Dehumidifier

Abstract

Provided is a dehumidifier wherein the deterioration of the dehumidification performance can be suppressed by improving the velocity distribution of the airflow through a heat exchanger.　This dehumidifier comprises: a housing having a suction port and a blowout port; an air blowing means for generating an airflow from the suction port to the blowout port; an air cleaning means disposed inside the housing; a dehumidifying means having a heat exchanger for removing moisture from the airflow; a main air passage through which air drawn in from the suction port passes through the air cleaning means and reaches the heat exchanger; at least one bypass air passage through which air drawn in from the suction port bypasses the air cleaning means and reaches the heat exchanger; and an opening / closing means capable of opening and closing between a closed position to shield the bypass air passage and an open position to open the bypass air passage. The at least one bypass air passage includes a curved bypass air passage. The curved bypass air passage is formed in an L shape so as to bend or curve toward the main air passage.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to dehumidifiers. [Background technology]

[0002] The dehumidifier disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a main body case as a housing, and an inlet and an outlet formed in the housing. An air passage is formed in the housing to communicate the inlet and the outlet. A heat exchanger constituting a dehumidifying means and a blowing means for generating an airflow in the air passage are arranged in the air passage, and the airflow from the inlet is dehumidified by passing it through the heat exchanger. In addition, a filter is provided in the air passage upstream of the heat exchanger so as not to cover the lower part of the heat exchanger, and a shutter is provided in the lower part of the air passage that is not covered by the filter to open and close the lower part of the air passage. When the shutter is opened, most of the airflow is ventilated to the heat exchanger without passing through the filter, so that the dehumidification operation is focused on dehumidification. On the other hand, when the shutter is closed, most of the airflow is purified by passing through the filter, and the purified airflow is ventilated to the heat exchanger, so that the air purification operation is focused on air purification. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-211913 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the dehumidification operation in which the shutter is opened, the airflow that has passed through the first air passage covered by the filter and the airflow that has passed through the second air passage not covered by the filter are ventilated to the heat exchanger. Here, the first and second air passages are each formed so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the dehumidifier perpendicular to the surface of the heat exchanger. Therefore, the low-speed airflow that has passed through the filter and the high-speed airflow that has not passed through the filter are ventilated to the heat exchanger as they are. As a result, there is a problem that the speed distribution of the airflow ventilated to the heat exchanger deteriorates, and the dehumidification performance of the dehumidifier is reduced.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. An object of the present disclosure is to provide a dehumidifier that can suppress a decrease in the dehumidification performance of the dehumidifier by improving the velocity distribution of the airflow passed through the heat exchanger. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The dehumidifier according to the present disclosure includes a housing having an inlet and an outlet, a blower for generating an airflow from the inlet to the outlet, an air cleaner arranged inside the housing, a dehumidifier having a heat exchanger for removing moisture in the airflow, a main air passage through which air sucked from the inlet passes through the air cleaner and reaches the heat exchanger, at least one bypass air passage through which air sucked from the inlet reaches the heat exchanger without passing through the air cleaner, and an opening / closing means capable of opening and closing between a closed position for blocking the bypass air passage and an open position for opening the bypass air passage. The at least one bypass air passage includes a curved bypass air passage. The curved bypass air passage is formed in an L-shape so as to be bent or curved toward the main air passage. The dehumidifying means has a refrigerant pipe provided on one side in the left-right direction, which is the width direction of the heat exchanger. The bypass air passage has a first bypass air passage formed on one side in the left-right direction of the main air passage and a second bypass air passage formed on the other side in the left-right direction of the main air passage. The first bypass air passage is a curved bypass air passage, and the second bypass air passage is composed of a straight portion extending in the front-rear direction. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the airflow that has passed through the curved bypass air duct merges with the airflow that has passed through the main air duct before being passed through the heat exchanger. That is, the airflow that has passed through the curved bypass air duct merges with the airflow that has passed through the main air duct, and the merged airflow is passed through the heat exchanger. This improves the speed distribution of the airflow that is passed through the heat exchanger, and as a result, the deterioration of the dehumidification performance of the dehumidifier can be suppressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dehumidifier according to a first embodiment, as viewed from the front side. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dehumidifier according to the first embodiment, as viewed from the rear side. [Diagram 3] 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the dehumidifier according to the first embodiment taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional view of the dehumidifier according to the first embodiment taken along line BB in FIG. [Diagram 5] 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the dehumidifier according to the first embodiment taken along line CC in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dehumidifier of the first embodiment, seen from the rear side with an air inlet cover and an air cleaning filter removed. [Figure 7] 11 is a schematic diagram for simply explaining the flow of air currents in a state in which the shutter opens the bypass air passage. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals in each drawing indicate the same or corresponding parts. In addition, in this disclosure, overlapping descriptions will be appropriately simplified or omitted. In addition, this disclosure describes the configuration of a dehumidifier having both a dehumidifying function and an air cleaning function as a representative example, but is not limited to a dehumidifier. The technical idea according to this disclosure is also applicable to an air conditioner or an air purifier that can have the same configuration. In addition, this disclosure may include any combination of configurations that can be combined among the configurations described in the following embodiments.

