JP2735428B2 - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clothes dryer using a water-absorbing heating material that absorbs moisture and generates heat in order to increase the drying capacity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a clothes dryer of this type, an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 64-43896 is known. FIG. 4 shows this conventional clothes dryer. In the laundry dryer 1 _b shown in the figure, when the drying of the clothes, the rotary drum 2 containing the first wet clothes is rotated by the driving of the motor 5 _b, the heater 8, the high wind pressure blower 19 is energized Is done. As a result, the two-wing fan 4 is driven to rotate, so that the moisture absorbed in the rotating drum 2 is exhausted by the exhaust port 11.
From the outside, and is cooled by being exchanged with the outside air via the two-sided fan 4. As a result, part of the moisture in the moisture-absorbing air is condensed, and is discharged as dew water from a drain port 16 provided in the middle of the air passage 6. afterwards,
Most of the air passes through the air passage 6 and is heated by the heater 8, and then blown into the rotary drum 2 again from the air supply port 10 as dry air. On the other hand, part of the air sucked is separated from the middle of the air passage 6 by the high wind pressure blower 19 of the water heating device 13 _b is fed to the filling tube 12 _b of the cylindrical shape having a longitudinal direction in the ventilation direction, this Filling cylinder 12 _b
The moisture is absorbed by the water-absorbing heating material 20 (a moisture absorbent such as silica gel) filled in the inside. At the same time, the water-absorbing heating material 20 generates heat by its moisture absorbing action. As a result, the dry air absorbed and heated by the water-absorbing heating material 20 is also supplied to the air supply port 18.
From the rotary drum 2. As described above, the dry air as the hot air blown into the rotary drum 2 from the air supply port 10 and the air supply port 18 promotes the heating of the clothes and the evaporation of moisture. Thereby, the rotating drum 2
The large amount of water absorbed by the air inside the fan
Is sufficiently removed by the heat exchanging action of the heat absorbing material 20 and the moisture absorbing action of the water absorbing heat generating material 20. The air circulating between the rotating drum 2 and the air passage 6 or the air passage 24 is heated by the heating action of the heater 8 and the heating action of the water-absorbing heating material 20. In this way, the drying time of the clothes is shortened.

[0003]

As described above [0008] In the conventional clothes dryer 1 _b of the water heating device 13 _b, because the elongated filling tube 12 _b in the ventilation direction is employed, the water heating device 13 _b the greater the pressure loss during the ventilation, the total amount of air to Kyosu the drying of the clothes can not be passed to the filling tube 12 _b. Therefore, in order to pass the filling tube 12 _b of the total amount of air as described above, it must be enhanced blowing capacity of the wings fan 4. However, for this purpose, it is conceivable that the configuration of the two-wing fan 4 and its peripheral devices becomes large, or that the noise increases.
In addition, since the water absorption and heat generation device _13b has a configuration in which it is provided by branching off from the air passage 6, there are disadvantages in that the structure becomes complicated and a space for installing these connection pipes is required. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a filling cylinder having a small ventilation resistance in a circulation ventilation passage so that a predetermined circulation ventilation amount required for drying clothes can be obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a clothes dryer in which the entire amount is passed through the above-mentioned filling cylinder without increasing the capacity of a blower or the like, thereby increasing the drying capacity per unit time.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the main means adopted by the present invention is that the gist of the invention is that a drum for storing and rotating clothes absorbs moisture and supplies dry air. And a circulating air passage constructed by connecting
In a clothes dryer provided with a filling tube filled with a water-absorbing heat-generating material that absorbs moisture and generates heat, a ventilation hole is formed in the filling tube over a wide range so as to allow ventilation in the direction of the drum axis. The cylinder is configured as a clothes dryer in which the width in the ventilation direction is formed into a flat cylindrical shape that is sufficiently smaller than the width in the direction perpendicular to the ventilation direction, and the cylinder is disposed on the moisture-absorbing air outlet side of the drum. I have.

[0005]

