[0001] The present invention relates to a dehumidifier for dehumidifying moisture in air.
[0002] In Figure 8, of the accompanying drawings, there is shown a sectional view of a conventional
dehumidifier such as is disclosed in JP-A-63 161332 or JP-A-02 166392. These comprise
a heat exchanger in which a refrigerant is passed through tubes provided with heat
exchanging fins. FR-A-2 549946 discloses a modular heat exchange block with flat parallel
fins.
[0003] In Figure 9, there are shown views of the shape of slits formed in fins of an evaporator
of the conventional dehumidifier. In Figure 9(a), there is shown an enlarged view
of an essential portion of a fin. In Figure 9(b), there is shown a side elevation
of the essential portion. In Figure (8), reference numeral 1 designates the evaporator
which is arranged in an air path 15 downstream an air inlet 2, and which has aluminum
fins 16 formed with slits 19 to improve a heat exchange capacity. Reference numeral
3 designates a conventional condenser which is arranged downstream the evaporator
1, and which has aluminum fins formed with slits 19 like the evaporator 1. Reference
numeral 4 designates a supply air duct, reference numeral 5 designates an air supply
fan, and reference numeral 7 designates an air outlet which has an outlet air direction
controlling vane 6 arranged therein. Reference numeral 9 designates a drain plate
which has a drain port 8 formed therein, and which is arranged to receive water deposited
on the evaporator 1 due to vapor condensation. Reference numeral 10 designates a tank
which is arranged below the drain port 8. A refrigerant circuit is formed by connecting
through a refrigerant pipe (not shown) the evaporator 1 and the condenser 3 to a compressor
12 mounted on a bottom plate 11. Reference numeral 13 designates suction air which
is sucked through the air inlet. Reference numeral 14 designates a control circuit
which is arranged above the supply air duct 4 to control the operation of the air
supply fan 5 and the compressor 12.
[0004] The operation of the dehumidifier will be explained.
[0005] When the compressor 12 is energized by the control circuit 14, a refrigerant gas
having a high temperature and a high pressure flows into the condenser 3, and the
condenser 3 is kept at a high temperature. The air supply fan 5 is also energized
by the control circuit 14 to suck the suction air 13 through the air inlet 2, and
the refrigerant gas in the condenser 3 is cooled and condensed by the suction air
to become in a gas liquid mixing state having a high temperature and a high pressure.
The refrigerant gas condensed in the condenser 3 passes through a capillary tube to
become a liquid refrigerant having a low temperature and a low pressure, and the liquid
refrigerant enters the evaporator 1.
[0006] The liquid refrigerant in the evaporator 1 is heated by the sucked air 13 to be evaporated
into a refrigerant gas, and the refrigerant gas is inspired into the compressor 12.
At that time, the suction air 13 is simultaneously cooled to cause vapor condensation
in part of moisture in the suction air which exceeds the amount of the saturated water
vapor at a temperature after cooling. The water thus produced is received in the drain
plate 9 and drops into the tank 10 through the drain port 8 for storing.
[0007] The suction air 13 which has been cooled and has had absolute humidity therein lowered
by passing through the evaporator 1 passes through the condenser 3 to be heated. The
air thus heated passes through the supply air duct 4 as dehumidified air having an
ordinary temperature, and the dehumidified air is flowed out of the air outlet 7 by
the air supply fan 5.
[0008] Since the conventional dehumidifier is constructed as stated earlier, when wet air
is passing through the evaporator, the wet air contacts with the cooled aluminum fins
to be dehumidified by vapor condensation. The water produced by the vapor condensation
stays in the slits of the aluminum fins so as to prevent subsequent wet air from contacting
with the fins, causing a problem that a dehumidifying capacity is lowered.
[0009] In addition, the provision of the slits in the aluminum fins decreases air volume
because the provision of such slits introduces an increase in pressure loss. In order
to increase the air volume for improving the dehumidifying capacity, the revolution
speed of the air supply fan has to be increased. The increased revolution of the air
flow fan creates a problem in that noise enlarges.
[0010] It is an object of the present invention to solve these problems, and to provide
a dehumidifier capable of improving a dehumidifying capacity and minimizing an enlargement
in noise.
