CN112941856A

CN112941856A - Clothes dryer

Info

Publication number: CN112941856A
Application number: CN202010668391.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 田中俊行; 温召航; 本村隆行
Original assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Current assignee: Toshiba Lifestyle Products and Services Corp
Priority date: 2019-12-10
Filing date: 2020-07-13
Publication date: 2021-06-11
Also published as: JP2021090610A; JP7457492B2

Abstract

In the structure provided with the heat pump, even if the dry air volume is increased, the water drop in the drain tank can be prevented from rising. The clothes dryer of the embodiment is provided with a heat pump, and is provided with: a drain tank arranged below the evaporator and the condenser, and having a container shape with an opening on the upper surface for collecting water; and a cover provided on an upper surface of the drain tank and having a water passage hole through which water falling from the evaporator flows down into the drain tank, wherein a tank rib is provided in the drain tank to partition a lower portion of the evaporator and a lower portion of the condenser from front to back, a cover rib is provided in the cover to stand between the evaporator and the condenser, and a blocking member is provided to block a gap between an upper end portion of a rear portion of the drain tank and a lower end portion of the rear portion of the condenser.

Description

Clothes dryer

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to laundry dryers.

Background

Conventionally, a drum type washing and drying machine using a heat pump is known as a clothes drying machine (see, for example, patent document 1). The heat pump is configured by connecting a compressor, a condenser, a throttle device, and an evaporator in this order by refrigerant piping to form a closed loop, wherein the evaporator and the condenser are disposed in this order in a heat pump duct among ducts constituting a circulation air passage. Accordingly, the moist air discharged from the drum passes through the evaporator to be dehumidified, then passes through the condenser to be heated, and is supplied into the drum again as high-temperature dry air.

In this case, since the evaporator dehumidifies by heat exchange, condensation occurs on the surface due to condensation of water vapor, and water drops are generated and fall downward. Conventionally, a drain tank for receiving the dropping water is provided below the evaporator and the condenser to store the dropping water, and a drain pump is driven at an appropriate timing to discharge the dropping water to the outside of the machine.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2014-150997

However, in the washing and drying machine using such a heat pump, it is expected that the drying capacity is improved by increasing the drying air volume of the cycle, and the drying time is shortened. However, if the drying time is shortened by increasing the air volume in this way, the amount of dripping water generated per unit time increases, the amount of water accumulated in the drain tank increases, and the air speed increases. Therefore, the following problems may occur: the drip accumulated in the drain tank is easily blown up by the wind blowing into the drain tank, and flows in the circulating wind path by the wind, and adheres to the laundry in the drum.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a clothes dryer, which can restrain the water drop in a drain tank from raising even if the drying air quantity is increased in a structure with a heat pump.

The clothes dryer of the embodiment comprises: a drying chamber for accommodating clothes; a circulation air passage provided so that an exhaust port through which air is discharged from the drying chamber and an air supply port through which air is blown into the drying chamber communicate with each other outside the drying chamber; a blower device for circulating the air in the drying chamber through the circulation air duct; a heat pump including a compressor, and an evaporator and a condenser arranged in the circulation air path in this order from the front side, which is the upwind; a drain tank arranged below the evaporator and the condenser, having a container shape with an opening on the upper surface, for accumulating water; and a cover provided on an upper surface of the drain tank and having a water passage hole through which water falling from the evaporator flows down into the drain tank, wherein a tank rib is provided in the drain tank to partition a lower portion of the evaporator and a lower portion of the condenser from front to back, the cover is provided with a cover rib standing between the evaporator and the condenser, and a blocking member is provided to block a gap between a rear upper end portion of the drain tank and a rear lower end portion of the condenser.

Effects of the invention

According to the clothes dryer, even if the drying air volume is increased in the structure provided with the heat pump, the effect of suppressing the water drop in the drain tank from rising can be obtained.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal right side view schematically showing an internal structure of a washing and drying machine according to embodiment 1.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cut rear view schematically showing an internal structure of the washing and drying machine including a heat pump.

Fig. 3 is a schematic longitudinal cut-away front view of a heat pump pipe section.

Fig. 4 shows embodiment 2, which is a schematic longitudinal cut front view of a heat pump pipe portion.

