KR20040066026A - Gas enrichment device and air conditioner utilizing same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus for enriching gas, and an air conditioning apparatus using the same are provided to reduce a noise generated in a ventilation passage due to dew condensation water, and reduce bad influence due to resistance of ventilation. CONSTITUTION: A gas enrichment unit(31) increases the concentration of a predetermined gas component of air. A decompression pump(32) delivers the gas component. A discharge port(33) discharges the gas component delivered from the decompression pump. A dew condensation water discharge facilitating element(50) is installed in a ventilation passage(40) extending from the decompression pump to the discharge port, having hydrophilic property or water repellency.

Description

GAS ENRICHMENT DEVICE AND AIR CONDITIONER UTILIZING SAME}

The present invention relates to a gas incubator having a function of increasing the concentration of a predetermined gas component and an air conditioner using the same.

Conventionally, oxygen incubators, nitrogen incubators, and the like are used for medical incubators, air conditioners, and air purifiers as devices for relatively increasing the concentration of specific gases such as oxygen and nitrogen by using an adsorbent such as a selective gas permeable membrane or a PSA method. It is used for such equipment.

For example, in order to improve the oxygen concentration, an oxygen enrichment means is installed in an outdoor unit of a separate air conditioner, the oxygen enriched air is transferred to an indoor unit through a delivery pipe, and discharged to the indoor side to release the oxygen concentration of a room to be air-conditioned. Examples of the improvement and use for the comfort of residents are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1991-75423, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1993-113227 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-39569.

On the other hand, in an oxygen enrichment operation performed using an oxygen enrichment membrane, which is one of the selective gas permeable membranes, the oxygen enrichment membrane separates nitrogen, which occupies most of the air component, from oxygen and preferentially permeates oxygen, but at the same time, moisture in the air It also has the characteristic of transmitting.

Therefore, relative to the air on the primary side flowing into the oxygen enrichment membrane, the humidity on the secondary side after passing through the oxygen enrichment membrane is relatively high as nitrogen is separated. Therefore, dew point rises compared with the air of a primary side, and condensate water is often produced in the delivery pipe of a secondary side after passing through the oxygen enrichment membrane.

For this reason, such condensation water is dissipated to the indoor unit of the air conditioner, and the room becomes wet or falls to the user, causing discomfort. In addition, when condensation water is generated in the delivery pipe, the dew condensation water freezes inside the delivery pipe so that the gas-enriched gas cannot be conveyed, or pulsation occurs in the flow of the gas in the delivery pipe, or noise is generated. This causes problems such as a bursting sound of bursting and the like. Moreover, in some cases, it may cause breeding of fungi and the like in the delivery pipe.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a gas incubator which facilitates the discharge of condensed water generated in a gas-enriched gas delivery pipe and an air conditioner using the same.

A gas enrichment unit for increasing the concentration of a predetermined gas component, a pump for discharging the gas component, a discharge port for discharging the gas component discharged from the pump, and a ventilation path from the pump to the discharge port; Condensation water discharge means is installed on the inner surface of the ventilation path.

With such a configuration, condensation water generated in the ventilation path can be prevented from remaining in the ventilation path, the blockage of the ventilation path caused by the condensation water, noise generation, etc. can be prevented, and stable operation of the gas incubator can be realized.

1 is a block diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10: outdoor unit 20: indoor unit

21 fan 31 gas incubation unit

32: decompression pump 34: main oxygen supply pipe

36: main discharge pipe 40: blower pipe

50: easy condensation water discharge means

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the Example of this invention is described using drawing. In addition, in the following example, the case where the oxygen enrichment apparatus is applied to the separate type air conditioning apparatus used for the air conditioning of a living space as a gas enrichment apparatus is demonstrated.

1 is a block diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the air conditioner is comprised from the outdoor unit 10 and the indoor unit 20, and is connected by the connection piping (not shown) so that refrigerant gas may circulate. The outdoor unit 10 has a compressor 11, a heat exchanger 12, and a fan 13, and at the same time, a gas such as a gas incubation unit 31 and a pressure reducing pump 32 at a distance of one chamber. The main constituent members of the incubator are provided. The indoor unit 20 has the fan 21 and the heat exchanger 22, and the discharge port 33 of the gas incubator is provided.

