JP2008128547A - Dehumidifying air-conditioning system and method using rotary dehumidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a structure of a dehumidifying air-conditioning system allowing dehumidification of air inside a room installed with a refrigerating means cooling and storing an article. <P>SOLUTION: This dehumidifying air-conditioning system 1 used for the inside of the room installed with the refrigerating means 11 cooling and storing the article has: a rotary dehumidifier 20 having a regeneration fan 27 passing air through a regeneration area 25, a processing fan 24 passing air through a processing area 22, and a dehumidifying rotor 21 discharging moisture adsorbed inside the processing area 22 into the regeneration area 25 to dehumidify the air inside a store; a cooling circuit 10 having a pressure gauge 33 measuring pressure of a high pressure-side refrigerator, and cooling the refrigerating means 11; and a control part 30 controlling a blast rate of the regeneration fan 27 according to the measured pressure P. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a dehumidifying air conditioning system and method using a rotary dehumidifier that discharges moisture adsorbed in a processing area in a regeneration area.

  In many stores such as supermarkets, open-type showcases that display and sell food and other products are used. Since this showcase is an open type, moisture in the store will adhere as frost, so it is necessary to perform a defrosting operation to remove this frost. However, when the defrosting operation is performed, there is a problem that the product is not sufficiently cooled and the freshness of the product is deteriorated (hereinafter referred to as a defrosting operation problem). In addition, since it is an open type, there is a problem that the cold air of the refrigeration means flows into the passage and gives the customer an unpleasant feeling such as cold air (hereinafter referred to as a cold aisle problem).

  As a countermeasure to these problems, there is a method of supplying warm and dry air to a passage near the showcase. According to this method, the air around the showcase is dried to reduce the amount of frost formation, and the frequency of the defrosting operation can be reduced to solve the defrosting operation problem.

By the way, as a technique for efficiently supplying warm and dry air, Patent Document 1 discloses a dehumidification air conditioning system using a rotary dehumidifier. However, the dehumidifying air conditioning system includes a regeneration condenser for heating the air in the regeneration area, a heating condenser for heating the air in the treatment area, and a condenser for cooling the refrigerant in the cooling circuit. There is a problem that the structure becomes complicated.
JP 2005-233528 A

  An object of this invention is to solve a cold aisle problem and a defrost operation problem simultaneously with the dehumidification air-conditioning system which has a simpler structure with respect to such a subject.

The present invention is a dehumidifying air conditioning system comprising a rotary dehumidifier that dehumidifies indoor air in which refrigeration means for cooling and storing articles is installed, and a cooling circuit that cools the refrigeration means,
The rotary dehumidifier is
A rotary dehumidifying rotor capable of absorbing and releasing moisture;
A treatment area in which the dehumidification rotor absorbs moisture;
A regeneration region that is a region from which the dehumidifying rotor releases moisture;
A regeneration fan that takes in outdoor air, passes the regeneration area, and discharges it to the outdoors;
A processing fan that takes in indoor air, passes the processing region, and discharges it into the room;
Have
The cooling circuit is
A compressor for compressing the refrigerant;
A regeneration-side condenser that is disposed on the windward side of the dehumidifying rotor in the regeneration region and supplies heat from the refrigerant compressed by the compressor to the air in the regeneration region;
The processing side condensation which is arranged on the upstream side of the regeneration side condenser in the cooling circuit and on the leeward side of the dehumidifying rotor in the processing region and supplies heat from the refrigerant compressed by the compressor to the air in the processing region. And
A bypass pipe for supplying the refrigerant from the compressor to the regeneration side condenser by bypassing the processing side condenser;
A switching valve for selectively switching the destination to which the compressor is connected to the processing-side condenser or the bypass pipe,
The merged refrigerant is sent to the regeneration side condenser,
The refrigerant supplied with heat in the regeneration side condenser is sent to the refrigeration means,
The dehumidifying air conditioning system is characterized in that the refrigerant supplied with cold heat by the refrigeration means is sent to the compressor.