Fig. 5 shows embodiment 3, which is a schematic longitudinal cut front view of a heat pump pipe portion.

Fig. 6 shows embodiment 4, which is a schematic longitudinal cut front view of a heat pump pipe portion.

Fig. 7 shows embodiment 5, which is a schematic longitudinal cut front view of a heat pump pipe portion.

Description of reference numerals

In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a washing and drying machine (clothes dryer), 2 denotes an outer box, 3 denotes a water tank (drying chamber), 4 denotes a drum, 15 denotes a heat pump, 16 denotes a blower fan (blower), 17 denotes an exhaust port, 18 denotes an air supply port, 20 denotes a circulation air path, 21 denotes an upper exhaust duct, 22 denotes a rear exhaust duct, 23, 41, and 51 denote evaporator inlet ducts, 24 denotes a heat pump duct, 25 denotes an air supply duct, 27 and 71 denote evaporators, 28 denotes a condenser, 35, 61, and 72 denote drain tanks, 36, 62, and 73 denote tank ribs, 37 denotes a tank cover, 37a denotes a water passage hole, 38 denotes a cover rib, 39 denotes a blocking member, 40 and 42 denote wind direction plates, and D denotes water drops.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, several embodiments of a drum type washing and drying machine having a heat pump and having both a washing function and a drying function will be described with reference to the drawings. In the embodiments described below, the same reference numerals are given to the common portions, and new drawings and repeated description are omitted.

(1) Embodiment 1

Hereinafter, embodiment 1 will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 3. Fig. 1 and 2 show an overall configuration of a washing and drying machine 1 as a clothes drying machine according to the present embodiment. Here, the outer casing 2 constituting the main body of the washing and drying machine 1 has a substantially rectangular box shape, and a cylindrical water tank 3 serving as a drying chamber is supported in the outer casing 2 in a state inclined rearward and downward via an elastic support mechanism not shown. A cylindrical drum 4 for accommodating laundry as washing is rotatably supported in the water tub 3. The drum 4 is configured to rotate around an inclined shaft extending in the front-rear direction and slightly inclined rearward and downward from the horizontal.

As shown in fig. 1, a large number of holes 4a for water and air flow are formed in the peripheral wall and the rear wall of the drum 4, and a plurality of baffles, not shown, for agitating the laundry are provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the drum 4. Although not shown in detail, a circular opening for taking in and out clothes is provided in the front surface of the drum 4, and an inlet 3a connected to the opening is formed in the front surface of the water tub 3. A door 5 for opening and closing the inlet 3a is provided on the front surface of the outer box 2. An operation panel 6 is provided on the upper portion of the front surface of the outer box 2. Although not shown in detail, the operation panel 6 is provided with an operation unit for performing various settings and the like, and a display unit for performing necessary display.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, a drum motor 8, which is a drive mechanism and is constituted by, for example, an outer rotor type brushless motor, is disposed at the rear portion of the water tub 3. As shown in fig. 1, the front end of the rotary shaft of the drum motor 8 penetrates the rear surface of the water tub 3, protrudes into the water tub 3, and is coupled and fixed to the rear center portion of the drum 4. With this configuration, the drum 4 is directly rotationally driven by the drum motor 8. In this case, the drum 4 continuously rotates in the normal rotation direction, i.e., the clockwise direction when viewed from the front, in the dehydration stroke. In the washing stroke, the rinsing stroke, the drying stroke, and the like, the drum 4 repeats normal rotation and reverse rotation.

Although not shown in detail, a water supply mechanism for supplying water from tap water as a water supply source into the water tank 3 or the like is provided at an upper portion in the outer box 2. The water supply mechanism includes a water supply valve. On the other hand, as shown in fig. 1, a drain line 12 is connected to a lower portion of the water tank 3, and a drain valve 13 is provided in a middle portion of the drain line 12. When water is supplied into the water tank 3 by the water supply mechanism with the drain valve 13 closed, the water is stored in the water tank 3. At this time, the water level in the water tank 3 is detected by a water level sensor, not shown. When the drain valve 13 is opened, the water stored in the water tank 3 is drained to the outside of the machine through the drain line 12.

