[001] The present disclosure, in general, relates to the field of air coolers and more particularly, to a self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler. The proposed self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler maintains temperature and percentage relative humidity of the surrounding.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Air coolers are widely used in hot and dry places all around the world. Air coolers use evaporative air cooling, which is the natural way of cooling, to cool the surrounding. The air cooler cools the air by means of evaporation of water. When water evaporates into the air, the result is a mixture of air and water molecules. This chemical change requires heat, thus energy or latent heat is taken from the air molecules, resulting in dropping the actual temperature of the air.
[003] The maximum recommended humidity level is 60% or less, to allow a noticeable temperature decrease and helps people to feel more comfortable. The temperature decrease will be larger in dryer climates because the lower the humidity, the more evaporation occurs. This is the reason why air coolers does not work well in high humid areas, such as, coastal regions.
[004] Usually, a water tank is provided in the air cooler to store water. This water is used for evaporative cooling. However, continuous operation of air cooler raises the humidity level of the surroundings to higher levels. This results in less temperature decrease and people feel uncomfortable in nearby surrounding. Hence, for air cooler to be effectively work in any surrounding, humidity level of the surrounding must be maintained within a range.
[005] Chinese Patent CN103104955B provides an evaporative cooling household air conditioner capable of regulating temperature and humidity. A first air inlet channel and a second air inlet channel are arranged at the front end of a case of the air conditioner. A first fresh air inlet is arranged at the front end of the first air inlet channel and provided with a first electric air quantity valve and a first temperature and humidity sensor. An air return inlet is arranged in the bottom of the first air inlet channel and provided with a second electric air quantity valve and a second temperature and humidity sensor. A second fresh air inlet is arranged at the front end of the second air inlet channel. A water circulation evaporative cooling device arranged inside the case is arranged on the inner side of the first air inlet channel. A cross-flow fan is located on the inner side of an air outlet. A fresh air distributor is arranged between the water circulation evaporative cooling device and the cross-flow fan, and an air inlet of the fresh air distributor is connected with an air outlet of the second air inlet channel. A part of fresh air is drawn into the air conditioner to achieve the dehumidification function, and all fresh air is drawn into the air conditioner to achieve the function of regulating indoor air temperature and humidity and air quality through outdoor air natural energy. In this type of air conditioner, relative humidity is reduced by using heating sheets. This arrangement is costly and need servicing at regular intervals.
[006] International patent application WO2019162949A1 discloses a device and a method to control temperature and humidity of the air in some defined volume such as room in a house. The device consists of a quantity of hygroscopic material and means for passing air past or through the material. Direct temperature and humidity control occur when air is conditioned (heated and dried by sorption heating, or cooled and humidified by absorption cooling) and sent inside the room; indirect control is also possible, by affecting the temperature of the walls (the sorption material may occupy channels or spaces within the walls, which are then heated/cooled, indirectly heating/cooling the air in the room by conduction). A fan or blower will allow for forced convection of air in a desired path (e. g from outside the house, over/through the sorption material, and into the house, or in the opposite direction). A second fan and valves allow for more complex operations. In long term experiments, it is established that simply blowing fresh ambient air through hygroscopic material stabilized its temperature and humidity.
[007] Therefore, there is a need to develop a self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler, in a way, that can obviate the drawbacks mentioned above.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[008] It is therefore an object of the present invention, to solve the aforementioned and other drawbacks of the existing self-regulating air coolers.
[009] Another primary object of the present invention is to provide a self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler to maintain temperature and percentage relative humidity in comfort zone.
[0010] Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler to dynamically control the output air humidity as per the relative humidity comfort zone.
[0011] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler to stop wastage of water while the air cooler is operating.
[0012] Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler to create more comfortable environment and cooling.
[0013] Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler which can be used independently of geographical location.
[0014] Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler to save electricity by eliminating unnecessary use of pump of the air cooler.
[0015] Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler which control fan motor speed and pump function to maintain temperature of the surrounding.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0016] One or more drawbacks of conventional self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler, and additional advantages are provided through the proposed self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler as claimed in the present disclosure. Additional features and advantages are realized through the technicalities of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered to be a part of the claimed disclosure.
[0017] The self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler comprises a percentage relative humidity sensor, a temperature sensor, an AC to DC converter and a microcontroller. The percentage relative humidity sensor determine the percentage relative humidity of the surrounding through a feedback loop. The temperature sensor determines the temperature of the surrounding through a feedback loop. The AC to DC converter converts the supply of AC voltage to DC voltage. The microcontroller is configured to take the determined percentage relative humidity and the temperature values as input and accordingly provide signal to a switching circuit to operate pump and fan motor of the air cooler to maintain temperature and percentage relative humidity.
[0018] In an aspect, the system switches OFF the fan motor and the pump when the temperature is below 20oC and the percentage relative humidity is above 25.
[0019] In an aspect, the system switches OFF the pump and operate fan motor at low speed when the temperature is between 20oC to 22oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 25.
[0020] In an aspect, the system switches OFF the pump and operate fan motor at medium speed when the temperature is between 24oC to 30oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 55.
