JP2010125258A - Far infrared washing and drying machine and far infrared washing and drying method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remarkably improve the handling efficiency and also reduce discharge of carbon dioxide by improving a technique for drying dehydrated washing in a laundry factory. <P>SOLUTION: The reference numeral 5 designates a rotary drum in which washing is put. A number of far infrared heaters 7 are arranged in the periphery of the rotary drum 5. In the far infrared heaters, the radiation surfaces thereof directed toward the center line X of the rotary drum 5. A number of light transmitting holes 5a for transmitting far infrared rays are bored in the rotary drum 5. The washing (not shown in drawing) in the rotary drum 5 is dried more quickly than using hot air by irradiation of far infrared rays. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for drying laundry after finishing washing and dewatering in a laundry factory, and is improved to improve work efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide emission.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view depicting a conventional dryer. A rotating drum 2 made of a perforated plate is installed in the case 1.
The rotating drum rotates as shown by an arrow a with the laundry put therein. The laundry is rotating while being stirred.
When the air in the case is exhausted by the exhaust fan 3 as shown by the arrow b, the inside of the case becomes negative pressure.
When the inside of the case becomes negative pressure, atmospheric air is sucked as indicated by an arrow e and flows through the heat exchange heater 4.
Steam is supplied to the heat exchange heater 4 as indicated by arrows c and d, and the sucked outside air is heated to about 160 ° C.
The heated hot air is circulated as indicated by arrows f, g, and h to dry the laundry. Reference numeral 6 denotes a lint filter, which removes lint generated from the laundry by filtration.

FIG. 6 is a temperature graph shown for explaining the operation of a conventional dryer, in which time is plotted on the horizontal axis and temperature change of the laundry is plotted on the vertical axis.
When the supply of hot air starts at time t ₀ , the temperature of the laundry increases from room temperature (20 ° C.) along curve O → A, and becomes 40 ° C. to 50 ° C.
The laundry is dried while being heated with hot air, and the latent heat of vaporization is taken away. Therefore, a substantially constant temperature is maintained during the curve A → B.
The time from the time t ₀ corresponding to the start time 0 of the drying process to the time t ₂ corresponding to the point A on the curve is called the evaporation temperature rising period, and the point on the curve from the time t ₂ corresponding to the point A on the curve. up to time t _4, which corresponds to B is called the latent heat of vaporization constant temperature period.

Passes through the point B on the curve at time t _4, since the latent heat of vaporization from the laundry is not taken away, the temperature rise becomes fast, relatively rapidly rises toward the point B on the curve point C on the curve .
Even if the drying operation is continued, the temperature of the laundry does not rise above the hot air temperature of 160 ° C., and the temperature curve becomes horizontal at point D.
Since it is not necessary to raise the temperature so far, the process is generally completed at 90 ° C. (time t ₅ , point C on the curve).
JP 2002-113291 A

To summarize the prior art of laundry drying, air is heated by steam generated by burning fuel such as petroleum (heavy oil) and gas to create hot air of 160 ° C, and this hot air is brought into contact with the laundry for drying. Let
For this reason, the drying speed naturally has a limit, and it is difficult to dramatically increase the processing efficiency of the dryer having the same volume capacity.
In addition, carbon dioxide accompanying combustion causes global pollution (warming).

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and the object thereof is to dramatically increase the processing efficiency of a dryer having the same volume capacity, and to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide generated. It is to provide a laundry drying technique that can be reduced.

