JP2595057B2 - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention horizontally supports a drum as a drying container,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clothes dryer having a condensing unit for condensing moisture in the humid air discharged from the drum, and more particularly to a clothes dryer which suppresses a rise in temperature and humidity in a room during operation and is directed to downsizing of a body. It is about.

[Conventional technology]

From the laundry stored in the drum, which is a drying container, forcibly cool the humid air discharged during operation, condense the moisture in this humid air to lower the absolute humidity, and heat the air with a heater, A clothes dryer designed to supply the drum to the drum again is described in, for example, JP-A-58-36599.

This is equipped with a heat exchanger, sends humid air discharged from the laundry to the heat exchanger, and lowers the temperature of the humid air by the heat exchanger which is air-cooled by a cooling fan. Condensate water and drain the condensed water out of the machine. On the other hand, the temperature and the absolute humidity of the air discharged from the heat exchanger have been lowered and sent to the drum again to dry the laundry.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the above prior art, high-temperature, high-humidity humid air discharged from laundry is sent to a heat exchanger, and this heat exchanger is cooled by air taken in from a room by a cooling fan, and the temperature-raised air is discharged to the room again. Therefore, there are the following problems.

The temperature of the outside air that cools the heat exchanger, that is, the temperature of the indoor air, gradually increases, and the occupant's discomfort increases.

The place where the clothes dryer is installed is limited to a place where the outside air for cooling the heat exchanger can be easily taken in and out of the machine.

A heat exchanger and a cooling fan are required as a humid air condensing unit, which increases the size of the aircraft.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide a downsized clothes dryer that does not increase the room temperature during the drying operation and does not limit the place for installation. It is.

[Means for solving the problem]

The configuration of the clothes dryer according to the present invention for solving the above-described problem, a drum that is a drying container is horizontally supported, and humid air containing moisture evaporated from laundry in the drum,
The air is discharged from the drum by a circulation fan and flows into a condensing section, where the moist air is cooled, the moisture contained therein is condensed and removed, and the dehumidified air is heated by passing through a heater. In the clothes dryer, wherein the condensing portion is further fed into the drum and circulated, thereby drying the laundry, wherein the condensing portion includes a first duct portion extending downward from a discharge side of a fan casing of the circulating fan. And a second duct portion which rises in an inclined manner from the lower end of the first duct portion to reach the heater housing portion, and supplies cooling water for cooling the humid air into the duct. A cooling water inlet capable of discharging the cooling water and condensed water from the humid air from the duct.

 The details are as follows.

The condensation of the moisture in the humid air discharged from the drum is performed without using the heat exchanger and cooling fan used conventionally.
Tap water (hereinafter referred to as cooling water) supplied via a water supply solenoid valve is brought into direct contact with the humid air to lower its temperature and absolute temperature. Then, the air after condensing the moisture is heated and blown into the drum again, and the inside of a duct communicating the discharge side of the humid air of the drum with the heater for heating the air after condensing the moisture. In addition, a resistor is provided for expanding the flow of the cooling water and slowing the cooling water so that the supplied cooling water is led to the drainage port in a slow flow, or the cooling water is showered into the duct. This is achieved by extending the contact time between the humid air and the cooling water and increasing the contact area by spraying water in a uniform manner.

[Action]

The humid air containing the moisture evaporated from the laundry is blown to the duct, and in this duct, the cooling water supplied into the duct is brought into contact with the humid air for cooling, and the temperature of the humid air is lowered. The water is condensed, and the condensed water is drained out of the machine together with the cooling water. On the other hand, the temperature and absolute humidity of the air after the condensation of water are reduced by a heater and sent to the drum again to circulate the air.

In this process, the contact time between the cooling water and the humid air is increased by making the flow of the cooling water supplied into the duct a slow flow or spraying the cooling water into the duct in a shower form. By increasing the contact area, the heat transfer from the humid air to the cooling water is efficiently performed, and the amount of the cooling water used can be reduced. In addition, the amount of heat added from the heater to the air after condensing the moisture is received by the cooling water and the water is drained. Only the amount of heat to be dissipated, and the rise in room temperature is small. In addition, since there is no need to use a cooling fan and a heat exchanger as in the related art, the size of the airframe is reduced.