As shown in fig. 1, the water tub 3 is provided with an air outlet 17 for discharging air in the drum 4 at a portion on the upper right side of the front portion, and an air inlet 18 for supplying dry air into the drum 4 at a portion on the upper left side of the rear portion. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, hot air supply means 19 for circulating and supplying dry air, that is, hot air into drum 4 to perform a drying operation of clothes is provided inside outer box 2.

The hot air supply mechanism 19 is located outside the water tank 3 and includes a circulation air duct 20. The inlet of the circulation air duct 20 is connected to the exhaust port 17 of the water tank 3, and the outlet of the circulation air duct 20 is connected to the air supply port 18. The hot air supply mechanism 19 includes a heat pump 15 that dehumidifies and heats the circulating air to generate dry air. At the same time, the air blower fan 16 as an air blower is provided to supply the air discharged from the air outlet 17 into the water tub 3 and further into the drum 4 from the air inlet 18 while circulating in the direction of arrow a in the circulation air duct 20.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the circulation air passage 20 includes an upper exhaust duct 21, a rear exhaust duct 22, an evaporator inlet duct 23, a heat pump duct 24, and an air supply duct 25. As shown in fig. 1, the upper exhaust duct 21 is connected at its base end portion to the exhaust port 17, extends rearward from the upper right portion in the outer case 2, and is connected at its tip end portion to the upper end portion of the rear exhaust duct 22. A known lint screen 26 for catching lint from dry air is provided in a middle portion of the upper exhaust duct 21.

As shown in fig. 1, an air discharge opening 9 for discharging air from the upper surface of the main body 2 is provided at an upper portion of the middle portion of the upper air discharge duct 21, at a position rearward of the lint filter 26. At the same time, as shown in fig. 1, an exhaust damper 10 for opening and closing the exhaust opening 9 is provided. The exhaust damper 10 is opened and closed by a drive mechanism such as a motor, not shown. This opens the exhaust damper 10, and a part of the air flowing in the circulation air duct 20 can be discharged from the outer case 2 through the exhaust opening 9.

As shown in fig. 2, the rear exhaust duct 22 extends downward from the rear of the water tank 3, and the front end, i.e., the lower end thereof is connected to the base end side of the evaporator inlet duct 23. The front end side of the evaporator inlet pipe 23 is connected to the right end portion, which is the base end portion of the heat pump pipe 24. The heat pump pipe 24 has a rectangular cross section, and extends rightward and leftward from a rear portion of the bottom in the outer casing 2. A drain tank 35 for receiving the drip water D generated by dehumidification is provided at the bottom of the heat pump duct 24. The structure of the drain tank 35 is described below.

The air blowing fan 16 is provided on the outlet end side (right end side in fig. 2) of the heat pump duct 24. The blower fan 16 is configured to include, for example, a centrifugal fan 33 and a fan motor 34 for driving the centrifugal fan 33 in a fan case 32. A lower end portion, which is a base end portion of the air supply duct 25, is connected to an outlet portion of the fan casing 32. The air supply duct 25 extends upward behind the left water tank 3 in the outer box 2, and its front end, i.e., the upper end, is connected to the air supply port 18. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the evaporator 27 and the condenser 28 constituting the heat pump 15 are disposed in the heat pump line 24 in the order of right and left (left and right in fig. 2).

As shown in fig. 2, the heat pump 15 is configured by connecting a compressor 29, the condenser 28, a throttle valve 30 as a pressure reducing means, and the evaporator 27 in a closed loop shape by refrigerant pipes 31. A required amount of refrigerant is sealed inside the heat pump 15 and circulated through the refrigerant pipe 31. At this time, the condenser 28 functions as a heating unit that heats the drying air, and the evaporator 27 functions as a dehumidifying unit that removes moisture from the drying air. In the present embodiment, the evaporator 27 and the condenser 28 are constituted by, for example, a known so-called fin-tube type heat exchanger in which refrigerant tubes are arranged in a serpentine shape and heat exchange fins are attached, and are configured as a rectangular block shape in which the flow direction of air is slightly thin as a whole.