The basic principle of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 corresponding to the first embodiment. In this [Means for Solving the Problems] column, drawing symbols are added in parentheses for easy comparison with the drawings, but these bracketed symbols limit the configuration of the present invention as shown in the drawings. Not what you want.
The rotating drum (5) is a component corresponding to the rotating drum (2) in the conventional example (FIG. 5). However, compared to the conventional rotating drum (2) having holes for ventilation, the rotating drum (5) of the present invention has a light transmitting hole (5a) for transmitting far-infrared rays. ) Is provided.
Although the ventilation hole and the light transmission hole are similar in appearance, the technical significance is completely different, and the light transmission hole is an opening for transmitting far infrared rays.
A number of far-infrared heaters (7) are arranged around the rotating drum (5), and far-infrared rays are projected onto the laundry to raise the temperature of the laundry.
The moisture contained in the laundry evaporates as the temperature rises, and the laundry is dried. Ventilation is desirable to remove evaporated water vapor and facilitate subsequent evaporation. However, the technical significance of the hot air circulation for drying in the conventional example and the ventilation for humidity suppression in the present invention are significantly different.

The configuration of the far-infrared laundry dryer according to the invention of claim 1 is:
(Refer to FIG. 1) In a laundry dryer having a drum that rotates with dehydrated laundry,
The far-infrared heater (7) is arranged so as to face and separate from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum (5), and
A through hole (5a) for transmitting far-infrared rays is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum.

The configuration of the far-infrared laundry dryer according to the invention of claim 2 is in addition to the configuration requirements described in claim 1,
(Refer FIG. 2) The radiation surface of the far infrared heater (7) is substantially rectangular,
And in the state where it arranged, this radiation surface has comprised the concave cylinder surface concentric with a rotating drum (5), It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

The configuration of the far-infrared laundry dryer according to the invention of claim 3 is in addition to the configuration requirements described in claim 2 of the invention,
(See FIG. 2) A number of far-infrared heaters (7) are arranged so that the long side of the far-infrared heater radiation surface is parallel to the center line (X) of the rotating drum (5). It is characterized by.

The far-infrared laundry drying method according to the invention of claim 4
(See FIG. 1) Using the far-infrared laundry dryer according to claim 1, the laundry is irradiated with far-infrared rays while rotating the rotating drum (5) and dried.
(See FIG. 3) At the beginning of the drying process, the far-infrared heater is energized with a rated current value to radiate far-infrared rays with a rated radiation intensity, and the laundry in the rotating drum is rapidly heated to 60 ° C. to 80 ° C. The temperature is raised (between t ₀ and t ₂ , the evaporation temperature rising period from _{0 to} α),
A vaporization latent heat isothermal drying period is performed at 60 ° C. to 80 ° C. (between t ₂ and t ₃ ),
When the temperature of the laundry starts to rise rapidly as the moisture content decreases, the far-infrared irradiation is stopped at 100 ° C. ± 20 ° C. (near the point γ), and the dried laundry is discharged from the rotating drum and dried. The process is terminated.

The far-infrared laundry drying method according to the invention of claim 5
(See FIG. 1) A method of using the far-infrared laundry dryer according to claim 1 to dry the laundry by irradiating the laundry with far-infrared while rotating the rotating drum (5),
At the beginning of the drying process, a far-infrared heater (7) is energized with a rated current value to emit far-infrared rays with a rated radiation intensity,
(See FIG. 4) The temperature of the laundry in the rotating drum is raised to 40 ° C. to 60 ° C. (range Ra),
This (range Ra) is subjected to vaporization latent heat isothermal drying at 40 ° C. to 60 ° C.,
When the temperature of the laundry starts to rise rapidly with a decrease in the moisture content of the laundry, the far-infrared irradiation is stopped at 100 ° C. ± 20 ° C., and the dried laundry is discharged from the rotating drum and dried. It is characterized by terminating.

When applying the far-infrared laundry dryer according to the invention of claim 1,
Large heat energy compared to the conventional example by hot air can be given to the laundry in a short time, so that the temperature of the laundry rises rapidly, and the heat balance (vaporization latent heat constant temperature at a higher temperature than in the conventional example). And the drying process is completed in a short time.
In addition, since the rotating drum is provided with a light transmitting hole, it is possible to irradiate far infrared rays into the drum even if a far infrared heater is disposed outside the rotating drum. For this reason, a far-infrared heater can be supported easily and firmly.
And since it is the system heated with electric power not depending on combustion of petroleum etc., the discharge amount of carbon dioxide is suppressed.
(Note) Since power generation methods other than thermal power generation are also used, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by power heating is equivalent to about half of the direct combustion method.

