dehumidifier

Abstract

To keep a humidity environment of a room in a comfortable state by maintaining a predetermined high-humidity threshold humidity during a clothing drying operation.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a dehumidifier comprising: a main body case 1 including an air inlet 2 and an air outlet 3; a dehumidification section provided within the main body case 1 for dehumidifying air; an air blowing section 8 for blowing air which is sucked from the air inlet 2, through part of the dehumidification section to the air outlet 3; a humidity sensor 18 which detects a humidity outside of the main body case 1; and a control section 19 which controls the dehumidification section and the air blowing section 8 in accordance with the detected humidity of the humidity sensor 18 to first perform high-humidity clothing drying operation and then switch to a low-humidity clothing drying operation. The control section 19 first performs the high-humidity clothing drying operation and then performs the low-humidity clothing drying operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a dehumidifier used, for example, for drying clothes. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, this type of dehumidifier has a main body case with an inlet and an outlet, a dehumidifying section that is provided inside the main body case and that dehumidifies the air, and a blower section that blows the air drawn in through the inlet to the outlet via a part of the dehumidifying section. The dehumidifier uses the dehumidifying section and the blower section to blow dry air onto washed clothes to dry them.

[0003] In other words, the indoor air is turned into dry air in the dehumidifying section, and this dry air is then blown toward the washed clothes in order to improve drying efficiency. This is extremely useful, especially when it is raining or when the laundry is difficult to dry in the cold winter weather (note that a related prior document is Patent Document 1 listed below). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-42512 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Dehumidifiers that operate in a drying mode, blowing dry air onto clothes, do not take into account the humidity level in the room when the drying mode is in operation.This means that, particularly in winter, in a room environment immediately after hanging out clothes, the moisture in the clothes evaporates, increasing the humidity level in the room and creating a comfortable humidity environment.However, when a dehumidifier operates in a drying mode, the humidity level in the room decreases, meaning that it is not possible to perform the drying mode while maintaining a comfortable humidity level.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and aims to provide a dehumidifier that can keep the humidity environment in the room at a comfortable level by maintaining a predetermined high humidity threshold humidity during clothes drying operation for a predetermined time, and can dry clothes within a predetermined time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] a humidity sensor for detecting humidity outside the main body case; and a control unit for controlling the dehumidifying unit and the blowing unit in accordance with the humidity detected by the humidity sensor to perform a high-humidity clothes drying operation and a low-humidity clothes drying operation. The high-humidity clothes drying operation is an operation in which the control unit operates the blowing unit and the dehumidifying unit if the humidity detected by the humidity sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined high-humidity threshold value so as to maintain the humidity at a predetermined high-humidity threshold value, and operates the blowing unit and stops the dehumidifying unit if the humidity detected by the humidity sensor is lower than the high-humidity threshold value. The low-humidity clothes drying operation is an operation in which the control unit operates the blowing unit and the dehumidifying unit, and the control unit In order to maintain the humidity outside the main body case at a predetermined high humidity threshold, First Dry clothes while maintaining the high humidity threshold for a specified period of time The high humidity clothes drying operation is performed, and then Dry your clothes thoroughly The low humidity clothes drying operation Yes, stop This is the feature of the present invention, and it achieves the initial objective. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a dehumidifier can be provided that maintains a predetermined high threshold humidity during clothes drying operation, thereby keeping the humidity environment in a room at a comfortable level. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a dehumidifier according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] Cross-sectional view of the dehumidifier [Figure 3] A flowchart showing the details of the high humidity clothes drying operation of the dehumidifier DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] (Embodiment 1) Fig. 1 is an external perspective view of the dehumidifier according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the rear side. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the dehumidifier according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 1.

[0011] 1 and 2, the dehumidifier has a box-shaped main body case 1. An air outlet 3 is arranged at the top of the main body case 1, and an air inlet 2 is arranged at the back. The air outlet 3 has a number of bars 3a arranged in a grid pattern. These bars 3a protect laundry hung above the air outlet 3 from entering through the air outlet 3. An operation display unit 20 equipped with several switches is provided on the top surface of the main body case.

[0012] Inside the main body case 1, there is installed a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor 4, a radiator 5, an expander 6, and a heat absorber 7 are connected in a ring shape in order to circulate a refrigerant, and there is installed an air blower 8 that blows indoor air from an inlet 2 to an outlet 3. Furthermore, there is installed a dehumidifying rotor 11 having a moisture absorbing section 9 that adsorbs moisture from the air and a moisture releasing section 10 that releases moisture into the air, and there is installed heating means 12 that heats the air supplied to the moisture releasing section 10 and the moisture releasing section 10.