As shown by the arrow B in fig. 2, the heat pump 15 performs "when the compressor 29 is driven and the gas refrigerant discharged from the compressor 29 flows into the condenser 28, and is condensed by heat exchange in the condenser 28 to become a liquid refrigerant. The liquid refrigerant flowing out of the condenser 28 is expanded by the throttle valve 30 to be in a mist form, and the mist-form refrigerant flows into the evaporator 27. Then, in the evaporator 27, the refrigerant is vaporized by heat exchange with the outside air, and the gas refrigerant is returned to the compressor 29. The refrigerant is further compressed by the compressor 29 to have a high temperature and a high pressure, and discharged. "is repeated.

By driving the air-sending fan 16 simultaneously with the driving of the heat pump 15, the air in the water tub 3, i.e., the drum 4, flows from the air outlet 17 to the heat pump duct 24 through the upper exhaust duct 21, the rear exhaust duct 22, and the evaporator inlet duct 23 in this order, as indicated by the arrow a in fig. 1 and 2. At this time, when the air passes through the upper exhaust duct 21, lint contained in the air, that is, lint, is captured by the lint screen 26 or the like.

The air after passing through the evaporator inlet duct 23 then circulates as follows: the heat pump air flows through the heat pump duct 24, passes through the evaporator 27 and the condenser 28 in this order, flows through the air supply duct 25, passes through the air supply port 18 and the hole 4a, and is supplied into the drum 4. The air having moisture removed from the clothes in the water tank 3, i.e., the drum 4, and containing a large amount of vapor is cooled by passing through the evaporator 27 portion in the heat pump duct 24 by this air circulation, and the vapor is condensed or sublimated to be dehumidified, and the dehumidified air is heated to dry hot air by passing through the condenser 28 portion, and is supplied into the drum 4 again for drying the clothes. Further, condensation occurs on the surface of the evaporator 27 due to condensation of the water vapor, and the generated dripping water D drops and accumulates in the drain tank 35 below. Further, although not shown, a drain pump for discharging the drain D in the drain tank 35 to the outside of the machine through the drain pipe 12 is provided.

As shown in fig. 1, a control device 11, which is composed of a main body, for example, a computer, and performs overall control of the washing and drying machine 1, is provided in the outer casing 2. The controller 11 controls the water supply valve, the drain valve 13, the drum motor 8, the fan motor 34 of the blower fan 16, the compressor 29 and the throttle valve 30 of the heat pump 15, the drain pump, and the like. At this time, although not shown, a plurality of temperature sensors for detecting the temperatures of the respective portions are provided in the respective portions in the circulation air passage 20 and the respective portions of the heat pump 15. Detection signals of these temperature sensors are input to the control device 11.

With the above configuration, the control device 11 controls each mechanism of the washing and drying machine 1 based on the input signal from each sensor and the control program stored in advance according to the operation stroke set by the user using the operation unit, and automatically executes the washing operation and the drying operation including the washing stroke, the rinsing stroke, and the dehydrating stroke. At this time, the control device 11 performs the drying operation by controlling the drive of the compressor 29, the blower fan 16, and the like of the heat pump 15 and driving the drum 4 to rotate, based on the temperatures detected by the temperature sensors.

The structure of the drain tank 35 provided in the heat pump duct 24 will be described with reference to fig. 3. In the following description, when the direction of the heat pump duct 24 is referred to, for convenience, the upwind side (right side in fig. 3) of the drying air flowing in the direction of the arrow a is referred to as the front, and the downwind side (left side in fig. 3) is referred to as the rear. As shown in fig. 3, an evaporator 27 is disposed on the front side of the heat pump pipe 24, and a condenser 28 is disposed in parallel with a slight gap therebetween on the rear side. An air supply fan 16 is provided behind the condenser 28.

As shown in fig. 3, the drain tank 35 is provided below the evaporator 27 and the condenser 28, and is configured in a shallow rectangular container shape having an upper surface opening sized to receive the entire evaporator 27 and the condenser 28. Therefore, the front wall portion of the drain tank 35 is located substantially directly below the front end portion of the evaporator 27, and the rear wall portion of the drain tank 35 is located substantially directly below the rear end portion of the condenser 28.

