Ship HVAC System

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air conditioning system for a ship that predicts the external weather of a ship in transit using an artificial intelligence algorithm, thereby preventing sudden operation even when the external weather changes rapidly, and continuously providing a comfortable environment in the cabins and passageways. The system comprises: a blower (100); a cooling unit (20) including a filter installed between an external air inlet (10) and the blower (100), and a heating unit (30) including a filter; a cabin supply damper (200) connected to the supply duct (110) of the blower (100) and configured to supply air to each cabin formed on each deck; a passageway recirculation damper (300) connected to the recirculation duct (120) of the blower (100) and configured to recirculate air in the cabin passageways formed on each deck; and a controller (500) including an artificial intelligence algorithm.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioning system for a ship, and more specifically, to a device for controlling the airflow volume according to the air pressure and air conditions in the cabins and passageways of each deck provided on the ship. Background Technology

[0002] As the ratio of external to internal circulation air, temperature, humidity, blower back pressure, and oxygen concentration change rapidly and frequently due to the influence of external weather conditions as the vessel moves, it is necessary to adjust the ratio of external to internal circulation air according to the influence of external temperature and humidity.

[0003] Rapid changes in external temperature and humidity require rapid performance control of the air conditioner, and at the same time require rapid changes in the outside air, inside air, and recirculation ducts.

[0004] However, rapid performance and duct control cause drastic changes in onboard air quality, making it difficult to maintain a normal comfortable environment and requiring a significant amount of time and control to stabilize.

[0005] In particular, rapid changes in latitude require rapid control from cooling to heating or from heating to cooling within a single day, as the external weather changes very rapidly.

[0006] Meanwhile, on ships, depending on the ratio of external and internal circulating air in the air conditioning system, positive and back pressure (or negative pressure) may be formed in the living quarters, which can cause doors to not open easily when moving between areas or result in door pinching accidents due to strong closing caused by pressure formation. Positive and back pressure (or negative pressure) is closely related to the cooling and heating control performance, oxygen concentration, etc., depending on the external temperature and humidity.

[0007] Although changes in temperature, humidity, and oxygen concentration in each zone can be manually adjusted via duct openings through the central control of heating and cooling temperatures and airflow on ships, there are difficulties in maintaining stable pressure control in each zone due to continuous external environmental changes during operation. Furthermore, there are issues such as low health and environmental satisfaction resulting from individual differences in perceived temperature and the difficulty in removing harmful substances including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and germs.

[0008] Registered Patent No. 10-1097382 (published Dec. 23, 2011) discloses an air conditioning system for a ship equipped with an air conditioner for any indoor space on the deck (hereinafter referred to as "prior art").

[0009] Conventional technology includes an intake duct that supplies outside air from an intake port to the air conditioner, a ventilation duct that starts from a vent and extends to the indoor space, and a duct connection means that selectively connects the ventilation duct to the intake duct or the air conditioner when the intake port is blocked; however, there is a problem in that it is difficult to respond quickly to external environments that change significantly. Prior art literature

[0010] Registered Patent No. 10-1097382 (Published Dec. 23, 2011) The problem to be solved

[0011] The present invention aims to provide a ship air conditioning system that predicts the external weather of a ship in transit using an artificial intelligence algorithm, thereby preventing sudden operation of the air conditioning system even when the external weather changes rapidly, and continuously providing a comfortable environment in the cabins and passageways.

[0012] Furthermore, the present invention aims to provide a ship air conditioning system capable of avoiding sudden changes in onboard air quality and maintaining harmless indoor air by controlling the opening of air supply ducts and recirculation ducts in real time based on collected information on air quality and differential pressure in each compartment of the ship.

[0013] In addition, the present invention aims to provide a ship air conditioning system that can significantly reduce the risk of accidents by preventing the occurrence of sudden differential pressure in each compartment of the ship. means of solving the problem

[0014] The air conditioning device of the ship according to the present invention comprises: a blower (100) that supplies air to each cabin and passage by introducing air through an outside air inlet (10) installed on the deck of the ship; a cooling unit (20) including a filter and a heating unit (30) including a filter installed between the outside air inlet (10) and the blower (100); a cabin supply damper (200) connected to a supply duct (110) of the blower (100) and configured to supply air to each cabin formed on each deck; a passage recirculation damper (300) connected to a recirculation duct (120) of the blower (100) and configured to recirculate air in a cabin passage formed on each deck; and a controller (500) that controls the operation of the blower (100), the cooling unit (20), the heating unit (30), the cabin supply damper (200), and the passage recirculation damper (300).

