JP2020199239A - Shoe dryer and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

To enhance possibility of drying shoes under operation conditions suitable for shoes, in comparison with a case of adopting composition of starting operation of a shoe dryer by pressing a button corresponding to operation conditions.SOLUTION: The shoe dryer includes: a housing; a shoe housing part that is installed in the housing and that has partitions which can house shoes; a fan for inhaling air from the shoe housing part; a vaporizer for dehumidifying air inhaled by the fan; a condenser for heating the air that passed the vaporizer; a circulation type passage having a blowing part for blowing the air having passed the condenser toward the shoes housed in the partitions; a sterilization part that is installed in the circulation type passage and that sterilizes germs in the housing; a deodorization part that is installed in the circulation type passage and that deodorizes bad odors in the housing; an image acquisition part that acquires images by photographing; and a controller that controls operation conditions of own machines on the basis of information of shoes in the images acquired by the image acquisition part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a shoe dryer and a method for controlling the same.

Storage means for storing shoes, ozone supply means for supplying ozone-containing air to shoes, heating means for supplying heated air to shoes, and cooling for supplying cooled air to shoes. Shoe dryers are known that include means and control the control device to achieve an optimized air temperature and supply time when air is supplied by those means (eg,). , Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-152330

When the configuration in which the operation of the shoe drying device is started by pressing the button corresponding to the operating conditions is adopted, the possibility of drying the shoes under the operating conditions suitable for the shoes cannot be increased.

An object of the present invention is to increase the possibility of drying shoes under operating conditions suitable for shoes, as compared with the case where the operation of the shoe drying device is started by pressing a button corresponding to the operating conditions. To do.

For this purpose, the present invention has a housing, a shoe housing portion provided in the housing and having a partition capable of accommodating shoes, a fan that sucks air from the shoe housing portion, and air sucked by the fan. A circulation type flow path including an evaporator that dehumidifies the shoe, a condenser that heats the air that has passed through the evaporator, and a blower that blows the air that has passed through the condenser toward the shoes housed in the partition, and circulation. A sterilization unit provided in the mold flow path to sterilize bacteria in the housing, a deodorization unit provided in the circulation type flow path to deodorize the odor in the housing, and an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image by photographing. Provided is a shoe dryer provided with a control unit that controls the operating conditions of the own machine based on the shoe information in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit.

The housing may have a heat insulating structure.

The operating conditions may be at least one of the strength of sterilization by the sterilizing unit, the temperature of the air blown by the blowing unit, the air volume, and the wind speed, and the operating time of the own machine.

The image acquisition unit may be a camera provided on the wall surface of the shoe storage unit or outside the housing.

The circulation type flow path may be configured so that the flow path area between the blowout position and the blower portion is larger than the flow path area of the blowout position immediately after the condenser.

The blower portion may include a first blower nozzle that blows air toward the shoes for the right foot and a second blower nozzle that blows air toward the shoes for the left foot.

The blower portion may be one provided on the wall surface of the shoe accommodating portion. In that case, the blower portion may be provided with a blower nozzle having a shape having a smooth curvature diagonally downward from the wall surface. The blower portion is a guide plate that guides the wind near the center of the flow path of the blower nozzle. The cross section of the front edge portion has a semicircular shape or a semi-elliptical shape, and the cross section of the trailing edge portion is the upper side. It may be further provided with a guide plate having a shape in which the connecting portion with the trailing edge end portion is connected with a smooth curvature.

The blower may be provided with a blower nozzle that extends into the shoes housed in the partition.

The blower unit may be provided with an opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the air flow path for blowing air toward the shoes housed in the partition.

The shoe dryer may be one provided with a flow path of air sucked by a fan in the peripheral portion of the partition or in the partition. In that case, the peripheral portion of the partition or the air flow path in the partition may be installed at the lower part of the wall surface facing the blower portion. Further, the air flow path in the peripheral portion of the partition or in the partition may have a flow path area larger than the flow path area of the blowout position of the blower portion.

The shoe accommodating portion is provided on the downstream side of the first shoe accommodating portion having a first partition capable of accommodating one pair of shoes and the first shoe accommodating portion in the flow of air sucked by the fan. A first flow path of air sucked by a fan, including a second shoe housing with a second partition capable of accommodating foot shoes, in the periphery of the first partition or in the first partition. It may be provided with a second flow path of air sucked by a fan in the peripheral portion of the second partition or in the second partition. In that case, the shoe accommodating portion may be configured so that the flow path area of the second flow path is larger than the flow path area of the first flow path.

The sterilization unit may have a discharge electrode and a ground electrode, and sterilize bacteria in the housing by applying a voltage between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode to generate plasma.

The shoe accommodating portion is provided at the lower stage of the first shoe accommodating portion having a first partition capable of accommodating one pair of shoes and the first shoe accommodating portion, and a second shoe accommodating portion capable of accommodating one pair of shoes. It may include a second shoe accommodating portion having a partition. In that case, the shoe housing may be one in which the first partition is removable.

The shoe dryer may include an accessory accommodating portion for accommodating shoe accessories in the housing.

The shoe dryer may be one that displays a display element representing shoe information or operating conditions, and further includes an operation unit in which the display element is operated by a finger or voice.

The shoe dryer may be one provided with a steam generating unit that generates steam in the circulation type flow path.

