JP2007275116A - Automatic cleaner for heater screen of dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact, light weight, and inexpensive apparatus for automatically cleaning dusts which are filtered and separated by a heater screen 7 and accumulated on the upper surface of the heater screen 7 by improving a dryer installed side by side a washing machine. <P>SOLUTION: An air spouting means 15 is installed on the side of the heater screen 7. The air spouting means is provided with a plurality of air nozzles 15b and radially spouts compressed air along the surface of the heater screen 7 as indicated by arrows (e), (f), and (g). The air nozzles 15b comprise thick tubes as illustrated in a magnified detailed figure E and a horizontal groove 15e is provided on an end surface, so that the compressed air spouted from spouting holes 15d spreads into a horizontal fan-like form, blows dusts off, and cleans the whole surface of the heater screen 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer that automatically cleans a screen provided in a heater in a hot-air dryer installed in a washing machine or the like.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the dryer. However, it is not a realistic projection because the structural function is schematically depicted so that it can be easily read.
An outer cylinder 2 that is a stationary member is installed in the dryer main body 1, and an inner cylinder 3 that is a rotating member is disposed concentrically with the outer cylinder. This inner cylinder is made of a punching plate to provide air permeability.

The outer body 2 accommodates the laundry 4 and rotates as indicated by an arrow a. The fan 5 that is rotationally driven by the fan motor 5a sucks the air in the dryer main body 1 as shown by arrows d and b and releases it into the atmosphere.

As a result, the inside of the dryer main body 1 becomes negative pressure, and the air is sucked through the heater 6 as shown by an arrow c.
The sucked air rotates together with the laundry 4 as indicated by an arrow a, and then flows into the fan 5 through the lint screen 8 to flow.

The intake air indicated by the arrow c is heated by the heater 6 to become hot air, and rotates and flows in the inner body 3 to dry the laundry 4.
Lint (cotton dust) generated from the laundry during drying is captured by the lint screen 8.
Dust in the intake air indicated by the arrow c is captured by the heater screen 7. Dust floating in the air of a laundry factory is mainly cotton dust.
If the heater screen is clogged with dust, the drying efficiency is reduced and must be removed.

  Since lint (cotton dust) is a common part of washing operations, various methods for capturing lint in washing machines have been studied. In the invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-312573 cited as Patent Document 1, water is poured into a duct through which drying air flows to wash out lint, and lint in the water stream is removed by a lint filter. Yes. However, no particular contrivance has been made for the method of removing the lint accumulated in the lint filter.

The invention described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-8280 cited as Patent Document 2 prevents lint accumulation by increasing the air path area of the lint filter and attaching it diagonally to reduce the air path resistance. However, there are no special measures for cleaning the lint filter.
JP 2005-31573 A JP 2004-8280 A

When the dryer shown in FIG. 2 is operated, cotton dust accumulates on the heater screen 7 and the lint screen 8 and must be cleaned.
As can be easily estimated from FIG. 2, the lint screen 8 is relatively easy to clean.
Since the heater screen 7 is located at a high place, cleaning is not easy.
For this reason, conventionally, a great deal of time and labor is spent on cleaning the lint screen.

In order to automatically clean the heater screen, the cleaning device shown in FIG. 3 has been put into practical use.
Guide / transmission means 10 driven by a motor 11 is provided on the side of the heater screen 7, and the suction port 9 is scraped along the heater screen 7.
A suction hose 12 is connected to the suction port 9 and is sucked by a suction fan 13 through a dust collection chamber 14. There is no big difference if you think that an ultra-large household vacuum cleaner is automatically operated.

The automatic cleaning apparatus of FIG. 3 described above is large and heavy, and its manufacturing cost is expensive.
The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a small, lightweight, and low-cost heater screen automatic cleaning device.

The basic principle of the present invention created to achieve the above object will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 1 corresponding to one embodiment thereof.
A large number of air nozzles 15b are arranged on the side of the heater screen 7, and compressed air is injected as indicated by arrows e, f, and g.
Thereby, the cotton dust deposited on the heater screen 7 is easily blown off.

