JP2013184022A - Ultrasonic hand dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hand dryer which uses ultrasound to dry up a hand without touching anything by hand and is high in hand drying effect.SOLUTION: An ultrasonic hand dryer has an ultrasonic vibrator, atomizes water by applying ultrasound to the wet hand via the air from a remote position from the hand to dry the hand up. Further, by combining the ultrasound with a blowing function, a drying effect can be further increased.

Description

The present invention relates to a hand dryer used in a toilet or a washroom.

Hand dryers have been installed mainly in toilets and washrooms of public facilities as ecological hand-drying means in order to avoid the use of towels and paper for wiping.
As a mechanism for drying a hand by a hand dryer, as in Patent Document 1, one that blows moisture by applying high-pressure air to the hand or one that blows warm air on the hand is well known.

As an external appearance of a general hand dryer, as shown in FIG. 5A, provided on a frame 501, a hand insertion port 502 which is a space for inserting a hand, and a wall surface constituting the hand insertion port 502. The air outlet 503 and the water receiver 504 are provided.
In 5-A, air is simultaneously applied to both the back of the hand and the palm from the air blowing port 503 to the hand inserted into the hand insertion port 502.
As other types of hand dryers, there are some which apply air only from the upper side of the hand inserted in the hand insertion port 502 as shown in 5-B. In any type, the water dropped from the hand is conveyed via a water receiver 504 to a drain tank (not shown) provided inside the hand dryer.

However, these conventional hand dryers are ineffective, and are inconvenient because they are handed over to other users while the hands are not completely dry, especially when facilities are crowded. For this reason, some people use handkerchiefs that they bring without relying on hand dryers, which makes it less meaningful to install hand dryers.

In this regard, as a hand dryer using ultrasonic waves, Patent Document 2 proposes to enhance the drying effect by using ultrasonic waves and air blowing in combination.
However, this method requires direct contact with the diaphragm that vibrates in response to ultrasonic waves, and no matter how clean the diaphragm is, touching an object after washing the hand. It is expected that the psychology of wanting to avoid will work. This will not promote the use of hand dryers.
Therefore, in order to solve this problem, it is necessary to avoid touching an object when applying ultrasonic waves to the hand.

From the above background, a hand dryer with high hand-drying effect that can use ultrasonic waves to dry a hand without bringing the hand into contact with an object is desired.

JP-A-6-62977 JP2007-185455

An object of the present invention is to provide a hand dryer having a high hand drying effect, which can use ultrasonic waves to dry a hand without bringing the hand into contact with an object.

The ultrasonic hand dryer of the present invention has an ultrasonic transducer, and dries the water by applying ultrasonic waves to the wet hand through the air from a position away from the hand to atomize the water. It is characterized by.
Moreover, it is possible to further enhance the drying effect by combining the ultrasonic wave and the air blowing function.

The invention according to claim 1 is an ultrasonic hand dryer, comprising a sensor for detecting insertion of a hand, a space for inserting the hand, and the space exceeding the space when the sensor detects insertion of the hand. An ultrasonic transducer for emitting a sound wave and a drive circuit for driving the ultrasonic transducer by the output of the sensor are provided, and the ultrasonic medium is air.

The invention described in claim 2 is the ultrasonic hand dryer according to claim 1,
A wall surface facing the surface of the hand is configured so as to be an ultrasonic wave reflection surface on the side opposite to the side where the ultrasonic transducer is present with respect to the insertion position of the hand.

The invention according to claim 3 is the ultrasonic hand dryer according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the compressor is an air compressor, an air passage for carrying the air compressed by the compressor, and the air It has the air blowing function which added the ventilation function as a hand-drying means.

The invention according to claim 4 is the ultrasonic hand dryer according to claim 1, claim 2, or claim 3, a wall surface constituting a space for inserting a hand, a wall surface of a water channel connected to the space, a water receiver A coating of a photocatalytic substance is applied to the inner wall of the tank, and an ultraviolet irradiation device for photoexciting the photocatalyst is provided.

Since it is configured as described above, the ultrasonic hand dryer of the present invention is used in combination with the air blowing function in addition to drying the hand by atomizing the water adhering to the hand without bringing the hand into contact with the object. By doing so, the effect can be further enhanced.
Ultrasonic waves, unlike those used in humidifiers, do not disperse germs, but also have a massage effect, leading to health promotion such as activation of blood and lymph flow, waste discharge promotion, cellulite removal, etc. Is.
Furthermore, the ultrasonic hand dryer of the present invention can be used with peace of mind by pacemaker users.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of one embodiment of the ultrasonic hand dryer by this invention. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of one embodiment provided with the ventilation function with the ultrasonic hand dryer by this invention. It is sectional drawing of the ultrasonic type hand dryer of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the ultrasonic type hand dryer of FIG. It is a figure which shows the conventional hand dryer.

