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  Air conditioning systemUSPTO Application #: 20060236715Title: Air conditioning system Abstract: [PROBLEMS]To provide a cooling system in which the efficiency of a refrigerator will not decrease in obtaining a predetermined temperature and humidity in a cooled room even when there is a change in the outside temperature and so on. [MEANS FOR SOLVING]An air conditioning system comprising a dehumidifier, a compressor into which a first air is introduced, a heat exchanger into which the first air compressed by the compressor is introduced, and an expander into which the first air heat-exchanged by the heat exchanger is introduced and which is connected with the compressor through a connection mechanism, wherein moisture content of a dehumidifying agent in the dehumidifier is decreased by a second air heat-exchanged with the first air by the heat exchanger. (end of abstract)
Agent: Frishauf, Holtz, Goodman & Chick, PC - New York, NY, US Inventors: Isao Nikai, Hiroshi Miwa, Masanori Hanawa USPTO Applicaton #: 20060236715 - Class: 062402000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Refrigeration, Air Compressor, Cooler And Expander Type, Motor-type Expander The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060236715. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an air cycle refrigerator utilizing air as an operating medium, to be applied in the fields of air conditioning, refrigeration and cold storage, and in particular, to a cooler equipped with a dehumidifier. BACKGROUND ART [0002] Conventionally, typical refrigeration cycles have been composed using refrigerants such as Freon and ammonia, and such refrigerants have been circulated in a closed cycle. The most widely used Freon-based refrigerants are environmental disruptors and require a high pressure of 15 to 20 kg/cm.sup.2 in order to form a refrigerating cycle. Therefore, refrigerators and heat pump units are composed in specifications with emphasis on leakproofing and pressure resistance for the whole system, and various types based on such specifications are practically in use. [0003] On the other hand, techniques are known for obtaining low-temperature air by compressing, cooling and adiabatically expanding air itself without the use of a refrigerant based on an environmental disruptor such as Freon. Examples of improved compressors and expanders include those proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 1993-113258 and No. 1994-213521 and Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 1984-52343. Examples of improved airborne moisture content separations include those proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 1994-34212 and No. 1993-223377. Examples of controls for apparatuses include those disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 1988-315866, No. 1993-231732, No. 1993-223375 and No. 1990-97850. In addition, examples of heat recoveries include those proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 1994-207755 and No. 1994-213521. [0004] An apparatus in the field relevant to the present invention is a refrigerating and cooling apparatus in which a compressor, an expander and a motor are coupled via a gear or the like to be driven, in order to compose an air cycle refrigerator for compressing air, cooling the air by a heat source of outside air and then recovering the cooled heat in a refrigerated room by a conventional plate type heat exchanger, as disclosed in Reference 1. [0005] Also as disclosed in Reference 2, an example exists in which high-temperature waste heat generated in an air cycle refrigerator is used as a regenerated heat energy for drying a dehumidification rotor of a dehumidifying and air conditioning apparatus, which is proposed for overcoming the disadvantage of lower efficiency in an air conditioning temperature region associated with the air cycle refrigerator compared to a conventional vapor compressing refrigerator. In Reference 2, as a method of recovering the high-temperature waste heat to utilize it as a heat source for the dehumidification rotor of the dehumidifying and air conditioning apparatus, high-temperature air at the exit of a compressor of the air cycle refrigerator which supplies air reduced in temperature in an expander into a room is used and returned air from inside the room is heated in a heat exchanger to make high-temperature air to be supplied for drying the dehumidification rotor. [0006] Patent Reference 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1997-210484 [0007] Patent Reference 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-257968. [0008] In the invention disclosed in Reference 1, when the temperature of a refrigerated room (load) needs to be changed, the revolution of a motor and the revolutions of a centrifugal air compressor and a centrifugal air expander both directly coupled to the motor are altered so that the pressure ratio between the compressor and the expander may be altered, thereby to change the temperature of the air blow from the expander for obtaining a desired temperature in the refrigerated room (See FIG. 3 of Reference 1). At this time, the compressor and the expander rotate at revolutions defined by the revolution of the motor and the amount of air flow is determined based on the pressure ratio depending thereon. However, the compressor and the expander in essence have the pressure ratio and flow rates, at which the highest efficiency is attained, which are determined at predetermined revolutions. With a principle as in Reference 1, therefore, one or either of the compressor and the expander will not operate at an operating point at which the optimum efficiency is attained, with a result that the performance coefficient of the air cycle refrigerator will decrease. [0009] In the invention disclosed in Reference 1, when the outside air temperature changes, the temperature of the air led from a water-to-air heat exchanger to an air-to-air heat exchanger will change, so that the temperature at the entrance to the expander may change. Consequently