A thin plate-shaped tank rib 36 is integrally provided at an intermediate portion in the drain tank 35 at a position separating the lower portion of the evaporator 27 and the lower portion of the condenser 28 from each other in the front-rear direction, that is, at a boundary portion between the evaporator 27 and the condenser 28. The tank rib 36 is provided so as to rise upward from the bottom surface to the upper end portion of the drain tank 35, and is not entirely partitioned from the walls on both sides of the drain tank 35 to the walls, but is partially open. Therefore, the drip D can flow through the drain tank 35 on both sides of the tank rib 36. Further, although not shown in detail, the bottom wall portion of the drain tank 35 is inclined downward toward the rear (leftward in the drawing) so as to become deeper toward the rear, and the suction pipe of the drain pump is disposed in the deepest portion thereof.

A cover 37 is provided on an upper surface of the drain tank 35. The cover 37 has a rectangular plate shape having a size that closes the upper surface opening of the drain tank 35 as a whole, and a water passage hole 37a through which the drip water D falling from the evaporator 27 flows into the drain tank 35 is formed. In this case, the water passage hole 37a is provided so as to be opened in a quadrangular shape corresponding to the entire lower portion of the evaporator 27. Then, on the upper surface of the tank cover 37, a cover rib 38 standing between the evaporator and the condenser is integrally provided. The cover rib 38 is provided at a height as high as possible so as not to obstruct the flow of air in the circulation duct 20, for example, at a height of 1 to 2 cm.

Further, a blocking member 39 for blocking a gap S1 between a rear upper end portion of the drain tank 35 and a rear lower end portion of the condenser 28 is provided on an upper surface of a rear edge portion of the tank cover 37. The blocking member 39 has a quadrangular prism shape in cross section, and is provided so as to block the entire upper end portion of the rear side portion of the drain tank 35, and the upper end thereof is in contact with the rear lower end portion of the condenser 28. The blocking member 39 is made of, for example, silicone rubber, has high resistance to corrosion due to water adhesion even in a place where the dripping water D stays, and can be easily attached by a method such as adhesion or welding. Further, although not shown in detail, a plurality of small holes through which the drip D dripping on the upper surface of the cover 37 falls into the drain tank 35 are formed in the cover 37 on the lower portion side of the condenser 28, that is, on the rear side of the cover rib 38.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, a wind direction plate 40 for directing the wind direction at the lower portion of the circulation wind path 20 upward is provided at the inlet portion of the evaporator 27 in the circulation wind path 20. At this time, the evaporator inlet pipe 23 has a pipe shape having a rectangular cross section, and a front end portion, i.e., a left end portion in the drawing, extends obliquely downward from the right direction in the drawing, and is connected to a base end portion, i.e., a right end portion in the drawing, of the heat pump pipe 24. Thus, the front end portion of the evaporator inlet duct 23 is disposed so as to directly face the inlet portion of the evaporator 27.

In the present embodiment, the wind direction plate 40 is integrally provided by forming a portion constituting the bottom portion of the front end portion of the evaporator inlet duct 23 to be higher than the lower end portion of the evaporator 27 by a certain amount (for example, 1 to 2cm) upward. The wind direction plate 40 is provided over the entire width direction of the evaporator inlet duct 23. This structure is configured such that the position where the wind enters the evaporator 27 is higher than the lower end of the evaporator 27 by a predetermined height. At this time, a gap S2 having a dimensional accuracy of, for example, about 1 to 3mm is provided between the front end of the evaporator inlet duct 23 and the evaporator 27.

Next, the action and effect of the above-described configuration will be described. In the washing and drying machine 1, for example, after the washing operation for washing the laundry in the drum 4 is completed, the drying operation is started. In the drying operation, the drum 4 is rotated at a low speed in both forward and reverse directions by driving the drum motor 8, and the compressor 29 is driven to operate the heat pump 15. At the same time, the blower fan 16 is driven. As a result, as shown by arrow a in fig. 1 to 3, the air in the drum 4 circulates from the air outlet 17 through the air circulation duct 20 and returns into the drum 4 through the air supply opening 18.

In this circulation of the drying air, the moist air discharged from the drum 4 passes through the upper exhaust duct 21, the rear exhaust duct 22, and the evaporator inlet duct 23 in this order, enters the heat pump duct 24, passes through the evaporator 27, and is dehumidified. The dehumidified air continues to pass through the condenser 28 and is heated, and the high-temperature dry air is supplied from the air supply port 18 into the drum 4 through the air supply duct 25. At this time, condensation of water vapor is mainly generated on the surface of the evaporator 27, and dew condensation occurs, and the drip D drops downward. As shown in fig. 3, the drip D is accumulated in the drain tank 35 through the water passage hole 37a of the tank cover 37.

