KR100530530B1 - Humidifier and air conditioner using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

There are provided a humidifier, as well as an air conditioner using the same, capable of performing optimum humidification operation and improving comfort by resolving insufficient humidification. The humidifier includes a humidifying rotor (11), a moisture absorbing fan (13) provided on a moisture absorbing passage running through the humidifying rotor (11), a humidifying fan (15) provided on a humidifying passage running through the humidifying rotor (11), a motor (12) for the humidifying rotor for driving the humidifying rotor (11), and a heater (17) provided on the humidifying passage upstream from the humidifying rotor (11). At least one of the moisture absorbing fan (13), the humidifying fan (15), the motor (12) for the humidifying rotor and the heater (17) is controlled according to the outside air humidity. <IMAGE>

Description

Humidifier and air conditioner using the humidifier {HUMIDIFIER AND AIR CONDITIONER USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a humidifier for supplying wet air to a room and an air conditioner using the humidifier.

Conventionally, a humidifier is a fan provided in a humidifying rotor, a fan provided on a water absorption passage connected through the humidifying rotor, that is, a moisture absorbing fan, a fan provided in a humidifying passage connected through the humidifying rotor, that is, a humidifying fan. And a humidifier rotor motor for driving the humidification rotor and a heater provided upstream of the humidification passage from the humidification rotor. The humidifier absorbs moisture from the outdoor air into the humidifying rotor and then desorbs the moisture from the humidifying rotor to supply the humid air to the interior through the humidifying hose. Therefore, it adjusts so that indoor humidity which is easy to dry in winter becomes comfortable. However, since the absorption / desorption capacity of the humidifying rotor is changed according to the change of humidity of the external air, the humidifier may not perform the optimal humidification.

In the present application, a humidifier is proposed which alternately repeats a humidifying action of blowing wet air into a room through a humidifying hose and a drying action of blowing dry air into the humidifying hose. The humidifier prevents condensation water from remaining in the humidification hose at low cost (it should be noted that the humidifier is described in this specification for easier understanding of the present invention, which is not a known technique or a prior art). . However, the humidifier that alternates the humidification and drying operations has a shorter humidification time, which results in insufficient humidification, and the drying operation is controlled regardless of the external air humidity level, the humidity of the external air is low, and the condensation in the humidification hose is reduced. Even if this does not occur, there is a problem that the comfort is worsened.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a humidifier and an air conditioner using the humidifier, which can improve comfort by performing an optimal humidification action and solving the problem of insufficient humidification.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a humidification rotor, a moisture absorption fan provided on the water absorption passage that is connected through the humidification rotor, a humidification fan provided on the humidification passage that is connected through the humidification rotor, It provides a humidifier including a humidifier rotor motor for driving the humidification rotor and a heater provided upstream of the humidification passage from the humidification rotor, the humidifier obtains wet air from the humidification passage, thereby And a control means for controlling at least one of a moisture absorption fan, a humidification fan, a humidification rotor motor, and a heater so that the wet air has a predetermined amount of humidification according to the humidity.

The following functions and effects can be obtained in a humidifier having the above configuration through a control action by the control means as shown below.

(1) When the humidity of the outside air decreases, by increasing the number of revolutions of the moisture absorbing fan, the amount of external air passing through the moisture absorbing passage and passing through the humidifying rotor to maintain the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor is increased. By reducing the number of revolutions of the water absorption fan when the humidity of the return air increases, even if the amount of external air passing through the humidification rotor through the water absorption passage is reduced, it is possible to maintain a sufficient amount of water absorbed by the humidification rotor.

(2) When the humidity of the outside air decreases, by increasing the number of revolutions of the humidifying fan, the amount of air passing through the humidifying rotor through the humidifying passage increases so that the amount of humidification can be maintained, while increasing the humidity of the outside air. When the number of revolutions of the humidification fan is reduced, sufficient wet air can be obtained even if the amount of air passing through the humidification passage decreases and the amount of air passing through the humidification rotor decreases.

(3) When the humidity of the outside air becomes high, exhaust heat can be lowered by reducing the rotational speed of the humidifying rotor motor.

(4) Since the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor increases when the humidity of the outside air increases, the input of the heater can be lowered.

Therefore, by performing at least one of the above (1) to (4), the optimum humidification can be performed according to the humidity of the outside air. Moreover, in any of the cases (1) to (4), energy saving can be assured.

