KR20020022801A - Humidifier and air conditioner using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a humidifier capable of improving the degree of comfort by solving the problem of insufficient humidification while performing an optimal humidification action, and an air conditioner using the humidifier. The humidifier includes a humidification rotor 11, a water absorption fan 13 provided on a water absorption passage connected to the humidification rotor 11, a humidification fan 13 connected to the humidification rotor 11 through the humidification rotor 11, And a heater 17 provided on the humidifying passage upstream from the humidifying rotor 11. The humidifying rotor 15 is provided with a humidification fan 15, a humidification rotor 12 for driving the humidification rotor 11, At least one of the water absorption fan 13, the humidification fan 15, the motor 12 for the humidification rotor, and the heater 17 is controlled in accordance with the humidity of the outside air.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a humidifier and an air conditioner using the humidifier,

Conventionally, the humidifier includes a humidification rotor, a fan provided on a water absorption passage connected to the humidification rotor through the humidification rotor, that is, a fan provided in a humidification passage connected through a moisture absorption fan and a humidifying rotor, A motor for the humidifying rotor for driving the humidifying rotor, and a heater provided upstream of the humidifying passage from the humidifying rotor. The humidifier absorbs moisture from outside air outside the humidifying rotor, and then releases the moisture from the humidifying rotor, thereby supplying humidified air to the room through the humidifying hose. Therefore, the indoor humidity that is likely to become dry in the winter is adjusted to be comfortable. However, since the absorption / desorption ability of the humidifying rotor is changed according to the change of the humidity of the outside air, the humidifier has a problem that it can not perform the optimal humidifying action.

In this application, a humidifier is proposed which alternately repeats the humidifying action of blowing humidified air into the room through a humidifying hose and the drying action of blowing dry air into the humidifying hose. The humidifier prevents the condensation water from remaining in the humidifying hose at low cost. (Note that the humidifier is described here in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, which is not a known or prior art) . However, the humidifier, which performs the humidifying action and the drying action alternately, shortens the humidifying time and makes the humidification insufficient. The drying action is controlled irrespective of the external air humidity level, the humidity of the outside air is low, Is not performed, the degree of comfort is deteriorated.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a humidifier capable of improving the degree of comfort by solving the problem of insufficient humidification while performing an optimum humidification action, and an air conditioner using the humidifier.

In order to attain the above object, the present invention provides a humidifying device comprising a humidifying rotor, a water-absorbing fan provided on a water-absorbing passage connected to the humidifying rotor, a humidifying fan provided on a humidifying passage connected to the humidifying rotor, The humidifier includes a motor for a humidification rotor that drives the humidification rotor, and a heater provided upstream of the humidification path, wherein the humidifier obtains humidified air from the humidification path, And a control means for controlling at least one of the water absorption fan, the humidifying fan, the motor for the humidifying rotor, and the heater so that the humidified air has a predetermined humidification amount according to the humidity.

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

(1) By increasing the number of revolutions of the water-absorbing fan when the humidity of the outside air is lowered, the amount of external air passing through the water-absorbing passage is increased so that the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor is maintained, By reducing the number of revolutions of the water-absorbing fan when the humidity of the bring-on air becomes high, it is possible to maintain a sufficient amount of water to be absorbed by the humidifying rotor even if the amount of the external air passing through the humidifying rotor decreases through the water-absorbing passage.

(2) When the humidity of the outside air is lowered, by increasing the number of revolutions of the humidification fan, the amount of the air passing through the humidifying passageway is increased so that the humidification amount can be maintained, while the humidity of the outside air is increased The amount of air passing through the humidifying passage is reduced by reducing the number of revolutions of the humidifying fan, so that even when the amount of air passing through the humidifying rotor is reduced, sufficient humidified air can be obtained.

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

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

Therefore, by performing at least one of (1) to (4) described above, an optimum humidifying action can be performed according to the humidity of outside air. Furthermore, energy saving can be ensured in any of the cases (1) to (4).

