JP2009011931A - Compressed air dehumidifier and operation control method of compressed air dehumidifier - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for dehumidifying compressed air and a method for controlling the operation of the same which do not require the operator's work of operating or stopping a plurality of compressors for compressing a cooling-medium and can avoid the waste of energy by not-uselessly and quickly performing the operation or the stop. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus 1 for dehumidifying the compressed air is provided with a sucking temperature sensor 31 detecting a temperature of the cooling medium sucked by an inverter-type cooling-medium compressor 11. A control part 7 controls the operation or the stop of the inverter-type cooling-medium compressor 21 from the detection information of the sucking temperature sensor 31 and from the compressing feed capacity of the inverter-type cooling-medium compressor 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a compressed air dehumidifying device that dehydrates moisture in compressed air by cooling the compressed air by a refrigeration cycle and operation control of the compressed air dehumidifying device. .

  A compressed air dehumidifying apparatus that dehumidifies compressed air using a refrigeration cycle is conventionally known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a refrigeration cycle apparatus used in this type of compressed air dehumidifier. As shown in FIG. 1 of the publication, this refrigeration cycle apparatus includes two compressors 1a and 1b connected in parallel to each other for compressing a refrigerant. The compressor 1a is always operated with priority, and the compressor 1b is operated or stopped according to the operation status (load status) of the refrigeration cycle apparatus during the operation of the compressor 1a.

  In this refrigeration cycle apparatus, it is necessary for the operator to manually switch the operation or stop of the compressor 1b, and the operation work is troublesome and the labor cost required by the operator is also required. There is a point. In addition, the operator who operates the refrigeration cycle apparatus does not always watch the refrigeration cycle apparatus, but checks the operation status of the refrigeration cycle apparatus while performing other work to operate the compressor 1b. Make stop judgments and operations. For this reason, although this refrigeration cycle apparatus has sufficient operation capability by the operation of only the compressor 1a, the compressor 1b is operated because the operation of the refrigeration cycle apparatus by the operator is not fine. In some cases, there is a problem of wasting useless energy.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-311456

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and does not require the operation of an operator for operating or stopping a plurality of compressors for compressing a refrigerant, and can be quickly and efficiently operated or stopped. It is an object of the present invention to provide a compressed air dehumidifying apparatus and an operation control method thereof that can avoid the waste of energy.

  A compressed air dehumidifying device according to claim 1, which has been made to achieve the above object, drives and controls a plurality of inverter-type refrigerant compressors and the plurality of inverter-type refrigerant compressors. A compressed air dehumidifying device for dehumidifying the compressed air by cooling the compressed air to condense moisture in the compressed air, wherein the plurality of inverter-type refrigerant compressors A suction temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant sucked by one of the inverter-type refrigerant compressors, and the control unit includes detection information of the suction-temperature sensor and a compression / delivery capability of the one inverter-type refrigerant compressor; The operation / stop of another inverter type refrigerant compressor is controlled based on the above.

  The compressed air dehumidifying device according to claim 2 is the compressed air dehumidifying device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the compression delivery capacity based on the driving frequency of the one inverter type refrigerant compressor. It is characterized by determining.

  The operation control method of the compressed air dehumidifying device according to claim 3 is a refrigeration cycle in which a plurality of inverter-type refrigerant compressors and a plurality of inverter-type refrigerant compressors are driven and controlled to control the compression delivery capacity. Is a method of controlling the operation of a compressed air dehumidifying device for dehumidifying by dehydrating moisture in the compressed air, wherein the refrigerant sucked by one inverter refrigerant compressor of the plurality of inverter refrigerant compressors And the operation / stop of the other inverter-type refrigerant compressor is controlled based on the detection information of the temperature of the refrigerant and the compression / delivery capability of the one inverter-type refrigerant compressor.

  The operation control method of the compressed air dehumidifying device according to claim 4 is the operation control method of the compressed air dehumidifying device according to claim 3, wherein the compression air dehumidifying device is controlled based on the driving frequency of the one inverter type refrigerant compressor. It is characterized by determining the sending capability.