In the conventional example shown in FIG. 3, dust accumulated on the heater screen 7 is sucked by the suction fan 13 and collected in the dust collecting chamber 14. When this dust is blown off, what is blown away? The question of whether or not it will occur is not a concern for the following reasons.
The time for one drying operation is 20 to 30 minutes, and the amount of dust accumulated during this time is small. This slight dust causes a problem because it clogs the heater screen, but it is a local phenomenon in the entire dryer.
From a broader view, some cotton dust floats in the air in the laundry factory. For this reason, an air conditioner is provided as factory equipment, and air is also cleaned.
Therefore, the slight cotton dust blown off from the heater screen is captured by the air cleaning function of the air conditioner as factory equipment and does not cause any actual harm.

As a specific configuration based on the above-described principle, the heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer according to the invention of claim 1 includes:
(Refer to FIG. 2) A breathable inner cylinder (3) rotatably supported with respect to the dryer main body (1), and a fan (5) for sucking air through the inner cylinder and passing it through the inner cylinder And a heater (6) for heating air flowing into the inner cylinder, and a heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer provided with a heater screen (7) for filtering the inflow air ,
(Refer FIG. 1) It is characterized by the air injection means (15) which injects compressed air along the air inflow side surface (upper surface in the figure) of the heater screen (7).

The configuration of the heater screen automatic cleaning device according to the invention of claim 2 is in addition to the configuration requirements of the invention device of claim 1,
(See FIG. 1) In the air injection means (15), a plurality of air nozzles (15b) are arranged in a row on the air inflow side of the heater screen (7).
Each of the air nozzles is characterized in that compressed air is ejected radially (arrows e, f, and g) substantially in parallel with the air inflow side surface of the heater screen.

The configuration of the heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer according to the invention of claim 3 is in addition to the configuration requirements of the invention device of claim 1 or claim 2,
(Refer to FIG. 1) The air nozzle (15b) has a thick tubular shape, and a "groove (15e) perpendicular to the axis (XX) of the thick tube" is provided on the tip surface. An injection hole (15d) is opened in the groove bottom surface.

  In addition to the constituent features of the invention device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the air nozzle (15b) is configured so that the heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer according to the invention of claim 4 has the following structure. The jetting direction can be adjusted between a direction away from the air inflow side surface of the heater screen (7) and a direction close to the air inflow side surface of the heater screen.

  When the automatic heater screen cleaning device for a dryer according to claim 1 is applied, dust accumulated on the heater screen can be blown off with a simple and low-cost configuration, and labor costs can be reduced only. It is also effective in preventing occupational accidents.

  When the heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer according to claim 2 is applied together with the inventive device of claim 1, compressed air is ejected radially from an air nozzle that is a stationary member to clean substantially the entire surface of the heater screen. be able to. Since it is not a mechanically moving structure, it does not generate noise and vibration, and it only supplies compressed air and does not consume other energy.

  When the heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer according to claim 3 is applied together with the inventive device of claim 1 or claim 2, a radial jet along the surface of the heater screen without moving a nozzle having a simple structure. An air flow can be generated.

  When the heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer according to claim 4 is applied together with the invention device of claims 1 to 3, depending on the type and size of the screen element of the heater screen and the nature of the accumulated dust. Effective cleaning can be performed by injecting a compressed air flow in an appropriate direction.

FIG. 1 is a schematic external perspective view showing an embodiment of an automatic heater screen cleaning device according to the present invention, and a detailed enlarged view of an air nozzle.
This figure depicts the most common heater, and the air inlet side of the heater screen is horizontal. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, up and down, horizontal, and tilt are referred to in the state depicted in FIG.
Air spraying means 15 is installed along the edge of the heater screen 7, and compressed air is supplied by an air supply pipe 15c. In this embodiment, compressed air of 0.5 to 0.6 MPa was used.

In this air injection means, a plurality of (in this example, five) air nozzles 15b are mounted on a manifold 15a, and each air nozzle emits an air flow radially as indicated by arrows e, f, and g. Spray. The above-mentioned arrow e, arrow f, and arrow g are almost horizontal. That is, the jetting is performed substantially parallel to the surface of the heater screen 7. The above “substantially” will be described in detail later (in paragraph number 0021).
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the heater screen 7 is the air inflow side and the lower surface is the outflow side. Therefore, the dust trapped by the heater screen accumulates on the upper surface (air inflow side). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the air injection means 15 of the present invention is provided on the air inflow side of the heater screen 7.

