JP2003035460A - Air-conditioning equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide air-conditioning equipment of which the capacity of cooling air is improved by recovering efficiently the energy exhausted as drain water. SOLUTION: A drain storage tank 19 storing a condensate produced in an evaporator 4 and a condensate evaporating means for evaporating forcibly the condensate stored in the drain storage tank 19 are provided. The condensate evaporating means has a constitution wherein a drain evaporator 11 having a refrigerant passage which is formed inside and makes a refrigerant flow through is provided on a high-pressure line located on the upstream side of an expansion valve 7 of a refrigerating cycle and the condensate stored in the tank 19 is supplied to the drain evaporator 11. This means may also have a constitution wherein a drain evaporator having an air passage which is formed inside and through which the air introduced into an air conditioning case is made to flow is provided on the upstream side of the evaporator 4 disposed in an air flow passage of the air conditioning case 2 and the condensate stored in the drain storage tank is supplied to the air passage of the drain evaporator.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner adapted to evaporate condensed water produced in an evaporator and use it for cooling air introduced into an air conditioning case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Condensed water generated in an evaporator reaches 2 to 4 liters per hour in summer when the heat load is high, and it has a considerable cooling capacity for condensing water in the air. The part is torn. For example, the temperature and relative humidity are 35 ° C. and 70% (A in the moist air diagram shown in FIG. 6).
The air on the inlet side of the evaporator, which is the point), has temperature and relative humidity of 5 ° C. and 90% (B in the same figure) on the outlet side of the evaporator.
The heat quantity Qd for condensing water reaches about 63% of the cooling capacity Q (Qd + heat quantity Qa for cooling air) of the evaporator, and more than half of the cooling capacity discharges condensed water. Is used for.

For this reason, in the past, in actual practice, 60-
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 176909, a part of the high-pressure pipe of the refrigeration cycle is arranged at a location where the condensed water generated from the evaporator is dropped to cool the high-pressure refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle with the condensed water. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 9-184636, a configuration in which a high-pressure refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle is cooled by the condensed water is considered by immersing a part of the high-pressure pipe of the refrigeration cycle in a water tank in which the condensed water is collected. Has been.

[0004]

However, as described above, the sprinkling of condensed water on the high-pressure pipe or the immersion of the high-pressure pipe in the condensed water contributes to the cooling of the high-pressure refrigerant, but the energy of the sensible heat is increased. Since it can only be recovered, it is not possible to fully recover the cold power that was thrown out of the passenger compartment, and a great effect cannot be expected. Further, in recent years, it has been considered that a part of the condensed water is evaporated on the downstream side of the evaporator arranged in the air flow path in the air conditioning case, and the blowing air is directly cooled by this latent heat of evaporation, It is necessary to control the smell of condensed water, bacteria, etc., and the humidity of the blown air is high, which causes inconvenience such as fogging of the window glass.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to improve the cooling capacity of air by solving the above-mentioned problems and efficiently recovering the energy discharged as condensed water. In addition, when recovering energy, the main issues are to easily control the smell of condensed water, bacteria, etc., prevent an increase in the humidity of the blown air, and suppress the fogging of the window glass.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner according to the present invention includes a compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a radiator for cooling the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, and An expansion device for decompressing and expanding the refrigerant cooled by the radiator, and a refrigeration cycle configured to have an evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant decompressed and expanded by the expansion device, wherein the evaporator has an air flow path. In a configuration in which the air is introduced into the formed air-conditioning case and the air introduced into the air-conditioning case is cooled by the evaporator, a drain storage part for storing condensed water generated in the evaporator, and the drain. A condensed water evaporation means for forcibly evaporating the condensed water stored in the storage portion, and the condensed water evaporation means is provided on a high pressure line upstream of the expansion device of the refrigeration cycle A drain evaporator having a refrigerant passage for passing the refrigerant, and a condensed water supply means for supplying condensed water stored in the drain reservoir to the drain evaporator are configured. (Claim 1).

