Patent Publication Number: US-2016243492-A1

Title: Air conditioning device

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an air conditioning device, and in particular to an air conditioning device wherein a dry filter primarily filters an outside air, and a wet filter secondarily filters the primarily filtered outside air, while the wet filter is simultaneously carrying out heating and cooling operations. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     The indoor space of a predetermined building is filled with an outside air which is externally inputted from the outside, wherein the outside air contains various micro-sized dusts, ordinary dusts, air contaminants, etc., and the inside air also contains micro-sized dusts, bad smell, bacteria, and various harmful substances which might be outputted from interior materials, while causing, for example, a sick house syndrome. The aforementioned various substances may have a bad effect to people&#39;s health. 
     Moreover, in case of the heating or cooling operation, a door or windows are closed so as to prevent any heat loss since the indoor air discharges to the outside. For this reason, the indoor air of the closed indoor space is not fresh and may be readily contaminated, and the concentration of oxygen in the indoor space may be lowered. 
     As an example to prevent any air contamination in the indoor space, the Korean patent laid-open No. 10-2012-0012146 the title of which is “a wet filtration type filter device for an air conditioning” is disclosed. 
     The configuration of the aforementioned conventional wet filtration type filter device for an air conditioning will be described. It includes a frame body  112  installed inside of an air conditioning, wherein both sides thereof are open so as to provide an air flow passage; filter elements  114  which are installed oblique with multiple stages inside of the frame body  112  and are employed to filter micro-sized dusts and ordinary dusts contained in the air which passes through the frame body  112 ; nozzles  116  which are installed near the filter elements  114  for the sake of a wet filtration which may be carried out in such a way that the micro-sized dusts and ordinary dusts filtered by the filter elements  114  come into contact with water drops and precipitate and are able to spray the water into the forms of fog in the moving direction of the air toward the filter elements  114 ; and a drain unit  118  which is installed at a lower portion of the frame body  112  so as to drain the water which has been sprayed toward the filter elements  114  via the nozzles  116 . 
     The aforementioned conventional wet filtration type filter device for an air conditioning, however, may consume a lot of water since the water is sprayed via the nozzles  116  installed at the filter elements  114  which are arranged with multiple stages so as to filter micro-sized dusts and ordinary dusts, which may consequently cause a disadvantage. 
     A large capacity of an air blower fan should be inevitably used so as to allow the air to pass through the filter elements  114  which are installed with multiple stages. In this case, the water may fly away out of a desired range due to the pressure of the blowing air, which may interrupt an effective filtering, which may consequently cause a problem. 
     Since the sprayed water is continuously sprayed toward the filter elements  114 , the micro-size dusts and ordinary dusts which have already contacted with the sprayed water, may come into contact with the filter elements  114 , whereby the filter elements  114  may be contaminated. Various bacteria may grow at the contaminated portions, thus contaminating the indoor air, which may provide a bad effect to people&#39;s health. 
     Moreover, it needs to disassemble the filter elements  114  one by one so as to clean the contaminated filter elements  114 , which may cause a complicated work. Such a cleaning work should be carried out by a technical expert, not an ordinary user, so maintenance is not easy. 
     DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is made an effort to resolve the aforementioned problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioning device which is able to secondarily filter air in such a way to fill water in a water tank and allow the air which has already passed through a dry filter, to flow into the water, and the water in the water tank is directly heated or cooled, thus providing a high heat efficiency to the air conditioning device. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an air conditioning device which is able to provide a high heat exchange efficiency in such a way that a heat exchange can be carried out with a heated or cooled water while the water which has passed through the dry filter, is passing through heat exchange part pipes which are disposed branched. 
     To achieve the above objects, there is provided an air conditioning device, which may include, but is not limited to,
         an air-blower fan which is employed to suck an outside air and discharge the air with a predetermined pressure;   a dry filter which is employed to primarily filter the air discharged from the air-blower fan and then discharge the air; and   a water tank which is configured to store water therein and is able to secondarily filter the air by receiving, in water, the air which has passed through the dry filter, based on the contact with the water, thus discharging, into an indoor space, the air which is rising up after it has passed through the water.       

     Moreover, a heater for heating water and a cooling coil for cooling water are installed inside the water tank. 
     ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS 
     According to the present invention, the ordinary dusts or micro-sized dusts contained in the air are primarily filtered by a dry filter, and the air is passed through water, thus eliminating any rests of the ordinary dusts or micro-sized dusts, bacteria, harmful gas, etc., whereby the indoor air can be maintained clean and fresh, and since the inputted air is passed through water, it can be possible to prevent over water consumption as compared to the conventional filtering method wherein water is sprayed. 
     Moreover, the cooling or heating operation can be carried out based on the changed temperature of the air which passes through water in such a way to directly heat or cool the water, whereupon the energy consumption can be minimized, thus providing more economical operations, as compared to the conventional method wherein air is directly heated. 
     It is advantageous that the inside can be readily cleaned by opening the cover of the water tank, for which maintenance is easy. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a view illustrating the configuration of a conventional wet filtration type filter device for an air conditioning. 
         FIG. 2  is a view illustrating the configuration of an air conditioning device according to the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a view illustrating the configuration of a filter member disposed inside of a water tank. 
         FIG. 4  is a view for describing another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating a heat exchange unit. 
       
