CN113491464B - Drying device - Google Patents

Abstract

A drying device comprises a main body, a rod, a first driving device, a second driving device and a controller: the main body comprises: a pair of air inlets connected to an upstream portion of the filter unit and receiving intake air; a pair of body air flow generators receiving intake air and forming a first forced air flow; a pair of thermoelectric devices for regulating the temperature of the first forced air stream; and a first air outlet communicating with each of the main body air flow generators, receiving the forced air flow from the main body air flow generator and discharging the first forced air flow to the outside of the main body; the first driving means drives the lever to move the lever in the up-down direction with respect to the main body; the second driving means rotates the lever in a horizontal direction with respect to the main body; and a controller for adjusting the first drive and the second drive; the lever includes a second air outlet and a second air flow generator for generating a second forced air flow that is discharged through the second air outlet.

Description

Drying device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a drying apparatus and a drying method, and more particularly, to an apparatus for drying a human body or a human body part, but not limited to a human body.

Background

In this specification, if a document, act, or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, that reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act, or item of knowledge, or combination thereof, was published at the priority date, known to the public, part of the common general knowledge, or forms part of the prior art to which the law applies, or was known to be relevant to the attempt to solve any problem with which this specification relates.

Regular showering or bathing is a common activity in modern society. In many cultural circles, shower rooms are being used every day. For example, in the case of a certain sport during the day, it may be washed more than once a day.

The human body is moist due to showering or sweating. In order to prevent bacteria or mold from growing on the human body, it is important for the health of the human to keep the water dry.

Under the proper circumstances, a certain degree of moisture can evaporate by itself, but most people are convenient and comfortable, and actively wipe the body after bathing or exercising. Although wiping with a towel is not a good method of removing water from the body, especially for the foot portion, drying it may take time in order to effectively prevent bacteria or mold, and such a portion may be insufficiently dried. Especially long hair people may feel troublesome when drying the hair with towels.

In addition to the problem of using towels to dry a person's body as desired, the number and frequency of towels used indicates that the towels occupy a significant weight in the overall laundry. This phenomenon is particularly evident in the case of gyms, hotels, etc. where the towel is used only once.

The towel washing energy consumption is high, and the clean water consumption is also a problem from the viewpoint of environmental protection. Fresh water resource depletion is considered a common problem in vast areas of the world. The number of towels washed and the frequency of general washing will consume a considerable amount of water resources.

Additionally, the drying apparatus described herein may be operated in a wet environment such as a bathroom or shower. Additionally, moisture may splash to the drying device during the period when the user is self-drying. In addition, the drying apparatus and/or the bathroom and/or the shower stall may become wet during use. Stagnant dirty water may cause unpleasant odors and may lead to the proliferation of bacteria that are harmful to health.

In korean patent laid-open patent No. 20-0328270 (patent document 1), a space accommodating a user's body is not completely separated from a bathroom, and drying is performed by spraying high-temperature air to a whole body part in this state. In the structure described above, the environment in the bath room can be directly communicated to the drying device. Therefore, the environment in the high-temperature and high-humidity bath room causes a sanitary problem not only for the drying device but also for the space in which the drying device is located.

Korean laid-open patent No. 10-2018-0033637 (patent document 2) discloses a drying room for a bathroom, which is provided in a bathroom or the like, for drying after showering. Wherein, the drying room is separated from the outside by a frame, and is dried after entering the inside through a door. However, in the drying room of patent document 2, the drying room itself or a space where the drying room is provided is a high-temperature and high-humidity environment, and thus there is a problem in sanitation as well.

By providing a drying device giving at least useful countermeasures to the masses, it is intended to solve or improve one or more of the above-mentioned problems.

While certain aspects of the prior art have been discussed for convenience of explanation, applicant does not negate such aspects and thus considers this application to include or have one or more of the prior art aspects discussed herein.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention aims to address one or more of the above mentioned problems by providing a device and a method that not only improve health and hygiene, but also have a positive impact on the environment. For example, the apparatus and method of the present invention provide efficient and effective drying of a person's body or a part of a person's body, thereby reducing or eliminating reliance on towels.

The purpose of the drying device is to solve the sanitation problem caused by the high-temperature and high-humidity environment in which the drying device is installed.

The present invention should be understood to include any and all combinations of features, structures and/or steps described herein, and is not to be limited to such features, structures and/or steps, including the contents of the appended claims, unless expressly recited therein.

The invention provides a drying device, which comprises a main body, a rod, a first driving device, a second driving device and a controller, wherein the main body is provided with a first driving device and a second driving device, and the first driving device is provided with a first driving device and a second driving device which are respectively connected with the first driving device and the second driving device respectively through the first driving device and the second driving device respectively: the main body includes: a pair of air inlets connected to an upstream portion of the filter unit and receiving intake air; a pair of body air flow generators receiving the intake air and forming a first forced air flow; a pair of thermoelectric devices configured to regulate a temperature of the first forced airflow; and a first air outlet communicating with each of the body air flow generators, receiving a forced air flow from the body air flow generator and discharging the first forced air flow to the outside of the body; the first driving means drives the lever to move the lever in an up-down direction with respect to the main body; the second driving means rotates the lever in a horizontal direction with respect to the main body; and the controller is used for adjusting the first driving device and the second driving device; the lever includes a second air outlet and a second air flow generator for generating a second forced air flow that is discharged through the second air outlet.

The term "and/or" as used herein means "and" or both.

The terms a or an, as used herein, unless clearly defined as one, mean one or more than one.

For the purposes of this specification, the term "plastic" should be interpreted as a generic term for various synthetic or semi-synthetic polymeric products, which comprise hydrocarbon polymers.

For the purposes of this specification, if method steps are described in a sequential order, that order does not mean that the steps must be ordered in that order or in time unless otherwise logically explained or explicitly stated.

Numerous variations, widely differing embodiments and other applications of the construction according to the invention may be provided to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The disclosures and the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

Other aspects of embodiments of the invention are apparent from the following description, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The drying device of the present invention provides one or more of the following effects.

In the present invention, the water present on the floor of the space where the drying device is installed can be removed using the forced air flow discharged from the stem of the drying device. That is, the water droplets present on the ground may be swept by ejecting the forced air flow toward the ground, or evaporated by the heat of the forced air flow. Therefore, the space where the drying device is installed can be maintained in a more comfortable environment and can be managed in a hygienic manner.

In addition, in the present invention, a slit provided on the rear surface of the lever, an ultraviolet light source, or an air ionizer may be used to remove contaminants such as moisture, bacteria, and the like present on the surface of the main body. Therefore, the drying apparatus located in the high-temperature and high-humidity environment can be managed in a more sanitary manner.

In addition, in one embodiment of the present invention, a surface vibration motor is provided on the drying surface of the main body, and when water droplets are present on the drying surface of the main body, the water droplets can be caused to fall from the drying surface by generating vibration. With the above configuration, the drying surface of the drying device can be managed in a more sanitary manner.

Drawings

The objects and features of the present invention can be better understood with reference to the drawings and claims described below. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the drawings, like numerals refer to like parts.

The preferred embodiments or modes of the present invention are described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a drying apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view showing the drying apparatus of the embodiment shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front view illustrating the drying apparatus of the embodiment shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an upper region of the drying apparatus of the embodiment shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing internal elements of a part of the upper region of fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the flow of air through the internal elements of the upper region of fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the flow of air through the internal elements of the upper region from another direction.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a connection between the main body flow generator and the first air outlet in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9A is a diagram showing a connection between a main body flow generator and a first air outlet in another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9B is a rear perspective view showing a connection between one of the body flow generators of fig. 9A and the first air outlet.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the first air outlet taken along line A-A' of fig. 3.

Fig. 11A is a perspective view of the drying apparatus of fig. 1 with the lever in a first position.

Fig. 11B is a perspective view of the drying apparatus of fig. 1 with the lever in the second position.

Fig. 12A is a perspective view showing a driving device for a drying device in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 12B is a perspective view showing an enlarged area a of fig. 12A.

Fig. 12C is a bottom view of fig. 12B.

Fig. 12D is an exploded perspective view showing a fixing mechanism of a lever of the drying device of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing a drying apparatus including an additional lever in an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a top perspective view showing the stem of the drying apparatus of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 15 is a bottom perspective view illustrating the lever of fig. 14.

Fig. 16 is a rear perspective view showing a lever of another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a partial perspective view of various parts of the interior of the rod shown in fig. 14-16, illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is an exploded perspective view of various parts of the lever shown in fig. 14 to 17, illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing an electrical structure of a drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 20A and 20B are diagrams illustrating a case of drying a user using a lever of a drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 21 is a perspective view showing an upper region of an exploded drying device of a filter unit of an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 22 is another exploded perspective view of the filter unit of fig. 21 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 23 is a front view showing the air inlet and inlet path of the main body flow generator housing of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 24 is a partially exploded perspective view of the air inlet of fig. 23.

Fig. 25 is a front perspective view of an upper region of a drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 26 is a perspective view of a drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 27 is a sectional view taken along line B-B' of fig. 26.

Fig. 28 is an exploded perspective view showing the components of the drying apparatus main body according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 29A and 29B are diagrams showing a part of a main body in the case where a lever of an embodiment of the present invention is rotated.

Fig. 30A and 30B are diagrams showing other rotational directions of the lever in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 31A to 31D are side views of the drying apparatus showing various air flows discharged from the outlet of the lever of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 32A to 32F are diagrams showing various air flows discharged from the outlet of the lever of the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 33 is a side view of a drying apparatus having a first bar and a second bar according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 34A and 34B are side views illustrating a drying apparatus used to sweep and/or evaporate remaining moisture from the ground in an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 35 is a side view of a drying apparatus including a plurality of bars according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 36 is a diagram showing a lever used for sterilization purposes in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 37A to 37C and 38A to 38C are diagrams showing various directions of a lever of the drying device in the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 39 is a side view showing a drying apparatus including one or more vibration motors thereof in the embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

10: a drying device; 11: a driving device; 14: drying the noodles; 40: a lead screw; 41, 42: a nut; 44: a bracket assembly; 45: a guide member; 46: a guide rail; 53: a controller; 58: a memory; 100: a main body; 101: a first air outlet; 102: an air inlet; 103: a body flow generator housing; 104: a filter unit; 106, 107, 108: air flow arrows; 110: a body flow generator; 111: an inlet filter; 113: a particulate filter; 114: a virus filter; 115: a dehumidifying filter; 116: a flow guide; 117: a thermoelectric device; 118: a first face; 119: a second face; 120: a resistance heater; 121, 122: an air duct; 123: an outlet air duct; 124: an upper region; 125: a common opening; 126: a vent; 127: a fin; 128: an air opening; 129: a lower region; 130: an exhaust port; 140: a rear panel; 142: a side panel; 144: a front panel; 200: a rod; 201: a second air outlet; 202: an air inlet; 203: an air inlet; 204: a stem flow generator; 205: an air inlet; 206: a shield; 207: an air duct; 208: a middle outlet; 209: a sensor; 220: a motor; 230: a cover; 400: foot support.

