JP2003275535A - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dehumidifier capable of being thinned without lowering a dehumidifying effect. <P>SOLUTION: A blowing means 2 of a centrifugal fan type is disposed at a space part 1a at the center part of an absorption element part 1 composed of an annular absorption element 1b where air can pass through from an inner peripheral side to an outer peripheral side. Then, air A to be treated is sent out radially to the annular absorption element 1b by the blowing means 2 and is made to pass through from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the absorption element 1b, moisture is removed and it is turned to dehumidified air B to be treated. In such a manner, dehumidification is performed only by the dimension in the thickness direction of the absorption element part 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dehumidifying device, and more particularly to a dehumidifying device that can be incorporated in an electric device such as a washing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a conventional dehumidifying device. In the figure, 31 is an adsorption rotor, which is divided into an adsorption zone 32 and a regeneration zone 33. 34 and 35 are drive belts and geared motors that rotate the adsorption rotor 31, and 36 is a crossflow sensible heat exchanger.
Sensible heat is exchanged between the two flow passages. A drain pan 37 is installed below the heat exchanger 36, and receives water condensed in the heat exchanger 36. Also,
A drain pipe 38 is connected to the drain pan 37 as needed. Reference numeral 39 is a heater unit, and 40 and 41 are blowers, respectively. The suction port of the blower 40 communicates with the outlet of the regeneration zone 33 of the adsorption rotor 31, and the discharge port of the blower 40 communicates with the flow passage of the heat exchanger 36. . Further, one flow passage of the heat exchanger 36 communicates with the heater unit 39. The heater unit 39 communicates with the regeneration zone 33, and the outlet of the regeneration zone 33 is blower 40 as described above.
It will be in communication with the suction port of. That is, a closed loop of the regeneration zone 33 → blower 40 → heat exchanger 36 → heater unit 39 → regeneration zone 33 is configured.

Next, the operation will be described. The geared motor 35 is energized to drive the adsorption rotor 31 to rotate. At the same time, the blowers 40 and 41 and the heater unit 39 are also energized. Then, the air to be treated F in the surrounding space is adsorbed with moisture when passing through the adsorption zone 32, and becomes dry treated air G to be supplied to the surrounding space again. The moisture adsorbed by the adsorption rotor 31 is desorbed by the treated air H heated by the heater unit 39 when passing through the regeneration zone 33, and becomes the treated air I of high temperature and high humidity, and the heat exchanger 3
6 enters one of the flow passages, and is cooled here to condense moisture, which is dropped into the drain pan 37 and collected. As a conventional dehumidifier using such a moisture adsorbing element, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-57384 and Japanese Patent Publication No.
25614 and the like.

[0004]

In the conventional dehumidifying apparatus as described above, when the apparatus is installed in a wall-mounted type indoor air dehumidifier or other container or equipment from the viewpoint of efficient use of the installation space of the apparatus. There is a demand for thinner dehumidifiers such as space restrictions. However, the size and shape of the conventional dehumidifier is such that the adsorption rotor 31 is rotatably supported in the box 42 and is positioned orthogonal to the adsorption rotor 31 as shown in the assembly mode diagram of FIG. Since the blowers 40 and 41 and the heat exchanger 36 are arranged, the dimension of the dehumidifying device in the thickness direction is the sum of the thickness of the disk-shaped adsorption rotor 31, the blowers 40 and 41, and the heat exchanger 36. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the thickness of the dehumidifier.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and provides a dehumidifying device in which the device is made thin without deteriorating the dehumidifying effect.

[0006]

In the dehumidifying apparatus according to the present invention, the dehumidifying device has an adsorbing element portion composed of an annular adsorbing element capable of passing air from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side, and the adsorbing element portion of the adsorbing element portion is blown by a blowing means. The air to be treated is sent to the adsorption element from the inner peripheral side.

Further, the blower means has a structure capable of radially sending the air to be treated, a space portion is formed in the central portion of the adsorption element, and the blower means is arranged in the space portion.

Further, a rotation mechanism for rotating the annular adsorption element is provided, a heater unit is provided between the air blowing means and the adsorption element, and an exhaust air passage is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the adsorption element facing the heater unit. Is provided.

Further, a rotating mechanism for rotating the annular adsorbing element and a warm air generator for blowing warm air to a part of the adsorbing element are provided, and the annular adsorbing element and the air blowing means are provided between the annular adsorbing element and the air blowing means. An annular heat exchanger is formed along the inner peripheral side of the adsorbing element, and hot air that has passed through a part of the adsorbing element is passed through the heat exchanger.

