Patent Publication Number: US-2017350609-A1

Title: Air conditioning device

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to air conditioning devices, and, more specifically, to an air conditioning device using an air conditioning system coupled with an evaporation cooling technique, through circulating the condensed water to process the waste heat. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The thermoelectric cooling chip based air conditioning device is a popular choice for a compact size air conditioning device as it is compact in size, makes no noises, does not use a refrigerant and is environmentally friendly, as compared to the traditional compression type air conditioning device. 
     However, the thermoelectric cooling chip operates by circulating the cooling effect provided on the surface to cool down the ambient temperature. When the temperature of the air flow is high during hot weather day plus particle pollution, it can likely adversely affect the efficiency of heat exchange, thereby reducing the cooling effect. 
     Besides, when one side of the thermoelectric cooling chip is performing the cooling operation, the other side of the thermoelectric cooling chip is performing the heating operation, and the generated waste heat is exhausted to the ambient and also indirectly raises the difficulty of cooling by the air conditioning device. 
     Therefore, there is a need to solve the prior art problems increasing the cooling efficiency and solving the problem of exhausted waste heat produced by the thermoelectric cooling chip. 
     SUMMARY 
     In light of solving the foregoing problems of the prior art, the present disclosure provides an air conditioning device, comprising: a duct module and a heat exchange module. The duct module has opposing first and second regions, and comprises: a temperature control unit disposed at the second region of the duct module; a first air flow guide unit disposed at the first region, a second region or between the first region and the second region of the duct module; and a first liquid energy conducting element disposed at the first region of the duct module. 
     The heat exchange module is coupled to the duct module and configured for processing the waste heat produced by the temperature control unit, and has an accommodating case, a heat exchanger, a second liquid energy conducting element, a delivery duct, a driver unit and a second air flow guide unit. The accommodating case is used to collect the condensed water produced by the temperature control unit. The heat exchanger is used to remove the waste heat produced by the temperature control unit. The second liquid energy conducting element is used to remove the waste heat produced by the heat exchanger. The delivery duct is used to couple the second liquid energy conducting element, the accommodating case and the duct module in series. The driver unit is used to drive the condensed water to pass the delivery duct, such that the condensed water flows between the second liquid energy conducting element and the accommodating case. The second air flow guide unit is used to provide air flow to the heat exchanger. Therefore, the waste heat generated by the heat exchanger is allowed to be delivered to the second liquid energy conducting element to carry out the process of cooling by heat exchange. 
     In an embodiment, the heat exchanger is disposed between the second liquid energy conducting element and the second air flow guide unit. 
     In an embodiment, the first liquid energy conducting element comprises a water inlet, a water outlet and a water curtain module, the water curtain module is disposed in the inner side of the first region of the duct module, through the water inlet the condensed water is drawn to the water curtain module, and drawn out by the water outlet. 
     In an embodiment, the air conditioning device comprises a plurality of the duct modules. 
     In an embodiment, the air conditioning device further comprises a control module configured for controlling the on/off or the configuration of the temperature control unit or the first air flow guide unit. 
     In an embodiment, the control module comprises a setting unit which is used to set up the threshold temperature of the duct module and output a corresponding first control signal to the temperature control unit, such that control module controls the on/off or the configuration of the temperature control unit based on the first control signal. 
     In an embodiment, the air conditioning device further comprises a detecting module, which is used to detect the temperature of the second region of the duct module, generate a temperature signal, and send the temperature signal to the control module, the control module outputs the corresponding second control signal to the temperature control unit or first air flow guide unit based on the threshold temperature set by the setting unit and the temperature signal, and the control module further controls the on/off or the configuration of the temperature control unit or the first air flow guide unit based on the second control signal. 
     In an embodiment, the air conditioning device further comprises a power module for providing the operation power to the duct module, the heat exchange module, the control module and the detecting module. 
     In an embodiment, the air conditioning device further comprises an air collecting unit that has an air flow inlet facing towards the second region of the duct module and an air flow outlet around wherein the detecting module is disposed. 
     In comparison with the prior art, the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure has a water curtain based evaporation cooling system, which is capable of purification and first cooling, followed by a second cooling, such that the overall cooling efficiency is improved. The air conditioning device of the present disclosure is also capable of recycle the condensed water generated by the thermoelectric cooling chip to reduce the waste heat in the system, thereby effectively controlling the temperature balance within the system. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing an application framework of an air condition device according to the present disclosure for processing condensed water. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing an application framework of a water curtain of the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the functions of the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing the multiple duct modules of the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow chart showing the operation of multiple duct modules of the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The present disclosure is described by the following specific embodiments. Those with ordinary skills in the arts can readily understand other advantages and functions of the present disclosure after reading the disclosure of this specification. 
