Patent Application
20220196257
The present invention relates to an Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart hybrid dehumidification system capable of reducing energy consumption based on the IoT, that is, the usage of a heater by using the condensation heat of a pre-cooler as a heat source for heating a rotor for releasing moisture in a dehumidification device to the outside, and a control method therefor.
In general, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a technology in which various things are connected to the Internet through built-in sensors and communication functions. This is an artificial intelligence technology that allows Internet-connected objects to transmit or receive data and provide a user with autonomously analyzed and learned information or that allows a user to remotely control Internet-connected objects. Here, the objects are various embedded systems such as home appliances, mobile devices, and wearable computers. A thing connected to the Internet of Things has to be connected to the Internet with a unique internet protocol (IP) that can distinguish the thing from other things and has an embedded sensor to acquire data from an external environment. This is a concept developed from the conventional ubiquitous sensor network (USN) and machine-to-machine (M2M) and has been extended to and recognized as machine-type communication and the Internet of Everything (IoE).
Meanwhile, a dehumidifier, or a dehumidifying air-conditioner, is used as a means for removing moisture contained in indoor air. A dehumidifier has a compressor installed inside the main body thereof together with an evaporator and a condenser and has an intake fan installed in front of the evaporator and the condenser, and thus is configured to remove the moisture contained in the indoor by liquefying the moisture due to the temperature difference with outdoor air when indoor air introduced into the main body comes into contact with the evaporator maintaining the condensation point. Dehumidifiers are largely classified into cooling dehumidifiers and dry dehumidifiers according to the dehumidification method.
The dry dehumidifier includes a main body in which a regeneration side passage through which outdoor air passes and a treatment side passage through which indoor air passes are divided by a partition wall, a dehumidification rotor that passes through the partition wall and that is rotatably installed perpendicular to the regeneration side passage and the treatment side passage, and a heater installed in the regeneration side passage to dry and regenerate the dehumidification rotor. As the dehumidification rotor coated with a dehumidifying agent such as silica-gel or zeolite is rotated, the moisture of air passing through the dehumidification rotor is adsorbed and removed by the dehumidification rotor, and the dehumidification rotor that has adsorbed moisture through the dehumidification is regenerated through drying and removing the moisture.
However, such a dry dehumidifier uses the condensation heat of a condenser as heating energy to regenerate the dehumidification rotor, and thus it is possible to reduce the heating energy for regeneration of the dehumidifier and reduce operating costs. However, the condensation heat of the condenser, which is used to heat regenerative air, cannot be controlled, and thus it is difficult to adjust the temperature of the regenerative air such that the amount of dehumidification of the dehumidifier cannot be controlled.
Exemplary techniques for solving the above problem are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 below.
For example, Korean Patent No. 10-1946860 (registered on Feb. 1, 2019; Patent Document 1) discloses an energy saving control system for a smart dry dehumidifier including a pre-cooling unit that cools incoming outdoor air, a return cooling unit that receives and cools some air discharged from a dry room, a dehumidification rotor that receives air discharged from the pre-cooling unit and the return cooling unit through an intake fan and dehumidifies the received air, and a rear cooling unit that cools some air discharged from the dehumidification rotor and a rear heater that heats some air discharged from the dehumidification rotor, according to a dry room temperature condition, a regeneration heater that receives and heats some air discharged from the dehumidification rotor, and a regeneration fan configured to dehumidify the air heated by the regeneration heater through the dehumidification rotor and discharge the dehumidified air to the outside.
Also, Korean Patent No. 10-1528640 (registered on Jun. 8, 2015; Patent Document 2) discloses a method of controlling the operation of a hybrid desiccant dehumidification device in which a refrigerator and a desiccant dehumidifier are combined and which is configured to cool and dehumidify air using an evaporator, dehumidify and heat the air through the desiccant dehumidifier, supply regenerative air heated using the condensation heat of a condenser of the refrigerator as a regenerative heat source of the desiccant dehumidifier, and exhaust high-temperature and high-humidity air acquired through desorption due to the exchange of heat with a desiccant rotor.