Further, in the rotating mechanism, the adsorption element portion has a structure for capturing a circumferential component of the air flow of the blower means,
The suction element is rotated by the force of the circumferential component of the air flow.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1. 1 and 2 (a)
1B is an external perspective view showing a dehumidifying device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an adsorbing element portion, and FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is an adsorption element portion formed in an annular shape, and a space portion 1a is formed in the central portion (see FIG. 2).
(See (a)). Reference numeral 2 denotes a centrifugal fan type air blowing unit that is disposed in the space 1a of the annular adsorption element unit 1 and has blades 2a (see FIG. 2B), and is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown).

Next, the adsorption element section 1 will be described in detail. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the adsorption element 1b arranged in the adsorption element portion 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion A of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of block-shaped adsorption elements 1b are arranged in an annular shape inside the adsorption element portion 1 to form an annular shape. Each adsorbing element 1b has a structure in which an adsorbent is carried on a honeycomb-shaped base so that air can pass through the honeycomb-shaped space portion (see FIG. 4), and the advancing direction of the air is annular. The adsorption element 1b is arranged in the radial direction of the element unit 1.

The operation of the dehumidifying device thus constructed will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b).
(A) is an operation explanatory front view showing the flow of the air to be treated,
(B) is an operation explanatory sectional view showing the flow of the air to be treated. First, the blower 2 is rotated by a motor (not shown). Due to the rotating operation of the blades 2a, the air A to be treated is sucked in from the axial direction of the center of the space 1a of the annular adsorption element portion 1 and is sent to the outside of the adsorption element portion 1 in the radial direction (arrow A). Then, the air A to be treated passes through the inside of the adsorption element 1b having a structure that allows air to pass in the radial direction,
At that time, the water contained in the air A to be treated is adsorbed by the adsorbent carried on the adsorption element 1b (arrow B). In this way, the air A to be treated passes through the inside of the adsorption element unit 1 to be dehumidified, and the dehumidified air B to be treated is discharged to the surrounding space.

When the adsorbing element section 1 continuously dehumidifies the above-described operation, it adsorbs moisture to reach a saturated state and the dehumidifying performance deteriorates. In this case, the adsorption element unit 1 that has lost the dehumidification performance can be removed and replaced with a new adsorption element unit, and the operation of the dehumidification device can be continued.

As described above, by disposing the centrifugal fan type air blowing means 2 in the central portion of the annular adsorption element portion 1,
It is not necessary to take a dimension in the thickness direction as in the conventional technique, and dehumidification can be performed with the thickness dimension of the adsorption element portion 1, and a thin dehumidifying device can be realized.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, if the dehumidifying device comprising the adsorbing element portion 1 and the air blowing means 2 shown in FIG. 1 is housed in the casing 3, the dehumidified object to be processed passes through the adsorbing element portion 1. The air B can also be concentrated and emitted in an arbitrary direction (here, the discharge port 3a formed in the casing 3) (see FIG. 7).

Embodiment 2. 8 and 9 are an external perspective view of a dehumidifier showing a third embodiment of the present invention and an operation explanatory front view showing the flow of air to be treated. In the figure, 1 and 2 are the same as those in the above-described first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted. Reference numeral 4 denotes a heater unit which is a regenerating unit, and is arranged between the air blowing unit 2 and the adsorption element 1b of the adsorption element unit 1. Reference numeral 5 denotes an exhaust air passage, which is provided with an exhaust duct 5a and is arranged on the outer peripheral portion of the adsorption element 1b facing the heater unit 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a regeneration zone of the adsorption element portion 1, which is a position (a range indicated by a dotted line) sandwiched between the heater unit 4 and the exhaust air passage 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes an adsorption zone of the adsorption element portion 1, which is a portion of the adsorption element 1b other than the regeneration zone 6. Reference numeral 8 is a drive roller, and 9 is a support roller.