     It should be noted that the structures, ratios, sizes shown in the drawings appended to this specification are to be construed in conjunction with the disclosure of this specification in order to facilitate understanding of those skilled in the art. They are not meant, in any ways, to limit the implementations of the present disclosure, and therefore have no substantial technical meaning. Without affecting the effects created and objectives achieved by the present disclosure, any modifications, changes or adjustments to the structures, ratio relationships or sizes, are to be construed as fall within the range covered by the technical contents disclosed herein. Meanwhile, terms, such as “on”, “in”, “at”, “inner”, “external”, “one”, “a” and the like, are for illustrative purposes only, and are not meant to limit the range implementable by the present disclosure. Any changes or adjustments made to their relative relationships, without modifying the substantial technical contents, are also to be construed as within the range implementable by the present disclosure. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view showing an application framework of an air condition device according to the present disclosure for processing condensed water. The air conditioning device comprises a duct module  1  having opposing first and second regions  11  and  12 , and a heat exchange module  2  disposed at the second region  12 . The duct module  1  comprises a temperature control unit  13  disposed at the second region  12 , a first air flow guide unit  14  disposed between the first region  11  and second region  12 , and a first liquid energy conducting element  15  disposed at the first region  11 . It should be noted that the first air flow guide unit  14  may also be disposed at the first region  11  or the second region  12 . In an embodiment, the temperature control unit  13  is a thermoelectric cooling chip capable of producing temperature gradient, by generating cooling or heating ends when charged, and the first air flow guide unit  14  can be a fan powered by electricity. The fan is operated to generate an air flow, the direction flow of which is indicated by an arrow in  FIG. 1 . The air flow enters the first region  11 , passes through the cooling end of the temperature control unit  13 , and then exists from the second region  12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the heat exchange module  2  is coupled to the duct module  1 , for processing the waste heat produced by the temperature control unit  13 . In an embodiment, the heat exchange module  2  comprises a delivery duct  21 , an accommodating case  22 , a driver unit  23 , a second air flow guide unit  24 , a heat exchanger  25  and a second liquid energy conducting element  26 . The accommodating case  22  is used to collect the condensed water generated when the cooling ends of the temperature control unit  13  (thermoelectric cooling chip) are in contact with the air. The delivery duct  21  is used to couple the second liquid energy conducting element  26 , the accommodating case  22  and the duct module  1  in series. In an embodiment, the second liquid energy conducting element  26  is a water curtain. The driver unit  23  may be a motor (the number of which can be single or more than one). The second air flow guide unit  24  may be a fan. The heat exchanger  25  can be disposed between the second liquid energy conducting element  26  and the second air flow guide unit  24 , i.e., between the water curtain and the fan. After the condensed water is collected in the accommodating case  22 , the start-up motor is used to drive the condensed water to flow through the delivery duct  21  to the second liquid energy conducting element  26  (water curtain), the waste heat generated from the heating ends of the temperature control unit  13  (thermoelectric cooling chip) is guided to the heat exchanger  25 , the waste heat is outputted through the air flow blown towards the heat exchanger  25  generated by the second air flow guide unit  24  (fan), and the waste heat is then in contact with the second liquid energy conducting element  26  for cooling down the temperature by heat exchange. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing the application framework of the water curtain of the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure, wherein the arrow direction is the direction of water flow. It should be noted that  FIG. 1  mainly illustrates the application framework of the temperature control unit  13  which collects the condensed water to the second liquid energy conducting element  26  for processing the waste heat, while  FIG. 2  mainly illustrates the application frame work of drawing the condensed water from the accommodating case  22  to the first region  11  of the duct module  1 , for cooling the air. In other words, the condensed water collected from the temperature control unit  13  can be stored in the accommodating case  22  and then delivered to the second liquid energy conducting element  26  and the first region  11  of the duct module  1  via the operation of the driver unit  23 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the first liquid energy conducting element  15  may comprise a water inlet  151 , a water outlet  152  and a water curtain module  153 . The water curtain module  153  is disposed on the inner side of the first region  11  of the duct module  1 . The condensed water stored in the accommodating case  22  is drawn from the water inlet  15  to the water curtain module  153 , the air entering the first region  11  would pass the water curtain module  153 , to carry out the first purification and cooling down, and then the condensed water is drawn back to the accommodating case  22 , while the purified air enters to the second region  12  to be in contact with the temperature control unit  13 . In an embodiment, the water curtain module  153  is a cylindrical structure. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a plurality of duct modules  1  which are used to exemplify an embodiment of the present disclosure. However, in other embodiments, it is applicable to have a single duct module  1  in the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure. The arrow direction shown in  FIG. 4  is provided to indicate the direction of the air flow, so as to clearly illustrate the operation of multiple ducts configuration in the air conditioning device of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to both  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the functions of the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the air conditioning device further comprises a control module  3  configured for controlling the on/off or the configuration of the temperature control unit  13  and the first air flow guide unit  14 . In an embodiment, the aforesaid on/off or the configuration actions include controlling the on/off and loading strength of the temperature control unit  13  (such as a thermoelectric cooling chip), or controlling the on/off action, operational time, and rotational speed of the first air flow guide unit  14  (such as a fan), etc. 
