JP7653587B2 - Dehumidifier - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a dehumidifier that is used, for example, for drying clothes.

Conventionally, this type of dehumidifier is equipped with a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator are connected in sequence in a ring shape within a main body case having an intake port and an exhaust port, a heating means for heating air, a blowing means for blowing the air drawn from the intake port through the condenser, the heating means, and the evaporator to the exhaust port, and a control unit for controlling the refrigeration cycle, the heating means, and the blowing means, and the refrigeration cycle uses a slightly flammable or flammable refrigerant. At this time, as in Patent No. 4329496, it is known that by blowing air for a certain period of time before starting the refrigeration cycle and the heating means, even if the refrigerant leaks, it will be dispersed and will not reach an ignition concentration.

Patent No. 4329496

In such conventional dehumidifiers, the device is designed to blow air for a certain period of time before starting the refrigeration cycle and heating means, but there is a possibility that the refrigerant may not be sufficiently diffused and an ignition concentration may remain, making it difficult to start the device more safely. There is also an issue with the slow start-up of the refrigeration cycle, which is the device's main function of dehumidification.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technology by providing a dehumidifier that speeds up the start-up of the main function while improving safety by blowing air for a certain period of time at start-up, then starting the refrigeration cycle and then starting the heating means.

In order to achieve this objective, the dehumidifier of the present invention comprises a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator are connected in sequence in a ring shape within a main body case having an intake port and an exhaust port, a heating means for heating air, a blowing means for blowing the air sucked in from the intake port through the evaporator, the condenser, and the heating means , in that order , to the exhaust port, and a control unit for controlling the refrigeration cycle, the heating means, and the blowing means, wherein the refrigeration cycle uses a slightly flammable or flammable refrigerant, the intake port is provided on a side of the main body case, the evaporator faces the intake port, and the condenser faces the evaporator , and at start-up, the control unit starts up the blowing means , the refrigeration cycle, and the heating means in that order, and while operating the refrigeration cycle, it confirms that the refrigeration cycle is operating normally, and starts up the heating means after confirming that the refrigeration cycle is operating normally , thereby achieving the desired objective.

According to the present invention, the intake port is provided on the side of the main body case, the evaporator faces the intake port, the condenser faces the evaporator, and the blower means, refrigeration cycle, and heating means are started in this order at startup, which reduces the risk of refrigerant leakage becoming an ignition concentration by dispersing the refrigerant with the blower means. Next, the refrigeration cycle, which has a low risk of causing ignition, is started, and it is confirmed that it is operating normally, thereby confirming that the possibility of refrigerant leakage is low. Then, the heating means, which has a risk of causing ignition, is started, which has the effect of speeding up the start of the main function while increasing safety.

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram showing the configuration of a dehumidifier according to the present invention. FIG. 13 shows a control table of the dehumidifier.

The dehumidifier according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator are connected in sequence in a ring shape within a main body case having an intake port and an exhaust port, a heating means for heating air, a blowing means for blowing the air drawn in from the intake port through the condenser, the heating means, and the evaporator to the exhaust port, and a control unit for controlling the refrigeration cycle, the heating means, and the blowing means, the refrigeration cycle using a slightly flammable or flammable refrigerant, and the control unit is configured to start up the blowing means, the refrigeration cycle, and the heating means in that order at startup.

In this way, in the event of a refrigerant leak, the blowing means diffuses the refrigerant, reducing the risk of it becoming an ignition concentration. Next, the refrigeration cycle, which has a low risk of becoming a cause of ignition, is started. Then, the heating means, which has a risk of becoming a cause of ignition, is started, which has the effect of speeding up the start of the main function while increasing safety.

In addition, in the dehumidifier described in claim 2 of the present invention, the heating means is started after it is confirmed that the refrigeration cycle is operating normally.

As a result, in the event of a refrigerant leak, the blower means diffuses the refrigerant, reducing the risk of it reaching an ignition concentration. Next, the refrigeration cycle, which has a low risk of causing an ignition, is started and checked to see if it is operating normally, confirming that there is a low possibility of a refrigerant leak. Then, the heating means, which has a risk of causing an ignition, is started, thus achieving the effect of further increasing safety.