〔Example〕

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a clothes dryer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG.

An outline of the clothes dryer will be described with reference to FIG. 1. This is configured to horizontally support a drum 4 as a drying container, and to remove humid air containing moisture evaporated from laundry A in the drum 4, The humid air is discharged from the drum 4 by the circulation fan 20 and flows into a condensing section (to be described in detail later). The humid air is cooled in the condensing section, and the water contained therein is condensed and removed. And heated again through the drum 4 to circulate it.
The condensing section is configured to dry the laundry A, and the condensing section includes a first duct section 24 extending downward from a discharge side of the fan casing 12 of the circulation fan 20, and a first duct section 24 of the first duct section 24. The second rising from the lower end to the heater duct portion 8d of the drum support 8 relating to the heater accommodating portion, rising from the lower end.
And a plurality of small holes formed in the side surface of the first duct portion 24, which can supply cooling water for cooling the humid air into the duct D. It has a sprinkling port 24a and a drain port 25a through which the cooling water and the condensed water generated from the humid air can be drained from the duct D.

 Hereinafter, this will be described in detail.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an outer frame which is an exterior part supported by rubber legs 1a, 2 denotes a laundry inlet / outlet provided at a central portion of the front surface of the outer frame 1, and 3 denotes an outer frame shown in FIG. Thus, when closed, the lid is hinged at the intake port 2 so that the lid inner edge 3a is in close contact with the intake port 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a drum which is horizontally supported in the outer frame 1 and functions as a drying container. The drum 4 includes a cylindrical portion 5 having a lifter 5a formed by projecting toward the center on the inner periphery so that the laundry A can be agitated during drying, and a drum support 8 described later. A side plate 6 having a cylindrical body 6a which is supported by a fixed bearing 9 and a convex portion 7a formed inward at a central portion, and the convex portion 7a is provided with humid air containing moisture evaporated from laundry. And a side plate 7 provided with a discharge hole 7b for discharging water. Reference numeral 8 denotes a drum support fixedly provided inside the center of the front surface of the outer frame 1. The drum support 8 includes a cylindrical body 8 a fitted into the intake port 2 and a cylindrical body of the side plate 6 of the drum 4. The cylindrical portion 8b in which the portion 6a is fitted, the cylindrical portion 8c to which the bearing 9 described below is fixed, and the air after condensing the moisture are heated to the hot air blowing port 10 described later, as described later. And a heater duct 8d for guiding. 9 is
A ring-shaped bearing 10 made of a wear-resistant plastic material (for example, polyacetal resin or the like) or a low-friction felt material is provided in a clearance space between the cylindrical portions 8a and 8b of the drum support 8, This is a hot air blowing port for the drum 4.

11 is a bearing plate fastened and fixed to the rear surface of the outer frame 1, 12 is
At the center, there is a cylindrical cylindrical bearing portion 12a, and at its outer peripheral portion, a suction port 12 for sucking wet air from the drum 4.
This is a fan casing for a circulating fan 20 to be described later, wherein b is perforated. The fan casing 12 is fastened to the bearing plate 11. Reference numeral 13 denotes a drum hub fixed to the center of the protrusion 7a of the side plate 7 of the drum 4 (the axis of the drum 4).
Is a drum shaft press-fitted into the drum hub 13 and fixedly provided. The drum shaft 14 is supported by a bearing 15 fitted into the bearing cylinder 12a, and rotatably supports the drum 4.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a laundry protective cover which is detachably fitted to the end of the drum shaft 14 protruding into the drum 4 and has a ventilation hole 16a formed in a lattice shape on the entire surface. And a net-like cloth waste filter for catching cloth waste generated from the laundry A during the drying operation.

