Dehumidifying Ventilator with Climate-Zone Humidity Threshold Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ventilation systems often fail to provide sufficient dehumidification or over-dehumidify, leading to energy wastage due to inadequate moisture control in incoming ventilation air.
Innovation Solution
A dehumidifying ventilator equipped with a dehumidistat switch and user-selection switch that enables dehumidification based on relative humidity levels, partitioning geographical regions into climate zones defined by mean daily dew point, allowing the system to operate only when the air's moisture level exceeds a specific threshold corresponding to the selected zone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dehumidification is provided continuously in ventilation systems, then moisture control is improved, but energy consumption increases due to unnecessary operation in low humidity conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts dehumidification operation based on real-time relative humidity measurements from the sensor and climate zone conditions from the user-selection switch, transitioning from continuous static operation to dynamic conditional operation that activates only when humidity thresholds are exceeded
Solution Approach 2:
The dehumidistat switch receives feedback from the relative humidity sensor and compares it against threshold values determined by the climate zone selection, enabling the system to respond to actual moisture conditions and adjust operation accordingly, preventing both overdrying and underdrying
2Use of energy by moving object
If dehumidification is provided only when humidity exceeds threshold, then energy consumption is reduced, but moisture control reliability decreases due to potential insufficient dehumidification
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary configuration by dividing geographical regions into climate zones with predetermined relative humidity thresholds corresponding to mean daily dew points, allowing the dehumidistat to be pre-configured with appropriate operating parameters before actual operation begins
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the control parameter from continuous temperature-based control to discrete relative humidity threshold-based control, where the user-selection switch selects from predefined humidity thresholds corresponding to different climate zones, simplifying the control logic while maintaining reliability
3Manufacturing precision
If temperature sensors and electronic controls are used for precise dehumidification control, then dehumidification precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the temperature sensor component from the system, relying solely on relative humidity sensing combined with climate zone-based threshold selection to achieve effective dehumidification control, thereby reducing device complexity and cost while maintaining functional precision
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a simplified model of climate zones with predetermined relative humidity thresholds that corresponds to mean daily dew points for different geographical regions, copying the essential dehumidification control function without requiring complex temperature-humidity coupled control systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach minimizes overdrying and underdrying, reducing energy consumption and operational costs by ensuring dehumidification only when necessary, while eliminating the need for temperature sensors and expensive electronic controls.
Implementation Method 1
a dehumidification system operable to dehumidify the input airflow when the relative humidity of the input airflow is above a threshold relative humidity amount
Data Source
AI summary
A dehumidifying ventilator includes a dehumidistat switch and a user-selection switch coupled to the dehumidistat switch. The dehumidistat switch is operable to enable and disable dehumidification of the dehumidifying ventilator. The user-selection switch includes a plurality of user-selectable positions. Each position corresponds to a particular climate zone of a plurality of climate zones. Each climate zone corresponds to a particular relative humidity. The user-selection switch is operable to cause the dehumidistat switch to enable the dehumidification system when a relative humidity of the input airflow is greater than or equal to the particular relativity humidity of a selected position of the user-selection switch. The user-selection switch is further operable to cause the dehumidistat switch to disable the dehumidification system when the relative humidity of the input airflow is less than the particular relativity humidity of the selected position of the user-selection switch.