1 is a schematic block diagram of an air conditioner using a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a block diagram of an essential part of an air conditioner using the humidifier;

3 is a view showing a relationship between the humidity of the outside air and the temperature of the blowoff air.

The humidifier of the present invention and an air conditioner using the humidifier will be described in detail below according to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic block diagram of an air conditioner using a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein reference numeral 1 denotes an indoor unit, 2 an outdoor unit, and 3 an uppermost unit of the outdoor unit 2. And a humidifier 4 denotes a humidification hose 4 connecting the indoor unit 1 and the humidifier 3 to each other. The air conditioner using the humidifier (3) supplies the wet air from the humidifier (3) to the indoor unit (1) through the humidifying hose (4) in order to supply the humid air to the room.

Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of the main part of Fig. 1, wherein the humidifier 3 includes a disc-shaped humidifying rotor 11 (not shown) in the casing. For example, the humidifying rotor 11 is formed in a honeycomb form or porous and multiparticulate form from absorbents such as silica gel, zeolite and alumina, and rotates about the shaft 11a by the humidifying rotor motor 12. do. The casing is partitioned inside by a partition plate (not shown) to form a moisture absorption passage A and a humidification passage B which continue through the individual parts of the humidification rotor 11.

The water absorption fan 13 is provided on the water absorption passage A downstream from the humidifying rotor 11, and a water absorption fan motor 14 for driving the water absorption fan 13 is provided. The humidifying rotor 11 absorbs moisture (absorbs water) from air flowing through the moisture absorption passage A in the direction of the arrow.

On the other hand, the humidification fan 15 is provided on the humidification passage (B) downstream from the humidification rotor 11, for the humidification fan for driving the humidification fan 15 to suck and flow the air as indicated by the arrow. The motor 16 is provided. The heater 17 is provided above the humidifying rotor 11 on the humidifying passage B so that the air heated by the heater passes through the humidifying rotor 11 and is wetted by the humidifying rotor 11. (Water is desorbed from the humidification rotor 11). The water absorbed by the humidifying rotor 11 is desorbed by the air of the humidifying passage B heated by the heater 17, the air is wetted, and the humidified air is humidified by the humidifying fan 15. It is supplied to the hose (4).

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 21 denotes a humidity sensor disposed near the blowoff opening 4a of the humidifying hose 4 of the indoor unit body 5 and serves to detect humidity of the blowoff air. An outlet blow-off air temperature sensor disposed near the blow-off opening 4a and functioning to detect the temperature of the blow-off air on the outlet side of the humidification hose 4, reference numeral 23 is downstream of the humidification fan 15. An inlet blowoff air temperature sensor disposed near the side and serving to detect the blowoff air temperature on the inlet side of the humidifying hose 4, and reference numeral 24 denotes an external air temperature sensor for detecting the outside air temperature. . Reference numeral 31 denotes an indoor control unit which receives a signal from the humidity sensor 21 and the outlet blowoff air temperature sensor 22 to control an indoor fan (not shown), and the reference numeral 32 denotes an inlet blowoff air temperature sensor. (23) and the outdoor control unit for receiving a signal from the external air temperature sensor 24 to control a compressor (not shown) and the like, and reference numeral 33 receives a signal from the outdoor control unit 32 to control the humidification operation. The humidification action control part 33 which serves as a control means to perform is shown. The humidification action control unit 33 controls the humidification rotor motor 12, the water absorption fan motor 14, the humidification fan motor 16 and the heater 17.

In addition, a display unit 6 for displaying the humidity of the outside air is provided in the part of the indoor unit body 5 near the blow-off opening 4a of the humidification hose 4. The display unit 6 displays the humidity of the external air estimated by the humidification operation control unit 33.

3 shows the relationship between the temperature of the blowoff air of the humidification fan 15 and the humidity (relative humidity) of the external air under the condition that the temperature of the external air is 0 ° C and 7 ° C, where the humidity of the external air As the temperature increases and the temperature of the outside air decreases, the temperature of the blowoff air decreases. Therefore, as shown in Table 1, a table in which the humidity of the outside air is determined in advance according to the above relationship between the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blowoff air is prepared in advance (the value of the outside air humidity is omitted in Table 1). ).

