Patent Publication Number: US-2023151989-A1

Title: Air conditioning system with compensation and controlling method thereof

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an air conditioning (AC) system with compensation and controlling method using the same, and in particular, is related to an AC system applied in a field of AC, for improving the conventional AC system. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the conventional air-conditioning (AC) system, after the user sets the temperature and humidity, the AC system will start to operate until the temperature and humidity in the indoor space are consistent with the set target temperature and set target humidity. Generally speaking, the response time of the temperature-detection unit (thermometer) is relatively short (within a few seconds), which can instantly reflect the real-time(simultaneous) temperature at each moment; however, the humidity-detection unit (hygrometer) is limited by its the working principle causes its response time to be longer (ten seconds or even several minutes), and it cannot accurately reflect the instantaneous humidity at each moment. 
     For example, in the production of pharmaceuticals, humidity has a huge impact on product quality. When the humidity has significant fluctuation (the relative-humidity suddenly changes from 20% to 60%), the existing humidity-detection unit may take dozens of seconds or even a few minutes to find the humidity change of indoor space, so the AC unit cannot adjust its power immediately to return to a relative-humidity of 20% of the indoor space as soon as possible. This leads to product quality problems. For example, when the temperature changes drastically, suppose it changes from state A (20° C., relative-humidity 95%, absolute-humidity 14 g/Kg) to state B (40° C., relative-humidity 30%, absolute-humidity 14 g/Kg). Generally speaking, a thermometer can get a temperature of 40° C. in a few seconds. However, a hygrometer usually takes dozens of seconds or even a few minutes to get a 30% relative-humidity. In other words, the AC unit can start to adjust the temperature to return to 20° C. within a few seconds, but it takes a few seconds (when the relative-humidity exceeds a set upper and lower humidity limit) to start adjusting the humidity. Furthermore, with the combination of two reasons: (1) it is impossible to know the real-time correct humidity and (2) the slower innate response time of humidity detection, which will cause the AC unit to take a longer time returning to the original humidity (relative-humidity 95%). For the pharmaceutical industry, this humidity problem from dozens of seconds to a few minutes may cause problems for the entire batch of medicines. 
     Therefore, the conventional technology has below technical problems: 1. Slow response time of the hygrometer; 2. the AC system cannot operate in a correct (or power-saving) manner for the slow response time of the hygrometer. 
     Hence, it is needed to provide an air conditioning (AC) system with compensation and the controlling method of using the same, for solving the aforementioned technical problem. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an air-conditioning (AC) system with compensation function, which uses the detected plural simultaneous temperature values and plural simultaneous humidity values to calculate or query a humidity reference table to obtain the plural non-delayed humidity-estimate values. Thereby avoiding the slow response of the hygrometer to make the air conditioning system cannot operate optimally, so the time to reach the target temperature value and/or a target humidity value is shortened. 
     In order to solve the aforementioned technical problems of the conventional art, the object of the present invention is to provide an air conditioning (AC) system with compensation which comprises an environment-adjusting device, a temperature-detection unit, a humidity-detection unit, a non-delayed humidity-estimate unit and a control unit. The environment-adjusting device adjusts an indoor space according to a target temperature value and a target humidity value. The temperature-detection unit detects a plurality of simultaneous temperature value of the indoor space. The humidity-detection unit detects a plurality of simultaneous humidity value of the indoor space. The non-delayed humidity-estimate unit derives a plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values by calculating and/or checking a humidity reference table according to the plurality of simultaneous temperature values and the plurality of simultaneous humidity values. The control unit adjusts a power of the environment-adjusting device according to the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values, the target temperature value and the target humidity value, to shorten a time achieving to the target humidity value. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the relative-humidity estimating unit proceeds iteration method to derive the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values according to the plurality of simultaneous temperature values and the plurality of simultaneous humidity values. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the plurality of simultaneous temperature values, the plurality of simultaneous humidity values and the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values are with respect to different time. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the environment-adjusting device comprises a temperature-adjusting sub device and a humidity-adjusting sub device to respectively adjust temperature and humidity of the indoor space. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the power of the environment-adjusting device is changed according to the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values, the target temperature value and the target humidity value. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the humidity-adjusting sub device is selected from the group consisting of a condenser, a dehumidification wheel, an isothermal dehumidification device and a humidifier. 