[0010] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the dehumidifier 1 according to the first embodiment, as seen from the front side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dehumidifier 1, as seen from the rear side. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of the dehumidifier 1 taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a transverse section of the dehumidifier 1 taken along line BB in FIG. 1. The lines AA and BB are set to pass through the rotation center of a sirocco fan 32, which will be described later. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section of the dehumidifier 1 taken along line CC in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the dehumidifier 1, as seen from the rear side, with an intake port cover 13 and air cleaning filters 45 and 46, which will be described later, removed. FIG. 7 is a schematic view for simply explaining the flow of air when a shutter 5, which will be described later, opens a bypass air passage 44. In FIG. 6, the shutter 5 and the storage space 443 are not shown.

[0011] In this embodiment, the front-to-rear direction of the dehumidifier 1 is the X-axis direction, the width direction is the Y-axis direction or the left-to-right direction, and the up-down direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is the Z-axis direction. The left side in Fig. 3 is the front side and the front side, and the right side is the rear side and the back side. Moreover, the left side in Fig. 4 is the left side in the Y-axis direction, and the right side is the right side in the Y-axis direction.

[0012] The dehumidifier 1 includes a case 10 as a housing. The case 10 includes a front case 10a forming a front portion and a rear case 10b forming a rear portion. The front case 10a and the rear case 10b are aligned with each other and fixed together, for example, by screws, to form a self-supporting box-shaped case 10.

[0013] The case 10 is formed with an intake port 11 and an outlet port 12. The intake port 11 is an opening for taking in air from the outside of the case 10 to the inside. The outlet port 12 is an opening for sending air from the inside of the case 10 to the outside. The intake port 11 is formed in an intake port cover 13 that is detachably provided on the rear case 10b. That is, a plurality of openings in the intake port cover 13 correspond to the intake port 11. The intake port 11 and the intake port cover 13 are arranged symmetrically with respect to a first center line CL1 that divides the case 10 into two equal parts in the width direction and extends in the front-rear direction, taking into consideration the design of the rear side of the dehumidifier 1. As a result, the inlets of the bypass air passages 44a, 44b and the air cleaning filters 45, 46 described later are also arranged symmetrically with respect to the first center line CL1, improving the design of the rear side of the dehumidifier 1. The outline of the intake port 11 is not limited to a rectangle, but may be a circle.

[0014] The suction port cover 13 has an opening 13a smaller than the suction port 11 and a hose connection hole 13b around the suction port 11. A humidity sensor Sm is disposed inside the rear case 10b facing the opening 13a. The humidity sensor Sm measures the humidity of the indoor air. A drain hose (not shown) connected to a drain pipe 18b (described later) is inserted into the hose connection hole 13b, so that drain water can be continuously drained outside the dehumidifier 1. The hose connection hole 13b is also inserted into the rear case 10b. b When the dehumidifier 1 is not in use, the power cable Cp can be inserted into the hose connection hole 13b and stored in the storage section Sp.