  According to the compressed air dehumidifying device and the operation control method of the compressed air dehumidifying device of the present invention, the suction temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the refrigerant sucked by one inverter refrigerant compressor of the plurality of inverter refrigerant compressors. The operation / stop of the other inverter type refrigerant compressors is controlled based on the detection information and the compression delivery capability of the one inverter type refrigerant compressor. Therefore, the minimum number of inverter-type refrigerant compressors required for dehumidification are automatically operated according to the operation status (load status) of the refrigeration cycle without the operator operating the compressed air dehumidifier. It is possible to eliminate the labor and labor costs of the operator, and since the operation or stop is performed quickly without waste, wasteful waste of energy can be avoided and energy saving can be achieved.

  According to the compressed air dehumidifier and the operation control method of the compressed air dehumidifier, the compressor (refrigeration cycle) is determined by determining the compression delivery capacity of the compressor based on the driving frequency of one inverter type refrigerant compressor. ) Can be accurately determined.

  Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a compressed air dehumidifier to which the present invention is applied.

  The compressed air dehumidifier 1 includes a heat exchanger 2, a main refrigeration cycle 3, a sub refrigeration cycle 4, inverters 5 and 6, and a control unit 7. The heat exchanger 2 includes an air inlet 35 and an air outlet 36 and is configured in an airtight chamber shape. The air introduction port 35 is connected to an air compressor (not shown), and introduces compressed air compressed and sent out from the air compressor into the heat exchanger 2. The air discharge port 36 is connected to a device (not shown) that discharges the dehumidified compressed air and uses the compressed air.

  Both the main refrigeration cycle 3 and the sub refrigeration cycle 4 are composed of the same elements. The main refrigeration cycle 3 includes an inverter type refrigerant compressor 11, a condenser 12, a liquid receiver 13, an expansion valve 14, and an evaporator 15. The inverter-type refrigerant compressor 11 (hereinafter also referred to as the compressor 11) corresponds to one inverter-type refrigerant compressor according to the present invention, and varies the frequency (drive frequency fm) of the supplied drive signal (inverter signal). Thus, it is configured to be able to variably control (inverter control) the compression delivery capability of the vaporized refrigerant. The compressor 11 increases the compression delivery capability of the vaporized refrigerant by increasing the drive frequency fm, and decreases the compression delivery capability by reducing the drive frequency fm.

  The condenser 12 condenses and liquefies the vaporized refrigerant compressed by the compressor 11. The liquid receiver 13 temporarily stores the refrigerant liquefied by the condenser 12. The expansion valve 14 cools the evaporator 15 by expanding and vaporizing the refrigerant in the evaporator 15 by discharging the liquefied refrigerant in the liquid receiver 13. The evaporator 15 is disposed in the heat exchanger 2 and cools the high-humidity compressed air introduced from the air introduction port 35 to the dew point temperature. At this time, moisture in the compressed air is separated by condensation on the fins (not shown) on the outer surface of the evaporator 15, and the compressed air is dehumidified. The dehumidified compressed air is discharged from the air discharge port 36 after being reheated. The evaporator 15 is connected to the input portion of the compressor 11 by a suction pipe 16. The intake pipe 16 is provided with an intake temperature sensor 31 that can detect the refrigerant temperature Tc1 and output it as a detection signal (detection information).

  The sub refrigeration cycle 4 includes an inverter type refrigerant compressor 21, a condenser 12, a liquid receiver 13, an expansion valve 14 and an evaporator 17, and is configured in the same manner as the main refrigeration cycle 3. This inverter type refrigerant compressor 21 (hereinafter also referred to as the compressor 21) has the same function as the compressor 11 and corresponds to another inverter type refrigerant compressor among the plurality of inverter type refrigerant compressors in the present invention. To do. The compressor 21 is configured to be able to variably control (inverter control) the ability to compress and deliver the vaporized refrigerant by varying the frequency (drive frequency fs) of the supplied inverter signal. The compressor 21 increases the compression / delivery capability of the vaporized refrigerant by increasing the drive frequency fs, and decreases the compression / delivery capability by decreasing the drive frequency fs. The evaporator 17 has the same function as the evaporator 15 and is disposed in the heat exchanger 2 together with the evaporator 15. The evaporator 17 is connected to the input portion of the compressor 21 by a suction pipe 18. The suction pipe 18 is provided with a suction temperature sensor 32 that can detect the refrigerant temperature Tc2 and output it as a detection signal (detection information).