Further, the present invention includes a housing, a shoe housing portion provided in the housing and having a partition capable of storing shoes, a fan that sucks air from the shoe storage portion, and evaporation that dehumidifies the air sucked by the fan. A circulation type flow path including a container, a condenser that heats the air that has passed through the evaporator, and a blower that blows the air that has passed through the condenser toward the shoes housed in the partition, and inside the circulation type flow path. This is a control method for a shoe dryer equipped with a sterilizing unit for sterilizing bacteria in a housing and a deodorizing unit for deodorizing the odor in the housing, which is provided in a circulation type flow path. It also provides a method of controlling a shoe dryer, including a step of acquiring a shoe and a step of controlling the operating conditions of the own machine based on the information of the shoe in the acquired image.

According to the present invention, there is a high possibility that the shoes are dried under the operating conditions suitable for the shoes, as compared with the case where the operation of the shoe drying device is started by pressing the button corresponding to the operating conditions. Become.

It is a perspective view which showed the appearance of the shoe dryer in embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the shoe dryer in embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the shoe dryer in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which superposed on the side view of the shoe dryer in embodiment of this invention, the flow of the wind in a circulation type flow path, and the range photographed by a camera. It is a flowchart which showed the operation example of the control device of the shoe dryer in embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view of the area X of the side view of the shoe dryer shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which showed the appearance of the blower unit in embodiment of this invention. (A) is a cross-sectional view of a blower nozzle according to an embodiment of the present invention, (b) and (c) are views showing a cross-sectional shape of a front edge portion thereof, and (d) is a rear edge. It is a figure which showed the cross-sectional shape of a part. (A) and (b) are views showing the insertion of the extension nozzle into the blower nozzle according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the shoe dryer according to the embodiment of the present invention. (A) to (c) are top views of the shoe dryer according to the embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a diagram showing the configuration of a blower unit in which the sterilization unit is arranged, and (b) is a diagram showing the configuration of the sterilization unit. It is an enlarged view of the area Y of the side view of the shoe dryer shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which showed the state when the partition of the shoe dryer in embodiment of this invention was removed. (A) and (b) are enlarged views showing the state of attachment of the extension nozzle using the boot attachment. It is a figure which showed the appearance of the outside of the door of the shoe dryer in embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Overall configuration of shoe dryer]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the shoe dryer 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the shoe dryer 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a front view of the shoe dryer 1 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the shoe dryer 1 in the present embodiment includes a housing 10 that constitutes an outer shell. The housing 10 preferably has a heat insulating structure, but may not have a heat insulating structure. The housing 10 includes a door 11 provided on the front side and opened / closed for putting in and taking out shoes, a left side plate 12 forming the left side surface, a right side surface plate 13 forming the right side surface, and a back plate forming the back surface. It is composed of 14, a top plate 15 forming the upper surface, and a bottom plate 16 forming the bottom surface. An accessory accommodating portion 17 for accommodating shoe accessories is provided inside the door 11. However, the boot attachments 382a and 382b (described later), which are one of the shoe accessories, are housed in the machine chamber below the housing 10 in the figure.

Further, as shown in the figure, the shoe dryer 1 in the present embodiment includes shoe accommodating portions 20 (1) to 20 (3) for accommodating shoes. Although the shoe housing units 20 (1) to 20 (3) are shown here, they may be simply referred to as the shoe storage unit 20 when it is not necessary to distinguish between them. Further, although the figure shows three shoe accommodating portions 20, one, two, or four or more shoe accommodating portions 20 may be provided.

The shoe accommodating portions 20 (1) to 20 (3) are provided with partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) capable of accommodating one pair of shoes, respectively, and the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) are provided. By accommodating one pair of shoes in 3), a maximum of three pairs of shoes can be accommodated. Although the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) are shown here, they may be simply referred to as the partition 21 when it is not necessary to distinguish them. Further, the figure shows three partitions 21, because the three shoe accommodating portions 20 are provided, and the number of partitions 21 may be changed according to the number of the shoe accommodating portions 20. .. Here, the partition 21 may be installed directly on the housing 10 or may be operated by a slide rail.

The shoe housing portions 20 (1) to 20 (3) have left side walls 22 (1) to 22 (3) on the left side and right side walls 23 (1) to 23 (3) on the right side. Back wall surfaces 24 (1) to 24 (3) are provided on the side, respectively. The left side wall surface 22 (1) to 22 (3), the right side wall surface 23 (1) to 23 (3), and the back wall surface 24 (1) to 24 (3) are shoe accommodating portions 20 (1) to 20, respectively. The left side wall surface 22, the right side wall surface 23, and the back wall surface 24, which are common to (3), may be integrated, but here, for convenience, the portions facing each of the shoe housing portions 20 (1) to 20 (3) are divided. It is shown separately. Further, the figure shows three left side wall surface 22, right side wall surface 23, and back wall surface 24, because three shoe accommodating portions 20 are provided, and depending on the number of shoe accommodating portions 20. The number of the left side wall surface 22, the right side wall surface 23, and the back wall surface 24 may also be changed.

Further, as shown in the figure, the shoe dryer 1 in the present embodiment includes a circulation type flow path 30 that dehumidifies and dries the shoe accommodating portion 20 by circulating air in the housing 10. The circulation type flow path 30 includes a fan 31, an evaporator 32, a condenser 33, a discharge flow path 34, a back flow path 35, blower units 36 (1) to 36 (3), and a front flow. Includes road 37.

The fan 31 sucks air from the shoe accommodating portion 20. Although only one fan 31 is shown in the figure, a plurality of fans 31 may be provided.

The evaporator 32 is arranged downstream of the fan 31 and evaporates the refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve 315 to a low temperature and low pressure to cool and dehumidify the air sucked by the fan 31. The condenser 33 reheats the air that has passed through the evaporator 32 by condensing the refrigerant that has become high temperature and high pressure compressed by the compressor 325.

