阅读说明：本技术 喷涂室用空调装置 (Air conditioner for spray booth ) 是由 石田浩三 贽宏充 迫田耕二 于 2020-07-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供实现了高效化、节能化和小型化的空调装置。为供给空气至对被涂物(62)进行喷涂的喷涂室(60)的空调装置(10),被构成为设置有：壳体(13),具有该应供给的空气的进气口(11)和出气口(12)；加湿机构(30),对经由进气口(11)吸入的空气喷雾加湿雾气；和汽化机构(40),使通过加湿机构(30)喷雾有加湿雾气的空气通过,同时使包含于空气的未汽化的加湿雾气与空气接触而汽化；通过加湿机构(30)和汽化机构(40)进行了湿度调节的空气经由出气口(12)被供给至喷涂室(60)。(Provided is an air conditioner which achieves high efficiency, energy saving, and miniaturization. An air conditioner (10) for supplying air to a coating chamber (60) for coating an object (62) to be coated is provided with: a housing (13) having an air inlet (11) and an air outlet (12) for the air to be supplied; a humidifying mechanism (30) for spraying a humidified mist to the air sucked through the air inlet (11); and a vaporization mechanism (40) which causes the air sprayed with the humidification mist by the humidification mechanism (30) to pass through and causes the non-vaporized humidification mist contained in the air to contact with the air and be vaporized; the air humidified by the humidifying mechanism (30) and the vaporizing mechanism (40) is supplied to the spray booth (60) through the air outlet (12).)

1. An air conditioner for supplying air to a coating chamber for coating an object to be coated, comprising:

a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet for the air to be supplied;

a humidifying mechanism that sprays a humidified mist to the air sucked through the air inlet; and

a vaporization mechanism that passes the air sprayed with the humidification mist by the humidification mechanism and simultaneously vaporizes unvaporized humidification mist contained in the air by contacting the air;

the air humidity-adjusted by the humidifying mechanism and the vaporizing mechanism is supplied to the spray booth via the air outlet.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

the vaporizing mechanism is provided with a plurality of plate-shaped elements,

the elements are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction, and are arranged in an inclined posture such that the lower edge is positioned on the upstream side in the ventilation direction of the air from the air inlet toward the air outlet than the upper edge, and such that the lower edge of the upper element is positioned below the upper edge of the lower element among the vertically adjacent elements.

3. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the element is constituted by a porous body having pores that allow the air containing the unvaporized humidified mist to pass therethrough while being capable of capturing the humidified mist on a surface thereof.

4. The air conditioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a warming mechanism that warms the air taken in via the air intake port before reaching the humidifying mechanism is provided.

5. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a temperature/humidity control mechanism is provided that temperature/humidity controls the air whose humidity has been controlled by the humidification mechanism before being discharged from the air outlet.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an air conditioner for supplying humidified air to a coating chamber for coating an object to be coated.

Background

Air is supplied from an air conditioner to a spray chamber for spraying various objects to be coated, such as automobile bodies, automobile parts, and other general objects to be coated.

Since the air supplied from the air conditioner to the coating chamber affects the coating quality of the object to be coated, the temperature and humidity thereof need to be controlled.

In order to control the temperature and humidity of the air, a heating mechanism, a humidifying mechanism, and the like for the air to be supplied to the painting chamber are provided inside the casing of the air conditioner.

For example, patent document 1 discloses an air conditioner 1 for a spray booth (hereinafter referred to as a conventional air conditioner) in which a preheater 23, a humidifier 24, a cooling coil 26, and a reheater 27 are provided inside a casing on the upstream side in the ventilation direction of air to be supplied to the spray booth. Note that the reference numerals are those in patent document 1.

The humidifier 24 includes a water storage unit 24a, a circulation pipe 24b, a pump 24c, an electromagnetic valve 24d, and a water spray unit 24e, and is configured to increase the humidity of the outside air by spraying water to the outside air passing through the preheater 23.