  The inverter 5 supplies a drive signal having a drive frequency fm based on the control of the control unit 7 to the compressor 11, and the inverter 6 supplies a drive signal having a drive frequency fs based on the control of the control unit 7 to the compressor 21. To do. The control unit 7 controls the inverter 5 based on the detection signal of the suction temperature sensor 31 to control the compression delivery capability of the compressor 11. Further, the control unit 7 controls the inverter 6 based on the detection signal of the suction temperature sensor 31 to control the operation / stop of the compressor 21. Further, the control unit 7 controls the inverter 6 based on the detection signal of the suction temperature sensor 32 to control the compression delivery capability of the compressor 21. Note that when the flow rate of compressed air is high or the temperature of compressed air is high, the temperature of the refrigerant is high, and when the flow rate of compressed air is low or the temperature of the compressed air is low, the temperature of the refrigerant is low. The control unit 7 controls the inverters 5 and 6 from the detection signals output from the intake temperature sensors 31 and 32 so that the compressed air reaches the target dew point temperature, and the compressor 11 and 21 have a compression delivery capability ( That is, the cooling capacity of the main refrigeration cycle 3 and the sub refrigeration cycle 4) is controlled.

  Next, an operation control method of the compressed air dehumidifier 1 by the control unit 7 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a flowchart for applying the present invention.

  In this compressed air dehumidifier 1, first, the control unit 7 controls the inverter 5 to operate the compressor 11 (step 91). At this time, based on the detection signal output from the suction temperature sensor 31, the control unit 7 determines that the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is within a predetermined temperature range (cooling the compressed air to the dew point temperature and the heat exchanger 2 is not frozen. The drive frequency fm of the inverter 5 is controlled so as to be within the temperature range. Specifically, when the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is higher than a predetermined temperature range, the control unit 7 increases the drive frequency fm of the inverter 5 to increase the compression delivery capability of the compressor 11, and the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is higher than the predetermined temperature range. Is lower, the drive frequency fm of the inverter 5 is lowered to lower the compression delivery capability of the compressor 11. Subsequently, the control unit 7 determines whether or not the drive frequency fm of the inverter 5 is equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency (here, 65 Hz as an example), and the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is from a predetermined temperature (here, 3 ° C. as an example). It is determined whether or not the value is higher (step 92). At this time, when it is determined that the drive frequency fm is equal to or higher than the predetermined frequency and the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is higher than the predetermined temperature, the control unit 7 controls the inverter 6 to quickly start the operation of the compressor 21 (Step S7). 93). In this case, in the state where the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is higher than the predetermined temperature range even when the drive frequency fm of the compressor 11 is increased to increase the compression delivery capability, that is, in the operation of the compressor 11 alone, the compressed air is cooled. The capacity (dehumidification capacity) is insufficient.

  Further, when the controller 7 does not determine in step 92 that the drive frequency fm is equal to or higher than the predetermined frequency and the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is higher than the predetermined temperature, the controller 11 does not start the operation of the compressor 21. Continue driving only. In this case, the compressed air cooling capacity is satisfied only by the operation of the compressor 11.