[0013] Inside the main body case 1, the dehumidifying rotor 11, heat absorber 7, radiator 5, and blower 8 are arranged in this order. The upper ends of the heat absorber 7 and radiator 5 are arranged to be at the same height. The dehumidifying rotor 11 is formed in a disk shape and is rotatably erected with its central axis in the horizontal direction, and is rotated by driving means 13. Furthermore, heating means 12 is installed on the upwind side of the moisture discharging section 10 of the dehumidifying rotor 11. The moisture discharging section 10 and the heat absorber 7 are arranged to face each other.

[0014] Furthermore, inside the main body case 1, a funnel-shaped water collecting section 14 is provided below the heat absorber 7, and further, a water collecting tank 15 is disposed below the water collecting section 14 so as to be detachable from the main body case 1. In other words, condensation occurs in the heat absorber 7, and the condensed water is collected by the funnel-shaped water collecting section 14 and flows into the water collecting tank 15.

[0015] The main body case 1 is provided therein with a first air passage 1A, a second air passage 1B, and a third air passage 1C.

[0016] First air flow path 1A is an air flow path through which air is sucked in through intake port 2 by air blower 8, supplied to moisture absorber 9, and discharged to outlet 3 via air blower 8. In first air flow path 1A, indoor air sucked in through intake port 2 is supplied to moisture absorber 9 of dehumidifying rotor 11. At this time, moisture in the air is adsorbed by moisture absorber 9, turning the air into dry air. Furthermore, heat of adsorption is generated when the moisture is adsorbed, so the indoor air, with its humidity reduced and temperature increased, is sucked into air blower 8 mainly via the area above radiator 5 and heat absorber 7, and then blown into the room through outlet 3.

[0017] The second air flow passage 1B is an air flow passage through which air is drawn in from the air inlet 2 by the air blower 8, supplied to the heating means 12, the moisture release section 10, the heat absorber 7, and the radiator 5 in this order, and then discharged from the air outlet via the air blower 8. In the second air flow passage 1B, indoor air heated by the heating means 12 is supplied to the moisture release section 10 of the dehumidifying rotor 11. In the moisture release section 10, moisture adsorbed by the moisture absorption section 9 moves to the moisture release section 10 as the dehumidifying rotor 11 rotates, and is released into the supplied air by heating the heating means 12. This highly humid air is supplied to the heat absorber 7, where it is cooled to condense, and the moisture is removed as water droplets. The cooled air is then supplied to the radiator 5, where it cools the radiator 5. The air absorbs heat from the radiator 5, and the heated air is drawn into the air blower 8. In the refrigeration cycle, effectively cooling the radiator 5 increases the cooling efficiency when cooling the heat absorber 7.

[0018] The third air flow path 1C is an air flow path in which air is sucked in from the air inlet 2 by the air blower 8, supplied to the radiator 5, and discharged from the air outlet 3 via the air blower 8. In the third air flow path 1C, the room air sucked in from the air inlet 2 is supplied to the radiator 5 mainly via the heating means 12, the dehumidifying rotor 11, and below the heat absorber 7, and after cooling the radiator 5, is sucked into the air blower 8.

[0019] For cooling condensation in the heat absorber 7, there is an optimum air volume depending on its surface area and the operating heat amount of the refrigeration cycle. On the other hand, for the refrigeration cycle, effectively cooling the radiator 5 increases the cooling efficiency when cooling the heat absorber 7. By providing the third air passage 1C as described above, a larger air volume can be supplied to the radiator 5, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of the refrigeration cycle and the dehumidification efficiency of the dehumidifier. The refrigeration cycle, dehumidification rotor 11, heating means 12, and driving means 13 constitute the dehumidifying section.

[0020] The dehumidifier includes a temperature sensor 17, a humidity sensor 18, and a control unit 19. The temperature sensor 17 detects the temperature of the air around the main body case 1, and the humidity sensor 18 detects the humidity of the air around the main body case 1.

[0021] Control unit 19 performs high-humidity clothes drying operation and low-humidity clothes drying operation by controlling blower unit 8, the refrigeration cycle dehumidifying unit, heating means 12, and driving means 13 based on the detected value of humidity sensor 18. Control unit 19 first performs high-humidity clothes drying operation, and then performs low-humidity clothes drying operation.