Meanwhile, Korean Patent No. 10-1471954 (registered on Dec. 5, 2014; Patent Document 3) discloses a dry dehumidifier including a dehumidification rotor rotatably installed to form an intake air flow that supplies dehumidified air from which moisture is adsorbed while humid air introduced through a filter passes through an intake air flow area and to form an exhaust air flow that exhausts humid air from which the adsorbed moisture is removed to the outside in the opposite direction to that of the intake air flow while regenerative air heated by a rotor regeneration heater passes through an exhaust air flow area and a regenerative energy saving means that heats the regenerative air and introduces the heated regenerative air to the rotor regeneration heater before the rotor regeneration heater heats the regenerative air.
Also, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2019-0070729 (published on Jun. 21, 2019; Patent Document 4) discloses an IoT-based window control device including a measurement unit that measures the amount of precipitation using a sensor, a determination unit that determines whether the amount of precipitation measured by the measurement unit is greater than or equal to a reference value, and a control unit that activates a motor to close an open window when the measured amount of precipitation is greater than or equal to the reference value.
However, according to the techniques disclosed in the above patent documents, it is not possible to remotely control the operation state of a direct heating unit according to a sensing signal of a sensing unit provided in a dehumidification space, thus causing inconvenience in use.
Also, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, since a heat pipe for secondarily heating regenerative air introduced through a primary regeneration heater is provided, there is more equipment in the dry dehumidification device, and the dehumidification performance and thermal efficiency of the rotor are reduced.
The present invention is related to providing an Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart hybrid dehumidification system capable of maximizing dehumidification performance and improving thermal efficiency and energy saving efficiency based on the IoT by using solar heat or sunlight and the condensation heat of a pre-cooler, and a control method therefor.
The present invention is also related to providing an IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system capable of miniaturizing a first regenerative heat source unit by burying a second pipe through which a high-temperature refrigerant flows in a first pipe through which solar-heat storage material flows, and a control method therefor.
The present invention is also related to providing an IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system capable of maximizing user convenience by controlling the operation state of a direct heating unit using an IoT-based user terminal, and a control method therefor.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart hybrid dehumidification system including a sensing unit provided in a dehumidification space, a direct heating unit configured to suction humid air and supply dehumidified dry air to the dehumidification space, a direct digital controller (DDC) configured to control the direct heating unit, and a user terminal configured to remotely control the DDC in real time according to a sensing signal sensed by the sensing unit, wherein the direct heating unit includes a pre-cooler configured to cool and supply outdoor air, a dehumidification rotor configured to adsorb moisture in a dry adsorption manner from the outdoor air cooled by the pre-cooler, and a heat source unit configured to evaporate the moisture of the dehumidification rotor, the heat source unit includes a first regenerative heat source unit and a second regenerative heat source unit, and the first regenerative heat source unit uses the condensation heat of the pre-cooler, the second regenerative heat source unit uses a heater, and the heater is activated by sunlight power.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart hybrid dehumidification control method including (a) presetting the temperature in a first regenerative heat source unit by a user terminal, (b) activating an intake fan provided in a direct heating unit to supply air to an intake port of a dehumidification space, and at the same time, cooling outdoor air by a pre-cooler and removing the moisture contained in the outdoor air by a dehumidification rotor, (c) sensing the temperature in the first regenerative heat source unit by a temperature sensing member provided in the first regenerative heat source unit after the dehumidification is performed in operation (b), (d) circulating a high-temperature refrigerant discharged from a compressor to a condenser through a bypass line without passing through the first regenerative heat source unit when the temperature sensed in operation (c) is higher than the temperature set in operation (a); and (e) activating a heater of a second regenerative heat source unit by a battery supplying power when the temperature sensed in operation (c) is lower than the temperature set in operation (a).
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing exemplary embodiments thereof in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The above and other objects and new features of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.
The terms OA, EA, RA, and SA used herein refer to outdoor air, exhausted air, returned air, and supplied air, respectively.
Also, the term “IoT” refers to the Internet of Things in which various things are connected to the Internet through built-in sensors and communication functions.
An IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
As shown in
The dehumidification space 100 may be an indoor space such as a house, office, and factory or a space for experimentation of equipment for which humidity should be kept constant. An intake port 101 configured to receive air supplied through the DHU 300 (SA) and an exhaust port 102 configured to suction air in the dehumidification space 100 and discharge the suctioned air to the outside are provided in an upper portion, e.g., on the ceiling, of the dehumidification space 100.