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

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

2 is a block diagram of a main part of an air conditioner using the humidifier,

3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the humidity of the outside air and the temperature of the blow-off air.

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an air conditioner using a humidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates an indoor unit, 2 designates an outdoor unit and 3 designates an uppermost portion of the outdoor unit 2 And numeral 4 denotes a humidifying hose 4 for connecting the indoor unit 1 and the humidifier 3 to each other. The air conditioner using the humidifier 3 supplies humidified air from the humidifier 3 to the indoor unit 1 through the humidifying hose 4 to supply humidified air to the room.

Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of the main part of Fig. 1, and the humidifier 3 includes a humidification rotor 11 (not shown) in the form of a disk in the casing. For example, the humidification rotor 11 is formed in a honeycomb form or a porous and multi-particle form from an absorbent such as silica gel, zeolite and alumina, and is rotated around the shaft 11a by a motor 12 for a humidification rotor do. The casing is internally divided by a partition plate (not shown) so as to form a moisture absorption passage (A) and a humidification passage (B) which are connected to each other through the individual portions of the humidification rotor (11).

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

On the other hand, the humidification fan 15 is provided on the humidification passage B downstream from the humidification rotor 11, and is provided with a humidifying fan 15 for driving the humidification fan 15 in order to suck and flow air, A motor 16 is provided. The heater 17 is provided above the humidification rotor 11 on the humidification path B so as to be humidified by the humidification rotor 11 when the air heated by the heater passes through the humidification rotor 11 (Water is desorbed from the humidification rotor 11). The water absorbed by the humidifying rotor 11 is desorbed by the air of the humidifying passage B heated by the heater 17 and the air is wetted and humidified by the humidifying fan 15, And is supplied to the hose 4.

2, reference numeral 21 denotes a humidity sensor disposed near the blow-off opening 4a of the humidifying hose 4 of the indoor unit body 5 and serving to detect the humidity of the blow-off air, An outlet side blow-off air temperature sensor disposed near the blow-off opening portion 4a for detecting the temperature of the blow-off air on the outlet side of the humidification hose 4; 23, downstream of the humidification fan 15 Side blow-off air temperature sensor disposed near the inlet side of the humidifying hose 4 to detect the blow-off air temperature on the inlet side of the humidification hose 4, and reference numeral 24 denotes an outside air temperature sensor for detecting the outside air temperature . Reference numeral 31 denotes an indoor control unit for receiving signals from the humidity sensor 21 and the outlet blow-off air temperature sensor 22 to control an indoor fan (not shown), and 32 denotes an inlet-side blow- An outdoor control unit for receiving a signal from the outdoor air temperature sensor 23 and the outdoor air temperature sensor 24 to control a compressor (not shown) and the like, and 33 for receiving a signal from the outdoor control unit 32 to control the humidifying action And a humidifying action control unit 33 serving as a control means for controlling the humidifying action. The humidification operation control section 33 controls the motor 12 for the humidification rotor, the motor 14 for the moisture absorption fan, the motor 16 for the humidification fan, and the heater 17.

Further, the display portion 6 indicating the humidity of the outside air is provided in a portion of the indoor unit body 5 near the blow-off opening portion 4a of the humidifying hose 4. [ The display unit 6 displays the humidity of the outside air estimated by the humidifying action control unit 33. [

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

Table 1:

Temperature of blow-off air (° C) 20 20.5 21 21.5 22 ... 64.5 65 Temperature of outside air (℃) -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 ... 20 22 24

Relational equations or other means for determining the humidity of the outside air from the relationship between the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blow-off air can be used instead of the table as shown in Table 1. [ Furthermore, the relationship equation can be associated with one another to determine the actuator actuation parameters directly from the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blow-off air.