When applying the far-infrared laundry dryer according to the invention of claim 2,
Far infrared rays projected from the far infrared heater are efficiently given to the laundry.
Thereby, the manufacturing cost and the operating cost of the dryer are reduced, and as a result, the effect of suppressing the generation of carbon dioxide is improved.

If the far-infrared laundry dryer which concerns on invention of Claim 3 is applied, a high-intensity far-infrared heater can be arrange | positioned compared with the shape dimension of a rotating drum. For this reason, the shape of the dryer is smaller than the thermal capacity and processing capacity.
By reducing the size of the dryer, the required area in the laundry factory is reduced, and heat loss due to radiation from the outer peripheral surface of the dryer to the surroundings is suppressed.

Applying the far-infrared laundry drying method according to the invention of claim 4,
Compared with the conventional drying method using hot air, a large amount of heat energy can be given to the laundry in a short time, so that the laundry quickly rises in temperature and has a high heat balance (vaporization latent heat constant temperature state). The drying process is completed in a short time.
And since it is the system heated with electric power not depending on combustion of petroleum etc., the discharge amount of carbon dioxide is suppressed.

The far-infrared laundry drying method according to the invention of claim 5 is a compromise between the drying method of claim 4 and the conventional drying method,
While keeping the number of relatively expensive far-infrared heaters installed (specifically, the rated power consumption of far-infrared heaters) low, the drying process is more efficient than in the conventional example, and carbon dioxide emissions are lower than in the conventional example. The amount can be saved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side sectional view showing an embodiment of a far-infrared laundry dryer according to the present invention. Since it is drawn schematically, it is not a realistic projection.
The rotating drum 5 rotates as indicated by an arrow a (similar to the rotating drum in the conventional example). A number of light transmitting holes 5a are formed on the side wall, and the hole area ratio is about 0.6.
A large number of far-infrared heaters 7 are arranged outside the rotating drum 5 along a circle concentric with the rotating drum. Reference numeral 8 denotes a heater support frame.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the rotary drum 5 and the far infrared heater 7 extracted from the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 described above.
In FIG. 2, the heater support frame 8 (see FIG. 1) described above is omitted, and a part of the many far infrared heaters 7 is broken and removed.
The far infrared heater of this example is a known member to which a commercially available product is applied.
Commercially available far-infrared heaters generally have one radiation surface, and the radiation surface has a circular or rectangular shape.
The radiating surface is generally substantially planar or slightly concave, but can be ordered from the dryer manufacturer specifying the radiating surface shape.

The far-infrared heater 7 of this embodiment has a rectangular radiation surface (rounded at the four corners), forms a concave cylindrical surface having substantially the same curvature as the rotating drum 5, and is arranged concentrically ( The center line of the rotating drum 5 is indicated by the reference sign X).
Thereby, the far infrared rays projected from the far infrared heater 7 are concentrated in the vicinity of the laundry in the drum, and the laundry is efficiently heated.
In the present invention, the term “rectangular” means a shape similar to a rectangle that can be regarded as a rectangle. Since the radiation surface of the far-infrared heater is generally rectangular, the far-infrared heater can be arranged on the outer periphery of the rotating drum 5 without any clearness (actually at a narrow interval).

(Refer to FIG. 1) When the rotating drum 5 rotates in the direction of arrow a, the laundry therein is scraped up as indicated by arrow M and stirred while rotating. Since far-infrared rays are projected from the far-infrared heater 7 toward the laundry being stirred, the laundry is heated uniformly and heated.
The warmed laundry releases the contained moisture as water vapor and gradually dries. In this case, in order to promote drying, the inside of the drum is ventilated by a ventilation mechanism (not shown).

Two embodiments of the drying method performed using the far-infrared laundry dryer of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described below.
FIG. 3 is a time-temperature curve for explaining the first embodiment.
For comparison, the conventional temperature rise curve OABCD shown in FIG. 6 is drawn with a chain line, and the temperature rise curve O-α-β-γ of the first embodiment is shown with a solid line. It is drawn.

