JPH07109377B2 - How to detect the amount of ice in the ice storage tank - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for detecting the amount of ice in an ice heat storage tank, and more particularly, to accurately detecting the amount of ice in an ice heat storage tank in which the water amount and the water level change drastically. On how you can.

<< Prior Art >> In recent years, air-conditioning for building cooling and the like has become more and more popular using latent heat of ice.

For example, the shards of ice produced by an ice maker are conveyed to an ice heat storage tank and temporarily stored as cold heat.

Then, if necessary, the cold water generated by melting the above-mentioned shards of ice is taken out from the ice heat storage tank, sent to a fan coil, an air conditioner or the like, and is used for cooling.

By the way, adjustments such as starting and stopping the operation of the above ice making machine are
It is performed according to the amount of cooling load of the air conditioner or the like and the amount of ice in the ice storage tank.

Among them, the detection of the amount of ice in the ice heat storage tank is conventionally performed, for example,
It was performed by the method as shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an ice heat storage tank, which stores the fragmented ice 3 produced by the ice making machine 2.

An area 12 surrounded by a partition wall 11 through which water passes but not through the ice fragments 3 is provided at an appropriate position of the ice heat storage tank 1, and a water level gauge 4 is installed in this area 12.

The water level meter 4 measures the water level in the ice heat storage tank 1 which moves up and down according to the amount of the fragmented ice 3, and the amount of ice in the ice heat storage tank 1 is detected based on the measurement result.

<< Problems to be Solved by the Invention >> As described above, in the conventional method, the amount of ice is detected by measuring the water level that moves up and down according to the amount of ice in the ice heat storage tank 1. There was such a problem.

That is, when the cooling load of the air conditioner or the like is large, when the cooling load fluctuates rapidly, or when the cooling load fluctuates rapidly due to the input of ice from an ice maker, etc. Rippling may occur on the water surface. If this waving phenomenon occurs, the water level measured by the water level meter 4 varies, and it becomes impossible to accurately measure the water level and thus to detect the accurate ice amount.

In addition, the measurement of the water level by the water level meter 4 also varies depending on the degree of ice accretion on the ice making unit in the ice making machine 2, which makes it difficult to accurately detect the ice amount.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
The purpose of this is to propose a method for detecting the amount of ice in the ice storage tank, which can accurately detect the amount of ice in the ice storage tank.

<< Means for Solving the Problem >> The method for detecting the amount of ice in the ice heat storage tank according to the present invention is, in order to achieve the above object, a pigment is mixed in water in the ice heat storage tank, and the pigment mixed water is added. Is used as ice making water, and the amount of ice due to the pigment-mixed water is detected by detecting a change in the light transmittance of water in the ice heat storage tank.

<< Operation >> The present invention utilizes the property that when water freezes, impurities are eliminated and the crystals crystallize as pure ice.

That is, in the present invention, a pigment is used as the above-mentioned impurities, and this is mixed in advance with water in the ice heat storage tank.

Then, this pigment-mixed water is used as ice-making water to produce ice pieces.

Due to the above-mentioned properties, this shard-shaped ice eliminates the pigment and crystallizes as pure shard-shaped ice, so that the concentration of the pigment in unfrozen water gradually increases as the ice-making process progresses.

Therefore, when the production process of the shards of ice using the pigment-mixed water in the ice heat storage tank is completed, the pigment concentration of the water remaining in the ice heat storage tank without freezing becomes considerably high.

Therefore, the light transmittance of the pigment-mixed water in the ice heat storage tank changes before the freezing process starts, during the freezing process, and after the freezing process ends.

Therefore, in the present invention, the light transmittance of the pigment-mixed water in the ice storage tank is detected continuously or intermittently before the start of the freezing step and during the freezing step, and the ice storage tank is changed by the change of the light transmittance. It detects the amount of ice inside.

Further, the above-mentioned change in pigment concentration naturally occurs during the operation of the air conditioner.

That is, since the cold heat accumulated in the ice heat storage tank as fragmented ice is gradually taken out by the operation of the air conditioner, the fragmented ice gradually melts.

Since the fragmented ice is a piece of pure ice containing no pigment as described above, the melting water is also pure water.

This pure water is mixed with the pigment-mixed water in the ice heat storage tank to gradually reduce the pigment concentration of the pigment-mixed water and gradually change the light transmittance of the pigment-mixed water.

Therefore, even while the air conditioner is operating, the light transmittance of the pigment-mixed water in the ice heat storage tank is detected continuously or intermittently, and the change in the light transmittance is detected to detect the change in the light storage tank. The degree of decrease in the amount of ice is detected.

<< Embodiment >> FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of the ice amount detecting method according to the present invention, in which the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 2 designate the same parts as those in FIG.

In this example, water 3a containing a pigment is injected into the ice heat storage tank 1.

This pigment does not affect ice making, does not cause precipitation or agglomeration, is well compatible with water, and has a property of being mixed well with water in the ice storage tank 1. For example, an aqueous pigment is used. can do.

As described above, these pigments may be mixed in water in advance and the pigment-mixed water may be injected into the ice heat storage tank 1, or only water may be injected into the ice heat storage tank 1 in advance. However, after that, the pigment may be added and mixed with water.