Detailed Description

One or more embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Drying devices associated with other various uses may be provided. At least in a main application, the drying device may be a dryer for drying a person's body after bathing or showering. The drying device may be used as an auxiliary device after drying with towels or in place of drying with towels in various preferred ways. By using the drying device as a body dryer, the body can be dried by one or more forced airflows of the drying device.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 2 is a side view of the drying apparatus, and fig. 3 is a front view of the drying apparatus.

Referring to fig. 1, the drying device 10 may include a main body 100 and a lever 200. Although the term "bar" is used, the "bar" should not be construed as being limited to a bar shape, and may have various shapes according to design criteria or expected results. The lever 200 is movable relative to the body 100 by a driving means, which will be described in more detail herein.

The size of the drying apparatus 10 may correspond to the body size. For example, among the structural elements of the drying apparatus shown in fig. 1, the width of the drying apparatus 10, and in particular the main body 100, may be proportional to the body width, thereby enabling the delivery of forced air flow across the body.

The forced air flow may be provided through a first air outlet 101 arranged along an edge of the main body 100. The forced air flow may also be provided through a second air outlet 201 provided at the lever 200. Unlike the first air outlet 101, which is positionally fixed on the main body 100, the second air outlet 201 may provide a forced air flow to various parts of the body as the lever 200 moves up and down along the length L1 of the main body 100 in the length direction.

The main body 100 may define a drying side or surface 14 adjacent to where a user is located for drying by the drying apparatus 10. The drying surface 14 may be defined as the surface or plane of the drying apparatus 10 providing forced air flow through the first air outlet 101 and/or the second air outlet 201. For example, fig. 2 is a side view and fig. 3 is a front view of the drying surface 14.

For example, when the drying apparatus 10 is disposed in a limited space such as a bathroom, it is preferable that the drying apparatus 10 occupies a minimum space and is aesthetically pleasing. For this reason, as shown in the side view of fig. 2, the portion of the main body 100 including the drying surface 14 may be relatively less convex. Just as there is less bulge, a thin and attractive shape can be provided.

In order to achieve the thin and attractive shape described above, at least a portion of the inner structural element of the main body having a larger volume may be disposed in an upper region (the periphery of the air inlet 102 shown in fig. 2) of the main body 100 so as not to interfere with less protrusion of the portion having the drying surface 14. The upper region of the body 100 may be located at or above the head position of the user. The upper region may include bulk elements such as bulk flow generators, thermoelectric devices, flow guides, and the like. In other embodiments, the internal structural elements of the body 100 may be provided at an upper region of the body and disposed toward a lower region of the body 100 to minimize thickness.

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of an exemplary upper region of the body 100. In particular, in fig. 4, the front cover of the upper region is removed, exposing the outlet of one of the two flow guides 116 adjacent to the filter unit 104. While another air flow guide 116 cannot be seen in fig. 4, it is disposed on the other side of fig. 4. The filter unit 104 may be disposed in a space in the center of the body and on the opposite side or the same side of the flow guide 116. The filter unit 104 may or may not be replaceable. The front cover (not shown in fig. 4) may be separated to replace the old filter unit 104 with a new filter unit. Fig. 5 illustrates a case where the body flow generator housing 103 is removed in order to reveal several internal structural elements of the upper region of the body 100 illustrated in fig. 4.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5 together, the upper region of the body 100 may include: a pair of body flow generators 110, a pair of flow guides 116, a pair of thermoelectric devices 117 (including, for example, thermoelectric modules, thermoelectric coolers, or other suitable devices), a pair of air inlets 102, the filter unit 104, and a body flow generator housing 103 enclosing these internal structural elements. In one embodiment, a device that uses a thermoelectric effect, such as the peltier effect, i.e., a thermoelectric device, is used, and in another embodiment, may include an air conditioning or heat pump system that uses a pump, compressor, evaporator, resistive heating element, combustion, or other chemical reaction for controlling temperature. However, other forms of the air conditioning device may be used. According to one mode, the upper region may be considered as an air conditioning system of the main body 100.

A pair of body flow generators 110 are used in the illustrated embodiment. In other embodiments, only one body flow generator may be used or more body flow generators may be used. The body flow generator may be an axial flow fan or the like. In embodiments including a plurality of body flow generators, the plurality of body flow generators may cooperate to generate a uniform flow of air to the body 100. Embodiments may also be included in which independent air flows are generated to the main body 100 so that the air flow intensities of the respective portions of the main body 100 are different from each other. In the present embodiment, with the operation of the pair of body flow generators 110, outside air can flow into the body flow generator housing 103 through the pair of air inlets 102. The pair of air inlets 102 are inlets for supplying external air to the main body 100.

As shown in fig. 5, each body flow generator 110 has its own air inlet 102. However, the pair of body flow generators 110 may share one air inlet 102. Alternatively, the pair of body flow generators may share more than two air inlets.

Air entering the air inlet 102 is directed by respective flow guides 116 located between the air inlet 102 and the filter unit 104. In this embodiment, a portion of each flow guide 116 may define an outlet air flow path 105 (see fig. 7), and the outlet air flow path 105 may be a portion of a flow path through which purified air flows from the filter unit 104 to each body flow generator 110. More details of the flow path including the outlet air flow path 105 are described in conjunction with the description of fig. 6 and 7.

Since it is described in the present embodiment as including a pair of flow guides 116, the following description of one flow guide 116 applies equally to the other flow guide 116 of the pair of flow guides 116. As shown in fig. 5, each flow guide 116 may be formed in a curved shape. One end of each flow guide 116 is connected to each air inlet 102, and the other end is open to the upstream side of the filter unit 104. The body of each flow guide 116 includes a curved inner surface and a curved outer surface. The curved inner surface faces the outlet air flow path 105 and forms part of the flow path between the downstream side of the filter unit 104 and the respective body flow generator 110.

Thus, each flow guide 116 forms a flow path between each air inlet 102 and an upstream portion of the filter unit 104. And, at least a portion of each flow guide 116 forms a wall of a flow path between the downstream portion side of the filter unit 104 and each body flow generator 110. In such a configuration, each flow guide 116 may guide air entering through each air inlet 102 and convey that air toward the filter unit 104. The air passing through the filter unit 104 may be transferred to the outlet air flow path 105, and the air is transferred to the first air outlet 101 via the outlet air flow path 105 by the body flow generator 110.

In the above-described structure, each of the flow guides 116 may function to separate the inlet side and the outlet side of the filter unit 104. Each flow guide 116 may also function to separate purified air flowing toward the main body flow generator 110 from air entering from the air inlet 102.

In another configuration, the flow guide 116 does not necessarily have both the function of guiding the inhaled air to the filter unit 104 and the function of guiding the purified air between the main body flow generator and the outlet of the filter unit. For example, the air inlet 102, the flow guide 116, the filter unit 104, and the body flow generator 110 may be arranged in a row or continuously adjacent to each other. Wherein each flow guide 116 may only convey air between the air inlet 102 and the filter unit 104.

A pair of thermoelectric devices (thermoelectric devices) 117 may be included in an upper region of the body 100. Each thermoelectric device 117 may be, for example, a semiconductor device that heats or cools air using the peltier effect. In another embodiment, other forms of known thermal elements such as heaters, coolers, or combinations thereof may be employed. For example, a refrigeration cycle with a compressor, evaporator, and condenser may be used to provide cooling and/or heating of the air. In other embodiments, a resistive heater may be used to provide heating of the air.

In this embodiment, a pair of thermoelectric devices 117 is provided. The following description is made with respect to one thermoelectric device 117, and the description is equally applicable to another thermoelectric device. Each thermoelectric device 117 has a first face 118 and a second face 119. One side thereof may be cooled or heated, and conversely the other side thereof may be heated or cooled, depending on the direction of the current supplied to the thermoelectric device 117. For example, when the first (i.e., outer) surface 118 is cooled, the second (i.e., inner) surface 119 is heated. Conversely, when the first face 118 is heated, the second face 119 is cooled.

Each thermoelectric device 117 may heat or cool air passing through the filter unit 104 at the outlet air flow path 105 (see fig. 7). To facilitate heating or cooling, the second face 119 of the thermoelectric device 117 may be exposed to the outlet air flow path 105. The second side 119 may heat or cool air flowing through the outlet air flow path 105 depending on the mode of operation of the thermoelectric device 117. The heated or cooled air may be drawn into the respective body flow generator 110.

The processor may control the direction of the current flowing to the thermoelectric device 117. For example, a voltage source connected to the thermoelectric device 117 may be connected to an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter. The a/D converter may generate a positive or negative value for controlling the voltage, whereby the current flows to the thermoelectric device 117. In other embodiments, half of the output value of the a/D converter may correspond to a negative current and half to a positive current.

When the thermoelectric device 117 is used in the drying device, the exhaust port 130 may be located at an upper region of the main body 100. Fig. 5 shows a pair of exhaust ports 130 associated with a pair of thermoelectric devices 117 included in an upper region of the body 100. Each vent 130 may be coupled to the first side 118 of each of the thermoelectric devices 117. One or more exhaust ports 130 may be located in an upper region of the body.

When the thermoelectric device 117 operates as a heater, cooler exhaust air may be exhausted to the outside of the drying device 10 through the respective exhaust ports 130. When the thermoelectric device 117 operates as a cooler, warmer exhaust air may be exhausted through the exhaust port 130.

Fig. 6 illustrates the flow of air through the upper region portion of the body 100 of an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 7 is another illustration of the flow of air through the upper region portion of the body 100. Regarding the air flow through the structural elements of the upper region of the main body 100, one main body flow generator 110 is similar to the other main body flow generator 110, and thus one main body flow generator 110 will be described.

The present embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 6 and 7. When the body flow generator 110 is in operation, air is drawn in through the air inlet 102 and through the flow guide 116 to the front of the filter unit 104 as indicated by air flow arrows 106, 107 of fig. 7. The air purified by the filter unit 104 is discharged through the side of the filter unit 104.

After the cleaned air exits the filter unit 104, it reaches an outlet air flow path 105 as indicated by air flow arrow 108 in fig. 7. The purified air may be heated or cooled by the thermoelectric device 117 at the outlet air flow path 105. As described above and shown by air flow arrows 131, air exhausted from the thermoelectric device 117 may be exhausted through the exhaust port 130. The heated or cooled air is sucked downward by the main body flow generator 110 as indicated by an air flow arrow 108, and is pressurized by the main body flow generator 110, and moves toward the first air outlet 101 as indicated by an air flow arrow 109 in fig. 7.

