Patent Application
20220113042
The present invention relates to an air treatment apparatus provided with a stationary desiccant and a total heat exchanger.
A ventilation device that uses a desiccant for the purpose of indoor dehumidification is known. In this ventilation device, a sheet coated with the desiccant is formed into a rotor. The rotor is rotated to dehumidify outdoor air and to regenerate the desiccant. There are factors that reduce energy efficiency, such as the need for a motor to rotate the rotor and potential air leakage between a regeneration unit and a dehumidification unit.
In view of this, a system has been proposed in which a sheet coated with a desiccant material is molded into a block to switch an air path, thereby dehumidifying outdoor air and regenerating the desiccant material (for example, Non-Patent Literature 1). According to this system, a motor that poses an issue when using a rotor becomes unnecessary, and air leakage can be reduced.
Non-Patent Literature 1: Material Attached to Press Release, “Regarding Start of Sorption Type Humidity Control System Development Project”, Nov. 27, 2009, Okayama University, [Retrieved on Feb. 12, 2019] Internet, (https://www.okayama-u.ac.jp/up_load_files/soumu-pdf/press-091127-9-2.pdf)
The sorption type humidity control system disclosed in Non-Patent Literature 1 employs a stationary desiccant but does not employ a total heat exchanger. Therefore, this system does not necessarily have high energy efficiency.
An objective of the present invention is to provide an energy-efficient air treatment apparatus by combining an outdoor air treatment machine in which a stationary dehumidification device is installed, with a total heat exchanger.
An air treatment apparatus of the present invention includes:
a total heat exchanger,
a heat supply device including a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger,
a damper, and
a complex dehumidification device including a first stationary dehumidification device and a second stationary dehumidification device;
the total heat exchanger, the heat supply device, the damper and the complex dehumidification device being arranged sequentially from the total heat exchanger followed by the heat supply device, the damper and then the complex dehumidification device;
the total heat exchanger, the first heat exchanger, the damper and the complex dehumidification device being arranged in a return air path sequentially starting with the total heat exchanger, from upstream to downstream of the return air path where return air flows;
the total heat exchanger, the second heat exchanger, the damper and the complex dehumidification device being arranged in an outdoor air path sequentially starting with the total heat exchanger, from upstream to downstream of the outdoor air path where outdoor air flows; and
the damper:
An air treatment apparatus of the present invention is provided with a total heat exchanger and a stationary dehumidification device. A damper switches between a return air flow path and an outdoor air flow path so that return air and outdoor air pass through different stationary dehumidification devices. As a result, it is possible to provide an efficient air treatment apparatus.
An embodiment of an air treatment apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with referring to drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by the embodiment to be described below.
If drawings have XYZ coordinates, the XYZ coordinates are the same between the drawings. In the drawings, return air is expressed as RA, outdoor air is expressed as OA, exhaust air is expressed as EA, and supply air is expressed as SA.
An air treatment apparatus 500 will be described below with referring to the drawings. The air treatment apparatus 500 has three major features as follows.
(1) The air treatment apparatus 500 has a configuration in which a stationary desiccant and a total heat exchanger are combined.
By combining the stationary desiccant and the total heat exchanger, a high-efficiency ventilation apparatus can be provided.
(2) The air treatment apparatus 500 switches between a stationary desiccant through which return air passes and a stationary desiccant through which outdoor air passes. The air treatment apparatus 500 switches between the stationary desiccants to allow the return air to flow into a first stationary desiccant 30 and the outdoor air to flow into a second stationary desiccant 31, and then to allow the return air to flow into the second stationary desiccant 31 and the outdoor air to flow into the first stationary desiccant 30. This switching is repeated, thereby reproducing the stationary desiccants efficiently.
(3) The air treatment apparatus 500 forms a bypass channel by which the return air bypasses a total heat exchanger 40 on the basis of temperature and humidity of the return air and temperature and humidity of the outdoor air. By bypassing the return air flowing into the total heat exchanger 40, a high-efficiency air treatment apparatus 500 can be provided.
A configuration of the air treatment apparatus 500 will be described with referring to
The air treatment apparatus 500 is provided with: (1) the total heat exchanger 40; (2) a heater 10; (3) a cooler 11; (4) an upstream damper 20; (5) the first stationary desiccant 30; (6) the second stationary desiccant 31; (7) a downstream damper 21; (8) an outdoor air detection sensor 80; (9) a return air detection sensor 81; and (10) a preset information storage unit 82. As illustrated in
(1) The total heat exchanger 40 exchanges total heat between outdoor air and return air.
