Dehumidifying apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to a general-purpose dehumidifying apparatus in which a housing having a dehumidifying member therein is applied to an object to be dehumidified (an electric light (such as a street lamp, a vehicle lamp, etc.), an outdoor or indoor electronic enclosure (such as power distributing equipment, communication equipment, security equipment, a solar system, etc.), and the like), and the dehumidifying apparatus removes internal moisture through an outer valve that opens and closes an outer communicating part of the housing (by closing the outer valve) in a case where the temperature of the object to be dehumidified is low and discharges the moisture of the dehumidifying member to the outside by opening the outer valve when the temperature in a lamp module rises in a case where the temperature of the object to be dehumidified is high. The dehumidifying apparatus, according to the present invention, comprises: a housing installed in an object to be dehumidified and having inner and outer communicating parts connected to the outside; a dehumidifying member mounted in the housing; and an outer valve that opens and closes the outer communicating part of the housing.

Claims

1. A dehumidifying apparatus comprising: a housing installed in an object to be dehumidified and having an internal communication portion and an external communication portion, the internal communication portion and the external communication portion being connected to an outside of the housing; a dehumidifying member installed in the housing; an outer valve configured to open and close the external communication portion of the housing, and an inner valve configured to open and close the internal communication portion of the housing, wherein the outer valve comprises: an outer opening/closing body displaced by temperature rise of the object to be dehumidified to open the external communication portion; and an outer sealing body arranged between the outer opening/closing body and the external communication portion, the outer opening/closing body closing the external communication portion when the object to be dehumidified is cooled in an open state of the external communication portion, wherein the inner valve comprises: an inner opening/closing body displaced by temperature rise of the object to be dehumidified to close the internal communication portion; and an inner sealing body arranged between the inner opening/closing body and the internal communication portion, the inner opening/closing body opening the internal communication portion when the objet-to-be-dehumidified is cooled in an closed state of the internal communication portion, wherein at least one of the outer opening/closing body and the inner opening/closing body is formed of bimetal, and wherein the object to be dehumidified or the housing further comprises a heater.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a dehumidifying apparatus according to the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates operation of the dehumidifying apparatus according to the present invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating installation of the dehumidifying apparatus according to the present invention in a vehicle lamp.

(4) FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an installation position of the dehumidifying apparatus according to the present invention.

(5) FIG. 5 is a view related to a moisture transfer path of the dehumidifying apparatus according to the present invention.

(6) FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a modification of the dehumidifying apparatus according to the present invention;

(7) TABLE-US-00001 Reference Numerals of Main parts of Drawings A: Dehumidifying apparatus 10: Housing 20: Dehumidifying member 30, 40: Valve 50: Cap 60: Pressure valve

BEST MODE

(8) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(9) The present invention can be modified in various ways, and have various embodiments, and thus aspects (or embodiments) are described in detail in the following description. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

(10) In the drawings, the same reference numerals, and in particular, reference numerals having the same tens and ones digits, reference numerals having the same tens digits, reference numerals having the same ones digits and letters represent members having the same function or similar functions. Unless stated otherwise, the members referred to by the reference numerals in the drawings may be identified as members corresponding to these criteria.

(11) In the drawings, the sizes or thicknesses of the components are exaggerated to be increased (or reduced), or simplified in consideration of convenience of understanding of the components, or are simplified to express the components. However, the scope of protection of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereby.

(12) Terms used in this specification are merely adopted to explain specific implementation examples (aspects) (or embodiments), and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms a, an, and the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless context clearly indicates otherwise. In this specification, the terms include, comprise, and the like are intended to indicate that characteristics, figures, steps, operations, constituents, and components disclosed in the specification or combinations thereof exist. The terms include, comprise, and the like should be understood as not precluding possibility of existence or addition of one or more other characteristics, figures, steps, operations, constituents, components, or combinations thereof.

(13) Unless stated otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art and are not to be construed as ideal or overly formal in meaning unless expressly so-defined in the present application.

(14) In this specification, a detailed description of well-known functions and constituents may be omitted if it is determined that such description can unnecessarily obscure the main points of the present invention.

(15) As shown in FIGS. 2 to 3, a dehumidifying apparatus A according to the present invention is applied to various objects-to-be-dehumidified including outdoor or indoor electronic enclosures such as lights, such as street lamps or vehicle lamps, electronic control distribution boards, communication equipment, security equipment, and photovoltaic systems. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate specific examples of applications in which the dehumidifying apparatus is mounted on a vehicle lamp, particularly a head lamp, to perform the dehumidification function. However, the range of objects-to-be-dehumidified, to which the dehumidifying apparatus of the present invention is applied, is not limited due to the illustrative embodiments. The specific examples are merely provided to provide further understanding of the concept of the present invention.