The structure of the air conditioning system of the main body 100 is described above. The drying apparatus 10 having the above-described structure can discharge cool air or hot air, thereby adjusting the state of the space where the drying apparatus is installed. The space may be a bathroom. The drying apparatus 10 may cool the bathroom when the weather is hot. The drying apparatus 10 may warm the bathroom when the weather is cold. The drying device may also use the air conditioning system described herein for drying the user. For example, the cold air or the hot air pressurized by the main body flow generator 110 may be discharged through the first air outlet 101 provided along the edge of the main body on the drying surface 14 (refer to fig. 1 to 3). The user on the drying surface side can dry the body using the discharged cool air or hot air.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a connection between the body flow generator 110 and the first air outlet 101 of the body 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the body flow generator 110 provides air flow to the air duct 121. The duct 121 guides the forced air flow converged through the common opening 125 toward the first air outlet 101 of the main body 100. In the present embodiment, the resistive heater 120 is disposed in the common opening 125 for further heating the forced airflow. The resistive heater 120 may be configured to be used when further heating is required before the heated forced airflow from the body flow generator 110 flows to the air outlet 101. For example, the arrangement may be employed when rapid heating of the bathroom is desired or when forced airflow for additional heating is desired during drying of the user's body.

Although a resistive heater is shown in fig. 8, any suitable other thermal element may be used. In other embodiments, the thermal element may be used in order to selectively heat or cool the air flow exiting and flowing from the common opening 125.

Fig. 9A shows a structure of connection between the body flow generator 110 and the first air outlet 101 of the body 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Unlike the embodiment shown in fig. 8, according to another embodiment shown in fig. 9A, the outlet of each body flow generator 110 is directly connected to the first air outlet 101 of the body 100. The first air outlet 101 includes an air opening 128 at an upper side thereof. Each air opening 128 is directly connected to an outlet of each of the body flow generators 110. By having the outlets of the respective body flow generators 110 directly connected to the first air outlet of the body 100, the connection structure can be simplified, and the forced air flow can directly flow to the first air outlet 101.

In this embodiment, the forced air flow may be stronger than the forced air flow shown in fig. 8. This is because, among the forced airflows of fig. 8, the forced airflows of the vertical direction of the respective main body flow generators flow in the horizontal direction due to the air duct 121 and collide with each other in order to form a single forced airflow. Then, the duct 121 causes the single forced air flow to flow along the first air outlet 101 in a vertically downward direction. In contrast, in the embodiment of fig. 9A, the forced air flow of each of the main body flow generators directly flows along the first air outlet 101 in the vertically downward direction.

FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram showing one of the body flow generators and the first of FIG. 9AA rear perspective view of the connection between the air outlets. In this configuration, as shown in fig. 9B, the body flow generator 110 includes a fan assembly 1101 and a conduit 1102. The fan assembly may be an axial fan or the like. Preferably, the fan assembly includes a high-speed motor capable of sucking and discharging air at a high speed. For example, the fan assembly may include a korean LG electronics smart inverter motor (Smart Inverter Motor) capable of reaching 115000 Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) ^TM ). A similar fan assembly may be used.

The fan assembly 1101 is connected to a conduit 1102, which may be a cylindrical tube connected to the first air outlet 101. However, the catheter 1102 is not limited to a cylindrical tube, and an elliptical tube, a rectangular tube, or the like may be used as other structures. The duct 1102 includes air sucked into the duct 1102 by the fan assembly 1101, and in the case where the speed of the forced air cannot be maintained, the speed of the discharged forced air is increased by the fan assembly 1101. Thereby, a forced air flow with a relatively high velocity is introduced into the first air outlet 101.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the first air outlet 101 of the main body of fig. 3, taken along line A-A', illustrating an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this partial view, the first air outlet 101 is disposed along an edge of at least a portion of the main body 100. In this embodiment, the shape of the first air outlet 101 corresponds to the shape of the edge of the drying surface 14 of the main body 100 (see fig. 3). However, one skilled in the art will readily recognize that the air outlet 101 may take one of a plurality of other configurations. For example, in another embodiment, the first air outlet 101 may be formed by a plurality of slits disposed across the drying surface 14 (e.g., with reference to fig. 26) in a vertical and/or horizontal manner.

Referring again to fig. 10, the first air outlet 101 of the present embodiment includes an air duct 122, a vent 126, and fins 127. The duct 122 receives the forced air flow from the upper region of the main body 100 and delivers the forced air flow along the edge of the main body 100.

The air duct 122 extends along an edge of the main body 100 and is connected to an air vent 126 that can be seen from the dry face 14 of the main body 100 (see fig. 1 and 3). The forced air flow is exhausted from the main body 100 through the vent hole 126. The fin 127 may be disposed at the vent hole 126 extending along the edge of the body 100, dividing a space formed by the vent hole 126 into two. The fins 127 may assist the vent holes 126 in directing the forced airflow. In this embodiment, the fin 127 is fixed to the vent hole 126, and the forced airflow is guided in one direction toward the outside.

In another embodiment, the fins may be adjusted to be movable to the left or right so as to guide the forced air discharged from the main body 100 to the desired left or right. For example, to enable at least a portion of the forced air flow to converge inwardly toward the center with respect to the main body 100, the fin on the left side of the main body 100 may be moved to the right, while the fin on the right side of the main body 100 may be moved to the left. Conversely, to enable at least a portion of the forced air flow to diffuse outwardly from the center with respect to the main body 100, the fin on the left side of the main body 100 may be moved to the left, while the fin on the right side of the main body 100 may be moved to the right.

The main body 100 of the drying apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described so far. The drying apparatus 10 may include a lever 200 capable of providing a forced air flow. As previously described, the lever 200 may be movable relative to the body 100.

Fig. 11A and 11B respectively show the case where the lever 200 of the embodiment of the present invention is located at two different driving positions on the length L1 in the longitudinal direction of the main body 100.

The lever 200 is movable along the longitudinal length L1 of the main body 100 by driving by a driving device to be described below. The moving range of the lever 200 may be consistent with the length L1 of the body 100 in the length direction, or differently, the moving range of the lever 200 is adjusted to be more closely consistent with the height of a specific user. That is, when the user is located adjacent to the drying surface 14 of the drying apparatus 10, the length (e.g., height) required by the user can be covered by the air flow for drying discharged from the second air outlet 201 by the movement of the lever 200. For example, the lever 200 may be moved (repeatedly moved as needed) from the upper position shown in fig. 11A to the lower position shown in fig. 11B while the forced air flow is discharged from the second air outlet 201, wherein the distance that the lever 200 is moved between the positions shown in fig. 11A and 11B may correspond to the height of the user.

Fig. 12A is a diagram showing a driving means of the lever 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 12B is an enlarged view of the driving device shown in part a of fig. 12A. Fig. 12C is a bottom perspective view of the driving device shown in fig. 12B, and fig. 12D is a view showing an exemplary fixing mechanism 210 of the lever 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 12A and 12B, the driving device 11 moves the lever 200 with respect to the main body 100. The driving means 11 may be located at the main body 100. According to this exemplary embodiment, the driving device 11 includes a lead screw 40, a nut 41, and a motor 50 (refer to fig. 13). The lead screw 40 may be threaded and may have a length corresponding to the length L1 of the drying surface 14 of the main body 100 in the longitudinal direction. The motor 50 may be located at an upper region of the body 100. However, the motor 50 may be located at any position where the motor 50 can rotate the lead screw 40, as long as the nut 41 can be moved up and down on the lead screw 40 along the length L1 of the dry surface of the main body 100 in the longitudinal direction of the dry surface according to the rotation direction of the lead screw 40. The shaft of the motor 50 may be coupled to an end portion of the lead screw 40 (e.g., an upper end portion of the lead screw 40). Accordingly, when the motor rotates the shaft in a clockwise direction, the lead screw 40 rotates in a clockwise direction, and when the motor 50 rotates the shaft in a counterclockwise direction, the lead screw 40 rotates in a counterclockwise direction.

Referring to fig. 12B and 12C, the nut 41 is formed with threads corresponding to the threads of the lead screw 40, thereby being coupled with the lead screw 40. The nut 41 is fixed to the rod 200. In the present embodiment, the nut 41 is fixed to the bracket assembly 44 to which the lever 200 is attached. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other structures for directly or indirectly securing the nut 41 may be suitable for use with the rod 200. When the lead screw 40 is rotated by the motor 50, the nut 41 is lifted up and down on the lead screw 40, thereby moving the rod 200 up and down.

For example, when the motor 50 rotates the lead screw 40 in a clockwise direction, the nut 41 moves upward of the lead screw 40, and the rod 200 moves upward in a longitudinal direction with respect to a longitudinal length of the main body 100. Conversely, when the motor 50 rotates the lead screw 40 in the counterclockwise direction, the nut 41 moves downward of the lead screw 40, and the rod 200 moves downward along the longitudinal length with respect to the longitudinal length of the main body 100.

In another example, when the motor 50 rotates the lead screw 40 in a clockwise direction, the nut 41 moves toward a lower portion of the lead screw 40, and the rod 200 moves downward along a longitudinal length with respect to a longitudinal length of the main body 100. When the motor 50 rotates the lead screw 40 counterclockwise, the nut 41 moves toward the upper portion of the lead screw 40, and the lever 200 moves upward along the longitudinal length with respect to the longitudinal length of the main body 100.

Referring to fig. 12C and 12D, the carriage assembly 44 may have one or more guide members 45 for movement along one or more corresponding guide rails 46 of the body 100. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 13, a double guide rail is used, including guide rails 46 extending vertically at both side portions of the main body 100, respectively. The guide member 45 and the guide rail 46 guide the lever 200 along a prescribed vertical path.

For example, the guide member 45 and guide rail 46 may operate in a manner that retains the rod 200 against rotational movement relative to the length-wise axis that may be caused by rotation of the lead screw 40. The dual rail 46 may also provide stability to the lever 200 as the lever 200 moves up and down along the body 100.

In this embodiment, the lever 200 may include a fixing mechanism 210, the fixing mechanism 210 being used to fix the lever 200 on the guide member 45 of the bracket assembly 44. In this embodiment, the fixing mechanism 210 is provided at both side ends of the lever 200. The guide member 45 may include a space 47 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the fixing mechanism 210. When the lever 200 is mounted on the bracket assembly 44, the fixing mechanism 210 slides into the space 47 of the guide member 45, thereby mounting the fixing mechanism 210 on the guide member 45.

The fixing mechanism 210 may include one or more protrusions 212 protruding from a side of the fixing mechanism 210. The one or more protrusions 212 may be elastically deformed or spring-loaded. When the fixing mechanism 210 is fully inserted into the space 47 of the guide member 45, the one or more protrusions 212 may be caught in one or more corresponding slots provided in the space 47, thereby mounting the lever 200 to the bracket assembly 44.