(2) The heater 10 heats return air to make it into high-temperature, low humidity air that regenerates the desiccant.
(3) The cooler 11 cools the outdoor air to make it into low-temperature, high-humidity air to be dehumidified (adsorbed) by the desiccant.
(4) The upstream damper 20 switches the desiccant into which the return air flows and the desiccant into which the outdoor air flows.
(5) The first stationary desiccant 30 dehumidifies the outdoor air as the outdoor air passes through it.
(6) The second stationary desiccant 31 dehumidifies the outdoor air as the outdoor air passes through it.
(7) The downstream damper 21 is switched in accordance with switching of the upstream damper 20 and allows the return air or the outdoor air to pass.
(8) The outdoor air detection sensor 80 detects temperature and humidity of the outdoor air.
(9) The return air detection sensor 81 detects temperature and humidity of the return air.
(10) The preset information storage unit 82 stores preset temperature and preset humidity which are preset information.
The heater 10 and the cooler 11 constitute a heat supply device 12. The heater 10 is a first heat exchanger. The cooler 11 is a second heat exchanger. The first stationary desiccant 30 is a first stationary dehumidification device.
The second stationary desiccant 31 is a second dehumidification device. The first stationary desiccant 30 and the second stationary desiccant 31 constitute a complex dehumidification device 32.
The upstream damper 20 is a damper 920. The upstream damper 20 allows the return air to flow into one of the first stationary dehumidification device and the second stationary dehumidification device, and allows the outdoor air to flow into the other one of the first stationary dehumidification device and the second stationary dehumidification device. The upstream damper 20 also switches between a return air path 810 and an outdoor air path 811 so that the return air and the outdoor air pass through different ones of the first stationary dehumidification device and the second stationary dehumidification device.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
A second partition plate 802 horizontally divides an interior of the housing 400, extending from the upstream damper 20 to the downstream damper 21. The first stationary desiccant 30 is located on the left side of the second partition plate 802. The second stationary desiccant 31 is located on the right side of the second partition plate 802. The second partition plate 802 forms a quadrangle indicated by E, F, G, and H.
A third partition plate 803 vertically divides an interior of the housing 400, extending from the downstream damper 21 to a return-air (exhaust-air)/outdoor-air (supply-air) outlet port. The supply air flows out from above the third partition plate 803. The exhaust air flows out from under the third partition plate 803. The third partition plate 803 forms a quadrangle indicated by I, J, K, and L.
The air treatment apparatus 500 is further provided with an upstream damper opening/closing device 320, a downstream damper opening/closing device 321, and a partition plate opening/closing device 350. The upstream damper opening/closing device 320 and the downstream damper opening/closing device 321 are opening/closing mechanisms that open individual sub-dampers of the upstream damper 20 and individual sub-dampers of the downstream damper 21, respectively.
The upstream damper opening/closing device 320 opens/closes sub-dampers 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d included in the upstream damper 20. The downstream damper opening/closing device 321 opens/closes sub-dampers 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d included in the downstream damper 21. The partition plate opening/closing device 350 is an opening/closing mechanism that opens and closes a bypass channel partition plate 804. The bypass channel partition plate 804 opens to form a return air bypass channel 50 (to be described later).
The air treatment apparatus 500 is further provided with a control device 100 which controls the upstream damper opening/closing device 320, the downstream damper opening/closing device 321, and the partition plate opening/closing device 350. The control device 100 is connected to the outdoor air detection sensor 80, the return air detection sensor 81, the preset information storage unit 82, a supply air detection sensor 83, an exhaust air detection sensor 84, the upstream damper opening/closing device 320, the downstream damper opening/closing device 321, the partition plate opening/closing device 350, and a refrigerating cycle device 450, as will be described later with referring to
The control device 100 is provided with a damper control unit 111, a partition plate control unit 112, and a refrigerant control unit 113, as function elements. Functions of the damper control unit 111, partition plate control unit 112, and refrigerant control unit 113 are implemented by a control program 101. The control program 101 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 130.
The processor 110 is a device that runs the control program 101. The control program 101 is a program that implements the functions of the damper control unit 111, partition plate control unit 112, and refrigerant control unit 113. The processor 110 is an Integrated Circuit (IC) which performs computation processing. Specific examples of the processor 110 include a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), and a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU).
The main storage device 120 is a storage device that stores data. Specific examples of the main storage device 120 include a Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) and a Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM). The main storage device 120 keeps a computation result of the processor 110.