Here, it is expected that the drying capacity is improved by increasing the drying air volume in the drying air duct 20 that circulates by increasing the rotational speed of the blower fan 16. However, if the drying time is shortened by increasing the air volume in this way, the amount of dripping water D generated by the evaporator 27 per unit time increases, the amount of dripping water accumulated in the drain tank 35 increases, and the wind speed of the circulating wind increases. Therefore, the water drops D accumulated in the drain tank 35 may be lifted by the wind blowing into the drain tank 35, carried by the wind, flow through the circulation air duct 20, and adhere to the laundry in the drum 4.

However, in the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, the air flow direction plate 40 is provided in the evaporator inlet duct 23, and the position where the wind enters the evaporator 27 is located above the lower end portion of the evaporator 27. This makes it difficult for wind to enter the lower end portion side of the evaporator 27, and suppresses blowing of wind that tends to lift the drip D into the drain tank 35.

Even when wind that tends to lift the drip water D is blown into the drain tank 35, in the present embodiment, the interior of the drain tank 35 is partitioned into a portion on the upwind side, i.e., a lower portion of the evaporator 27, and a portion on the downwind side, i.e., a lower portion of the condenser 28, by the tank rib 36, as shown in fig. 3. Further, a cover rib 38 standing between the evaporator 27 and the condenser 28 is also provided on the cover 37. Therefore, even if the water drops D are blown up by the wind blowing into the front side of the drain tank 35, the water drops D hit the tank rib 36 in the drain tank 35 and are prevented from flowing further toward the condenser 28.

Even if the drip D rises toward the lower portion of the evaporator 27 through the water passage hole 37a of the cover 37, it is prevented from flowing further toward the leeward side, i.e., the condenser 28 side, by the cover rib 38, and the drip D ends at the lower portion of the evaporator 27. Further, even if the water drops D are intended to move directly from the lower portion of the evaporator 27 toward the condenser 28 side while riding on the wind, the tank cover 37 and the cover rib 38 prevent further movement toward the condenser 28 side.

On the other hand, the following is also conceivable: as the air is blown, air is blown to the rear side of the case rib 36 in the drain case 35, and the drip D in the drain case 35 is raised in the circulation air passage 20, that is, in the condenser 28 portion and the leeward side thereof. However, a blocking member 39 is provided between the rear upper end portion of the drain tank 35 and the rear lower end portion of the condenser 28, and the gap S1 between them is blocked. Therefore, the drip water D is prevented from flowing through the gap thereof. In this way, the drip D is prevented from rising into the circulation air passage 20 from either the front side or the rear side of the drain tank 35, and stays in the drain tank 35.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the tank rib 36 is provided in the drain tank 35, the lid rib 38 is provided in the tank lid 37, and the blocking member 39 is provided between the rear upper end portion of the drain tank 35 and the rear lower end portion of the condenser 28. In this way, in the configuration including the heat pump 15, even if the dry air volume is increased, the dripping water D in the water tank 35 can be suppressed from being blown up to the circulation air duct 20. In particular, in the present embodiment, the wind direction plate 40 is provided at the inlet portion of the evaporator 27, and thus the effect of suppressing the rising of the drip water D in the drain tank 35 is further enhanced.

(2) Embodiment 2

Fig. 4 shows embodiment 2, and is different from embodiment 1 in the structure of the wind direction plate 42 provided in the evaporator inlet duct 41 constituting a part of the circulation air passage 20. That is, the evaporator inlet duct 41 has a duct shape having a rectangular cross section, and a distal end portion, i.e., a left end portion in the drawing, extends obliquely downward from a right direction in the drawing, and is connected to a proximal end portion, i.e., a right end portion in the drawing, of the heat pump duct 24. At this time, the lower edge portion of the evaporator inlet duct 41 is butted and connected to the lower edge portion of the heat pump duct 24.

In embodiment 2, a separate wind direction plate 42 for directing the wind upward is attached to the bottom wall portion of the distal end portion of the evaporator inlet duct 41. The wind direction plate 42 is formed in a V-shaped cross section and is provided over the entire width direction of the evaporator inlet duct 41. Thus, the wind direction plate 42 is configured such that the position where wind enters the evaporator 27 is above the lower end of the evaporator 27.