  According to the present invention, the heat obtained by cooling the refrigerant in the cooling circuit is supplied not only to the air in the regeneration region, but also to the air blown into the room, so that the cold aisle problem and the defrosting operation are performed. The problem can be solved at the same time. In other words, heat is supplied to the air in the regeneration region by the heat released from the refrigerant in the regeneration-side condenser, and the dehumidification rotor can be regenerated by using the air that has obtained the heat to regenerate the dehumidification rotor. The frost problem can be solved. Further, the heat is supplied to the air in the processing region by the heat radiation of the refrigerant in the processing-side condenser, and the warm air is blown near the refrigeration means in the room, so that the cold aisle problem can be solved.

  According to the present invention, the cold aisle problem and the defrosting operation problem can be solved simultaneously by the dehumidifying air conditioning system having a simpler structure.

  FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a dehumidifying air conditioning system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the dehumidifying air conditioning system 1 of the present embodiment includes a cooling circuit 10, a rotary dehumidifier 20, a control unit 30, a pressure gauge 33, a thermometer 34, and the like.

  The cooling circuit 10 includes refrigeration means 11, a compressor 12, a processing side condenser 23, a regeneration side condenser 26, a switching valve 31, and a bypass pipe 36.

  The refrigeration unit 11 is an open type refrigeration unit that displays and sells products such as foods in a supermarket while cooling, and is, for example, an open showcase. The refrigeration unit 11 obtains cold heat by, for example, evaporating the refrigerant with an evaporator (not shown) and cools products such as food. The cooling temperature is appropriately set according to the type of product.

The compressor 12 compresses the refrigerant at a compression rate necessary to maintain the temperature set by the refrigeration unit 11.
The processing side condenser 23 and the regeneration side condenser 26 release the heat of the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 12.
The bypass pipe 36 connects the compressor 12 and the regeneration side condenser 26 and is a pipe that can bypass the processing side condenser 23.

The switching valve 31 switches the destination of the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 12 to the processing-side condenser 23 direction or the bypass pipe 36 direction. The switching of the switching valve 31 may be performed manually by a person according to the season or weather, or may be performed by the control unit 30 as described later.
The pressure gauge 33 measures the pressure of the refrigerant after passing through the compressor of the cooling circuit 10 and before passing through the refrigeration means (hereinafter, the pressure value indicated by the pressure gauge 33 is referred to as “measurement pressure P”).

  As described above, the refrigerant flowing in the cooling circuit provides cold heat by the refrigeration means 11, compressed by the compressor 12, switched by the switching valve 31, radiated heat by the processing side condenser 23, or passes through the bypass pipe 36. . The refrigerant returns to the refrigeration unit 11 again via the regeneration side condenser 26 regardless of whether the refrigerant passes through the processing side condenser 23 or the bypass pipe 36. In addition, a refrigerant | coolant will thermally radiate with the process side condenser 23 or the reproduction | regeneration side condenser 26, or both.

  The rotary dehumidifier 20 includes two areas, a processing area 22 and a regeneration area 25. A processing side condenser 23 and a processing fan 24 are installed in the processing area 22, and a regeneration side condenser 26 and a regeneration fan 27 are installed in the regeneration area 25.

  The processing fan 24 takes in indoor air and blows it into the processing region 22, and the air that has passed through the processing region 22 is sent into the room again. On the other hand, the regeneration fan 27 takes in outdoor air and blows it into the regeneration region 25, and the air that has passed through the regeneration region 25 is sent to the outdoors again.

  When the switching valve 31 is opened to the processing side condenser 23 side, the processing side condenser 23 receives heat from the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 12 and is blown by the processing fan 24 in the processing region 22 from the room. Provides warm air to the air. On the other hand, the regeneration-side condenser 26 receives warm heat from the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 12 and provides warm heat to outdoor air blown by the regeneration fan 27 in the regeneration region 25.

