Patent Application
20230167906
The present disclosure relates to an air conditioning rotating body and an air treatment device.
There is an air treatment device in which a rotor made of a material with excellent heat storage properties, such as aluminum and stainless steel, is rotated about a shaft, with a portion of the rotor placed in an exhaust passage and the other portion of the rotor placed in an air supply passage. Such an air treatment device is used as a heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between exhaust air and supply air.
There is also an air treatment device in which a rotor having a honeycomb structure on which an adsorbent, such as zeolite and porous silica, is supported is rotated about a shaft, and which is configured such that treated air passes through a portion of the rotor and regenerated air passes through the other portion of the rotor. Such an air treatment device is used for humidity control, deodorization, and other purposes.
An air treatment device using a rotor is configured such that the rotor is housed in a casing so as to be freely rotatable, and that sealing structures are provided along the outer circumference and diameter of the rotor to define an air passage. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-052922 discloses, as such sealing structures, an air leakage preventing member that protrudes in the axial direction from the outer circumferential surface of the rotor made of a heat exchange material, and a receiving member that protrudes from the inner surface of the casing so as to come into contact with the air leakage preventing member.
A first aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an air conditioning rotating body including a rotor having a cylindrical shape, and a labyrinth seal structure. The rotor is configured to be housed in a casing so as to be freely rotatable. The air conditioning rotating body is configured to treat air passing through the rotor in an axial direction. The labyrinth seal structure is provided between an outer circumferential portion of the rotor and the casing. The labyrinth seal structure includes a first protrusion protruding in the axial direction from the rotor toward the casing, and a second protrusion protruding in the axial direction from the casing toward the rotor.
An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment shown below, and various changes can be made within the scope without departing from the technical concept of the present disclosure. Since each of the drawings is intended to illustrate the disclosure conceptually, dimensions, ratios, or numbers may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary for ease of understanding.
An air treatment device (1) of this embodiment is configured as a dehumidifying/humidifying device, for example. As illustrated in
An air conditioning rotating body (30) of this embodiment has a cylindrical rotor (10) made of a honeycomb-shaped adsorption element on which zeolite, for example, or another substance is supported, and a shaft (11) inserted in the center of the rotor (10). The shaft (11) is arranged on the boundary between the air passages (3) and (4). In other words, the air conditioning rotating body (30) is arranged over both of the air passages (3) and (4). The air passages (3) and (4) are each configured so that air flows in opposite directions and passes through the rotor (10) in its axial direction. Seal members (51), which separate the air passages (3) and (4) from each other, are slidably in contact with both axial end faces of the air conditioning rotating body (30).
In the air passage (3), a heat exchanger (5) is arranged upstream (outdoor-side) of the air conditioning rotating body (30), and a compressor (6) and a fan (7) are sequentially arranged downstream (indoor-side) of the air conditioning rotating body (30). In the air passage (4), a heat exchanger (8) is arranged upstream (indoor-side) of the air conditioning rotating body (30), and a fan (9) is arranged downstream (outdoor-side) of the air conditioning rotating body (30).
In a dehumidifying operation of the air treatment device (1), the rotor (10) is rotated to allow an adsorbent of the rotor (10) to adsorb water vapor from the air passing through the air passage (3), thereby generating dehumidified air. On the other hand, the adsorbent is regenerated by desorbing the water vapor from the adsorbent of the rotor (10) by air that is heated to a predetermined temperature and passes through the air passage (4). In this case, the heat exchanger (5) in the air passage (3) serves as an evaporator, and the heat exchanger (8) in the air passage (4) serves as a condenser.
In a humidifying operation of the air treatment device (1), the rotor (10) is rotated to allow the adsorbent of the rotor (10) to adsorb water vapor from the air passing through the air passage (4). On the other hand, humidified air is generated, and the adsorbent is regenerated, by desorbing the water vapor from the adsorbent of the rotor (10) by air that is heated to a predetermined temperature and passes through the air passage (3). In this case, the heat exchanger (5) in the air passage (3) serves as a condenser, and the heat exchanger (8) in the air passage (4) serves as an evaporator.