With this configuration, wind hardly enters the lower end portion side of the evaporator 27, and blowing wind that tends to lift the drip D into the drain tank 35 is suppressed. Therefore, according to embodiment 2, the following effects can be obtained: in the configuration including the heat pump 15 as in the above-described embodiment 1, even if the dry air volume is increased, the dripping D in the drain tank 35 can be suppressed from rising, and the effect of suppressing the dripping D in the drain tank 35 from rising can be further improved.

(3) Embodiment 3

Fig. 5 shows embodiment 3, and is different from embodiment 1 in the configuration of an evaporator inlet duct 51 constituting a part of the circulation duct 20. That is, the front end portion (left end portion in the drawing) of the evaporator inlet duct 51 has a duct shape having a rectangular cross section, and extends in the horizontal direction to be connected to the heat pump duct 24. Thus, the front end of the evaporator inlet duct 51 is close to the inlet of the evaporator 27, and the wind enters the evaporator 27 at a right angle. The drain tank 35, the tank cover 37, the blocking member 39, and the like have the same configurations as those of the above embodiment 1.

According to this configuration, since the front end of the evaporator inlet duct 51 is close to the inlet of the evaporator 27, the gap S3 between the front end of the bottom wall of the evaporator inlet duct 51 and the lower end of the evaporator 27 is reduced, and wind is less likely to enter through the gap S3. And, the front end portion of the inlet duct 51 extends horizontally through the evaporator, so that wind enters at right angles to the evaporator 27. This makes it difficult for wind to enter below the evaporator 27, and thus blowing wind that tends to lift the drip D into the drain tank 35 can be suppressed. Therefore, according to embodiment 3, even if the dry air volume is increased in the configuration including the heat pump 15, the drip water D in the drain tank 35 can be suppressed from rising.

(4) Embodiment 4

Fig. 6 shows embodiment 4, and is different from embodiment 1 in the structure of a drain tank 61. That is, the drain tank 61 is formed in a shallow rectangular container shape having an upper surface opening and capable of receiving the entire size of the lower portion of the evaporator 27 and the condenser 28, and the tank rib 62 is integrally provided to partition the inside thereof into the front and rear. At this time, the tank rib 62 is disposed at a position offset toward the condenser 28 side from the position between the evaporator 27 and the condenser 28. The tank rib 62 is partially opened to allow the drip water D to flow forward and backward in the drain tank 61.

Further, as in the case of the case cover 37 provided to close the upper surface of the drain tank 61, the cover rib 38 is provided between the evaporator 27 and the condenser 28, and the closing member 39 is provided, as in the case of the above-described embodiment 1. In this embodiment, no wind direction plate is provided at the tip of the evaporator inlet duct 41, and the lower edge of the evaporator inlet duct 41 is connected to the lower edge of the heat pump duct 24 in a manner similar to the evaporator inlet duct 41 of embodiment 2.

Accordingly, when wind blowing the water drops D from the evaporator 27 side into the drain tank 61 tends to bounce, the water drops D hit the wall surface of the tank rib 62. However, the tank rib 62 is provided at a position shifted toward the condenser 28, and the drip D that hits against the wall surface of the tank rib 62 and bounces up hits against the lower surface of the tank cover 37 at the lower portion of the condenser 28 and flows down. Therefore, the dropping water D does not flow toward the circulating air passage 20, which is the direction of the condenser 28. As a result, according to embodiment 4, even if the dry air volume is increased in the configuration including the heat pump 15, the drip water D in the drain tank 61 can be suppressed from rising.

(5) Embodiment 5 and other embodiments

Fig. 7 shows embodiment 5, which is different from embodiment 1 in the following points. That is, in this embodiment, the evaporator 71 constituting a part of the heat pump 15 is still of a fin-tube type, and the fins thereof are extended downward and are formed to be slightly large in the vertical direction. The evaporator 71 is disposed such that its lower end portion enters the upper portion of the drain tank 72 through the water passage hole 37a of the tank cover 37.