[0015] The suction port cover 13 may be formed by integrally molding a net shape from a plastic material. The suction port cover 13 can, for example, prevent large foreign objects (paper scraps, fiber scraps, etc.) that have risen into the air from entering the inside of the dehumidifier 1. However, since the suction port cover 13 has a small pressure loss and is poor at purifying the air of fine particles, etc., it does not constitute an air purifying means, which will be described later. In this embodiment, the HEPA filter 45 and the activated carbon filter 46, which will be described later, correspond to the air purifying means.

[0016] The air outlet 12 is formed on the upper surface of the front case 10a. Near the air outlet 12, a louver 14 is provided for adjusting the direction in which air is blown out from the air outlet 12. As the louver 14, a known one having a plate-like member that can move in the vertical direction can be used. A motor (not shown) for driving the louver is attached to the louver 14. This motor is, for example, a stepping motor. This allows the inclination angle of the louver 14 with respect to the air outlet 12 to be changed in several steps or more.

[0017] An operation display unit 15 is provided on the upper part of the case 10. An operation display board 24, which will be described later, is attached to the operation display unit 15. The operation display unit 15 has a switch for a user to operate the dehumidifier 1, a display unit that displays the operation state and operation mode of the dehumidifier 1, and an audio notification unit that notifies the user of the state of the dehumidifier 1. The switches include, for example, an operation switch that turns the operation of the dehumidifier 1 on / off and an operation mode changeover switch that changes the operation mode. Although the details will be described later, the operation mode can be changed between a dehumidification operation that focuses on dehumidification and an air purification operation that focuses on air purification by the operation mode changeover switch. Note that the control means Cm, which will be described later, may be configured to automatically control the changeover of the operation mode based on the humidity measured by the humidity sensor Sm.

[0018] A base 16 is provided at the bottom of the case 10 as a bottom plate. Swivel casters 16a, which are wheels for moving the dehumidifier 1, are provided at the four corners of the bottom surface of the base 16. If the dehumidifier 1 is not to be moved, the swivel casters 16a do not need to be provided. An electric compressor 21, which will be described later, is installed on the base 16, and a water storage tank 17 is stored in a positioned state. A front panel 17a, which constitutes a part of the front case 10a, is fixed to the front of the water storage tank 17. When the water storage tank 17 is full, the water storage tank 17 can be pulled forward together with the front panel 17a, and the drain water in the water storage tank 17 can be discarded.

[0019] A drain water receiver 18 is disposed above the water storage tank 17. A drain water stopper 18a that temporarily stops the drain water from being discharged into the water storage tank 17 is rotatably attached to the drain water receiver 18, and is normally biased in the direction of stopping the water flow by a spring. When the water storage tank 17 is stored in the storage position, the drain water stopper 18a can be rotated in the direction opposite to the negative bias of the spring to drain the water into the water storage tank 17. A dehumidifying means 2 that removes moisture from the airflow is disposed above the drain water receiver 18.

[0020] For example, a heat pump type can be used as the dehumidifying means 2, but other types can also be used. The dehumidifying means 2 has a heat exchanger 20, a compressor 21 that compresses the refrigerant, and a pressure reducing device (not shown) that reduces the pressure of the refrigerant.

[0021] The heat exchanger 20 has an evaporator 20a, a main condenser 20b as a first condenser, and a sub-condenser 20c as a second condenser. A refrigerant pipe 20d for circulating the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 21 is disposed on the left side of the heat exchanger 20 in the Y-axis direction. Meanwhile, a hairpin portion 20e for turning back the refrigerant within the heat exchanger 20 is disposed on the right side of the heat exchanger 20 in the Y-axis direction.

