WO2016083165A1

WO2016083165A1 - Spray device, in particular intended for the passenger compartment of a vehicle, and ventilation device comprising such a spray device

Info

Publication number: WO2016083165A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/076623
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vincent Feuillard; Laurence Cornu; Laurent Tellier; Frédéric PIERRON
Original assignee: Valeo Systemes Thermiques
Priority date: 2014-11-26
Filing date: 2015-11-13
Publication date: 2016-06-02
Also published as: CN107000549A; EP3223962A1; FR3028772A1; FR3028772B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for spraying a liquid, in particular for the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, said device comprising a sprayer (10) designed to form a cloud of microdrops from the liquid, and a means (20) for supplying the sprayer (10) with liquid, said device also comprising one or more liquid-heating elements (30).

Description

NEBULIZATION DEVICE, PARTICULARLY FOR A VEHICLE HABITACLE, AND AERATION DEVICE COMPRISING SUCH A DEVICE

The invention relates to a nebulizing device, and an aeration device, comprising such a nebulizing device.

The air cooling systems for a vehicle, in particular an automobile, most often incorporate an air conditioner to ensure the thermal comfort of the passengers positioned at the front and the rear, by establishing in the passenger compartment a temperature lower than the external temperature. . These systems ventilate cooled air so that they provide thermal comfort to the occupants of the vehicle. A first disadvantage of such systems is that the cooled air can be perceived as too dry. In addition, the seats at the rear of the cabin are often less well ventilated, so they are also less refreshed.

It should also be noted that not all vehicles are equipped with an air conditioner.

It is known to nebulize water in the cabin. The said nebulized water microdroplets are diffused with a flow of air, so that they evaporate causing a lowering of temperature due to the latent heat of vaporization which is then absorbed. Such a solution makes it possible at least partially to overcome the absence of an air conditioner or to improve the cooling of the passenger compartment when such an air conditioner is present, by making available a flow of make-up air that can be directed in any what place of the cockpit. Said air flow is further likely to provide an impression of humidification of the passenger compartment.

A disadvantage of nebulizing devices is that water is stored in a tank where it can stagnate for long periods of time when the nebulizer is not in use. A development of microorganisms, in particular of bacteria, is likely to take place, leading to the release of bad odors and / or generating a health risk.

The invention aims to overcome the above disadvantages and proposes for this purpose a device for nebulizing a liquid, in particular for a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, said device comprising a nebulizer, configured to form a cloud of microdrops from said liquid, and a liquid supply of said nebulizer, said device further comprising one or more heating elements of the liquid.

The heating of the liquid to be sprayed according to the invention makes it possible to reduce or eliminate any microorganisms present in the liquid following a period of stagnation. In this way, a nebulizing device is available that can limit odors and function in a healthier manner.

According to different embodiments that can be taken alone or in combination:

- The one or more heating elements are configured to heat said liquid in said nebulizer and / or said supply,

- The one or more heating elements comprise a current conductor,

Said current conductor is a heating wire,

Said heating wire has a resistive effect,

Said current conductor has a CTP effect,

Said current conductor comprises PTC ceramics,

Said device comprises a heat exchanger comprising said one or more heating elements, said exchanger being configured to be traversed by said liquid,

Said device comprises means for controlling said heating element or elements,

Said control means are configured so that said one or more heating elements apply a heat treatment to said liquid for a limited period of time,

Said control means are configured so that said one or more heating elements apply a heat treatment to said liquid repeatedly,

Said control means comprise a temperature sensor and processing means making it possible to ensure that the liquid has been brought to a chosen temperature for a predetermined duration,

- The control means are configured to activate the one or more heating elements during an operating phase where the nebulizer is not active,

Said control means are configured to delay actuation of said nebulizer after activation of said heating element or elements, Said feed comprises a reservoir of liquid and a conduit for circulating said liquid between said reservoir and said nebulizer,

The at least one of said heating elements is located at said duct,

- The at least one of said heating elements extends to the nebulizer,

The at least one of said heating elements is located at said reservoir,

- The or at least one of said heating elements is located in the lower part of said tank,

Said feed comprises an intermediate receptacle for storing said liquid between said reservoir and said nebulizer,

The at least one of said heating elements is located at said intermediate receptacle,

The at least one of said heating elements is located at the bottom of said intermediate receptacle,

Said device comprises means for controlling a level of the liquid in said intermediate receptacle,

Said feed comprises a circulation branch, forming a circulation loop of said liquid with said reservoir,