The discharge flow path 34 is a flow path of a portion where air immediately after passing through the condenser 33 is blown out to the back flow path 35. The back flow path 35 is provided between the back plate 14 of the housing 10 and the back wall surface 24 of the shoe housing portion 20, and the air that has passed through the condenser 33 and is blown out from the discharge flow path 34 is sent to the shoe housing portion 20. It is a flow path for diversion again.

The blower units 36 (1) to 36 (3) are provided on the back wall surfaces 24 (1) to 24 (3) of the shoe housing portions 20 (1) to 20 (3), respectively, and the air from the back flow path 35 is provided. Is blown toward the shoes housed in the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3). Although the blower units 36 (1) to 36 (3) are shown here, they may be simply referred to as the blower unit 36 when it is not necessary to distinguish between them. Further, the figure shows three blower units 36, because the three shoe storage units 20 are provided, and the number of blower units 36 is also changed according to the number of shoe storage units 20. You can. Further, the blower unit 36 is not limited to the back wall surface 24, and may be provided on other wall surfaces such as the left side wall surface 22, the right side wall surface 23, and the top surface (not shown). In the present embodiment, a blower unit 36 is provided as an example of the blower unit.

The front flow path 37 is a flow path on the door 11 side through which the air sucked from the shoe accommodating portion 20 by the fan 31 flows.

In the side view of FIG. 4, the flow of wind in such a circulation type flow path 30 is indicated by a white arrow. Here, among the white arrows, the arrow from the deodorizing device 50 to the evaporator 32 indicates the flow of high humidity air, and the arrow from the evaporator 32 to the condenser 33 indicates the flow of low humidity air. The arrow from the condenser 33 or the steam generator 60 to the back flow path 35 indicates the flow of hot air. In the circulation type flow path 30, the fan 31 is provided upstream of the evaporator 32, but the present invention is not limited to this. The fan 31 may be provided downstream of the condenser 33 or may be provided in each blower unit 36.

Although not shown in the figure, the shoe dryer 1 has a duct for blowing the air outside the housing 10 into the shoe housing 20 and then discharging the air inside the shoe housing 20 to the outside of the housing 10. You may have it.

Furthermore, as shown in the figure, the shoe dryer 1 in the present embodiment includes the sterilization units 40 (1) to 40 (3), the deodorizing device 50, the steam generator 60, the drainage tank 71, and the water supply tank. It has 72 and.

The sterilization units 40 (1) to 40 (3) are provided in the blower units 36 (1) to 36 (3), respectively, and sterilize the bacteria in the housing 10. Although the sterilization units 40 (1) to 40 (3) are shown here, they may be simply referred to as the sterilization unit 40 when it is not necessary to distinguish them. Further, the figure shows three sterilization units 40, because the three shoe storage units 20 are provided, and the number of sterilization units 40 is also changed according to the number of shoe storage units 20. You can. In the present embodiment, the sterilization unit 40 is provided as an example of the sterilization unit.

The deodorizing device 50 is provided in the circulation type flow path 30, and deodorizes the odor in the housing 10. In the present embodiment, the deodorizing device 50 is provided as an example of the deodorizing unit.

The steam generator 60 is provided in the circulation type flow path 30, and generates steam in the circulation type flow path 30. In the present embodiment, a steam generator 60 is provided as an example of the steam generator.

The drainage tank 71 stores the condensed water in the evaporator 32. The water supply tank 72 stores water to be supplied to the steam generator 60.

In addition, as shown in the figure, the shoe dryer 1 in the present embodiment includes cameras 80 (1) to 80 (3) and a control device 90.

The cameras 80 (1) to 80 (3) are installed on the wall surfaces of the shoe housing portions 20 (1) to 20 (3), respectively, and the shoes housed in the shoe storage portions 20 (1) to 20 (3). Take an image (shoe image). Here, the wall surface may be a wall surface of the shoe accommodating portion 20 at all times, or may be a wall surface of the shoe accommodating portion 20 temporarily. Examples of the former include the left side wall surface 22, the right side wall surface 23, and the back wall surface 24 of the shoe accommodating portion 20, but the top surface (not shown) may be used. As an example of the latter, there is an inner surface of the door 11 which becomes a wall surface on the front side of the shoe accommodating portion 20 when the door 11 is closed. The figure shows a case where the cameras 80 (1) to (3) are installed on the inner surface of the door 11 in this way. Further, the camera 80 may acquire a shoe image from various angles by using a mirror.

In the side view of FIG. 4, the shooting range by the cameras 80 (1) to 80 (3) is also shown in a fan shape centered on the cameras 80 (1) to 80 (3). Here, the cameras 80 (1) to 80 (3) are shown, but when it is not necessary to distinguish between them, they may be simply referred to as the camera 80. Further, the figure shows three cameras 80, because three shoe accommodating portions 20 are provided, and the number of cameras 80 may be changed according to the number of shoe accommodating portions 20. ..

Alternatively, the camera 80 may take an image such as a product tag or a barcode having shoe information (shoe information). In this case, the camera 80 does not necessarily have to be provided on the wall surface of the shoe accommodating portion 20 inside the housing 10, and may be provided outside the housing 10.

In the present embodiment, the camera 80 is provided as an example of the image acquisition unit that acquires an image by shooting.