Table 1:

Blowoff air temperature (℃) 20 20.5 21 21.5 22 … 64.5 65 Temperature of outside air (℃) -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 ... 20 22 24

A relational equation or other means of determining the humidity of the outside air from the relationship between the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blowoff air may be used instead of the table shown in Table 1. Moreover, relational equations can be associated with each other to determine actuator operating variables directly from the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blowoff air.

In the air conditioner using the humidifier having the above configuration, the humidification is based on the signals from the inlet blowoff air temperature sensor 23 and the external air temperature sensor 24, which are accommodated by the outdoor control unit 32. The action control unit 33 estimates the humidity of the outside air in Table 1. The humidification control unit 33 controls the humidification rotor motor 12 according to the humidity of the external air estimated during the humidification operation. More specifically, by controlling the water absorption fan motor 14 to increase the rotation speed of the water absorption fan 13 as the humidity of the estimated external air is lowered, the humidifying rotor past the water absorption passage (A). The amount of external air passing through (11) is increased to maintain the amount of absorbed water. On the other hand, by controlling the moisture absorption fan motor 14 to reduce the rotation speed of the moisture absorption fan 13 as the humidity of the outside air increases, it passes through the humidification rotor 11 through the moisture absorption passage (A). Even if the amount of external air is reduced, the amount of absorption can be maintained sufficiently.

In another method of control, the humidification control unit 33 controls the humidification fan motor 16 in accordance with the humidity of the external air estimated during the humidification action. More specifically, by controlling the humidification fan motor 16 to increase the rotation speed of the humidification fan 15 as the humidity of the estimated external air is lowered, it passes through the humidification rotor B and passes through the humidification rotor 11. The amount of air is increased to maintain the amount of humidification. On the other hand, by controlling the humidification fan motor 16 to reduce the number of revolutions of the humidification fan 15 as the humidity of the outside air increases, the humidification passage to reduce the amount of air passing through the humidification rotor (11). Sufficient wet air can be obtained even if the amount of air passing through is reduced.

In addition, in another method of control, the humidification control unit 33 controls the humidifying rotor motor 12 in accordance with the humidity of the external air estimated during the humidification action. More specifically, by controlling the humidifying rotor motor 12 so that the rotational speed of the humidifying rotor 11 is lowered as the humidity of the estimated external air becomes higher, the exhaust heat is lowered.

Further, in another method of control, the humidification control unit 33 controls the input of the heater 17 in accordance with the humidity of the external air estimated during the humidification action. More specifically, as the estimated humidity of the outside air increases, the amount of water absorption in the humidifying rotor 11 increases, and therefore, the input of the heater 17 lowers accordingly.

Either of the above-described control methods depending on the humidity of the outside air ensures energy saving, and two or more of those control methods can be performed simultaneously.

Therefore, the optimum humidification can be performed according to the humidity of the outside air.

In order to prevent the condensed water from remaining in the humidification hose 4, the humidifier 3 is a humidification operation for blowing wet air into the room through the humidification hose 4 and the heater 7 for drying the humidification hose 4; The drying operation is blown alternately to blow dry air heated by the into the humidification hose (4). In this case, under low humidity conditions where less condensation occurs in the humidification hose 4, the humidification control unit 33 according to the humidity level of the external air so that the drying operation time is shortened as the humidity of the external air is lowered. Control the length of drying operation time. As a result, the problem of insufficient humidification can be solved and the comfort can be improved.

Furthermore, by referring to the humidity of the outside air displayed on the display unit 6 located near the blowoff opening 4a of the humidifying hose 4, the occupant can know the exact state of the outside air even indoors.

In the above-described embodiment, the humidity of the outside air is estimated based on the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blowoff air, and at least one of the moisture absorbing fan, the humidifying fan, the humidifying rotor motor, and the heater is the estimated outside air. It is controlled according to the humidity. Otherwise, at least one of the moisture absorbing fan, the humidifying fan, the humidifying rotor motor, and the heater may be controlled according to the humidity of the external air based on either the temperature of the external air or the temperature of the blowoff air. After all, this generally means performing control by estimating the humidity of the outside air based on either the temperature of the outside air or the temperature of the blowoff air.

In addition, the inlet blowoff air temperature sensor 23 was used from above as a blowoff air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the blowoff air in the humidification passage B downstream from the humidification rotor 11. However, the blowoff air temperature sensor is not limited to the inlet blowoff air temperature sensor 23, and an outlet blowoff air temperature sensor 22 or a temperature sensor somewhere in the humidifying hose may be used instead.