     In order to achieve the above objective, the present invention further provides a controlling method for an AC system with compensation, which comprises: First, an environment-adjusting device adjusts an indoor space according to a target temperature value and a target humidity value; then, a temperature-detection unit detects a plurality of simultaneous temperature value of the indoor space; then, a humidity-detection unit detects a plurality of simultaneous humidity value of the indoor space; then, a non-delayed humidity-estimate unit derives a plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values by calculating and/or checking a humidity reference table according to the plurality of simultaneous temperature values and the plurality of simultaneous humidity values; then, a control unit adjusts a power of the environment-adjusting device according to the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values, the target temperature value and the target humidity value, to shorten a time achieving to the target humidity value. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the relative-humidity estimating unit proceeds iteration method to derive the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values according to the plurality of simultaneous temperature values and the plurality of simultaneous humidity values. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the plurality of simultaneous temperature values, the plurality of simultaneous humidity values and the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values are with respect to different time. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the environment-adjusting device comprises a temperature-adjusting sub device and a humidity-adjusting sub device to respectively adjust temperature and humidity of the indoor space. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the power of the environment-adjusting device is changed according to the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values, the target temperature value and the target humidity value. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the humidity-adjusting sub device is selected from the group consisting of a condenser, a dehumidification wheel, an isothermal dehumidification device and a humidifier. 
     Compared with the conventional arts, the present invention uses the detected plural simultaneous temperature values and plural simultaneous humidity values to calculate or query a humidity reference table to obtain the plural non-delayed humidity-estimate values. Thereby avoiding the slow response of the hygrometer to make the air conditioning system cannot operate optimally, so the time to reach the target temperature value and/or a target humidity value is shortened. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DIAGRAMS 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of an indoor space and an air conditioning system the present invention; 
         FIG.  2    is a detail schematic diagram of the non-delayed humidity-estimate unit of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  3    is a detail schematic diagram of the environment-adjusting device of  FIG.  1   ; 
         FIG.  4    is an actual test diagram of an AC system according to the present invention; 
         FIG.  5    is a flow diagram of a controlling method for an AC system according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following description of the embodiments is given by way of illustration with reference to the specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. The terms such as “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “inside”, “outside”, “side”, etc., The direction of the diagram. Accordingly, the use of a directional term is used to describe and to understand the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. 
     Please refer to  FIGS.  1 - 3   .  FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of an indoor space  10  and an air conditioning (AC) system  100  the present invention;  FIG.  2    is a detail schematic diagram of the non-delayed humidity-estimate unit  140  of  FIG.  1   ;  FIG.  3    is a detail schematic diagram of the environment-adjusting device  110  of  FIG.  1   ; The air conditioning system  100  comprises an environment-adjusting device  110 , a temperature-detection unit  120 , a humidity-detection unit  130 , a non-delayed humidity-estimate unit  140  and a control unit  150 . The environment-adjusting device  110  adjusts an indoor space  10  according to a target temperature value ST(Setup Temperature) and a target humidity value SH(Setup Humidity, it means relative humidity). The temperature-detection unit  120  detects a plurality of simultaneous temperature value T1...Tn of the indoor space  10 . The humidity-detection unit  130  detects a plurality of simultaneous humidity value H1...Hn of the indoor space  10 . The non-delayed humidity-estimate unit  140  derives a plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn (Real-Humidity) by calculating and/or checking a humidity reference table  143  according to the plurality of simultaneous temperature values T1...Tn and the plurality of simultaneous humidity values H1...Hn. Preferably, the non-delayed humidity-estimate unit  140  comprises a processor  141 , a memory  142  and a humidity reference table  143  (The humidity reference table can be omitted, where the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn could be calculated merely by the processor  141  and the memory  142 ). The control unit  150  adjusts a power of the environment-adjusting device  110  according to the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn, the target temperature value ST and the target humidity value SH, to shorten a time of the non-delayed humidity-estimate values RHn achieving to the target humidity value SH. In detail, the power of the environment-adjusting device  110  is changed according to the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn, the target temperature value ST and the target humidity value SH. 
     The relative humidity and absolute humidity or moisture content mentioned in this manual can be easily converted when the temperature and pressure are known, so no further explanation will be given. 
     Preferably, the non-delayed humidity-estimate unit  140  and the control unit  150  are provided in a microprocessor of the air conditioning system  100  by a form of firmware, function library, application program, or operands. 
     Preferably, the environment-adjusting device  110  is a physical object which is used to modify temperature and humidity; the temperature-detection unit  120  is a thermometer, the humidity-detection unit  130  is a hygrometer. 
     Generally, in an environment with only one thermometer and one hygrometer, because the humidity value has a delay, it cannot reflect the real-time data in a few seconds like the temperature value. Great problems can occur in the environment. The present invention uses existing real-time data (temperature and humidity detected from the environment by sensers are not true temperature and humidity) to obtain real humidity data through calculations or correspondence tables, thereby enabling the environmental adjustment unit  110  to perform optimized operation under real data, instead of using incorrect and delayed data to perform poor operation. 
     In detail, if the pressure changes, the pressure value can also be included in the calculation (the pressure can also be directly known without delay). 
