Air conditioning system

Abstract

This disclosure provides an air conditioning system that can suppress a decrease in the performance efficiency of an expander. [Solution] The air conditioning system of the present disclosure comprises a compressor for compressing air, an expander for expanding air, a blower for blowing air into an air-conditioned space, a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the air discharged from the expander and the air blown from the blower, and a dehumidifying means for dehumidifying the air drawn into the expander.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioner that forms a first system by connecting an expander, a heat exchanger, and a compressor in sequence. The first system takes in indoor air and discharges it outdoors from a first outlet duct. Ducts are connected to both ends of the heat exchanger to form a second system. The second system takes in outdoor air and indoor air and supplies it indoors from a second outlet duct. A moisture absorption part of a dehumidifying mechanism is provided in a second inlet duct, a moisture release part is provided in a first inlet duct, and a rotor member having a solid adsorbent rotates between the moisture absorption part and the moisture release part to supply the air dehumidified at the moisture absorption part to the heat exchanger.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides an air conditioner capable of suppressing a decrease in the performance efficiency of an expander.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The air conditioner in the present disclosure includes a compressor that compresses air, an expander that expands air, a blower that blows air into an air-conditioning space, and a heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between the air discharged from the expander and the air blown from the blower, and includes dehumidifying means for dehumidifying the air sucked into the expander.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to the air conditioning system of this disclosure, low-humidity air can be supplied to the expander, thereby suppressing the deterioration of the expander's performance caused by the supply of high-humidity air. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Schematic diagram showing an air-refrigerant type air conditioner in Embodiment 1 [Figure 2] Schematic diagram showing the air conditioning system in Embodiment 1 [Figure 3] Schematic diagram showing the air conditioning system in Embodiment 2 [Figure 4] Schematic diagram showing the air conditioning system in Embodiment 3 [Figure 5] Schematic diagram showing the air conditioning system in Embodiment 4 [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] (Knowledge and other information that formed the basis of this disclosure) At the time the inventors conceived of this disclosure, there was an air conditioning system in which a dehumidification mechanism had a moisture absorption section in the second inlet duct and a moisture release section in the first inlet duct, and a rotor member having a solid adsorbent rotated between the moisture absorption section and the moisture release section, supplying the dehumidified air from the moisture absorption section to a heat exchanger.

[0009] However, the inventors discovered that with such conventional technologies, in air-conditioned spaces with high humidity, such as kitchens, indoor swimming pools, and gyms, the performance efficiency of the expander decreases because high-humidity air flows through it. The subject matter of this disclosure was developed to solve this problem. This disclosure provides an air conditioning system that can suppress a decrease in the performance efficiency of an expander.

[0010] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, unnecessary details may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of already well-known matters or redundant explanations of substantially identical configurations may be omitted. This is to avoid the following explanation becoming unnecessarily verbose and to facilitate understanding for those skilled in the art. The attached drawings and the following description are provided to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand this disclosure and are not intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims.

[0011] (Embodiment 1) Embodiment 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings. [1-1-1. Configuration of an air-refrigerated air conditioner] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an air-refrigerant type air conditioner in Embodiment 1. As shown in Figure 1, the air-refrigerant type air conditioner 1 is equipped with a cylindrical housing 10. Inside the housing 10, a rotating shaft 11 is arranged along the axial direction of the housing 10. The rotating shaft 11 is rotatably supported by bearings (not shown) provided on both sides of the housing 10. A motor 12 is positioned on the rotating shaft 11 to drive the rotating shaft 11 to rotate.

[0012] A compressor 13 is provided at one end of the rotating shaft 11. The compressor 13 includes an impeller (not shown) that is rotationally driven by the rotation of the rotating shaft 11. An expander 14 is provided at the other end of the rotating shaft 11. The expander 14 is equipped with a wheel (not shown) that is rotationally driven by the rotation of the rotating shaft 11.

[0013] A compressed air intake port 15 is provided at the end of the housing 10 on the compressor 13 side. A compressed air discharge port 16 is provided on the side of the housing 10 on the compressor 13 side. An expansion air intake port 17 is provided on the side of the housing 10 facing the expander 14. An expansion air discharge port 18 is provided on the end of the housing 10 facing the expander 14. Then, by driving the motor 12 to rotationally drive the rotating shaft 11, the impeller of the compressor 13 and the wheel of the expander 14 are integrally rotated. As a result, the air sucked in from the compressed air suction port 15 is compressed by the rotation of the impeller and discharged from the compressed air discharge port 16 as high-temperature and high-pressure air. On the other hand, the air sucked in from the expansion air suction port 17 is expanded by the rotation of the wheel and discharged from the expansion air discharge port 18 as low-temperature air.