In the first drying process, in the conventional example, the temperature is increased as indicated by curve OA while evaporating water. However, in the present invention, the temperature is increased rapidly as indicated by curve O-α because the heating is performed using far infrared rays. Here, “rapidly” means more rapidly than the conventional example.
Since the amount of heat input by the far infrared heater is large, the heat balance temperature becomes high.
That is, the vaporization latent heat constant temperature (α-β) in which the amount of heat given by radiation and the amount of heat taken as vaporization latent heat balance is 70 ° C to 80 ° C.
In the vaporization latent heat constant temperature period (α-β), which is higher than the vaporization latent heat constant temperature period (AB) in the conventional example, evaporation is performed more actively than in the conventional example, so the vaporization latent heat constant temperature end time in the conventional example is reached. early than t _4, latent heat of vaporization constant-temperature phase is completed at the time t _3.

After the evaporative latent heat isothermal period end time t ₃ (point β on the curve), the latent heat of vaporization is not taken away, so from the previous evaporation temperature rising period (time t _{0 to} t ₂ , points O to α on the curve) The temperature rises rapidly. The drying temperature rise period (time t ₃ ~, point γ ~ on the curve) is reached.
The drying temperature increase period in the conventional example continues until the laundry temperature reaches the steam temperature (160 ° C.). However, the drying temperature increase in the present invention is not limited by the steam temperature, so it is going to continue anywhere.
However, even if the laundry is heated to 90 ° C. or more, it is harmful without any benefit. Therefore, the drying process is terminated near the point γ on the curve, and the laundry is discharged from the rotating drum 5.
However, the drying process end point (γ) can be changed as appropriate (for example, 100 ° C. ± 20 ° C.). It is not possible to deviate from the technical scope of the present invention by avoiding this range (100 ° C. ± 20 ° C.) meaninglessly.

FIG. 4 is a time-temperature curve for explaining the second embodiment.
For comparison, the conventional temperature rising curve O-A-B-C-D shown in FIGS. 6 and 3 is drawn with a one-dot chain line, and the first embodiment shown in FIG. Draw curve O-α-β-γ with two-dot chain line,
In the second embodiment, the area representing the temperature rise state of the laundry is shown with spots.
As can be seen from FIG. 4, the second embodiment is a compromise between the conventional example (one-dot chain line) and the first embodiment (two-dot chain line).

The gist of the second embodiment is as follows.
When the far-infrared laundry dryer of the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 is manufactured, the purchase price of the far-infrared heater is relatively expensive.
Therefore, considering with reference to FIG.
When the far infrared heater is arranged on the outer periphery of the rotating drum without any clearness, it becomes the curve O-α-β-γ of the first embodiment, but if the number of installed far infrared heaters is reduced, the slope of the curve becomes gentle,
When further reduced, the conventional example (curve OABC-) is approached.

The effect of the present invention will be lost if it matches the curve of the conventional example too much, but the number of far-infrared heaters is reduced within the range located above the graph of the conventional example to reduce the manufacturing cost. However, the drying operation can be performed more efficiently than the conventional example.
The second embodiment is made on the basis of the above-mentioned consideration, and aims to suppress the manufacturing cost while maintaining the effects of the invention.
In more detail, even if the same far-infrared laundry dryer is used, if a large amount of laundry is put into the rotating drum and dried, the slope of the laundry temperature-time curve becomes gentle, and the amount of laundry is reduced. Decreasing the value makes the slope of the curve steep.

(Refer to FIG. 3) Now, assuming that 100 kilograms of laundry is put into a specific far-infrared laundry dryer as rated and the drying operation of the first embodiment is performed, this corresponds to the method of claim 4.
When 120 kg (overload) of laundry is put in the same far-infrared laundry dryer and the same operation is performed, the temperature-time curve of the laundry becomes gentler than O-α-β-γ. , (See FIG. 4), it moves within the range shown with spots.
When such an operation is performed, the temporal efficiency is lower than that of the first embodiment, but the efficiency is higher than that of the conventional example (curve OABCD).
In this way, the far-infrared drying is performed within the range shown with spots in FIG. 4, which corresponds to claim 5.

