JPH0546239B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a clothes dryer for drying objects to be dried such as clothes.

Structure of the conventional example and its problems A large number of bacteria adhere to worn clothing, and according to literature, 12 types of bacteria have been detected, including enterobacteria such as Escherichia coli, Shigella, Salmonella typhi, and diphtheria. Pathogenic bacteria such as bacteria are attached. It has been reported that 70% of the bacteria on clothing can be removed by washing, but the remaining 30% cannot be removed even if the clothes are washed more frequently.

In recent years, clothes dryers have been used from the viewpoint of saving labor and time. Such clothes dryers generally use a heater to heat drying air and blow the hot air into a rotating drum that houses clothes to dry them. In such clothes dryers, the temperature of the clothes in the drum is around 50℃, and as mentioned above, it is not possible to sterilize bacteria attached to the clothes. It has become inferior in comparison.

Recently, it has been considered to sterilize clothing by installing an ultraviolet lamp inside the drum that emits ultraviolet rays. There are problems such as discoloration and a decrease in drying efficiency due to the power consumption of the ultraviolet lamp.

Furthermore, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1353/1973 discloses that an ultraviolet lamp is turned on after the air blowing is stopped and the heater is turned off. However, since the ultraviolet lamp is turned on after the heater is turned off, the temperature drops rapidly and the temperature rises. There have been problems in that the sterilization effect cannot be expected, and that it takes a long time to stop drying because it is turned on after drying is completed.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves these problems and provides a clothes dryer that can stably obtain a necessary and sufficient sterilizing effect and has little effect on clothes.

Composition of the Invention In order to achieve this object, the clothes dryer of the present invention includes a drum rotatably supported within the main body of the clothes dryer, a blower for introducing drying air into the drum, and a drying device for drying items to be dried. a heater for driving the drum, a motor for driving the drum and the blower, an ultraviolet radiation lamp provided on the drum, and an ultraviolet radiation lamp that is not energized during the lapse rate drying period in which the temperature inside the drum rapidly increases in the latter half of the drying process. The clothes dryer is equipped with a detection device that detects UV rays, and is effectively It can perform effective sterilization.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, 1 is the main body of the clothes dryer, 2 is a drum that is rotatably driven and driven by a motor 3 via a drum belt 4, and 5 is a clothes input device provided in the front of 1 of the main body. The opening door 6 is a heater for heating the drying air sent into the drum 2. Reference numeral 7 denotes a heat exchange fan provided on the back surface of the main body 1, which is capable of blowing drying air and cooling air as well as exchanging heat. The heat exchange fan 7 is driven by the motor 3 via a fan belt 8. 9 is a casing of a heat exchange fan, and 10 is a filter installed on the rear surface of the drum 2 to remove lint and the like. 11,
Reference numerals 12 denote cooling air intake and exhaust ports provided on the back plate 13, respectively. Reference numeral 14 denotes a circulating air cylinder, which functions as a ventilation path that communicates the casing 9 and the heater 6, and forms a drying air path with the drum 2 and the heat exchange fan 7. Reference numeral 15 denotes an outlet for draining water that has been dehumidified from the drying air through heat exchange in the heat exchange fan 7. Cooling air is taken in through the intake port 11, passed through the heat exchange fan 7, and exhausted from the exhaust port 12, forming a cooling air path. 16
1 is a temperature detector consisting of a thermistor that detects the temperature of the drying air inside the drum 2, and 17 is an ultraviolet radiation lamp.

Regarding the clothes dryer configured as above,
The operation will be explained below. When the power is turned on, the motor 3 rotates and the drum 2 containing clothes is rotated.
is driven, the heat exchange fan 7 is rotated, and the heater 6 is energized. The moisture in the clothes is evaporated by the drying air heated by the heater 6, and the drying air, which has become high temperature and high humidity, is absorbed by the heat exchange fan 7, and at the same time, the cooling air is heat exchanged from the intake port 11. Air is taken in to the opposite side of the fan 7, and heat exchange takes place. At this time, the drying air is cooled, condensation occurs, and the condensed water flows through the drain port 15.
It is discharged to the outside of the main body 1. The air dehumidified by condensation is sent to the heater 6 through the circulating air cylinder 14, heated again, and guided into the drum 2.
The drying air is circulated. On the other hand, the cooling air is heat exchanged and heated by the heat exchange fan 7, and then
2 is exhausted outside the aircraft.

In the latter half of the drying process, as shown in Figure 2, the temperature inside the drum rapidly rises from about 50°C to about 60°C. Therefore, the temperature detector 16 detects this point and the ultraviolet radiation lamp 17 is energized. In general, bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus are killed at about 60°C, but this requires keeping them at that temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes, and bacteria cannot be killed within this late period of the drying process. Therefore, if the ultraviolet radiation lamp 17 is energized in the latter half of the drying process when the temperature is high and the humidity is relatively low, sterilization can be accomplished in a very short time due to the synergistic effect of the ultraviolet rays and high temperature.

In particular, since ultraviolet radiation lamps are used in a high humidity environment such as inside the drum of a dryer, the use time can be shortened by choosing the timing of use appropriately, which has the following extremely practical effects. You can expect it. That is, the ultraviolet radiation lamp 17
In addition to extending the lifespan of clothes, it is possible to minimize the discoloration of clothes due to the bleaching effect of ultraviolet rays, and furthermore, the power consumption of ultraviolet radiation lamps can be reduced and the drying effect is improved. In addition, since the ultraviolet radiation lamp 17 is energized while the drum is rotating, the clothes are uniformly irradiated with ultraviolet rays, allowing effective sterilization.

In addition, in the above example, the temperature inside the drum was detected by the temperature sensor 16 at the latter stage of the drying process, and the temperature rose rapidly, but the resistance value of the clothing was measured using a pair of electrodes, and the value was It may be set to the time when the value increases rapidly, or the ultraviolet radiation lamp may be energized simply by interlocking a timer or the like.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention is composed of a drum, a blower, a heater, and an ultraviolet radiation lamp provided on the drum.The ultraviolet radiation lamp is energized in the latter stage of the drying process, and the synergy between ultraviolet rays and high temperature and high humidity is achieved. effect,
Also, by energizing the ultraviolet radiation lamp while the drum is rotating, the clothes are uniformly irradiated with ultraviolet rays, which effectively sterilizes the clothes in a short time, minimizes discoloration of the clothes, and extends the life of the ultraviolet radiation lamp. The practical effects are great.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a characteristic diagram showing changes in drum internal temperature. 2...Drum, 3...Motor, 6...Heater,
7...Heat exchange fan, 16...Temperature detector, 17
...Ultraviolet radiation lamp.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A drum rotatably supported within the main body of a clothes dryer, a blower that guides drying air into the drum, a heater for drying drying items, a motor that drives the drum and the blower, and the drum. What is claimed is: 1. A clothes dryer comprising: an ultraviolet radiation lamp installed in the drum; and a detection device that energizes the ultraviolet radiation lamp during a lapse rate drying period in which the temperature inside the drum rapidly increases in the latter half of the drying process.