In the air conditioner using the humidifier having the above-described configuration, on the basis of the signals from the inlet-side blow-off air temperature sensor 23 and the outside air temperature sensor 24 received by the outdoor control unit 32, The operation control section 33 estimates the humidity of the outside air in Table 1. The humidification operation control section (33) controls the motor (12) for the humidification rotor in accordance with the humidity of the outside air estimated during the humidification operation. More specifically, by controlling the motor 14 for the water-absorbing fan so as to increase the number of rotations of the water-absorbing fan 13 as the estimated humidity of the outside air becomes lower, The amount of the outside air passing through the pipe 11 is increased to maintain the amount of water absorbed. On the other hand, by controlling the motor 14 for the water-absorbing fan so as to reduce the number of revolutions of the water-absorbing fan 13 as the humidity of the outside air increases, the air passes through the water-absorbing passage A and passes through the humidifying rotor 11 The amount of absorption can be sufficiently maintained even if the amount of outside air to be supplied is reduced.

In another method of control, the humidification operation control section 33 controls the humidification fan motor 16 in accordance with the humidity of the outside air estimated during the humidification operation. More specifically, by controlling the motor 16 for the humidification fan 15 so that the number of revolutions of the humidification fan 15 increases as the estimated humidity of the outside air becomes lower, the humidification fan 11 passes through the humidification passage B, The amount of air to be supplied is increased and the humidification amount is maintained. On the other hand, in order to reduce the amount of air passing through the humidifying rotor 11 by controlling the humidification fan motor 16 so as to reduce the number of revolutions of the humidification fan 15 as the humidity of the outside air increases, Sufficient wet air can be obtained even though the amount of air passing through is reduced.

Further, in another method of control, the humidification operation control section 33 controls the motor 12 for the humidification rotor in accordance with the humidity of the outside air estimated during the humidification operation. More specifically, the exhaust heat is lowered by controlling the motor 12 for the humidifying rotor so that the rotational speed of the humidification rotor 11 becomes slower as the estimated humidity of the outside air becomes higher.

Further, in another method of control, the humidification operation control section 33 controls the input of the heater 17 in accordance with the humidity of the outside air estimated in the humidifying operation. More specifically, as the estimated humidity of the outside air becomes higher, the amount of water absorption in the humidifying rotor 11 increases, and therefore the input of the heater 17 becomes lower accordingly.

Any one of the above-described control methods according to the humidity of the outside air can be assured of energy saving, and two or more of these control methods can be performed simultaneously.

Therefore, the optimal humidifying action can be performed according to the humidity of the outside air.

In order to prevent condensation water from remaining in the humidifying hose 4, the humidifier 3 humidifies the humidifying hose 4 by blowing moist air into the room through the humidifying hose 4, The drying operation of blowing the dry air heated by the humidifying hose 4 into the humidifying hose 4 is alternately repeated. In this case, the humidification operation control section 33 controls the humidification operation control section 33 so that the drying operation time is shortened as the humidity of the outside air is lowered under a low humidity condition in which condensation is less likely to occur in the humidification hose 4, And controls the length of the drying operation time. As a result, the problem of insufficient humidification is solved and the comfort level can be improved.

Further, by referring to the humidity of the outside air displayed on the display unit 6 located near the blow-off opening 4a of the humidifying hose 4, the occupant can know the exact state of the outside air even in the room.

In the above-described embodiment, the humidity of the outside air is estimated based on the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blow-off air, and at least one of the moisture absorption fan, the humidification fan, It is controlled according to humidity. Otherwise, at least one of the moisture absorption fan, the humidifying fan, the motor for the humidifying rotor, and the heater may be controlled according to the humidity of the outside air based on either the temperature of the outside air or the temperature of the blow-off air. As a result, this generally means that the control is performed by estimating the humidity of the outside air on the basis of either the temperature of the outside air or the temperature of the blow-off air.

The inlet-side blow-off air temperature sensor 23 is used above as a blow-off air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the blow-off air of the humidification passage B downstream from the humidification rotor 11. [ However, the blow-off air temperature sensor is not limited to the inlet-side blow-off air temperature sensor 23, and a temperature sensor located somewhere in the outlet-side blow-off air temperature sensor 22 or the humidification hose may be used instead.