[0022] Here, the refrigerant pipe 20d includes a plurality of pipe sections connected to the refrigerant inlets and outlets provided in the evaporator 20a and the condensers 20b and 20c, respectively, and the electric compressor 21 or the pressure reducing device. These plurality of pipe sections need to be arranged with a clearance so as not to contact each other. For this reason, the heat exchanger 20 is arranged symmetrically with respect to a second center line CL2 that is shifted by an arbitrary distance d to the right in the Y-axis direction from the first center line CL1. That is, the second center line CL2 that passes through the center of the heat exchanger 20 and extends in the front-rear direction is offset to the right in the Y-axis direction from the first center line CL1 that passes through the center of the case 10 in the left-right direction, that is, to the opposite side to the refrigerant pipe 20d. The left-right distance d, which is the offset amount between the first center line CL1 and the second center line CL2, is set to be smaller than the left-right width of the bypass air passage 44b described later, and is set to, for example, 15 mm. By arranging the refrigerant pipes 20d together on the left side of the Y-axis direction, it is possible to configure the refrigerant pipes 20d more compactly than when they are arranged separately on both the left and right sides of the Y-axis direction.

[0023] The evaporator 20a corresponds to the aluminum fin portion of the heat exchanger 20. The evaporator 20a is configured to condense moisture contained in the air passing through the evaporator 20a, that is, to generate condensation and dehumidify the air by heat exchange with the refrigerant circulating from the electric compressor 21 via the refrigerant pipe 20d. The electric compressor 21 may be, for example, a reciprocating or rotary type.

[0024] The electric compressor 21 is configured to forcibly circulate the refrigerant through the refrigerant pipe 20d connected to the evaporator 20a and the condensers 20b and 20c. That is, the electric compressor 21 supplies compressed refrigerant to a refrigeration cycle configured by connecting the evaporator 20a and the condensers 20b and 20c with the refrigerant pipe 20d. The electric compressor 21 is installed on the base 16 immediately below the connection point between the refrigerant pipe 20d and the evaporator 20a or the condensers 20b and 20c. This allows the length of the refrigerant pipe 20d to be shortened. In addition, this, together with the arrangement of the refrigerant pipes 20d on the left side in the Y-axis direction, allows the workability of welding the refrigerant pipes 20d performed during assembly of the dehumidifier 1 to be improved. Furthermore, if the electric compressor 21 is arranged on the outer periphery on the left side in the Y-axis direction on the base 16, a large-capacity tank can be used as the water storage tank 17. This reduces the frequency of drainage of drain water, improving the ease of use for the user. The pressure reducing device may be, for example, an expansion valve or a capillary tube.

[0025] Water droplets condensed on the evaporator 20a drip into the drain water receiver 18 and are drained through the drain pipe 18b into the water storage tank 17. The air dehumidified by passing through the evaporator 20a is returned to room temperature in the main condenser 20b and the sub-condenser 20c, and is then sent out of the outlet 12 through a scroll space 35, which will be described later. A drain hose (not shown) may be connected directly to the drain pipe 18b. In this case, the drain hose can be inserted into the hose connection hole 13b and pulled out to the outside of the case 10, allowing continuous drainage.

[0026] The blower means 3 is disposed in front of the heat exchanger 20. The blower means 3 has a fan motor 31 and a sirocco fan 32. The sirocco fan 32 is rotatably disposed in a scroll space 35 defined by a casing 33 and a partition plate 34. A circular opening serving as a bell-mouth shaped hole 34a is formed in the partition plate 34, so that the air that has passed through the condenser 20c can be smoothly sucked in. The air sucked in through the bell-mouth shaped hole 34a by the rotation of the sirocco fan 32 is blown out from the air outlet 12 located above the casing 33, and the blowing direction is changed by the louver 14.

[0027] A heat exchanger holder 22 is disposed above the heat exchanger 20, which holds the heat exchanger 20 and also functions as a power supply board case. A power supply board unit 23 is provided above the heat exchanger holder 22. The power supply board unit 23 has a power supply board and a control board, not shown. In this embodiment, the power supply board unit 23 and the operation display board 24 constitute a control means Cm. The control means Cm controls the driving of the motor for the louver 14, the electric compressor 21, the fan motor 31, and a stepping motor for driving the shutter, which will be described later. The control means Cm also controls the display on the operation display unit 15 as well as audio notifications.