- Said branch of circulation comprises a pump,

Said feed is configured so that the liquid circulates by natural convection in said branch,

Said branch of circulation comprises one or one of said heating elements,

Said nebulizer and said branch are connected separately to said reservoir, thereby allowing circulation of the liquid independently in said nebulizer and in said branch,

Said nebulizer is connected to said branch,

- The one or more heating elements are located at said nebulizer,

- The nebulizer is piezoelectric type. The invention also relates to a ventilation device, in particular for a vehicle interior, comprising a nebulization device as described above. The invention will be better understood, and other objects, details, features and advantages thereof will become more clearly apparent in the following detailed explanatory description of at least one embodiment of the invention given to As a purely illustrative and non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings among which Figures 1 to 1 1 schematically illustrate different embodiments of a nebulization device according to the invention.

In these figures, the same reference corresponds to identical or similar elements. As illustrated in the various figures, the invention relates to a device for nebulizing a liquid, in particular water. Such a device may, for example, be used in a ventilation device, in particular a vehicle cabin. Thanks to liquid microdroplets projected in this way in the cabin, it can cool it and / or reduce the feeling of drying produced by a possible air conditioning device.

Said nebulizing device comprises a nebulizer 10, configured to form a cloud of microdrops from said liquid, and a liquid supply 20 of said nebulizer 10.

The nebulizer 10 provides here by itself a liquid pumping function. It may include a nebulization channel and a piezoelectric member for generating said microdroplets in said channel, other embodiments being of course possible without departing from the scope of the invention. In operation, said nebulizer advantageously provides a continuous and relatively constant flow of microdroplets, from a continuous and relatively constant flow of liquid from said feed 20.

Said device further comprises one or more heating elements 30 of the liquid. In this way, it is possible to perform a microbicidal treatment of said liquid, which allows to sanitize the use of said device and to prevent the spread of unpleasant odors, due to possible stagnation of the liquid before nebulization.

According to a first aspect of the invention, illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 7, the one or more heating elements 30 are configured to heat said liquid in said supply 20. In other words, the one or more heating elements are immersed in said liquid with which they are in direct contact.

The at least one heating element 30 then comprises, for example, a current conductor. Said current conductor may be a heating wire, in particular with resistive effect. Said current conductor may in particular be PTC effect, that is to say, positive temperature coefficient. The one or more heating elements 30 may further comprise an immersion heater.

According to another aspect of the invention, illustrated in Figures 4 to 6 and 8 to 10, said device comprises a heat exchanger 35 comprising the one or more heating elements 30. Said exchanger 35 is configured to be traversed by said liquid. In other words, a heat exchange takes place between the one or more heating elements 30 and the said liquid, via the heat exchanger 35 and without direct contact between the heating element (s) 30 and the liquid.

The one or more heating elements may again be, for example, current conductors, in particular a heating wire with a resistive effect or a current conductor with PTC effect. The use of PTC ceramics is also possible.

Said device advantageously comprises control means, not illustrated, of said heating element or elements 30. Said control means are in particular designed to control a current supply of said heating element (s) 30.

Said control means are configured, for example, for the one or more heating elements 30 to apply heat treatment to said liquid for a limited period of time. In other words, said heating elements do not work permanently.

Said control means may in particular be configured to ensure that the liquid has been brought to a selected temperature for a predetermined time, in particular 60 to 90 ° for about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Preferably, said control means are configured to ensure a minimum sterilization of 80 ° C for a period of 1 minute, for each molecule of water. For this, they comprise, for example, a temperature sensor and processing means for ensuring the activation and deactivation of said heating element (s) 30 in a timely manner. Said temperature sensor may consist of a bimetallic strip. Said processing means may comprise a timing module.

Said control means may also be configured so that the one or more heating elements 30 apply a heat treatment to said liquid repeatedly, at regular intervals or not, for example at each start of the equipped vehicle and / or at a given frequency for example of the order of once every two weeks.

The control means are preferably configured to activate the one or more heating elements 30 during an operating phase when the nebulizer O is not active. For this, said control means may be configured to also control said nebulizer 10, in particular the power supply of its piezoelectric member. Said control means may also be configured to delay the actuation of said nebulizer 10 after activation of one or more heating elements 30. This prevents the projection of too hot liquid in the passenger compartment.

Said supply 20 here comprises a reservoir 40 of liquid and a conduit 50 for circulating said liquid between said reservoir 40 and said nebulizer 10.