A portion surrounded by a circular chain line E is a perspective view drawn by enlarging and partially breaking one of the plurality of air nozzles 15b.
The X axis is the center line of the air nozzle 15b and is horizontal in this example. Y is a horizontal axis orthogonal to the X axis, and Z is a vertical axis.
The air nozzle 15b has a thick tubular shape, and a horizontal groove 15e in the Y-axis direction is cut on the tip surface. As a result, the injection hole 15d opens at the groove bottom of the horizontal groove.
In the present invention, the thick-walled pipe refers to a pipe having a central hole area in a transverse section that is 1/2 or less of the total area.

When the air nozzle 15b as described above is used, a radial ejection air flow indicated by the arrows e, f, and g can be obtained.
Thus, it is possible to cause horizontal radial injection without causing the air nozzle to oscillate, which is very suitable.

As described above, the basic configuration is that the air nozzle 15b is installed parallel to the air inflow side surface of the heater screen 7, that is, horizontally. It is desirable that the manifold 15a is configured to be rotatable around the Y axis so that the direction of the radial jet air flow indicated by the arrows e, f, and g can be slightly adjusted up and down. In the present invention, “substantially parallel to the heater screen surface” means “basically parallel to the air inflow surface of the heater screen and adjustable”.
The adjustable angle range is suitably 15 degrees upward and 30 degrees downward. If comprised in this way, it can adjust to the most efficient injection direction according to the style and area of a heater screen, and the quantity and property of dust.

The above description with reference to FIG. 1 is a case where the air inflow side surface of the heater screen is horizontal. However, since the surface on the air inflow side of the heater screen is not necessarily horizontal, an application example when the heater screen surface is inclined will be described.
The posture of the air nozzle in the present invention is determined with reference to the heater screen. Therefore, when the heater screen surface is inclined, the X axis shown in FIG. 1 is inclined in accordance with the heater screen.

In this case, the X axis shown in the figure is parallel to a coordinate axis parallel to the air inflow side surface of the heater screen, and the Z axis is a coordinate axis perpendicular to the heater screen surface. The Y axis is a coordinate axis orthogonal to the X axis and the Z axis.
Considering the case where the heater screen is inclined in this way, the meaning of adjusting the air nozzle injection direction up and down is to bring the injection direction closer to or away from the air inflow side surface of the heater screen. .

1 is a schematic external perspective view with an enlarged detailed perspective view of a partially broken air nozzle showing an embodiment of a “heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer” according to the present invention. Schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a dryer attached to a washing machine, with an air flow path added A perspective view depicting a conventional example of a device for cleaning a heater screen that filters air flowing into a heater of a dryer

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Dryer main body 2 ... Outer cylinder 3 ... Inner cylinder 4 ... Laundry 5 ... Fan 6 ... Heater 7 ... Heater screen 8 ... Lint screen 9 ... Suction port 10 ... Guide and transmission means 11 ... Motor 12 ... Suction hose 13 ... Suction fan 14 ... dust collection chamber 15 ... air injection means 15a ... manifold 15b ... air nozzle 15c ... air supply pipe 15d ... injection hole 15e ... horizontal groove

Claims (4)

An inner cylinder provided in the dryer main body, a fan that sucks air through the dryer main body and ventilates the inner cylinder, and a heater that heats the air flowing into the inner cylinder. And the above heater is a heater screen automatic cleaning device of a dryer provided with a heater screen for filtering air,
An apparatus for automatically cleaning a heater screen of a dryer, wherein air jetting means for jetting air is provided along a surface on the air inflow side of the heater screen. The air injection means has a plurality of air nozzles arranged on the air inflow side of the heater screen,
2. The heater screen automatic cleaning for a dryer according to claim 1, wherein each of the air nozzles has a structure in which compressed air is ejected radially in parallel with a surface on the air inflow side of the heater screen. apparatus.   The air nozzle is formed of a thick tube, and a "groove perpendicular to the axis of the thick tube" is provided on the tip surface, and an injection hole is opened at the bottom of the groove. A heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer according to claim 1 or 2. The air injection means is a mechanism capable of adjusting the injection direction between a direction away from the air inflow side surface of the heater screen and a direction close to the air inflow side surface of the heater screen. The heater screen automatic cleaning device for a dryer according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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