The operation of the dehumidifying device thus configured will be described. First, the adsorption element portion 1 formed in an annular shape is rotatably supported by the drive roller 8 and the support roller 9. As the adsorption element section 1 rotates, the adsorption element 1b of the adsorption element section 1 moves from the adsorption zone 7 to the regeneration zone 6
And then again to the adsorption zone 7 through the two zones. Then, the air blower 2 is rotated by a motor (not shown), and the rotation of the air A is sucked in from the axial direction of the central portion of the space portion 1a of the adsorption element portion 1,
It is delivered to the outside of the adsorption element unit 1 in the radial direction (similar to the first embodiment). Then, the air A to be treated passes through the inside of the adsorption element 1b in the adsorption zone 7 having a structure capable of passing air in the radial direction, and is adsorbed by the adsorbent of the adsorption element 1b to dehumidify it (arrow B). , Dehumidified air to be treated B
Are released into the surrounding space.

In this way, the adsorbent of the adsorbing element 1b of the adsorbing element part 1 of the adsorbing zone 7 adsorbs the water contained in the air A to be treated, and the adsorbing element 1b adsorbing this water absorbs the water.
By rotating the ring-shaped adsorption element unit 1, the adsorption zone 7
Play zone 6 enters. In the regeneration zone 6, the air A to be processed sent out by the air blowing means 2 passes through the heater unit 4 to become high-temperature hot air (arrow C), and the hot air (arrow C) passes through the inside of the adsorption element section 1. . At that time, the warm air desorbs water from the adsorbent of the adsorbing element 1b to regenerate the adsorbent. The air that has regenerated the adsorbent and contains water is discharged to the outside from the exhaust duct 5a through the exhaust air passage 5 located at a position facing the heater unit 4. The adsorption element portion 1 thus regenerated enters the adsorption zone 7 again to dehumidify the air A to be treated.

As described above, by providing the centrifugal fan type blower means 2 in the space portion 1a at the center of the annular adsorption element portion 1, it is not necessary to take a dimension in the thickness direction, and a thin dehumidifying device is realized. At the same time, one air blower 2 can send out the air A to be treated and the hot air for regenerating the adsorbing element part 1, respectively, so that the air for regenerating the adsorbing element part 1 can be sent. It is not necessary to separately provide a means, and the number of parts can be reduced.

Embodiment 3. 10 and 11 are an external perspective view of a dehumidifier showing a third embodiment of the present invention and an operation explanatory front view showing the flow of air to be treated. In the figure,
1, 2, 4 to 7 and 9 are the same as those in the second embodiment,
The description is omitted. Reference numeral 10 denotes a plurality of blades provided on the inner peripheral surface of the adsorption element 1b of the annular adsorption element portion 1 on the side of the air blower 2.

The operation of the dehumidifying device thus configured will be described. First, the adsorption element portion 1 formed in an annular shape is rotatably supported by the drive roller 8 and the support roller 9. As the adsorption element section 1 rotates, the adsorption element 1b of the adsorption element section 1 moves from the adsorption zone 7 to the regeneration zone 6
And then again to the adsorption zone 7 through the two zones. Then, the air blower 2 is rotated by a motor (not shown), and the rotation of the air A is sucked in from the axial direction of the central portion of the space portion 1a of the adsorption element portion 1,
It is delivered to the outside of the adsorption element unit 1 in the radial direction (similar to the first embodiment). At this time, the direction of the flow of the air to be treated A is not a complete radial direction in detail, but has a circumferential component as indicated by an arrow D due to the characteristics of the centrifugal fan that is the air blowing unit 2. The air A to be treated indicated by the arrow D in FIG.
0, the air flow of the air A to be treated becomes a complete radial flow here (arrow E), and passes through the adsorption element unit 1. Then, in the adsorption zone 7, the adsorbent of the adsorption element 1b adsorbs the moisture contained in the air A to be treated to dehumidify the air A to be treated. At this time, a force in the circumferential direction (arrow F) is applied to the blade 10 according to the change in the direction of the air flow, and the adsorption element unit 1 is rotatably supported only by the support roller 9, so that the blade 10 is supported. It is rotated by a circumferential force.

By the rotation of the adsorption element section 1 in this way, the adsorbent of the adsorption element 1b of the adsorption element section 1 of the adsorption zone 7 is moved to the regeneration zone 6 and then to the adsorption zone 7 in two zones. Repeatedly pass. When the adsorption element 1b that has adsorbed moisture from the adsorption zone 7 reaches the regeneration zone 6, the warm air (arrow E) from the heater unit 4 passes through the adsorption element portion 1 of the regeneration zone 6 to desorb moisture from the adsorbent. And regenerate the adsorbent. Then, the adsorption unit 1 thus regenerated enters the adsorption zone 7 again. In this way, the adsorbent repeatedly adsorbs and regenerates moisture, whereby the air A to be treated is continuously dehumidified.

