KR20040074919A - A dehumidifier and driving method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A dehumidifier and a method for operating the same are provided to evaporate moisture from an evaporator without generating unpleasant odor, and prevent the generation and propagation of mold. CONSTITUTION: A dehumidifier(1) includes a refrigeration cycle having a compressor, a condenser(7), a decompression device, and an evaporator(6) sequentially connected by pipes. A suction port(4) sucks air by a blower(3). A blowout port(5) blows out the sucked air. The evaporator condenses vapor of the sucked air. The condenser warms the air passing the evaporator. Inside drying operation for drying the evaporator is performed by ventilating drying by the blower, and heating drying by a heating element in succession.

Description

A DEHUMIDIFIER AND DRIVING METHOD OF THE SAME}

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a dehumidifier, and more particularly to preventing the generation of odors when evaporating the water of the evaporator to prevent mold.

Prior art

In a conventional dehumidifier, the moisture attached to the evaporator and the drain pan is evaporated by a drying means every time the power switch of the dehumidifier is turned OFF in order to prevent mold generation due to moisture condensed in the evaporator (for example, Japan). See Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 20-0-283525 (see pages 2 to 3, FIGS. 2 to 3).

Drying of the moisture in the conventional dehumidifier was performed using the hot gas supplied from a heater or a compressor as a means of drying moisture by turning OFF the power switch of a dehumidifier. That is, immediately after the end of the dehumidification operation, the moisture adhering to the evaporator and the drain pan by forced heating was performed.

Therefore, even if mold generation could be prevented, a strong smell occurred due to evaporation of a large amount of moisture suddenly at the time of drying, resulting in discomfort.

In addition, there was a waste of performing a drying operation whenever the power switch of the dehumidifier is turned OFF.

Moreover, it is difficult for a general person to perform control at an appropriate time, and it is cumbersome and wasteful to perform dry operation unnecessarily.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a dehumidifier that prevents the occurrence of an unpleasant odor during drying of moisture attached to an evaporator, and also prevents the occurrence of mold and propagation.

Moreover, it aims at obtaining the dehumidifier which does drying of moisture at an appropriate time and does not perform unnecessary drying operation.

Moreover, it aims at obtaining the dehumidifier which can perform drying operation of moisture, without having to set troublesome setting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Sectional drawing which shows the whole structure of the dehumidifier of 1st Example of this invention.

2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing a refrigeration cycle of the dehumidifier of the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a control block diagram showing a control state of the dehumidifier of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a time chart showing the internal drying operation operation of water evaporation of the evaporator of the first embodiment of the present invention.

♣ Explanation of codes ♣

1: dehumidifier 2: control panel

3: blower 4: suction port

5: ejection outlet 6: evaporator

7: condenser 8: drain pan

10: temperature sensor 11: compressor

12: opening and closing valve 13: aperture device

14: bypass circuit 20: control unit

21: heater

The dehumidifier of the present invention comprises a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, an iris device, and an evaporator are sequentially connected in a ring shape, a blower, an inlet for sucking air by the blower, and a blower for blowing air sucked by the blower. In the dehumidifier which condenses the water vapor of the intake air by the blower in the evaporator, and warms and ejects the air after passing through the evaporator, the blow drying and blowing drying to blow the internal drying operation for drying the evaporator by the blower It is performed by heat drying by the heating means which follows.

First embodiment

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, based on drawing, the dehumidifier of 1st Example of this invention is demonstrated.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of the dehumidifier of the present embodiment, Figure 2 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing a refrigeration cycle of the dehumidifier, Figure 3 is a control block diagram showing the control state of the control unit, Figure 4 is an evaporator Is a time chart showing the internal drying driving behavior of moisture evaporation.

1, the dehumidifier main body 1 has the operation part 2 containing a power switch etc. on the upper surface of the main body 1, and the blower 3 is arrange | positioned at the front side of the main body 1, and the blower 3 is As a result, the indoor air is sucked from the inlet port 4 on the rear surface of the main body 1 to generate a flow of circulating air ejected from the jet port 5 on the front surface of the main body 1.

An evaporator 6 is arranged on the air intake side of the air circulation air path generated by the blower 3, a condenser 7 is arranged on the air ejecting side, and underneath the evaporator 6. A drain pan 8 is arranged which receives water droplets in which water vapor is condensed in the evaporator 6 and dripping. The drain received from the drain pan 8 is stored in the tank 9 at the bottom of the main body 1.