The securing mechanism 210 may be configured to facilitate detachment of the lever 200 from the bracket assembly 44. Since the protrusion 212 may be elastically deformed or built-in with a spring, the lever 200 may be separated from the body 100 by being applied with a sufficient force. The pole 200 can be replaced with other poles 200, and maintenance can be performed without moving the whole drying apparatus 10 when maintenance is required.

The above describes embodiments of a drive device using a lead screw and nut. In other exemplary constructions, the rod 200 may be driven on the body 100 using structures other than the lead screw and nut. In practice, suitable driving means may be used which are capable of providing the required relative motion. For example, the lead screw and nut may be replaced by a rack and pinion gear train, pulley and belt drive, or by a linear actuator in the event that the desired motion is linear.

Fig. 13 is a front view illustrating a drying apparatus including a first lever 200 and a second lever 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 13, the drying device 10 may include a first lever 200 and a second lever 300. The second lever 300 may include a third air outlet 301, which may be driven to be movable with respect to the main body 100. The second rod 300 may be coupled to its own nut 43, and the nut 43 may be coupled to its own lead screw 42. The nut 43 is fixed to its own bracket assembly 48 to enable the second rod 300 to move relative to the body 100. The lead screw 42 may be driven by its own motor 52. The structural elements related to the driving of the second lever 300 and the functions thereof are similar to those related to the lever 200 described above, and thus, the description will be omitted to avoid the repeated description.

Based on the construction of the exemplary embodiments described above, one skilled in the art will readily recognize that more bars may be employed with the drying apparatus 10. The driving device 11 may be configured in a modular structure so as to be able to accommodate a plurality of rods in the main body 100.

As shown in fig. 13, the lever 200 is associated with its own motor 50, lead screw 40, nut 41, and bracket assembly 44, as an example. The rod 200 moves up and down with respect to the body 100 by the operation of the motor 50, the lead screw 40, and the nut 41. Similarly, the second rod 300 is associated with its own motor 52, lead screw 42, nut 43, and bracket assembly 48. The second rod 300 moves up and down with respect to the main body 100 by the operation of the motor 52, the lead screw 42, and the nut 43. The motor, lead screw, nut and bracket assembly associated with one rod do not operate on the other rod. That is, the motor, lead screw, nut, and bracket assembly of one lever operate only on that lever.

Accordingly, for each additional rod, a corresponding motor, lead screw, nut, and bracket assembly may be added to the driving device for accommodating the corresponding rod. In this way, a plurality of rods can be provided on the main body 100 of the drying apparatus 10 according to the preference of the user. Differently, the individual drives may be spaced apart from each other and may accommodate more than one rod that moves together along the length of the body in the length direction.

Fig. 13 shows the lever 200 and the second lever 300 using the same guide rail. In an exemplary construction, the lever 200 and the second lever 300 may use separate rails. With this structure, the lever 200 or the second lever 300 can be moved to a desired position along the range of its own driving path regardless of the position of the lever 200 or the second lever 300.

Fig. 14 is a top perspective view of the lever 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention, fig. 15 is a bottom perspective view of the lever 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 16 is a rear perspective view of the lever 200 according to another configuration shown in fig. 15.

Referring to fig. 14 and 15, the lever 200 may include a first air outlet 201 through which a forced air flow may be provided at different positions of the body 100 according to movement of the lever 200 relative to the body 100. As for the driving device 11 between the lever 200 and the main body 100, as described above, two guide members 45 may guide the movement of the lever 200 with respect to the main body 100.

One or more air inlets 205 may be located at the end of the rod 200. The air inlet 205 may be protected within a cavity formed between the end of the wand 200 and the shroud 206. The shroud 206 may extend from the end of the stem 200 such that the top and side surfaces of the shroud 206, except the bottom surface, provide shielding. The open bottom surface of the shroud 206 allows the air inlet 205 to be in close proximity to the intake air. This structure can prevent water from falling or splashing into the air inlet 205. The air inlet 205 supplies intake air to the rod 200 (see fig. 17) housing one or more rod flow generators 204.

Fig. 16 shows two air inlets 202 at the rear end of the lever 200 for supplying air discharged from the second air outlet 201. In contrast, in the configuration of fig. 15, the air inlets 205 are located at each end of the rod 200, as described above. Since the lever 200 protrudes toward the user side, the lever 200 is closer to the user than the main body 100, and thus the lever 200 may be more easily wetted. Accordingly, one or more of the air inlets 202 are preferably disposed at a location remote from the user. As described above, in the structure of fig. 16, the air inlet 202 is provided on the rear surface of the lever 200 as described above.

Fig. 17 is a partial perspective view showing the respective structural elements inside the lever 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 17 shows the stem 200 with the cover removed to expose a pair of stem flow generators 204 and air ducts 207. The wand 200 may include a pair of wand flow generators 204 that receive intake air from the air inlet 202 and generate forced air flows through the air conduit 207. The air duct 207 may include an intermediate outlet 208 through which the forced air flow passes and is expelled through the second air outlet 201.

Fig. 18 is an exploded perspective view showing various components of the lever 200 of the above-described embodiment of the present invention of fig. 17.

Referring to fig. 18, the wand 200 has a cover 230, the cover 230 of the wand 200 being separated to enable viewing of various internal components including a pair of wand flow generators 204, a pair of motors 220, a pair of thermic devices (e.g., resistive heaters, thermoelectric devices, and other suitable devices may be used), and an air duct 207. The wand 200 has a wand flow generator 204 (see figures 17 and 18) which receives inhaled air from one or more air inlets. The pair of rod flow generators 204 generate a relatively high-speed forced air flow from the received air. For example, the lever flow generator may be a smart inverter motor that rotates at a maximum speed of 115000RPM, thereby sucking air in and discharging it at a high speed. However, other forms of axial fan assemblies may be used.

Forced air flow from the pair of stem flow generators 204 passes through the air conduit 207 in a manner that exits from the intermediate outlet 208. The air duct 207 is shown as a cylindrical shape, but the present invention is not limited to this shape, and an elliptical tube, a square tube, a rectangular tube, or the like may be used. The air duct 207 has air sucked by the pair of lever flow generators 204 in the range of the air duct 207, and in the case where the speed of the forced air cannot be maintained, the speed of the discharged forced air is increased by the pair of lever flow generators 204. Whereby a relatively high-speed forced air flow is directed to said intermediate outlet 208. The discharged air is finally discharged to the outside of the second air outlet 201. In the present embodiment, a case where a pair of rod flow generators is used is shown, but in other structures, one rod flow generator or more than two rod flow generators may be used.

In the present embodiment, a pair of resistive heaters 120 are considered as components of the rod 200. The resistive heater 120 is located downstream of each rod flow generator 204. In another embodiment, the resistive heater may be located upstream of the stem flow generator or integrally formed with the stem flow generator. In this embodiment, the stem flow generator 204 and the resistive heater 120 may be inside the air conduit 207 with at least a portion thereof enclosed (see fig. 18). The air duct 207 may guide the air heated by the resistance heater 120 toward the intermediate outlet 208 and may be discharged through the second air outlet 201.

In this embodiment, a resistive heater for heating the intake air is used, but in other exemplary embodiments, a thermoelectric device employing the peltier effect may be used to heat or cool the intake air, for example. In this structure, the lever 200 is not limited to exhausting heated air, but may exhaust cooler air.

The lever 200 may also include one or more motors 220. As shown in fig. 18, one or more motors 220 may be disposed along a longitudinal axis of the rod 200 parallel to the drying surface 14 of the main body 100. As the one or more motors 220 are rotated relative to their longitudinal axes, the rod 200 may be rotated up and down. By rotating the lever 200, the area where the lever 200 provides the forced air flow can be enlarged. The lever 200 can improve drying performance as it continuously rotates while exhausting the forced air flow.

Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing an electrical structure of the drying apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The controller 53 controls the operation of the overall drying apparatus 10. The controller 53 may be a microprocessor, an integrated circuit, an electrical circuit, a logic electrical circuit, or the like.

The controller 53 may control the operation of the body flow generator 110 and the thermoelectric device 117 of the body 100, the controller 53 may control the operation of the stem flow generator 204 and the resistive heater 120 associated with the stem, and may control the motor 220. Various operations performed using the structural elements have been described above, and thus, further description will be omitted. The controller 53 may store information in the memory 58 and access it in order to control the operation of the drying appliance 10.

The drying apparatus 10 may include one or more sensors 209 that are also controlled by the controller 53. The sensor 209 may be variously associated with the body 100 and the lever 200 (e.g., fig. 12C and 15). In several embodiments, one or more of the sensors 209 may be spaced apart at different locations in the drying apparatus 10.

According to various embodiments like the embodiments shown in fig. 12C and 15, for example, the one or more sensors 209 may be associated with the rod 200. The controller 53 may receive sensed information from one or more sensors 209 of the lever 200, and the controller 53 may use the sensed information as an operating parameter to operate the drying apparatus 10.

As an example, the sensed information of one or more sensors may be used by the controller 53 in order to determine various characteristics of the environment surrounding the device and/or conditions of the user and/or various characteristics. For example, the sensed information may be used in order to determine the presence of the user, the physical characteristics of the user including the user's overall and/or specific dimensions, the degree of wetness of the user's body and/or other parts of his body, in particular the temperature or heat of the ambient air and/or the humidity of the ambient air. To achieve such operation, the drying apparatus 10 may include one or more of the sensors 209 described below.

The one or more sensors 209 may include thermal sensors such as infrared sensors. The infrared sensor may be used for acquiring information about the surrounding heat. For example, an infrared sensor may be used as a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of ambient air. Information about the temperature of the ambient air may be obtained in order to determine whether the ambient air is to be conditioned.

The infrared sensor may be used on the body of a user located adjacent to the drying apparatus 10. The information from the infrared sensor may be used for estimating or determining the humidity level of the user's body and/or a specific part of the user's body. The information from the infrared sensor may be used for acquiring an index of the whole body of a user whose body temperature is different from the ambient air temperature.

The one or more sensors 209 may include a proximity sensor. The proximity sensor may be used in order to determine proximity to a user of the drying apparatus 10. For example, information from the proximity sensor may be used in order to determine the distance of the user from the drying surface of the drying apparatus 10. The drying apparatus may be operated for drying a user when the user is within a prescribed distance from the drying surface 14. In order to obtain the required speed of the forced air flow towards the user, the information from the proximity sensor may be used in order to adjust the forced air flow speed from the air outlet 101 and/or the air outlet 201 according to the distance of the user.