[0015] In addition, the cabin is further equipped with a cabin recirculation damper (210) configured to discharge the air of the cabin into a passage outside the cabin.

[0016] Additionally, the controller (500) includes an artificial intelligence algorithm that predicts external weather changes by utilizing the ship's GPS location information and external weather data according to the ship's navigation path, sets the external weather change prediction value extracted by the artificial intelligence algorithm as an initial reference value, and controls the opening of the cabin supply damper (200), cabin recirculation damper (210), and passage recirculation damper (300) by using the air data measurement value measured by the sensor in the cabin and passage as an input to the controller.

[0017] Additionally, the controller (500) controls the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) to decrease and the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) to increase when the oxygen concentration inside the vessel is higher than the set value and is positive pressure, and controls the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) to increase and the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) to decrease when the oxygen concentration inside the vessel is lower than the set value and is negative pressure.

[0018] Additionally, the controller (500) controls the opening of the cabin supply damper (200), the opening of the cabin recirculation damper (210), and the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) to increase when the concentration of harmful gas inside the ship is higher than the set value and the oxygen concentration is lower than the set value.

[0019] Additionally, the controller (600) controls the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) first so that the differential pressure between the cabin and the passage is within the set value range when the rate of change of the differential pressure between the cabin and the passage occurs to be greater than the set value, and controls the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) and the cabin recirculation damper (210) secondarily when the differential pressure between the cabin and the passage does not decrease within the set range by the set time. Effects of the invention

[0020] The air conditioning system of a ship according to the present invention has the advantage of being able to continuously control fine changes in weather from actual weather information measured while predicting changes in the external weather in advance and predicting changes in the opening degree of each damper (200, 210, 300) in advance, and to continuously provide a comfortable environment in the cabin and passageway.

[0021] The air conditioning system of a ship according to the present invention has the advantage of effectively preventing door pinching accidents by controlling the passageway recirculation damper (300), the cabin supply damper (200), and the cabin recirculation damper (210) so that the differential pressure between the cabin and the passageway becomes less than or equal to a set value, thereby allowing the doors inside the ship to be opened and closed normally.

[0022] The air conditioning system of a ship according to the present invention has the advantage of being able to prevent external toxic substances or gases from entering the ship by controlling the maintenance of positive pressure in the cabins and passageways, and effectively protect the health of the crew. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0023] FIG. 1 is a deck plan of a ship to explain a conventional air conditioning system. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an air conditioning system for a ship according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of air conditioning control in a cabin and passageway of a ship according to the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0024] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For reference, the size, line thickness, etc., of the components illustrated in the drawings referenced for describing the present invention may be depicted somewhat exaggerated for ease of understanding.

[0025] Furthermore, the terms used in the description of the present invention are defined considering their functions within the invention and may vary depending on the user's or operator's intent, convention, etc. Accordingly, it is appropriate to define these terms based on the entire content of this specification.

[0026] Furthermore, in this application, terms such as 'comprising' and 'having' refer to the existence of specific numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and should be understood as not excluding in advance the existence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0027] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below but may be implemented in various different forms, and the embodiments provided are merely to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention.

[0028] Therefore, the present invention is susceptible to various modifications and may take various forms, and embodiments (aspects or examples) are to be described in detail in the specification. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific disclosed forms, and it should be understood that it includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions that fall within the technical scope of the present invention, and singular expressions used in this specification include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0029] However, in describing the present invention, specific descriptions of well-known or known functions or configurations are omitted in order to clarify the gist of the invention.

[0030] Hereinafter, specific embodiments for implementing the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an air conditioning system of a ship according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of air conditioning system control in a cabin and passageway of a ship according to the present invention.

[0032] As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the air conditioning system of a ship according to the present invention includes a blower (100), a cooling unit (20) including a filter, a heating unit (30) including a filter, a supply duct (110), a recirculation duct (120), a cabin supply damper (200), a cabin recirculation damper (210), a passage recirculation damper (300), and a controller (500).

[0033] The blower (100) is installed on the upper deck of the ship and is configured to draw in air through an outside air inlet (10), supply air to each cabin through a supply duct (110), and recirculate air in the passage through a recirculation duct (120).

[0034] The air conditioner (20) and the heater (30) are installed between the outside air inlet (10) and the blower (100) and configured to control the temperature and humidity of the incoming air.

[0035] The above-mentioned air conditioner (20) and heater (30) may be configured to provide a filter, such as a HEPA filter, to remove harmful substances such as fine dust, germs, and bacteria, thereby achieving clean air quality. Additionally, they may be configured to be equipped with an ionizer to convert fine particles into neutral particles by combining negative and positive ions with harmful substances through an ionization process.