Further, the light transmittance detecting device 5 is installed in the ice heat storage tank 1 described above.

In this example, the light transmittance detection device 5 is installed in the bottom portion of the ice heat storage tank 1, but the installation position is not limited to the bottom portion, and may be in the middle portion.

Then, the ice heat storage tank 1 is connected to the light transmittance detecting device 5.
The light transmissivity is detected by the reading unit 6 installed outside.

In the above configuration, first, a method of detecting the amount of ice during the ice making process will be described.

The pigment-mixed water 3a in the ice heat storage tank 1 is extracted by the pump 7 and is sent to the ice making machine 2 to produce the shards of ice 3.

The ice pieces 3 are put into the ice heat storage tank 1 together with the unfrozen pigment-containing water 3a.

The unfrozen pigment-mixed water 3a put into the ice heat storage tank 1 is sent to the ice making machine 2 again by the pump 7 together with the pigment-mixed water 3a stored in the ice heat storage tank 1, and the ice pieces 3 Is used for manufacturing.

In this way, the pigment-mixed water 3a is stored in the ice heat storage tank 1 and the ice maker 2.
And the ice pieces 3 are manufactured by circulating the ice pieces 3.

The pigment concentration of the pigment-mixed water 3a in the ice heat storage tank 1 rises according to the amount of the shards of ice 3 accumulated in the ice heat storage tank 1.

The light transmittance of the pigment-mixed water 3a in the ice heat storage tank 1 is detected by the light transmittance detecting device 5 continuously or intermittently before the start of this step and during the step.

Since the light transmittance changes in accordance with the change in the pigment concentration of the pigment-mixed water 3a, this change is read and the amount of debris ice 3 accumulated in the ice heat storage tank 1 is detected.

Then, when a desired amount of the ice pieces 3 is manufactured (stored in the ice heat storage tank 1), the operation of the ice making machine 2 is stopped.

Before the start of the production process of the ice pieces 3, the light transmittance of the pigment-mixed water 3a in the ice storage tank 1 and the pigment-mixed water in the ice storage tank 1 according to the accumulated amount of the ice pieces 3 It is desirable that the correlation with the light transmittance of 3a be obtained, and that the amount of debris ice 3 accumulated in the ice heat storage tank 1 can be detected only by reading the scale or numerical value of the reading unit 6.

Next, a method of detecting the amount of ice during operation of the air conditioner will be described.

In this case, generally, the cold water that is in contact with the shards of ice 3 in the ice heat storage tank 1, that is, the pigment-mixed water 3a that has a low temperature
Is taken out, sent to an air conditioner, and used for air conditioning to raise the temperature.

The pigment-mixed water 3a whose temperature has risen is returned to the ice heat storage tank 1 and gradually melts the ice pieces 3 in the ice heat storage tank 1.

Since this melted water does not contain a pigment, it is mixed in the pigment-mixed water 3a in the ice heat storage tank 1 to reduce the pigment concentration of the pigment-mixed water 3a.

Then, the ice heat storage tank 1 is continuously or intermittently operated by the light transmittance detection device 5 from before the start of the operation of the air conditioner to during the operation thereof.
The light transmittance of the pigment-mixed water 3a therein is detected.

Since the light transmittance changes in accordance with the change in the pigment concentration of the pigment-mixed water 3a, this change is read to detect the residual amount of the piece of ice cubes 3 in the ice heat storage tank 1.

Then, depending on the remaining amount, the operation of the pump 7 and the ice making machine 2 is restarted.

Also in this case, as in the case of the production of the shards of ice 3, the pigment-mixed water 3a in the ice heat storage tank 1 is previously stored before the operation of the air conditioner is started.
And the light transmittance of the pigment-mixed water 3a in the ice heat storage tank 1 in accordance with the residual amount (accumulation amount) of the shards of ice 3 are obtained, and the scale and numerical values of the reading unit 6 are calculated. It is desirable to be able to detect the residual amount (accumulation amount) of the fragmentary ice 3 in the ice heat storage tank 1 only by reading

<Effect of the Invention> According to the ice amount detecting method according to the present invention described in detail above, the ice amount can be detected independently of the water level in the ice heat storage tank, so that the ice amount in the ice heat storage tank can be accurately measured. Can be detected.

Further, since the amount of ice can be detected regardless of the water level, even if a wave phenomenon occurs on the water surface in the ice heat storage tank, the amount of ice can be accurately detected without variation.

Moreover, even if there is icing on the openings of various pipes that open in the ice heat storage tank or the light transmittance detection device, there is no variation in the light transmittance detection results, and accurate ice amount detection is possible. It can be performed.

As described above, according to the ice amount detecting method of the present invention, it is possible to operate the ice maker without waste in the ice heat storage air conditioning system, and to perform more accurate air conditioning load operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of an ice amount detecting method according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional ice amount detecting method. 1 ... Ice heat storage tank, 2 ... Ice making machine 3 ... Fragmented ice, 3a ... Pigment mixed water 5 ... Light transmittance detection device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pigment is mixed in water in an ice heat storage tank, and the pigment-mixed water is used as ice-making water. The amount of ice due to the pigment-mixed water is determined by the light transmittance of the water in the ice heat storage tank. A method for detecting the amount of ice in an ice heat storage tank, which is characterized by detecting a change in temperature.