The proximity sensor may be used in order to determine if the user is too close to the drying apparatus or a part thereof. For example, for safety reasons, it may be desirable to limit or prevent movement of the rod 200 in the event that the body is within a particular distance relative to the rod or is located at a particular position relative to the rod. This may include the case where a part of the body is located above or below the rod 200, in the path of its movement.

The one or more sensors 209 may include an image sensor. The image sensor may be used for acquiring surrounding image information or determining the presence of a user or determining the size of the entire body of the user and/or a specific part of the body of the user. The image sensor may be used in conjunction with or instead of a thermal sensor for the above-mentioned information in order to obtain more accurate information.

The one or more sensors 209 may include a humidity sensor. The humidity sensor may be used for acquiring the humidity of the ambient air, for example, for acquiring information about the humidity level of a bathroom in which the drying apparatus is installed. The drying apparatus 10 may be used or operated to remove moisture from the air to bring the humidity level below a predetermined level. The humidity sensor may also be used for obtaining information about the level of wetness/dryness of the user's skin. In order to avoid that the skin of the user becomes too dry, said information may be used in order to adjust the heat applied to the forced air flow.

In addition to the exemplary sensors described above, other sensors known in the art may be used in order to obtain the desired results.

Fig. 20A and 20B are diagrams showing a case of drying a user using the lever 200 of the drying apparatus 10 of the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 20A and 20B, the lever 200 includes a sensor 209, and the sensor 209 may be a thermal sensor disposed to face a user when the user is located within a prescribed distance from the dry surface 14 of the main body 100. The lever 200 may be located at an arbitrary position along the longitudinal length L1 of the drying surface 14 of the main body 100, and in this embodiment, the start position of the lever 200 may be a position adjacent to the central portion of the drying surface 14. When the drying device 10 is operated, the lever 200 can be driven by the driving device 11 to rise in the direction indicated by the arrow 1. At the same time, the thermal sensor will also operate.

As the lever 200 moves upward, the thermal sensor scans the user. When the thermal sensor no longer senses heat from the user, the height of the user is determined by the reached position, and the driving means 11 can stop the movement of the lever 200. The driving device 11 can move the lever 200 downward in the direction indicated by the arrow 2. At the same time, the thermal sensor scans the user. The thermal sensor may sense the degree of wetness on the scanned user's body. The thermal sensor may sense the degree of wetting as a lower temperature and the degree of drying as a higher temperature. The stem flow generator 204 and/or the resistive heater 120 may be operated for drying the user.

In other constructions, the body flow generator 110 and/or the thermoelectric device 117 operates to dry the user. The body flow generator 110 and thermoelectric device 117 may operate with the stem flow generator 204 and the resistive heater 120 of the stem 200. The body flow generator 110 and thermoelectric device 117 may be continuously operated until the rod 200 reaches the bottom of the drying surface 14, and then the body flow generator 110 and thermoelectric device 117 may be turned off.

As shown in fig. 20B, the wand 200 may be positioned beside the head of the user. In general, hair contains more water, and therefore, when the lever 200 is in this position, the thermal sensor can detect a considerably wetted state. Accordingly, the lever 200 may be heated in order to dry the hair of the user, and not moved during the process of discharging the forced air flow through the second air outlet 201. When the thermal sensor senses that the user's hair is sufficiently dried, the driving means 11 may be moved downward as indicated by arrow 2.

The heated forced air flow exiting the air outlet 201 may dry the head, body and ultimately the legs as the wand 200 is moved downwardly in the direction indicated by arrow 2. As the wand 200 moves from head to leg and the wand 200 reaches the bottom of the drying surface 14, the wand may cease to move before it moves further downwardly in the direction indicated by arrow 2, thereby drying out more of the user's other body parts than others.

In other embodiments, the wand 200 may be moved up and down repeatedly from head to foot after reaching the head of the user for the first time, until the thermal sensor senses that the user has dried. The movement of the wand described herein is merely exemplary and other forms of movement of the wand for drying a user are contemplated.

Fig. 21 is a perspective view showing an upper region of an exploded drying device of a filter unit of an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 22 is another exploded perspective view of the filter unit of the embodiment of the present invention.

The filter unit 104 may provide one or more filtering or treatment of the flow of intake air. In particular, in urban or other urban setting, ambient air may contain undesirable levels of buoyant solids. Such a solid substance may be harmful to the health of the user, and when the drying device is used in order to dry the user's body, it may have an adverse effect on the skin if it is provided to the user.

For example, the solids may be alkaline or acidic and thus may cause damage to the user's body. As shown in fig. 22, the filter unit 104 may include one or more particulate filters 113 for capturing solids. The one or more particulate filters 113 may be in a form that is generally used, such as a fiberglass filter, a polyester filter, or a HEPA filter.

Ambient air may contain bacteria or viruses, which may lead to a risk of being infected to the user of the drying apparatus. If not provided together with the particulate filter 113, the filter unit 104 may include a bacterial and/or viral filter 114. Such filters may include antibacterial or antibacterial elements.

In order to dry, the intake air needs to reduce or remove moisture from the intake air before it is discharged. The filter unit 104 may include, for example, one or more desiccant filters 115 having a desiccant.

In this embodiment, a pair of air inlets 102 communicate each intake air to the filter unit 104. Where a single filter unit 104 is used, particularly with a plurality of flow generators, it is advantageous to provide a single service location for a filter within the filter unit.

Fig. 23 is a front view of an air inlet and inlet path of a flow generator housing of an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 24 is an exploded perspective view of the air inlet of fig. 23.

Referring to fig. 23, an inlet path including the air inlet 102 and the flow guide 116 directs intake air from the air inlet 102 to the filter unit 104. However, since the drying apparatus 10 may be used in an environment where moisture exists, such as a bathroom or shower room, water may splash to the drying apparatus 10 or the ambient air of the drying apparatus 10 including the air inlet 102. Additionally, during use, water may be drawn into the air inlet 102 by the action of the body flow generator 110 being able to draw ambient water into the air inlet 102. Such water is not suitable for entering the drying apparatus 10. In addition to the water entering the air inlet 102, the flow path may draw in and deliver other substances through the air inlet 102 to the flow guide 116.

As shown in fig. 23 and 24, the air inlet 102 provides a flow path that is biased in an upward direction toward the flow guide 116. The upward deflection may act as a gravity-proof wall for water or other solid matter entering the drying apparatus 10. To further block the ingress of unintended water or other objects into the flow path, as shown for example in fig. 24, an obstruction may be provided in the form of an inlet filter 111 in addition to or instead of the inlet flow path. In more detail, the inlet filter 111 may be in the form of a particulate filter for filtering out particles from the intake air.

The inlet filter 111 may be in the form of a macro filter such as a macro mesh filter for preventing inflow of larger objects. In the case where it is preferable to protect the intake air from the inflowing water or dehumidify from the intake air of the intake filter 111, a desiccant for absorbing water may be included.

As an additional measure for dehumidifying the intake air, a resistance heater (not shown) may be disposed adjacent to the inlet filter 111. During operation, the resistive heater may heat the intake air in order to remove moisture from the air. Additionally, the resistance heater may remove moisture within the inlet filter 111 in order to increase the lifetime of the inlet filter 111.

Fig. 25 is a front perspective view of an upper region of a drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. For example, similar to the configuration shown in fig. 9A, the connection between the body flow generator 110 and the first air outlet 101 of the body 100 is the same as the case where the outlet of each body flow generator 110 is directly connected to the first air outlet 101 of the body 100. In order to provide additional comfort and/or increased drying efficiency to the user, the heated air is preferably further heated by thermoelectric device 117. As shown in fig. 25, the air flow from the filter unit 104 may pass through one side of the thermoelectric device 117 so that it is selectively heated or cooled.

Although the thermoelectric device 117 of a square shape covering a portion of the discharge air flow path 105 is shown in fig. 25, the thermoelectric device 117 may have a rectangular shape covering the entire outlet of the discharge air flow path. That is, the thermoelectric device 117 may have a rectangular shape that covers all of the purified air of the air flow path from the outlet of the filter unit 104 to the inlet of the body flow generator 110. In the case of further heating the air, the heated air is heated downstream of the main body flow generator 110, and the effect will be better.

A thermal element such as a resistive heater 120 may be provided on the downstream side of the respective body flow generator 110. The resistive heater 120 may further heat the air pressurized by the body flow generator 110 toward the first air outlet 101. The resistive heater 120 may be used as a promoting means for further heating or superheating the air heated by the thermoelectric device 117.

Although a resistive heater is shown as the thermal element in fig. 25, other suitable thermal elements may be used. In other constructions, the thermal element may be a thermoelectric device that can be used to selectively heat or cool air on the downstream side of the body flow generator.

Fig. 26 shows a drying apparatus 20 according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 27 shows a cross-sectional view of the body 100 and the lever 200 of the drying apparatus of fig. 26.

As shown in fig. 26, in the drying device 20, the first air outlet 101 may be disposed so as to extend across at least a part of the drying surface of the main body 100. Unlike the drying apparatus 10 described above, in the case where the first air outlet 101 is provided along the edge of the main body 100, the first air outlet 101 of the drying apparatus 20 includes the outlet duct 123 arranged so as to cross the surface of the drying surface 14. In this embodiment, the outlet duct 123 is a plurality of vertical slits extending along the length of the main body 100 in the longitudinal direction, and is disposed across the drying surface 14. The outlet duct 123 is located in both the upper region 124 and the lower region 125. In this configuration, a difference in ejection may be allowed between other areas of the first air outlet 101.

Fig. 27 is a sectional view taken along line B-B' of fig. 26, which extends across the main body 100 and the lever 200, in the case where the first air outlet 101 is an outlet disposed so as to extend across the dry surface 14 of the main body 100. In the drying device 20, a pair of body flow generators 110 may deliver forced air to an air duct 121 (similar to that shown in fig. 8) that discharges forced air from the drying device 20, an air duct 122, and finally to a plurality of outlet air ducts 123. Shown in cross-section is an air duct 122 capable of receiving forced air from the air duct 121. The air duct 122 may include a plurality of vertical slits extending along a length direction of the main body corresponding to the vertical slits of the outlet air duct 123. The duct 122 may discharge the forced air flow to the plurality of outlet ducts 123 through a plurality of slits sequentially discharged from the outlet duct 123 to the outside of the main body 100. The first air outlet 101 may be formed by the air duct 122 and a plurality of outlet air ducts 123.

In this embodiment, the wand 200 may receive air from the main body flow generator 110 of the main body 100. For example, the rod 200 may have one or more inlets such as the air inlet 203 shown in fig. 27. An example of a lever 200 having this structure is shown in fig. 16. Referring to fig. 16, the lever 200 having a pair of air inlets 202 at the rear end of the lever 200 may receive the forced air flow from a portion of the plurality of outlet air ducts 123 corresponding to the pair of air inlets 202. Referring to fig. 27, air discharged from the body flow generator 110 inside the body 100 is received by one or more air inlets 203 and discharged from the second air outlet 201.

