit

70: directional control valve

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, an air intake passage for sucking air from the outside, an indoor exhaust passage for guiding the heat exchanged air to the interior, and an outdoor exhaust passage for guiding the heat exchanged air to the outdoors A housing having a; A pair of reactors installed opposite to the air suction passage in the housing and filled with a hydrogen storage alloy therein; Rotatingly installed around the central axis between the reactors to separate the air passing through each reactor toward the indoor exhaust passage and the outdoor exhaust passage, respectively, bent in a 'S' shape symmetrically on both surfaces A switch plate having a plate shape in which uneven parts are continuously formed; Rotating means for reciprocating the switching plate within a predetermined angle range; Indoor blowing means and outdoor blowing means for forcibly drawing outside air through the air suction passage and forcibly blowing air toward the indoor exhaust passage and the outdoor exhaust passage through each reactor; A hydrogen flow path tube connected to each of the reactors and through which hydrogen flows; A pumping unit connected to the hydrogen flow path tube to generate a pressure force for forcibly feeding hydrogen from one reactor to the other reactor; Provided is a cooling and heating device using a hydrogen storage alloy, which is installed in the hydrogen flow path tube and includes a direction control valve for controlling a pressure feeding direction of hydrogen.

Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 as follows.

As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the air intake ducts 11 and 12, which form a passage through which air is sucked from the outside, are formed in the housing 10 constituting the external shape of the air conditioner, and the air suction is provided. The indoor side exhaust duct 13 and the outdoor side exhaust duct 14 for guiding and discharging the air introduced and exchanged through the ducts 11 and 12 to the indoor side and the outdoor side are formed to face each other.

The first and second reactors 20 and 25, which heat-exchange the air introduced through the air intake ducts 11 and 12, face the air intake ducts 11 and 12 in the housing 10. Although not shown in detail in the drawings, the first and second reactors 20 and 25 are formed of a container filled with a hydrogen storage alloy and a heat exchange fin contacting the container to expand a heat exchange area with outside air. When the inflow of hydrogen is made, an exothermic reaction heats the surrounding air, and when the hydrogen is released, the endothermic reaction serves to cool the surrounding air.

Both ends of the first and second reactors 20 and 25 are fixed to a pair of supports 81, 82, 83, 84 fixedly installed at the outlet side of the air suction ducts 11, 12.

In addition, hydrogen flow path pipes 50 through which hydrogen flows are connected to the first and second reactors 20 and 25, and respective reactors 20 and 25 are directional control valves 70 connected to the hydrogen flow path pipes. It is configured to be connected to the pumping unit 60 for generating a pressure force for pumping hydrogen through the medium, the directional control valve 70 is configured to switch the flow path electrically, the hydrogen flow path pipe 50 It acts to selectively transport hydrogen flowing in from one reactor (20, 25) to another reactor (25, 20).

Therefore, when the pumping unit 80 generates a pressure force, hydrogen in each reactor 20 and 25 flows in one direction along the hydrogen flow path tube 50 under the control of the directional control valve 70. .

The pumping unit 60 may be configured using a conventional pump or compressor, but is not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, in the space between the first reactor 20 and the second reactor 25, the air passing through the first and second reactors 20 and 25 does not mix with each other, but the indoor exhaust duct 13 and the outdoor side do not mix with each other. A damper 40 is disposed to flow to the exhaust duct 14 to be separated, and the indoor blower fan 30 is disposed on the indoor exhaust duct 13 and the outdoor exhaust duct 14 around the damper 40. And a fan motor 31 for driving the same, an outdoor blower fan 35, and a fan motor 36 for driving the fan are installed, respectively. The indoor blower fan 30 and the outdoor blower fan ( 35 forcibly sucks outside air through the air suction ducts 11 and 12 to force the indoor exhaust duct 13 and the outdoor exhaust duct 14 through the first and second reactors 20 and 25. It acts as a blower.

The damper 40 rotates with respect to the center between the reactors 20 and 25, and the indoor exhaust duct 13 and the outdoor exhaust duct in the direction of flow of air sucked through the reactors 20 and 25. A switching plate 43 which is separated and guided by 14, a rotation shaft 42 integrally formed at the center of the switching plate 43, and an upper end of the rotation shaft 42 at the upper or lower portion of the housing 10; Or it is configured to include a motor 41 is axially coupled to the lower end to reciprocally rotate the switching plate 43 within a predetermined angle range.

Here, the switch plate 43 is formed in the form of a plate in which the concave-convex portion 44 bent in a substantially 'S' shape as shown in FIGS. When the air introduced through the colliding plate 43 hits the switching plate 43, the flow boundary layer of the air is broken by its uneven portion 44, the frictional force of the air is reduced and vortex formation is suppressed.

The switch plate 43 is made of an insulating material so that heat exchange does not occur between the air passing through the first reactor 20 and the air passed through the second reactor 25, or two switch plates having the same shape as described above. The insulation can be filled in between.

In addition, the entire height of the switching plate 43 has a height such that spaces between the reactors 20 and 25 are not in communication with each other, and are preferably formed to be substantially the same as the internal height of the housing 10 to be heat exchanged. Make sure that mixing between the air is prevented.