However, the conventional air conditioner is configured to spray a large amount of water from the water spray unit 24e provided in the humidifier 24. The particle size of the water sprayed from the humidifying device 24 is as large as about 440 μm. In order to humidify air with such water, it is necessary to ensure a contact time between water and air, and therefore, it is necessary to lengthen the ventilation passage. Further, in order to perform efficient humidification by water having a large particle size, it is necessary to consider the arrangement of the nozzles in the water spray unit 24e and the treatment of the circulation pipe 24 b.

Further, the pump 24c needs to have sufficient performance to be able to spray a large amount of water, which causes an increase in equipment cost and running cost. Further, a tank for collecting the sprayed water and a structure for maintaining and controlling the water quality in the tank are required, and a space for the tank needs to be provided inside the casing.

Further, since dew condensation occurs on the moisture in the air that is not vaporized on the downstream side of the humidifier 24, a eliminator for separating and recovering the moisture that is not vaporized from the air may be necessary to avoid this. However, if the eliminator is provided in the casing, the pressure loss inside the casing increases, and the ventilation speed inside the casing cannot be increased. Therefore, in order to sufficiently secure a required air amount in the spray booth, the ventilation cross-sectional area of the housing needs to be increased.

As described above, conventional air conditioners have room for improvement in terms of efficiency, energy saving, and size reduction.

Further, in addition to the configuration using the humidifier, there are a steam spray humidifier as disclosed in patent document 2, a humidifier using a filler or the like as disclosed in patent document 3, an atomized spray using high pressure atomization as disclosed in patent document 4, and a conventionally known dry mist humidifier.

However, with the steam spray humidification as disclosed in patent document 2, there are the following problems: steam costs are high and operating costs are increased; steam energy efficiency is poor and energy cannot be saved; since the liquid crystal layer is locally supersaturated, dew condensation is likely to occur in the downstream device.

For humidification using a filler or the like as disclosed in patent document 3, there are the following problems: since water can be retained in the filler, the control responsiveness is poor; if the gas-liquid contact area is increased depending on the type of filler, a large space is required in the humidifier part.

For the high-pressure atomizing spray as disclosed in patent document 4, there are the following problems: the air conditioner can not be reduced under the condition of having a water receiving tank; since the vaporization distance of the mist is required on the downstream side of the spray nozzle, the air conditioner cannot be downsized.

With the conventionally known dry mist humidification, there are the following problems: an air conditioner cannot be miniaturized because a vaporization distance of the mist is required on the downstream side of the spray nozzle; local supersaturation and insufficient vaporization of the mist are likely to occur, and condensation is likely to occur in the downstream side device.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-2456928

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2011-

Patent document 3: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2018-162909

Patent document 4: international publication No. 2018/108746.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an air conditioner which achieves high efficiency, energy saving, and miniaturization.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, an air conditioner according to the present invention is characterized by comprising: an air conditioner for supplying air to a coating chamber for coating an object to be coated, comprising: a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet for the air to be supplied; a humidifying mechanism for spraying a humidified mist to the air sucked through the air inlet; and a vaporization means for passing the air to which the humidified mist is sprayed by the humidification means and vaporizing the unvaporized humidified mist contained in the air by contacting the air; the air whose humidity has been adjusted by the humidifying mechanism and the vaporizing mechanism is supplied to the spray booth via the air outlet.

The humidified mist is a mist having a particle size that is extremely small (about 100 μm or less, preferably about 30 μm) compared with the particle size (about 440 μm) of water sprayed from a conventional humidifying device.

Therefore, the contact area between the humidified mist generated by humidifying the air to be supplied to the coating chamber and the air is large, and the vaporization rate is high. Therefore, the ventilation passage inside the casing can be shortened as compared with a conventional air conditioner. With the above configuration, the air conditioner according to the present invention can achieve a reduction in size of about 10% in the direction of ventilation of the air from the air inlet toward the air outlet, as compared with a conventional air conditioner.

When the same amount of water is used for humidification, the smaller the particle size, the larger the relative surface area, and therefore, the air can be efficiently contacted. That is, if the humidification is performed to the same extent, the smaller the particle size, the smaller the amount of water used. The humidification of the air with high efficiency and good control responsiveness is possible even with the minimum amount of water required for humidification, and therefore the power of the pump used for this can be small, enabling reductions in equipment costs and operating costs.