     The control module  3  may comprise a setting unit  31  configured for setting up the threshold temperature for the duct module  1 , and outputting the corresponding first control signal to each of the temperature control unit  13  or the first air flow guide unit  14 , and the control module  3  controls the on/off action or the configuration of the temperature control unit  13  or the first air flow guide unit  14  by the first control signal. 
     The air conditioning device according to the present disclosure may further comprise a detecting module  4  configured for detecting the temperature of the air flow generated by the first air flow guide unit  14 , at the time when it flows from the second region  12  of the duct module  1 , and generating a corresponding temperature signal to the control module  3 . Then the control module  3  in response outputs a corresponding second control signal to each of the temperature control unit  13  or the first air flow guide unit  14  based on the threshold temperature set up by the setting unit  31  and the temperature signal, such that the control module  3  further controls the on/off action or the configuration of the temperature control unit  13  or the first air flow guide unit  14  by the second control signal. 
       FIG. 5  shows the operation of multiple duct modules of the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure. With regard to the air conditioning device having a plurality of duct modules  1  as proposed according to the present disclosure, the operational efficiency distributed to each duct module  1  determines the overall output efficiency of the air conditioning device of the present disclosure, i.e., the maximum cooling strength that can be reached at a fixed power load. This embodiment of the present disclosure illustrates the operational steps S 1  to S 11  of the two duct modules  1 A and  1 B, as an example below. However, this should not limit the scope of the present disclosure. A person skilled in the art can easily conceived the operation with more duct modules  1 . 
     Firstly in step S 1 , the threshold temperature of the two duct modules  1 A and  1 B are set by the setting unit  31 , wherein the threshold temperature is the target temperature for each duct module  1  desired to be reached in operation, and then the temperature control unit  13  and first air flow guide unit  14  of each duct module are started up. Steps S 2  and S 3  are then followed, wherein the control module  3  adjusts the first air flow guide units  14 A and  14 B of the duct modules  1 A and  1 B to be low loading (such as 30% loading, low rotational speed for the fan), or zero loading. At this time, the two duct modules are storing the cold, and a variable frequency motor technique can be applied in the control module  3  to not only capable of controlling the on/off the air flow generated by the first air flow guide unit  14 , but also adjusting the magnitude of the air flow. 
     Subsequently, steps S 4  to S 7  are performed, for detecting the real time temperature of the duct modules  1 A and  1 B by the detecting module  4 . When the real time temperature of the duct module  1 A is lower than or equal to the cooling threshold temperature, the control module  3  changes the first air flow guide unit  14 A to be high loading (such as 70% loading, higher rotational speed for the fan) or full loading, to allow the duct module  1 A distribute the cold. The detecting module  4  would not carry out the first temperature detection for the duct module  1 B, to allow the duct module  1 B to continue to store cold, in order to separate the time of operation of the duct module  1 A, and when the duct module  1 B is higher than or equal to the cold distribution threshold temperature, the control module  3  then changes the first air flow guide unit  14 B to low loading or zero loading. 
     Steps S 8  to S 11  are then performed to repeat steps S 4  and S 5 , wherein the detecting module  4  detects the real time temperature of the duct modules  1 A and  1 B, and when the real time temperature of the duct module  1 A is higher than or equal to the cold distribution threshold temperature, the control module  3  changes the first air flow guide unit  14 A to be low loading or zero loading, to allow the duct module  1 A to store cold, and on the other hand when the real time temperature of the duct module  1 B is lower than or equal to the cooling threshold temperature, the control module  3  changes the first air flow guide unit  14 B to be high loading or full loading, to allow the duct module  1 B to distribute cold. 
     As such, through the aforementioned repeating cycles of alternate cooling, the output of the air conditioning device is able to be maintained in a stable low temperature, and energy is thus saved. Besides, the control module  3  can not only control the loading of the first air flow guide unit  14 , but also adjust the loading of the temperature control unit  13 , such that the cooling or heating efficiency is enhanced through such efficient distribution. 
     In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the air conditioning device may further comprise a power module  5  configured for providing the operational energy for the duct module  1 , the heat exchange module  2 , the control module  3  and the detecting module  4 . 
     All embodiments of the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure with multiple ducts or single duct may further comprise an air collecting unit  6 . The air collecting unit  6  has an air inlet  61  and an air outlet  62 . The air inlet  61  faces towards the second region  12  of each duct module  1 . The detecting module  4  can be disposed around the air outlet  62 . In an embodiment, the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure utilizes the function of the air collecting unit  6  to collect the air flow generated from multiple duct modules  1 , so as to increase the efficiency of cooling or heating. 
     In summary, the air conditioning device according to the present disclosure is based on the concept of a thermoelectric cooling chip, with the additional water curtain structure and waste heat treatment, which not only increase the efficiency of cooling, but also reduce the amount of waste heat exhausted outside, to reach a balance in temperature, which cannot be achieved by other air condition device on the market today. 
     The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the principles of the present disclosure, and should not be construed as to limit the present disclosure in any way. The above embodiments can be modified by those with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the following appended claims.