The humidifier of this embodiment does not have an external air humidity sensor that directly detects the humidity of the external air, but a moisture absorbing fan, a humidification fan, and a humidification rotor motor so that wet air having a predetermined amount of humidification can be obtained based on the humidity of the external air. And at least one of the heaters may be controlled by directly detecting the humidity of the external air with an external air humidity sensor not shown.

Also, an air conditioner using a humidifier has been described in this embodiment. However, the humidifier of the present invention may be used for other heating devices, or the present invention may be applied to a humidifier or the like used as a single unit.

As apparent from the above, the present invention provides a humidifier including a humidifying rotor, a moisture absorbing fan provided on a moisture absorbing passage connected through the humidifying rotor, and a humidifying passage provided through the humidifying rotor. A humidifying fan, a humidifying rotor motor for driving the humidifying rotor and a heater provided on the humidifying passage upstream from the humidifying rotor, wherein at least one of the moisture absorption fan, the humidifying fan, the humidifying rotor motor and the heater It is controlled by the control means according to the humidity of the outside air.

Therefore, by the humidifier of the present invention, the optimum humidification can be performed according to the humidity of the outside air, and energy saving can be ensured.

In an embodiment of the humidifier comprising an external air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outside air, the humidity of the outside air based on the temperature of the outside air based on the temperature of the outside air without the need to provide an additional humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the outside air The control means controls at least one of a moisture absorption fan, a humidification fan, a humidification rotor motor, and a heater based on the temperature of the external air detected by the external air temperature sensor so that an optimal humidification action can be performed. This is because the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor tends to increase as the temperature of the outside air detected by the outside air temperature sensor increases.

In another embodiment of the humidifier comprising a blow-off air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the blow-off air in the humidifying passage downstream from the humidifying rotor, the blower does not need to provide an additional humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the outside air. The control means includes a moisture absorbing fan and a humidification based on the blowoff air temperature detected by the blowoff air temperature sensor so that the optimum humidification action can be performed based on the humidity of the outside air based on the temperature of the off air. At least one of a fan, a humidifying rotor motor, and a heater is controlled. This is because the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor tends to increase as the blowoff air temperature detected by the blowoff air temperature sensor in the humidifying passage downstream from the humidifying rotor is lowered.

In another embodiment of the humidifier comprising an external air sensor for detecting the temperature of the outside air and a blowoff air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the blowoff air in the humidification passage downstream from the humidifying rotor, Based on the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blowoff air without having to provide an additional humidity sensor to detect, the control means is controlled by the external air temperature sensor so that an optimal humidification action can be performed according to the humidity of the outside air. At least one of the moisture absorption fan, the humidification fan, the humidifying rotor motor, and the heater is controlled based on the detected temperature of the external air and the temperature of the blowoff air detected by the blowoff air temperature sensor. This is because the temperature of the outside air detected by the external air temperature sensor increases and the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor increases as the temperature of the blowoff air detected by the blowoff air temperature sensor decreases. .

In another embodiment of the humidifier comprising a humidifying hose for carrying the humid air into the room, the control means in response to the humidity level of the outside air, the drying air heated by the heater to dry the interior of the humidifying hose humidifying hose Control the length of drying operation time blown into. As a result, under low humidity conditions of the external air where condensation occurs less in the humidification hose, the drying operation time is reduced, and the problem of insufficient humidification can be solved and the comfort can be improved.

Further, in another embodiment of the humidifier including a display unit displaying the humidity of the outside air near the wet air blow-off opening, the occupant refers to the humidity of the outside air displayed on the display unit located near the wet air blow-off opening. You can know the exact condition of the outside air.

One embodiment includes an external air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the external air, wherein the control means, for the water absorption fan, humidification fan, humidification rotor based on the temperature of the external air detected by the external air temperature sensor At least one of the motor and the heater is controlled.

In the present embodiment, when the temperature of the external air detected by the external air temperature sensor becomes high, the amount of absorption into the humidifying rotor tends to increase as in the case where the humidity of the external air is high. Therefore, even without a humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the outside air, an optimal humidification action according to the humidity of the outside air can be achieved based on the temperature of the outside air. This humidification essentially consists of estimating the humidity of the outside air based on the temperature of the outside air and then controlling it based on the estimated humidity of the outside air.