With the above configuration, the air conditioner according to the present invention can save energy by about 90% of the power of the pump, as compared with the conventional air conditioner. Further, since the humidification of the air with high efficiency and good control responsiveness is possible, the degree of freedom in the arrangement of the nozzles for spraying the humidified mist is improved, and the handling property of the pipe connected to the nozzles is good.

The vaporization means provided downstream of the humidification means is configured to contact only the air and not vaporize the air, and to capture unvaporized humidification mist present in the air in the form of droplets, and to facilitate contact of the captured humidification mist with the air passing through the vaporization means. Thereby, the non-vaporized humidified mist is sufficiently vaporized. In addition, even in the case where a portion in which a locally supersaturated state is generated in the air due to the humidification of the air by the humidification means, the supersaturated state is averaged when passing through the vaporization means, and therefore, the risk of dew condensation occurring on the downstream side of the vaporization means can be avoided.

Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a water tank and a canceller inside the casing as in the conventional air conditioner, and it is not necessary to secure a space corresponding thereto. The air conditioner according to the present invention does not require a water tank as described above, and therefore does not require the cost for maintaining and managing the water quality of the water tank, which is required in the conventional air conditioners.

As described above, the efficiency of humidification in the air conditioner is improved, and energy saving and downsizing of the facility cost and the running cost are achieved.

In addition, because the steam spray is not carried out, the problems of the steam spray humidification are not caused; since no filler or the like is used, there is no problem with humidification using a filler or the like; because high-pressure atomization spraying is not used, the problems of atomization spraying by high-pressure atomization cannot be caused; because of the vaporization mechanism, the problems of dry fog humidification can not be caused.

In the present invention, the vaporization mechanism is suitably: the air conditioner includes a plurality of plate-like elements, each of the elements being provided so as to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction, and being arranged in an inclined posture such that a lower edge thereof is positioned on an upstream side in a ventilation direction of the air from the air inlet toward the air outlet than an upper edge thereof, and such that, among vertically adjacent elements, a lower edge of the upper element is positioned below an upper edge of the lower element.

This eliminates the air passage extending straight from the air inlet to the air outlet between the upper element and the lower element, and provides a sufficient air passage between the upper and lower adjacent elements. Therefore, the pressure loss at the time of passing through the vaporization mechanism is smaller than the pressure loss of the eliminator provided in the conventional air conditioner. Therefore, even if the ventilation speed is higher than that in the conventional air conditioner, the ventilation cross-sectional area does not need to be increased. With the above configuration, the air conditioner according to the present invention can achieve a reduction in size of about 40% in the cross-sectional area of the air flow from the air inlet to the air outlet, as compared with a conventional air conditioner.

Further, there is no ventilation path that reaches straight from the air inlet to the air outlet between the upper element and the lower element. Thus, the risk that the non-vaporized humidified mist reaches the aforementioned air outlet without coming into contact with the element is reduced.

In the present invention, the element is preferably a porous body having pores through which the air containing the unvaporized humidified mist passes and on the surface of which the humidified mist can be captured.

According to the above configuration, when the air containing the non-vaporized humidified mist passes through the pores on the surface of the porous body constituting the element, the non-vaporized humidified mist collides with the surface of the pores by the inertial force of the humidified mist itself, and is captured on the surface by the electrostatic force or the like of the humidified mist itself and the porous body itself. The humidified mist trapped in the pores is promoted to contact with the air passing through the pores on the surfaces of the pores, and is sufficiently vaporized. Further, the porous body can be exemplified by a ceramic plate and a metal sintered body from the viewpoint of easiness of obtaining and processing.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a heating means for heating the air sucked through the air inlet before the air reaches the humidifying means is provided.

According to the above configuration, the air sucked through the air inlet can be heated by the heating means to an optimum temperature for humidification by the humidification means. In the case where the temperature of the air to be sucked into the casing is not constant and the temperature of the air sucked through the air inlet is not constant, the humidification condition by the humidification means needs to be finely changed. On the other hand, by heating the air to a temperature suitable for the conditions humidified by the humidifying means, the humidification conditions of the humidifying means can be maintained constant and efficiently humidified.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a temperature/humidity control means for adjusting the temperature/humidity of the air whose humidity has been adjusted by the humidification means before the air is discharged from the air outlet is provided.