Reference numeral 18 denotes an airtight felt ring which is fixed to the fan casing 12 and whose outer peripheral end is pressed against the side plate 7 of the drum 4. Reference numeral 19 denotes a fan shaft press-fitted and fixed to the end of the bearing cylinder 12 a. A circulating fan rotatably supported by the fan shaft 19 and sucking the humid air containing the moisture evaporated from the laundry A from the drum 4 and circulating the humid air to the condensing section 23 (described later in detail), the heater 26, and the drum 4. Reference numeral 21 denotes a fan pulley integrally formed with the circulation fan 20, and reference numeral 22 denotes a bearing press-fitted into the center of the circulation fan 20, that is, the center of the fan pulley 21. Reference numeral 37 denotes a back cover.

The condensing part 23 has a water spouting port 24a formed of a plurality of small holes drilled on the side surface thereof for spraying water B in the form of a shower toward the humid air and cooling it. A first duct portion 24 disposed downwardly of the fuselage, and a drain port 25a for discharging water sprinkled into the first duct portion 24 to the outside of the machine at the bottom portion. Is connected to the lower end of the first duct 24, rises in a gentle slope, and the other end is connected to the heater duct 8d of the drum support 8 with the second duct 25. . 26 is a heater which is a drying heat source provided inside the heater duct portion 8d of the drum support 8 by electrically insulating the heater, and 27 is a small flow rate equipped for sending cooling water sprayed into the duct D. The water supply solenoid valve 28 has a water supply hose connecting the water supply solenoid valve 27 and a tap water faucet (not shown);
29 is a water supply hose connected between the discharge side of the water supply electromagnetic valve 27 and the water spout 24a of the first duct 24, and 30 is a drain hose connected to the drain 25a of the second duct 25. .

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 31 denotes the drum 4 and the circulation fan 20.
A pulley 32 for driving the drum and a pulley 33 for driving the circulation fan 20 are fastened to both ends of the shaft. 34 is a belt hung between the outer periphery of the drum 4 and the pulley 32, 35 is a belt hung between the fan pulley 21 and the pulley 33 of the circulation fan 20, and 36 is a belt 34
It is a tensioner.

The operation of the clothes dryer configured as described above will be described below.

 The laundry A is put into the drum 4 and the lid 3 is closed.

When the clothes dryer is turned on, the motor 31 rotates and the drum 4 rotates at 40 to 50 rpm. The circulation fan 20 also rotates,
At the same time, the water supply electromagnetic valve 27 is opened, and watering B is started into the duct D. The laundry A in the drum 4 is lifted by the lifter 5a, falls, and is agitated. The air blown from the discharge side of the fan casing 12 of the circulation fan 20 to the duct D is:
The hot air is heated by the heater 26 in an energized state and becomes hot air (the relative humidity is generally 2% or less). The hot air is blown into the drum 4 from the hot air blowing port 10, and the hot air comes into contact with the laundry A to evaporate moisture contained therein. The moist air containing the evaporated water is discharged from the drum 4 and sent to the first duct portion 24. Here, the water is cooled by contact with the cooling water sprinkled in a shower form from the water spouting port 24a, the water in the humid air is condensed, the temperature and the absolute humidity are reduced, and the drum 26 is heated again by the heater 26 and re-heated. 4. By this circulation, the laundry A is dried. Then, the condensed water is drained to the outside of the machine from the drain port 25a through the drain hose 30 together with the cooling water which has received heat from the humid air and has been heated.

 According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

I. Since the heat exchanger and the cooling fan, which have been used in the past, are unnecessary, the size of the airframe is reduced.

B. Since the heat exchanger is not used, there is almost no increase in the temperature of the indoor air, and the comfort of the occupants is not impaired.

C. Since a heat exchanger is not used, there is no need to consider the intake and exhaust of air for cooling the heat exchanger, and there is no restriction on the installation location of the clothes dryer.

D. Cooling water is sprinkled in a shower form onto the humid air discharged from the drum, containing water evaporated from the laundry, so that the contact area between the humid air and the cooling water is increased, and cooling from the humid air is performed. Heat transfer to water can be performed efficiently. Therefore, the amount of cooling water can be reduced.

 Next, another embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a clothes dryer according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 3, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part showing an example of a resistance face body in FIG. 3.