In Figure 1, several heating elements 30 have been illustrated while only one could have been used. These include, in particular, heating wires. The or at least one of said heating elements 30, here two, is located at the reservoir 40. Another of said heating elements 30 is located at said duct 50.

In the case of heating elements 30 located in said tank 40, they will advantageously be located in the lower part thereof to ensure heating of the liquid regardless of its level in said tank.

In the case of heating elements 30 located in said duct 50, they are advantageously located near said nebulizer 10 and / or extend to the latter. This limits the amount of potentially stagnant fluid between the one or more heating elements 30 and the said nebulizer 10. In this case, however, it will be all the more preferable to ensure the delay between a phase of liquid heating and a nebulization phase, as already mentioned above.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, said supply 20 comprises an intermediate receptacle 60 for storing said liquid between said reservoir 40 and said nebulizer 10.

The or at least one of said heating elements 30 is located at said intermediate receptacle 60. This is a heating wire. As in the case of the tank 50, the heating element (s) 30 of the intermediate receptacle are advantageously located in the lower part.

In FIG. 3, said device comprises means 70 for controlling a level of the liquid in said intermediate receptacle 60. They may comprise a valve 72 for closing an inlet orifice 74 of said receptacle as well as an articulated float. 76. Said level control means 70 furthermore comprise here an elastic return member 78 connecting said articulated float 76 to the valve 72. As long as the liquid level is sufficiently high in said intermediate receptacle 60, the valve remains closed in view the level of compression in which is then the elastic return member. Once a low level is reached, the valve 72 opens to allow liquid to enter said intermediate receptacle 60, before closing again with the rise of the liquid. Other embodiments of the level control are of course possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the case of heating elements 30 located in said reservoir 40 and / or said intermediate receptacle 60, the control means of the nebulizer 60 will advantageously be configured to prevent a triggering of the nebulization in case of a liquid level too low in said reservoir 40 and / or said intermediate receptacle 60.

In Figure 4, the heating element 30 used is located in said duct 50. It is against this time integrated in an exchanger 35 as mentioned above.

In FIGS. 5 to 10, said supply 20 comprises a circulation branch 80, forming a circulation loop of said liquid with said reservoir 40. Said circulation branch 80 comprises the or at least one of said heating elements 30. In Figures 5, 6, 8 and 9, the one or more heating elements 30 are again integrated in an exchanger 35. In Figure 7, it is a heating wire. In Figure 10, the two solutions are combined.

In FIGS. 5 to 7, said circulation branch 80 comprises a pump 85 ensuring the circulation of the liquid in said loop. Said branch 80 is advantageously installed in a horizontal plane. In Figures 8 to 10, the circulation is provided by natural convection through a vertical orientation of said loop and a location selected for the one or more heating elements 30 in said branch 80. Here, the tank has a high point of water outlet and a low point of entry of water to ensure such a circulation of water, by natural convection, that is to say without pump.

In FIG. 5 as in FIG. 8, said nebulizer O and said branch 80 are connected separately to said reservoir so that said liquid circulates in said branch 80 without circulating in the conduit 50 connected to the nebulizer 10. In FIGS. 6, 7, 9 and 10, said nebulizer 10 is connected to said branch 80. The connection is made upstream of the pump 85 in the branches with pump and upstream of the or at least one of the heating elements 30 in the branches without pump.

Each of the embodiments of FIGS. 5 to 10 is described in detail below. In FIG. 5, the branch 80 comprises in series a circulation pump 85 and the one or more heating elements 30, integrated here in an exchanger 35. Said branch 80 is not connected to the conduit 50 connected to the nebulizer 10.

In FIG. 6, the branch 80 comprises in series the one or more heating elements 30, here integrated in an exchanger 35, and a circulation pump 85. The nebulizer 10 is connected to said branch 80 between said exchanger 35 and said pump 85.

In FIG. 7, the branch 80 comprises in series the one or more heating elements 30, here configured in the form of a resistive wire, and a circulation pump 85. The nebulizer is connected to said branch 80 between said resistive wire and said resistive wire. pump 85. Said resistive wire may extend into said reservoir 40 and / or to the vicinity of said nebulizer 10. In Figure 8, the branch 80 comprises the one or more heating elements 30, here integrated in an exchanger 35. The circulation is provided by natural convection. Said branch is not connected to the conduit 50 connected to the nebulizer 10.