(16) FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle lamp module L. FIG. 3[A] is a schematic front perspective view in which a light-transmitting cover L3 is omitted, and FIG. 3[B] is a rear perspective view of the lamp module.

(17) The vehicle lamp module L includes a base L1, a lamp L2 provided on the base, and a light-transmitting cover L3 coupled to the front surface of the base.

(18) While the dehumidifying apparatus A according to the present invention is illustrated as being arranged on the rear side of the base L1, particularly near the lamp L2 so as not to deteriorate the outer appearance of the vehicle lamp module, it may be installed at various positions in the lamp module when necessary.

(19) As can be seen from FIGS. 3[A] and 3[B] and the cross-sectional view inside the circle of a dashed dotted line on the right side of FIG. 3[B], the vehicle lamp module L has a ventilation structure to relieve pressure of internal air that expands along with increase in internal temperature when the lamp is turned on.

(20) That is, when necessary, a U-shaped ventilation tube (one set of vents) that is connected to a ventilation hole Lh formed in the lamp module base L1 and is bent downward to prevent infiltration of external water may be provided.

(21) In order to allow only internal air and external air to pass through the ventilation tube and further prevent infiltration of water or moisture, the base L1 of the lamp module is surrounded by a flange to form a recess Lr around the ventilation tube 70.

(22) The dehumidifying apparatus A of the present invention installed in the vehicle lamp module L, particularly on the base L1, includes a housing 10, a dehumidifying member 20 provided in the housing 10, and an outer valve 30. The dehumidifying apparatus A further includes an inner valve 40.

(23) In the present specification and the accompanying claims, terms inside, outside, inner, outer and the like refer to the dehumidification space of an object-to-be-dehumidified surrounded by a case or a housing (specifically, the terms are used to indicate whether or not the corresponding element is in the space between the light-transmitting cover L3 and the base L1 of the vehicle lamp module L).

(24) To dehumidify the space between the light-transmitting cover L3 and the base L1 of the vehicle lamp module L, the housing 10 of the dehumidifying apparatus A is provided with an internal communication portion connected to the vehicle lamp module, namely, the space, and an external communication portion connected to the outside (in particular, the rear outer side of the base L1).

(25) As can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4, in the dehumidifying apparatus A according to the present invention, a relatively large portion of the housing 10 is arranged in an object-to-be-dehumidified, specifically an electronic enclosure, more specifically, the lamp module L, and only the external communication portion, particularly an outer cap 50, is exposed to the outside.

(26) However, the housing may have various arrangements in consideration of appearance and dehumidifying function of the vehicle lamp module.

(27) The dehumidifying member 20 may employ silica gel or various other known dehumidifying agents, and may be selected in consideration of productivity, ease of assembly, price competitiveness, etc. The dehumidifying member may be installed in a breathable cover or the like to have a shape such as a cylinder.

(28) Next, the outer valve opens and closes the external communication portion of the housing 10 with the built-in dehumidifying member 20 placed therein.

(29) When the lamp is turned off, the outer valve closes the external communication portion of the housing to allow the dehumidifying member 20 to absorb moisture in the lamp module.

(30) When the temperature of the object-to-be-dehumidified rises (when the temperature of the object-to-be-dehumidified rises due to a temperature-raising factor in the object-to-be-dehumidified, a heater operates in the case where the object-to-be-dehumidified or the housing is further provided with the heater, or the vehicle lamp is turned on), the outer valve is preferably opened such that the absorbed moisture is dissipated, removed and generated through the external communication portion according to temperature rise in the open lamp.

(31) In addition, when an inner valve for opening and closing the internal communication portion is provided, it is operatively connected with the outer valve.

(32) When the object-to-be-dehumidified is cooled (when the temperature is lowered by a temperature-lowering factor in the object-to-be-dehumidified, the heater does not operate in the case where the object-to-be-dehumidified or the housing is further provided with the heater, or the vehicle lamp is turned off), the inner valve opens the internal communication portion of the housing to allow the dehumidification member to remove moisture from the lamp module.

(33) When the temperature of the object-to-be-dehumidified increases (when the lamp is turned on), the inner valve is closed to prevent the moisture vaporized from the dehumidifying member from flowing back into the object-to-be-dehumidified (e.g., the lamp module).