[0022] The high-humidity clothes drying operation is an operation in which control unit 19 dries clothes while maintaining a predetermined high-humidity threshold in the room where the clothes are dried. To maintain the predetermined high-humidity threshold, control unit 19 operates air blower 8 and dehumidifier when the humidity detected by humidity sensor 18 is equal to or greater than the high-humidity threshold, and operates air blower 8 and stops the dehumidifier when the humidity detected by humidity sensor 18 is less than the high-humidity threshold. This allows the clothes to be dried while maintaining a comfortable humidity environment in the room. In other words, a mild humidity environment can be provided in the room, preventing the room from becoming too dry and damaging the skin condition. For the high-humidity clothes operation, if the target humidity setting can be set to any value between approximately 40% and 60% relative humidity, users have a wide range of options and can meet a variety of needs.

[0023] The low-humidity clothes drying operation is an operation in which the control unit 19 dries clothes regardless of the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 18. The low-humidity clothes drying operation is an operation in which the control unit 19 operates the air blower unit 8 and the dehumidifier unit, and by switching from the high-humidity clothes drying operation to the low-humidity clothes drying operation, the clothes can be dried thoroughly.

[0024] Furthermore, the control unit 19 performs an automatic switching operation to automatically switch from high humidity clothes drying operation to low humidity clothes drying operation based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 17 and the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 18 .

[0025] In the automatic switching operation, the control unit 19 performs the high-humidity clothes drying operation for at least a predetermined time, while setting a predetermined value for drying completion based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 18 and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 17. The control unit 19 calculates the clothes drying speed based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 18 and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 17 at regular intervals, adds up and accumulates the drying speed at regular intervals, and automatically switches from the high-humidity clothes drying operation to the low-humidity clothes drying operation if the added-up accumulated value is smaller than the predetermined value set at regular intervals.

[0026] In this way, by automatically switching between operations, high-humidity clothes drying is performed while maintaining the high-humidity threshold for at least a predetermined time from the start of operation, and then automatically switching to low-humidity clothes drying operation allows clothes to be completely dried within the predetermined time. In other words, by setting the predetermined time for switching operations to a time when someone is present in a room, such as the living room, the high-humidity clothes drying operation can be used to maintain a comfortable humidity environment when people are present in the room, and the low-humidity clothes drying operation can be used to dry clothes thoroughly when no one is present. When the accumulated value reaches a predetermined value indicating completion of drying, it is determined that clothes drying is complete, and an automatic stop operation is performed to automatically stop the operation of the dehumidification unit and the air blower unit, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation from the time when the user presses the start switch (not shown) for the automatic switching operation on the operation display unit 20 on the top surface of the main body case 1 until the automatic switching operation is automatically terminated.

[0028] 3, in S101, the control unit 19 (microcomputer) detects the ambient air temperature Tr and humidity Hr using the temperature sensor 17 and humidity sensor 18. Next, in S102, the control unit 19 extracts and sets the drying completion degree corresponding to the detected Tr and Hr from the Dx table. The high-humidity drying completion dryness degree Dx1 and the low-humidity drying completion dryness degree Dx2 are set as the initial drying completion degree.

[0029] From the next step S103 onwards, the control unit 19 detects the temperature Tr and humidity Hr of the surrounding air at regular intervals (every minute) using the temperature sensor 17 and humidity sensor 18, and based on this data, the control unit 19 carries out the processing from S104 onwards.

[0030] In S105, the control unit 19 detects the temperature Tr and humidity Hr of the surrounding air. In S106, the control unit 19 calculates the total heat quantity Ir and absolute humidity Xr of the surrounding air from the temperature Tr and humidity Hr of the surrounding air. Next, in S107, the control unit 19 estimates the absolute humidity Xc of the air near the clothing from the total heat quantity Ir and absolute humidity Xr of the surrounding air (in this case, the relative humidity of the air near the clothing is estimated as 100%).

[0031] Next, in S108, the control unit 19 calculates the drying speed Tt (=α(Xc-Xr)) by multiplying the difference between the absolute humidity Xc of the air near the clothes and the absolute humidity Xr of the surrounding air by a coefficient α. This drying speed Tt is added and accumulated in S109 and stored in the microcomputer's memory as an accumulated value ∫Tt. When a predetermined time has passed since the start of operation, in S110, the accumulated value ∫Tt added and accumulated in S109 is compared with the high-humidity drying completion dryness level Dx1 set in S102.

[0032] Next, in S110, if the answer to ∫Tt≧Dx1? is NO, control unit 19 jumps to S105, detects the ambient air temperature Tr and humidity Hr, and performs processing based on this data. If the answer is YES, high-humidity clothes drying operation ends and the control unit 19 switches to low-humidity clothes drying operation. Thereafter, control unit 19 sets the low-humidity drying completion dryness level to Dx2, jumps to S112, detects the ambient air temperature Tr and humidity Hr, and performs processing in S105, S106, S107, S108, and S109 based on this data.