[0028] An air-path forming frame 41 is attached to the rear case 10b so as to face the air inlet 11. Inside the air-path forming frame 41, two air-path partition plates 42 that are long in the vertical direction are arranged with a gap in the horizontal direction. The gap between the air-path partition plates 42 is determined so as to correspond to the width of an air cleaning filter described later. The two air-path partition plates 42 divide the inside of the air-path forming frame 41 into a main air path 43 and bypass air paths 44a, 44b described later. That is, the main air path 43 is defined in the horizontal center of the air-path forming frame 41 by the two air-path partition plates 42 and the upper and lower walls of the air-path forming frame 41. Two bypass air paths 44a, 44b are defined adjacent to both sides of the main air path 43 in the horizontal direction by each air-path partition plate 42 and the upper, lower and side walls of the air-path forming frame 41. The bypass air passage 44a on the left side in the Y-axis direction corresponds to the first bypass air passage, and the bypass air passage 44b on the right side in the Y-axis direction corresponds to the second bypass air passage. In this way, the main air passage 43 and the bypass air passages 44a, 44b separated by the air passage partition plate 42 are adjacent to each other on the left and right, so that the main air passage 43 and the bypass air passages 44a, 44b can be configured compactly, and the dehumidifier 1 can be made compact. The height of the air passage forming frame 41 and therefore the bypass air passages 44a, 44b are set to be equal to the height of the part of the air intake cover 13 where the air intake 11 is formed. As a result, the bypass air passages 44a, 44b are arranged to face each other over the entire height of the part where the air intake 11 is formed.

[0029] The bypass air passage 44a corresponds to a curved bypass air passage. The curved bypass air passage 44a is formed so as to bend or curve to the right in the Y-axis direction toward the main air passage 43. That is, the curved bypass air passage 44a has, in a cross section, a straight portion 441 extending in the front-rear direction and a curved portion 442 that is bent or curved from the front end of the straight portion 441, and is configured so that the curved portion 442 merges with the main air passage 43. As a result, the airflow Ab1 that has passed through the curved portion 442 of the curved bypass air passage 44a flows toward the right in the Y-axis direction and merges with the airflow Af that has passed through the main air passage 43, and the merged airflow is ventilated to the heat exchanger 20 via a lattice portion 47 described later.

[0030] The bypass air passage 44b is configured with a straight portion 441. The airflow Ab2 that has passed through the second bypass air passage 44b is ventilated to the right end of the heat exchanger 20 in the Y-axis direction through a lattice portion 47 described later. At this time, the airflow Ab2 may merge with the airflow Af that has passed through the air cleaning filters 45, 46 on the upstream side of the lattice portion 47. Note that, although two bypass air passages 44a, 44b are arranged on both the left and right sides of the main air passage 43 in this embodiment, the present invention can be applied to the case where at least one bypass air passage 44a is arranged.

[0031] An air purification filter serving as an air purification means is detachably disposed in the main air passage 43. The air purification filter includes, for example, a HEPA filter 45 and a deodorizing filter 46. These filters 45, 46 are also disposed symmetrically with respect to the first center line C1, similar to the intake port 11. The HEPA filter 45 is an air filter having a particle collection rate of 99.97% or more for particles having a particle diameter of 0.3 μm. Instead of the HEPA filter 45, a ULPA filter having a particle collection rate of 99.99% or more for particles having a particle diameter of 0.15 μm may be used. The deodorizing filter 46 may be, for example, an activated carbon filter.

[0032] A lattice portion 47 serving as a straightening member is disposed at a distance downstream of the deodorizing filter 46. The lattice portion 47 has a plurality of openings 47a serving as ventilation windows opened in a lattice pattern. The evaporator 20a is disposed at a distance downstream of the lattice portion 47. The lattice portion 47 preferably has a cross-sectional area equal to that of the evaporator 20a. Providing the lattice portion 47 prevents a user from touching the evaporator 20a when replacing the air cleaning filters 45, 46.