  The dehumidifying rotor 21 dehumidifies the air by adsorbing moisture contained in the air blown by the processing fan 24 in the processing region 22. When adsorbing moisture, an exothermic reaction occurs, and the air blown by the processing fan 24 is warmed using this heat. In addition, the dehumidifying rotor 21 rotates to move a portion containing moisture from the processing region 22 to the regeneration region 25. In the regeneration region 25, the dehumidifying rotor 21 is blown by the regeneration fan 27 and releases the adsorbed moisture by the air that has been warmed by receiving the heat from the regeneration-side condenser 26 and has a low relative humidity. Further, the dehumidifying rotor 21 rotates to move the portion where the moisture is adsorbed by releasing the moisture in the regeneration region 25 to the processing region 22. As described above, the dehumidification rotor 21 releases the moisture adsorbed in the processing region 22 in the regeneration region 25, but the relative humidity in the regeneration region 25 becomes lower than the relative humidity in the processing region 22 in order to perform such dehumidification processing. As such, the regeneration side condenser 26 provides sufficient heat to the air in the regeneration region 25. In addition, when there is no need for dehumidification such as a day when the humidity is low and the inside of the store is also dry, dehumidification by the dehumidification rotor 21 is not necessary, and rotation may be stopped.

  The moisture adsorbent used in the dehumidifying rotor 21 is not particularly limited, but is chemically stable and safe, such as titanium / silica gel, lithium chloride, molecular sieves, zeolite, and a superabsorbent wet polymer, and has a high moisture removal capability. And what can discharge | release and reproduce | regenerate the water | moisture content adsorbed by heating is preferable.

  The thermometer 34 measures the temperature of the air exhausted from the processing region 22 into the room. This measured temperature is defined as a measurement temperature T. Instead of measuring the temperature of the air discharged from the processing area 22, the temperature of the passage near the refrigeration means 11 may be measured.

  The control unit 30 performs air conditioning operation during summer and rainy season, when the temperature and humidity are high (hereinafter referred to as “dehumidification mode air conditioning operation”) and air conditioning operation during winter when the temperature and humidity are low (hereinafter referred to as “heating mode air conditioning operation”). ").

  In the dehumidifying mode air conditioning operation, the switching valve 31 opens toward the bypass pipe 36 and closes toward the processing side condenser 23. On the other hand, in the heating mode air conditioning operation, the switching valve 31 opens in the direction of the processing side condenser 23 and closes in the direction of the bypass pipe 36. Note that the switching direction of the switching valve 31 may be switched manually, or may be performed by the control unit 30.

  Control of the switching valve 31 by the control unit 30 is as follows. The control unit 30 has a built-in calendar function and switches from the heating mode to the dehumidification mode on April 1 (for example, from the dehumidification mode on October 1). (Switching to the heating mode), or the control unit 30 may receive the measured temperature from an outdoor thermometer (not shown) that measures the outdoor temperature and perform the measurement based on the received temperature.

  Further, the control unit 30 receives the measured pressure P and the measured temperature T from the pressure gauge 33 and the thermometer 34, respectively, and based on them, the air volume of the regeneration fan 27 and the processing fan 24, the rotation of the rotary rotor 21, To control. Below, control of the control part 30 in dehumidification mode air-conditioning driving | operation and heating mode air-conditioning driving | operation is demonstrated.

(1) Dehumidification mode air conditioning operation Since it is hot and humid in summer, the cooling load on the refrigeration means 11 increases. Under these conditions, the air conditioning operation of the dehumidifying air conditioning system 1 is performed as follows.

  The control unit 30 controls the air volume of the processing fan 24 based on the measured temperature T as shown in FIG. That is, when the measured temperature T exceeds the predetermined temperature Tsa, control is performed so that the air volume of the processing fan 24 decreases as the difference (T−Tsa) between the measured temperature T and the predetermined temperature Tsa increases. When the temperature reaches another predetermined temperature Tsb that is higher than the temperature Tsa, the processing fan 24 is stopped. Here, the predetermined temperature Tsb is a temperature that does not bring an excessive amount of heat into the room.

  When the measured temperature T is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature Tsa, the air volume of the processing fan 24 is constant at the predetermined air volume. Here, the predetermined air volume is an air volume sufficient to eliminate the indoor cold aisle problem with air at a predetermined temperature Tsa, and is set to an air volume that does not make the room feel hot.