In the clothes dryer according to the present invention, a ventilation hole which can be ventilated in the axial direction of the drum is formed in the filling cylinder over a wide range. Further, since the filling cylinder is formed in a flat cylindrical shape whose width in the ventilation direction is sufficiently smaller than the width in the direction perpendicular to the ventilation direction, the ventilation resistance of this filling cylinder is necessary for drying clothes. It is possible to provide a ventilation resistance that allows the entire amount of air to be blown. And
Since this filling cylinder is disposed on the moisture-absorbing air outlet side of the drum, the moisture absorbed by the dry air from the clothes accommodated in the drum is absorbed by the water-absorbing heating material in the filling cylinder,
At the same time, the moisture-absorbing air is heated by the action of the water-absorbing heating material.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to provide an understanding of the present invention. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention and is not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. Here, FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of a clothes dryer according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an appearance of a filling cylinder of a water absorption / heating device provided in the clothes dryer. 3) is a front view, FIG. 3 (b) is a side view, and FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a clothes dryer having a water absorption / heating device according to another embodiment of the present invention. However, the common elements with the conventional clothes dryer 1 _b shown in FIG. 4, and detailed description thereof will be omitted with using the same reference numerals. Further, above the conventional clothes dryer 1 _b and elements having the same function, using different codes having or subscript or given the new index. As shown in FIG. 1, the clothes dryer 1 according to the present embodiment includes a rotating drum 2 that is rotated by driving a motor 3 to tumbl the clothes 23 housed in an outer box 31 and a motor 5. The two-wing fan 4 which is driven to rotate and sucks the moisture absorbed in the rotary drum 2 from the exhaust port 11 to the rotary drum 2 again through the air supply port 10 and condenses moisture from the moisture absorbed through the exhaust port 11 by heat exchange with the outside air.
An air passage 6 connected to the exhaust port 11 of the rotary drum 2 and the air supply port 10 for circulating and blowing the air of the rotary drum 2, and provided at the bottom of the air passage 6 to condense as described above. A drain 16 for discharging the water, a heater 8 for heating the circulating air after removing the condensed water to produce hot-air drying air, and a front surface of the outer box 31 for putting clothes 23 in and out of the rotating drum 2. And a front lid 9 provided to be freely opened and closed. In the clothes dryer 1, in particular, a water-absorbing heat generating device 13 composed of a filling tube 12 filled with a water-absorbing heat generating material 20 made of, for example, silica gel or activated alumina is disposed in front of an exhaust port 11 in the rotary drum 2. Have been. As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the filling cylinder 12 has a width l ₀ in the drum axis direction sufficiently smaller than a width (diameter) L in a direction perpendicular to the drum axis direction. It is formed in a flat cylindrical shape having a circular shape when viewed from the front. A plurality of ventilation holes 21 are formed on the front and back surfaces of the filling cylinder 12 so as to be able to ventilate in the axial direction of the drum over a wide range of these surfaces. These ventilation holes 21 are meshed to prevent the water-absorbing heating material 20 filled in the filling tube 12 from falling off. In addition, a ventilation hole 21 with a mesh is also provided on the peripheral surface of the filling cylinder 12 as shown in FIG. In addition, the diameter L of the filling cylinder 12
The opening diameter of the exhaust port 11 of the rotary drum 2 and the outer diameter of the two-wing fan 4 are set to relatively close values. Thereby, the ventilation resistance of the hygroscopic air passing through the filling cylinder 12 and the exhaust port 11 is reduced, and the clothing 2
The entire amount of circulating air necessary for drying 3 can be passed through the filling cylinder 12.

Next, the operation of the clothes dryer 1 according to this embodiment will be described. When the wet clothing 23 is dried, the clothing 23 is stored in the rotating drum 2, the rotating drum 2 is rotated by the motor 3, and the two-wing fan 4 is rotated by the motor 5. Thereby, the air circulating in the rotary drum 2 to the air passage 6 flows as shown by the wide arrow.
Then, the dry air heated by the heater 8 evaporates moisture from the clothing 23 tumbling inside the rotary drum 2 to become moisture-absorbing air, and the evaporated moisture is adsorbed by the water-absorbing heating material 20 of the water-absorbing heating device 13. To be removed from the moisture-absorbing air. The air dehumidified by the water-absorbing heat generating material 20 is simultaneously heated by the water-absorbing heat generating material 20, passes through the exhaust port 11, and exchanges heat with the outside air in the two-wing fan 4. At this time, the water in the air is further condensed and removed, and the condensed water is discharged to the outside through the drain 16 of the air passage 6.
These series of operations are repeatedly performed to dry the clothes 23 in the rotating drum 2. On the other hand, in the case of regenerating the water-absorbing heat-generating material 20 that has adsorbed moisture, the two-blade fan 4 is driven to rotate and the heater 8 is energized, so that high-temperature dry air flows around the water-absorbing heat-generating material 20 of the filling cylinder 12. By allowing the water-absorbing heat-generating material 20 to be maintained at about 100 ° C. by passing the water, the moisture that has been adsorbed so far is desorbed from the water-absorbing heat-generating material 20 and condensed by the two-wing fan 4. It is discharged outside. Thus, the water-absorbing heating material 20 is regenerated. At this time, the rotary drum 2 may be constantly rotated, or may be rotated and stopped intermittently.

