HK1121999A - Air conditioning system with electrostatic atomizing function - Google Patents

Description

Air conditioning system with electrostatic atomization function

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an air conditioning system having an electrostatic atomization function for generating a mist (mist) of charged minute water particles.

Background

Japanese patent application No. 2005-131549A discloses an electrostatic atomization unit that generates a mist of charged water particles by electrostatically atomizing water. The electrostatically atomizing unit atomizes the water supplied to the emitter electrode by rayleigh decomposition to generate a mist of charged minute water particles of nanometer size. The mist of charged water particles includes radicals (chemical), and can float in the air for a long time and can be dispersed in the air in a large amount. The mist of charged water particles adheres to the odor components adhering to the surfaces of the walls, clothes, and curtains of the space where the mist is discharged and then effectively removes the odor of the odor components.

Therefore, the mist of the charged minute water particles is expected to be widely dispersed in the space by the air sent from the air conditioning system. The following problems arise in the case where the electrostatically atomizing unit is incorporated in the air conditioning system. That is, in the case where the electrostatic atomization unit is provided inside the ventilation pipe, the electrostatic atomization unit is exposed to high-temperature air or low-humidity air conditioned by a heat exchanger of the air conditioning system. The conditioned air evaporates the water supplied to the emitter electrode. The conditioned air causes the emitter electrode to no longer electrostatically atomize the water. In addition, in the case of incorporating the electrostatically atomizing unit into the air conditioning system, the user needs to supply water for the electrostatic atomization. The electrostatically atomizing unit comprises a cooling means for cooling the emitter electrode. The cooling device cools the emitter electrode. Moisture in the air causes water to condense to the emitter electrode. In this way, the emitter electrode electrostatically atomizes the condensed water and generates a mist of charged water particles. The electrostatically atomizing unit does not need to supply water and is high in usability. However, the above-described electrostatically atomizing unit cannot condense water from the conditioned air. As a result, the above electrostatic unit cannot generate mist of the charged minute water particles.

Further, an air conditioning system, for example, for vehicular use, includes an air conditioning device, such as a heat exchanger, an air outlet that sends air to a vehicle interior space, and a long air duct disposed between the air conditioning device and the air outlet. In the case where the electrostatic atomizing apparatus is provided inside the breather pipe, the breather pipe causes the mist of charged water particles to dissipate before reaching the air outlet. In this way, the breather pipe poses a problem of greatly reducing the amount of the mist of the charged minute water particles for discharge into the vehicle interior space.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-described problems, the present invention is achieved to provide an air conditioning system having an electrostatic atomization function of efficiently dispersing mist generated by electrostatic atomization to a space.

An air conditioning system according to the present invention includes an electrostatic atomizing unit and a breather pipe configured to flow conditioned air and having an air outlet for sending the conditioned air. The electrostatically atomizing unit includes an emitter electrode, a water supply device for supplying water to the emitter electrode, a counter electrode disposed in a confronting relationship with the emitter electrode, and a high voltage source. The high voltage source is configured to apply a high voltage between the emitter electrode and the counter electrode, thereby electrostatically atomizing the water at the tip of the emitter electrode to generate a mist of charged water particles flowing from the emitter electrode toward and through the counter electrode. The electrostatically atomizing unit includes a discharge port for discharging the mist of the charged minute water particles. The electrostatic atomizing unit is disposed outside the breather pipe to have the discharge port adjacent to the air outlet so as to carry the mist on the conditioned air flowing out from the air outlet. In this case, the air conditioning system can widely and efficiently disperse the mist of charged water particles into the internal space without causing the mist of charged water particles to be dissipated in the breather pipe.

Preferably, the electrostatically atomizing unit comprises an atomizing barrel configured to surround the emitter electrode and support the opposed electrode. The atomizing barrel is formed at a front end thereof with a discharge port. The atomizing barrel has a central axis inclined with respect to the direction of the conditioned air flowing out from the air outlet. In this case, a mist of charged minute water particles is effectively carried on the conditioned air flow.