         
           
             
                 
               
                 
                     
                 
                 
                   Legend of Reference Number 
                 
                 
                     
                 
               
              
                 
                     
                 
              
             
             
                 
                 
                 
              
                 
                     
                   210: air-blower fan 
                   220: Dry filter 
                 
                 
                     
                   221: Housing 
                   222: Filter member 
                 
                 
                     
                   230: Air inflow pipe passage 
                   240: Water tank 
                 
                 
                     
                   240-1: Cover 
                   241: Inflow port 
                 
                 
                     
                   242: Outflow port 
                   244: Drain unit 
                 
                 
                     
                   245: Valve 
                   246: Heater 
                 
                 
                     
                   247: Cooling coil 
                   248: Bracket 
                 
                 
                     
                   249: Filter member 
                   250: Cooling device 
                 
                 
                     
                   260: Control panel 
                   270: Water temperature sensor 
                 
                 
                     
                   330: Air inflow pipe 
                   340: Heat exchange unit 
                 
                 
                     
                   341: Fixture 
                   342: Heat exchange pipe 
                 
                 
                     
                     
                 
              
             
           
         
       
     
    
    
     BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
     The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 2  is a view illustrating the configuration of an air conditioning device according to the present invention, which may include an air-blower fan  210 , a dry filter  220 , and a water tank  240 . 
     The air-blower fan  210  is configured to suck an outside air and discharge by adding a pressure thereto. It may be formed of an ordinary air-blower fan, for example, a sirocco fan. 
     The ordinary dusts, micro-sized dusts, etc. contained in the air discharged from the air-blower fan  210  are eliminated by the dry filter  220 . The dry filter  220  may accommodate a dry filter member  222 , for example, a filter paper, a non-woven fabric, etc. the inside of a housing  221 . The housing  221  may be made of a transparent material so as to visually check out the contamination levels of the filter member  222 . 
     The air which has passed through the dry filter  220  will flow into the water tank  240  via the inflow pipe passage  230 . The water tank  240  is filled with water. An inflow port  241  is installed at a lower portion of the water tank  240  so as to receive the air which has passed through the dry filter  220 . The aforementioned inflow port  241  is disposed extending higher than the water level of the water tank  240  and is connected to the air inflow pipe passage  230 . 
     The aforementioned configuration may allow the air to be easily inputted into water without any higher pressure, while contributing to the prevention of the reverse direction flow of the water toward the dry filter  220 . 
     A drain unit  244  may be installed at a lower portion of the other side of the water tank  240  so as to discharge the stored water to the outside, and a valve  245  may be installed at the drain unit  244  so as to selectively discharge the water. 
     Moreover, an outflow port  242  is formed at an upper portion of the water tank  240  so as to discharge to the inside the air which has passed through the water. 
     Inside the water tank  240 , an electric type underwater heater  246  for heating water and a cooling coil  247  for cooling the water are installed. Refrigerant flows through the cooling coil  247 . The aforementioned refrigerant can be cooled by a cooling device  250  which operates with a typical cooling cycle. 
     The cooling device  250  may be configured in a typical structure which is formed of a refrigerant compression unit, an expansion unit, etc. The cooling coil  247  is employed to operate as a heat exchange unit. 
     The heater  246  and the cooling device  250  are configured to be driven in response to a control of the control panel  260 . A water temperature sensor  270  is provided at the water tank  240 . The control panel  260  will receive a temperature value of water from the water temperature sensor  270 , thus controlling the heater  246  and the cooling device  250 . 
     Moreover, a separable cover  240 - 1  is coupled to an upper portion of the water tank  240 , whereupon the inside of the water tank  240  can be readily cleaned by separating the cover  240 - 1 . 
     The operations of the present invention with the aforementioned configuration will be described. 
     If an external, which has been inputted via the air-blower fan  210 , is inputted into the dry filter  220  together with a predetermined pressure, the ordinary dusts or micro-sized dusts, etc. are primarily filtered, and then are inputted into the water tank  240  via the air inflow pipe passage  230 . 
     The air which has inputted into the water tank  240  will rise up in the form of air bubbles while it is passing through the water, and the secondarily filtering is carried out contacting with the water. Since the surface areas greatly increase with the aid of a lot of air bubbles, the contaminants can be efficiently absorbed by the water, thus maximizing the filtering effects. The fresh air which has been subjected to the secondarily filtering, will be inputted into the indoor space via the outflow port  242 . 