3 and 4, the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 and 2 denote the same parts.

The configuration difference between the present embodiment and the first embodiment is as follows.
The other parts are the same in the condensing part for condensing the moisture in the humid air. Therefore, only the condensing unit for condensing the moisture in the humid air in the second embodiment will be described below.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a condensing unit in the present embodiment.
Has one end connected to the discharge side of the fan casing 12,
A first duct portion 39 disposed downward of the fuselage, and connected to the lower end portion of the first duct portion 39, rises gently in an inclined shape, and the other end portion of the drum support 8 A duct D ′ including a second duct portion 40 connected to the heater duct portion 8d, a water injection port 40a (described in detail below), and a drain port 40
(To be described in detail later) and a resistance surface body R (to be described in detail later) attached to the bottom surface of the second duct portion 40.
Reference numeral 40a denotes an inlet formed at the rising end of the upper surface plate 40b of the second duct portion 40 for guiding cooling water into the duct D '.
c extends downward from the water inlet 40a, and the second duct 40
A plurality of water injection pipes, 40e, which are brought close to the terminal surface of the bottom part 40d, a drain port for draining water injected into the duct D 'to the outside of the machine, and 41 is a discharge side of the water supply electromagnetic valve 27. Water inlet 40a
This is a water supply hose that connects between

The resistor R is provided with a bottom surface portion in which the cooling water injected from the water injection pipe 40c into the duct D 'through the water supply solenoid valve 27 is inclined in a direction opposite to the circulating direction of the humid air (P arrow direction).
40d becomes a slow flow, spreads, and drains 40e
It is attached to the bottom surface 4d so as to flow into the bottom surface 4d. As shown in FIG. 5, the configuration of the resistance surface body R is such that small circular protrusions 42b are arranged on a flat plate 42a at positions where the horizontal direction is at equal pitch and the vertical direction is at staggered equal pitch. FIG. 3A is a plan view of the same, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II in FIG. In this way, the resistance face R is attached to the bottom surface part 40d,
When the cooling water flows, the water hits the small circular protrusion 42b, and is dispersed and flows down to the left and right, and the flow spreads and becomes a gentle flow.

The drying operation of the clothes dryer according to FIG. 3 configured as described above is performed in the same manner as in the embodiment according to FIG.
The moist air discharged from the drum 4 is supplied to the first duct 39
To the second duct section 40, where the water is injected from the plurality of water injection pipes 40c through the water supply solenoid valve 27, receives the resistance to the flow from the resistance face R, and spreads slowly on the bottom face 4d. Cooling by contact with flowing cooling water, moisture in the moist air condenses, its temperature and absolute humidity decrease,
It is heated by the heater 26 and is again supplied to the drum 4 and circulated.

According to this embodiment, the second air containing the moisture evaporated from the laundry A and discharged from the drum 4 is inclined in the direction opposite to the direction of circulation of the wet air (the direction of the arrow P). The contact with the cooling water that flows slowly while spreading along the bottom surface 40d of the duct part 40 increases the contact time between the humid air and the cooling water, and also increases the contact area. Heat transfer can be performed efficiently. Therefore, there is an advantage that the amount of cooling water supplied for condensing the moisture in the humid air can be further reduced.

Note that another example of the resistance face body will be described with reference to FIGS.

The resistive surface element R 'according to FIG. 6 has a shallow V-shaped groove on a flat plate.
43a is cut in an oblique direction alternately, and they are joined together. FIG. 4A is a plan view of the same, and FIG. 4B is a cross-section of a straight roll in FIG. FIG. If this resistive surface element R 'is attached to the bottom surface portion 40d and cooling water is allowed to flow, the water will flow down obliquely along the V-shaped groove 43a, and the flow will spread and become a gentle flow. Become.

7 is a grid net, a coarse woven fabric, or a non-woven fabric in which yarns are entangled. The resistance face R "is attached to the bottom surface portion 40d and cooled. When water flows, the water flows vertically and horizontally and spreads, creating a gentle flow.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a main part of a duct in a clothes dryer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 in that a resistor 45 is attached to a portion facing the water inlet 40a instead of the resistor face body.