  When the compressor 21 is operated in step 92, the control unit 7 controls the frequency fm of the inverter 5 based on the detection signal output from the suction temperature sensor 31 so that the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is within a predetermined temperature range. Meanwhile, the frequency fs of the inverter 6 is controlled based on the detection signal output from the suction temperature sensor 32 so that the refrigerant temperature Tc2 falls within a predetermined temperature range. Subsequently, the control unit 7 determines whether or not the drive frequency fm of the inverter 5 is lower than a predetermined frequency, and determines whether or not the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature (step 94). At this time, when the control unit 7 determines that the drive frequency fm is lower than the predetermined frequency, or when the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is determined to be equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, the control unit 7 controls the inverter 6 to stop the compressor 21 quickly. (Step 95). In this case, the cooling capacity of the compressed air is satisfied by the operation of the compressor 11 alone. Further, when the controller 7 does not determine in step 94 that the drive frequency fm is lower than the predetermined frequency, or does not determine that the refrigerant temperature Tc1 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, the operation of the compressors 11 and 21 is performed. To continue.

  As described above, the control unit 7 automatically controls the operation / stop of the compressor 21 based on the refrigerant temperature Tc1 and the drive frequency fm of the inverter 5, so that the operator operates the compressed air dehumidifier 1. The minimum number of compressors required for dehumidification is automatically operated according to the operating condition (load condition) of the refrigeration cycle. The labor and labor costs of the operator can be eliminated, and the wasteful waste of energy can be avoided because the operation or stop is performed quickly, and the energy can be saved. Further, it is possible to accurately determine the load status of the main refrigeration cycle 3 (compressor 11) based on the drive frequency fm of the inverter 5.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said structure. For example, in the compressed air dehumidifier 1 described above, the configuration in which the two compressors 11 and 21 are provided and the controller 7 controls the operation / stop of the compressor 21 according to the refrigerant temperature Tc1 and the drive frequency fm has been described. In addition to the compressor 21, a configuration in which a plurality of compressors are provided, and the controller 7 controls the operation / stop of the compressors other than the compressor 21 according to the refrigerant temperature Tc1 and the drive frequency fm is adopted. You can also.

It is a block diagram of the compressed air dehumidification apparatus 1 to which this invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement control method of the compressed air dehumidification apparatus 1 to which this invention is applied.

Explanation of symbols

  1 is a compressed air dehumidifier, 2 is a heat exchanger, 3 is a main refrigeration cycle, 4 is a sub refrigeration cycle, 5 and 6 are inverters, 7 is a control unit, 11 and 21 are inverter-type refrigerant compressors, 12 is a condenser, 13 is a liquid receiver, 14 is an expansion valve, 15 and 17 are evaporators, 16 and 18 are suction pipes, 31 and 32 are suction temperature sensors, 35 is an air inlet, and 36 is an air outlet.

Claims (4)

A refrigeration cycle comprising a plurality of inverter-type refrigerant compressors and a control unit for controlling the compression and delivery capacity by driving and controlling the plurality of inverter-type refrigerant compressors, and condensing moisture in the compressed air by cooling the compressed air A compressed air dehumidifier that dehumidifies
A suction temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of a refrigerant sucked by one inverter refrigerant compressor of the plurality of inverter refrigerant compressors, and the control unit includes detection information of the suction temperature sensor and the one inverter Compressed air dehumidifier for controlling operation / stop of other inverter-type refrigerant compressors based on the compression / delivery capacity of the refrigerant-type refrigerant compressor.   The compressed air dehumidifying device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines the compression delivery capacity based on a driving frequency of the one inverter type refrigerant compressor. A refrigeration cycle that drives and controls a plurality of inverter type refrigerant compressors and the plurality of inverter type refrigerant compressors, and compresses the compressed air to condense moisture in the compressed air and dehumidify it. An operation control method of an air dehumidifier,
The temperature of the refrigerant sucked by one inverter type refrigerant compressor of the plurality of inverter type refrigerant compressors is detected, and the detection information of the temperature of the refrigerant and the compression delivery capability of the one inverter type refrigerant compressor are used. The operation control method of the compressed air dehumidifier which controls operation / stop of another inverter type refrigerant compressor based on it.   4. The operation control method for a compressed air dehumidifier according to claim 3, wherein the compression delivery capacity is determined based on a driving frequency of the one inverter type refrigerant compressor.

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