The auxiliary storage device 130 is a storage device that keeps data in a nonvolatile manner. Specific examples of the auxiliary storage device 130 include a Hard Disk Drive (HDD). The auxiliary storage device 130 may be a portable recording medium such as an SD (registered trademark; Secure Digital) memory card, a NAND flash, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc, and a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD).
The input IF 140 is a port to which various types of apparatuses are connected and to which data of the various types of apparatuses are inputted.
The output IF 150 is a port to which various types of apparatuses are connected and through which control signals are outputted to the various types of apparatuses by the processor 110.
The communication IF 160 is a communication port via which the various types of apparatuses communicate with the processor 110. In
The processor 110 loads the control program 101 to the main storage device 120 from the auxiliary storage device 130. The processor 110 reads the control program 101 from the main storage device 120 and runs the control program 101. Not only the control program 101 but also an Operating System (OS) is stored in the main storage device 120. The processor 110 runs the control program 101 while running the OS.
The control device 100 may be provided with a plurality of processors that substitute for the processor 110. The plurality of processors share run of the control program 101. Each processor is a device that runs the control program 101, just as the processor 110 does.
Data, information, signal values, and variable values which are utilized, processed, or outputted by the control program 101 are stored in the main storage device 120, the auxiliary storage device 130, or a register or cache memory in the processor 110. The control program 101 is a program that causes the computer to execute each process, each procedure, or each stage corresponding to the damper control unit 111, the partition plate control unit 112, or the refrigerant control unit 113 with its “unit” being replaced by “process”, “procedure”, or “stage”.
The control method is a method carried out as the control device 100 being the computer runs the control program 101. The control program 101 may be presented as a computer-readable recording medium in which it is stored, or may be presented as a program product.
Operations of the control device 100 correspond to the control method. The operations of the control device 100 correspond to processing of the control program.
The upstream damper 20 switches between the return air path 810 and the outdoor air path 811 so that the return air and the outdoor air pass through different ones of the first stationary desiccant 30 and the second stationary desiccant 31.
As illustrated in
Inversely, the cooler 11 may be arranged above the heater 10 in the direction of gravity. The outdoor air passes through the cooler 11. Thus, if the cooler 11 is arranged above the heater 10, the return air path 810 illustrated in
The return air path 810 will now be described.
(1) The return air flows into the total heat exchanger 410 from under the total heat exchanger 40, flows out of the total heat exchanger 40, and flows above the first partition plate 801.
(2) The return air flows into the heater 10 and then flows into the upstream damper 20.
(3) In the upstream damper 20, as illustrated in
(4) In the downstream damper 21, of the sub-dampers 21c and 21d on the left side, the sub-damper 21d is open. Therefore, the return air flowing into the first stationary desiccant 30 passes through the sub-damper 21d and flows out as exhaust air. This is how the return air flows through the return air path 810.
The outdoor air path 811 will now be described.
(1) The outdoor air flows into the total heat exchanger 40 from above the total heat exchanger 40, flows out of the total heat exchanger 40, and flows under the first partition plate 801.
(2) The outdoor air flows into the cooler 11 and then flows into the upstream damper 20.
(3) In the upstream damper 20, as illustrated in
(4) In the downstream damper 21, of the sub-dampers 21a and 21b on the right side, the sub-damper 21a is open. Therefore, the outdoor air passing through the second stationary desiccant 31 passes through the sub-damper 21a and flows out as supply air. This is how the outdoor air flows through the return air path 810.
As illustrated in
In
As illustrated in
The heater 10 may be a water/air heat exchanger through which hot water flows, or may be a direct-expansion refrigerant/air heat exchanger through which a high-temperature refrigerant flows. The cooler 11 may be a water/air heat exchanger through which cold water flows, or may be a direct-expansion refrigerant/air heat exchanger through which a low-temperature refrigerant flows.
A heat exchange mode will be described below. The heat exchange mode signifies that the return air and the outdoor air perform total heat exchange in the total heat exchanger 40.
(1) As illustrated in
(2) At this time, the bypass channel partition plate 804 which forms the bypass channel 50 is closed, and the return air does not bypass the total heat exchanger 40. That is, if the bypass channel partition plate 804 is closed, the return air flows into the total heat exchanger 40 and then into the heater 10 from the total heat exchanger 40. The return air flowing into the heater 10 has a high temperature and a low relative humidity.
(3) As described above, opening/closing of the four sub-dampers 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d of the upstream damper 20 is controllable, and opening/closing of the four sub-dampers 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d of the downstream damper 21 is also controllable.
