JPH0560612B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for controlling indoor humidity, and more particularly to a device that senses indoor humidity and automatically controls the amount of air flowing into or out of a room.

Prior Art When attempting to control the humidity within a limited space within a certain range, indoor air is circulated or humidified through a gas dehumidifier that uses a refrigeration cycle or a dehumidifier that uses an adsorbent, etc. The device humidifies the circulating air, while the temperature in the air is detected by a humidity sensor to drive a micro switch or the like to control the movement of the dehumidifying device or humidifying device. .

On the other hand, in refrigerators, etc., as the internal temperature decreases, the internal humidity also decreases, causing the problem that refrigerated items tend to dry out. It was necessary to wrap it in synthetic resin film and store it. To deal with this, there is a method of creating a separate vegetable compartment for storing vegetables and other items that do not require such low temperatures, and introducing the cold air from the refrigerator compartment, which is at a lower temperature, into this, but this method still does not prevent the vegetables from drying out. .

Furthermore, in order to prevent vegetables from drying out, a method has been adopted in which the vegetable compartment is closed and cold air is circulated around the area to indirectly cool the vegetables. The room becomes oversaturated because the evaporated moisture cannot escape, and the surrounding cold air tends to cause condensation on the interior walls of the room. In some cases, condensed moisture from leaves, etc., may actually accelerate spoilage, so there is a growing desire to control the humidity in vegetable compartments within a range suitable for storage, and to eliminate the need for moisture-proof packaging. It's coming.

However, in response to such requests, it is not economical to provide multiple series of refrigeration circuits and supply cold air with different humidity to each series, and it is not economical to provide multiple series of refrigeration circuits to supply cold air with different humidity to each series. was not suitable for refrigerators, and a new humidity control method was needed.

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED It is an object of the present invention to provide an economical humidity control device for maintaining humidity within a suitable range, such as in the vegetable compartment of a refrigerator.

Means for Solving the Problems An object of the present invention as described above is to provide a humidity control device installed in a room where a ventilation duct opens, by using a humidity sensing element made of a humidity sensitive film, and a pin supporting one end of the element. , an actuation lever provided with a pin supporting the other end of the element and rotatably provided around a fulcrum, and a fulcrum provided at one end of the extended arm of the actuation lever to allow displacement. This can be achieved by comprising a humidity controller equipped with a baffle body for controlling the airflow within the duct. Furthermore, a pin supporting one end of the moisture sensitive element is provided on a fixed end adjusting member rotatably provided around a fulcrum, and applies rotational force to the fixed end adjusting member to apply tension to the element. Humidity control can be further facilitated by providing an adjustment spring that provides the desired humidity and an adjustment means that limits the rotation of the adjustment member due to the adjustment spring.

The humidity controller of the present invention will be further explained with reference to examples.

Embodiment 1 One embodiment of the humidity controller of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a protective case, which is formed into a box shape, for example, and includes brackets 1a, 1 for mounting on a wall surface, etc.
a... is provided. Reference numeral 2 designates a moisture sensing element formed of, for example, a nylon film in the shape of an endless belt, and 3 designates a fixed end adjustment member supported by a fulcrum 3a. One arm of the fixed end adjustment member 3 is provided with a support pin 4 for supporting the humidity sensing element 2 in the form of an endless belt, and the other arm is provided with a support pin 4 for supporting the humidity sensing element 2 in the form of an endless belt. an adjustment spring 5 that applies rotational force to the fixed end adjustment member 3;
are connected. Reference numeral 6 denotes an adjustment screw that limits rotation by the adjustment spring 5.

The other end of the moisture sensitive element 2 is spanned over a support pin 8 provided at one end of the operating lever 7. The actuating lever 7 is rotatable about a fulcrum 7a, and a baffle body 9 is attached to a fulcrum 7c at the tip of an arm 7b extending from the other end of the actuating lever 7. Reference numeral 10 denotes an operating spring attached to the operating lever 7, which acts to rotate the operating lever 7 in a direction that applies tension to the humidity sensing element 2.