Therefore, according to this structure, the condensed water supplied to the drain evaporator by the condensed water supply means is heat-exchanged with the high-temperature refrigerant flowing inside the drain evaporator to be evaporated. The latent heat used to change the state of the condensed water makes it possible to cool the refrigerant in the drain evaporator. Therefore, it is possible to effectively recover the refrigeration cycle, which has been discarded to condense water in the air, into the refrigeration cycle.

Here, the condensed water supply means may be constituted by a natural supply mechanism that sucks up the condensed water stored in the drain storage section by utilizing the capillary phenomenon and supplies it to the surface of the drain evaporator. (Claim 2) Alternatively, the condensed water accumulated in the drain storage part may be sucked up, atomized into a mist, and evaporated by a drain evaporator (claim 3).

The air conditioner according to the present invention further includes a compressor for compressing the refrigerant, a radiator for cooling the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, and an expansion for decompressing and expanding the refrigerant cooled by the radiator. A refrigeration cycle configured to have a device and an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant decompressed and expanded by the expansion device; the evaporator is housed in an air conditioning case in which an air flow path is formed; In a configuration in which the air introduced into the case is cooled by the evaporator, the drain storage unit that stores the condensed water generated in the evaporator and the condensed water stored in the drain storage unit are forcibly forced. A condensed water evaporation means for evaporating, and the condensed water evaporation means is provided on an upstream side of the evaporator in the air conditioning case, and has an air passage inside for passing air introduced into the air conditioning case. Was And Ren evaporator may be a condensed water stored in the drain reservoir to constitute and a condensed water supplying means for supplying the air passage of the drain evaporator (claim 4).

Therefore, according to such a configuration, the condensed water supplied to the air passage of the drain evaporator by the condensed water supply means is diffused into the drain evaporator by the air passing through the air passage, and the air conditioning case. Since it will be evaporated by exchanging heat with the air flowing through the air flow path inside, the latent heat used to change the state of this condensed water can cool the air inside the air conditioning case and remove the moisture in the air. It is possible to recover the cooling power that was discarded for condensation to cool the air.

Here, the condensed water supply means may be one that sucks up the condensed water accumulated in the drain storage section with a pump and sprays it onto the air passage of the drain evaporator (claim 5).

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, an air conditioner 1 mounted on a vehicle is shown, and the air conditioner 1 is
A blower 3 is provided on the upstream side of the air-conditioning case 2 forming the air flow path 2a, and the rotation of the blower 3 sucks the outside air or the inside air through an intake switching device (not shown) and sends the air to the downstream side. ing.

An evaporator 4 is disposed downstream of the blower 3, and the evaporator 4 includes a compressor 5 for compressing a refrigerant and a radiator 6 for radiating the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 5.
And the expansion valve 7 for reducing the pressure of the refrigerant are pipe-connected to form a refrigeration cycle 8, and the refrigerant is circulated by the operation of the compressor 5, and the refrigerant decompressed by the expansion valve 7 is evaporated.
The air supplied to the evaporator 4 and cooled by passing through the evaporator 4 is cooled.

A heater core (not shown) and an air mix door for adjusting the amount of air passing through the heater core are arranged on the downstream side of the evaporator 4, and the air whose temperature is controlled by the evaporator 4 and the heater core is placed at the most downstream side of the air conditioning case 2. The air is supplied to the vehicle compartment from the air outlet provided on the side.

On the upstream side of the evaporator 4 of the air conditioning case 2, there is provided an open passage 10 open to the inside of the engine room,
A part of the air sent from the blower 3 is discharged through the open passage 10. An evaporation space 12 in which a drain evaporator 11 to be described below is arranged is formed in the open passage 10.

The drain evaporator 11 is provided on the high-pressure line upstream of the expansion valve 7 of the refrigeration cycle 8, particularly between the radiator 6 and the expansion valve 7 in this example. As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of headers 13 and 14 and a plurality of tubes 15 that connect the headers 13 and 14 to each other.
And an inflow port 16 for connecting a refrigerant pipe leading to a radiator to one header 13 and a header pipe for connecting a refrigerant pipe leading to an expansion valve 7 to the other header 14. Outflow ports 17 are formed and these headers 1
A cooling medium passage for allowing a cooling medium to pass through is formed by the insides of the cooling pipes 3, 14 and the tube 15.