In the present embodiment, the lever 200 is provided with a pair of lever flow generators 204 that additionally accelerate the pressurized air received from the main body flow generator 110 of the main body 100. However, in other embodiments, the lever 200 does not have a lever flow generator 204, but directly exhausts the forced airflow received from the body flow generator 110 of the body 100. Although not shown, the rod 200 may include a resistive heater 120 as shown in fig. 18. Although not shown, the rod 200 may include a thermoelectric device instead of the resistive heater. The lever 200 may additionally adjust the forced air flow received from the main body 100. Differently, the lever 200 may not include an air conditioning device and discharge the forced air flow conditioned by the thermoelectric device 117 of the main body 100 without additionally conditioning the forced air flow received from the main body 100.

Referring again to fig. 26, the drying apparatus 20 may further include a foot support 400 that enables a person to place his or her feet. The air duct 122 may further extend to be connected to the foot support 400. The air duct 122 may supply air flow to one or more air outlets of the foot supporting part 400, thereby drying the feet of the person using air discharged from the one or more air outlets. In the configuration shown in fig. 26, the foot support 400 may be configured to retract into the main body 100 of the drying apparatus 20, for example, when not in use. However, in other embodiments, the foot support 400 may be supported and secured by its bottom without being retracted.

Fig. 28 is an exploded perspective view of the body of an embodiment of the present invention.

The body 100 may be covered by an injection molded plastic cover. As shown in fig. 28, the injection molded plastic cover may include a rear panel 140, side panels 142, and a front panel 144 covering the body 100. In other embodiments, the plastic cover may have a thin metal plate attached to its surface. The individual parts of the plastic cover can be snap-fitted to each other (snapfit). For example, one component may have a convex portion and the other component coupled thereto may have a corresponding concave portion. When the two parts are snap-engaged with each other, the male part enters the female part to be engaged with each other, and the two parts are fixed to each other. The plastic cover forms the appearance of the body 100, providing an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The plastic covers of the body 100 are separated by pulling the plastic covers from the body 100 due to the snap-coupling with each other, and can be optimized according to the preference of the user by replacing them with other plastic covers having an appearance and style satisfying the preference of the user. The plastic cover 230 (refer to fig. 26) of the lever 200 may also be separated and replaced with another plastic cover having an appearance and style satisfying the user's preference, thereby being able to be optimized according to the user's preference.

The drying apparatus described herein for use in a wet environment such as a bathroom or shower enclosure will likely become wet. Also, moisture may splash to the drying device during the drying by the user. After use, the bathroom or shower enclosure may also become high in humidity. Stagnant dirty water will probably cause unpleasant odours and may cause the proliferation of bacteria that are harmful to health. To solve this problem, various embodiments of a drying apparatus for drying a bathroom, a shower room, and particularly the drying apparatus itself will be described.

In the following description, in order to achieve the desired drying characteristics of the drying apparatus, the lever 200 and the second air outlet 201 may be operated independently or may be operated in association with each other, as needed. Fig. 29A and 29B are two views showing the drying device having the lever 200 of the second air outlet 201 and a part of the main body 100. The direction of the second air outlet 201 of the lever 200 may be changed according to the drying requirement. For example, as shown in fig. 29B, by rotating at least a portion of the lever 200 in the direction indicated by the arrow 213, the second air outlet 201 can be substantially selectively turned with respect to the horizontal axis, whereby the opening angle of the second air outlet 201 is relatively adjusted downward. The lever 200 may be rotated by a pair of motors 220 positioned at both side ends of the lever 200 (refer to fig. 18). However, the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and other devices may be used for rotating the lever 200. The selective control may be performed by a controller such as the controller 53 (see fig. 19) described above.

Fig. 30A and 30B are side views illustrating the rotational movement of the lever 200. In fig. 30A, arrow 213 shows the rotation of the lever 200 and the second air outlet 201 toward the lower direction, and arrow 215 shows the downward spit of the forced air flow discharged from the air outlet 201. Fig. 30B has the same structure as fig. 30A, but arrow 214 shows the upward rotation of the lever 200 and the second air outlet 201, and arrow 215 shows the upward ejection of forced air flow from the air outlet 201.

As shown in fig. 29A, 29B, 30A, and 30B, as the lever 200 and the second air outlet 201 are rotated substantially about the horizontal axis, the direction of the outlet forced air flow 215 may be oriented in the vertical direction with respect to the lever 200 toward other positions. For example, by controlling the rotation of the lever and the second air outlet 201 substantially about a horizontal axis, the forced air flow 215 may be expelled toward most or all areas of the drying apparatus orientation and/or toward upper and floor areas relative to the drying apparatus 10. For example, when the drying appliance 10 is positioned in a shower enclosure, the forced air flow 215 may reach not only the ceiling and floor of the shower enclosure, but also a wall opposite the drying appliance 10.

A sensor 221 located on the rod 200 may be used in order to sense a wet out condition of a certain area. For example, the sensor 221 may be a thermal sensor that may detect a wetted area from a temperature difference between the wetted area and a dry area, and the forced airflow 215 may be directed toward the wetted area based on the sensing by the sensor 221. The sensor 221 may be aligned with the direction of the forced air flow 215, and may detect dryness of an area dried using the forced air flow 215. When the sensor 221 once senses that the area is dry, the forced airflow 215 may be directed toward other areas where drying is desired. For example, when sensor 221 is a thermal sensor, an increase in temperature of a region may indicate that the region has been dried. Based on the sensing by the sensor 221, the forced air flow 215 may be systematically or randomly directed toward other areas until the other areas are partially or fully dried to a desired degree.

In other exemplary embodiments, the forced air 215 may remain stationary relative to the area to be dried, or the forced air 215 may rotate in more than one oscillating manner. For example, forced air 215 may repeatedly rotate between the positions shown in fig. 30A and 30B. For example, the rotation of the forced air flow 215 for covering the entire area to be dried, such as the entire shower enclosure, may be accomplished using a static air flow out of the wand 200, which may be accomplished by the wand 200 remaining stationary and repeatedly rotating in a vertical direction between a plurality of positions and/or a combination of vertical movement of the wand 200 relative to the first main body 100 and rotation of the wand 200.

Although the lever 200 and the second air outlet 201 are shown in fig. 29A, 29B, 30A and 30B as being rotated substantially about a horizontal axis, the lever 200 and the second air outlet 201 may be additionally or alternatively rotated about one or more other axes to control the direction of the forced air flow 215 in order to achieve a desired degree of drying of a desired drying area. For example, the lever 200 and the second air outlet 201 may be rotated with respect to two or three axes selected from a plurality of horizontal axes and vertical axes.

Fig. 31A and 31B are side views of the drying apparatus 10 having the second air outlets 201 aligned in two different directions. As shown in fig. 31A, the second air outlet 201 is configured to direct the forced air flow 215 from the drying device toward the outside in the horizontal direction. According to various embodiments, the second air outlet 201 may be controlled, for example, to divert forced air flow 215 upward as indicated by arrow 214 and/or downward as indicated by arrow 213. This movement of the second air outlet 201 can blow out the forced air flow over a wide area. Although the apparatus of fig. 31B has the same structure as that shown in fig. 31A, the direction of the first air outlet 201 is changed to be downward in the direction indicated by the arrow 213. Alternatively, the forced air flow 215 is discharged when the second air outlet 201 is directed toward the lower portion. The second air outlet 201 then switches direction to its original position. Such movement of the second air outlet 201 may perform a sweeping (sweeping) action.

In addition to changing direction upwardly and/or downwardly or relative to one or more other axes, forced air 215 may also be selectively expanded in several exemplary embodiments, as shown in fig. 31C and 31D.

The second air outlet 201 shown in fig. 31C is substantially similar to the second outlet 201 shown in fig. 31A. However, the second air outlet 201 of fig. 31C is configured as a jet-like shape having a slight expansion angle or almost no expansion angle in the vertical or horizontal direction. Differently, the second air outlet 201 may be configured such that the degree of expansion of the forced air flow 215 becomes greater. For example, as shown in fig. 31D, the forced air flow 215 may expand into a fan-like shape. In the structures of fig. 31C and 31D, the angle at which the forced air flow 215 spreads may be determined by the angle of the Arc (Arc) in the intermediate air outlet 208 (refer to fig. 17 and 18). As an example, a narrow arc angle may be formed to cover a stronger air flow of a narrow portion of the area, and a wide arc angle may be formed to cover a weaker air flow of a wider portion. The shape of the intermediate outlet 208 and the angle of the arc may be selected, for example, according to the effect of the forced air flow required on the user's body. In one configuration, the intermediate outlet 208 may have an adjustable nozzle, thus enabling adjustment of the angle of the arc in the intermediate outlet 208, whereby a jet-shaped forced air flow or a fan-shaped forced air flow may be discharged depending on the angle of the arc. A motor controlled by the controller 53 may be used for adjusting the adjustable nozzle.

Additionally or alternatively, as shown in fig. 32A and 32B, forced air flow 215 may expand in a lateral direction, and may also have different characteristics.

As shown in fig. 32A, the second air outlet 201 may be located at the lever 200, and the forced air flow 215 may be expanded at least in a lateral direction from the second air outlet 201. This will provide a forced air flow 215 that increases in distance from the lever 200 and expands in width direction, the width of the forced air flow 215 becoming larger than the width of the second air outlet 201.

As shown in fig. 32B, the lateral expansion and contraction of the forced airflow 215 can be controlled. The forced air flow 215 may be controlled to change direction to the left and/or right as indicated by arrows 216 and 217 in fig. 32B. The direction of the air flow may be controlled by the movement of the nozzle or by flow guides or integrated fins provided on the nozzle. For example, the nozzles provided on the intermediate outlet 208 may be moved to the left and/or right. A motor controlled by the controller 53 may be used to move the adjustable nozzle to the left and right.

As shown in fig. 32C and 32D, the second air outlet 201 may be an elongated slit extending across the length of the lever 200, and thus the forced air flow may be substantially planar. In one configuration, the length of the slit may substantially cover the body width of the user. To achieve this, the intermediate outlet 208 may be formed as an elongated slit provided along the length of the air duct 207 in the longitudinal direction. The second air outlet 201 configured as an elongated slit as shown in fig. 32C corresponds to the slit of the intermediate outlet 208. In this structure, the forced air flow 215 of the second air outlet 201 may cover an area having a width corresponding to the length of the slit as the lever 200 moves upward and/or downward in a vertical direction with respect to the main body 100.