[0014] [1-1-2. Configuration of the air conditioner] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an air conditioner using an air refrigerant type air conditioner. As shown in FIG. 2, a compressed air discharge pipe 20 is connected to the compressed air discharge port 16 of the air refrigerant type air conditioner 1. An expansion air suction pipe 21 is connected to the expansion air suction port 17 of the air refrigerant type air conditioner 1.

[0015] The expansion air suction / discharge port 18 of the expander 14 of the air refrigerant type air conditioner 1 and the compressed air suction port 15 of the compressor 13 are connected by an air pipe 22. A heat exchanger 23 is provided in the middle of the air pipe 22. The heat exchanger 23 is provided with an air-conditioning air pipe 24 that exchanges heat with the air flowing through the air pipe 22. A blower 25 for sending external air to the air-conditioning air pipe 24 is connected to one end of the air-conditioning air pipe 24.

[0016] The other end of the air-conditioning air pipe 24 is connected to the air-conditioning space 30. Thus, by driving the blower 25, external air can be sent to the heat exchanger 23 through the air-conditioning air pipe 24, and the air that has exchanged heat with the air pipe 22 can be sent to the air-conditioning space 30.

[0017] Also, a dehumidifying means 40 is provided in the middle of the expansion air suction pipe 21 of the expander 14. The dehumidifying means 40 includes a desiccant material having the characteristics of performing moisture absorption and desorption. This configuration allows the intake air of the expander 14 to be dehumidified by the dehumidifying means 40.

[0018] [1-2. Operation] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, when performing cooling operation, the motor 12 and the blower 25 are driven. By driving the motor 12, the expander 14 and compressor 13 are driven, and dehumidified air from the dehumidifying means 40 is sent to the expansion air intake port 17. The air drawn in from the expansion air intake port 17 is expanded by the rotation of the wheel and sent as low-temperature air from the expansion air discharge port 18 to the air piping 22. The air sent to the air piping 22 is sent to the compressed air intake port 15 of the compressor 13 via the heat exchanger 23, and is discharged to the outside from the compressor 13 via the compressed air discharge piping 20.

[0019] Meanwhile, the blower 25 drives outside air into the air conditioning piping 24 and sends it to the heat exchanger 23. The conditioned air sent from the air conditioning piping 24 to the heat exchanger 23 exchanges heat with the low-temperature expanded air sent from the expander 14 in the heat exchanger 23, is cooled, and then sent to the air-conditioned space 30. These actions provide cooling to the air-conditioned space 30. In this embodiment, since the dehumidified air from the dehumidifying means 40 is supplied to the expander 14, a decrease in the performance of the expander 14 can be suppressed.

[0020] For example, the dehumidification means 40 may include a cooling means that utilizes a water heat source such as groundwater or tap water, in addition to the desiccant material. In this case, the humidity medium of the air sent to the dehumidifying means 40 can be cooled and condensed inside the dehumidifying means 40 by the cooling means, thereby dehumidifying the air. Furthermore, for example, the dehumidifying means 40 may include a heating means that utilizes a heat source such as a dew-proof heater in addition to the desiccant material. In this case, the humidity medium of the air sent to the dehumidifying means 40 can be heated by the heating means inside the dehumidifying means 40 and evaporated, thereby dehumidifying the air.

[0021] [1-3. Effects, etc.] As described above, the air conditioning device 2 of Embodiment 1 includes a compressor 13 for compressing air, an expander 14 for expanding air, a blower 25 for blowing air into the air-conditioned space, a heat exchanger 23 for exchanging heat between the air discharged from the expander 14 and the air blown from the blower 25, and a dehumidifying means 40 for dehumidifying the air drawn into the expander 14. This allows low-humidity air to be supplied to the expander 14, thereby suppressing the deterioration of the expander 14's performance caused by the supply of high-humidity air.

[0022] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the air conditioning device 2 includes a dehumidifying means 40 which is made of a desiccant material that has the properties of absorbing and releasing moisture. As a result, the dehumidifying means 40 uses a desiccant material that has the properties of both absorbing and releasing moisture, and by utilizing recycled materials, it is possible to recover heat that would otherwise be wasted, and the dehumidifying means 40 is always in a state where it can dehumidify. Therefore, the decrease in the performance efficiency of the expander 14 can be constantly suppressed, the capacity of the dehumidifying means 40 can be reduced, and it becomes possible to miniaturize the air refrigerant type air conditioner.

[0023] (Embodiment 2) Next, Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure will be described. [2-1. Structure] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the air conditioning system in Embodiment 2. As shown in Figure 3, in this embodiment, a flow diversion mechanism is provided between the expander 14 and the dehumidifying means 40. The flow diversion mechanism includes a bypass pipe 41 that diverts the air sent from the dehumidifying means 40 and connects it to the compressed air intake port 15 of the blower 25. Since the other components are the same as in Embodiment 1, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts and their descriptions are omitted.