  In the summer, when the temperature is high, the cooling load of the refrigeration unit 11 is large, but as shown in FIG. 2B, the control unit 30 increases the regenerative fan 27 as the measured pressure P increases (that is, the cooling load increases). Therefore, the refrigerant can be sufficiently cooled by the regeneration side condenser 26 or the like.

  Further, the dehumidification rotor 21 rotates at a speed at which the moisture can be sufficiently adsorbed in the processing region 22 and the moisture can be sufficiently released in the regeneration region 25. However, when the processing fan 24 is stopped, the control unit also stops the rotation of the dehumidifying rotor 21.

  FIG. 3 is an air diagram showing the temperature and humidity of the air passing through the processing region 22 and the regeneration region 25 of the rotary dehumidifier 20 when the air conditioning operation is performed in summer. In the air diagram, the horizontal axis represents the dry bulb temperature (unit: ° C), the vertical axis represents absolute humidity (unit: kg water / kg air), and the relative humidity (unit: %).

  In FIG. 3, the state S1 indicates the state of the air at the inlet of the processing region 22 (temperature 25 ° C., relative humidity 50%, absolute humidity 0.010 kg water / kg air). Since the processing fan 24 takes in indoor air, S1 has the same temperature and humidity as the indoor air. However, when the processing fan 24 passes through the processing region 22, it provides moisture to the dehumidifying rotor 21 and the dehumidifying rotor 21 absorbs moisture. As shown in S2, the temperature rises to 35 ° C., the absolute humidity drops to 0.008 kg water / kg air, and the relative humidity drops to 23%. The air thus warmed and dried is sent to the passage in front of the showcase.

  S3 indicates the state of the air at the inlet of the regeneration region 25 (temperature 30 ° C., relative humidity 54%, absolute humidity 0.014 kg water / kg air). Since the regeneration fan 27 takes in outside air, S3 has the same temperature and humidity as outside air. S4 indicates the temperature and humidity of the air after passing through the regeneration-side condenser 26 in the regeneration region 25 and before passing through the dehumidifying rotor 21, and the temperature is increased by being warmed by the regeneration-side condenser 26 in the regeneration region 25. Increases to 45 ° C., the absolute humidity remains 0.014 kg water / kg air, but the relative humidity decreases to 23%. The dehumidification rotor 21 releases moisture by the warm and dry air.

  As described above, when the cooling load of the cooling circuit 10 is large because the summer temperature is high, the air volume of the regeneration fan 27 is increased to increase the cooling amount of the regeneration side condenser 26. As a result, the air in the regeneration region 25 is heated by being supplied with more heat from the regeneration-side condenser 26, so that the relative humidity is lowered, and thus the dehumidification rotor 21 can be sufficiently dried. When the fully dried dehumidifying rotor 21 moves to the processing region 22, the air in the processing region 22 can be dried by adsorbing moisture, and the air can be warmed by an exothermic reaction when adsorbing moisture. it can. In this way, by adjusting the air volume of the regeneration fan 27, the amount of cooling in the regeneration-side condenser 26 can be adjusted, and the air in the processing region 22 can be dehumidified using the heat exhaust heat generated in the process. That is, in the present embodiment, the regeneration-side condenser 26 has both functions of cooling the refrigerant in the cooling circuit and heating the air in the regeneration region. And the control part 30 controls the reproduction | regeneration side condenser 26 based on the measured pressure P so that the reproduction | regeneration side condenser 26 can exhibit both these functions effectively. Therefore, in the present invention, since it is not necessary to separately provide a condenser having a function of cooling the refrigerant in the cooling circuit and a condenser having a function of heating the air in the regeneration region, the dehumidifying air conditioning system 1 has a simple structure. can do. Furthermore, the air in the processing region 22 can be warmed by an exothermic reaction during dehumidification. By supplying this dry warm air to the passage near the refrigeration means, the cold aisle problem and the defrosting operation problem can be solved.

(2) Heating mode air-conditioning operation Since it is dry at low temperatures in winter, the cooling load on the refrigeration means 11 is reduced. Under these conditions, the air conditioning operation of the dehumidifying air conditioning system 1 is performed as follows.