Although the humidifier of this embodiment does not have an external air humidity sensor for directly detecting the humidity of the outside air, it is preferable that the humidifying fan, the humidification fan, and the humidification rotator motor are provided so that the humidified air of a predetermined humidification amount can be obtained based on the humidity of the outside air. And at least one of the heaters can be controlled by directly detecting the humidity of the outside air with an outside air humidity sensor not shown.

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

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

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

In an embodiment of a humidifier including an external air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outside air, it is not necessary to provide an additional humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the outside air, The control means controls at least one of the water absorption fan, the humidifying fan, the motor for the humidifying rotor, and the heater based on the temperature of the outside air detected by the outside air temperature sensor so that the optimal humidifying action can be performed. This is because the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor tends to increase as the temperature of the outside air detected by the outside air temperature sensor increases.

In another embodiment of a humidifier including a blow-off air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the blow-off air downstream of the humidifying rotor, the humidity sensor of the blow- The control means controls the temperature of the blow-off air detected by the blow-off air temperature sensor so that the optimal humidification action can be performed according to the humidity of the outside air based on the temperature of the off-air, A fan, a motor for a humidification rotor, and a heater. This is because the amount of water absorbed by the humidification rotor tends to increase as the blow-off air temperature detected by the blow-off air temperature sensor of the humidification passage downstream from the humidification rotor decreases.

In another embodiment of the humidifier including an outside air sensor for detecting the temperature of the outside air and a blow-off air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the blow-off air in the humidifying passage downstream from the humidifying rotor, The control means is controlled by the external air temperature sensor so that the optimal humidification action can be performed according to the humidity of the outside air based on the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blow off air without the need to provide an additional humidity sensor to detect And controls at least one of the water absorption fan, the humidifying fan, the motor for the humidifying rotor, and the heater based on the detected temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blow-off air detected by the blow-off air temperature sensor. This is because the temperature of the outside air detected by the outside air temperature sensor is increased and the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor tends to increase as the temperature of the blow-off air detected by the blow-off air temperature sensor becomes lower .

In another embodiment of the humidifier including a humidifying hose for humidifying the humid air, the control means controls the humidifying hose to humidify the drying air heated by the heater in order to dry the inside of the humidifying hose in response to the humidity level of the outside air. To control the length of the drying action time. As a result, when the humidity of the outside air in which the condensation is less likely to occur in the humidifying hose is low, the drying operation time is reduced, so that the problem of insufficient humidification can be solved and the comfort level can be improved.

Further, in another embodiment of the humidifier including a display portion for indicating the humidity of the outside air near the wet air blow-off opening, the occupant refers to the humidity of the outside air displayed on the display portion located near the wet air blow- So that the exact state of the outside air can be known.

One embodiment includes an external air temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the outside air, wherein the control means controls the temperature of the outside air detected by the outside air temperature sensor so that the temperature of the moisture absorbing fan, the humidifying fan, And controls at least one of a motor and a heater.

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

One embodiment includes a blow-off air temperature sensor that detects the blow-off air temperature downstream of the humidification passageway from the humidification rotor, wherein the control means is configured to detect a blowoff air temperature ) Controls at least one of a water absorption fan, a humidification fan, a motor for a humidification rotor, and a heater.

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

One embodiment includes an outside air temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of outside air; And

And a blow-off air temperature sensor for detecting the blow-off air temperature downstream of the humidification passage from the humidifying rotor, wherein the control means controls the moisture- , A humidification fan, a motor for a humidifying rotor, and an outside air temperature detected by an outside air temperature sensor and a heater.

In this embodiment, when the temperature of the outside air detected by the outside air temperature sensor becomes high and the temperature of the blow-off air detected by the blow-off air temperature sensor becomes low, the amount of water absorbed by the humidifying rotor As shown in Fig. Therefore, the optimal humidifying action according to the humidity of the outside air can be obtained based on the outside air temperature and the blow-off air temperature without the humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the outside air. This humidifying action essentially estimates the humidity of the outside air based on the temperature of the outside air and the temperature of the blow-off air, and controls based on the estimated humidity of the outside air.