     If the heat in the water tank  240  is heated up to 40˜50° C. by means of the heater  246 , the temperature of the air inside the air bubbles contacting with the water will rise, and the air which is inputted into the indoor space will be heated warm, thus carrying out the heating operation. If the water is cooled down to 18˜25° C. by means of the cooling device  250  and the cooling coil  247 , a cold air will be inputted into the indoor space, thus carrying out the cooling operation. 
     For the sake of the heating or cooling operation, if a user sets the temperature of the water by operating the control panel  260 , the control panel  260  will receive a temperature value from the water temperature sensor  270  and will drive the heater  246  or the cooling device  250 , thus heating or cooling the air with the aid of the water. 
     When it needs to clean the water tank  240 , the water in the inside is discharged by opening the valve  245  of the drain unit  244 . The cover  240 - 1 , thereafter, is opened, and the cleaning can be carried out. And then, the valve  245  is closed, and water is filled into the water tank  240 . 
     Since the water tank  240  is 30 cm in diameter and 50 cm high, which is not big, water of 20˜30 liters can be filled into the inside thereof, and then the filtering will be carried out, whereupon the water is not consumed a lot. 
     Meanwhile, since the air bubbles in the water rise up and burst on the water surface, the water may scatter over into the indoor space with the aid of bursting power. 
     In order to prevent the aforementioned phenomenon, the bracket  248  may be installed along the inner circumferences of the water tank  240  at the upper portions of the water surface, and a dry filter member  249  made of a nonwoven fabric, etc. may be installed at the bracket  248  in such a way to cover the inside of the water tank  240  in the horizontal direction. 
     Even though the water scatters over, the scattering water can be blocked by the filter member  249  and will not be inputted into the indoor space, and the filtering can be carried out again by the filter member  249 , so a clean and fresh outside air can be inputted into the indoor space. 
       FIG. 4  is a view for describing another embodiment of the present invention. An air inflow pipe  330  is installed while passing through an upper side surface of the water tank  300 . The aforementioned air inflow pipe  330  is formed bent downward from the inside of the water tank  300 . 
     A heat exchange unit  340  is closely coupled to the bent lower portion of the air inflow pipe  330 . The air inflow pipe  330  and the heat exchange unit  340  can be connected by various methods, for example, a welding method, a screw engaging method, a bonding method, etc. 
     The heat exchange unit  340 , as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , may include a cylindrical fixture  341  the upper and lower portions of which are open. A plurality of heat exchange pipes  342  each having a U-shaped metal pipe shape are engaged to the inner portions of the fixture  341 . The heat exchange pipe  342  may be installed in such a way that one side thereof positions at an inner portion of the fixture  341 , and the other side thereof is withdrawn toward a lower portion of the fixture  341  and positions at an outer portion of the fixture  341 . 
     The heat exchange pipe  342  may be made of a metallic material, for example, copper, stainless steel, aluminum etc. which have a high heat conductivity and may be formed in a wrinkle pipe shape so as to increase a heat exchange surface area. 
     A plurality of the heat exchange pipes  342  which position at an inner portion of the fixture  341  are disposed dense, so they can be fixed stable in place with the aid of their dense powers, and otherwise there may be fixedly welded to each other, and the heat exchange pipes  342  which position at the edge portions may be fixed by a welding method or a bonding method to the fixture  341 . 
     Moreover, the heat exchange pipes  342  which position at the outer portions of the fixture  341  may be disposed along the outer circumference of the fixture  341 . 
     The water surface of the water in the water tank  300  may have a predetermined height high enough for the heat exchange pipes  342 , which position at the outer portions of the fixture  341 , not to be submerged in water, and as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , an electric type underwater heater  246  for heating water, a cooling coil  247  and a cooling device  250  for cooling water, and a water temperature sensor  270  for cooling water may be installed therein. 
     In this way, the air inputted having a predetermined pressure with the aid the air-blower fan  210  can be filtered by the dry filter  220 , and will be inputted into the inside of the water tank  300  via the air inflow pipe  330 , wherein the stream of the air may be divided into a plurality of the heat exchange pipes  342  of the heat exchange unit  340 , and the air will be finally discharged above the water surface. Since the heated or cooled water contacts underwater with the heat exchange pipes  342 , the air which passes through the insides of the heat exchange pipes  342 , will exchange heat with the water, so it can be heated or cooled. 
     The air which has passed through the heat exchange pipes  342 , will be discharged above the water surface in the water tank  300 . Since the air in the water tank  300  is hot or cold by means of the heated or cooled water, the air which has passed through the heat exchange pipes  342 , will exchange heat again with the air in the water tank  300 , and then will be discharged into the indoor space via the outflow port  350 . 
     The aforementioned configuration may contribute to maximizing the heat exchange efficiency in the water tank  300  while maximizing the heating or cooling efficiency.