[0024] [2-2. Action and Effects] In this embodiment, as in Embodiment 1, dehumidified air can be sent to the expansion air intake port 17 of the expander 14 by the dehumidifying means 40. Furthermore, since the dehumidified air branched off from the flow division mechanism is sent to the compressed air intake port 15 of the compressor 13 via the bypass pipe 41, the dehumidified air can be supplied to the heat exchanger 23 and the air-conditioned space.

[0025] [2-3. Effects, etc.] Therefore, the air conditioning device 2 in Embodiment 2 includes a flow splitting mechanism between the expander 14 and the dehumidifying means 40, and a bypass pipe 41 that sends the air split by the flow splitting mechanism to the suction side of the blower 25. This allows the dehumidified air to be used to dehumidify the air sent to the air-conditioned space while maintaining the performance efficiency of the expander 14, thereby supplying the air-conditioned space with comfortable air with adjusted temperature and humidity.

[0026] (Embodiment 3) Next, Embodiment 3 of this disclosure will be described. [3-1. Structure] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the air conditioning system in Embodiment 3. As shown in Figure 4, in this embodiment, a second bypass pipe 42 is provided that recirculates the air drawn in from the air-conditioned space to the upstream side of the dehumidifying means 40. Since the other components are the same as in Embodiment 2, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts and their descriptions are omitted.

[0027] [3-2. Effect] In this embodiment, as in Embodiments 1 and 2, dehumidified air can be sent to the expansion air intake port 17 of the expander 14 by the dehumidifying means 40, and air with adjusted humidity and temperature can be supplied to the air-conditioned space. Furthermore, since the dehumidified air branched off from the flow division mechanism is sent to the compressed air intake port 15 of the compressor 13 via the bypass pipe 41, the dehumidified air can be supplied to the heat exchanger 23 and the air-conditioned space. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the air sent from the air-conditioned space to the upstream side of the dehumidifying means 40 is dehumidified by the dehumidifying means 40 regardless of the humidity of the air, and then sent to the expander 14.

[0028] [3-3. Effects, etc.] Therefore, the air conditioning device 2 in Embodiment 3 is equipped with a second bypass pipe 42 that recirculates the air drawn in from the air-conditioned space to the upstream side of the dehumidifying means 40. As a result, the air drawn in from the air-conditioned space is sent upstream of the dehumidifying means 40 via the second bypass pipe 42, and after being dehumidified by the dehumidifying means 40, it is sent to the expander 14. Therefore, regardless of the humidity of the air in the air-conditioned space, the humidity of the air sent to the expander 14 can be reduced, and a decrease in the performance efficiency of the expander 14 can be suppressed.

[0029] (Embodiment 4) Next, Embodiment 4 of this disclosure will be described. [4-1. Structure] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the air conditioning system in Embodiment 3. As shown in Figure 5, in this embodiment, a regenerative heat source pipe 43 is provided that sends the air discharged from the compressor 13 to the dehumidifying means 40. Since the other components are the same as in Embodiment 3, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts and their descriptions are omitted. [4-2. Effect] In this embodiment, as in embodiments 1 to 3, dehumidified air can be sent to the expansion air intake port 17 of the expander 14 by the dehumidifying means 40, and air with adjusted humidity and temperature can be supplied to the air-conditioned space. Furthermore, the dehumidifying means 40 can be heated by sending the high-temperature air discharged from the compressor 13 to the dehumidifying means 40. Generally, when the dehumidifying means 40 removes moisture from outside air or air supplied from an air-conditioned space, the moisture medium is accumulated in the dehumidifying means 40. Therefore, if dehumidification is continued with the dehumidifying means 40, the dehumidification performance will decrease due to the accumulated moisture medium. However, by supplying high-temperature air to the dehumidifying means 40 using the air discharged from the compressor 13 and drying the dehumidifying means 40, the performance of the dehumidifying means 40 can be maintained.

[0030] [4-3. Effects, etc.] Therefore, the air conditioning system 2 in Embodiment 4 is equipped with a regenerative heat source piping 43 that sends the air discharged from the compressor 13 to the dehumidifying means 40. This allows the dehumidifier 40 to maintain its performance by sending the discharged air from the compressor 13 to the dehumidifier 40 via the regenerative heat source piping 43. As a result, low-humidity air can be supplied to the expander 14, suppressing a decrease in the performance efficiency of the expander 14.

[0031] (Other embodiments) As described above, embodiments have been explained as examples of the technology disclosed in this application. However, the technology in this disclosure is not limited to these embodiments and can be applied to embodiments that have been modified, replaced, added, or omitted. Furthermore, it is possible to create new embodiments by combining the components described in the above embodiments.