As described above, since the force of the component of the air flow by the blower means 2 is captured to rotate the annular adsorption element portion 1, it is necessary to use a drive device such as a motor for rotating the adsorption element portion 1. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced.

In the third embodiment, the adsorbing element section 1 is provided with the blade 10. However, when the resistance between the wind and the adsorbing element section 1 is sufficiently large, the circumferential component of the air flow can be obtained without providing the blade. It is possible to rotate the adsorption element unit 1 by capturing.

Fourth Embodiment 12 and 13 are an external perspective view of a dehumidifier showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and a perspective view of a heat exchanger and a circulation air passage. In the figure, 1, 2,
Since 4 and 6 to 9 are the same as those in the second embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 11 denotes a circulating air passage, inside which a warm air generating device 12 constituted by a second air blowing means (not shown) and a heater (not shown) is provided. Reference numeral 13 is a heat exchanger formed in an annular shape between the air blowing means 2 and the adsorption element 1b, one end of which is connected to the intake side of the warm air generator 12 of the circulation air passage 11,
The other end is an opening 13a, the opening 13a and the exhaust side of the warm air generator 12 are opposed to each other, and the adsorption element 1b is arranged between the opening 13a and the exhaust side of the warm air generator 12.

The operation of the dehumidifying device thus configured will be described. First, the adsorption element portion 1 formed in an annular shape is rotatably supported by the drive roller 8 and the support roller 9. By the rotation of the annular adsorption element unit 1, the adsorbent of the adsorption element 1b of the adsorption element unit 1 of the adsorption zone 7 moves to the regeneration zone 6 and again to the adsorption zone 7.
Repeatedly pass through one zone. Then, the air to be treated A is delivered to the thus rotating adsorbing element portion 1 by the rotation of the blowing unit 2 by the motor (not shown) (similar to the first embodiment). Then, the air A to be treated passes through the inside of the adsorption element 1b in the adsorption zone 7 having a structure capable of passing air in the radial direction, is adsorbed with the adsorbent of the adsorption element 1b to be dehumidified and dehumidified. The air B to be treated is discharged into the surrounding space.

In this way, the adsorption element portion 1 of the adsorption zone 7
The adsorbent of the adsorbing element 1b adsorbs the water contained in the air A to be treated. The adsorption element 1b that has adsorbed this moisture is absorbed by the adsorption zone 7 when the annular adsorption element portion 1 rotates.
Play zone 6 enters. In the regeneration zone 6, the warm air generated by the warm air generator 12 passes through the inside of the adsorption element section 1 of the regeneration zone 6, desorbs moisture from the adsorbent in the adsorption element section 1, and regenerates the adsorbent. Let

The hot air that has passed through the inside of the adsorption element section 1 and has regenerated the adsorbent becomes air containing desorbed water,
It enters into the heat exchanger 13 through the opening 13a. Heat exchanger 13
Is cooled by the air to be treated A sent from the air blowing unit 2, the air containing moisture that has entered the heat exchanger 13 is cooled, and the contained moisture condenses. The condensed water is discharged from the drain pipe 14 to the outside. Then, the air cooled by the heat exchanger 13 to remove the water content returns to the circulation air passage 11 and is heated again by the hot air generator 12,
The adsorbent of the adsorption element 1b of the adsorption element section 1 of the regeneration zone 6 is regenerated. At this time, for cooling by the heat exchanger 11,
The air A to be treated which is blown out from the blowing means 2 is used.

By disposing the centrifugal fan type air blowing means 2 in the central space of the annular adsorption element portion 1 as described above, the dimension is not taken in the thickness direction, and further, the annular adsorption element portion 1 and the centrifugal fan are arranged. By disposing the annular heat exchanger 13 between the air blowers 2 of the type
Since 3 can be cooled, a thin dehumidifying device can be obtained by dehumidifying the dehumidified air of the adsorption element 1b using a heat exchanger.

Although the first to fourth embodiments have been described as air dehumidifiers, if the adsorbent is made suitable for adsorbing a chemical substance such as formaldehyde, it becomes a device for removing the chemical substance. Is applicable and is not limited to the dehumidifying device.