Below the evaporation space 12 of the open passage 10,
A drain storage tank 19 for collecting and storing the condensed water 22 dropped from the evaporator 4 through a drain hole 18 formed in the air conditioning case 2 is provided in the drain storage tank 19 so as to project from the evaporation space 12. The lower part of the drain evaporator 11 is inserted.

A natural supply mechanism 2 for sucking the condensed water 22 stored in the drain storage tank 19 into each tube 15 of the drain evaporator 11 by utilizing the capillary phenomenon.
0 is provided. In the natural supply mechanism 20, a water absorption film is provided on the surface of each tube 15, and the water absorption film is brought into contact with condensed water, or the condensed water of the drain storage tank 19 is absorbed into the absorption film via another absorbing member. By guiding
Even if the condensed water is dispersed over the entire surface of the absorbent film, a large number of fine irregularities extending in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) are formed on the surface of each tube 15, and the irregularities are brought into contact with the condensed water. Alternatively, the condensed water of the drain storage tank 19 may be guided to the uneven portion via the absorbing member to obtain the conveying force of the condensed water, and the condensed water is naturally utilized by utilizing the capillary phenomenon. Other configurations may be used as long as they can be supplied to the surface of the tube 15. Such a natural supply mechanism 2
0 constitutes a condensed water supply means for sucking up the condensed water stored in the drain storage tank 19 and supplying it to the surface of the drain evaporator. In addition, 21 is a fin inserted between the tubes in order to promote heat exchange between the refrigerant flowing through the drain evaporator 11 and the air flowing through the open passage 10.

In the above structure, when the refrigeration cycle 8 is operated, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant compressed by the compressor 5 radiates heat by the radiator 6 and is supplied to the expansion valve 7 after flowing through the refrigerant passage of the drain evaporator 11. Here, the pressure is reduced to become a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant, and the evaporator 4 exchanges heat with the air flowing through the air flow path 2a of the air conditioning case 2 to absorb heat, and then returned to the compressor 5. At this time, the higher the heat load is, the more condensed water is generated in the evaporator 4, and a large amount of heat is lost due to this condensed water, but this condensed water is stored in the drain storage tank 19. Since it is supplied to the surface of the drain evaporator 11, it is heat-exchanged with the high-temperature refrigerant flowing in the drain evaporator to be evaporated, and is discharged to the outside of the air conditioning case together with the air passing through the evaporation space 12, and the condensed water is evaporated. The latent heat used for the cooling allows the refrigerant in the drain evaporator 11 to be cooled. That is, the latent heat of the cold power, which has been discarded by the evaporator 4 for condensing the water in the air, can be recovered in the refrigeration cycle 8 by evaporating the condensed water in the drain evaporator 11. It becomes possible to improve the cooling capacity of the air in the vessel. Further, it becomes possible to obtain a large subcool in front of the expansion valve.

FIG. 3 shows a modified example of the above configuration. In this configuration, as a means for sucking up the condensed water 22 stored in the drain storage tank 19 and supplying it to the surface of the drain evaporator 11, Condensed water 22 stored in 19 is sucked up by a pump 23, and is sprayed to a heat exchange section of the drain evaporator 11 arranged in the evaporation space 12 via an injection nozzle 24.

Also in such a structure, the condensed water supplied to the surface of the drain evaporator 11 is heat-exchanged with the high-temperature refrigerant flowing in the drain evaporator 11 to be evaporated, and is air-conditioned together with the air passing through the evaporation space 12. Since it is discharged to the outside of the case 2, the refrigerant in the drain evaporator 11 can be cooled by the latent heat used for the evaporation of the condensed water.
That is, the cooling power that has been discarded to condense the water in the air by the evaporator 4 is evaporated into the condensed water sprayed by the drain evaporator 11, so that the latent heat is recovered in the refrigeration cycle 8 and the evaporator is evaporated. It is possible to improve the cooling capacity of the air at the same time, and it is possible to make a large subcool in front of the expansion valve.

FIG. 4 shows another structural example of the air conditioner according to the present invention. This air conditioner 1
In the above, the drain evaporator 11 is arranged on the upstream side of the evaporator 4 in the air conditioning case 2, and the condensed water 22 generated from the evaporator 4 is provided below the evaporator 4 and the drain evaporator 11.
A drain storage tank 19 for storing is formed inside the case 2.