In the air treatment device (1), the air conditioning rotating body (30) is housed in a casing (50) so as to be freely rotatable as illustrated in
The casing (50) includes a substantially square-shaped upper plate (50a) and lower plate (50b), which face each other in the axial direction of the rotor (10) with the air conditioning rotating body (30) interposed therebetween, and supports (50c) that connect the upper plate (50a) and the lower plate (50b) at the respective four corners. The upper plate (50a) has an exhaust port (53) connected to the downstream side of the air passage (3) and an intake port (54) connected to the upstream side of the air passage (4). The lower plate (50b) has an intake port (52) connected to the upstream side of the air passage (3) and an exhaust port (55) connected to the downstream side of the air passage (4). The intake ports (52) and (54) and the exhaust ports (53) and (55) each have a substantially semicircular shape when viewed from the axial direction of the rotor (10). The intake port (52) of the lower plate (50b) and the exhaust port (53) of the upper plate (50a) overlap each other when viewed from the axial direction of the rotor (10). The intake port (54) of the upper plate (50a) and the exhaust port (55) of the lower plate (50b) overlap each other when viewed from the axial direction of the rotor (10).
The seal members (51) are arranged at the boundary between the exhaust port (53) and the intake port (54) in the upper plate (50a) and at the boundary between the intake port (52) and the exhaust port (55) in the lower plate (50b). The seal members (51) are slidably in contact with respective axial end faces of the air conditioning rotating body (30). This configuration can reduce leakage of air, which is sucked from the intake port (52) of the lower plate (50b), leaking to the exhaust port (55) of the lower plate (50b) through the space between the rotor (10) and the lower plate (50b) without passing through the rotor (10). This configuration can also reduce leakage of air, which is sucked from the intake port (54) of the upper plate (50a), leaking to the exhaust port (53) of the upper plate (50a) through the space between the rotor (10) and the upper plate (50a) without passing through the rotor (10).
A rotor-side seal (23) is provided on each of upper and lower portions of the side surface on the outer circumference of the rotor (10), that is, the side plate (22) covering the outer circumferential portion of the rotor (10). A casing-side seal (56) is provided at a portion opposite to the rotor-side seal (23) on each of the upper plate (50a) and the lower plate (50b). The rotor-side seal (23) and the casing-side seal (56) engage with each other to constitute a labyrinth seal structure (100). In other words, the labyrinth seal structure (100) is provided between the outer circumferential portion of the rotor (10) and the casing (50). This configuration can reduce leakage of air, which is sucked from the intake port (52) of the lower plate (50b), leaking to the exhaust port (53) of the upper plate (50a) while bypassing the rotor (10). This configuration can also reduce leakage of air, which is sucked from the intake port (54) of the upper plate (50a), leaking to the exhaust port (55) of the lower plate (50b) while bypassing the rotor (10). Details of the labyrinth seal structure (100) will be described later.
In this embodiment, the rotor (10) is a honeycomb-shaped adsorption element on which zeolite, for example, or another substance is supported, and is configured as a cylindrical body with a through hole (15) in the center, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
In this embodiment, the air conditioning rotating body (30), i.e., rotor (10), is rotated with the spokes (25) arranged on each axial end face of the rotor (10); therefore, direct contact of the rotor (10) with the seal members (51) can be avoided due to the interposition of the spokes (25). Wear of the rotor (10) can thus be reduced. Wear of the seal members (51) can also be reduced by using a material having higher sliding properties than the material of the surface of the rotor (10) as the material of the spokes (25), that is, the protective case (20).
The air conditioning rotating body (30) is housed in the casing (50) so as to be freely rotatable as illustrated in
An annular support (59) made of resin, for example, is provided at each of the peripheral portion of the exhaust port (53) and the intake port (54) of the upper plate (50a) and the peripheral portion of the intake port (52) and the exhaust port (55) of the lower plate (50b). The casing-side seal (56) is attached to a surface of the annular support (59) facing the air conditioning rotating body (30). The end face of the support (57) on the outer circumference side of the rotor (10) is connected to an inner circumferential surface of annular support (59).
As illustrated in
The rotor-side seal (23) has a plurality of first protrusions (23a) protruding in the axial direction of the rotor (10) toward the casing (50) and a first recess (23b) between adjacent first protrusions (23a). The casing-side seal (56) has a plurality of second protrusions (56a) protruding in the axial direction of the rotor (10) toward the rotor (10) and a second recess (56b) between adjacent second protrusions (56a).