[0032]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

It has an adsorbing element portion composed of an annular adsorbing element that allows air to pass from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side, and the air to be treated is sent from the inner peripheral side of the adsorbing element portion to the adsorbing element by a blowing means. Therefore, the dimension of the dehumidifier in the thickness direction can be reduced by setting the portion of the adsorbing element through which the air to be treated passes in instead of the thickness direction.

Further, since the air blower has a structure capable of radially sending the air to be treated, a space is formed in the center of the adsorbing element, and the air blower is arranged in the space.
It is possible to reduce the thickness of the dehumidifier in the thickness direction.

Further, a rotation mechanism for rotating the annular adsorption element is provided, a heater unit is provided between the air blowing means and the adsorption element, and an exhaust air passage is provided at an outer peripheral portion of the adsorption element facing the heater unit. Since the above is provided, the dimension in the thickness direction of the dehumidifying device that can regenerate the adsorption element can be thinned.

Further, a rotating mechanism for rotating the annular adsorption element and a hot air generator for blowing warm air to a part of the adsorption element are provided, and the annular adsorption element and the air blowing means are provided between the annular adsorption element and the air blowing means. An annular heat exchanger is formed along the inner peripheral side of the adsorbing element, and the hot air passing through a part of the adsorbing element is allowed to pass through the heat exchanger, so that the dehumidifying device can regenerate the adsorbing element. It is possible to reduce the thickness and remove water from the air to be treated after passing through the adsorption element without increasing the number of parts.

Further, in the rotating mechanism, the adsorbing element portion has a structure for capturing a circumferential component of the air flow of the blower means,
Since the suction element is rotated by the force of the circumferential component of the air flow, the suction element portion can be rotated without using a driving device or the like, and the number of parts can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a dehumidifying device showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 (a) is a perspective view of an adsorption element portion of the dehumidifying device showing the first embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is a perspective view of the ventilation means of the dehumidifying device showing Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an adsorption element of the dehumidifying device showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion A of FIG. 3 of the dehumidifying device showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a front view for explaining the operation of the dehumidifying device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. (B) It is operation | movement explanatory sectional drawing of the dehumidifier which shows Embodiment 1 of this invention.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the dehumidifying device showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory cross-sectional view of the dehumidifying device showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of a dehumidifying device showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view for explaining the operation of the dehumidifying device showing the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of a dehumidifying device showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view for explaining the operation of the dehumidifying device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of a dehumidifying device showing a mobile phone 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger of a dehumidifying device showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of a conventional dehumidifying device.

FIG. 15 is an assembly mode diagram of a conventional dehumidifying device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 adsorption element part, 1a space part, 1b adsorption element, 2
Blower device, 2a blade, 3 casing, 3a outlet, 4 heater unit, 5 exhaust air passage, 5a exhaust duct, 6 regeneration zone, 7 adsorption zone, 8 drive roller, 9 support roller, 10 blade, 11 circulation air passage, 1
2 hot air generator, 13 heat exchanger, 14 drain pipe.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Teruo Nakamura             2-3 2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Ryo Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masafumi Nagata             2-3 2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Ryo Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 3L053 BC02 BC03                 4D052 AA08 CB01 DA01 DA06 DB01                       FA04 HB02

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An adsorbing element portion comprising an annular adsorbing element that allows air to pass from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side, and blows air to the treated element from the inner peripheral side of the adsorbing element portion to the adsorbing element. A dehumidifying device characterized by being made. 2. A dehumidifying device characterized in that the air blower has a structure capable of radially sending the air to be treated, a space is formed in the center of the adsorption element, and the air blower is arranged in the space. apparatus. 3. A rotation mechanism for rotating the annular adsorption element, a heater unit is provided between the air blowing unit and the adsorption element, and an exhaust air passage is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the adsorption element facing the heater unit. The dehumidifying device according to claim 2, further comprising: 4. A rotating mechanism for rotating the annular adsorption element, and a warm air generator for blowing warm air to a part of the adsorption element, wherein the annular adsorption element and the air blowing means are provided between the annular adsorption element and the blowing means. The annular heat exchanger is formed along the inner peripheral side of the adsorbing element, and the hot air that has passed through a part of the adsorbing element is allowed to pass through the heat exchanger. Dehumidifier. 5. The rotating mechanism has a structure in which the adsorption element section captures a circumferential component of an air flow of the blower, and the adsorption element is rotated by a force of a circumferential component of the air flow. The dehumidifying device according to claim 4, wherein the dehumidifying device is a device.