In the vicinity of the evaporator 6 or the discharge tube, a thermistor 10 which is a temperature sensor for detecting the tube temperature of the evaporator 6 is provided.

In addition, although the heater 21 which is a heating means is shown in FIG. 1, it does not need to carry out using the hot gas of the compressor 11 as a heating means in the heat drying of the internal drying operation mentioned later.

And they are accommodated in the body of the dehumidifier 1 as shown in FIG.

In the refrigeration cycle of FIG. 2, the refrigerant during the dehumidification operation flows in the order of the compressor 11, the condenser 7, the diaphragm device 13, and the evaporator 6, as indicated by the solid arrows. At the time of dehumidification operation, the solenoid valve 12 which is an open / close valve is closed, and a coolant does not flow through the bypass circuit 14.

In the defrost operation (defrost operation), the solenoid valve 12 is opened and the refrigerant is compressed by the compressor 11 and the bypass circuit 14 in the defrost operation (defrost operation) to remove the frost due to the frost on the evaporator. ), The evaporator 6 flows.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 20 includes a microcomputer control unit 20a, an input unit 20b, and an output unit 20c.

The input part 20b has an operation part input part which a signal from the operation part 2 inputs, a temperature sensor input part which a detection result of the thermistor 10 inputs, etc., and each input signal is input to the microcomputer control part 20a.

The output unit 20c includes a blower output unit for outputting a control signal to the blower 3, a compressor output unit for outputting a control signal to the compressor 11, a solenoid valve output unit for outputting a control signal to the solenoid valve 12, and the like. And control signals received from the microcomputer control unit 20a, respectively.

The microcomputer control unit 20a has a timer, performs calculation, judgment, and the like by the input signal from the input unit 20b, and outputs a control signal to each of the output units 20b.

Next, the dehumidification operation | movement of this dehumidifier 1 is demonstrated by FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG.

When the user turns on the power switch of the operation unit 2, the dehumidification operation starts. The compressor 11 and the blower 3 of the refrigeration cycle are driven, and the refrigerant flows from the compressor 11 to the condenser 7, the diaphragm 13, and the evaporator 6 in order to circulate the indoor air. Flow occurs. Then, while the indoor air sucked from the suction port 4 passes through the evaporator 6, water vapor in the indoor air is cooled and condensed, and drops into water droplets to the drain pan 8 below. From 8) into the tank (9). That is, indoor air is dehumidified.

On the other hand, the air dehumidified in the evaporator 6 is heated to a predetermined temperature in the condenser 7 and blown out from the jet port 5 into the room.

In addition, the refrigerant, such as, but using HFC134a, CO _2, such as any of the natural refrigerant is good.

During this dehumidification operation, when the tube temperature of the evaporator 6 detected by the thermistor 10 becomes 1 degreeC or less, for example, and this state continues more than predetermined time (for example, 40 minutes), the control part 20 will Determination of frost attached to the evaporator 6 and opening of the solenoid valve 12 from the closure changes the flow of the refrigerant in the refrigerating cycle, thereby removing frost that causes hot gas to flow from the compressor 11 to the evaporator 6. Operation (defrost operation) is performed. That is, the refrigerant from the compressor 11 flows directly to the evaporator 6, and the heat of the refrigerant is released from the evaporator 6 to remove frost.

And if the detection temperature of the thermistor 10 rises to 10 degreeC, for example, it will be judged that frost melted, and it will return to dehumidification operation again. That is, the solenoid valve 12 is closed and the refrigerant | coolant from the compressor 11 flows to the condenser 7.

Next, an internal drying operation which is a drying operation for drying the adhered moisture of the evaporator 6 will be described. The internal drying operation is performed by a combination of the blowing drying only by the blower 3 and the heating drying in which the solenoid valve 12 is opened in the defrosting operation state in the refrigerating cycle of FIG. 2.

In the time chart of the internal drying operation of FIG. 4, between t0 and t1 immediately after the dehumidification operation stops, only the blower 3 is operated to blow dry only by blowing.

The water adhering to the fin of the evaporator 3 in a large amount after the dehumidification operation promotes drainage to the drain pan 8 by using the wind pressure (without being stored in the drain pan 8). (Drainage) (9), only a small part of the water is gently evaporated by the air in the room having a higher temperature than the evaporator (3). At this time, evaporation of water is slow and generation | occurrence | production of an odor is suppressed.

Immediately after the dehumidification operation is stopped, the hot gas of the compressor 11 and the heat evaporation of the evaporator 3 by the heater 21 cause rapid evaporation of the adhered moisture, thereby releasing a large amount of odor into the room.