The ultrasonic hand dryer of the present invention includes a frame, a hand insertion opening that is a space for inserting a hand, an ultrasonic discharge hole provided in a wall surface that constitutes the hand insertion opening, and a water receiver.
The frame is a main body portion of the ultrasonic hand dryer of the present invention, and includes an ultrasonic vibrator for generating ultrasonic waves and a drain tank that is a removable case for storing and draining water. The ultrasonic vibrator is a piezoelectric vibrator using a magnetostrictive vibrator in which a coil is wound around nickel, ferrite or the like, and a quartz vibrator, barium titanate, lead titanate, lead zirconate titanate, or lead lanthanum zirconate titanate. Is well known.
The hand insertion opening is an opening provided in the frame, which is a space for applying ultrasonic waves to the inserted hand and pouring water that has fallen from the hand or atomized water into the water receiver provided at the bottom. is there.
The ultrasonic wave emission hole is a hole for releasing the ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic vibrator built in the frame provided in the wall surface constituting the manual insertion port to the manual insertion port.
The water receiver is a bottom surface of the hand insertion port for pouring water dropped from the hand at the hand insertion port or atomized water into the drain tank. The water receiver is connected to the drain tank inside the frame.
In addition, when adding an air blowing function to the ultrasonic hand dryer of the present invention, a motor-driven compressor, which is an air compressor for sending air to the inside of the frame, and an air inlet to the hand insertion port, is connected to the compressor. An air passage that is a pipe for transmitting air is provided. And the blower opening which is the outlet hole of the said air is provided in the wall surface which comprises a manual insertion port. The ultrasonic discharge hole and the air blowing port can be used together.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an appearance of an embodiment of an ultrasonic hand dryer according to the present invention.
The ultrasonic hand dryer includes a frame 501, a hand insertion opening 502 that is a space for inserting a hand, an ultrasonic discharge hole 101 provided in a wall surface that constitutes the hand insertion opening 502, a water receiver 504, Although not shown in the drawing, it has a hand insertion sensor such as a human sensor or an optical sensor for detecting manual insertion, a vibrator driving circuit for receiving the output, and an ultrasonic vibrator that is driven by this to emit ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic vibrators for drying are disclosed in JP-A-5-133683 and JP-A-10-118568, which can be referred to.

Although the shape of the frame 501 is not specified, there is a particular possibility of touching a wall around the hand insertion port 502 including the water receiver 504, a drain tank, and a water channel connecting the water receiver 504 to the drain tank, which may be touched by a hand. Antibacterial treatment should be applied after using a resin with high alcohol resistance such as polypropylene or ABS resin. As a method of antibacterial treatment, a method of coating a surface with a fluorine compound or titanium oxide as a photocatalyst is well known. In addition, the effect of titanium oxide can be enhanced by adding silver. In particular, in facilities handling foods, hand dryers may be cleaned with disinfecting alcohol due to sanitary problems, so there is a demand for hand dryers with improved alcohol resistance.
The hand insertion port 502 has a shape in which the frame 501 is cut into a U shape so that a hand can be easily inserted from the side.
In addition, in the hand insertion port 502, the example has the ultrasonic wave emission hole 101 on the upper side, but in this case, the ultrasonic wave hits from the upper side of the hand. Constructing a wall surface facing the back side of the hand (the side opposite to the side where the ultrasonic transducer is present) so as to be an ultrasonic reflection surface is advantageous in that the drying effect is improved.
The ultrasonic wave emission hole 101 is provided on the wall surface of the ceiling portion of the manual insertion port 502. Although it can also be provided on the water receiver 504, it is not suitable for the installation place because water is expected to enter inside and damage the ultrasonic generation mechanism. Even when the ultrasonic waves are emitted only from above the hand, they are transmitted to the entire surface of the hand through the air. The attenuation rate of ultrasonic waves increases as the frequency increases and the distance increases. For example, when a 20 kHz ultrasonic wave is applied to a hand in air at 20 ° C., the distance from the hand is about 2.5 dB (about 45% in terms of energy) at a distance of 10 cm, and about 5 dB (about 69% in terms of energy) at a 20 cm point. ) Only attenuate. Therefore, it is desirable to apply the ultrasonic wave to the hand at a position (height) as close to the ultrasonic transducer as possible.
Since the back of the water receiver 504 is connected to the drain tank, the water receiver 504 has a gentle downward slope toward the back.