The dehumidifier according to claim 3 of the present invention has a temperature and humidity detector in the main body case that detects the temperature and humidity outside the main body case, and an evaporation temperature detector in the main body case that detects the refrigerant evaporation temperature of the evaporator. The control unit has a control table of the normal range of the refrigerant evaporation temperature according to the temperature and humidity outside the main body case, and judges whether the refrigeration cycle is operating normally based on the control table and the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature and humidity detector.

This has the effect of increasing safety by starting the refrigeration cycle and checking whether it is operating normally, thereby confirming that there is a low possibility of refrigerant leakage.

The dehumidifier according to claim 4 of the present invention has a wind direction plate at the air outlet that controls the wind direction, directing the wind downward.

As a result, it is known that in dehumidifiers, which are often installed on the floor, when a refrigerant leaks, the refrigerant, which is heavier than air, tends to accumulate near the floor. In this case, blowing air downwards further disperses the refrigerant, reducing the risk of it reaching a concentration that can cause an ignition, thus providing the effect of increasing safety.

The dehumidifier according to claim 5 of the present invention has a wind direction plate at the air outlet that controls the wind direction, and the wind direction is repeatedly changed up and down.

As a result, it is known that in the case of a refrigerant leak, which is often installed on the floor, the refrigerant, which is heavier than air, tends to accumulate near the floor. In this case, blowing air in the vertical direction disturbs the indoor air, which further disperses the refrigerant and reduces the risk of it reaching a flammable concentration, thus providing the effect of increasing safety.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
1, the dehumidifier includes a refrigeration cycle 10, a heating means 8, a blowing means 9, and a control unit 11 inside a main body case 3. The dehumidifier is mainly used with the main body case 3 placed on the floor inside a room.

The main body case 3 is roughly box-shaped and has an intake port 1 on the front side and an outlet port 2 on the top. The outlet port 2 is equipped with an air deflector 14 that changes the direction of air from the outlet port 2, and a stepping motor 15 that rotates the air deflector 14.

The refrigeration cycle 10 is configured by sequentially connecting a compressor 4, a condenser 5, an expander 6, and an evaporator 7 in a ring shape. A slightly flammable or flammable refrigerant is contained within the refrigeration cycle 10, and when the compressor 4 operates, the refrigerant circulates within the refrigeration cycle 10.

The heating means 8 heats the air, and an example of this is a heater that uses an electric heating wire.

The blower 9 blows air, and an example of such a blower is a centrifugal fan. The blower 9 blows air drawn in from the air inlet 1 through the condenser 5, the heating means 8, and the evaporator 7 to the air outlet 2.

The control unit 11 controls the refrigeration cycle 10, the heating means 8, the air blowing means 9, and the stepping motor 15. When starting up the dehumidifier, the control unit 11 does not start up the air blowing means 9, the refrigeration cycle 10, and the heating means 8 at the same time, but starts up the air blowing means 9, the refrigeration cycle 10, and the heating means 8 in that order.

With this configuration, when starting up, the control unit 11 starts up the air blowing means 9, the refrigeration cycle 10, and the heating means 8 in that order, thereby reducing the risk of refrigerant leakage by dispersing the refrigerant with the air blowing means and reaching an ignition concentration. Next, it starts up the refrigeration cycle, which has a low risk of becoming a cause of ignition. Then it starts up the heating means, which has a risk of becoming a cause of ignition, thereby speeding up the start-up of the main functions while increasing safety.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 11 starts the heating means 8 after confirming that the refrigeration cycle 10 is operating normally. Specifically, the main body case 3 is provided with a temperature and humidity detection device 12 that detects the temperature and humidity outside the main body case 3, and the main body case 3 is provided with an evaporation temperature detection device 13 that detects the refrigerant evaporation temperature of the evaporator 7. The evaporation temperature detection device 13 is disposed at the top of the evaporator 7, that is, upstream in the direction in which the refrigerant flows in the evaporator 7. The control unit 11 has a control table 16 of the normal range of the refrigerant evaporation temperature according to the temperature and humidity outside the main body case 3, as shown in FIG. 2, and judges whether the refrigeration cycle 10 is operating normally based on the control table 16 and the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature and humidity detection device 12.