(4) As described above, the open/closed states of the sub-dampers 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d of the downstream damper 21 are opposite to those of the sub-dampers 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d of the upstream damper 20. The sub-dampers 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d are connected to the upstream damper opening/closing device 320. The sub-dampers 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d are connected to the downstream damper opening/closing device 321. The upstream damper opening/closing device 320 opens/closes the sub-dampers 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d. The downstream damper opening/closing device 321 opens/closes the sub-dampers 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d. The damper control unit 111 of the control device 100 controls the upstream damper opening/closing device 320 so as to control opening/closing of the sub-dampers 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d, and controls the downstream damper opening/closing device 321 so as to control opening/closing of the sub-dampers 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d.
(5) In the case of
(6) In the downstream damper 21, the sub-dampers 21a and 21d are open, and the sub-dampers 21b and 21c are closed.
The return air passes through the upstream damper 20 and then flows into one or the other one of the first stationary desiccant 30 and the second stationary desiccant 31. Referring to
In
The outdoor air passes through the upstream damper 20 and then flows into the first stationary desiccant 30 or the second stationary desiccant 31 in accordance with the open/closed state of the sub-dampers 20b and 20d.
In
In the upstream damper 20, if the sub-dampers 20a and 20d are in the closed state, the sub-dampers 20b and 20c are in the open state. At this time, in the downstream damper 21, the sub-dampers 21a and 21d are in the open state and the sub-dampers 21b and 21c are in the closed state. This state of the upstream damper 20 and downstream damper 21 will be called state 1. If the sub-dampers 20a and 20d are in the open state, the sub-dampers 20b and 20c are in the closed state. At this time, in the downstream damper 21, the sub-dampers 21a and 21d are in the closed state and the sub-dampers 21b and 21c are in the open state. This state of the upstream damper 20 and downstream damper 21 will be called state 2 (
That is, the state 1 is a state where the return air flows into the first stationary desiccant 30 and the outdoor air flows into the second stationary desiccant 31 (
Alternatively, in accordance with supply-air temperature and humidity detected by the supply air detection sensor 83 (
When the damper control unit 111 switches between the state 1 and the state 2, a desiccant to adsorb water (a desiccant through which the outdoor air passes) and a desiccant to be regenerated (a desiccant through which the heated return air passes) switch. Hence, the air treatment apparatus 500 can perform dehumidifying operation continuously.
A bypass mode will be described with referring to
The bypass mode is a mode in which the return air does not flow into the total heat exchanger 40 but flows into the heater 10, so that the return air does not perform total heat exchange with the outdoor air in the total heat exchanger 40.
The air treatment apparatus 500 has the bypass channel 50 through which the return air bypasses the total heat exchanger 40 so as to be directed toward the heater 10. The bypass channel 50 is controlled to switch between an ON state where the return air is bypassed and an OFF state where the return air is not bypassed. A state where the bypass channel partition plate 804 is open corresponds to the ON state of the bypass channel 50. A state where the bypass channel partition plate 804 is closed corresponds to the OFF state of the bypass channel 50.
When the partition plate opening/closing device 350 opens/closes the bypass channel partition plate 804, the return air bypass channel 50 is turned on/off. When the partition plate control unit 112 of the control device 100 controls the partition plate opening/closing device 350, the bypass channel partition plate 804 is opened/closed, as will be described later.
The control device 100 is a bypass control device. The partition plate control unit 112 of the control device 100 switches the bypass channel 50 between one and the other one of the ON state and the OFF state on the basis of temperature and humidity of the outdoor air and temperature and humidity of the return air.
The bypass channel partition plate 804, the plate 805, and the opening 806 will be described below which are indicated by solid lines in
The bypass channel partition plate 804 indicated by n, o, t, and s is arranged under the first partition plate 801. The bypass channel partition plate 804 in
Whether or not to bypass the return air is judged by the partition plate control unit 112 as follows. The partition plate control unit 112 judges whether or not to bypass the return air in accordance with the values detected by the outdoor air detection sensor 80 and return air detection sensor 81 and the value being set by the preset information storage unit 82.
In the bypass mode, as illustrated in
Switching between the bypass mode and the heat exchange mode is decided in accordance with whether or not energy necessary for the heater 10 and energy necessary for the cooler 11 become the minimum.
