JP2858995B2 - Cooling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling device using a combination of a metal hydride and a cold storage material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 2-131664, a metal hydride and a regenerator material are combined so that cold generated from the metal hydride in a cooling process can be used for both cooling of a space to be cooled and cold storage in the regenerator material. An apparatus has been proposed which cools a space to be cooled by using cold stored in a cold storage material in a regeneration process in which hydrogen is returned to a cooling-generation heat exchanger.

FIG. 2 shows this apparatus. In the figure,
In order to make the metal hydride M2H side exchange heat with the cooling space 13 and the accumulator 3 in the air path as shown in FIG.
The metal hydride M1H is allowed to exchange heat with the outside air, and when the valve 2 is opened, M2H endothermically releases hydrogen and M1H exothermically stores hydrogen due to the equilibrium pressure difference between the two metal hydrides M1H and M2H. Thereby, the cooling space is cooled and heat is taken from the cooler 3. At this time, the storage material solidifies by setting the temperature of the cooling air lower than the solidification temperature of the animal cooling material.

Next, after the hydrogen has moved from the M2H side to the M1H side, the valve 2 is closed, and high-temperature air is flown to the M1H side by switching the dampers 4 to 8 as shown in FIG.
When the outside air flows to the M2H side, the equilibrium pressures on the M1H side and the M2H side are reversed. At this time, if valve 2 is opened, hydrogen will be M1H
From the side to the M2H side, and returns to the initial state in FIG. 2 after the movement is completed. At this time, cooling is not generated from the metal hydride, but cooling is performed by extracting the cold heat (the heat of fusion of the cold storage material) stored in the regenerator in the process of FIG.

At this time, if the refrigerating capacity is assumed to be 500 Kcal
/ H, the air condition in the space to be cooled is maintained at 10 ° C. and the relative temperature is 80%, and a regenerative material having a freezing point of about 9 ° C. is used.
If ³ / min, amount of circulating air to be cooled within the space in the regeneration process must be about 70m ³ / min,
The effects of fan power, noise, and wind pressure on objects in the cooled space are significant.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
In a cooling and heating system such as that described in Japanese Patent No. 131664, a temperature in a space to be cooled is kept constant during a cooling process using cold generated from metal hydride and a regeneration process using cold stored in a cold storage material. Requires a large amount of air circulation into the space to be cooled during the regeneration process, and also air circulation with the regenerator during heating. Becomes

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and circulates cold generated from a metal hydride in separate paths for cooling a space to be cooled and for storing cold in a cold storage material in a cooling process. During heating, heat generated from the metal hydride is circulated to the space to be heated without passing through the regenerator.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a first heat exchanger containing a metal hydride having a low hydrogen storage pressure and a second heat exchanger containing a metal hydride having a high hydrogen storage pressure are provided. A hydrogen pipe for forming a hydrogen path between the first and second heat exchangers, a high-temperature applying means for applying a high temperature to the first heat exchanger, and cooling the second heat exchanger. A cooling unit, a regenerator capable of exchanging heat with the second heat exchanger and the space to be cooled, and the second heat exchanger, the regenerator and the space to be cooled, and the regenerator and the space to be cooled. Are provided in parallel, and switching means for switching the heat exchange state of the second heat exchanger, the regenerator and the space to be cooled is provided.

[0009]

With such a construction, the cooling heat generated from a pair of cooling blocks made of a pair of metal hydrides is separated into separate paths, one for storing the cold storage material, and the other for cooling the space to be cooled. If the cold heat stored in the cold storage material is supplied to the space to be cooled in the regeneration process, stable cold heat supply can be performed with a relatively small amount of circulation air in the refrigerator. further,
By providing a damper or the like, the heat output from the metal hydride is circulated only in the space to be heated without passing through the regenerator during the heating operation, so that the heating operation with less sensible heat loss due to the regenerator material and the regenerator material can be performed.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, FIG. 1 shows the metal hydrides M1H and M2 used in the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows a temperature-equilibrium pressure characteristic of H, and a cycle diagram for each of cooling and heating. FIG. 3 shows a configuration of a cooling / heating device and a cooling / heating system configured using a metal hydride having the characteristics of FIG. The operation state in each case is shown.