If the space in which the respective reactors 20 and 25 are provided, the space in which the dampers 40 are installed, and the space in which the blowing fans 30 and 35 are installed, are separated from each other in the housing 10. When a separate frame is constructed, the height of the switching plate 43 is formed to be substantially the same as the height inside the frame.

On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment of the heating and cooling device has been described as the concave-convex portion 44 bent in the 'S' shape on the switch plate 43, but unlike the symmetrically convex projections on both sides of the switch plate It can also be formed to improve the flow characteristics of the intake air.

The heating and cooling device configured as described above operates as follows.

During the cooling operation of the air conditioner, as shown in FIG. 1, when the pumping unit 60 is driven by the control of a controller (not shown) of the air conditioner, the inside of the hydrogen flow path tube 50 is connected to the pumping unit ( According to the operation of 60, a pressure force for pumping hydrogen is generated, and thus, hydrogen is transferred from one reactor to another, such as the first reactor 20 and the second reactor 25.

The first reactor 20 in which hydrogen is released is endothermic to cool the surrounding air, and the second reactor 25 in which hydrogen is introduced is exothermic to heat the surrounding air.

At the same time, the indoor blower fan 30 and the outdoor blower fan 35 operate to introduce external air through the air suction ducts 11 and 12 to generate heat exchange with each of the reactors 20 and 25. The outside air sucked toward the 20 is cooled and blown to the indoor exhaust duct 13 under the guidance of the switching plate 43 of the damper 40 to discharge cold air into the room, and toward the second reactor 25. The sucked outside air is heated and blown toward the outdoor side exhaust duct 14 under the guidance of the switching plate 43 of the damper 40 and discharged to the outside.

At this time, as described above, the heat-exchanged air introduced through each of the reactors 20 and 25 and guided by the switching plate 43 has a curved surface of the switching plate 43. Since the flow boundary layer is broken, the velocity gradient does not occur on the surface of the switching plate 43, so that the air frictional force is reduced and the noise is reduced.

When all of the hydrogen in the first reactor 20 is moved to the second reactor 25, as shown in FIG. 2, the direction of the hydrogen pumping direction is reversed while switching the direction control valve 70 from the second reactor 25. As the hydrogen moves to the first reactor 20, the switching plate 43 is rotated about the rotation shaft 42 to be switched by the operation of the motor 41 of the damper 40 to convert the flow path.

As a result, the second reactor 25 undergoes an endothermic reaction, and the first reactor 20 exotherms.

Then, the air sucked through the second reactor 25 is cooled and discharged to the indoor exhaust duct 13 under the guidance of the switching plate 43 of the damper 40 that is switched, and the first reactor 20. The air sucked through) is heated and discharged to the outside through the outdoor exhaust duct 14 under the guidance of the switching plate 43 of the damper 40.

The air conditioning and heating apparatus repeats the above process continuously until the room reaches a desired cooling temperature.

When the heating operation is to be performed by the air conditioning and heating device of the present invention, the air passing through the exothermic reactor is guided to the indoor exhaust duct 13, and the air passing through the endothermic reaction is the outdoor exhaust duct. The switching plate 43 of the damper 40 may be switched to be guided to (14), and thus the heating operation of the air conditioning apparatus will be fully understood by the above-described cooling operation, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, the heating and cooling device of the present invention has the effect that the size of the overall system does not need to be enlarged in proportion to the size of the reactor, even if each reactor of the cooling and heating device to which the technique of the hydrogen storage alloy is enlarged.

In particular, since the uneven portion is formed on the surface of the switching plate of the damper for guiding the air flowing through heat exchange, the boundary layer of the flow air hitting the switching plate is broken, and the air frictional force is reduced and the noise is also reduced. .

Claims (5)

A housing having an air intake passage for sucking air from the outside, an indoor exhaust passage for guiding the heat exchanged air to the interior, and an outdoor exhaust passage for guiding the heat exchanged air to the outside; A pair of reactors installed opposite to the air suction passage in the housing and filled with a hydrogen storage alloy therein; A plate-shaped switching plate installed rotatably around its central axis between the reactors to separate and direct air passing through each reactor toward the indoor exhaust channel and the outdoor exhaust channel, respectively, and having irregularities formed on both surfaces thereof; Rotating means for reciprocating the switching plate within a predetermined angle range; Indoor blowing means and outdoor blowing means for forcibly drawing outside air through the air suction passage and forcibly blowing air toward the indoor exhaust passage and the outdoor exhaust passage through each reactor; A hydrogen flow path tube connected to each of the reactors and through which hydrogen flows; A pumping unit connected to the hydrogen flow path tube to generate a pressure force for forcibly feeding hydrogen from one reactor to the other reactor; Cooling and heating device using a hydrogen storage alloy is provided in the hydrogen flow path pipe and comprises a direction control valve for controlling the pressure feeding direction of hydrogen. The heating and cooling device using a hydrogen storage alloy according to claim 1, wherein the uneven portion of the switching plate is formed in a plurality of 'S' shape continuously and repeatedly. According to claim 1, wherein the concave-convex portion of the switching plate is a heating and cooling device using a hydrogen storage alloy, characterized in that formed in the embossed form convex on both sides of the switching plate. The heating and cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the switching plate is made of a heat insulating material. The heating and cooling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the switching plate is configured by an insulating material interposed between two plates of the same type.