One embodiment includes an external air humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of the donut air, wherein the control means controls the moisture absorption fan, the humidifying fan, the humidification rotation And controls at least one of the motor and the heater.

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

One embodiment includes a humidifying hose for transferring humid air from the humidification path to the interior, wherein the control means humidifies the dry air heated by the heater to dry the interior of the humidification hose according to the humidity level of the outside air, Controls the length of drying time that blows into the hose.

In the present embodiment, a higher drying time is actually appropriately required when the humidity of the outside air is higher, but the drying time can be reduced because the humidity of the outside air is lowered and less condensation occurs in the humidifying hose. As a result, insufficient humidification can be solved and the comfort level is improved.

One embodiment includes a display portion positioned near a humidified-air blowoff opening and serving to indicate the humidity of the outside air.

In this embodiment, the occupant can know the exact state of the outside air with reference to the humidity of the outside air displayed on the display part located near the wet air blow-off opening.

Further, the air conditioner of the present invention is characterized by including any one of the above-described humidifiers.

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

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

Claims (8)

A water absorption fan 13 provided on a water absorption passage extending through the humidification rotor 11, a humidification fan 15 provided on a humidification path communicating with the humidification rotor 11, A humidification rotary motor 12 for driving the electric motor 11 and a heater 17 provided on the humidification passage upstream from the humidification rotor 11 to generate humidified air from the humidification passage, In this case, At least one of the water absorption fan (13), the humidification fan (15), the motor (12) for the humidification rotor and the heater (17) is controlled in accordance with the humidity of the outside air so that the humidified air has a predetermined humidification amount And a control means (33) for controlling the operation of the humidifier. The method according to claim 1, A humidifier further comprising an outside air temperature sensor (24) for detecting the temperature of outside air, The control means controls the temperature of the moisture absorption fan 13, the humidification fan 15, the motor 12 for the humidification rotor, and the heater 12 based on the temperature of the outside air detected by the outside air temperature sensor 24. [ (17). ≪ / RTI > The method according to claim 1, And a blow-off air temperature sensor (24) for detecting the temperature of the blow-off air in the humidification passage downstream from the humidification rotor (11), the humidifier comprising: The control means 33 controls the operation of the moisture absorption fan 13, the humidification fan 15, the humidification rotary motor (hereinafter, referred to as a " humidification engine ") based on the temperature of the blow-off air detected by the blow- 12) and the heater (17). The method according to claim 1, An outside air temperature sensor (24) for detecting the temperature of outside air; And And a blow-off air temperature sensor (23) for detecting a temperature of blow-off air downstream of the humidification rotor (11) in the humidifying passage, the humidifier comprising: The control means (33) controls the temperature of the blow-off air based on the temperature of the outside air detected by the outside air temperature sensor (24) and the temperature of the blow-off air detected by the blow- Wherein the controller controls at least one of the water absorption fan (13), the humidification fan (15), the motor (12) for the humidification rotor, and the heater (17). The method according to claim 1, A humidifier further comprising an external air humidity sensor for detecting the humidity of outside air, The control means 33 controls the moisture absorption fan 13, the humidification fan 15, the motor 12 for the humidification rotor, and the humidification fan 15 based on the humidity of the outside air detected by the outside air humidity sensor. And controls at least one of the heaters (17). The method according to claim 1, And a humidifying hose (4) for transferring the humidified air from the humidification passage to the room, The control means 33 controls the drying operation to blow dry air heated by the heater 17 into the humidifying hose 4 in order to dry the inside of the humidifying hose 4 according to the humidity level of the outside air Wherein the control unit controls the length of time. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a display portion (6) located near the humidified-air blowoff opening and serving to indicate the humidity of the outside air. An air conditioner comprising a humidifier as defined in any one of claims 1 to 7.