As an example, in this embodiment, the rotor-side seal (23) has three first protrusions (23a) and two first recesses (23b), and the casing-side seal (56) has two second protrusions (56a) and one second recess (56b). The first protrusions (23a) and the second protrusions (56a) are each arranged concentrically around the center (shaft (11)) of the rotor (10). The middle one of the three first protrusions (23a) is inserted in the second recess (56b). Each of the second protrusions (56a) is inserted in the corresponding one of the first recesses (23b). The annular labyrinth seal structure (100) including a two-stage engagement structure is formed in this manner. The number of stages of the engagement structure in the labyrinth seal structure (100) is not limited, and may be one stage or may be three or more stages.
The gap (distance in the radial direction of the rotor (10)) between the first protrusion (23a) and the second protrusion (56a) in the labyrinth seal structure (100) may be set to about 1 mm, for example. This gap forms an annular zigzag channel (non-contact labyrinth structure) between the rotor-side seal (23) and the casing-side seal (56), increasing the resistance of air passing through the channel. The air leakage amount can thus be reduced. The labyrinth seal structure (100) can reduce both of the air leakage from the center toward the outer circumference of the rotor and the air leakage from the outer circumference toward the center of the rotor.
Although not particularly limited, the length of each of the first protrusion (23a) and the second protrusion (56a) may be, for example, about 30 mm to 40 mm, and the overlap length between them may be, for example, about 20 mm to 30 mm, in the labyrinth seal structure (100). This configuration can reduce damage of the rotor-side seal (23) and the casing-side seal (56) due to collision between them, even when the shaft of the rotor (10) is displaced and fluctuations in the axial direction occur at the outer circumferential portion of the rotor (10). Specifically, the sealing structure can be maintained while reducing collision of the first protrusions (23a) of the rotor-side seal (23) with the casing-side seal (56) and collision of the second protrusions (56a) of the casing-side seal (56) with the rotor-side seal (23).
At least either the first protrusions (23a) or the second protrusions (56a) may be elastic elements. For example, the first protrusions (23a) may be inelastic elements made of such as resin, and the second protrusions (56a) may be elastic elements made of such as rubber. In this case, the labyrinth seal structure (100) is configured by alternately arranging, in the radial direction of the rotor (10), the second protrusions (56a), which are elastic elements, and the first protrusions (23a), which are inelastic elements. As illustrated in
The inelastic elements or the elastic elements to be the first protrusions (23a) and the second protrusions (56a) may have surface asperities with geometries of lateral lines, vertical lines, diagonal lines, or projections, for example. Alternatively, the inelastic elements or the elastic elements to be the first protrusions (23a) and the second protrusions (56a) may have surface asperities made with a brush or fibers. This configuration can achieve a more complicated labyrinth seal structure (100), thereby improving the sealing performance.
If the labyrinth seal structure (100) includes a plurality of engagement structures, as in this embodiment, the plurality of engagement structures may include a plurality of elastic elements (second protrusions (56a)) inclined at different angles to the axial direction of the rotor (10), as illustrated in
Instead of the configuration of the casing-side seal (56) illustrated in
According to the air conditioning rotating body (30) of this embodiment, the labyrinth seal structure (100) is provided between the outer circumferential portion of the rotor (10) and the casing (50). Thus, the labyrinth seal structure (100) can reduce both of the air leakage from the center toward the outer circumference of the rotor and the air leakage from the outer circumference toward the center of the rotor.
According to the air conditioning rotating body (30) of this embodiment, the labyrinth seal structure (100) includes the first protrusion (23a) protruding in the axial direction of the rotor (10) toward the casing (50), and the second protrusion (56a) protruding in the axial direction of the rotor (10) toward the rotor (10). In other words, the labyrinth seal structure (100) is configured by the engagement between the protrusions (23a) and (56a) protruding in the rotor axial direction. This configuration makes it easier to maintain sealing performance even if the outer circumferential portion of the rotor (10) fluctuates in the axial direction due to displacement of the shaft, for example.
At least either the first protrusions (23a) or the second protrusions (56a) may be elastic elements in the air conditioning rotating body (30) of this embodiment. In this configuration, the wind pressure of leaking air causes the protrusions made of elastic elements to deform to become closer to the other protrusions. The sealing performance can thus be improved.