[0033] Next, in S113, if the answer to ∫Tt≧Dx2? is NO, the control unit 19 jumps to S112, detects the ambient air temperature Tr and humidity Hr, and performs processing based on this data.If the answer is YES, the clothes drying operation ends in S114.

[0034] In addition, multiple high-humidity and low-humidity drying completion degrees can be set, and when a drying completion degree is reached during each clothes drying operation, the control unit 19 can control the air blower unit 8 and the dehumidifier unit, adjusting the air volume of the air blower unit 8 and operating or stopping the dehumidifier unit. This allows for detailed control of the air blower unit 8 and the dehumidifier unit during each clothes drying operation to suit the application, such as increasing the air volume of the air blower unit 8 when humidity is extremely high.

[0035] As described above, the dehumidifier of the present invention, which estimates the dryness of clothes and terminates the drying operation, is equipped with a means for performing high-humidity clothes drying operation and low-humidity clothes drying operation during the clothes drying operation, and automatically switches from high-humidity clothes drying operation to low-humidity clothes drying operation based on the detection values ​​of the temperature sensor 17 and the humidity sensor 18, allowing clothes to be dried while maintaining a comfortable humidity environment in the room. [Industrial Applicability]

[0036] The dehumidifier of the present invention is equipped with a means for performing high humidity clothes drying operation during clothes drying operation, and by controlling the dehumidifying means, blower section, and regenerative heater based on the detected value of the humidity sensor, it is possible to maintain a comfortable humidity environment in the room, so that it can be used for commercial purposes such as inns as well as for home use. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1 Main unit case 1A 1st ventilation path 1B 2nd ventilation path 1C 3rd ventilation path 2 Intake port 3 Air outlet 3a 4 Compressor 5 Heat sink 6. Expander 7 Heat absorber 8. Blower 9 Moisture absorption section 10 Moisture release section 11 Dehumidification rotor 12 Heating means 13 Driving means 14 Water catchment area 15 Water collection tank 17 Temperature Sensor 18 Humidity Sensor 19 Control Unit 20 Operation display section

Claims

1. a main body case having an inlet and an outlet; a dehumidifying unit provided in the main body case for dehumidifying air; a blower that blows air drawn in through the air inlet to the air outlet via a part of the dehumidifier; a humidity sensor for detecting humidity outside the main body case; a control unit that controls the dehumidifying unit and the air blowing unit in accordance with the humidity detected by the humidity sensor to perform a high-humidity clothes drying operation and a low-humidity clothes drying operation, The high-humidity clothes drying operation is an operation in which the control unit operates the air blower unit and the dehumidifier unit when the humidity detected by the humidity sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined high-humidity threshold value so as to maintain the predetermined high-humidity threshold value, and operates the air blower unit and stops the dehumidifier unit when the humidity detected by the humidity sensor is lower than the high-humidity threshold value, The low-humidity clothes drying operation is an operation in which the control unit operates the air blower unit and the dehumidifier unit, The control unit first performs the high humidity clothes drying operation to dry clothes while maintaining the high humidity threshold for a predetermined period of time in order to maintain the humidity outside the main body case at a predetermined high humidity threshold, then performs the low humidity clothes drying operation to dry the clothes completely, and then stops the operation.

2. a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature outside the main body case; The control unit, for at least a predetermined time, While performing the high humidity clothes drying operation, From the humidity detected by the humidity sensor and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, Set the predetermined value for drying completion, Calculating the drying speed of the clothes based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor at regular intervals; The drying speed is added and accumulated at regular intervals, If the added and accumulated value is smaller than a predetermined value set for a certain period of time, 2. The dehumidifier according to claim 1, wherein an automatic switching operation is performed to switch the high humidity clothes drying operation to the low humidity clothes drying operation.

3. The control unit, while performing the low humidity clothes drying operation, From the humidity detected by the humidity sensor and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, Set the predetermined value for drying completion, Calculating the drying speed of the clothes based on the humidity detected by the humidity sensor and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor at regular intervals; The drying speed is added and accumulated at regular intervals, When the accumulated value reaches the predetermined value indicating completion of drying, it is determined that the drying of the clothes is completed.

3. The dehumidifier according to claim 2, wherein an automatic stop operation is performed to automatically stop the operation of the dehumidifying section and the blower section.

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