In one experimental example, a dehumidifier for households having a dehumidification capacity of 18 L / day is about 400 cc of water adhered to the evaporator 3 immediately after the dehumidification operation is stopped, but the amount of adhesion is increased to about 50 cc by approximately one hour of blowing. Decreased. Moreover, when the adhesion amount of moisture is 20 cc or less, even if it heat-drys, it does not feel the discomfort by an odor.

That is, although the blow drying time is about 1 hour as a target, the blow time may be shortened to, for example, 30 minutes as long as the smell is not unpleasant in the next heat drying.

Therefore, as step 1 of the internal drying operation, blow drying of only the blower 3 for a predetermined time Δt1 is performed.

In the next second step, t1 to t2, heat is supplied to the evaporator 6 by heating means in order to evaporate the less moisture by mainly draining the tank 9 by blowing between the t0 and t1. The addition is carried out by heating and drying. Specifically, the hot gas of the compressor 11 is supplied to the evaporator 6 in the defrost operation state in the refrigeration cycle. As a result, the evaporator 6 and the fins of the evaporator 6 are heated and the adhered moisture is evaporated. The bypass circuit 14 for the defrosting operation is provided as a standard in the low temperature dehumidifier, and by using this, installation of a heater or the like is not particularly necessary.

If it blows in the blower 3 here, since the heat heated in order to evaporate moisture will be buried in the discharged air, it will not be blown.

However, if the operation of the compressor 11 is continued until it is completely dried, the drying time can be shortened. However, the temperature of the compressor 11 is higher because the temperature of the compressor 11 has increased due to the previous dehumidification operation. There is a fear that an abnormality may occur, such as damage to the coil of the motor unit in the compressor 11.

Therefore, the compressor 11 is stopped in the vicinity of the discharge piping or where the thermistor 10 attached to the evaporator 6 detects a temperature exceeding about 45 ° C. Also, about 45 ° C is a temperature to be set in consideration of the reliability of the compressor 11.

Therefore, as step 2 of the internal drying operation, heat drying by hot gas to the predetermined temperature T1 of the evaporator 6 (or discharge tube) set in consideration of the reliability of the compressor 11 is performed.

In the third step t2 to t3, the state in which the compressor 11 is stopped, that is, the blowing by the blower 3 is stopped, the compressor 11 is stopped, and the remaining heat is obtained by using the latent heat of the evaporator 6. The latent heat drying which gives heat of vaporization to moisture is performed. The latent heat drying is basically from the predetermined temperature T1 of the evaporator 6 (or the discharge tube) to the vicinity of room temperature T0 (preferably higher than room temperature T0). By latent heat drying, drying using an excess heat can be performed and energy saving is achieved.

That is, in Step 3 of the internal drying operation, latent heat drying is performed to vaporize the remaining moisture by using the latent heat of the evaporator 6.

After latent heat drying, i.e., near room temperature (T0) and after a long time in the stopped state of the blower (3) and the compressor (11), the dehumidifier (1) in the dehumidifier (1) is a semi-closed space. There arises a problem that the water is cooled and condensed inside the dehumidifier 1, causing moisture to adhere again.

Therefore, between t3 and t4 which are 4th steps, before the dehumidifier 1 cools, it blows by the blower 3, the air of high humidity which stays inside is erased, and reattachment of moisture is suppressed.

That is, in step 4 of the internal drying operation, blow drying is performed to prevent reattachment of moisture for a predetermined time.

In the internal drying operation in the dehumidifier 1, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence and reproduction of mold while preventing the occurrence of an unpleasant smell by the above four steps between t0 and t4. The inside of the dehumidifier 1 may be kept at low humidity for several hours per day.

In other words, the internal drying operation is not performed every time the dehumidifying operation is turned off, and the internal drying operation is performed once per day, so that unnecessary drying operation is not performed by the control using a timer.

Although the internal drying operation of the four steps of steps 1 to 4 is described in this embodiment, it is most preferable to perform all four internal drying operations. However, when the internal drying operations of the first and second steps are performed, It has been found that mold development and propagation prevention can be prevented without the occurrence of an unpleasant odor. That is, in order to prevent the generation of an unpleasant odor due to rapid moisture evaporation before heat drying, the amount of adhered water is made to be half or less by blow operation of only the blower 3, and then heat drying is performed.