In the humidity control device configured in this way, when the humidity rises, the humidity sensing element 2 absorbs moisture and expands.
The operating lever 7 rotates clockwise in FIG. Furthermore, when the humidity decreases, the operating lever 7 rotates counterclockwise. The baffle body 9 then moves up and down accordingly.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of a vegetable compartment B portion of a refrigerator provided with such a humidity control section A. C is a duct for dry cold air flowing in from the cooler (not shown), the branch C ₁ leads to the outside of the vegetable basket B ₁ from the back of the crisper B, and the shunt C ₂ leads to the top of the crisper B It's open. Therefore, when the humidity inside the vegetable basket B ₁ decreases, the humidity sensing element 2 of the humidity controller A shrinks to dry, and the baffle body 9 closes the opening of the shunt C ₂ , and the dry cold air is directly supplied to the vegetable basket B ₁ . The flow inside is blocked and only the outside is cooled. However, this kind of operation is not ON-OFF, but the opening degree is determined according to the humidity, so the proportional operation provides gentle control to prevent sudden changes in indoor humidity.

In this case, when the humidity drops excessively, the buttful body 9 is crimped to the opening of the duct _C2 .
If the humidity sensitive element 2 contracts further, the adjustment spring 5 will be stretched, and the humidity sensitive element 2 will be stretched.
This prevents excessive tension from being applied to the

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the buttful body 9 is installed so as to close the opening provided on the top surface of the chamber, gravity is applied to the buttful body 9, so there is no need to provide the actuating spring 10. In both cases, humidity controller A operates smoothly.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the humidity controller of the present invention.

In this example, the main structure is almost the same as in Example 1, and 1 is a protective case, 2 is a moisture-sensitive element, and 4 is a support pin, and the support pin 4 is supported by an adjustment screw 6. It's getting old. Furthermore, the structures of the actuating lever 7 and the support pin 8 are almost the same, but unlike in the case of the first embodiment, the buttful body 9' is oriented horizontally, and the wall surface is opposite to the opening of the duct provided on the side wall surface. The buff-full body 9' can move along with the opening, making it suitable for opening and closing the opening from the side.

In this case, since excessive tension is not applied to the humidity sensing element 2, the support pin 4 on the fixed end side of the humidity sensing element 2 does not necessarily need to be indirectly supported by a spring or the like.

In these Examples, an endless belt-shaped moisture-sensitive film was used as the humidity-sensitive element, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this form. In addition, instead of hanging both ends of the moisture-sensitive element on a pin, with one end serving as a fixed end and the other end serving as an operating end, the actuating force can be increased by folding it in half and configuring it so that an operating pin is hung at the midpoint. ,
Alternatively, a compact and highly sensitive humidity sensing element can be constructed by hanging the midpoint of the humidity sensing element folded in two or three on a fixed pulley.

Furthermore, in these embodiments, the buttful body is connected to the actuating lever via the fulcrum, but these may also be connected by links, gears, etc., or wires etc. may be used to transmit the actuating force. You can also do this.

Furthermore, the shape of the buffle body does not necessarily have to be a flat plate, and may be a flap type for changing the flow path instead of blocking the flow path.

Effects of the Invention The present invention provides a humidity controller that uses a moisture-sensitive element to directly control the airflow flowing through a duct, and is economical as it does not require any operating equipment or energy. This allows for proportional control and continuous humidity control with little pulsation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of an embodiment of the humidity controller of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof, and FIG.
The figure is a partial sectional view of a refrigerator equipped with the humidity controller. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of the humidity controller of the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A humidity control device installed in a room where a ventilation duct opens, which includes a humidity-sensitive element made of a moisture-sensitive film, a pin that supports one end of the element, and a pin that supports the other end of the element. an actuation lever rotatably provided around a fulcrum; and a buttful body that can be displaced via a fulcrum provided at one end of an extended arm of the actuation lever and for controlling airflow within the duct. Humidity controller equipped with. 2. The humidity controller according to claim 1, wherein the operating lever is configured to maintain rotational force in a direction that applies tension to the element. 3. The humidity controller according to claim 2, wherein the rotational force is due to gravity applied to the buttful body. 4. The humidity controller according to claim 2, wherein the rotational force is generated by the force of a spring attached to the operating lever. 5. A humidity control device installed in a room with an opening of a ventilation duct, which includes a humidity-sensitive element made of a moisture-sensitive film, and a fixed end adjustment member that is rotatably provided around a fulcrum and includes a pin that supports one end of the element. an adjustment spring that applies a rotational force to the adjustment member so as to apply tension to the element; an adjustment means that limits rotation of the adjustment member by the adjustment spring; and a pin that supports the other end of the element. an actuation lever rotatably provided around a fulcrum, and a buttful body that can be displaced via the fulcrum provided at one end of an extended arm of the actuation lever to control airflow within the duct. Humidity controller equipped with