[0033] The bypass air passages 44a, 44b are provided with a shutter 5 as an opening / closing means capable of opening and closing the bypass air passages 44a, 44b. The shutter 5 has a plate-like shielding wall 51 that is elongated in the vertical direction, and an upper plate 52 and a lower plate 53 that are sector-shaped in plan view and provided at the upper end and lower end of the shielding wall 51, respectively. An upper rotating shaft (not shown) is provided on the upper surface of the upper plate 52, and a lower rotating shaft 53a is provided on the lower surface of the lower plate 53. The upper rotating shaft and the lower rotating shaft 53a are inserted and fitted into through holes (not shown) that serve as bearings provided in the upper wall and the lower wall of the air passage forming frame 41, respectively. As a result, the shutter 5 is supported so as to be rotatable around the upper rotating shaft and the lower rotating shaft 53a. A stepping motor (not shown) is directly attached to the upper rotating shaft. The rotating position of the shutter 5 is controlled by driving and controlling the stepping motor. Specifically, in an air cleaning operation mode described later, as shown by solid lines in FIG. 4, the shutter 5 is rotated to a closed position where the shutter 5 blocks the bypass air passages 44a and 44b and blocks the airflow of the bypass air passages 44a and 44b. On the other hand, in a dehumidification operation mode described later, as shown by imaginary lines in FIG. 4, the shutter 5 is rotated to an open position where the shutter 5 opens the bypass air passages 44a and 44b and allows the airflow of the bypass air passages 44a and 44b. The shutter 5 can also be rotated to an intermediate position between the closed position and the open position. That is, the opening degree of the bypass air passages 44a and 44b can be adjusted by controlling the opening degree of the shutter 5. The bypass air passages 44a and 44b each have a storage space 443 that bulges outward in the left and right directions. When the shutter 5 is rotated to the open position, the shielding wall 51 is stored in the storage space 443, thereby reducing the pressure loss of the bypass air passages 44a and 44b during the dehumidification operation.

[0034] In this embodiment, the control means Cm is configured by the power supply board unit 23 and the operation display board 24. The power supply board unit 23 functions as a main control unit. Although not shown, the power supply board unit 23 has a power supply section to which a power cable Cp is connected, a CPU, a drive circuit, and a storage section.

[0035] The dehumidifier 1 includes a wireless communication module as a wireless communication unit inside the case 10. The wireless communication unit is configured to be capable of wireless communication with local network equipment such as a wireless router (not shown) installed in the home or office where the dehumidifier 1 is placed. The wireless communication unit 25 can be connected to an Internet line (not shown) via the local network equipment. In this case, the wireless communication unit 25 can send and receive information with an information processing terminal (not shown) such as a smartphone in a remote location and other communication devices via the Internet line. The local network equipment may be a command device that controls the total amount of power usage in the home or office, or an integrated management device that collects and links information on multiple electrical devices, and may also be called an access point.

[0036] Next, the operation of the dehumidifier 1 will be described. When the dehumidification operation mode is selected by the user operating the operation mode changeover switch, the control means Cm drives the louver motor so as to open the louvers 14 to a specified angle. The angle of the louvers 14 can be specified from, for example, 45 degrees, 60 degrees, and 75 degrees.

[0037] Next, the control means Cm drives the motor 6 so as to rotate the shutter 5 to the open position. This opens the bypass air passages 44a and 44b. The control means Cm rotates the fan motor 31 to rotate the sirocco fan 32 at a preset rotation speed. This generates an airflow that flows from the suction port 11 through the main air passage 43, the bypass air passages 44a and 44b, and the heat exchanger 20 to the air outlet 12. Then, by driving the motor of the electric compressor 21, the refrigerant is compressed by the electric compressor 21, and the compressed refrigerant circulates through the heat exchanger 20 via the refrigerant pipe 20d.

[0038] When passing through the evaporator 20a, the airflow is dehumidified by condensation due to heat exchange with the refrigerant circulating from the electric compressor 21. The dehumidified air is returned to room temperature in the condensers 20b and 20c, and then blown out of the outlet 12 through the scroll space 35. At this time, depending on the angle of the louver 14, the air can be blown upward to generate a circulating airflow in the room to dehumidify the room, or the laundry can be blown to dry it. Water droplets condensed on the evaporator 20a drip into the drain water receiver 18 by gravity and are drained into the water storage tank 17 through the drain pipe 18b. When a drain hose is attached to the drain pipe 18b, the drain water can be continuously drained outside the case 10 through the drain hose.