First, FIGS. 3 and 4 will be described. In these figures, reference numerals 1a and 1b denote first and second heat exchangers filled with the metal hydrides M1H and M2H shown in FIG. 1, respectively, and the metal hydride containers (in these two types of heat exchangers) (Not shown) are connected to each other by a hydrogen pipe 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, if the circulation paths from the heat exchanger with the built-in metal hydride M2H for generating cold heat to the space to be cooled and the regenerator are arranged in parallel in the cooling process,
The operating conditions in FIG. 2 (refrigeration capacity 500 Kcal /
h, air condition 10 ° C., 80%), by using a regenerator material having a freezing point of about 3 ° C., the circulating air volume to the space to be cooled in the cooling process is about 2 m ³ / min, and the circulating air volume of the regenerator is about 15 m ^3. / Min, and the regenerator in the regeneration process
The amount of circulating air in the space to be cooled may be about 4 m ³ / min.

As described above, the operation method as shown in FIG. 3 greatly reduces the amount of circulating air in the space to be cooled during the cooling operation (particularly in the regeneration process) as compared with the operation method as shown in FIG. ), Fan power, noise, and the effect of wind pressure on objects in the space to be cooled are reduced, leading to an improvement in the overall efficiency of the system.

Next, FIG. 4 shows a heating operation method using the apparatus of the present invention. First, the M1H side is connected to the heating space 13 by the air flow control by the dampers 4 to 8 as shown in FIG. When the valve 2 is opened, the relationship between the equilibrium pressures is M2H> M1H, so that the M1H side absorbs hydrogen and generates heat, thereby heating the space 13. At this time, the endothermic reaction occurs by releasing hydrogen on the M2H side, but the equilibrium pressure difference with the M1H side is maintained by supplying heat from the outside air.

Next, after the hydrogen has been moved from the M2H side to the M1H side, the valve 2 is closed, and by switching the damper, high-temperature air is flown to the M1H side as shown in FIG.
If the side is made to exchange heat with the heating space 13, the relationship of the equilibrium pressure is reversed, and the pressure on the M2H side becomes smaller than the pressure on the M1H side. At this time, if valve 2 is opened again, hydrogen
It moves from the 1H side to the M2H side, and the M2H side absorbs hydrogen, generates heat, and heats the space 13.

As described above, when the circulation of the metal hydride and the regenerator and the circulation of the metal hydride and the space 13 are made different routes, the heat output from the metal hydride is stored by closing the dampers 15 and 16 even during heating. Space 1 without passing through vessel 3
Since only 3 is circulated, sensible heat loss due to the cold storage material and the cold storage device can be prevented.

As described above, in the heating mode, the heat generated by the metal hydride can be used in both processes of FIG. 3ab.

Although the regeneration process is performed by sending high-temperature air in these embodiments, it may be performed by direct heating with a heater or the like.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, the fan power of the cooling device combining the metal hydride and the regenerator (improving the overall efficiency), the noise, and the wind pressure in the space to be cooled are reduced. Reduction (improvement of practicality) can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a hydrogen pressure-temperature equilibrium characteristic diagram of two kinds of metal hydrides used in a cooling device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of a conventional cooling and heating device.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the cooling device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of the cooling device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a first heat exchanger 1b second heat exchanger 2 valve 3 regenerator 4 damper 5 damper 6 damper 7 damper 8 damper 9 duct 11 fan 12 fan 13 fan 14 hydrogen pipe 15 damper 16 damper

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masato Osumi 2--18 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi City Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-63-183353 (JP, A) JP-A-4-28973 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F25B 17/12 F25D 11/00 101

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first heat exchanger containing a metal hydride having a low hydrogen storage pressure, a second heat exchanger containing a metal hydride having a high hydrogen storage pressure, and the first and second heat exchangers. A hydrogen pipe forming a hydrogen path between the heat exchangers of the first embodiment;
Means for applying a high temperature to the heat exchanger of
Cooling means for cooling the heat exchanger, a regenerator capable of exchanging heat with the second heat exchanger and the space to be cooled, and the second heat exchanger, the regenerator and the space to be cooled. An air circulation path in which a regenerator and a space to be cooled are provided in parallel,
A cooling device comprising: the second heat exchanger, the regenerator, and switching means for switching a heat exchange state of the space to be cooled.