As shown in
As shown in
Also, although not shown in
The pre-cooler 310, which is an evaporator, cools and supplies high-temperature and high-humidity outdoor air (OA) or returned air (RA) to the dehumidification rotor 320 such that the air is supplied to the inside. As shown in
The dehumidification rotor 320 may have an adsorbent, such as silica gel and zeolite, attached thereto in a honeycomb structure to adsorb moisture in a dry adsorption manner and may be divided into an intake air flow area through which an intake air flow passes and an exhaust air flow area through which an exhaust air flow passes by a partition wall between the air conditioning duct and the regeneration duct. For example, the dehumidification rotor 320 may be rotated by a motor and a belt installed in the DHU 300 in one direction.
As shown in
The first regenerative heat source unit 331 is used for moisture evaporation of the dehumidification rotor 320 without releasing the condensation heat of the pre-cooler 310 to the outside, and thus it is possible to reduce energy consumption for heating by the heater of the second regenerative heat source unit 332 compared to conventional technology.
The DDC 400 is provided to control the operation of the pre-cooler 310, the dehumidification rotor 320, the first regenerative heat source unit 331 and the second regenerative heat source unit 332 of the heat source unit 330, the intake fan 340, and the exhaust fan 350 of the DHU 300 according to an instruction value from the user terminal 500 and can realize high precise control compared to the conventional PLC or Micom. That is, the DDC 400 includes a memory, a central processing unit (CPU), and a communication module for communication with the user terminal 500 and automatically recognizes and stores a set value or a control value for temperature, humidity, air volume, and humidification in the dehumidification space 100 so that the automatic control of the DHU 300 may be possible.
An application program or an application (app) for remotely controlling the DDC 400 in real time according to a sensing signal of the humidity sensor 210, the temperature sensor 202, or the camera 203 may be stored in the user terminal 500, and the CPU of the DDC 400 may be controlled by wireless communication through this app.
As the user terminal 500, a smartphone is used. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various terminals such as a portable terminal, a mobile terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP) terminal, a navigation terminal, a notebook computer, a tablet PC, or a wearable device may be used.
As described above, the IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system according to the present invention may remotely control the operation state of the DHU 300 through the DDC 400 using the user terminal 500 according to a sensing signal of the sensing unit 200 provided in the dehumidification space 100, and thus it is possible to maximize user convenience. Also, the condensation heat of the pre-cooler 310 is used as a heat source for heating the dehumidification rotor 320 for releasing humidity to the outside, and thus it is possible to maximize dehumidification performance and improve thermal efficiency and energy saving efficiency.
An IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
As shown in
The first heat source supply unit 600 supplies a high-temperature refrigerant discharged by the compressor 620 to the first regenerative heat source unit 331, and as shown in
That is, the IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system according to the second embodiment of the present invention uses solar heat remaining in the solar panel 710 and the condensation heat of the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor 620 in combination as a regenerative heat source of the dehumidification rotor 320.
In order to use the solar heat and the condensation heat in combination, as shown in
As described above, in the second embodiment, the solar heat remaining in the solar panel 710 and the condensation heat of the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor 620 provided for the pre-cooler 310 are used as the regenerative heat source of the dehumidification rotor 320 in combination, and thus it is possible to further save energy than in the first embodiment in which a heater is applied.
An IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to
As shown in
The first heat source supply unit 600 according to the third embodiment supplies a high-temperature refrigerant discharged by the compressor 620 to the first regenerative heat source unit 331 as in the second embodiment, and as shown in
That is, the IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system according to the third embodiment of the present invention supplies solar heat remaining in the solar panel 710 and power generated by the solar panel 710 to the first regenerative heat source unit 331 and the second regenerative heat source unit 332, respectively, and supplies the condensation heat of the high-heat refrigerant discharged from the compressor 620 to the first regenerative heat source unit 331. Accordingly, like the second embodiment, the first regenerative heat source unit 331 uses the solar heat and the condensation heat in combination as a regenerative heat source of the dehumidification rotor 320.
