Air conditioning apparatus and air conditioning method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11512858-B2
Application number	US-201816759978-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2018
Priority date	Oct 31, 2017
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

An air conditioning apparatus according to an aspect of the invention includes: an air conditioner that has a heat pump; a humidity controller of a wet desiccant type; an air transport flow path through which air discharged from the air conditioner is transported to the humidity controller; and a control unit that includes an air conditioner temperature control unit controlling a temperature of air discharged from the air conditioner and a humidity controller humidity control unit controlling a humidity of air discharged from the humidity controller. The air conditioner supplies the air, the temperature of which is controlled, to the humidity controller via the air transport flow path and the humidity controller discharges the air, the humidity of which is controlled, into a room.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air conditioning apparatus comprising:
an air conditioner that has a heat pump;
a humidity controller of a wet desiccant type;
an air transport flow path through which air discharged from the air conditioner is transported to the humidity controller; and
an air controller that controls a temperature of the air discharged from the air conditioner and a humidity of air discharged from the humidity controller, wherein
the air conditioner supplies the air, the temperature of which is controlled, to the humidity controller via the air transport flow path and the humidity controller discharges the air, the humidity of which is controlled, into a room, wherein
the humidity controller includes
a moisture absorption controller that causes a liquid desiccant containing a desiccant to contact the air supplied from the air conditioner and to absorb at least a part of moisture contained in the air supplied from the air conditioner,
a first liquid desiccant transport flow path through which the liquid desiccant, which already absorbs the at least the part of the moisture, is transported from the moisture absorption device,
a first air discharge flow path through which the air, the at least the part of the moisture of which is removed, is discharged from the moisture absorption device into the room,
an atomizing regenerator that atomizes at least a part of the moisture contained in the liquid desiccant supplied from the moisture absorption controller via the first liquid desiccant transport flow path, removes the at least the part of the moisture from the liquid desiccant, and regenerates the liquid desiccant, and
a second liquid desiccant transport flow path through which the liquid desiccant the at least the part of the moisture of which is removed is transported from the atomizing regenerator to the moisture absorption controller,
an air introduction flow path through which air is introduced into the atomizing regenerator; and
an air heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between an outdoor-side pipeline of the heat pump and the air introduction flow path during cooling in the room.

2. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the humidity controller further includes concentration detector that detects concentration of the liquid desiccant, and
the air controller grasps a relative humidity of the air, which is to be discharged from the humidity controller into the room, based on the concentration detected by the concentration detector and performs humidity control based on the relative humidity.

3. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a liquid desiccant heat exchanger that performs heat exchange at least either between a part of a pipeline of the heat pump and the first liquid desiccant transport flow path or between a part of the pipeline of the heat pump and the second liquid desiccant transport flow path.

4. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the liquid desiccant heat exchanger includes at least one of
a first liquid desiccant heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between an outdoor-side pipeline of the heat pump and the first liquid desiccant transport flow path during cooling in the room and
a second liquid desiccant heat exchanger that performs heat exchange between an indoor-side pipeline of the heat pump and the second liquid desiccant transport flow path during cooling in the room.

5. An air conditioning apparatus comprising:
an air conditioner that has a heat pump;
a humidity controller of a wet desiccant type;
an air transport flow path through which air discharged from the air conditioner is transported to the humidity controller; and
an air controller that controls a temperature of the air discharged from the air conditioner and a humidity of air discharged from the humidity controller, wherein
the air conditioner supplies the air, the temperature of which is controlled, to the humidity controller via the air transport flow path and the humidity controller discharges the air, the humidity of which is controlled, into a room,
wherein the air conditioner has a dehumidification function in addition to a temperature control function,
an air discharge flow path through which air dehumidified by and discharged from the air conditioner is discharged into the room, and
a flow path switch that changes a flow path such that, when the air discharged from the air conditioner is the dehumidified air, the dehumidified air is discharged into the room via the air discharge flow path, and when the air discharged from the air conditioner is not the dehumidified air, the air is transported to the humidity controller via the air transport flow path, and
the air controller controls the flow path switch in accordance with the air discharged from the air conditioner.

Assignees

• Sharp Kk

Inventors

• Ide Tetsuya
• OCHI Sho
• Yamada Makoto
• Hamada Hiroka
• Sakuma Jun
• Kamada Tsuyoshi

Classifications

• F24F11/0008 Primary

  for air-humidification (F24F11/30 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F24F3/1417 Primary

  with liquid hygroscopic desiccants · CPC title

• F24F11/80

  for controlling the temperature of the supplied air · CPC title

• F24F2110/20

  Humidity · CPC title

• F24F11/72

  for controlling the supply of treated air, e.g. its pressure · CPC title