Air conditioner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11339983-B2
Application number	US-201716629870-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 21, 2017
Priority date	Sep 21, 2017
Publication date	May 24, 2022
Grant date	May 24, 2022

Abstract

An air conditioner includes a flow path through which air to be humidified flows, an agitating plate group, and a spray nozzle. The agitating plate group is configured by arranging agitating plates in parallel at intervals over an entire cross-section of the flow path. Each of the agitating plates has a plate width adjusted to cause a vortex downstream. The spray nozzle is disposed immediately downstream of the agitating plate group, and sprays water particles in a direction perpendicular to a flow direction of the flow path. The plate width of each of the agitating plates is adjusted to satisfy a range of a Reynolds number causing a Karman vortex within a range of used wind speeds. The air conditioner provides high humidification efficiency and high saturation efficiency.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air conditioner, comprising:
a flow path through which air to be humidified flows;
an agitating plate group in which agitating plates are arranged in parallel at intervals over an entire cross-section of the flow path, each of the agitating plates having a plate width selected to cause a vortex flow downstream; and
a spray nozzle disposed immediately downstream of the agitating plate group, and configured to spray water particles in a direction perpendicular to a flow direction of the flow path,
wherein the spray nozzle sprays the water particles with spray force at which a spray range covers a plurality of agitating plates of the agitating plate group as viewed in the flow direction of the flow path.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the plate width of each of the agitating plates is selected to satisfy a range of a Reynolds number causing a Karman vortex within a range of used wind speeds.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 2 , wherein the plate width of each of the agitating plates is selected to correspond to an upper limit of the range of the Reynolds number, at a maximum wind speed within the range of used wind speeds.

4. The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the spray nozzle is a two-fluid nozzle that sprays and atomizes two fluids of air and water vertically downward, or a one-fluid nozzle that sprays only water.

5. The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein the plate width of each of the agitating plates is changeable.

6. The air conditioner according to claim 1 , wherein each of the agitating plates is a perforated plate.

7. The air conditioner according to claim 1 , further comprising a sheet-like vortex confirmation member that is attached to each of the agitating plates and bends to airflow.

Assignees

• Toshiba Mitsubishi Elec Ind

Inventors

• Morizono Yasushi

Classifications

• F24F6/14 Primary

  using nozzles · CPC title

• F24F6/18

  by injection of steam into the air · CPC title

• F24F3/02

  characterised by the pressure or velocity of the primary air · CPC title

• B01F23/2132

  using nozzles · CPC title

• Y02B30/54

  Free-cooling systems · CPC title