The gas incubator includes a gas enrichment unit 31 having an oxygen enrichment membrane that is a selective gas permeable membrane, a pressure reduction pump 32 for reducing the secondary side of the gas enrichment unit 31, a gas enrichment unit 31 and a pressure reduction pump. The main oxygen supply pipe 34 which connects 32 to the air flow ventilate, and the main discharge pipe 36 connected to the discharge side of the pressure reduction pump 32 are provided.

The blower pipe 40 which is a ventilation path is a pipe which connects the main discharge pipe 36 and the discharge port 33, and is piped from the outdoor unit 10 toward the inside of the indoor unit 20. As shown in FIG. In addition, part of the blower pipe 40 has a trap structure.

In such a configuration, when the decompression pump 32 is operated, outside air is sucked into the gas incubation unit 31 to pass through the oxygen enrichment membrane, and air having a high oxygen concentration passes through the main oxygen supply pipe 34 to reduce the pressure reduction pump 32. Is inhaled. In this way, the oxygen-enriched air passes through the main discharge pipe 36 and the blower pipe 40 sequentially and is discharged from the discharge port 33 into the indoor unit 20. The gas incubator is operated by this operation.

In addition, when the discharge port 33 is disposed in or near the housing of the indoor unit 20, and is disposed in the blowing circuit in the indoor unit 20, oxygen is enriched with the blowing blown out by the operation of the fan 21. Air is added and sent out from the air outlet to the indoor space. Moreover, it is preferable that the discharge port 33 has an expansion pipe part in the vicinity, and in this embodiment, the structure which made the discharge port 33 the expansion pipe part is shown.

As described above, the air after passing through the oxygen enrichment membrane is in a state in which relative humidity is high and dew point rises as nitrogen is separated, and condensation water is easily generated in the blower tube 40. In particular, in the case where the blower pipe 40 is exposed to low temperature outside air, water condensation in the pipe may be frozen.

In this invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the condensation water discharge easy means 50 is provided in the inner surface of the blower pipe 40. As shown in FIG. The condensation water discharge means 50 includes a member in which a member having a hydrophilic function or a water repellent function is inserted into an inner surface of the blower tube 40, or a hydrophilic or water-repellent coating is formed on a part of the inner surface of the blower tube 40. It can also be set as a structure to form. More preferably, a hydrophilic film or a water repellent coating may be formed on the entire inner surface of the blower tube 40, or the blower tube 40 may be made of a hydrophilic material or a water-repellent material.

In this way, when the condensation water discharging means 50 has a hydrophilic function, water condensed in the conduit of the blower tube 40 is wetted and diffused when it contacts the condensation water discharging means 50, and a water film is formed on the inner surface. It becomes difficult to make water droplets. On the other hand, when the condensation water discharging means 50 has a water repellent function, water condensed in the conduit of the blower tube 40 becomes difficult to adhere to the inner surface of the conduit of the blower tube 40 having a large surface tension. Therefore, if the droplets fall quickly in the direction of gravity, or if the droplets are small droplets, they are extruded toward the discharge port and discharged easily by the wind speed through which the oxygen-enriched air flows. In addition, condensation water storage (not shown) or the like is provided in the trap part in consideration of the case where such water drops fall in the blower pipe 40, and the drop of air does not obstruct the ventilation of oxygen-enriched air in the blower pipe 40. It is preferable to configure so that it is not.

Thus, by providing the condensation water discharge means 50 which has a hydrophilic or water-repellent function, in any case, generation | occurrence | production of the rupture sound by ventilation is suppressed without a water droplet blocking the blower pipe 40. In particular, since the gas incubation unit 31 is provided in the outdoor unit 10, even when the external temperature is low, such water droplets may freeze and close the blower tube 40. However, according to the present invention, the blower tube Such phenomenon does not occur because water droplets do not stay in (40).