[0021] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at medium speed and the pump is switched ON and OFF alternatively for a predetermined time when the temperature is between 24oC to 30oC and the percentage relative humidity is between 40-50.
[0022] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at medium speed and the pump is switched ON when the temperature is between 24oC to 30oC and the percentage relative humidity is less than 40.
[0023] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at high speed and the pump is switched ON and OFF alternatively for a predetermined time when the temperature is between 30oC to 34oC and the percentage relative humidity is between 40-55.
[0024] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at high speed and the pump is switched OFF when the temperature is between 30oC to 34oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 55.
[0025] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at high speed and the pump is switched ON when the temperature is between 30oC to 34oC and the percentage relative humidity is less than 40.
[0026] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at high speed and the pump is switched ON and OFF alternatively for a predetermined time when the temperature is between 34oC to 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is between 50-70.
[0027] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at high speed and the pump is switched OFF when the temperature is between 34oC to 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 70.
[0028] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at high speed and the pump is switched ON when the temperature is between 34oC to 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is less than 50.
[0029] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at high speed and the pump is switched ON and OFF alternatively for a predetermined time when the temperature is greater than 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is between 55-80.
[0030] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at high speed and the pump is switched OFF when the temperature is greater than 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 80.
[0031] In an aspect, the system operates the fan motor at high speed and the pump is switched ON when the temperature is greater than 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is less than 60.
[0032] In an aspect, the output provided by the microcontroller is in the form of Pulse Width Modulation.
[0033] In an aspect, the predetermined time for switching ON the pump and the predetermined time for switching OFF the pump is not same.
[0034] In order to further understand the characteristics and technical contents of the present invention, a description relating thereto has been made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0035] Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent from the description when read in conjunction with accompanying drawings of exemplary embodiments of invention and wherein:
[0036] Figure 1 illustrates a block diagram of the self-regulating humidity control system for air cooler, according to one of the embodiment of present subject matter; and
[0037] Figures 2a and 2b illustrates comparison between the plots Time vs % RH plot of regular system and the self-regulating humidity control system of present subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0038] The present invention discloses a self-regulating humidity control system 100 for air cooler 108. The proposed system 100 maintain the temperature and percentage relative humidity in comfort zone.
[0039] Referring to Figure 1 illustrating block diagram of the self-regulating humidity control system 100 for air cooler 108, according to one of the embodiment of present subject matter. The self-regulating humidity control system 100 for air cooler comprises a percentage relative humidity sensor 101, a temperature sensor 102, an AC to DC converter 103 and a microcontroller 104. The percentage relative humidity sensor 101 determine the percentage relative humidity of surrounding, through a feedback loop, and send the determined value to the microcontroller 104 for processing. The temperature sensor 102 determine the temperature of the surrounding, through the feedback loop, and send the determined temperature to the microcontroller 104 for processing.
[0040] The AC to DC converter 103 convert the supply of AC voltage to DC voltage of suitable value. This DC voltage is then fed to sensors 101, 102 and the microcontroller 104 for functioning.
[0041] The microcontroller 104 is configured to take the determined percentage relative humidity value and the temperature value as input and accordingly provide signal to a switching circuit 105 to operate pump 106 and fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 to maintain temperature and percentage relative humidity in comfort zone. The output provided by the microcontroller 104 is in the form of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM).
[0042] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is below 20o C and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is above 25, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch OFF the fan motor 107 and the pump 106 of the air cooler 108.
[0043] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 20oC to 22oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 102 is greater than 25, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch OFF the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at low speed.
[0044] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 24oC to 30oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is greater than 55, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch OFF the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at medium speed.
[0045] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 24oC to 30oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is in the range of 40-50, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch ON the pump of the air cooler 108 for a predetermined time and then switch OFF the pump 106 for a predetermined time and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at medium speed. The cycle of switching ON of the pump 106 for a predetermined time and then switching OFF of the pump 106 for a predetermined time continues till the temperature and percentage relative humidity remains in this range. The predetermined time for which the pump 106 is ON and the predetermined time for which the pump 106 is OFF is not same.
[0046] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 24oC to 30oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is less than 40, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch ON the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at medium speed.
[0047] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 30oC to 34oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is in the range of 40-55, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch ON the pump 106 of the air cooler for a predetermined time and then switch OFF the pump 106 for a predetermined time and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler at high speed. The cycle of switching ON of the pump 106 for a predetermined time and then switching OFF of the pump 106 for a predetermined time continues till the temperature and percentage relative humidity remains in this range. The predetermined time for which the pump 106 is ON and the predetermined time for which the pump 106 is OFF is not same.
[0048] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 30oC to 34oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is greater than 55, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch OFF the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at high speed.
[0049] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 30oC to 34oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is less than 40, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch ON the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at high speed.
[0050] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 34oC to 38oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is in the range of 50-70, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch ON the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 for a predetermined time and then switch OFF the pump 106 for a predetermined time and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at high speed. The cycle of switching ON of the pump 106 for a predetermined time and then switching OFF of the pump 106 for a predetermined time continues till the temperature and percentage relative humidity remains in this range. The predetermined time for which the pump 106 is ON and the predetermined time for which the pump 106 is OFF is not same.