As shown in FIG. 5, the drain evaporator 11 has a pair of header portions 13 and 14 and a plurality of tubes 15 that connect these header portions to each other.
An inflow port 16 opening to the air flow path 2a is formed in the radiator 6 in one of the headers 13, and an outflow port 17 opened to the outside of the air conditioning case is formed in the other header 14, and the headers 13 and 14 and the tube are formed. An air passage for passing a part of the air introduced into the air conditioning case is formed inside by 15.

A pump 23 for sucking up the condensed water 22 stored in the drain storage tank 19 is provided in the air conditioning case 2.
And a jet nozzle 24 which is inserted into one of the headers (upstream header) 13 and sprays the condensed water sucked up by the pump 23 into the air passage of the drain evaporator 11, and sucks up the condensed water 22. The pump 23 and the injection nozzle 24 for spraying the condensed water into the air passage constitute a condensed water supply means for supplying the condensed water 22 stored in the drain storage tank 19 to the air passage of the drain evaporator 11.

Reference numeral 25 is a return passage for returning the excess condensed water remaining in the header 13 to the drain storage tank 19.
Further, since the other configurations are the same as the above configuration example,
The same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In such a configuration, the condensed water generated in the evaporator 4 is stored in the drain storage tank 19 and is supplied into the air passage of the drain evaporator 11, so that the condensed water is introduced into the air passage. It is dispersed in each tube 15 by the passing air, heat-exchanges with the air in the air flow path 2a passing between the fins of the drain evaporator 11, and is evaporated, so that the condensed water is discharged outside the air conditioning case. The latent heat used to drive the cooling allows the air passing through the drain evaporator 11 to be cooled. That is, it becomes possible to recover the cooling power that was discarded by the evaporator 4 in order to condense the moisture in the air in order to cool the air passing through the drain evaporator 11, and improve the cooling capacity of the air. Will be able to.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A drain storage unit that stores condensed water generated in the evaporator and a condensed water evaporation unit that forcibly evaporates the condensed water stored in the drain storage unit are provided, and the condensed water evaporation unit is provided more than the expansion device of the refrigeration cycle. It has a drain evaporator provided on the upstream high-pressure line and having a refrigerant passage through which the refrigerant passes, and a condensed water supply means for supplying the condensed water stored in the drain reservoir to the drain evaporator. With this configuration, the condensed water supplied to the drain evaporator can be heat-exchanged with the high-temperature refrigerant flowing inside the drain evaporator to be evaporated, and the latent heat at this time is used to cool the refrigerant. Therefore, it is possible to effectively recover the cooling power, which has been discarded to condense the moisture in the air, to the refrigeration cycle and improve the cooling capacity of the air.

Here, the condensed water supply means sucks up the condensed water stored in the drain storage section by utilizing the capillary phenomenon,
By using a natural supply mechanism that supplies water to the surface of the drain evaporator, it becomes possible to naturally guide the condensed water stored in the drain storage section to the surface of the drain evaporator and evaporate it. It becomes possible to recover cold power by latent heat.

Further, if the condensed water supply means is constructed so as to suck up the condensed water accumulated in the drain storage part, atomize it, and evaporate it by the drain evaporator, the condensed water is supplied to the drain evaporator when necessary. To be able to evaporate,
The latent heat used at that time makes it possible to recover cold power.

Further, a drain storage section for storing the condensed water generated in the evaporator and a condensed water vaporization means for forcibly evaporating the condensed water stored in the drain storage section are provided, and the condensed water vaporization means is the refrigeration cycle. The drain evaporator provided with an air passage which is arranged on the upstream side of the evaporator in the air conditioning case and through which the air introduced into the air conditioning case passes, and the condensed water stored in the drain storage portion is drained. Condensed water supply means for supplying the condensed water supplied to the air passage of the drain evaporator, the condensed water supplied to the air passage of the drain evaporator is diffused into the drain evaporator by the air passing through the air passage. The air flowing through the air passage is heat-exchanged and evaporated, and the latent heat used at that time allows the air flowing through the air passage to be cooled. That is, it becomes possible to recover the cooling power that has been discarded to condense the moisture in the air in order to cool the air, and to improve the cooling capacity of the air.