Preferably, the electrostatically atomizing unit comprises an atomizing barrel configured to surround the emitter electrode and support the opposed electrode, and comprises an extension pipe which flows the mist of the charged minute water particles discharged from the atomizing barrel. The extension pipe is formed at a front end thereof with a discharge port and is disposed such that the discharge port is located downstream of the air outlet. In this case where the extension pipe is used, the electrostatically atomizing unit can be away from the air outlet.

Preferably, the extension pipe is a bendable flexible pipe. In this case, the bendable flexible tube increases the degree of freedom of the arrangement position of the electrostatic atomizing unit.

Preferably, the extension pipe is tapered such that its inner diameter is smaller toward the discharge port than at the connection with the atomizing barrel. The electrostatic atomization unit generates noise due to application of a high voltage for generating the mist of charged minute water particles. In this case, the extension pipe can reduce noise leakage. Thus, the extension pipe provides a noise reduction effect.

Further, the electrostatically atomizing unit includes an atomizing barrel configured to surround the emitter electrode and support the opposed electrode, and includes an extension pipe which flows the mist of the charged minute water particles discharged from the atomizing barrel. Preferably, the extension pipe is formed at a front end thereof with a discharge port connected to the vent pipe immediately upstream of the air outlet.

Further, it is preferable that the ventilation pipe is configured to have a branch pipe coupled to a portion of the extension pipe to flow a portion of the conditioned air into the extension pipe. In this case, the conditioned air generates an airflow inside the extension duct. The air flow efficiently carries the mist of the charged minute water particles to the air efficiently discharged from the air outlet.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of an air conditioning system having an electrostatic atomization function according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a partial schematic view of the air conditioning system described above;

fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an electrostatically atomizing unit used in the above air conditioning system;

fig. 4 is a partial schematic view of a first modification of the air conditioning system described above;

FIG. 5 is a partial schematic view of a second modification of the air conditioning system described above;

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic view of a third modification of the air conditioning system described above; and

fig. 7 is a partial schematic view of a fourth modification of the air conditioning system described above.

Detailed Description

An air conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of the present invention incorporated into an air conditioning system for vehicular use. The air conditioning system includes a heat exchange chamber 81, an air introduction pipe 83, and a ventilation pipe 86. The heat exchange chamber 81 includes a heat exchanger 82. An air introduction pipe 83 is provided to bring air inside and outside the vehicle to the heat exchanger 81. A breather pipe 86 is provided to send the air heat-exchanged in the heat exchange chamber 81 to the vehicle interior. The air introduction pipe 83 is provided with a fan 84 for taking in air and an air filter 85. The fan 84 generates a forced airflow. This forced airflow delivers conditioned air to the vehicle interior from an air outlet 88 provided at the forward end of the air duct 86 and in the middle of the air duct 86.

The electrostatically atomizing unit 10 is disposed adjacent to one of the air outlets 88. Further, an electrostatic atomization unit can also be located at each air outlet 88. As shown in fig. 2, the air outlet 88 delivers a flow of air. The airflow carries the mist of the charged minute water particles generated by the electrostatically atomizing unit 10 and spreads the mist of the charged minute water particles to the vehicle interior space.

As shown in fig. 3, the electrostatic atomizing unit 10 includes an atomizing barrel 40 that supports the emitter electrode 20, the opposed electrode 30, and the cooling device 50. The emitter electrode 20 is disposed along the central axis of the atomizing barrel 40 and is configured such that its rear end is fixed to the upper side of the cooling device 50 and its front end protrudes into the atomizing barrel 40. The counter electrode 30 is formed in a ring shape and has a circular window at the center. The opposed electrode 30 is configured to be fixed to the front end of the atomizing barrel 40 and the center of its circular window is aligned with the central axis of the atomizing barrel 40. The opposed electrode 30 is spaced from the discharge end 22 of the front end of the emitter electrode 20 in the axial direction of the atomizing barrel 40. The emitter electrode 20 and the counter electrode 30 are both connected to an external high voltage source 60. The high voltage source 60 includes a transformer and is designed to apply a predetermined voltage between the emitter electrode 20 and the counter electrode 30 that is grounded. The high voltage source 60 applies a high voltage (e.g., -4.6kV) to the emitter electrode 20 and generates a high voltage electric field between the discharge end of the emitter electrode 20 and the inner circumferential edge of the circular window of the grounded opposed electrode 30. As mentioned later, the high voltage source 60 energizes the water supplied onto the emitter electrode 20. The discharge end 22 of the emitter electrode 20 discharges a mist of charged water particles.