(34) In addition, the normally open vent such as the ventilation hole Lh of the lamp module base L1 or the ventilation tube 70 may be omitted.

(35) As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 4, a pressure valve 60 may be separately introduced and configured to be opened by pressure due to expansion of air or through pressure sensing or temperature sensing in order to relieve the pressure due to expansion of air along with increase in internal temperature when the vehicle lamp is turned on. The pressure valve may also be introduced into objects-to-be-dehumidified, such as various electronic enclosures.

(36) The pressure valve 60 may be made of rubber or other synthetic resin materials and be provided with a radial cutout portion that is deformed by the expanding air to be opened and is returned to the original position to be closed (and to prevent inflow of external air and introduction of foreign substances such as moisture) when the pressure is relieved, as seen in the enlarged view of a dashed dotted line on the upper side of FIG. 3[B].

(37) If necessary, the pressure valve may be introduced into the ventilation hole Lh or the ventilation tube 70 to improve the ventilation structure so as not to be opened at all times.

(38) As described above, the dehumidifying apparatus A according to the present invention is basically applied to an object-to-be-dehumidified (e.g., an electronic enclosure such as a vehicle lamp) of a semi-enclosed structure (a structure that is opened only when pressure increases in the lamp) into which a pressure valve is introduced. When necessary, various modified models may be applied to the object-to-be-dehumidified of a constant external air communication structure.

(39) As can be seen from FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the outer opening/closing body 31 of the outer valve 30 or the inner opening/closing body 41 of the inner valve 40, or both may be formed of bimetal, and thus may be deformed by temperature change when the temperature of the object-to-be-dehumidified increases (e.g., when the lamp is turned on), such that moisture absorption and moisture discharge function of the dehumidifying member 20 can be smoothly realized.

(40) The bimetal utilizes the property of bending according to temperature.

(41) The bimetal is formed by bonding a metal plate, such as an alloy plate of nickel (Ni) and iron (Fe), which hardly expands, and a metal plate of an alloy of nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe), an alloy of nickel (Ni), molybdenum (Mo) and iron (Fe), or an alloy of nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn) and copper (Cu), which expands easily.

(42) In FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the inner and outer opening/closing bodies 41 and 31 employ bimetal having a dome-type structure.

(43) The dehumidifying apparatus A according to the present invention has a flange 11 at the outer end of the housing 10 for ensuring ease of assembly and has a mounting projection 13 at one side of the flange for introducing the pressure valve 60.

(44) When the assembled dehumidifying apparatus A is inserted into the installation hole of the object-to-be-dehumidified, namely, the base L1 of the vehicle lamp module L, the flange 11 of the housing is engaged with the base.

(45) Then, a screw, an adhesive or the like may be used to fix the dehumidifying apparatus. Alternatively, various other means such as a hook coupling structure, a bolt coupling structure (forming a male screw on the outer circumferential surface of the housing inside the flange 11 and coupling the male screw with a large-diameter nut on the inside of the lamp module L to fix the periphery of the installation hole of the base between the nut and the flange) may be used.

(46) The dehumidifying apparatus A according to the present invention includes a cap 50 on both sides of the internal and external communication portions of the housing to ensure ease of assembly of the outer opening/closing body 31 of the outer valve 30 or the inner opening/closing body 41 of the inner valve 40 that is formed as a bimetal dome type valve.

(47) The cap 50 includes an inner body 51 and an outer body 53 for fixing the dehumidifying member 20 provided in the housing.

(48) The inner and outer bodies 51 and 53 have ventilation holes 51a and 53a to provide a communication structure that allows the dehumidifying member 20 to absorb the moisture inside the lamp and discharges the absorbed moisture to the outside so as to regenerate the dehumidifying member 20.

(49) A deformation space 50s for the inner and outer opening/closing bodies 41 and 31 formed of bimetal is provided between the inner and outer bodies 51 and 53 of the cap 50.

(50) The inner and outer bodies 51 and 53 are coupled to each other through a fastening portion 51b (in the form of a fastening hole) and a corresponding fastening portions 53b (in the form of a hook).

(51) The inner body 51 and the housing 10 may be coupled by a screw or the like, or may be coupled through various other coupling structures.

(52) Further, when the inner and outer opening/closing bodies 41 and 31 of the inner and outer valves 40 and 30 change according to change in temperature of the object-to-be-dehumidified (i.e., turning on/off of the lamp), the internal and external communication portions are closed.