In FIG. 9, the branch 80 comprises the one or more heating elements 30, here integrated in an exchanger 35. Circulation is ensured by natural convection. The nebulizer 10 is connected to said branch 80 upstream of said exchanger 35.

FIG. 10 repeats the configuration of FIG. 9 with an additional heating element 30, here configured in the form of a resistive wire, extending between said reservoir 40 and said nebulizer 10. Said resistive wire is therefore at least partially in said branch 80.

It can thus be seen that, in the three preceding modes, the nebulizing device comprises a closed circuit of liquid, circulating by natural convection, said circuit integrating said one or more heating elements with the liquid.

According to the different embodiments illustrated, it is found that the current conductor or conductors are located in said reservoir 40, in said conduit 50, in said intermediate receptacle 60 and / or in said branch 80. Alternatively or in combination, the or said exchangers 35 are connected in series with respect to the circulation of the liquid along said duct 50 and / or of said branch 80.

According to another aspect of the invention, illustrated in FIG. 11, said heating element (s) 30 are configured to heat said liquid at said nebulizer (10). Said heating element (s) 30 are then located, for example, at the level of the latter, in direct contact with the liquid or not. It may again be current conductors, resistive effect or CTP, for example arranged along the nebulization channel of said nebulizer 10. It may also be ceramics CTP effect.

It may further be noted that, in the case where a circulation of liquid takes place in a closed circuit, comprising the heating element or elements, the liquid, that is to say in the case of FIGS. 5 to 10, the sterilization cycle by heating, masked time or offset from the nebulization time. The two functions can indeed be provided independently in such a configuration. Conversely, in the cases of Figures 1 to 4 and 1 1, the functions are provided simultaneously, because of the common supply of liquid in the two components, namely the or the heating elements and the nebulizer.

The invention also relates to a ventilation device, in particular for a vehicle interior, comprising a nebulization device as described above.

Such a device, although not illustrated, comprises, for example, a blower, for generating an air flow, a circulation duct of said air flow and an aerator through which said flow of air opens outwards. It is configured so that the microdroplets generated by said nebulizing device are introduced into said air flow, at the level of said air flow duct, said aerator and / or downstream.

Claims

1. Device for nebulizing a liquid, in particular for a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, said device comprising a nebulizer (10), configured to form a cloud of microdroplets from said liquid, and a liquid supply (20) of said nebulizer (10), said device further comprising one or more heating elements (30) of the liquid.

2. Nebulizing device according to the preceding claim wherein said one or more heating elements (30) are configured to heat said liquid in said nebulizer (10) and / or said supply (20).

3. Nebulizing device according to claim 1 wherein said device comprises a heat exchanger (35) comprising said one or more heating elements (30), said exchanger (35) being configured to be traversed by said liquid along said supply ( 20).

4. Nebulizing device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said device comprises means for controlling said heating element (s) (30).

5. Nebulizing device according to the preceding claim wherein said control means comprise a temperature sensor and processing means to ensure that the liquid has been brought to a selected temperature for a predetermined time.

6. Nebulizing device according to any one of claims 4 or 5 wherein the control means are configured to activate the one or more heating elements (30) during an operating phase where the nebulizer (10) is not active.

7. Nebulizing device according to any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein said control means are configured to delay the actuation of said nebulizer (10) after an activation of one or more heating elements (30).

8. A nebulizing device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said feed (20) comprises a liquid reservoir (40) and a flow conduit (50) of said liquid between said reservoir (40) and said nebulizer (10). the or at least one of said heating elements (30) being located at said conduit (50) and / or said reservoir (40).

9. Nebulizing device according to the preceding claim wherein said feed (20) comprises an intermediate receptacle (60) for storing said liquid between said reservoir (40) and said nebulizer (10) and wherein the or at least one of said heating elements (30) is located at said intermediate receptacle (60).

10. Nebulizing device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said feed (20) comprises a branch (80) of circulation, forming a circulation loop of said liquid with said reservoir (40), said branch (80) circulation comprising the or at least one of said heating elements (30).

1 1. Nebulizing device according to the preceding claim wherein said nebulizer (10) and said branch (80) are separately connected to said reservoir (40).

The nebulizing device of claim 10 wherein said nebulizer (10) is connected to said arm (80).

13. Nebulizing device according to claim 1 wherein said one or more heating elements (30) are located at said nebulizer (10).

14. Nebulizing device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the nebulizer (10) is of the piezoelectric type.

15. Ventilation device, in particular for vehicle interior, comprising a nebulizing device according to any one of the preceding claims.