The high voltage source 60 applies a high voltage between the emitter electrode 20 and the counter electrode to generate coulomb force between the counter electrode 30 and the water held at the front end of the emitter electrode 20. Then, a part of the water surface protrudes from the water surface. In this way, a taylor cone is formed on the water surface. The charge accumulates to the tip of the taylor cone. The electric field intensity at the tip of the taylor cone becomes large due to the electric charges. In this way, the coulomb force generated at the tip of the taylor cone becomes larger, thereby expanding the taylor cone. When the coulomb force becomes larger than the surface tension of water, a large amount of mist of charged minute water particles of nanometer size is generated by repeating collapse (rayleigh decomposition) of taylor cone. The mist of the charged water microparticles is discharged from the atomizing barrel 40 through the counter electrode 30 together with the airflow caused by the ion wind flowing from the emitter electrode 20 toward the counter electrode 30. The outer wall of the rear end of the atomizing barrel 40 is provided with a plurality of air inlets. The air flow is maintained by the air flowing in from the plurality of air inlets.

A cooling device 50 is fixed to the bottom of the atomizing barrel 40. The cooling device 50 includes a Peltier-effect (Peltier-effect) thermoelectric module. The cooling device has a cooling side coupled to the emitter electrode 20. The cooling side of the cooling device 50 cools the emitter electrode 20 to or below the dew point temperature, thereby condensing water from ambient air moisture to the emitter electrode. The cooling device 50 defines a water supply means for supplying water to the emitter electrode 20. The cooling device 50 includes a plurality of thermoelectric elements and pairs of conductive circuit boards connected in series between the conductive circuit boards. The cooling device 50 cools the emitter electrode 20 at a cooling rate determined by a variable voltage applied by an external cooling power supply 56. The conductive circuit board of the cooling side is thermally coupled to the rear end of the emitter electrode 20. Meanwhile, the conductive circuit board on the heat dissipation side is thermally coupled to the heat dissipation plate 58. A heat radiating plate 58 is fixed to the rear end of the atomizing barrel and provided with a heat radiating fin 59 for promoting heat radiation. The cooling power supply 56 controls the cooling device 50 according to the ambient temperature and the ambient humidity to maintain the temperature of the emitter electrode 20 at an appropriate temperature. That is, the cooling power supply 56 is configured to control the cooling device 50 to maintain the temperature of the emitter electrode 20 at an appropriate temperature for condensing a sufficient amount of water onto the emitter electrode 20.

The electrostatically atomizing unit 10 including the above-mentioned components is supported by a case 70, and the case 70 incorporates the high-voltage power supply 60 and the cooling power supply 56. As shown in fig. 2, the electrostatically atomizing unit 10 is disposed adjacent to the air outlet 88 of the breather pipe 86. The mist of the charged minute water particles M is discharged through the discharge port 44 at the front end of the atomizing barrel 40 and carried by the regulated air flow flowing out from the air outlet 88. The electrostatically atomizing unit 10 is arranged such that its atomizing barrel has a central axis inclined toward the air flow flowing out from the air outlet 88. That is, the electrostatically atomizing unit 10 is arranged such that its atomizing barrel has a central axis inclined toward the central axis of the opening of the air outlet 88. As a result, the mist of the charged minute water particles M can be efficiently carried by the air flow and can be efficiently dispersed into the internal space.

Fig. 4 shows a first modification of the electrostatically atomizing unit 10. The electrostatic atomizing unit 10 has an extension pipe 45 attached thereto. In this modification, an extension pipe 45 is attached to the top end of the atomizing barrel 40. The mist of charged minute water particles M flows through the extended passage of the extension pipe 45, is discharged from the discharge port 44 at the front end of the extension pipe 45, and is then carried by the air flow. The extension pipe 45 is coaxially connected to the atomizing barrel 40 and is disposed such that its center is inclined toward the opening center of the air outlet 88. By providing the extension pipe 45 to the electrostatic atomization unit 10, the electrostatic atomization unit 10 can be sufficiently disposed rearward of the air outlet 88. As an alternative to the above-described extension pipe 45, it is also preferable to use a bendable flexible pipe as the extension pipe 45. In this case, the bendable flexible tube increases the degree of freedom of the arrangement position of the electrostatic atomizing unit 10 and enables the mist of the charged minute water particles M on the conditioning air stream to flow.