[0011] The present invention provides a dehumidifier comprising:-
an evaporator having a plurality of fins arranged thereon;
a condenser having a plurality of fins arranged thereon, the fins being constituted
by slit fins with slits;
characterised in that the fins of the evaporator are constituted by flat fins
without slits.
[0012] The fins of the condenser or the evaporator may be provided with a plurality of surface
irregularities.
[0013] In accordance with the present invention, the fins of the evaporator are constituted
by flat fins without slits to ease the dropping of the water deposited on the fins.
As a result, the dehumidifying capacity can be improved, and an enlargement in noise
can be minimized.
[0014] In addition, the provision of the irregularities on the fins of the condenser or
evaporator can provide ease with which the water deposited on the fins can drop. As
a result, the dehumidifying capacity can be improved with an enlargement in noise
minimized.
[0015] The invention will be further described by way of example with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:-
Figures 1(a) and (b) are respectively a front view and a side view of the evaporator
according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
Figures 2(a) and (b) are respectively an enlarged view and a side view of an essential
part of an aluminum fin shown in Figure 1;
Figures 3(a) and (b) are respectively a front view and a side view of the condenser
according to the first embodiment;
Figures 4(a) and (b) are respectively an enlarged view and a side view of an essential
part of an aluminum fin shown in Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a characteristic graph showing a relation between air volume and a dehumidifying
capacity according to the first embodiment;
Figure 6 is a characteristic graph showing a relation between air flow and noise according
to the first embodiment;
Figures 7(a) and (b) are respectively an enlarged view and a side view of an essential
part of the evaporator according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 8 is a sectional view of a conventional dehumidifier; and
Figures 9(a) and (b) are respectively an enlarged view and a side view of an essential
part of a fin of a conventional evaporator.
EMBODIMENT 1
[0016] In Figures 1 - 6, there are shown views of the dehumidifier according to a first
embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 1(a), there is shown a front view of
an evaporator. In Figure 1(b), there is shown a side view of the evaporator. In Figure
2(a), there is shown an enlarged view of an essential part of an aluminum fin shown
in Figure 1(b). In Figure 2(b), there is shown a side view of the essential part.
In Figure 3(a), there is shown a front view of a condenser. In Figure 3(b), there
is shown a side view of the condenser. In Figure 4(a), there is shown an enlarged
view of an essential part of an aluminum fin shown in Figure 3(b). In Figure 4(b),
there is shown a side view of the essential part shown in Figure 4(a). In Figure 5,
there is shown a graph of a relationship between air volume and a dehumidifying capacity.
In Figure 6, there is shown a graph of a relationship between air volume and noise.
In these Figures, identical parts are indicated by the same reference numerals as
those of the conventional dehumidifier stated above, and explanation of these parts
will be omitted. Reference numeral 16a designates aluminum fins of the evaporator
1. Reference numeral 16b designates aluminum fins of the condenser. Reference numeral
17 designates a refrigerant pipe. Reference numeral 18 designates holes for passing
the refrigerant pipe 17. Reference numeral 19 designates slits which are formed in
the aluminum fins 16b.
[0017] The operation of the dehumidifier will be explained. When a compressor (not shown)
is energized, the operation starts, and a refrigerant gas having a high temperature
and a high pressure flows into the condenser 3. The refrigerant gas is cooled and
condensed in the condenser 3. On the other hand, a liquid refrigerant having a low
pressure and a low temperature flows into the evaporator 1, and the liquid refrigerant
is heated in the evaporator 1 to be evaporated. When wet air flows through the evaporator
1, the wet air contacts with the cooled aluminum fins 16a to form vapor condensation
so as to be dehumidified. Water which has been produced by the vapor condensation
smoothly drops downward because the aluminum fins 16a have no slits formed therein
unlike the conventional one. As a result, the aluminum fins 16a can contact with subsequent
wet air to dehumidify the air.
[0018] In the conventional dehumidifier, the evaporator has had aluminum fins formed with
slits in order to increase a heat exchange capacity. In accordance with the first
embodiment, ease with which the water deposited on the aluminum fins of the evaporator
can drop can contribute to an improvement in the dehumidifying capacity in comparison
with an increase in the heat exchange amount in the conventional evaporator as shown
in Figure 5. It has been proved that the aluminum fins according to the first embodiment
can improve the dehumidifying capacity in comparison with the conventional aluminum
fins with slits by about 7%.