Further, since the drain evaporator 11 is arranged on the upstream side of the evaporator 4, even when the air is directly cooled by the latent heat of evaporation, the evaporator 4 on the downstream side prevents an increase in air humidity. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the smell of condensed water, bacteria, etc. from entering the room, and it is possible to suppress the occurrence of fogging on the window glass.

Here, if the condensed water supply means is constructed so as to suck up the condensed water accumulated in the drain storage portion and atomize the condensed water in the air passage of the drain evaporator, the atomized condensed water evaporates. The latent heat at that time makes it possible to cool the air passing through the surface of the drain evaporator.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific configuration example of supplying condensed water of the evaporator to the drain evaporator shown in FIG.
FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the relationship between the drain evaporator and the configuration for storing condensed water in the evaporator, and FIG. 2B is a front view of the drain evaporator provided in the drain storage tank.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another configuration example for supplying condensed water to the drain evaporator shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the air conditioner according to the present invention.

5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of supplying condensed water to the drain evaporator shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a moist air diagram for explaining the amount of heat used for condensed water generated in the evaporator under a high load.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Air conditioner 2 air conditioning case 4 evaporator 5 compressor 6 radiator 7 expansion valve 8 Refrigeration cycle 11 drain evaporator 19 Drain storage tank 20 Natural supply mechanism 22 Condensed water 23 pumps 24 injection nozzles

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Toshiyuki Negishi             39, Higashihara, Chiyo-ji, Konan-cho, Osato-gun, Saitama Prefecture               Zexel Valeo Climate Co., Ltd.             In control (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Sekiya             39, Higashihara, Chiyo-ji, Konan-cho, Osato-gun, Saitama Prefecture               Zexel Valeo Climate Co., Ltd.             In control

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a radiator for cooling the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, an expansion device for decompressing and expanding the refrigerant cooled by the radiator, and a decompression / expansion device for expanding the refrigerant. A refrigeration cycle configured to have an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant, and the evaporator is housed in an air conditioning case in which an air flow path is formed, and the air introduced into the air conditioning case is In an air conditioner configured to cool by an evaporator, a drain storage unit that stores condensed water generated in the evaporator, and a condensed water evaporation unit that forcibly evaporates the condensed water stored in the drain storage unit. And a drain evaporator provided with the condensed water evaporation means on a high-pressure line upstream of the expansion device of the refrigeration cycle and having a refrigerant passage inside for passing the refrigerant, and the drain. An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising: condensed water supply means for supplying condensed water stored in a drain storage section to the drain evaporator. 2. The condensed water supply means is constituted by a natural supply mechanism that sucks up the condensed water stored in the drain storage section by utilizing a capillary phenomenon and supplies the condensed water to the surface of the drain evaporator. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1. 3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the condensed water supply means sucks up the condensed water accumulated in the drain storage portion, atomizes the condensed water, and evaporates the condensed water in the drain evaporator. Air conditioner. 4. A compressor for compressing a refrigerant, a radiator for cooling the refrigerant compressed by the compressor, an expansion device for decompressing and expanding the refrigerant cooled by the radiator, and a decompression / expansion device for expanding the expansion device. A refrigeration cycle configured to have an evaporator that evaporates the refrigerant, and the evaporator is housed in an air conditioning case in which an air flow path is formed, and the air introduced into the air conditioning case is In an air conditioner configured to cool by an evaporator, a drain storage unit that stores condensed water generated in the evaporator, and a condensed water evaporation unit that forcibly evaporates the condensed water stored in the drain storage unit. And a drain evaporator having an air passage for passing the air introduced into the air conditioning case inside the air conditioning case, the condensed water evaporating means being disposed on the upstream side of the evaporator.
An air conditioner for a vehicle, comprising: condensed water supply means for supplying condensed water stored in the drain storage section to an air passage of the drain evaporator. 5. The condensed water supply means sucks up the condensed water stored in the drain storage portion, atomizes the condensed water, and evaporates the condensed water in an air passage of the drain evaporator. The vehicle air conditioner described.