The drain tank 72 is configured to be slightly deeper than the drain tank 35 of embodiment 1 as compared with the extension of the evaporator 71 downward, and a thin plate-like tank rib 73 is integrally provided inside so as to extend to an upper end portion thereof so as to be located at a boundary line portion between the evaporator 71 and the condenser 28. The lid 37 includes a lid rib 38 and a blocking member 39, as in the case of embodiment 1. Similarly to the evaporator inlet duct 41 of embodiment 2, the lower edge portion of the evaporator inlet duct 41 is connected to the lower edge portion of the heat pump duct 24 in a manner to be in contact with the ground.

In the 5 th embodiment, as in the 1 st embodiment, the drip D in the drain tank 72 can be prevented from rising even if the dry air volume is increased in the configuration including the heat pump 15. In particular, in the present embodiment, the size of the portion of the evaporator 71 that performs heat exchange increases downward, and therefore, high-capacity dehumidification can be performed with a large dehumidification area without reducing the heat exchange area with the drying air in the evaporator 71. By the deepening of the tank rib 73, the amount of the accumulated water D is increased, and the water D is not easily raised.

Although the

wind direction plates

40 and 42 are provided in the above-described

embodiments

1 and 2, the wind direction plates may be provided as needed. In the above-described

embodiments

3 and 4, the tank ribs are provided in the drain tank, and the lid ribs and the blocking members are provided in the tank lid, but some or all of these tank ribs, lid ribs, and blocking members may be omitted. As in embodiment 4 in which the wind direction plate is provided in the evaporator inlet duct 41 and the evaporator 71 in embodiment 3 is adopted, the present invention can be implemented by combining the characteristic components of the above-described embodiments.

In each of the above embodiments, the blocking member 39 is integrally provided on the tank cover 37, but the blocking member may be provided separately and attached between the rear upper end portion of the drain tank and the rear lower end portion of the condenser. In the above embodiment, the so-called fin-tube evaporator and the condenser are used, but a so-called multi-flow heat exchanger may be used. Various modifications are possible to the shape of the evaporator inlet duct. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a clothes dryer for drying which does not have a washing function. The entire configuration of the heat pump, for example, the configuration of the circulation air passage, may be a configuration in which the heat pump is disposed at an upper portion in the outer box.

The above embodiments are presented as examples only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The new embodiments can be implemented in other various forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The present embodiment and its modifications are also included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

Claims

1. A clothes dryer is provided with:

a drying chamber for accommodating clothes;

a circulation air passage provided so that an exhaust port through which air is discharged from the drying chamber and an air supply port through which air is blown into the drying chamber communicate with each other outside the drying chamber;

a blower device for circulating the air in the drying chamber through the circulation air duct;

a heat pump configured to include a compressor, and an evaporator and a condenser arranged in the circulation air passage in this order from a front side as an upwind;

a drain tank arranged below the evaporator and the condenser, having a container shape with an opening on the upper surface, for accumulating water; and

a cover provided on an upper surface of the drain tank and having a water passage hole through which the drip water falling from the evaporator flows down into the drain tank,

a tank rib for partitioning a lower portion of the evaporator and a lower portion of the condenser from front to rear is provided in the drain tank,

the tank cover is provided with a cover rib standing between the evaporator and the condenser, and a blocking member blocking a gap between a rear upper end portion of the drain tank and a rear lower end portion of the condenser.

2. The laundry dryer as claimed in claim 1,

an air flow plate for directing an air flow at a lower portion of the circulation air passage upward is provided at an inlet portion of the evaporator in the circulation air passage, and a position where the air enters the evaporator is located above a lower end portion of the evaporator.

3. A clothes dryer is provided with:

a drying chamber for accommodating clothes;

the circulation air passage includes an evaporator inlet duct having a tip end disposed at an inlet of the evaporator, and the evaporator inlet duct is configured such that a tip end portion approaches the inlet of the evaporator and wind enters the evaporator at a right angle thereto.

4. A clothes dryer is provided with:

a drying chamber for accommodating clothes;

a tank rib for partitioning the inside of the drain tank into front and rear parts is provided in the drain tank,

the tank rib is disposed at a position offset toward the condenser side from a position between the evaporator and the condenser.

5. The laundry dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

the evaporator is configured as a fin tube type, and the fins of the evaporator extend downward and enter the upper portion of the drain tank.