Gas and liquid contact apparatus – Contact devices – Porous mass
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-25
2003-12-30
Bushey, C. Scott (Department: 1724)
Gas and liquid contact apparatus
Contact devices
Porous mass
C261S104000, C096S008000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06669177
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a humidifying module provided with a housing having a bundle of water permeable hollow fiber membranes installed therein. More specifically, the present invention relates to a humidifying module having an inner flow passage through which a fluid passes.
2. Prior Art
The humidifier
100
disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publication H07-71795 is an example of a humidifier which uses a conventional water permeable hollow fiber membrane. As shown in
FIG. 9
, the humidifier
100
has a housing
101
with a cylindrical shape that is provided with an inlet
102
and an outlet
103
for loading and discharging dry air provided therethrough, respectively. A hollow fiber membrane bundle
104
includes a plurality of hollow fiber membranes, for example only, 5000, and is installed within the housing
101
.
Fixing parts
105
and
105
′, respectively, are provided at both ends of the housing
101
to support the ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle
104
without closing the hollow passages within the fiber membranes. The fixing parts
105
and
105
′ are capped with a head cover
108
and
109
, respectively. An inlet
106
for loading humid air therein is formed on the head cover
108
. An outlet
107
for discharging the humid air, from which moisture contained therein is separated and eliminated, is formed on the head cover
109
.
Humid air loaded through the inlet
106
is passed through the inside of each hollow fiber membrane of the hollow fiber membrane bundle
104
. At this time, moisture within the humid air is separated by a capillary condensation phenomenon, and the moisture is then moved to the outer surface of each hollow fiber membrane via capillary action. The humid air from which the moisture is separated is then discharged through the outlet
107
.
Dry air (i.e., a low humid gas) is loaded through an inlet
102
and passes through the outer surface of each hollow fiber membrane of the hollow fiber membrane bundle
104
. As a result, the dry air is humidified by the moisture separated from the humid air described above. The humidified dry air is then discharged through the outlet
103
.
Another humidifier
200
, as shown in
FIG.10
, is known as “an inner pipe type”. The humidifier
200
includes a plumbing
206
having a barrier which serves as an inner flow passage for loading the humid air into the hollow fiber membranes bundle
204
. The plumbing
206
is inserted into the hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
and along a longitudinal axis of the hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
.
The hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
, which includes a plurality of individual hollow fiber membranes, for example only,
6000
, is installed within a housing
201
. Fixing parts
205
and
205
′, respectively, are provided at both ends of the housing
201
to support the ends of the hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
without closing the hollow passages within the fiber membranes.
Head covers
208
and
209
are provided on the fixing parts
205
and
205
′, respectively. An inlet
202
for loading dry air therein is formed on the head cover
209
. An outlet
203
for discharging dry air therefrom is formed on the head cover
208
.
The plumbing
206
, which loads humid air into the hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
by passing the humid air through the through holes
206
out, penetrates the head cover
208
.
The plumbing
206
passes through both the head cover
208
and the fixing part
205
from the outside, and a tip of the plumbing extends to be within the hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
. A total length measured from an inlet
206
a
to an outlet
206
out of the plumbing
206
is established to be shorter than the total length, taken in a direction along the longitudinal axis of the hollow fiber membrane.
An outlet
207
for discharging the humid air, from which moisture contained therein is separated and eliminated by the hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
, is formed on the housing
201
next to the head cover
209
.
Humid air reaches the through holes
206
out by passing through the interior of the plumbing
206
via the inlet
206
a
. The humid air then streams along the exterior surface of each hollow fiber membrane of the hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
.
At that time, moisture within the humid air is separated by a capillary condensation phenomenon, and the moisture then passes through the outer surface and into the hollow fiber membrane. The humid air is then discharged via the outlet
207
.
Dry air (i.e., a low humid gas) is loaded through the inlet
202
, and passes through the interior of each hollow fiber membrane of the hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
. As a result, the dry air is humidified by the moisture separated from the humid air. The dry air is then discharged through the outlet
203
.
When the above described conventional humidifier
200
is used in a fuel cell to humidify anode and cathode gasses, several drawbacks must be dealt with. Several of the drawbacks are due to the differences in the shape of a barrier bf at the bottom part
206
b
of the plumbing
206
or the location of the bottom part
206
b.
Since the exhaust gas (i.e., off-gas) is discharged from a fuel cell containing steam and condensed water, the following drawbacks have been known to occur.
For example, if there is condensed water remaining at the end portion
206
b
of the plumbing
206
and the water freezes therein due to a low temperature, the plumbing
206
tends to fracture because of the stress caused by volume expansion at the time of freezing.
Additionally, when there is an excessive change of power output from the fuel cell, the time required for attaining the required humidification levels takes too long due to the remaining water at the end portion
206
b
of the plumbing
206
or because of the time lag for loading the steam into the hollow fiber membrane bundle
204
. As a result, operational efficiency greatly decreases.
Moreover, if the water remaining at the end portion
206
b
of the plumbing
206
is cooled during a period of non-use, such as night term, of the fuel cell, the humidification performance at startup of the humidifier
200
greatly decreases because the high humid gas discharged from the fuel cell is cooled by the cold remaining water. Thus, output or startup efficiency of the fuel cell greatly decreases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to overcome the above-described drawbacks in the industry by providing a humidifying module having a water permeable hollow fiber membrane, wherein an inner flow passage having an end wall is inserted along a longitudinal axis thereof. More particularly, the present invention provides a humidifying module which has improved output and startup efficiency, and prevents water from remaining therein, even if a fluid with steam and condensed water reaches the inner flow passage.
The humidifying module includes a plurality of hollow fiber membranes grouped together to form a hollow fiber membrane bundle, wherein a moisture exchange is performed across a thickness of each hollow fiber membrane between fluid streaming within an interior of each hollow fiber membrane and along an exterior of each hollow fiber membrane. An inner flow passage is inserted within the hollow fiber membrane bundle and along a longitudinal axis of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. A total longitudinal length into which the inner flow passage is inserted within the hollow fiber membrane bundle is shorter than a longitudinal length of the hollow fiber membrane bundle. The inner flow passage includes an inlet and an outlet through which the fluid passes, and an end wall located near the outlet. A protrusion is disposed at the end wall and is opposite to the flow direction of the fluid streaming within the inner flow passage. The present invention provides several advantages.
For example, in the inner flow passage, the inner cross-sectional area gradually decreases in a direction from a tip of the protrusion towa
Katagiri Toshikatsu
Kusano Yoshio
Shimanuki Hiroshi
Suzuki Motohiro
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Bushey C. Scott
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
LandOfFree
Humidifying module does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Humidifying module, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Humidifying module will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3183053