The control device 90 determines shoe information from an image taken by the camera 80. Here, the shoe information includes, for example, a shoe type, shape, size, material, and the like. When the image captured by the camera 80 is a shoe image, the shoe information may be determined by, for example, an image matching process between the captured image and the image registered in advance. When the image taken by the camera 80 is an image such as a product tag or a bar code, the shoes are subjected to, for example, character recognition processing of characters written on the product tag or analysis processing of information expressed by the bar code. It is good to determine the information. Then, the control device 90 sets the shoe dryer 1 to the operation mode according to the determined shoe information. The operation mode is not limited to this, for example, the strength of sterilization by the sterilization unit 40, the temperature, air volume, and wind speed of the air blown by the blower unit 36, and at least one of the operation time of the shoe dryer 1. It may be one. In the present embodiment, the operation mode is used as an example of the operation conditions, and the control device 90 is provided as an example of the control unit that controls the operation conditions of the own machine based on the shoe information in the image.

This makes it possible to care for shoes while suppressing sterilization of shoes and damage caused by heat.

The control device 90 may be realized by software or hardware. When realized by software, the control device 90 may include a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like, and for example, the CPU may read a program stored in the ROM into the RAM and execute the program. Alternatively, in a system equipped with an OS, the software to be loaded into the RAM may be stored in an external storage device such as an HDD or an SD (registered trademark) card.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the control device 90. In this operation example, the camera 80 takes a shoe image. Further, the camera 80 constantly captures a shoe image, and when there is a difference between frames of a still image, it is basically determined that the state has changed and the image recognition process is started. However, if the transfer throughput of image data is not sufficient, the processing CPU is also weak, and continuous shooting is not possible, it is effective to start shooting with some trigger. Therefore, in the following, shooting start by this trigger will be taken as an example. explain.

The control device 90 first determines whether or not there is a trigger for taking a shoe image (step 901). Here, as the trigger, the timer detects the passage of a certain period of time, the sensor other than the camera 80 detects the state change (for example, the door switch detects that the door 11 is closed, the shoe housing unit). The fact that the weight sensor provided in the partition 21 has detected that the shoes are housed in the partition 21 of the 20 has been instructed by the user (for example, the operation is instructed to start after the door 11 is closed). It is possible that there was an instruction from). If it is determined that there is no trigger, the control device 90 repeats step 901, and if it is determined that there is a trigger, the control device 90 advances the process to step 902.

When it is determined that there is a trigger for capturing the shoe image in step 901 in this way, the control device 90 photographs the shoes accommodated in the partition 21 of the shoe accommodating portion 20 by the camera 80 (step 902). Specifically, the control device 90 transmits a signal instructing the camera 80 to take a picture, and the camera 80 takes a picture of the shoes.

Next, the control device 90 recognizes the shoe information from the shoe image taken by the camera 80 in step 902 (step 903). Specifically, the control device 90 acquires a shoe image from the camera 80, and recognizes the shoe information by, for example, image matching processing.

Next, the control device 90 sets the operation mode according to the shoe information recognized in step 903 (step 904). Specifically, the definition information that defines what kind of operation mode should be set according to the shoe information is stored in the storage means in the control device 90, and the control device 90 refers to this definition information. The operation mode may be set.

Finally, the control device 90 operates the shoe dryer 1 in the operation mode set in step 904 (step 905). Specifically, the control device 90 transmits a signal instructing operation in the set operation mode to each component of the shoe dryer 1.

Here, in steps 904 and 905, an operation mode corresponding to the shoe information recognized from the shoe image is set, and the shoe dryer 1 is operated in this operation mode, but this is just an example. is there. Any processing may be performed using the shoe information recognized from the shoe image.

The components included in the shoe dryer 1 will be described in detail below.

[Discharge flow path and back flow path]
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a region X in the side view of the shoe dryer 1 shown in FIG. As is clear from the figure, in the present embodiment, the area B of the back flow path 35 is configured to be larger than the area A of the discharge flow path 34. Here, the area A of the discharge flow path 34 is, in other words, the flow path area of the blowout position immediately after the condenser 33, and the area B of the back flow path 35 is, in other words, the blowout position and the blower. It is a flow path area between the unit 36 and the unit 36. As a mode of expanding the flow path area from the discharge flow path 34 to the back flow path 35, it is preferable that the flow path area gradually increases, but the flow path area may be rapidly expanded.

By expanding the flow path area from the discharge flow path 34 to the back flow path 35 in this way, a part of the dynamic pressure of the air passing through the discharge flow path 34 is converted into static pressure and passes through the back flow path 35. The static pressure rises, and the influence of dynamic pressure can be suppressed when the air flows from the back flow path 35 to the shoe accommodating portion 20. Therefore, it becomes easy to uniformly divide the air from each of the blower units 36, and as a result, it becomes easy to divide the air into each shoe accommodating portion 20 with a uniform air volume.

[Blower unit]
The blower unit 36 may have any configuration as long as it can blow air from the back flow path 35 to the shoe accommodating portion 20. For example, it may have a louver shape in which a plurality of thin plates are arranged in parallel. However, in the present embodiment, the blower unit 36 has a blower nozzle.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the blower unit 36 in the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the blower unit 36 includes a blower nozzle 38a for blowing air to the shoes for the right foot and a blower nozzle 38b for blowing air to the shoes for the left foot. When it is not necessary to distinguish between the blower nozzles 38a and 38b, it may be simply referred to as the blower nozzle 38. Therefore, in other words, it can be said that the blower unit 36 is provided with two blower nozzles 38 for one pair of shoes so that the blower can blow air to each of the left and right shoes. In the present embodiment, as an example of the first blower nozzle that blows air toward the shoes for the right foot, a blower nozzle 38a is provided, and the second blower nozzle that blows air toward the shoes for the left foot. As an example, a blower nozzle 38b is provided.