the blowing temperature of the expander changes so that the temperature of the cooled room to be cooled may change. To avoid that, by altering the revolution of the motor to alter the compression ratio between the compressor and the expander, the blowing temperature of the expander is changed to obtain a desired temperature, with a result, however, that the performance coefficient of the air cycle refrigerator will decrease as described above. [0010] In the invention disclosed in Reference 2, in order to accommodate the variation of load of the air-conditioned room while heating the returned air from inside the room at the exit of the compressor with high-temperature air using a typical heat exchanger, control is provided for increasing or decreasing the electric power supplied to the motor of the air cycle refrigerator to alter the revolution of the compressor to thereby increase or decrease the compression ratio and the amount of air flow, so that the temperature of the air-conditioned room may be maintained at a constant level. In so doing, since the returned air from inside the room increases or decreases according to an increase or decrease of the flow rate of the air, the air temperature attained by heat exchange at the entrance to the expander and the regenerated air temperature to be sent to the dehumidification rotor will change. [0011] When the air temperature at the entrance to the expander changes, the air temperature at the exit of the expander will also increase or decrease and, in association with an increase or decrease of the revolution of the compressor, the revolution of the expander directly coupled to the compressor will also change, so that the exit temperature of the expander may change. The temperature of the air to be supplied to the air-conditioned room can therefore not be maintained at a constant level. When the temperature of the regenerated air changes, the amount of dehumidification by the dehumidification rotor will increase or decrease, with a defect that the humidity of the air supplied to the air-conditioned room may not be maintained at a constant level. [0012] Also, this system has a disadvantage that since it leads all the air to be dehumidified into the dehumidification rotor, a huge dehumidification rotor must be adopted and the system must be bulky with an increase in cost, in addition to the difficulty of regulating humidity in relation to the air conditioning load variation as described above. [0013] In addition, this system is only utilized for air conditioning and may not be provided for cooling down to lower temperature regions, such as in refrigeration and cold storage. [0014] In a refrigerated warehouse or coldroom, opening and closing the door during operation will allow air having a temperature higher than the temperature inside to infiltrate to cause dew condensation in case of a coldroom having a temperature higher than zero degree Celsius and to cause icing in case of a refrigerated cold storage warehouse having a temperature at or lower than zero degree Celsius. According to the prior art, what was adopted to prevent that was a principle of feeding dried air at a temperature higher than the temperature inside the warehouse by means of a heat-driven desiccant air conditioner, for example. As such, there was a drawback that an extra energy was needed to provide the dried air and, in addition, an increase in the capacity of the refrigerator was needed to provide for a sensible heat load of the dried air having a high temperature. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Prroblems to be Solved by the Invention [0015] The present invention is intended to provide a cooling system in which the efficiency of a refrigerator will not decrease in obtaining a predetermined temperature and humidity in a cooled room even when there is a change in the outside air temperature and so on. [0016] The present invention is also intended to provide a cooling system in which dew condensation or icing will not occur inside even when humid outside air enters a cold storage warehouse through its door or clearances. Means for Solving the Problems [0017] In order to solve such problems for providing an air cycle refrigerating/air conditioning apparatus which accommodates load variation of a cooled room as required and obtains a predetermined temperature and humidity, unaffected by the variation of the outside air, the following measures are resorted to. [0018] According to the present invention, a compressor and an expander of an air cycle refrigerator are configured to rotate freely. This is enabled, for example, by using a generator motor as an electric motor for driving the compressor and the expander of the air cycle refrigerator. [0019] In addition, according to the present invention, it may be realized by forming a motor for receiving power generated in the expander and driving the compressor in a double structure to thereby physically separate the shafts of the compressor and the expander. For example, the shaft of the expander comprises a rotor of a generator section and the shaft of the compressor comprises a rotor of a motor section. Further, stators of the generator and motor sections may be integrated and a generator motor may be provided for supplying the motor section with the electric power generated by the power of the expander and the externally supplied electric power. Continue reading... Full patent description for Air conditioning system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Air conditioning system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Air conditioning system or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Beverage python Next Patent Application: Refrigerant accumulator Industry Class: Refrigeration ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Air conditioning system patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 5.80692 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Electronics: Semiconductor , Audio , Illumination , Connectors , Crypto , |
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