[0036] The cabin supply damper (200) is connected to the supply duct (110) of the blower (100) and is configured to control the flow rate of air supplied to each cabin formed in each deck. The cabin supply damper (200) can control the flow rate of air by adjusting the opening degree according to the control of the control unit (500).

[0037] The cabin recirculation damper (210) installed in each cabin is configured to discharge air inside the cabin into a passage and is configured to control the flow rate of the discharged air by adjusting the opening degree according to the control of the control unit (500).

[0038] The passageway recirculation damper (300) is connected to the recirculation duct (120) of the blower (100) and is configured to send air from the cabin passageway formed in each deck to the blower (100) for recirculation. The passageway recirculation damper (300) can control the flow rate of air by adjusting the opening degree according to the control of the control unit (500).

[0039] As shown in FIG. 2, the ship may be equipped with multiple decks, and each deck has a cabin and a passageway.

[0040] It is preferable that the supply duct (110) and the recirculation duct (120) extend to each deck, and that each cabin is equipped with the cabin supply damper (200), cabin recirculation damper (210), and passage recirculation damper (300).

[0041] The controller (500) includes an artificial intelligence algorithm that predicts external weather changes by utilizing GPS location information of the ship according to the ship's navigation path and external weather data, sets the external weather change prediction value extracted by the artificial intelligence algorithm as an initial reference value, and is configured to control the opening of the cabin supply damper (200), cabin recirculation damper (210), and passage recirculation damper (300) by utilizing air data measurement values ​​measured by sensors in the cabin and passage as inputs to the controller.

[0042] The ship is equipped with sensors capable of measuring GPS location information, weather information data, outside air damper and air volume, temperature, humidity, and air volume of air supplied inside the ship, temperature, humidity, and air volume of air that is recirculated and supplied to the air conditioner, oxygen concentration, VOCs, and air differential pressure between the air supply duct and the recirculation duct in each compartment inside the ship, and the controller (500) receives information collected from these and uses it as information for control.

[0043] The controller (500) continuously collects external weather data (temperature, humidity, oxygen concentration, etc.) based on changes in latitude and longitude during ship navigation to create weather data based on the ship's location, and uses this to learn the artificial intelligence algorithm to more accurately predict the external weather change prediction value that serves as the initial reference value for the air conditioning system.

[0044] As such, the controller (500) of the present invention controls the cabin damper (200, 210) and passage damper (300) of the air conditioner by combining current weather data and information of the air conditioner and each compartment. Since it predicts external weather changes using an artificial intelligence algorithm based on weather information data according to the ship's route and sets this as an initial reference value, it can predict and respond to changes in cooling and heating performance, as well as changes in the opening degree of the cabin supply damper (200), cabin recirculation damper (210), and passage recirculation damper (300) in advance. Furthermore, it can continuously perform fine control without sudden changes by utilizing measurements taken from various sensors of the ship for slight weather changes.

[0045] Ships often emit toxic gases and other harmful chemicals, and tankers, in particular, that transport liquefied natural gas (LNG), chemicals, and toxic substances often discharge cargo to the outside through mechanical systems to regulate the pressure inside the cargo tanks.

[0046] At this time, since there is a risk that toxic gas may flow into the ship if the pressure balance inside the ship is not properly maintained, the controller (500) of the present invention maintains positive pressure to prevent external toxic substances or gases from flowing into the ship, including the cabins and passageways.

[0047] Additionally, the controller (500) of the present invention controls the opening of the cabin supply duct (200), cabin recirculation duct (210), and passage recirculation duct (300) based on air quality and differential pressure collection information of each compartment within the ship.

[0048] When the oxygen concentration inside the ship is higher than the set value and the pressure is positive, the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) is reduced and the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) is increased so that the oxygen concentration inside the ship, including the passage and cabin, is controlled to be within the set value range.

[0049] When the oxygen concentration inside the ship is lower than the set value and is negative pressure, the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) is increased and the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) is decreased so that the pressure inside the ship, including the passage and cabin, becomes positive pressure and the oxygen concentration is controlled to be within the set value range. At this time, the opening of the cabin recirculation damper (210) is also increased to increase the air discharged into the passage, thereby controlling the pressure and oxygen concentration to reach the set range more quickly.

[0050] When the concentration of harmful gas inside the vessel is higher than the set value and the oxygen concentration is lower than the set value, the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) is increased, the opening of the cabin recirculation damper (210) is increased, and the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) is increased so as to rapidly discharge the harmful gas and control the oxygen concentration to reach within the set range.