Lo_OA: outdoor air at the outlet of the total heat exchanger 40
Lo_RA: return air at the outlet of the total heat exchanger 40
HEXo: air at the outlet of the cooler 11
ET: evaporating temperature of the refrigerant
I: air enthalpy
ΔI_Lo: specific enthalpy change which is necessary in the cooler 11 when the outdoor air passes through the total heat exchanger 40
ΔI_bypass: specific enthalpy change which is necessary in the cooler 11 when the outdoor air bypasses the total heat exchanger 40
As illustrated in
Meanwhile, the return air passing through the total heat exchanger 40 becomes indoor air (air (Lo_RA) having a higher temperature and higher humidity than the return air) and flows into the heater 10. In the heater 10, in order to regenerate the stationary desiccant, the heating capacity is controlled such that the humidity of the inflow air becomes lower than a predetermined relative humidity. Hence, the higher the humidity of air, the larger the heating capacity which is necessary in the heater 10. Therefore, by allowing the return air to flow into the total heat exchanger 40, the heating capacity which is necessary in the heater 10 increases.
The necessary heating capacity and the necessary cooling capacity, that is, the necessary energy changes in accordance with the condition of the outdoor air and in accordance with whether or not to allow the return air to flow into the total heat exchanger 40. Therefore, there is a situation where the necessary energy of the bypass mode is smaller than in the heat exchange mode. In the air treatment apparatus 500, as mentioned above, when the values acquired from the outdoor air detection sensor 80, return air detection sensor 81, and preset information storage unit 82 satisfy the condition for the bypass channel ON indicated on the bypass determination table, the partition plate control unit 112 sets the bypass channel partition plate 804 in the open state to form the bypass channel 50.
The air treatment apparatus 500 according to Embodiment 1 switches between the bypass mode and the heat exchange mode in accordance with the condition of the outdoor air while satisfying a necessary dehumidification quantity. Therefore, an air treatment apparatus having a high energy efficiency with a minimum necessary energy can be provided.
Also, if the cooler 11 is arranged under the heater 10, condensed water generated in the cooler 11 does not reach the heater 10. Then, the condensed water can be collected easily.
Although not illustrated, the outdoor air and the return air may flow from opposite directions into the total heat exchanger 40.
A control device 100 is a refrigerant control device. A refrigerant control unit 113 of the control device 100 controls flow rate and temperature of the refrigerant flowing into the first heat exchanger being the condenser, and into the evaporator being the second heat exchanger. The refrigerant control unit 113 of the control device 100 controls a heating capacity of the condenser being the heater 10 and a cooling capacity of the evaporator being the cooler 11, by adjusting a rotation speed of the compressor 71 and an aperture of the expansion valve 70. The heating capacity and the cooling capacity are decided by the refrigerant control unit 113 illustrated in
When the refrigerating cycle device 450 is provided, heating and cooling can be performed by a single refrigerating circuit, so that the air treatment apparatus 500 can be made compact. Also, since exhaust heat that occurs when generating cold heat is utilized by the heater 10, energy efficiency can be enhanced.
Although not illustrated, an outdoor unit provided with a heat exchanger and a blower fan may be installed between the heater 10 and the compressor 71, so that the heating capacity can be adjusted.
Dehumidification operations are the same as in Modification 2. By switching the four-way valve 72, the second heat exchanger is used as the condenser (heater). Hence, the outdoor air is heated by the second heat exchanger and is then allowed to flow into the humidification device 90, so that the outdoor air is humidified. No desiccant need be utilized for humidification. When a desiccant is utilized, the outdoor air is humidified by water being emitted from the desiccant, which is contrary to the case of dehumidification, and then is further humidified by the humidification device 90.
As humidification and dehumidification can be achieved by the same air treatment apparatus 500, the air treatment apparatus 500 can be utilized throughout the year. providing an advantage.
A hardware configuration of the control device 100 will be supplemented below. In the control device 100 of
The processor 110 and the electronic circuit 600 are each called processing circuitry. In the control device 100, the functions of the damper control unit 111, partition plate control unit 112, and refrigerant control unit 113 may be implemented by processing circuitry. Alternatively, the functions of the damper control unit partition plate control unit 112, refrigerant control unit 113, main storage device 120, auxiliary storage device 130, input IF 140, output IF 150, and communication IF 160 may be implemented by processing circuitry.
Embodiment 1 involving a plurality of modifications has been described above. Of Embodiment 1 involving the plurality of modifications, one portion may be practiced partly. Alternatively, of Embodiment 1 involving the plurality of modifications, two or more portions may be partly combined and practiced. The present invention is not limited to Embodiment 1, and various changes may be made to the present invention as necessary.
This application is a U.S. national stage application of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2019/008676 filed on Mar. 5, 2019.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2019/008676 | 3/5/2019 | WO | 00 |
