APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS STORAGE

• Main Author: KWON, O YOUNG
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; Korean
• Published: 19.09.2016
• Subjects: AGRICULTURE; AIR-CONDITIONING, AIR-HUMIDIFICATION, VENTILATION, USE OF AIRCURRENTS FOR SCREENING; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; BLASTING; CHEMICAL RIPENING OF FRUIT OR VEGETABLES; DEVICES FOR STORING AGRICULTURAL OR HORTICULTURAL PRODUCE; FISHING; FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; FORESTRY; HAY OR STRAW PRESSES; HEATING; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HUNTING; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; PRESERVING, e.g. BY CANNING, MEAT, FISH, EGGS, FRUIT,VEGETABLES, EDIBLE SEEDS; PROCESSING OF HARVESTED PRODUCE; RANGES; THE PRESERVED, RIPENED, OR CANNED PRODUCTS; THEIR TREATMENT, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES; TRAPPING; VENTILATING; WEAPONS

A humidity control apparatus for an agricultural product storage warehouse includes: an evaporator divided into multiple regions and lowering an internal temperature of the storage warehouse; expansion valves and opening and closing valves connected to the respective regions of the evaporator; a cooling unit having a condenser and a compressor for sending a gas refrigerant to the condenser connected to the evaporator via the expansion valves and the opening and closing valves; and a control unit controlling a difference between the internal temperature and the evaporation temperature by selectively opening and closing the expansion valves and the opening and closing valves and controlling a heating surface area of the evaporator in order to control a relative humidity in accordance with a moisture content of an agricultural product stored in the storage warehouse. Accordingly, the relative humidity can be easily controlled depending on the agricultural product stored in the agricultural product storage warehouse. 농산물 저장고의 습도 조절 장치는 다수의 영역들로 구분되며, 저장고의 내부 온도를 낮추기 위한 증발기, 상기 증발기의 영역들과 각각 연결되는 팽창 밸브들과 개폐밸브들, 상기 팽창 밸브들과 개폐밸브들을 통해 상기 증발기와 연결되는 응축기 및 상기 응축기에 기체 냉매를 보내기 위한 압축기를 포함하는 냉각 유닛 및 상기 저장고에 저장된 농산물의 함수율에 따라 상대 습도를 조절하기 위해 상기 팽창 밸브들과 개폐밸브들을 선택적으로 개폐하여 상기 증발기의 전열면적을 조절함으로써 상기 증발 온도와 상기 내부 온도와의 차를 제어하는 제어 유닛을 포함할 수 있다. 따라서, 상기 농산물 저장고에 저장되는 농산물에 따라 상기 상대 습도를 용이하게 조절할 수 있다.