In addition, when the titanium oxide coating is applied, it is necessary to irradiate ultraviolet rays to function as a photocatalyst, and ultraviolet rays are applied to the ceiling wall surface of the manual insertion port 502 or the drain tank part into the manual insertion port 502 or the drain tank. It is good to install a light source for irradiating.
With these configurations, the water adhering to the hand falls into the water receiver 504 and is poured into the drain tank or is atomized by ultrasonic waves.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an appearance of an embodiment having an air blowing function in the ultrasonic hand dryer according to the present invention.
Since the air blowing function is added, the air blowing port 503 is installed on the ceiling wall surface of the manual insertion port 502 and the water receiver 504 (not shown). The air blowing port 503 is preferably installed at an angle on the near side on the ceiling wall surface of the hand insertion port 502 and on the near side on the water receiver 504 so as to blow water into the back of the hand insertion port 502. The blower port 503 may be installed either on the upper side or on the lower side, and may also be used as the ultrasonic wave emission hole 101.
With these configurations, the water adhering to the hand falls into the water receiver 504 and is poured into the drain tank, or is atomized by ultrasonic waves and then blown into the back of the hand insertion port 502 by blowing.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic hand dryer of FIG.
The ultrasonic transducer 301 is installed in a recess on the ceiling wall surface of the hand insertion port 502, and the emitted ultrasonic wave is emitted into the hand insertion port 502 through the ultrasonic wave emission hole 101.
As described above, since the ultrasonic wave is attenuated as the transmission distance becomes long, it is desirable that the ultrasonic wave be applied to the hand as close as possible to the ultrasonic transducer 301 (height). Therefore, when implementing the product, it is preferable to write a rough standard for the height of the hand to be inserted on the wall surface on the back side of the hand insertion port 502.
The drain tank 302 is generally removable, but when attached to a wall, it cannot be pulled out rearward, so it is convenient to have a slide mechanism that can be pulled out in the lateral direction.

4 is a cross-sectional view of the ultrasonic hand dryer of FIG.
The compressor 401 built in the frame 501 compresses the air taken in from the intake hole 402 provided on the frame 501, sends it to the air passage 403, and discharges it from the air outlet 503.
Since the air blowing port 503 is provided above and below the manual insertion port 502, the air passage 403 extends from the compressor 401 in two directions up and down.
When the ultrasonic discharge hole 101 and the air outlet 503 are used together, the ultrasonic vibrator 301 is installed near the air outlet 503 of the air passage 403. Although a dustproof filter is installed in the air passage 403, it is necessary to install the ultrasonic transducer 301 closer to the air outlet 503 than the filter in order to prevent the ultrasonic wave from being blocked by the filter.

Since it is configured as described above, the ultrasonic hand dryer of the present invention is used in combination with the air blowing function in addition to drying the hand by atomizing the water adhering to the hand without bringing the hand into contact with the object. By doing so, the effect can be further enhanced.
In addition, unlike the case of using ultrasonic waves in a humidifier, it does not scatter germs and has a massage effect, so it activates blood and lymph flow, promotes waste discharge, removes cellulite, etc. Pacemaker users can use it with peace of mind, so the industrial applicability is extremely high.

101 Ultrasonic discharge hole 301 Ultrasonic vibrator 302 Drain tank 401 Compressor 402 Intake hole 403 Air passage 501 Frame 502 Manual insertion port 503 Blower port 504 Water receiver

Claims (4)

A space for inserting a hand with a sensor for detecting insertion of a hand, an ultrasonic transducer for emitting ultrasonic waves to the space when the sensor detects insertion of a hand, and an output of the sensor An ultrasonic hand dryer comprising a drive circuit for driving the ultrasonic transducer, wherein the ultrasonic wave mediating means is air. 2. The ultrasonic type according to claim 1, wherein a wall surface facing the surface of the hand is configured so as to be a reflection surface of the ultrasonic wave on a side opposite to the side where the ultrasonic transducer is present with respect to a hand insertion position. Hand dryer. It is characterized by adding a blowing function as a hand-drying means by having a compressor that is an air compressor, an air passage for carrying the air compressed by the compressor, and a blowing port that is an outlet of the air. The ultrasonic hand dryer according to claim 1 or 2. A wall of a space for inserting a hand, a wall surface of a water channel connected to the space, and an inner wall of a water receiving tank are coated with a photocatalytic substance, and has an ultraviolet irradiation device for photoexciting the photocatalyst. The ultrasonic hand dryer according to claim 1, claim 2, or claim 3.

Images