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation of the gas incubator can be stably performed, and in particular, even when used for air conditioning of a living space, comfortable air conditioning can be performed without causing discomfort to the occupants.

In addition, it is preferable to arrange | position a fan (not shown) for removing the nitrogen-enriched air which stays in the primary side (atmosphere side) of the gas incubator unit 31, and to operate | move in conjunction with operation of a gas incubator. Further, the gas enrichment unit 31 is disposed in a blower circuit having a fan 13 of the outdoor unit 10, and the nitrogen enrichment air on the primary side of the gas enrichment unit 31 is removed by blowing the fan 13. You can also do that. In addition, the gas enrichment unit 31, the pressure reduction pump 32, the main oxygen supply pipe 34, and the main discharge pipe 36 may be configured as independent units, and may be configured to be mounted on the frame of the outdoor unit 10. .

In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where the gas incubator is applied to a separate type air conditioner used for air conditioning of a living space has been described. However, for example, the gas incubator may be used for a vehicle air conditioner or an integrated air conditioner. It can also be applied to a nitrogen incubator for use in maintaining freshness, such as a medical oxygen incubator, a portable oxygen incubator, a combustion apparatus oxygen incubator, and a refrigerator.

In the present embodiment, the gas enrichment unit using the oxygen enrichment membrane has been described. However, it is preferable to have a function capable of realizing oxygen enrichment such as a hollow fiber membrane, and in this case, a pressure pump instead of a pressure reducing pump. Or a blower may be used as the pump.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a gas incubator which reduces the noise caused by condensation water generated in the ventilation path leading to the discharge port and the adverse effect of the ventilation resistance in the ventilation path.

Claims (11)

In the gas incubator, A gas enrichment unit for increasing a concentration of a predetermined gas component, a pump for discharging the gas component, a discharge port for discharging the gas component discharged from the pump, and a ventilation path from the pump to the discharge port, Characterized in that the condensation water discharge means is installed in the ventilation path Gas incubator. The method of claim 1, The condensation water discharge means is characterized in that the hydrophilic film Gas incubator. The method of claim 1, The condensation water discharge means is characterized in that the water-repellent film Gas incubator. In the gas incubator, A gas enrichment unit for increasing a concentration of a predetermined gas component, a pump for discharging the gas component, a discharge port for discharging the gas component discharged from the pump, and a ventilation path from the pump to the discharge port, The ventilation path is composed of a material having either of hydrophilicity or water repellency. Gas incubator. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The gas enrichment unit is composed of an oxygen enrichment membrane that preferentially passes oxygen in air. Gas incubator. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The gas enrichment unit and the pump are arranged in an outdoor space, and the discharge port is arranged in an indoor space. Gas incubator. In the air conditioner composed of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, A gas enrichment unit for increasing the concentration of a predetermined gas component, a pump for discharging the gas component, a discharge port for discharging the gas component discharged from the pump, a ventilation path from the pump to the discharge port, and the ventilation path Has a gas incubator with an easy means to discharge condensation water on the inner surface of the The gas enrichment unit and the pump are disposed in the outdoor unit, and the discharge port is disposed in the indoor unit. Air conditioning system. The method of claim 7, wherein The condensation water discharge means is characterized in that the hydrophilic film Air conditioning system. The method of claim 7, wherein The condensation water discharge means is characterized in that the water-repellent film Air conditioning system. In the air conditioner composed of an outdoor unit and an indoor unit, A gas enrichment unit for increasing a concentration of a predetermined gas component, a pump for discharging the gas component, a discharge port for discharging the gas component discharged from the pump, and a ventilation path from the pump to the discharge port, It has a gas incubator which comprised the ventilation path from the material which has the characteristic of either hydrophilicity or water repellency, The gas enrichment unit and the pump are disposed in the outdoor unit, and the discharge port is disposed in the indoor unit. Air conditioning system. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, The gas enrichment unit is composed of an oxygen enrichment membrane that preferentially passes oxygen in air. Air conditioning system.