[0019] The absence of the slits in the aluminum fins of evaporator can improve aerodynamic
characteristics to increase air volume without substantially increasing the revolution
of the air supply fan. As shown in Figure 6, an enlargement in noise can be minimized,
and an increase in air volume can be obtained.
EMBODIMENT 2
[0020] In Figure 7, there are shown views of an aluminum fin of the evaporator of the dehumidifier
according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 7(a), there is
shown an enlarged view of an essential part of the aluminum fin. In Figure 7(b), there
is shown a side view of the essential part. In these Figures, reference numeral 16c
designates aluminum fins which have a plurality of irregularities 20 formed therein.
Such arrangement can increase the heat exchange amount of the aluminum fins 16c and
improve a dehumidifying capacity without providing the aluminum fins 16c with slits.
1. A dehumidifier comprising:-
an evaporator (1) having a plurality of fins arranged thereon;
a condenser (3) having a plurality of fins (16b) arranged thereon;
characterised in that the fins of the evaporator (1) are constituted by flat fins without-slits (16a) and
the fins (16b) of the condenser (3) are constituted by slit fins with slits (19).
2. A dehumidifier according to claim 1, characterised in that the fins (16b) of the condenser (3) have a plurality of surface irregularities (19).
3. A dehumidifier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fins (16c) of the evaporator
are provided with a plurality of surface irregularities (20).
4. A dehumidifier according to claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the fins of the evaporator and
the condenser have a refrigerant pipe (17) press-fitted therein, the refrigerant pipe
being connected to a compressor (12).
5. A dehumidifier according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4 further comprising an air supply fan
(5) for supplying air to the fins of the evaporator and the condenser for dehumidifying.
1. Entfeuchter, welcher aufweist:
einen Verdampfer (1) mit mehreren darauf angeordneten Rippen;
einen Kondensator (3) mit mehreren darauf angeordneten Rippen (16b);
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Rippen des Verdampfers (1) durch flache Rippen (16a) ohne Schlitze gebildet sind
und die Rippen (16b) des Kondensators (3) durch geschlitzte Rippen mit Schlitzen (19)
gebildet sind.
2. Entfeuchter nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Rippen (16b) des Kondensators (3) mehrere Oberflächenunregelmäßigkeiten (19)
haben.
3. Entfeuchter nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, bei dem die Rippen (16c) des Verdampfers mit mehreren
Oberflächenunregelmäßigkeiten (20) versehen sind.
4. Entfeuchter nach Anspruch 1, 2 oder 3, bei dem die Rippen des Verdampfers und des
Kondensators ein durch Presspassung eingesetztes Kühlmittelrohr (17) haben, welches
Kühlmittelrohr mit einem Kompressor (12) verbunden ist.
5. Entfeuchter nach Anspruch 1, 2, 3 oder 4, weiterhin aufweisend ein Luftzuführungsgebläse
(5) zum Zuführen von Luft zu den Rippen des Verdampfers und des Kondensators zur Entfeuchtung.
1. Déshumidificateur comprenant :
un évaporateur (1) ayant une pluralité d'ailettes agencées dessus;
un condensateur (3) ayant d'une pluralité d'ailettes (16b) agencées dessus ;
caractérisé en ce que les ailettes de l'évaporateur (1) sont constituées par des ailettes plates sans fentes
(16a) et
en ce que les ailettes (16b) du condensateur (3) sont constituées par des ailettes fendues
avec des fentes (19).
2. Déshumidificateur selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que les ailettes (16b) du condensateur (3) ont une pluralité d'irrégularités de surface
(19).
3. Déshumidificateur selon la revendication 1 ou 2, dans lequel les ailettes (16c) de
l'évaporateur ont une pluralité d'irrégularités de surface (20).
4. Déshumidificateur selon la revendication 1, 2 ou 3 dans lequel les ailettes de l'évaporateur
et du condensateur possèdent un tuyau réfrigérant (17) monté par pression à l'intérieur
de l'évaporateur et du condensateur, le tuyau de réfrigérant étant raccordé à un compresseur
(12).
5. Déshumidificateur selon la revendication 1, 2, 3 ou 4 comprenant en outre un ventilateur
d'alimentation d'air (5) pour fournir de l'air aux ailettes de l'évaporateur et du
condensateur pour déshumidifier.