Patent ID: 7082781

Claim:
An air conditioning apparatus which performs either an operating mode in which air taken in is cooled and dehumidified and then supplied indoors or an operating mode in which air taken in is heated and humidified and then supplied indoors, said air conditioning apparatus comprising: a refrigerant circuit, including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and an evaporator, for performing a refrigeration cycle, divisionally formed passageways including one or more humidity adjusting side passageways where flowing air comes into contact with an adsorbent, and one or more cooling side passageways through which air flows for taking heat of adsorption from said one or more humidity adjusting side passageways, and first and second adsorption elements, collectively in which said one or more humidity adjusting passageways and said one or more cooling side passageways are formed, wherein said air conditioning apparatus performs: a dehumidifying operation in which first air is dehumidified by a humidity adjusting side passageway and thereafter is subjected to heat exchange with refrigerant in said evaporator; and an adsorbent regenerating operation in which said second air, after passing through a cooling side passageway, is subjected to heat exchange with refrigerant in said condenser and thereafter is introduced into a humidity adjusting side passageway, and wherein said air conditioning apparatus performs in alternation: a first operation in which a dehumidifying operation is carried out by causing first air to flow through a humidity adjusting side passageway of said first adsorption element and, concurrently with said dehumidifying operation, a regenerating operation is carried out by causing second air to flow through a humidity adjusting side passageway of said second adsorption element, and a second operation in which a dehumidifying operation is carried out by causing first air to flow through said humidity adjusting side passageway of said second adsorption element and, concurrently with said dehumidifying operation, a regenerating operation is carried out by causing second air to flow through said humidity adjusting side passageway of said first adsorption element.