As shown in fig. 32C, the forced air flow 215 may be configured to be discharged from the second air outlet 201 with minimal or no expansion in the lateral direction. Alternatively, the forced air flow 215 may be limited to expand wider in the lateral direction or contract narrower than the air outlet 201. For example, as shown in fig. 32D, the second air outlet 201 may be configured to contract the forced air flow 215 in the directions of the arrow 218 and the arrow 219, thereby changing the degree of lateral expansion of the forced air flow 215. To achieve this, a plurality of vertical louvers may be formed in the outlet portion of the intermediate outlet 208. To constrict the forced air flow, the half-shutter from the left side may be moved to the right side, and the half-shutter from the right side may be moved to the left side. Conversely, to expand the forced air flow, half of the louvers from the left may be moved to the left, and half of the louvers from the right may be moved to the right. The shutter may be moved by a motor controlled by the controller 53.

Fig. 32E and 32F are diagrams showing the different orientations of the second air outlet 201 and the rod 200 of the forced air flow 215. The structures shown in fig. 32E and 32F are usefully employed, for example, for drying the side walls of a shower enclosure.

The structure of the second air outlet 201 of fig. 32E is substantially similar to that of the air outlets shown in fig. 32A and 32B. Differently, the second air outlet 201 may act to change the direction of the forced air 215 to the side direction, additionally or alternatively to the expansion and contraction of the forced air 215 to the side direction. For example, as shown in fig. 32E, forced air flow 215 may be redirected left and right as indicated by arrow 218. This may be performed by a movable nozzle as described above.

As also shown in fig. 32C and 32D, the second air outlet 201 of fig. 32F has an elongated or slit-like structure. As shown in fig. 32F, the forced air flow 215 from the second air outlet 201 may be changed in direction, for example, as shown in fig. 32F, in the direction indicated by an arrow 218. This may be performed by a plurality of shutters that are movable as described above.

The configuration shown in fig. 32E and 32F may be advantageous, for example, for drying the side walls of the shower enclosure by reversing the direction of the forced air flow 215 from side to side. The up-and-down movement of the second air outlet 201 may be provided by a corresponding movement of part or all of the lever 200 in relation to the second air outlet 201. As described above, an example of some or all of such movement of the lever 200 is shown in fig. 29A and 29B.

One or more driving mechanisms may be located between the body 100 and the lever 200 to thereby achieve up and down movement of the lever 200. Examples of such a drive mechanism may be the motor 220 described above and shown in fig. 18. As shown in fig. 18, each pair of motors 220 may be provided at each side of the lever 200. The motor 220 may be a rotary motor or a stepper motor 193.

Additionally or alternatively, the second air outlet 201 itself may be configured differently or may be redirected in order to change the direction of the forced air flow 215. Examples of the structure of the direction conversion for changing the direction of the forced air flow 215 are shown in fig. 32A to 32F. The second air outlet 201 may comprise one or more nozzles, louvers or the like for changing the direction of the forced air flow from the second air outlet 201. Examples related thereto have been described above. The direction conversion or reconfiguration structure of the air outlet 201 may include one or more of the direction conversion or reconfiguration structures of the flow guiding elements. For example, when the forced air flow 215 is redirected sideways, as shown in fig. 32E and 32F, the air outlet 201 may include one or more vertical fin flow guides. These vertical fin flow guides may be redirected as indicated by arrows 218 in fig. 32E and 32F, thereby forcing airflow 215 to be redirected as shown.

The various embodiments described thus far include a rod 200. However, the drying device is not limited to one bar 200. For example, in order to perform the drying process more quickly, two or more bars may be used. All of the exemplary embodiments described herein may include one or more rods.

Fig. 33 is a diagram of a drying apparatus having a first lever 200 and a second lever 300. As shown in fig. 33, the second air outlet 201 of the first lever 200 may discharge the forced air flow 215 and enable the forced air flow 215 to be turned in the direction indicated by the arrow 222, and the third air outlet 301 of the second lever 300 may discharge the forced air flow 315 and enable the forced air flow 315 to be turned in the direction indicated by the arrow 223. As shown in fig. 33, the first and second bars 200 and 300 may be operated together to dry a specific area.

Differently, the first and second bars 200 and 300 may each be assigned different areas that need to be dried. For example, in case that the area to be dried is a shower room, the first lever 200 may be allocated as an upper portion of the drying shower room, and the second lever 300 may be allocated as a lower portion of the drying shower room. The above described dispensing is merely exemplary, and the first and second bars 200 and 300 may be dispensed and dried in various combinations for a given area.

Fig. 34A and 34B are side views illustrating a drying apparatus used to sweep (sweep) and/or evaporate remaining water from the ground in an embodiment of the present invention.

In an exemplary embodiment, after drying the user's body using the drying device, as shown in fig. 34A, the lever 200 may be moved downward along the body 100 in a vertical direction toward the lower portion of the first body 100. A sensor 221 located at the lever 200 may be used for detecting the humidity of the ground. For example, the sensor 221 may be a thermal sensor and determine a particular zone as a wet zone by comparing with the temperature of the dry zone and by detecting a lower temperature of the particular zone. In the illustrative embodiment, the lever 200 is rotatable, and thus, the sensor 221 may sweep across the ground such that a relatively wide area, although not all of the ground, may be sensed. For the purpose of illustration on the drawings, the areas with moisture will be described as water droplets.

When the sensor 221 determines that there is a region of moisture such as water drops left by the user on the ground, the sensing information transmits a signal to the controller 53. At this time, the controller 53 aligns the lever 200 so that the second air outlet 201 is directed toward the ground, preferably toward the periphery of the water droplet.

As shown in fig. 34B, the controller 53 can rotate the lever 200, and thus, the forced air flow 215 will be blown from the drying device toward the water droplets. The forced air flow 215 may exit the drying device and sweep (sweep) water droplets on the ground, and if water droplets can be expelled, the forced air flow 215 may sweep water droplets into the exhaust 231 as shown in fig. 34B.

The controller 53 may use the sensor 221 in order to determine whether there are residual water droplets as the water droplets are swept. For example, the controller 53 detects the presence of water droplets by returning the lever 200 to the position before the sweeping operation. When the controller 53 senses the remaining water droplets through the sensor 221, the controller 53 may repeatedly perform a sweeping action until the sensor 221 no longer senses the water droplets.

In other exemplary embodiments, the drying device may discharge hot air from the second air outlet 201 to evaporate water droplets. When the sensor 221 senses a water droplet, the controller 53 operates the stem flow generator 204 and may activate the resistive heater 120 as previously described. The controller 53 may deliver a flow of hot air to the area where the water droplets are sensed until the sensor 221 senses that the area has been dried.

Various configurations of the air outlet 201 may be used for sweeping and/or evaporating water droplets. In one example, it may be an air outlet in the form of a nozzle as shown in fig. 32A to 32F. In order to sweep and/or evaporate the water droplets in the lateral direction, the nozzle may be expanded in the lateral direction or may be switched in direction in the lateral direction, i.e. the air flow may be moved towards the left and right depending on the position of the water droplets.

The configuration and arrangement of the air outlets 201 is merely illustrative, and alternative different configurations and arrangements of the air outlets 201 may be used in order to achieve the desired results.

In other exemplary embodiments, the drying device may automatically perform a sweeping action and/or evaporation of the wet area based on a preset program after drying is completed by a user using the drying device.

Fig. 35 illustrates a drying apparatus having a first rod 200 and a second rod 300 used in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention to sweep and/or evaporate remaining moisture from the ground. To intensify the sweep of the water droplets, two rods may be used as the first rod 200 and the second rod 300. The first and second bars 200 and 300 may be operated alone or with each other. For example, the first rod 200 may perform a sweeping motion of sweeping the water droplets toward the discharge port 231, and the second rod 300 may closely follow the first rod 200 to perform a sweeping motion to sweep the water droplets remaining after the sweeping motion of the first rod 200 toward the discharge port 231.

In other exemplary embodiments, the first and second bars 200 and 300 may concentrate the first and second forced air streams 215 and 315, respectively, which may be hot air, to a region where moisture is present, thereby enhancing evaporation of the region where moisture is concentrated. In other exemplary embodiments, the first rod 200 may evaporate a water droplet from a region where the first moisture exists, and the second rod 300 may evaporate a water droplet from a region where the second moisture exists different from the region where the first moisture exists. In order to dry the areas where moisture exists, which are separated from each other, by having the first and second bars 200 and 300 each face the respective areas, faster drying of the ground can be achieved.

In other exemplary embodiments, the first rod 200 may perform a sweeping motion for sweeping water drops existing on the ground toward the discharge outlet 231. Although the second rod 300 may follow the first rod 200, the second rod 300 may perform a drying action by evaporating the remaining water droplets, instead of performing the action of sweeping the first rod 200 with the remaining water droplets.

The shape and arrangement of the first and second bars 200 and 300 and the mode of operation described above are merely exemplary, and other different shapes and arrangements may be used in order to achieve the desired results.

Fig. 36 is a diagram of a rod 200 constructed to be suitable for sterilization purposes in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The features of the lever 200 described above will not be repeated here and additional exemplary features will be described.

As shown in fig. 36, one or more elongated slits 233 and one or more elongated Ultraviolet (UV) light sources 235, such as UV-LEDs, are disposed at the rear surface of the lever 200. The forced air flow may be discharged through the one or more elongated slits 233.

The controller 53 may operate the resistive heater 120 and the second stem flow generator 204 of the stem 200 and a damper, fin or flow guide may be used to direct the heated air discharged by the second stem flow generator 204 from the air inlet 202 to the one or more elongated slits 233. The hot air exiting the one or more elongated slits 233 may be of sufficient temperature to, for example, kill bacteria on the body 100 and/or evaporate remaining residual moisture.

For illustrative purposes, as shown in fig. 36, the one or more UV light sources 235 are UV-LEDs. However, other UV light sources such as UV may be used. It is known to use a UV light source as a germicide such as ultraviolet germicidal irradiation. The ultraviolet light sources can be classified into UV-A (320-400 nm), UV-B (280-320 nm), UV-C (100-280 nm) according to wavelength. UV-A and UV-B are known to be not particularly effective in sterilization, whereas UV-C destroys the nucleic acid of bacteriSup>A and destroys their DNA for sterilization. In particular, ultraviolet radiation having a wavelength of approximately 265nm is very effective in sterilization. However, if exposed to UV-C for a long period of time, skin damage may result, and skin cancer may also result when severe. Prolonged exposure to UV-C may also cause vision impairment including retinal damage. Other undesirable effects of UV-C are degradation of plastics and rubber due to exposure thereto.

In other exemplary embodiments, the UV-LEDs may be LEDs that operate at wavelengths of approximately 405nm (violet) and approximately 460nm (blue), which are known to kill bacteria. Blue light is absorbed by bacteria, and as a result, the film collapses. Although less effective than UV-C, 405nm light does not pose a hazard to the human body as does UV-C and does not cause degradation to plastics or rubber.