Fig. 5 shows a second modification of the electrostatically atomizing unit 10. In this modification, the extension pipe 45 is tapered such that its diameter is smaller toward the discharge port 44 than at the connection with the atomizing barrel. The above-described electrostatically atomizing unit 10 generates noise due to the high voltage applied for generating the mist of the charged minute water particles. However, the tapered extension pipe 45 prevents noise from leaking outside. Thus providing a noise reduction effect.

Fig. 6 shows a third modification of the electrostatically atomizing unit 10. In this modification, the extension pipe 45 is formed at its front end with a discharge port 44, and the discharge port 44 is connected to the breather pipe 80 immediately upstream of the air outlet 88. In this case, the extension duct 45 can carry a mist of charged water particles on the conditioned gas stream adjacent the gas outlet 88. Thus, the mist of the charged minute water particles M can be effectively dispersed to the internal space by the airflow.

Fig. 7 shows a fourth modification of the electrostatically atomizing unit 10. The branch pipe 87 is connected to a portion of the extension pipe 45 and configured to flow a portion of the conditioned air to the extension pipe 45. Therefore, the mist flow of the charged water particles flowing through the extension pipe 45 is accelerated by the conditioned air flowing through the extension pipe 45. The mist of charged minute water particles M flows into the air flow flowing out from the air outlet 88. Thus, the mist of the charged minute water particles M can be efficiently dispersed into the internal space by the air flow.

Claims (7)

1. An air conditioning system with electrostatic atomization, the system comprising:

an electrostatic atomization unit; and

a breather pipe configured to flow conditioned air and having an air outlet for sending the conditioned air;

the atomizing unit includes:

an emitter electrode;

water supply means for supplying water to the emitter electrode;

an opposed electrode disposed in an opposed relationship with the emitter electrode;

a high voltage source configured to apply a high voltage between the emitter electrode and the counter electrode, thereby electrostatically atomizing water at a tip of the emitter electrode to generate a mist of charged water particles flowing from the emitter electrode toward and through the counter electrode; and

a discharge port for discharging the mist of the charged minute water particles;

the electrostatic atomization unit is disposed outside the breather pipe to have the discharge port adjacent to the air outlet so as to carry the mist on the conditioned air flowing out of the air outlet.

2. The air conditioning system of claim 1, wherein:

the electrostatic atomizing unit includes an atomizing barrel configured to surround the emitter electrode and support the counter electrode, the atomizing barrel being formed at a front end thereof with the discharge portion, the atomizing barrel having a central axis inclined with respect to a direction of the conditioned air flowing out from the air outlet.

3. The air conditioning system of claim 1, wherein:

the electrostatically atomizing unit includes an atomizing barrel configured to surround the emitter electrode and support the opposed electrode, and includes an extension pipe which flows the mist of the charged minute water particles discharged from the atomizing barrel, the extension pipe being formed at a front end thereof with the discharge port and being disposed so that the discharge port is located downstream of the air outlet.

4. The air conditioning system of claim 3, wherein:

the extension tube is a bendable flexible tube.

5. The air conditioning system of claim 3, wherein:

the extension pipe is tapered such that its inner diameter is narrower toward the discharge port than at the connection with the atomizing barrel.

6. The air conditioning system of claim 1, wherein:

the electrostatically atomizing unit includes an atomizing barrel configured to surround the emitter electrode and support the opposed electrode, and includes an extension pipe which flows the mist of the charged minute water particles discharged from the atomizing barrel, the extension pipe being formed at a front end thereof with the discharge port which is connected to the breather pipe immediately upstream of the air outlet.

7. The air conditioning system of claim 3, wherein:

the snorkel is configured to have a branch pipe coupled to a portion of the extension pipe to flow a portion of the conditioned air into the extension pipe.