[0051] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 34oC to 38oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is greater than 70, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch OFF the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at high speed.
[0052] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is in the range of 34oC to 38oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is less than 50, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch ON the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at high speed.
[0053] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is greater than 38oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is in the range of 55-80, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch ON the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 for a predetermined time and then switch OFF the pump 106 for a predetermined time and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at high speed. The cycle of switching ON of the pump 106 for a predetermined time and then switching OFF of the pump 106 for a predetermined time continues till the temperature and percentage relative humidity remains in this range. The predetermined time for which the pump 106 is ON and the predetermined time for which the pump 106 is OFF is not same.
[0054] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is greater than 38oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is more than 80, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 105 to switch OFF the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at high speed.
[0055] When the temperature determined by the temperature sensor 102 is greater than 38oC and the percentage relative humidity determined by the percentage relative humidity sensor 101 is less than 60, the microcontroller 104 send signal to the switching circuit 104 to switch ON the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 and operate the fan motor 107 of the air cooler 108 at high speed.
[0056] Referring to figures 2a and 2b illustrating comparison between the plots Time vs % RH plot of regular system and the self-regulating humidity control system 100 of present subject matter. It is clearly evident that with regular system the percentage relative humidity in the surrounding increased linearly, whereas with the help of present self-regulating humidity control system 100 the humidity and temperature in the surrounding is maintained within the comfort zone.
ADVANTAGES
[0057] The proposed self-regulating humidity control system 100 for air cooler 108 maintain temperature and percentage relative humidity in comfort zone. Further, the system dynamically control the output air humidity as per the relative humidity comfort zone. The system 100 stop wastage of water while the air cooler 108 is operating by switching OFF the pump 106 of the air cooler 108 when percentage relative humidity and temperature of the surrounding are within certain ranges as discussed above. The proposed system 100 creates more comfortable environment and cooling. The proposed system 100 can be used independently of geographical location as unlike other air cooler, the system 100 make the air cooler 108 self-sufficient in maintaining the humidity and temperature of the surrounding. Furthermore, the proposed system 100 save electricity by eliminating unnecessary use of pump 106 of the air cooler 108.
[0058] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
[0059] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps or components. The present invention contemplates all of these combinations. Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the invention, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. In addition, while a feature of the present invention may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present invention. The present invention also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of “comprising” or “including” also contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited feature
Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. A self-regulating humidity control system (100) for air cooler (108), the system (100) comprises:
a percentage relative humidity sensor (101) to determine the percentage relative humidity of surrounding through a feedback loop;
a temperature sensor (102) to determine the temperature of surrounding through the feedback loop;
an AC to DC converter (103) to convert the supply of AC voltage to DC voltage;
a micro controller (104) configured to take the determined percentage relative humidity and the temperature values as input and accordingly provide signal to a switching circuit (105) to operate pump (106) and fan motor (107) of the air cooler (108) to maintain temperature and percentage relative humidity.
2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) switches OFF the fan motor (107) and the pump (106) when the temperature is below 20oC and the percentage relative humidity is above 25.
3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) switches OFF the pump (106) and operate fan motor (107) at low speed when the temperature is between 20oC to 22oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 25.
4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) switches OFF the pump (106) and operate fan motor (107) at medium speed when the temperature is between 24oC to 30oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 55.
5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at medium speed and the pump (106) is switched ON and OFF alternatively for a predetermined time when the temperature is between 24oC to 30oC and the percentage relative humidity is between 40-50.
6. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at medium speed and the pump (106) is switched ON when the temperature is between 24oC to 30oC and the percentage relative humidity is less than 40.
7. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at high speed and the pump (106) is switched ON and OFF alternatively for a predetermined time when the temperature is between 30oC to 34oC and the percentage relative humidity is between 40-55.
8. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at high speed and the pump (106) is switched OFF when the temperature is between 30oC to 34oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 55.
9. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at high speed and the pump (106) is switched ON when the temperature is between 30oC to 34oC and the percentage relative humidity is less than 40.
10. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at high speed and the pump (106) is switched ON and OFF alternatively for a predetermined time when the temperature is between 34oC to 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is between 50-70.
11. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at high speed and the pump (106) is switched OFF when the temperature is between 34oC to 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 70.
12. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at high speed and the pump (106) is switched ON when the temperature is between 34oC to 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is less than 50.
13. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at high speed and the pump (108) is switched ON and OFF alternatively for a predetermined time when the temperature is greater than 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is between 55-80.
14. The system (10)0 as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at high speed and the pump (106) is switched OFF when the temperature is greater than 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is greater than 80.
15. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) operates the fan motor (107) at high speed and the pump (106) is switched ON when the temperature is greater than 38oC and the percentage relative humidity is less than 60.
16. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the output provided by the microcontroller (104) is in the form of Pulse Width Modulation,
17. The system (100) as claimed in any one of claims 5, 7, 10 and 13, wherein the predetermined time for switching ON the pump (106) and the predetermined time for switching OFF the pump (106) is not same.