Specifically, the control table 16 shown in FIG. 2 indicates that when the indoor temperature Ta detected by the temperature and humidity detection device 12 is higher than 25° C. and lower than 30° C., and the indoor humidity H is higher than 45% and lower than 60%, the refrigeration cycle 10 is operating normally if the temperature Te detected by the evaporation temperature detection device 13 is higher than 1° C. and lower than 21° C. If the indoor temperature Ta detected by the temperature and humidity detection device 12 is 26° C., the indoor humidity H is 50%, and the temperature Te detected by the evaporation temperature detection device 13 at that time is 5° C., the control unit 11 determines from the control table 16 that the refrigeration cycle 10 is operating normally and starts the heating means.

This allows the refrigeration cycle 10 to be started and checked to see if it is operating normally, thereby confirming that there is a low possibility of refrigerant leakage. This also increases safety by not starting the heating means, which carries the risk of causing a fire.

As shown in FIG. 1, the air outlet 2 is provided with an air deflector 14 for controlling the air direction and a stepping motor 15 for rotating the air deflector 14, and the control unit 11 orients the air deflector 14 in a downward direction 14A.

As a result, it is known that in the case of a refrigerant leak, which is often installed on the floor, the refrigerant, which is heavier than air, tends to accumulate near the floor. In this case, blowing air downwards can further disperse the refrigerant and reduce the risk of it reaching a concentration that can cause an ignition, thereby improving safety.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 11 also moves the airflow vane 14 up and down repeatedly, changing the airflow direction from a downward direction 14A to an upward direction 14B.

As a result, it is known that in the case of a refrigerant leak, which is heavy compared to air, dehumidifiers, which are often installed on the floor, tend to accumulate near the floor. In this case, blowing air in the vertical direction disturbs the indoor air, which further disperses the refrigerant and reduces the risk of it reaching a concentration that can cause an ignition, thereby improving safety.

The dehumidifier of the present invention is useful as a dehumidifier for drying clothes because it accelerates the start-up of the main function while increasing safety.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Intake port 2 Outlet port 3 Main body case 4 Compressor 5 Condenser 6 Expansion device 7 Evaporator 8 Heating means 9 Blowing means 10 Refrigeration cycle 11 Control unit 12 Temperature and humidity detection device 13 Evaporation temperature detection device 14 Air direction plate 14A Downward direction 14B Upward direction 15 Stepping motor 16 Control table

Claims (4)

The main body case has an intake port and an exhaust port.
a refrigeration cycle in which a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator are sequentially connected in a circular manner;
A heating means for heating the air;
a blowing means for blowing the air drawn in through the air inlet to the air outlet through the evaporator, the condenser, and the heating means in this order ;
a control unit for controlling the refrigeration cycle, the heating means, and the blowing means,
A dehumidifier characterized in that the refrigeration cycle uses a slightly flammable or flammable refrigerant, the suction port is provided on a side of the main body case, the evaporator faces the suction port, the condenser faces the evaporator, and the control unit, at startup, starts the blower means , the refrigeration cycle, and the heating means in that order, confirms that the refrigeration cycle is operating normally while operating the refrigeration cycle, and starts the heating means after confirming that the refrigeration cycle is operating normally . a temperature and humidity detection device for detecting the temperature and humidity outside the main body case is provided in the main body case;
an evaporation temperature detector for detecting an evaporation temperature of the refrigerant in the evaporator is provided in the main body case;
The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the control unit has a control table of normal ranges of refrigerant evaporation temperature according to the temperature and humidity outside the main body case, and determines whether the refrigeration cycle is operating normally based on the control table and the temperature and humidity detected by the temperature and humidity detection device. 3. The dehumidifier according to claim 1 , wherein the air outlet is provided with an air direction plate for controlling the air direction, so that the air direction is directed downward. 3. The dehumidifying device according to claim 1 , wherein the air outlet is provided with an air deflector for controlling the air direction, and the air direction is alternately changed up and down.

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