By installing the blower nozzles 38 for each of the left and right shoes in this way, it is possible to blow air only to the necessary parts, and the efficiency of shoe care (sterilization, drying, etc.) is improved.

Further, the blower nozzles 38a and 38b are provided with guide plates 39a and 39b for wind near the center of the flow path, respectively. When it is not necessary to distinguish between the guide plates 39a and 39b, it may be simply referred to as the guide plate 39.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the blower nozzle 38 according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the cross section of the blower nozzle 38 has a shape having a smooth curvature diagonally downward from the back wall surface 24. Further, the cross section of the front edge portion 391 of the guide plate 39 has a semicircular shape shown in FIG. 8 (b) or a semi-elliptical shape shown in FIG. 8 (c). Further, the cross section of the trailing edge portion 392 of the guide plate 39 has the shape shown in FIG. 8 (d). That is, the shape is such that the connecting portion between the upper side 393 and the trailing edge end portion 395 is connected with a smooth curvature. On the other hand, the lower side 394 has a planar shape. The lower side 394 does not necessarily have to have a flat shape, but it is preferably a flat shape.

By forming the cross section of the blower nozzle 38 into a shape having a smooth curvature in this way, it is possible to suppress loss such as peeling in the flow path and efficiently blow air to the shoes. Further, by providing the guide plate 39, it is possible to further suppress the peeling in the flow path. Then, the front edge portion 391 of the guide plate 39 has the shape shown in FIGS. 8 (b) and 8 (c) to form the front edge peeling, and the trailing edge portion 392 has the shape shown in FIG. 8 (d). As a result, it becomes possible to suppress the peeling of the trailing edge, and as a result, the ventilation efficiency is improved.

9 (a) and 9 (b) are views showing the insertion of the extension nozzle 381 into the blower nozzle 38. First, as shown in FIG. 9A, the extension nozzle 381 is prepared. Here, shoes are not yet housed in the partition 21. Further, the extension nozzle 381 is assumed to have a bellows shape, but since it has not been fully extended at this point, the bellows cannot be seen. After that, as shown in FIG. 9B, the blower nozzle 38 is extended by installing the extension nozzle 381 at the tip thereof, and the extension nozzle 381 is inserted into the shoe. Alternatively, the blower nozzle 38 may be extended by mechanically expanding and contracting, and the blower nozzle 38 may be inserted into the shoe. By extending the blower nozzle 38 in this way, it is possible to blow air into the shoes even for shoes having a special shape or shoes having an extremely narrow opening.

Further, in the present embodiment, a damper may be provided at the suction port or the discharge port of the blower nozzle 38 as an example of an opening / closing mechanism for opening / closing the flow path. Then, the sterilization and dryness of the shoes are determined based on the information from the temperature / humidity sensor in each shoe housing section 20, and the damper of the blow nozzle 38 corresponding to the shoe housing section 20 for which the shoe care is completed is closed. As a result, it is possible to stop unnecessary ventilation to the shoe housing 20 for which shoe care has been completed, and even if multiple shoes with different states are put in and driven at the same time, it is appropriate for each shoe housing 20. It is possible to stop the ventilation in the state.

In order to realize this, after the control device 90 starts the operation of the shoe dryer 1 in step 905 of FIG. 5, for example, the information from the temperature / humidity sensor of each shoe accommodating unit 20 is confirmed at regular intervals. .. Then, if there is a temperature / humidity sensor that outputs information indicating that shoe care is completed, a signal for closing the damper of the blow nozzle 38 is output for the shoe accommodating portion 20 corresponding to the temperature / humidity sensor. Also, when it is determined that the trigger has occurred in step 901 of FIG. 5, the control device 90 confirms the information from the temperature / humidity sensor. Then, if there is a temperature / humidity sensor that outputs information indicating that shoe care is completed, the shoe accommodating portion 20 corresponding to the temperature / humidity sensor will be subjected to the following with the damper of the blower nozzle 38 closed. You may not perform the processing of.

[Front flow path]
It is preferable that the partition 21 and the door 11 do not come into contact with each other. As a result, the space between the partition 21 and the door 11 becomes the front flow path 37, and the air flowing through the shoes is easily sucked into the fan 31. Here, the front flow path 37 is a wall surface facing the blower unit 36 in order to improve the drying efficiency by discharging the high-humidity wind in the shoes to the outside of the shoe housing 20 without staying in the shoe housing 20. It is desirable that it is installed at the bottom. Further, from the viewpoint of pressure loss during drying, that is, in order to make the wind pressure in the front flow path 37 lower than the wind pressure in the blowing position of the blowing unit 36, the front flow is smaller than the flow path area of the blowing position of the blowing unit 36. It is desirable that the road 37 is configured so that the flow path area is large. In the top view of the shoe dryer 1 shown in FIG. 10, the flow path area at the blowing position of the blower unit 36 is shown as S1, and the flow path area of the front flow path 37 is shown as S2. The front flow path 37 is not limited to the space between the partition 21 and the door 11, and may be provided at any location around the partition 21. In this case, the front flow path 37 is an example of an air flow path in the peripheral portion of the partition.

Alternatively, the partition 21 and the door 11 may be brought into contact with each other so that the partition 21 is provided with an opening. As a result, the opening provided in the partition 21 becomes the front flow path 37, and the air flowing through the shoes is easily sucked into the fan 31. In this case, the front flow path 37 is an example of an air flow path in the partition.

By the way, although one partition 21 has been described so far, in the shoe dryer 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the shoe accommodating portions 20 (1) to 20 (3) are the partitions 21 (1) to 21 respectively. It has (3). Therefore, a case where the shoe dryer 1 has partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) will also be described below.