That is, the resistor 45 is fixed on the bottom surface 40d of the second duct portion 40 at a location facing the water inlet 40a, and is formed by entanglement of a coarse woven fabric and yarn. It is made of a water-permeable and air-permeable material, such as a formed nonwoven fabric or a coarse open-celled porous material.

With such a configuration, the duct D 'is connected from the water inlet 40a.
The cooling water supplied into the inside slowly flows down in the low antibody 45, and in the meantime, comes into contact with the humid air blown in the direction of circulation of the humid air (P arrow direction), and cools the humid air. The contact time becomes longer and the contact area increases,
The heat transfer from the humid air to the cooling water can be efficiently performed, and the supply amount of the cooling water can be reduced.

To give a specific example, the required supply flow rate of the cooling water is
At 20 ° C, 0.23-0.40 l / min per 1 kW of heat supplied to heater 26
Met.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the moist air containing moisture evaporated from the laundry and discharged from the drum is cooled with cooling water in the condensing section, and the contained moisture is condensed and removed. Therefore, it is not necessary to take in the outside air into the machine and exhaust the same as in the related art. Therefore, it is not necessary to limit the installation location of the aircraft to a location where intake into the interior of the aircraft and exhaust to the exterior are easy, and comfort may be impaired by increasing the temperature in the room where the clothes dryer is installed. Absent. Further, since the condensing section is constituted by a duct, a cooling water inlet for supplying cooling water to the duct, and a drain port for discharging water from the duct, a cooling fan or a heat exchanger is used as in the related art. There is an effect that the body can be made compact and simple without any need. Further, the heat transfer from the humid air to the cooling water is efficiently performed by configuring the condensing portion so as to prolong the contact time between the humid air discharged from the drum and the cooling water and increase the contact area. There is an advantage that the supply amount of cooling water can be reduced.

In short, it is possible to provide a downsized clothes dryer that does not increase the room temperature during the drying operation and does not limit the place for installation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a clothes dryer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 3, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are enlarged views of a main part showing an example of a resistive surface body in FIG. FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a main part of a duct in a clothes dryer according to a third embodiment of the present invention. 4 ... Drum, 8 ... Drum support, 8d ... Heater duct, 12 ... Fan casing, 20 ... Circulation fan, 23 ... Condenser, 24 ... First duct, 24a ... Water spouting port, 25 second duct section, 25a drain port, 26 heater, 38 condensing section, A laundry, D duct.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-63-19198 (JP, A) JP-A-58-192593 (JP, A) JP-A-58-10099 (JP, A) JP-A-58-192 36599 (JP, A) Fully open sho 62-30797 (JP, U) Really open sho 50-69372 (JP, U)

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A drum which is a drying container is horizontally supported,
Moist air containing moisture evaporated from the laundry in the drum is discharged from the drum by a circulation fan and flows into a condensing section, where the moist air is cooled, and the contained moisture is condensed. In the clothes dryer in which the air after the removal and the dehumidification is passed through a heater to be heated and sent again into the drum to circulate the laundry, the laundry is dried, and the condensing unit includes a circulation fan. A first duct portion extending downward from the discharge side of the fan casing, and a second duct portion rising from the lower end of the first duct portion in an inclined manner to reach the heater housing portion; A cooling water inlet capable of supplying cooling water for cooling the humid air, and draining the cooling water and condensed water from the humid air from the duct. Clothes dryer, characterized in that it comprises a water outlet which can. 2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the cooling water inlet is a water sprinkler formed of a plurality of small holes formed in a side surface of the first duct. 3. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the cooling water inlet is a water inlet provided on an upper surface of a rising end of the second duct portion. 4. The clothes dryer according to claim 3, wherein a resistance surface body capable of giving a spread to the flow of the cooling water flowing from the water inlet is attached to a bottom surface of the second duct portion. 5. The clothes dryer according to claim 3, wherein a water-permeable and air-permeable resistor is attached to a portion of the second duct facing the water inlet.