[0008] As described above, the clothes dryer 1 of the present embodiment.
In this case, the filling tube 12 of the water absorption / heating device 13 is formed on the moisture-absorbing air outlet side of the rotary drum 2 in a flat cylindrical shape having a width l ₀ in the ventilation direction sufficiently smaller than a width L perpendicular to the ventilation direction.
Vent hole 21 that can be ventilated in the direction of the drum axis is filled cylinder 1
2 is formed so as to be able to ventilate in the axial direction of the drum over a wide range of front and rear surfaces, so that the entire amount of air circulated and blown by the blowing capability of the two-blade fan 4 passes through the filling cylinder 12 with low ventilation resistance. Can be done. As a result, the moisture-absorbing air from the rotating drum 2 is removed by both the water-absorbing heating material 20 and the two-blade fan 4, and is heated by both the water-absorbing heating material 20 and the heater 8.
Therefore, the drying capacity can be increased without increasing the air blowing capacity of the two-blade fan 4 as compared with a configuration in which the water absorption / heating device is separately provided by branching off from the air flow path 6 as in the related art. Further, the configuration can be made extremely simple.
In the above-described embodiment, the water absorption / heating device 13 is provided integrally with the rotary drum 2 and is configured to rotate with the rotation of the rotary drum 2. However, as shown in FIG. In addition, a water absorption / heating device 13a may be provided at _a fixed portion of the rotary drum 2 on the moisture absorbing air outlet side. Thus, the rotational torque of the rotary drum 2 by the motor 3 can be reduced. The shape of the front view and rear view of the filling tube 12 _a of the water heating device 13 _a is substantially similar to the fill tube 12 described above, both formed in donut shape. A sheath heater 22 is provided in the filling cylinder _12a in contact with the filled water-absorbing heating material 20. Thereby, the regeneration efficiency of the water-absorbing heating material 20 can be improved, and the regeneration temperature can be maintained at, for example, 200 to 300 ° C., and zeolite that can be regenerated at the temperature is used as the water-absorbing heating material 20. be able to. Incidentally, it is desirable that the exhaust port 11 _a of the moisture air outlet side of the rotary drum 2 is formed to have a sufficiently wide opening area. For example, when synthetic zeolite is used as the water-absorbing heat generating material 20, the synthetic zeolite can adsorb 15 to 20% of its own weight of water and generate about 750 Kcal per 1 kg of adsorbed water. Naturally, because it absorbs moisture in the moisture-absorbing air,
The dehumidifying effect is also taken into consideration, and the drying of the clothes 23 can be promoted. It is preferable that the above-mentioned various water-absorbing heat-generating materials 20 be formed in a particle shape or a column shape having a particle size of about 2 to 4 mm in order to improve ventilation when filling.
Each of the above-described embodiments can also provide the same effects as those of the related art described below. That is, in the general households usually not be a heat source only one kilowatt-position of the heater, the heater 8 previously stored was accumulated in water heating device 13, 13 _a of each of the embodiments described above apparatus during the drying operation of the clothes 23 after that can be used heat at the same time, since the dehumidification effect of the water heating device 13, 13 _a and wings fan 4 can also be achieved at the same time, the drying time is very short. Further, each water heating device 13, 13 _a
If the water-absorbing heat-generating material 20 is regenerated (heat storage) using late-night electric power, it is possible to reduce the operating cost and at the same time contribute to the time leveling of the electric power consumption.

[0009]

According to the present invention, a circulating air passage formed by connecting a moisture-absorbing air outlet side and a dry air inlet side of a drum that accommodates and rotates clothes absorbs moisture and generates heat. In a clothes dryer provided with a filling cylinder filled with a heating material, a ventilation hole capable of being ventilated in the axial direction of the drum is formed in the filling cylinder over a wide range, and the filling cylinder is formed with a width in the ventilation direction. Is formed in a flat cylindrical shape that is sufficiently smaller than the width in the direction perpendicular to the ventilation direction, and is disposed on the moisture-absorbing air outlet side of the drum.
Thereby, a filling cylinder having a small ventilation resistance is provided on the moisture-absorbing air outlet side of the drum. Therefore, the entire amount of the circulating air required for drying the clothes can be passed through the above-mentioned filling cylinder without increasing the capacity of the blower, and the heat generation and moisture absorption of the circulating air by the water-absorbing heating material of the filling cylinder can be reduced. It can be fully utilized. Therefore, it is possible to realize a clothes dryer having a high drying ability with a simple configuration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a clothes dryer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the appearance of a filling cylinder of a water absorption / heating device provided in the clothes dryer, wherein FIG. 2A is a front view and FIG. 2B is a side view.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an overall configuration of a clothes dryer including a water absorption / heating device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a conventional clothes dryer as an example of the background of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1 _a, 1 _b ... clothes dryer 2 ... rotary drum 6 ... air passage 10 ... air supply port 11, 11 _a ... exhaust port 12, 12 _a, 12 _b ... filling tube 20 ... water heating member

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A filling device in which a circulating air passage formed by connecting a moisture-absorbing air outlet side and a dry air inlet side of a drum that accommodates and rotates clothes is filled with a water-absorbing heating material that absorbs moisture and generates heat. In a clothes dryer provided with a cylinder, a vent hole capable of ventilating in the drum axis direction is formed in a wide area in the filling cylinder, and the width of the filling cylinder is perpendicular to the ventilation direction. A clothes dryer characterized in that it is formed in a flat cylindrical shape that is sufficiently smaller than the width in the direction of.