[0051] Meanwhile, a sudden and rapid pressure difference may occur between the cabin and the passageway, such as when the doors of each compartment are opened, causing the rate of change of the pressure difference to be greater than the set value.

[0052] In such cases, control is performed to first adjust the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) so that the differential pressure between the cabin and the passage is within the set value range, and to secondarily adjust the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) and the cabin recirculation damper (210).

[0053] In this invention, since the interior of the vessel, including the passageway, is controlled to maintain positive pressure, when the passageway door opens, the air in the passageway escapes to the outside and the pressure drops, causing a large instantaneous pressure difference with the cabin, that is, a large rate of change in pressure difference occurs.

[0054] In such cases, control is primarily achieved by reducing the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300).

[0055] If the differential pressure decreases to within the set range within a set time, for example, a time considering the time for opening and closing the door, it can be considered that the passageway door has been opened and closed for entry. Therefore, in this case, the passageway recirculation damper (300) is returned to a normal opening, and the cabin supply damper (200), cabin recirculation damper (210), and passageway recirculation damper (300) are controlled according to the control method described above.

[0056] If the differential pressure does not decrease within the set range within the set time, it may be considered that the door is damaged or has been open for a long time.

[0057] In this case, the opening of the cabin recirculation damper (210) is increased to control the differential pressure between the passage and the cabin to decrease.

[0058] Through such control, the ship air conditioning system of the present invention can predict external weather changes using an artificial intelligence algorithm and use this as an initial reference value to predict changes in cooling and heating performance and changes in the opening degree of each damper (200, 210, 300) in advance. Even when a sudden differential pressure occurs, the sudden change in each damper (200, 210, 300) is minimized, thereby stably maintaining fine control over actual weather changes, improving the performance of the air conditioning system, maintaining air quality inside the ship, and effectively preventing accidents such as door pinching accidents.

[0059] This project (result) is the result of the Phase 3 Leading University Industry-Academic Cooperation Project (LINC 3.0), which was funded by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea. Explanation of the symbols

[0060] 10: Outside air inlet 20: Air conditioner 30: Heater 100: Blower 110: Supply duct 120: Recirculation duct 200: Cabin supply damper 210: Cabin recirculation damper 300: Passage recirculation damper 500: Controller

Claims

Claim 1 An air conditioner for a ship comprising: a blower (100) installed on the deck of the ship and supplying air to each cabin and passage by introducing air through an outside air inlet (10); a cooling unit (20) including a filter and a heating unit (30) including a filter installed between the outside air inlet (10) and the blower (100); a cabin supply damper (200) connected to the supply duct (110) of the blower (100) and configured to supply air to each cabin formed on each deck; a passage recirculation damper (300) connected to the recirculation duct (120) of the blower (100) and configured to recirculate air in the cabin passage formed on each deck; and a controller (500) controlling the operation of the blower (100), cooling unit (20), heating unit (30), cabin supply damper (200), and passage recirculation damper (300). Claim 2 An air conditioning device for a ship according to claim 1, characterized in that the cabin is additionally equipped with a cabin recirculation damper (210) configured to discharge the air of the cabin to a passage outside the cabin. Claim 3 In paragraph 2, the air conditioning device of a ship is characterized in that the controller (500) includes an artificial intelligence algorithm that predicts external weather changes by utilizing GPS location information of the ship according to the ship's navigation path and external weather data, sets the external weather change prediction value extracted by the artificial intelligence algorithm as an initial reference value, and controls the opening of the cabin supply damper (200), cabin recirculation damper (210), and passageway recirculation damper (300) by using air data measurement values ​​measured by sensors in the cabin and passageway as inputs to the controller. Claim 4 An air conditioning device for a ship according to claim 3, wherein the controller (500) controls the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) to decrease and the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) to increase when the oxygen concentration inside the ship is higher than the set value and is positive pressure, and controls the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) to increase and the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) to decrease when the oxygen concentration inside the ship is lower than the set value and is negative pressure. Claim 5 In clause 3, the above controller (500) controls the opening of the cabin supply damper (200), the opening of the cabin recirculation damper (210), and the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) to increase when the concentration of harmful gas inside the ship is higher than the set value and the oxygen concentration is lower than the set value. Claim 6 In paragraph 3, the air conditioning device of a ship is characterized in that the controller (600) primarily adjusts the opening of the passage recirculation damper (300) so that the differential pressure between the cabin and the passage is within the set value range when the rate of change of the differential pressure between the cabin and the passage occurs to be greater than the set value, and secondarily adjusts the opening of the cabin supply damper (200) and the cabin recirculation damper (210) when the differential pressure between the cabin and the passage does not decrease within the set range by the set time.

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