[0039] The control means Cm determines whether the humidity measured by the humidity sensor Sm is 50% or more. If the humidity is 50% or more, the motor of the electric compressor 21 continues to be driven to continue the dehumidification operation.

[0040] On the other hand, when the humidity is less than 50%, the motor of the electric compressor 21 is stopped. At the same time, the motor 6 is driven so that the shutter 5 rotates to the closed position, and air purification operation is performed. During the purification operation, almost all of the air sucked from the suction port 11 passes through the air purification filters 45, 46 in the main air passage 43 and is purified. Therefore, the air blown from the air outlet 12 becomes purified air.

[0041] According to this embodiment, during dehumidification operation, airflow Ab1 that has passed through curved bypass air passage 44a merges with airflow Af that has passed through main air passage 43 before being passed through heat exchanger 20. That is, airflow Ab1 that has passed through curved bypass air passage 44a flows toward the right in the Y axis direction and merges with airflow Af that has passed through main air passage 43, and the merged airflow is passed through heat exchanger 20. This makes it possible to improve the speed distribution of the airflow passed through heat exchanger 20, and as a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the dehumidification performance of dehumidifier 1.

[0042] According to the present embodiment, the airflow passing through the straight portion 441 of the bypass air passage 44b during the dehumidification operation is ventilated to the end portion on the right side of the Y axis direction of the heat exchanger 20. Therefore, even when the heat exchanger 20 is disposed offset to the right side in the Y axis direction with respect to the center line CL1, the speed distribution of the airflow ventilated to the heat exchanger 20 can be improved. This can further suppress the deterioration of the dehumidification performance of the dehumidifier 1. Moreover, since the suction port cover 13 and the suction port 11 are disposed symmetrically with respect to the first center line C1, the design of the rear side of the dehumidifier 1 is not impaired. In this case, it is desirable to dispose the sirocco fan 32 symmetrically with respect to the second center line C2, similar to the heat exchanger 20. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 Dehumidifier, 10 Case (housing), 11 Intake port, 12 Outlet port, 16 Base (bottom plate), 2 Dehumidification means, 20 Heat exchanger, 20d Refrigerant piping, 21 Electric compressor, 3 Blowing means, 43 Main air duct, 44a First bypass air duct, curved bypass air duct, 44b Second bypass air duct, 441 Straight section, 442 Curved section, 45 HEPA filter (air purifying means), 46 Deodorizing filter (air purifying means), 5 Shutter (opening / closing means)

Claims

1. A housing having an inlet and an outlet; A blowing means for generating an air flow from the air inlet to the air outlet; An air purifying means disposed inside the housing; A dehumidifying means having a heat exchanger for removing moisture from the airflow; a main air passage through which air drawn in from the air inlet passes through the air purifying means and reaches the heat exchanger; at least one bypass air passage through which air drawn in from the air inlet reaches the heat exchanger without passing through the air purifying means; an opening / closing means that can be opened and closed between a closed position that blocks the bypass air passage and an open position that opens the bypass air passage, the at least one bypass duct includes a bent bypass duct; The curved bypass air passage is formed in an L-shape so as to be bent or curved toward the main air passage, The dehumidifying means has a refrigerant pipe provided on one side in a left-right direction, which is a width direction of the heat exchanger, the bypass air passage includes a first bypass air passage formed on one side in a left-right direction of the main air passage and a second bypass air passage formed on the other side in the left-right direction of the main air passage, the first bypass air passage is the curved bypass air passage, The second bypass air passage is formed of a straight portion extending in the front-rear direction.

2. 2. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein the curved bypass air passage has a straight portion extending in a front-rear direction and a curved portion that is bent or curved from a front end of the straight portion, and the curved portion merges with the main air passage.

3. The dehumidifying means has an electric compressor that compresses a refrigerant, The dehumidifier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electric compressor is disposed immediately below a connection point between the refrigerant pipe and the heat exchanger.

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