According to the above configuration, the air heated by the heating means and humidified by the humidifying means can be adjusted to the temperature and humidity optimum for use in the spray booth by the temperature and humidity adjusting means.

In addition, as for the temperature/humidity adjustment mechanism, the cooling mechanism and the heating mechanism may be exemplified, and either one of these mechanisms or both of them may be provided. In this case, the cooling means is preferably provided upstream of the heating means in the air flow direction.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an air conditioner according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the humidifying mechanism and the vaporizing mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a main part explanatory diagram of the air conditioner.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an air conditioner according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in fig. 1, in a coating chamber 60 for coating various objects to be coated such as automobile bodies, automobile parts, and other general objects to be coated, a coating material is sprayed from a coating machine 61 to coat an object to be coated 62.

In the coating chamber 60, air whose temperature and humidity are controlled by the air conditioner 10 is supplied in order to ensure coating quality for the object 62 to be coated.

The supplied air also functions to catch paint mist which is excessively sprayed from the coating machine 61 and is scattered.

The air conditioner 10 is provided with a heating mechanism 20, a humidifying mechanism 30, a vaporizing mechanism 40, and a temperature/humidity adjusting mechanism 50 inside a casing 13 having an air inlet 11 and an air outlet 12 for outside air of the air conditioner 10.

The warming mechanism 20 is provided to warm the temperature of the air taken in through the air inlet 11 to a temperature suitable for humidification by the humidifying device 30.

The humidifying mechanism 30 includes a mist nozzle 31, a pump 32 for supplying water to the mist nozzle 31, and the like, and is configured to humidify the air adjusted to an appropriate temperature by the heating mechanism 20 by spraying the water supplied from the pump 32 from the mist nozzle 31 in the form of a humidified mist having a particle diameter of about 30 μm or less. The mist nozzle 31 is constituted by a single-fluid type high-pressure nozzle. In the present embodiment, the mist nozzle 31 is disposed to spray the humidified mist toward the downstream side in the air flow direction of the air.

The vaporizing mechanism 40 includes a plurality of plate-like elements 41. Each element 41 is constituted by a ceramic plate which is an example of a porous body. The ceramic plate has pores having a smaller particle diameter than the humidified mist sprayed from the mist nozzle 31.

As shown in fig. 2, the elements 41 are provided apart from each other in the vertical direction, and are arranged in an inclined posture such that the lower edge 41b is located on the upstream side in the ventilation direction of the air from the air inlet 11 toward the air outlet 12 than the upper edge 41 a. In the present embodiment, each element 41 is disposed with its front and back surfaces at an angle of, for example, 60 degrees with respect to the horizontal. The angle may be in the range of about 45 to 85 degrees, and may be adjusted to a state in which unvaporized humidified mist can be reliably captured and the pressure loss is minimized with respect to the design wind speed of the air conditioner 10.

In each of the elements 41, among the vertically adjacent elements 41 (some of the elements are shown as 41A and 41B in fig. 2 for convenience of explanation), the lower edge 41B of the upper element 41(41A) is arranged below the upper edge 41A of the lower element 41 (41B).

According to this configuration, there is no ventilation path that reaches linearly from the air inlet 11 to the air outlet 12 between the upper element 41(41A) and the lower element 41(41B), and therefore the risk that the unvaporized humidified mist reaches the air outlet 12 without contacting the elements 41 is reduced.

Since each element 41 can provide a sufficient size of air passage between the vertically adjacent elements 41(41A and 41B), the pressure loss when passing through the vaporizing mechanism 40 is smaller than the pressure loss of the eliminator provided in the conventional air conditioner for a spray booth. Therefore, even at a speed higher than the ventilation speed in the conventional air conditioner for a painting booth, the ventilation cross-sectional area does not need to be increased.

In fig. 3, as shown by the thick dashed arrows, when the air containing the non-vaporized humidified mist flows to the downstream side of the element 41 through the air passage between the vertically adjacent elements 41(41A and 41B), most of the air is collided with the surface of the porous body constituting the element 41 by the inertial force of the humidified mist itself and is captured on the surface by the electrostatic force of the humidified mist itself and the porous body itself. In fig. 3, the circular objects shown on the right side of the element 41 are humidified mist, and show a form captured on the surface of the element 41.