Therefore, even in the third embodiment, in order to use the solar heat and the condensation heat in combination, as shown in
As described above, in the third embodiment, the solar heat remaining in the solar panel 710, the sunlight power, and the condensation heat of the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor 620 provided for the pre-cooler 310 are used in combination as the regenerative heat source of the dehumidification rotor 320, and thus it is possible to further save energy than in the first embodiment in which a heater is applied and in the second embodiment in which the solar heat and the condensation heat of the high-temperature refrigerant discharged from the compressor 620 are used in combination.
The control of an IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to
The IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system according to the present invention is activated through a user terminal 500. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and an activation switch provided in a DDC 400 may be used for the activation. Meanwhile, the temperature or humidity in a dehumidification space 100 may be preset by the user terminal 500. Also, the temperature in a first regenerative heat source unit 331 may be preset by the user terminal 500 (S10).
Accordingly, an intake fan 340 provided in a DHU 300 is activated (S20) to supply air to an intake port 101 of the dehumidification space 100. At the same time, a pre-cooler cools outdoor air (OA), and a dehumidification rotor 320 removes moisture contained in the outdoor air (OA). Then, an exhaust fan 350 is activated to discharge the air in the dehumidification space 100 through an exhaust port 102. Also, when the temperature and humidity in the dehumidification space 100 is preset by an app provided in the user terminal 500, the temperature and humidity sensed in the dehumidification space 100 by the sensing unit 200 may be adjusted through the user terminal 500. Meanwhile, the temperature in the first regenerative heat source unit 331 is sensed by a temperature sensing member provided in the first regenerative heat source unit 331, and the sensed temperature is transmitted to the DDC 400.
Also, the moisture adsorbed by the dehumidification rotor 320 is removed by heat sources of the first regenerative heat source unit 331 and the second regenerative heat source unit 332 using the heater.
When the temperature of a first pipe 3311 provided in the first regenerative heat source unit 331, which is sensed in S30, is determined to be higher than the temperature preset by the user terminal 500 (S40), a three-way valve 370 circulates a high-temperature refrigerant discharged from a compressor 620 to a condenser 610 through a bypass line 360 without passing through the first regenerative heat source unit 331 under the control of DDC 400 (S50).
Meanwhile, when the temperature of the first pipe 3311 provided in the first regenerative heat source unit 331 is determined to be lower than the temperature preset by the user terminal 500 in S40, that is, when solar heat is not sufficiently supplied from the solar panel 710 due to a cloudy day or night, etc., a switch 730 is turned on for a battery 720 to supply power to activate the heater, which is the second regenerative heat source unit 332 (S60).
As described above, the supply of the heat source from the first heat source supply unit 600 to the first regenerative heat source unit 331 and the supply of the heat source from the second heat source supply unit 700 to the first regenerative heat source unit 331 and the second regenerative heat source unit 332 may be optimally executed according to the temperature preset by the user terminal 500.
As described above, with the Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart hybrid dehumidification system and the control method therefor according to the present invention, the operation state of a direct heating unit can be remotely controlled using a user terminal according to a sensing signal of a sensing unit provided in a dehumidification space, and thus it is possible to maximize user convenience based on the IoT.
Also, with the IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system and the control method therefor according to the present invention, the condensation heat of a pre-cooler and solar heat remaining in a solar panel are used as a heat source for heating a dehumidification rotor for releasing moisture to the outside, and thus it is possible to maximize dehumidification performance and improve thermal efficiency and energy saving efficiency on the basis of the IoT.
Also, with the IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system and the control method therefor according to the present invention, solar heat remaining in a solar panel, sunlight power, the condensation heat of a high-temperature refrigerant discharged from a compressor provided for a pre-cooler are used in combination as a regenerative heat source of a dehumidification rotor, and thus it is possible to further save energy on the basis of IoT.
Also, with the IoT-based smart hybrid dehumidification system and the control method therefor according to the present invention, a second pipe through which high-temperature refrigerant flows is buried in a first pipe through which solar heat storage material flows in a first regenerative heat source unit, and thus it is possible to miniaturize the first regenerative heat source unit.
Although the invention made by the present inventor has been described in detail according to the above embodiments, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be changed in various ways without departing from the gist thereof.