Also in this case, it is preferable that the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) do not come into contact with the door 11. As a result, the space between the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) and the door 11 becomes the front flow path 37, and the air flowing through the shoes is easily sucked into the fan 31. The front flow path 37 is not limited to the space between the partition 21 and the door 11, and may be provided at any location around the partition 21. In this case, the front flow path 37 is an example of an air flow path in the peripheral portion of the partition.

Here, it is desirable that the flow path area of the front flow path 37 increases from the flow path area in the uppermost partition 21 (1) to the flow path area in the lowermost partition 21 (3). In the top view of the shoe dryer 1 shown in FIGS. 11 (a) to 11 (c), the flow path area in the partition 21 (1) of the front flow path 37 is X (1), and the partition 21 of the front flow path 37 ( The flow path area in 2) is shown as X (2), and the flow path area in the partition 21 (3) of the front flow path 37 is shown as X (3). The relationship between the sizes of the flow path areas is X (1) <X (2) <X (3). As a result, when the flow rate of the air flowing through the shoes of the shoe accommodating portions 20 (1) to 20 (3) increases from the upper stage to the lower stage, the pressure loss increase in the flow path is reduced, and the fan 31 It is possible to reduce power consumption and ventilation noise. In this case, for example, the shoe accommodating portions 20 (1) and 20 (3) are examples of the first shoe accommodating portion and the second shoe accommodating portion, respectively, and the partitions 21 (1) and 21 (3) are the first, respectively. It is an example of the partition 1 and the second partition, and the flow paths in the partitions 21 (1) and 21 (3) are examples of the first flow path and the second flow path, respectively.

Further, in the above, it is desirable that the flow path area of the front flow path 37 increases from the flow path area in the uppermost partition 21 (1) to the flow path area in the lowermost partition 21 (3). However, this is not the case. The flow path areas in the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) of the front flow path 37 may be partially the same. That is, in FIGS. 11 (a) to 11 (c), the relationship of the flow path area in the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) of the front flow path 37 is, for example, X (1) <X (2) ≈X ( 3), X (1) ≈ X (2) <X (3), X (1) ≈ X (2) ≈ X (3) and the like may be satisfied. This also has the effect of reducing the pressure loss in the flow paths of the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3), and reducing the power consumption of the fan 31 and the blowing noise, as described above. In the case of X (1) <X (2) ≈X (3), for example, the shoe accommodating portions 20 (1) and 20 (2) are examples of the first shoe accommodating portion and the second shoe accommodating portion, respectively. , Partitions 21 (1) and 21 (2) are examples of the first partition and the second partition, respectively, and the flow paths in the partitions 21 (1) and 21 (2) are the first flow path and the second flow path, respectively. This is an example of the flow path of. Further, when X (1) ≈ X (2) <X (3), for example, the shoe accommodating portions 20 (2) and 20 (3) are examples of the first shoe accommodating portion and the second shoe accommodating portion, respectively. The partition 21 (2) and the partition 21 (3) are examples of the first partition and the second partition, respectively, and the flow paths in the partitions 21 (2) and 21 (3) are the first flow paths, respectively. , This is an example of the second flow path.

Alternatively, the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) may be brought into contact with the door 11, and openings may be provided in the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3). As a result, the opening provided in the partition 21 becomes the front flow path 37, and the air flowing through the shoes is easily sucked into the fan 31. In this case, the front flow path 37 is an example of an air flow path in the partition.

Here, too, the flow path area of the front flow path 37 may be equal to or larger than the area of the opening in the uppermost partition 21 (1) to the area of the opening in the lowermost partition 21 (3). desirable. As a result, when the flow rate of the air flowing through the shoes of the shoe accommodating portions 20 (1) to 20 (3) increases from the upper stage to the lower stage, the openings in the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) are opened. It is possible not to increase the flow velocity passing through the section. As a result, the pressure loss at the openings of the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) is reduced, and the power consumption of the fan 31 and the blowing noise can be reduced.

In the above, the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) are arranged in this order from the upper stage to the lower stage, but the present invention is not limited to this. Depending on the position of the fan 31, the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3) may be arranged in this order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the air flow sucked by the fan 31.

[Sterilization unit]
The sterilization unit 40 may be arranged in either the back flow path 35 or the blower unit 36, but it is preferably arranged in the blower nozzle 38 of the blower unit 36 installed on the back wall surface 24 of the shoe accommodating portion 20. Therefore, here, the sterilization units 40 arranged in the blower nozzles 38a and 38b will be described as sterilization units 40a and 40b, respectively.

FIG. 12A is a diagram showing the configuration of the blower unit 36 in which the sterilization units 40a and 40b are arranged. The blower unit 36 includes sterilization units 40a and 40b and a high frequency power supply 45 that applies a high frequency voltage to the sterilization units 40a and 40b.

FIG. 12B is a diagram showing the configuration of the sterilization unit 40. As shown in the figure, the sterilization unit 40 includes a discharge electrode 41 and a ground electrode 42. Then, the high-frequency power supply 45 shown in FIG. 12A applies a voltage between the discharge electrode 41 and the ground electrode 42 to generate plasma, thereby sterilizing the bacteria in the housing 10. By sterilizing the bacteria that cause the odor of shoes in this way, the shoes can be deodorized.