If at least either the first protrusions (23a) or the second protrusions (56a) are elastic elements, the labyrinth seal structure (100) may include a plurality of engagement structures, and the plurality of engagement structures may include a plurality of elastic elements inclined at different angles to the axial direction of the rotor (10). In this configuration, the labyrinth seal structure (100) can be optimized by adjusting the inclination angle of each elastic element according to the condition of leaking air. In this case, the plurality of elastic elements may be further apart from each other toward the respective ends. In this configuration, the ends of either protrusions that are made of elastic elements become much closer to the other protrusions even when the air leakage flows from the center toward the outer circumference of the rotor or from the outer circumference to the center of the rotor. The sealing performance can thus be further improved. Similar effects are obtainable also when the plurality of elastic elements are arranged to be closer to each other toward the respective ends. The plurality of elastic elements may include an elastic element inclined in one of the radial directions and an elastic element inclined in the other radial direction, with respect to the axial direction of the rotor (10).
If at least either the first protrusions (23a) or the second protrusions (56a) are elastic elements, the first protrusions (23a) may be inelastic elements, and the second protrusions (56a) may be elastic elements. In the case where the rotor-side seal (23) is provided on the side plate (22) covering the side surface on the outer circumference of the rotor (10) as illustrated in
The air treatment device (1) of this embodiment has the air conditioning rotating body (30) that can reduce the air leakage at the outer circumferential portion of the rotor (10). Thus, the performance of the air treatment device (1), such as dehumidification and humidification performance and heat exchange performance, can be improved.
A first variation of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the above embodiment, the rotor-side seal (23) is provided on the side plate (22) covering the side surface on the outer circumference of the rotor (10), as illustrated in
As illustrated in
A second variation of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the above embodiment, the casing-side seal (56) is provided on the entire outer circumferential portion of the rotor (10), as illustrated in
Compared to the configuration of the above embodiment, the configuration of this second variation can reduce the quantity of seal members for use in the labyrinth seal structure (100) (casing-side seal (56)), thereby reducing manufacturing costs.
In the foregoing embodiment (including the variations, hereinafter the same), the air treatment device (1) is configured as a dehumidifying/humidifying device, by using, as the rotor (10) of the air conditioning rotating body (30), a honeycomb-shaped adsorption element on which zeolite is supported. However, instead of this configuration, for example, the air treatment device (1) may be configured as a deodorizer, a gas separator, or the like, by using an air conditioning rotating body with a rotor that is a honeycomb-shaped adsorption element on which another adsorbent, such as porous silica or activated alumina, is supported. Alternatively, for example, the air treatment device (1) may be configured as a heat exchanger, by using an air conditioning rotating body with a rotor made of a material with excellent heat storage properties, such as aluminum or stainless steel.
In the above embodiment, the air conditioning rotating body (30) is arranged in the air treatment device (1) such that the radial direction of the rotor (10) is along the horizontal direction. However, instead of this configuration, the air conditioning rotating body (30) may be arranged in the air treatment device (1) such that the radial direction of the rotor (10) is along the perpendicular (vertical) direction.
In the above embodiment, the two air passages (3) and (4) are formed in the air treatment device (1), and the air conditioning rotating body (30) is arranged over both of the air passages (3) and (4). However, the number of air passages in the air treatment device (1) (i.e., the number of air passages where the air conditioning rotating body (30) is arranged) is not particularly limited, and may be one or may be three or more. If one air passage is formed in the air treatment device (1), and the air flow direction in this air passage changes with time, the air conditioning rotating body (30) of this disclosure can reduce both of the air leakage from the center toward the outer circumference of the rotor and the air leakage from the outer circumference toward the center of the rotor.
While the embodiments and variations have been described above, it will be understood that various changes in form and details can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. The above embodiments and variations may be appropriately combined or replaced as long as the functions of the target of the present disclosure are not impaired.
As can be seen from the foregoing description, the present disclosure is useful for an air conditioning rotating body and an air treatment device.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-134346 | Aug 2020 | JP | national |
This is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/JP2021/018600 filed on May 17, 2021, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-134346, filed on Aug. 7, 2020. The entire disclosures of these applications are incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2021/018600 | May 2021 | US |
| Child | 18103878 | US |