     In detail, the humidity reference table  143  is selected from the group consisting of the plurality of simultaneous temperature values T1...Tn and the plurality of simultaneous humidity values H1...Hn, the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn, the target temperature value ST and the target humidity value SH (when the pressure is different, it is possible to take the pressure as an important factor). The purpose of the present invention is to the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn by calculating and/or checking the humidity reference table  143  according to the temperature values (close to real temperature) and the relative humidity values in cooperation with the target temperature value ST and the target humidity value SH of the indoor space  10  is intended to be. At beginning, the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn might be far away from the real relative humidity value (too high or too low). However, with the air conditioning system works as time goes by, through multiple iteration calculations, the non-delayed humidity-estimate value RHn will be close to the target humidity value SH. The iterative calculation here is: at first, use the simultaneous temperature value T1 and the simultaneous humidity values H1 to calculate or look up the table to get the non-delayed humidity-estimate value RH1 at the same time; then, use the simultaneous temperature value T2 and the simultaneous humidity values H2 and the previous-derived non-delayed humidity-estimate value RH1, to derive the non-delayed humidity-estimate value RH2; and so on. 
     In detail, the plurality of simultaneous humidity values H1...Hn detected by the humidity-detection unit  130  from the indoor space  10  have time delay (several seconds); however, the non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn derived by the non-delayed humidity-estimate unit  140  will decrease the time delay as time goes by, then the control unit  150  can precisely adjust the power of the environment-adjusting device  110 . 
     In detail, the plurality of simultaneous temperature values T1...Tn, the plurality of simultaneous humidity values H1...Hn and the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn are with respect to different time. In other words, when the temperature and humidity in the indoor space  10  are uniform, there is no need to distinguish (the environment-adjusting device  110 ) the temperature difference of the air outlet or the air inlet, and only one location of the indoor space  10  needs to be collected in one place. The data can be calculated according to the above data or the reference table to derive the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn. The plurality of simultaneous humidity values H1...Hn mean Relative Humidity; the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn mean Relative Humidity, also. 
     Preferably, the environment-adjusting device  110  comprises a temperature-adjusting sub device  111  and a humidity-adjusting sub device  112  to respectively adjust temperature and humidity of the indoor space. In the preferred embodiment, the temperature-adjusting sub device  111  and the humidity-adjusting sub device  112  are working independently. Generally, the temperature-adjusting sub device  111  is much simple element, such as cooler, heater can change the temperature directly; however, the change of humidity is hugely effected by the temperature, so the humidity-adjusting sub device  112  is selected from the group consisting of a condenser, a dehumidification wheel, an isothermal dehumidification device and a humidifier. However, it is possible to choose a device which will adjust the temperature and the humidity at the same time, not limited by this embodiment. 
       FIG.  4    is an actual test diagram of an AC system  100  according to the present invention. The lower axis is time (seconds), the left axis is the moisture content (%, calculated from temperature and relative humidity, that is, absolute humidity), and the right axis is temperature (Celsius, dry bulb temperature). The upper solid line is the temperature. It can be seen that when the temperature of the indoor space  10  increases from 25 degrees to 35 degrees quickly, the temperature value fluctuates slightly, and the difference with the actual temperature (35 degrees) is very small (about 0.5 degrees). The lower dashed line is the moisture content curve before installing the AC system of the present invention. It can be seen that when the temperature changes, the moisture content will have a large distortions in a short time, which may cause problems in the operation of the system. The lower solid line represents the moisture content curve after installing the AC system of the present invention (the moisture content here represents absolute humidity, and the above-mentioned relative humidity can be converted by looking up the table under the premise of known pressure and temperature). It is clearly found that although the distortion problem still exists, the distortion problem has been greatly reduced in a short time. 
       FIG.  5    is a flow diagram of a controlling method for an AC system  100  according to the present invention. The devices and elements used in the flow chart could be referred to  FIGS.  1 - 3    and the above description. 
     The method comprises: First, the step S 01 , an environment-adjusting device  110  adjusts an indoor space  10  according to a target temperature value ST and a target humidity value SH; then, the step S 02 , a temperature-detection unit  120  detects a plurality of simultaneous temperature value T1 ...Tn of the indoor space  10 ; then, step S 03 , a humidity-detection unit  130  detects a plurality of simultaneous humidity value H1...Hn of the indoor space  10 ; then, the step S 04 , a non-delayed humidity-estimate unit  140  derives a plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn by calculating and/or checking a humidity reference table  143  according to the plurality of simultaneous temperature values T1...Tn and the plurality of simultaneous humidity values H1...Hn; finally, the step S 05 , a control unit  150  adjusts a power of the environment-adjusting device  110  according to the plurality of non-delayed humidity-estimate values RH1...RHn, the target temperature value ST and the target humidity value SH, to shorten a time achieving to the target humidity value. 
     Compared with the conventional art, the present invention uses the detected plural simultaneous temperature values and plural simultaneous humidity values to calculate or query a humidity reference table to obtain the plural non-delayed humidity-estimate values. Thereby avoiding the slow response of the hygrometer to make the air conditioning system cannot operate optimally, so the time to reach the target temperature value and/or a target humidity value is shortened. 
     As described above, although the present invention comprises been described with the preferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is intended to be defined only by reference to the claims.