[Deodorizer]
FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the area Y in the side view of the shoe dryer 1 shown in FIG. 4, and shows an installation example of the deodorizing device 50. As shown in the figure, the deodorizing device 50 includes a filter guard 51, a pre-filter 52, and a deodorizing filter 53. The filter guard 51 protects the pre-filter 52 and the deodorizing filter 53. The pre-filter 52 removes dust, dirt, etc. adhering to shoes. The deodorizing filter 53 removes odors in the air that cannot be removed by the pre-filter 52. Here, the deodorizing filter 53 may be either an odor adsorption type or an odor decomposition type. The deodorizing device 50 is preferably installed between the shoe accommodating portion 20 and the fan 31 in the circulation type flow path 30, but is not limited to this. It may be installed anywhere in the circulation type flow path 30. By installing the deodorizing device 50 in the circulation type flow path 30 in this way, it is possible to deodorize the odor generated from the shoes.

[Shoe storage]
The shoe accommodating portions 20 (1) to 20 (3) can accommodate tall shoes such as long boots by removing any of the partitions 21 (1) to 21 (3).

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the state of the shoe dryer 1 at this time. Here, the state in which the partition 21 (2) is removed and the long boots are housed in the shoe housing portions 20 (2) and (3) is shown. In this case, the partition 21 (2) is an example of the first partition, and the shoe accommodating portion 20 (2) is an example of the first shoe accommodating portion. Further, the partition 21 (3) is an example of the second partition, and the shoe accommodating portion 20 (3) is an example of the second shoe accommodating portion.

Here, in the shoe dryer 1 of the present embodiment, an extension nozzle 381 is prepared for each blower nozzle 38. In the following, extension nozzles 381 prepared for insertion into the blower nozzles 38a (1), 38b (1), 38a (2), 38b (2), 38a (3), and 38b (3) are extended, respectively. Nozzles 381a (1), 381b (1), 381a (2), 381b (2), 381a (3), 381b (3) will be described.

If the long boots housed in the partition 21 (3) are self-supporting, the extension nozzles 381a (2) and 381b (2) are installed in the blower nozzles 38a (2) and 38b (2), respectively. In some cases it may be sufficient to insert it in. On the other hand, if the long boots housed in the partition 21 (3) are not self-supporting, the extension nozzles 381a (2) and 381b (2) are installed in the blower nozzles 38a (2) and 38b (2), respectively. It may not be enough to insert it into long boots. In that case, as shown by cutting open the long boot for the left foot in FIG. 14, the boot attachments 382a and 382b are attached to the tips of the extension nozzles 381a (2) and 381b (2), respectively. Then, the extension nozzles 381a (3) and 381b (3) originally prepared for insertion into the blower nozzles 38a (3) and 38b (3) are further attached to the tip.

15 (a) and 15 (b) are enlarged views showing how the extension nozzles 381 (2) and 381 (3) are attached using the boot attachment 382.

FIG. 15A is a cross-sectional view in the process of attaching the boot attachment 382. The boot attachment 382 is once inserted into the long boot in a state of being narrower than the opening area of the long boot, and by opening after insertion, it expands elastically and is fixed to the long boot.

FIG. 15B is a perspective view after the extension nozzle 381 (3) is attached. Extension nozzles 381 (2) and 381 (3) are connected via the boot attachment 382.

By making any of the partitions 21 removable in this way, it is possible to easily store tall shoes and use the shoe dryer 1.

[door]
The accessory accommodating portion 17 arranged inside the door 11 of the shoe dryer 1 in the present embodiment can be accommodated as a shoe accessory by inserting or hooking a shoe brush, cloth, cream or the like from above. It has an open top structure. However, the structure of the accessory accommodating portion 17 is not limited to this, and may have a box shape with a lid on the upper portion. Further, the accessory accommodating portion 17 is not limited to the inside of the door 11, and may be provided at another place in the housing 10. For example, as a shoe accessory, the extension nozzle 381 connected to the blower nozzle 38 may be accommodated on the right side wall surface 23 of the shoe accommodating portion 20. Further, the shoe accessory includes a boot attachment 382, and an accessory accommodating portion 17 accommodating the boot attachment 382 may also be provided at any place in the housing 10.

By providing the accessory accommodating portion 17 in the housing 10 in this way, it is possible to store all the shoe care products in the housing 10, and a place for managing the shoe care products is separately provided outside the housing 10. There is no need to secure it.

FIG. 16 is a view showing the appearance of the outside of the door 11 of the shoe dryer 1 in the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, a touch panel 18 is provided on the outside of the door 11. The touch panel 18 displays a shoe image taken by the camera 80 and an operation mode set by the control device 90. Then, for example, when the user confirms the driving mode while looking at the shoe image and the driving mode is not appropriate for the shoe type, shape, size, material, etc. that can be seen from the shoe image, the displayed driving mode is displayed. You can change it by touching it with your finger. Alternatively, a display element such as a button displayed on the touch panel 18 may be selected by voice so that the operation mode can be changed. In this case, since the display element such as a button is not touched, it can be said that the operation unit is provided on the outside of the door 11 more generally.

To realize this, the control device 90 receives a user instruction from the operation unit between step 904 and step 905 of FIG. Then, if the user instruction indicates that the operation mode is not changed, in step 905 of FIG. 5, the control device 90 operates the shoe dryer 1 in the operation mode set in step 904. On the other hand, if the user instruction indicates that the operation mode is changed, in step 905 of FIG. 5, the control device 90 sets the shoe dryer 1 in the operation mode after changing the operation mode set in step 904. To drive.

By providing the operation unit on the outside of the door 11 in this way, the user can confirm the set operation mode at a glance, and the operation becomes easy.

[Steam generator]
In the shoe dryer 1 of the present embodiment, a steam generator 60 that generates steam and blows it to the shoe accommodating portion 20 is provided in the circulation type flow path. Specifically, when it is determined that the humidity inside the housing 10 has dropped significantly based on the value of the humidity sensor provided inside the housing 10, the water in the water supply tank 72 is heated to generate steam. Blow air to the shoe housing section 20.