  First, the control unit 30 stops the processing fan 24 if the measured temperature T is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature Tw. Here, the predetermined temperature Tw is a lower limit temperature at which no cold aisle problem occurs. In this case, the control unit 30 controls the air volume of the regeneration fan 27 based on the measured pressure P as shown in FIG. That is, the control unit 30 increases the air volume of the regeneration fan 27 as the measured pressure P increases.

On the other hand, if the measured temperature T is lower than the predetermined temperature Tw, the control unit 30 controls the air volumes of the processing fan 24 and the regeneration fan 27 based on the measured pressure P as shown in FIG. That is, when the measured pressure P is less than the predetermined pressure Pw, only the processing fan 24 is operated, and the air volume of the processing fan 24 is increased as the measured pressure P increases. When the measured pressure P becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure Pw, the air volume of the processing fan 24 is constant at the air volume at the predetermined pressure Pw, the regeneration fan 27 is driven, and the difference (P−Pw) between the measured pressure P and the predetermined pressure Pw. Increases, the air volume of the regeneration fan 27 is increased.
Further, during the heating mode air conditioning operation, the dehumidifying rotor 21 stops rotating.

  FIG. 5 is an air diagram showing the temperature and humidity of the air passing through the processing region 22 of the rotary dehumidifier 20 when the air conditioning operation in winter is performed. In the figure, W1 indicates the state of air at the inlet of the processing region 22 (temperature 20 ° C., relative humidity 28%, absolute humidity 0.004 kg water / kg air). Since the processing fan 24 takes in the air in the store, W1 has the same temperature and humidity as the air in the store, but is heated by the processing-side condenser 23 by passing through the processing region 22, At the outlet, as indicated by W2, the temperature rises to 30 ° C. and the dehumidification rotor 21 stops rotating, so the absolute humidity remains 0.004 kg water / kg air, but the relative humidity drops to 15%. The air thus warmed and dried is sent to the passage before the refrigeration means.

  As described above, when the cooling load of the cooling circuit 10 is small and the measured pressure P is less than the predetermined pressure Pw because the winter temperature is low, the refrigerant of the cooling circuit 10 is adjusted through the processing-side condenser 23 by adjusting the air volume of the processing fan 24. Adjust the pressure. The relative humidity of the air in the processing region 22 warmed by the supply of heat from the processing side condenser 23 is lower than that of the original air, and this dry warm air is supplied to the passage near the refrigeration means. Thus, the cold aisle problem and the defrosting operation problem can be solved.

  When the measured pressure P is equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure Pw, the refrigerant pressure of the cooling circuit 10 is adjusted by adjusting the air volume of the regeneration fan 27 in addition to the processing fan 24. In this way, by adjusting the air flow rate of the processing fan 24 so that it is not more than necessary, it is possible to prevent an excessive amount of heat from being brought into the room.

  As described above, according to the dehumidifying air conditioning system 1 of the present invention, it is not necessary to separately provide a condenser having a function of cooling the refrigerant in the cooling circuit and a condenser having a function of heating the air in the regeneration region. Therefore, the dehumidifying air-conditioning system 1 can have a simple structure, and the dehumidifying air-conditioning system 1 having this simple structure is cold in both hot and humid seasons such as summer and dry seasons such as winter. The aisle problem and the defrosting operation problem can be solved.