[0032] (Note) Based on the above description of embodiments, the following technologies are disclosed. (Technical 1) An air conditioning system comprising a compressor for compressing air, an expander for expanding air, a blower for blowing air into an air-conditioned space, a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the air discharged from the expander and the air blown from the blower, and a dehumidifying means for dehumidifying the air drawn into the expander. This configuration allows low-humidity air to be supplied to the expander, thereby suppressing the deterioration of the expander's performance caused by the supply of high-humidity air.

[0033] (Technical 2) The air conditioning device according to Technical 1, further comprising a flow splitting mechanism between the expander and the dehumidifying means, and a bypass pipe that sends the air split by the flow splitting mechanism to the intake side of the blower. This configuration allows for the use of dehumidified air to dehumidify the air sent to the air-conditioned space while maintaining the performance efficiency of the expander, thereby supplying comfortable air with adjusted temperature and humidity to the air-conditioned space.

[0034] (Technical 3) An air conditioning system according to Technical 1 and Technical 2, further comprising a second bypass pipe that recirculates the air drawn in from the air-conditioned space to the upstream side of the dehumidifying means. With this configuration, air drawn in from the air-conditioned space is sent upstream of the dehumidification means via a second bypass pipe, and after being dehumidified by the dehumidification means, it is sent to the expander. Therefore, regardless of the humidity of the air in the air-conditioned space, the humidity of the air sent to the expander can be reduced, and a decrease in the performance efficiency of the expander can be suppressed.

[0035] (Technical 4) An air conditioning system according to any one of Technical 1 to 3, comprising a piping for a regenerative heat source that sends the air discharged from the compressor to the dehumidifying means. With this configuration, the performance of the dehumidifier can be maintained by sending the discharged air from the compressor to the dehumidifier via the piping for the regenerative heat source. As a result, low-humidity air can be supplied to the expander, and a decrease in the performance efficiency of the expander can be suppressed.

[0036] (Technical 5) An air conditioning device according to any one of Technical 1 to 4, wherein the dehumidifying means comprises a desiccant material having the properties of absorbing and releasing moisture. With this configuration, the dehumidification means uses a desiccant material that has the properties of both absorbing and releasing moisture, and by utilizing recycled materials, heat that would otherwise be wasted can be recovered, and the dehumidification means is always in a state where dehumidification is possible. As a result, the decrease in the performance efficiency of the expander can be constantly suppressed, the capacity of the dehumidification means can be reduced, and it becomes possible to miniaturize the air refrigerant type air conditioner.

[0037] (Technical 6) The air conditioning apparatus according to any one of Technical 1 to Technical 5, wherein the dehumidifying means is equipped with a cooling means. With this configuration, the humidity medium of the air sent to the dehumidifier can be cooled and condensed by the cooling means inside the dehumidifier, thereby dehumidifying the air.

[0038] (Technical 7) The air conditioning apparatus according to any one of Technical 1 to Technical 5, wherein the dehumidifying means is equipped with a heating means. With this configuration, the humidity medium of the air sent to the dehumidifying means can be heated and evaporated by the heating means inside the dehumidifying means, thereby dehumidifying the air. [Industrial applicability]

[0039] This disclosure is suitably applicable as an air conditioning system that can suppress a decrease in the performance efficiency of the expander. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0040] 1. Air-refrigerated air conditioner 2. Air conditioning system 10 cabinets 11 Rotating shafts 12 motors 13 Compressor 14. Inflator 15 Compressed air intake 16 Compressed air outlet 17 Expansion air intake 18 Expansion air outlet 20 Compressed air discharge piping 21 Expansion air intake piping 22 Air Piping 23 Heat exchanger 24. Air conditioning piping 25 Blower 26 Expansion air inlet piping 30 Air-conditioned space 40 Dehumidification means 41 Bypass pipe 42 Second bypass pipe 43 Piping for regenerated heat source

Claims

1. It comprises a compressor for compressing air, an expander for expanding air, a blower for supplying air to an air-conditioned space, and a heat exchanger for performing heat exchange between the air discharged from the expander and the air supplied from the blower. The device is equipped with a dehumidifying means for dehumidifying the air drawn into the expander. Air conditioning system.

2. A flow separation mechanism is provided between the aforementioned expander and the aforementioned dehumidifying means. The system includes a bypass pipe that sends the air diverted by the aforementioned flow division mechanism to the intake side of the blower. The air conditioning device according to claim 1.

3. The system includes a second bypass pipe that recirculates the air drawn in from the air-conditioned space to the upstream side of the dehumidifying means. The air conditioning device according to claim 1.

4. The system includes piping for a regenerative heat source that sends the air discharged from the compressor to the dehumidifying means. The air conditioning device according to claim 1.

5. The dehumidification means comprises a desiccant material that has the properties of absorbing and releasing moisture. The air conditioning device according to claim 1.

6. The dehumidifying means is equipped with a cooling means. The air conditioning device according to claim 1.

7. The dehumidifying means includes a heating means. The air conditioning device according to claim 1.

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