In fig. 3, as shown by the thin dashed arrows indicating the fluid, a part of the air containing the non-vaporized humidified mist passes through the pores of the porous body of the component 41, and when the air containing the non-vaporized humidified mist passes through the pores of the porous body of the component 41, the non-vaporized humidified mist collides with the surfaces of the pores by the inertial force of the humidified mist itself and is captured on the surfaces by the electrostatic force of the humidified mist itself and the porous body itself. The contact between the humidified mist captured on the surface of the pores and the air passing through the pores is promoted, and thus the humidified mist is sufficiently vaporized.

The temperature/humidity adjustment mechanism 50 includes a cooling mechanism 51 that cools the air passing through the vaporization mechanism 40, and a heating mechanism 52 that heats the air cooled by the cooling mechanism 51. The air humidified by the humidification means 30 can be adjusted to an optimum temperature and humidity for use in the coating chamber 60 by the cooling means 51 and the heating means 52.

In the above embodiment, the case where the porous body constituting the element 41 is a ceramic plate was described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the porous body may be a metal sintered body, and may be any body that can bring the humidified mist that is not vaporized into contact with the air passing through the pores of the body on the surface of the porous body.

In the above embodiment, the case where the mist nozzle 31 is a single-fluid type high-pressure nozzle has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The mist nozzle 31 may be a two-fluid type nozzle or an ultrasonic type atomizing nozzle.

In the above embodiment, the case where the air-conditioning apparatus 10 includes the heating mechanism 20, the humidifying mechanism 30, the vaporizing mechanism 40, and the temperature/humidity adjusting mechanism 50 in the casing 13 has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The air conditioner 10 may be configured without the heating mechanism 20 and the temperature/humidity adjustment mechanism 50 inside the casing 13. In this case, the heating mechanism 20 and the temperature/humidity adjustment mechanism 50 may be provided outside the casing 13.

The above embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the description, and the specific configurations of the respective portions may be appropriately modified and designed within a range that can achieve the operational effects of the present invention.

Description of the symbols

10 air conditioner

11 air inlet

12 air outlet

13 casing

20 heating mechanism

30 humidifying mechanism

31 mist nozzle

40 vaporization mechanism

41 element

41a upper edge

41b lower edge

50 temperature and humidity adjusting mechanism

60 spray booth

62 coating.

The claims (modification according to treaty clause 19)

1. An air conditioner for supplying air to a coating chamber for coating an object to be coated, comprising:

a housing having an air inlet and an air outlet for the air to be supplied;

a humidifying mechanism for spraying a humidified mist with a particle size of 100 μm or less to the air sucked through the air inlet; and

a vaporization mechanism that passes the air sprayed with the humidified mist by the humidification mechanism, and simultaneously causes the humidified mist contained in the air and not vaporized to collide with the air by an inertial force of the humidified mist itself, and to be captured and vaporized while being in contact with the air;

the air humidity-adjusted by the humidifying mechanism and the vaporizing mechanism is supplied to the spray booth via the air outlet.

2. The air conditioner according to claim 1,

the vaporizing mechanism is provided with a plurality of plate-shaped elements,

the elements are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction, and are arranged in an inclined posture such that the lower edge is positioned on the upstream side in the ventilation direction of the air from the air inlet toward the air outlet than the upper edge, and such that the lower edge of the upper element is positioned below the upper edge of the lower element among the vertically adjacent elements.

3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the respective elements are arranged in an inclined posture in a range of 45 to 85 degrees with respect to the horizontal.

4. The air conditioning apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the element is constituted by a porous body having pores that allow the air containing the unvaporized humidified mist to pass therethrough while being capable of capturing the humidified mist on a surface thereof.

5. The air conditioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a warming mechanism that warms the air taken in via the air intake port before reaching the humidifying mechanism is provided.

6. The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a temperature/humidity control mechanism is provided that temperature/humidity controls the air whose humidity has been controlled by the humidification mechanism before being discharged from the air outlet.