  In addition, the description of the above embodiment is for making an understanding of this invention easy, and does not limit this invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a dehumidifying air conditioning system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the pressure which the pressure gauge 33 at the time of implementing dehumidification mode air-conditioning operation, the temperature which the thermometer 34 shows, and the air volume of the process fan 24 and the regeneration fan 27. It is an air line figure which shows the temperature and humidity of the air which pass the process area | region 22 and the reproduction | regeneration area | region 25 of the rotary dehumidifier 20 at the time of implementing an air conditioning driving | operation in summer. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the pressure which the pressure gauge 33 shows at the time of implementing heating mode air-conditioning driving | operation, and the air volume of the process fan 24 and the reproduction | regeneration fan 27. FIG. It is an air diagram which shows the temperature and humidity of the air which pass the process area | region 22 of the rotary dehumidifier 20 at the time of implementing the air-conditioning driving | operation in winter.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dehumidification air-conditioning system 10 Cooling circuit 11 Refrigeration means 12 Compressor 20 Rotary dehumidifier 21 Dehumidification rotor 22 Processing area 23 Processing side condenser 24 Processing fan 25 Reproduction area 26 Regeneration side condenser 27 Regeneration fan 30 Control part 31 Switching valve 33 Pressure Total 34 Thermometer 36 Bypass pipe

Claims (2)

A dehumidifying air conditioning system comprising: a rotary dehumidifier that dehumidifies indoor air in which refrigeration means for cooling and storing articles is installed; and a cooling circuit that cools the refrigeration means,
The rotary dehumidifier is
A rotary dehumidifying rotor capable of absorbing and releasing moisture;
A treatment area in which the dehumidification rotor absorbs moisture;
A regeneration region that is a region from which the dehumidifying rotor releases moisture;
A regeneration fan that takes in outdoor air, passes the regeneration area, and discharges it to the outdoors;
A processing fan that takes in indoor air, passes the processing region, and discharges it into the room;
Have
The cooling circuit is
A compressor for compressing the refrigerant;
A regeneration-side condenser that is disposed on the windward side of the dehumidifying rotor in the regeneration region and supplies heat from the refrigerant compressed by the compressor to the air in the regeneration region;
The processing side condensation which is arranged on the upstream side of the regeneration side condenser in the cooling circuit and on the leeward side of the dehumidifying rotor in the processing region and supplies heat from the refrigerant compressed by the compressor to the air in the processing region. And
A bypass pipe for supplying the refrigerant from the compressor to the regeneration side condenser by bypassing the processing side condenser;
A switching valve that selectively switches the connection destination of the compressor to the processing-side condenser or the bypass pipe,
The merged refrigerant is sent to the regeneration side condenser,
The refrigerant supplied with heat in the regeneration side condenser is sent to the refrigeration means,
The dehumidifying air conditioning system, wherein the refrigerant supplied with cold heat by the refrigeration means is sent to the compressor. A rotary dehumidifier that dehumidifies by a dehumidification rotor that enables absorption and release of moisture by rotating air in a room in which refrigeration means for refrigerated storage of articles is installed;
A cooling circuit for cooling the refrigeration means, comprising: a regeneration side condenser; and a processing side condenser located upstream of the regeneration side condenser;
A dehumidifying air conditioning method using a dehumidifying air conditioning system having
The processing fan provided in the rotary dehumidifier takes in indoor air and passes it through the processing area of the rotary dehumidifier so that the moisture contained in the air in the processing area is absorbed by the dehumidification rotor, Exhausting the air with reduced moisture into the room;
The regenerative fan included in the rotary dehumidifier takes in outdoor air and passes it through the regeneration area of the rotary dehumidifier, thereby releasing the absorbed moisture from the dehumidification rotor to the air in the regeneration area, Exhausting moisture-containing air outdoors;
Compressing a refrigerant for cooling the refrigeration means by a compressor provided in the cooling circuit;
Supplying heat from the refrigerant to the air in the regeneration region in a regeneration side condenser disposed on the windward side of the dehumidifying rotor in the regeneration region;
Supplying heat from the refrigerant to the air in the processing region in a processing-side condenser disposed on the leeward side of the dehumidifying rotor in the processing region;
The refrigerant connects the compressor and the regeneration-side condenser and selectively connects the compressor to a bypass pipe that can bypass the processing-side condenser and the processing-side condenser. Step to switch to
Merging refrigerant from the processing side condenser and the bypass pipe;
The merged refrigerant is sent to the regeneration-side condenser;
The refrigerant supplied with heat in the regeneration-side condenser is sent to the refrigeration means;
The refrigerant supplied with cold by the refrigeration means is sent to the compressor;
A dehumidifying air-conditioning method comprising:

Images