By providing the steam generator 60 in this way, an appropriate humidity environment inside the housing 10 can be realized.

1 ... shoe dryer, 10 ... housing, 20 ... shoe housing, 21 ... partition, 30 ... circulation type flow path, 31 ... fan, 32 ... evaporator, 33 ... condenser, 34 ... discharge flow path, 35 ... Rear flow path, 36 ... Blower unit, 37 ... Front flow path, 40 ... Sterilization unit, 50 ... Deodorizer, 60 ... Steam generator, 71 ... Drainage tank, 72 ... Water supply tank, 80 ... Camera, 90 ... Control device

Claims (23)

With the housing
A shoe accommodating portion provided in the housing and having a partition capable of accommodating shoes,
A fan that sucks air from the shoe housing, an evaporator that dehumidifies the air sucked by the fan, a condenser that heats the air that has passed through the evaporator, and a partition that separates the air that has passed through the condenser. A circulating flow path that includes a blower that blows air toward the shoes housed in the
A sterilization unit provided in the circulation type flow path and sterilizing bacteria in the housing,
A deodorizing unit provided in the circulation type flow path and deodorizing the odor in the housing,
An image acquisition unit that acquires images by shooting,
A shoe dryer including a control unit that controls operating conditions of the own machine based on the shoe information in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, wherein the housing has a heat insulating structure. The operating condition according to claim 1, wherein the operating condition is at least one of the strength of sterilization by the sterilizing unit, the temperature, air volume, and wind speed of the air blown by the blowing unit, and the operating time of the own machine. Described shoe dryer. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, wherein the image acquisition unit is a camera provided on the wall surface of the shoe storage unit or outside the housing. The circulation type flow path is characterized in that the flow path area between the blowout position and the blower portion is larger than the flow path area of the blowout position immediately after the condenser. The shoe dryer according to claim 1. The claim includes a first blower nozzle that blows air toward the shoe for the right foot and a second blower nozzle that blows air toward the shoe for the left foot. Item 1. The shoe dryer according to item 1. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, wherein the blower portion is provided on a wall surface of the shoe accommodating portion. The shoe dryer according to claim 7, wherein the blower portion includes a blower nozzle having a shape having a smooth curvature obliquely downward from the wall surface. The blower portion is a guide plate that guides the wind near the center of the flow path of the blower nozzle, and has a semicircular or semi-elliptical cross section of the front edge portion and a cross section of the trailing edge portion as the upper side. The shoe dryer according to claim 8, further comprising a guide plate having a shape in which the connecting portion with the trailing edge end portion is connected with a smooth curvature. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, wherein the blower portion includes a blower nozzle that can extend into the shoes housed in the partition. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, wherein the blower portion includes an opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing an air flow path for blowing air toward the shoes housed in the partition. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, further comprising a flow path of air sucked by the fan in a peripheral portion of the partition or in the partition. The shoe dryer according to claim 12, wherein the peripheral portion of the partition or the air flow path in the partition is installed at the lower part of the wall surface facing the blower portion. The shoe dryer according to claim 12, wherein the air flow path in the peripheral portion of the partition or in the partition has a flow path area larger than the flow path area of the blowing position of the blower portion. The shoe accommodating portion is provided on the downstream side of the first shoe accommodating portion having a first partition capable of accommodating one pair of shoes and the first shoe accommodating portion in the flow of air sucked by the fan. And includes a second shoe compartment with a second partition capable of accommodating a pair of shoes.
A first flow path of air sucked by the fan is provided in the peripheral portion of the first partition or in the first partition.
The shoe dryer according to claim 1, wherein a second flow path of air sucked by the fan is provided in a peripheral portion of the second partition or in the second partition. The shoe according to claim 15, wherein the shoe accommodating portion is configured so that the flow path area of the second flow path is larger than the flow path area of the first flow path. Dryer. The sterilization unit has a discharge electrode and a ground electrode, and is characterized in that bacteria in the housing are sterilized by applying a voltage between the discharge electrode and the ground electrode to generate plasma. The shoe dryer according to claim 1. The shoe accommodating portion is provided at the lower stage of a first shoe accommodating portion having a first partition capable of accommodating one pair of shoes and the first shoe accommodating portion, and can accommodate one pair of shoes. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, further comprising a second shoe accommodating portion having two partitions. The shoe dryer according to claim 18, wherein the shoe accommodating portion is configured such that the first partition is removable. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, wherein an accessory accommodating portion for accommodating shoe accessories is provided in the housing. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, further comprising an operation unit that displays the shoe information or a display element representing the driving condition, and the operation on the display element is performed by a finger or a voice. The shoe dryer according to claim 1, wherein a steam generating unit for generating steam is provided in the circulation type flow path. With the housing
A shoe accommodating portion provided in the housing and having a partition capable of accommodating shoes,
A fan that sucks air from the shoe housing, an evaporator that dehumidifies the air sucked by the fan, a condenser that heats the air that has passed through the evaporator, and a partition that separates the air that has passed through the condenser. A circulating flow path that includes a blower that blows air toward the shoes housed in the
A sterilization unit provided in the circulation type flow path and sterilizing bacteria in the housing,
It is a control method of a shoe dryer provided in the circulation type flow path and provided with a deodorizing portion for deodorizing the odor in the housing.
A method for controlling a shoe dryer, which includes a step of acquiring an image by shooting and a step of controlling the operating conditions of the own machine based on the acquired information on shoes in the image.