One embodiment includes a blowoff air temperature sensor for detecting a blowoff air temperature downstream from the humidifying rotor from the humidifying rotor, wherein the control means is a blowoff air temperature detected by the blowoff air temperature sensor. Control at least one of a moisture absorption fan, a humidification fan, a humidification rotor motor, and a heater based on

In this embodiment, when the blowoff air temperature downstream of the humidification passage from the humidifying rotor detected by the blowoff air temperature sensor is lowered, the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor increases as in the case where the humidity of the outside air is high. Tend to. Therefore, the optimum humidification action according to the humidity of the outside air can be achieved based on the blowoff air temperature without a predetermined humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the outside air. This humidification essentially consists of estimating the humidity of the outside air based on the blowoff air temperature and then controlling it based on the estimated humidity of the outside air.

One embodiment is an external air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outside air; And

A blow-off air temperature sensor for detecting a blow-off air temperature downstream from the humidification passage from the humidifying rotor, wherein the control means is based on the blow-off air temperature detected by the blow-off air temperature sensor, , At least one of the external air temperature and the heater detected by the humidifying fan, the humidifying rotor motor, and the external air temperature sensor.

In the present embodiment, when the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor is increased and the blowoff air temperature detected by the blowoff air temperature sensor is low, the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor is the humidity of the outside air. Tends to increase, as in the case where is high. Therefore, the optimum humidification action according to the humidity of the external air can be obtained based on the external air temperature and the blowoff air temperature without the humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the external air. This humidification essentially estimates the humidity of the outside air based on the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blowoff air, and controls it based on the estimated humidity of the outside air.

One embodiment includes an external air humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the blowing air, wherein the control means is based on the humidity of the outside air detected by the external air humidity sensor, moisture absorption fan, humidification fan, humidification rotation Control at least one of the motor and the heater.

In this embodiment, when the humidity of the outside air becomes high, the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor tends to increase. Therefore, the optimum humidification action according to the humidity of the external air can be achieved by directly detecting the humidity of the external air with the external air humidity sensor.

One embodiment includes a humidifying hose for delivering wet air from the humidifying passage to the room, wherein the control means humidifies the dry air heated by the heater to dry the interior of the humidifying hose according to the humidity level of the external air. Controls the length of drying action that is blown into the hose.

In the present embodiment, the higher the humidity of the outside air actually requires a longer drying time, but the lower the humidity of the outside air can reduce the drying operation time because less condensation occurs in the humidification hose. As a result, insufficient humidification can be solved, and comfort is improved.

One embodiment includes a display unit positioned near a wet-air blowoff opening and displaying a humidity of external air.

In this embodiment, the occupant can know the exact state of the external air by referring to the humidity of the external air displayed on the display unit located near the wet air blow-off opening.

In addition, the air conditioner of the present invention is characterized by including any one of the above-described humidifier.

By the air conditioner, a more comfortable heating can be provided by effectively humidifying the room using a humidifier during the heating operation in which the room is more easily dried.

Since the air conditioner of the present invention has any one of the above-described humidifiers, it is possible to effectively humidify the room by the humidifier during operation of a heating device in which the room is more likely to be dried, thereby providing more comfortable heating.

Claims (8)

delete delete delete Humidification fan 11, a moisture absorption fan 13 installed in the moisture absorption passage via the humidification rotor 11, a humidification fan 15 provided in the humidification passage via the humidification rotor 11, and the humidification rotor In the humidifier provided with the motor 12 for humidification rotors which drive 11, and the heater 17 provided upstream from the said humidification rotor 11 of the said humidification path, An external air temperature sensor 24 for detecting external air temperature; A blow-off temperature sensor 23 for detecting a blow-off temperature of the humidification rotor 11 downstream of the humidification passage; The moisture absorption fan 13 according to the external air temperature detected by the external air temperature sensor 24 and the external air humidity estimated based on the blowoff temperature detected by the blowoff temperature sensor 23. And control means 33 for controlling at least one of the humidification fan 15, the humidification rotor motor 12, and the heater 17. Humidifier, characterized in that provided. delete delete The method of claim 4, wherein And a display unit (6) having a humidifying hose (4) connected to the humidifying passage and displaying an external air humidity in the vicinity of the blowoff opening (4a) of the humidifying hose (4). An air conditioner comprising a humidifier as defined in any of claims 4, 6 and 7.