As understood from the above consideration, the thermal capacity of the far-infrared heater installed in the dryer of the present invention does not uniquely correspond to the temperature-time curve of the laundry.
The thermal capacity of the far infrared heater, the amount of laundry put in, and the temperature-time curve of the laundry change in relation to each other.
Considering in more detail, the quality of the laundry, the moisture content of the laundry, the ventilation state in the drum, and the like affect the drying time, not just the “amount of laundry”.
Therefore, the discrimination between the first embodiment (Claim 4) and the second embodiment (Claim 5) is based on the temperature in the vaporization latent heat constant temperature drying state.
That is, the vaporization latent heat isothermal drying temperature in the first embodiment (Claim 4) is 60 ° C to 80 ° C,
The vaporization latent heat isothermal drying temperature in the second embodiment (Claim 5) is 40 ° C to 60 ° C.

1 is a side cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an embodiment of a far-infrared laundry dryer according to the present invention. It is the perspective view which extracted and extracted the principal part of the far-infrared laundry dryer which concerns on embodiment shown in above-mentioned FIG. It is a graph which shows the laundry temperature-time curve in 1st Embodiment which implemented the drying method of this invention using the far-infrared laundry dryer which concerns on this invention. It is a graph which shows the laundry temperature-time curve in 2nd Embodiment which implemented the drying method of this invention using the far-infrared laundry dryer which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing showing the prior art example of a laundry dryer. It is a graph showing the laundry temperature-time curve in drying operation using the laundry dryer of a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Case 2 ... Rotating drum 3 ... Exhaust fan 3a ... Fan motor 4 ... Heat exchange heater 5 ... Rotating drum 6 ... Lint filter 7 ... Far infrared heater 8 ... Heater support frame

Claims (5)

In a laundry dryer having a drum that rotates with dehydrated laundry,
While arranging the far infrared heaters, facing and separating from the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum,
The outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum is formed with a through hole that transmits far infrared rays,
Far-infrared laundry dryer. The radiation surface of the far infrared heater is generally rectangular,
The far-infrared laundry dryer according to claim 1, wherein the radiation surface forms a concave cylindrical surface concentric with the rotating drum in the arranged state.   The far-infrared laundry dryer according to claim 2, wherein a number of far-infrared heaters are arranged so that the long side of the rectangle is parallel to the center line of the rotating drum. The far-infrared laundry dryer according to claim 1, wherein the laundry is dried by irradiating the laundry with far-infrared while rotating the rotating drum,
At the beginning of the drying process, a far-infrared heater is energized with a rated current value to radiate far-infrared rays with a rated radiation intensity, and the laundry in the rotating drum is rapidly heated to 60 ° C to 80 ° C.
Perform vaporization latent heat isothermal drying at 60 ° C to 80 ° C,
When the temperature of the laundry starts to rise rapidly as the moisture content decreases, the far-infrared irradiation is stopped at 100 ° C. ± 20 ° C., and the dried laundry is discharged from the rotating drum. Infrared laundry drying method. The far-infrared laundry dryer according to claim 1, wherein the laundry is dried by irradiating the laundry with far-infrared while rotating the rotating drum,
At the beginning of the drying process, a far-infrared heater is energized with a rated current value to emit far-infrared rays with a rated radiation intensity, and the laundry in the rotating drum is heated to 40 ° C to 60 ° C.
Perform vaporization latent heat isothermal drying at 40 ° C to 60 ° C,
When the temperature of the laundry starts to rise rapidly with a decrease in the moisture content of the laundry, the far-infrared irradiation is stopped at 100 ° C. ± 20 ° C., and the dried laundry is discharged from the rotating drum. Do the far infrared laundry drying method.

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