Indoor air conditioning device and container freezer device comprising same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10098366-B2
Application number	US-201615754519-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 24, 2016
Priority date	Aug 28, 2015
Publication date	Oct 16, 2018
Grant date	Oct 16, 2018

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a CA system which allows first and second adsorption columns to alternately perform an adsorption operation and a desorption operation so that nitrogen-enriched air having a higher nitrogen concentration and a lower oxygen concentration than the air is produced and supplied into the container. The CA system executes a second operation mode in which the nitrogen-enriched air produced for a predetermined time since the desorption operation was started is discharged to the outside of the container, and the nitrogen-enriched air produced until the end of the desorption operation since the predetermined time passed is supplied into the container.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An inside air control system provided for a container housing breathing plants, the system comprising:
adsorption columns, each of which houses an adsorbent that adsorbs a nitrogen component in air;
a first pump mechanism which supplies outside air to the adsorption columns to pressurize the adsorption columns, thereby allowing each of the adsorption columns to perform an adsorption operation of adsorbing the nitrogen component in the air onto the adsorbent; and
a second pump mechanism which sucks the air from the adsorption columns to depressurize the adsorption columns, thereby allowing each of the adsorption columns to perform a desorption operation of desorbing the nitrogen component adsorbed onto the adsorbent in the air, wherein
the inside air control system allows the adsorption columns to alternately perform the adsorption operation and the desorption operation so that nitrogen-enriched air having a higher nitrogen concentration and a lower oxygen concentration than the air is produced and supplied into the container,
the inside air control system performs a partial supply operation of discharging to the outside of the container the nitrogen-enriched air produced for a predetermined time since the desorption operation was started, and then supplying into the container the nitrogen-enriched air produced until the end of the desorption operation since the predetermined time passed, and
time for discharging the nitrogen-enriched air to the outside of the container in the partial supply operation increases with decrease in the oxygen concentration of the air in the container.

2. The inside air control system of claim 1 , wherein
the inside air control system performs a whole supply operation of supplying the whole nitrogen-enriched air produced during a period from the start to end of the desorption operation into the container until an oxygen concentration of the air in the container reaches a predetermined concentration or lower, and
the inside air control system performs the partial supply operation when the oxygen concentration of the air in the container has reached the predetermined concentration or lower.

3. The inside air control system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a supply passage which is connected to an outlet of the second pump mechanism and guides the nitrogen-enriched air discharged from the second pump mechanism into the container;
an oxygen discharge passage which is connected to the adsorption columns and discharges, out of the inside air control system, oxygen-enriched air having a lower nitrogen concentration and a higher oxygen concentration than the air produced through the adsorption operation in the adsorption columns;
an exhaust connection passage connecting the supply passage and the oxygen discharge passage together;
an exhaust on-off valve provided at the exhaust connection passage to open and close the exhaust connection passage;
a supply on-off valve which is provided at the supply passage to be located further toward the inside of the container than a junction where the exhaust connection passage is connected, and opens and closes the supply passage; and
a controller which controls switching between a gas discharge operation in which the exhaust on-off valve is instructed to open and the supply on-off valve is instructed to close so that the nitrogen-enriched air produced is discharged to the outside of the container, and a gas supply operation in which the exhaust on-off valve is instructed to close and the supply on-off valve is instructed to open so that the nitrogen-enriched air produced is supplied into the container.

4. The inside air control system of claim 3 , further comprising:
a measurement passage which guides the nitrogen-enriched air flowing through the supply passage toward an oxygen sensor provided in the container; and
a measurement on-off valve provided at the measurement passage to open and close the measurement passage, wherein
the controller instructs the exhaust on-off valve and the supply on-off valve to close, and the measurement on-off valve to open, thereby performing a supply air measurement operation of allowing the oxygen sensor to measure an oxygen concentration of the nitrogen-enriched air.

5. A container refrigeration apparatus attached to a container housing breathing plants, the apparatus comprising:
a refrigerant circuit which performs a refrigeration cycle to cool air in the container; and
an inside air control system including a gas supply device which produces nitrogen-enriched air having a higher nitrogen concentration and a lower oxygen concentration than the air and supplies the nitrogen-enriched air into the container, and an exhaust portion through which the air in the container is exhausted to the outside of the container, the inside air control system controlling a composition of the air in the container, wherein
the container refrigeration apparatus controls a temperature and composition of the air in the container to a desired temperature and composition, and
the inside air control system is comprised of the inside air control system of claim 1 .

Assignees

• Daikin Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Kamei Noritaka
• Yamamoto Kouji
• Mizutani Kazuhide

Classifications

• A23V2002/00

  Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs · CPC title

• B01D2257/80

  Water · CPC title

• B01D2259/4566

  for use in transportation means · CPC title

• F25D11/00

  Self-contained movable devices, e.g. domestic refrigerators · CPC title

• B01D2259/40007

  Controlling pressure or temperature swing adsorption · CPC title