In other exemplary embodiments, one or more of the elongated slots 233 or the UV light sources 235 may be replaced by an air ionizer 237 as shown in fig. 37C. In other words, the air ionizer 237 may be added to the arrangement shown in fig. 36. The air ionizer 237 may be used to generate cations and anions that are used to purify air for removal of bacteria, dust, smoke, mold, soot, pollen, house smell, etc. Ionized air is known to be potentially effective against a portion of viruses.

As shown in fig. 36, one or more elongated slits 233 and UV light sources 235 are located on the back of the rod 200. However, the drying device is not limited to this configuration, and one or more of the elongated slits 233 and the UV light source 235 may be located at the front surface or one or more of the outer surfaces of the lever 200. For example, one or more motors 220 may be used to rotate the rod 200 relative to the body 100 such that one or more elongated slots 233 and/or UV light sources 235 are oriented in a desired position.

Fig. 37A to 37C are side views illustrating the lever 200 in use for sterilizing or cleaning the main body 100 in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 37A to 37C, one or more structural elements such as an elongated slit 233 and/or a UV light source 235 located at the rear surface of the lever 200 may be used to sterilize or clean the main body 100. Differently, in order to orient one or more of the elongated slits 233 and/or the UV light sources 235 toward the main body 100, one or more motors 220 for rotating the lever 200 are provided, and thus, one or more of the elongated slits 233 or the UV light sources 235 may be located at one of the front surface and the outer surface of the lever 200.

As shown in fig. 37A, one or more elongated slits 233 face the main body 100. The controller 53 may drive the lever 200 to be lifted and lowered with respect to the main body 100. As the lever 200 moves along the main body 100, air or hot air may be discharged from the one or more elongated slits 233, thereby drying/sterilizing the front surface of the main body 100 including the drying surface.

As shown in fig. 37B, the one or more UV light sources 235 are directed toward the body 100. As the wand 200 is moved along the main body 100, the front surface of the main body 100, including the drying surface 14, may be exposed to germicidal UV radiation from the UV light source 235.

As shown in fig. 37C, the air ionizer 237 faces the main body 100. As the lever 200 moves along the main body 100, the air ionizer 237 may generate cations and anions for purifying air, and may sterilize the front surface of the main body 100 including the drying face 14.

The structural elements shown in fig. 37A to 37C may be used alone or in combination with each other in order to achieve the desired results. For example, during movement of the rod 200 along the body 100, the flow of air out of one or more elongated slits 233 may dry/sterilize the surface of the body 100, the UV light source 235 may sterilize portions of other surfaces of the body 100, and the air ionizer 237 may ionize air around the body 100.

Fig. 38A to 38C are side views showing the lever 200 rotated and used in the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 38A, the lever 200 may be tilted with respect to the main body 100 such that the one or more elongated slits 233 and/or UV light sources (235) dry/sterilize the periphery of the drying device.

As shown in fig. 38B, the rod 200 may be vertically aligned with respect to the main body 100 such that the one or more elongated slits 233 and/or the one or more UV light sources 235 dry/sterilize the area directly under the rod 200. For example, one or more of the elongated slits 233 and/or UV light sources 235 may dry/sterilize the floor below the wand 200.

As shown in fig. 38C, the lever 200 may be aligned such that one or more of the elongated slits 233 and/or the UV light sources 235 face toward the front of the main body 100, and the one or more of the elongated slits 233 and/or the UV light sources may dry/sterilize a region remote from the drying device. The air ionizer 237 (not shown) can ionize ambient air. In an exemplary embodiment, the air ionizer 237 may replace one or more of the elongated slots 233 or the UV light sources 235.

In other embodiments, one or more of the elongated slits 233 and the UV light source 235 may operate separately or together.

Fig. 39 is a side view of a body 100 including one or more vibration motors 239 in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 39, one or more vibration motors 239 may be provided at one or more positions on the main body 100. An example of the vibration motor 239 is shown in an enlarged view in fig. 39.

The vibration motor 239 may be a motor including an unbalanced mass (unbalancing mass) on its axis. When the motor rotates, for example, under the control of the controller 53, the unbalanced mass acts to vibrate a surface such as the dry face 14 of the main body 100. Vibration of one or more vibration motors 239 may cause water droplets to fall from the body 100. Simultaneously, or sequentially, as an additional process, the main body 100 may be further dried by the forced air flow 215 coming out of the second air outlet 201 of the lever 200.

Although illustrated as drying/sterilizing the front or dry face 14 of the body 100 using air flow or hot air, in other exemplary embodiments, ultrasonic waves generated in transducers including piezoelectric crystals (piezoelectric crytral) may be used in order to remove water droplets. Piezoelectric crystals transform electrical energy (current) into mechanical energy (acoustic wave). In one exemplary embodiment, ultrasonic treatment (ultrasonic) may be used for sterilization. The ultrasonic wave applied to the liquid forms bubbles and then collapses sharply. Bubble formation or cavitation bubbles based on ultrasonic flow may kill various bacteria, and thus, the transducer may replace or supplement the elongated slit 233 and/or the UV light source 235.

The outlet and the position and orientation of the outlet in which a component is located may be actively controlled by the controller 53. In action, the controller 53 may use input from one or more sensors for sensing user-related information such as the user's location or physical characteristics of the user. The controller may additionally receive information regarding the position of one or more of the second air outlets and may operate one or more associated drive mechanisms that provide the desired direction of the second air outlets.

The second air outlet may be capable of performing a direction change in the drying action, for example, corresponding to a change in the degree of dryness of the user, the position of the user, or one or more user inputs thereto. The control of the second air outlet may comprise the execution of vibrations or vibration modes of the second air outlet direction in drying.

In various exemplary embodiments, the wand 200 may receive at least several air flows generated by one or more of the main body flow generators 110 of the main body 100. This may increase the flow of air exiting the second air outlet 201 of the wand 200 beyond the capability of the wand flow generator 204.

The lever 200 is capable of receiving air from the body flow generator 110 by being connected to the first air outlet 101. Differently, the wand 200 may receive air through an air flow conduit between the main body 100 and the wand 200. Such air flow conduits may be selectively connected.

The air flow conduit between the body 100 and the wand 200 can be dynamically extended and retracted depending on the position of the wand 200 relative to the body 100. For this purpose, the catheter may comprise a catheter of variable length, for example a collapsible form, to accommodate different driving positions of the shaft 200 on the body 100.

Exemplary embodiments of the drying apparatus have been described above. The embodiments may be modified in accordance with specific uses and adaptations.

Where reference is made to an element or integer having an equivalent to that disclosed in the foregoing, such equivalent is included as if it were individually indicated to be incorporated herein.

While embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments should be considered in an illustrative sense only and should not be considered as limiting the technical scope of the present invention to the embodiments. Further, the present invention is defined not by the detailed description of the invention but by the appended claims, and all differences falling within the scope will be construed as being within the scope of the present invention.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that many variations of the present invention can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as described herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Claims (20)

1. A drying apparatus, comprising:

a main body having a pair of air inlets for sucking outside air formed at left and right sides thereof, respectively;

a filter unit that filters the sucked air at a downstream portion of the air inlet in the main body;

a pair of main body air flow generators, one provided at each of left and right sides of the inside of the main body, for receiving the purified air to form a first forced air flow;

a pair of thermoelectric devices, one thermoelectric device being provided on each of left and right sides of the inside of the main body, configured to regulate the temperature of the first forced air flow; and

a first air outlet formed at an edge of a front surface of the main body, communicating with each of the main body air flow generators, receiving a first forced air flow of which temperature is regulated from the main body air flow generator and discharging the first forced air flow toward a front of the main body;

further comprises:

a lever provided to be movable in an up-down direction with respect to the main body at a front surface of the main body;

a first driving device driving the lever to move the lever;

a second air inlet and a second air outlet formed at the lever;

A second air flow generator provided inside the lever, sucking external air from the second air inlet to form a second forced air flow and discharging the air through the second air outlet;

a second driving means for rotating the lever in a horizontal direction with respect to the main body; and

and a controller for controlling the first driving device and the second driving device.

2. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

further comprises:

and a thermal sensor for sensing the temperature of the region to be dried in the installation space of the drying device.

3. Drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein,

the controller is configured to control the second driving device based on information provided by the thermal sensor to adjust a direction of the second air outlet.

4. A drying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein,

the controller is configured to control the second driving device to cause the second air outlet to perform a sweeping action.

5. Drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein,

the controller is configured to control the second air flow generator to form the second forced air flow until the thermal sensor indicates dryness.

6. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the controller is configured to control the second air outlet laterally to the left and right with respect to the main body.

7. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the controller is configured to expand or contract the degree of diffusion of the second forced air stream.

8. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the controller is configured to orient the second air outlet such that the second air outlet is directed toward the front face of the main body.

9. The drying apparatus according to claim 8, wherein,

the controller is configured to control the first driving device to move the lever relative to the main body and to align the second forced air flow to orient the second forced air flow toward the front face of the main body.

10. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the wand further includes an ultraviolet light source, and the controller is further configured to provide ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light source toward the front face of the main body.

11. Drying apparatus according to claim 10, wherein,

the ultraviolet light source provides the ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 100nm to 280 nm.

12. Drying apparatus according to claim 10, wherein,

the ultraviolet light source provides the ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 405nm or 460 nm.

13. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the wand further comprises a transducer, and the controller is further configured to operate the transducer to generate ultrasonic waves toward the front face of the main body.

14. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the lever further includes an ultraviolet light source, the controller being configured to control the second drive device to rotate the lever relative to the body between a first position and a second position, and to control divergence of ultraviolet light from the ultraviolet light source.

15. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the lever further includes an air ionizer, the controller being configured to control the second drive device to rotate the lever relative to the body between a first position and a second position, and to control the occurrence of ionized air of the air ionizer.

16. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

and a plurality of vibration motors disposed at the main body, the controller being configured to control the plurality of vibration motors for vibrating a surface of the main body.

17. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

further comprises:

a second lever that moves relative to the body;

the second lever includes:

a third air inlet;

a third lever flow generator that receives intake air from the third air inlet and generates a third forced air flow; and

a third driving means for rotating the second lever in a horizontal direction axis with respect to the main body,

the controller is configured to control the third driving device to adjust a position of the third air outlet by rotating the second lever.

18. Drying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein,

the controller controls the direction of the second and third air outlets and the divergence of the second forced air flow from the second air outlet and the third forced air flow from the third air outlet, respectively.

19. Drying apparatus according to claim 18, wherein,

the controller controls the second forced air flow and the third forced air flow to sweep the wet area in a manner that assists with each other.

20. Drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the controller is configured to automatically perform a sweeping action and/or evaporation of the wet area based on a preset program.

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