When the third step is performed in addition to the first step and the second step, it is possible to perform drying using the excess heat of the evaporator 6 and to save energy-saving drying as described above.

Further, by adding the fourth step in addition to the third step, it is possible to completely prevent reattachment of the water.

The third step and the fourth step may be combined. That is, after the second step, the air is blown by the blower 3, the remaining water is evaporated, and the discharge of the high humidity air in the dehumidifier 1 is performed. For example, after being near the room temperature (T0), the air is blown for a predetermined time again. By doing in this way, drying time can be shortened and moisture reattachment can also be prevented.

In step 2, when blowing with the blower 3, since the heat heated in order to evaporate moisture will escape to the discharged air and escape, it will not blow, but in step 2, the blower 3 is operated by light wind. In other words, the blowing efficiency of the low blowing amount may be performed, and the drying efficiency may be improved by passing the heated warm air between the fins of the evaporator 6.

The internal drying operation can be operated by the user arbitrarily pressing the operation button of the internal drying operation of the operation unit 2.

In addition, when a water sensor or the like detects that there is water adhered for a predetermined time (for example, 24 hours) or more in the distillation 6 and the drain pan 8, the alarm lamp is turned on and the user lights up the alarm lamp. Press the operation button of the internal drying operation.

In addition, the dehumidifier 1 may have an internal drying operation mode, and the user may select the internal drying operation mode during the dehumidification operation. In this case, when a predetermined continuous operation (for example, 200 hours) has elapsed, the dehumidifier 1 automatically performs an internal drying operation.

By allowing the dehumidifier 1 to enable at least one of the three operation methods described above, it is possible to eliminate the waste of performing the moisture drying operation after each dehumidification operation. If the setting is easy and the alarm lamp is turned on, and the internal drying operation mode can be selected, the user can dry the moisture at an appropriate time without any trouble.

In addition, as for heating and drying of step 2, the heater 21 is provided in the position which can heat both the evaporator 6 and the drain pan 8 instead of the hot gas from the compressor 11 as a heating means, It may be performed by the heater 21. Also in this case, when the evaporator 6 reaches a predetermined temperature, the heater 21 is turned off and energy saving by thermal drying is achieved. By using the heater 21, there is no restriction such as considering damage to the motor coil of the compressor 11 as in the case of using the compressor 11.

Second embodiment

As the dehumidifier 1 of the second embodiment, a dehumidifier 1 having a modification of the internal drying operation will be described.

In the dehumidifier 1 of the present embodiment, in the dehumidifier 1 of the first embodiment, the dehumidifier 1 is provided with an odor sensor, and when the dehumidifier 1 is transferred from the blow drying of step 1 to the heat drying of step 2, When the sensor detects a smell of a predetermined amount or more, the process returns to step 1 again.

In this way, generation of an unpleasant odor can be prevented reliably.

The dehumidifier of the present invention comprises a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, an iris device, and an evaporator are sequentially connected in a ring shape, a blower, an inlet for sucking air by the blower, and a blower for blowing air sucked by the blower. In the dehumidifier which condenses the water vapor of the intake air by the blower in the evaporator, and warms and ejects the air after passing through the evaporator, the blow drying and blowing drying to blow the internal drying operation for drying the evaporator by the blower Since it is carried out by heat drying by a heating means subsequent to this, adhered moisture can be evaporated from an evaporator without the generation of an unpleasant odor, and mold generation and reproduction can be prevented.

Claims (3)

And a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, an iris device, and an evaporator are sequentially piped in an annular shape, a blower, an inlet for sucking air by the blower, and a blower for blowing the sucked air by the blower. , In the dehumidifier which condenses the water vapor of the intake air by the blower in the evaporator, the air after passing through the evaporator is heated in the condenser and ejected, An internal drying operation for drying the evaporator is performed by blowing drying blown by the blower and heating drying by heating means following the blowing blower. The method of claim 1, As the heating means, the refrigerating cycle has a bypass circuit with an on / off valve for supplying refrigerant from the compressor to the evaporator, and the heating and drying is performed with hot gas from the compressor by opening the on / off valve, or And a heater for heating the evaporator as a heating means, wherein the heat drying is performed by the heater. In the internal drying operation for drying the evaporator, the user arbitrarily presses the operation button of the internal drying operation of the operation unit, the user presses the operation button of the internal drying operation by lighting the alarm lamp, and the user performs the internal drying operation during the dehumidification operation. The operation method of the dehumidifier of Claim 1 or 2 which is performed by at least any one of selecting a mode.