(53) FIG. 2 illustrates operation of the dehumidifying apparatus.

(54) That is, FIG. 2[A] illustrates that, when the object-to-be-dehumidified is cooled, namely, when the lamp L2 is turned off, only the opening/closing body 31 of the outer valve 30 closes the external communication portion.

(55) FIG. 2[B] illustrates that, when the temperature of the object-to-be-dehumidified increases, namely, when the lamp L2 is turned on, only the opening/closing body 41 of the inner valve 40 closes the internal communication portion.

(56) The following can be seen from the figures.

(57) In order to secure complete closing of the communication portion, a sealing body 43, 33 is preferably provided between the inner or outer opening/closing body 41, for opening and closing the internal or external communication portion and the internal or external communication portion, in particular, on the inner body 51 of the cap 50. These inner and outer sealing bodies 43 and 33 may be typical packing rings having cushioning properties.

(58) The inner body 51 of the cap 50 is provided with a ventilation slit 50h (see FIGS. 1 and 5) (FIG. 5[A] is a side view and FIG. 5[B] is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C of FIG. 5[A]). Thus, when the object-to-be-dehumidified is cooled (i.e., the lamp is turned off), air containing moisture in the object-to-be-dehumidified (i.e., the lamp module) flows into the dehumidifying member 20 through the ventilation hole 51a of the inner body 51. The moisture collected by the dehumidifying member is discharged to the outside when the temperature of the object-to-be-dehumidified increases (the lamp is turned on or the heater is operated).

(59) FIG. 6 shows a dehumidifying apparatus A according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6[A] shows inner and outer opening/closing bodies 41m and 31m having a flat plate shape in place of the inner and outer opening/closing bodies 41 and 31 formed of dome-type bimetal.

(60) The inner opening/closing body 41m is fixedly mounted on the lower portion of the housing to open the internal communication portion (indicated by a dotted line) during cooling of the object-to-be-dehumidified (when the lamp is turned off), and to close the internal communication portion when the temperature of the object-to-be-dehumidified increases (when the lamp is turned on).

(61) On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 6[B], inner and outer opening/closing bodies 41M and 31M of the inner and outer valves 40M and 30M using a separate electric valve displacement means (e.g., a motor) are provided. Specifically, the valve displacement means may be an actuator 41A, 31A.

(62) In FIG. 6[B], the actuator for the inner and outer opening/closing bodies 41M, 31M preferably includes one motor used for two opening/closing bodies in common and a rectilinear motion connection shaft.

(63) The inner opening/closing body 41M opens the internal communication portion (indicated by a solid line) during cooling of the object-to-be-dehumidified (when the lamp is turned off), and closes the internal communication portion (indicated by a dotted line) when the object-to-be-dehumidified is heated (when the lamp is turned on).

(64) The outer opening/closing body 31M closes the external communication portion (indicated by a solid line) during cooling of the object-to-be-dehumidified (when the lamp is turned off), and opens the external communication portion (indicated by a dotted line) when the object-to-be-dehumidified is heated (when the lamp is turned on).

(65) In addition, as shown in FIG. 6[B], the present invention may be configured to dry and regenerate the dehumidifying member through a heater H separately provided in an object-to-be-dehumidified or the housing rather than discharging moisture absorbed by the dehumidifying member when the object-to-be-dehumidified is heated, for example, when the lamp is turned on.

(66) This heater may be arranged in the object-to-be-dehumidified, i.e., arranged on the base L1 of the lamp module L while being separated from the dehumidifying apparatus A, or may be arranged in contact with the housing 10 of the dehumidifying apparatus. Alternatively, various flexible heaters or heating wires may be used to provide a heater on the outer circumferential surface of the housing of the dehumidifying apparatus or in the housing.

(67) If necessary, the heater may be operated at constant time intervals, or may be operated upon satisfaction of a specified input condition (such as humidity or temperature sensing). Preferably, the heater is operated for a sufficient time to dry the dehumidifying member.

(68) In the above description, well-known techniques related to the specifications and type of the dehumidifying member, the specific size of the dehumidifying apparatus (for example, the dehumidifying apparatus may be designed to have an outer diameter 12 to 20 pi () and a length of about mm for mass production) and the specification of the vehicle lamp, and the like are omitted, but a person skilled in the art can easily guess, deduce, and reproduce the same.

(69) While a dehumidifying apparatus having a specific shape and structure according to the present invention has been mainly described with reference to the drawings, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications, variations and substitutions of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.