JP2806542B2 - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention horizontally bears a drum as a drying container,
The moist air discharged from the drum is guided to a condensing section, where the cooling water is sprayed to condense and remove the moisture in the moist air.
In particular, the present invention relates to a clothes dryer aimed at reducing the amount of sprayed cooling water.

[Prior Art] The drum, which is a drying container, is held horizontally, and cold water is sprayed on the moist air evaporated from the laundry put into the drum, thereby condensing the moisture in the moist air to lower the absolute temperature. A clothes dryer in which the air is heated by a heater and supplied to the drum again is described in, for example, JP-A-55-78996.

This is provided with a condenser section, which contains moisture evaporated from the laundry and sends humid air discharged from the drum to the condenser section, where the cold water fed through a water supply solenoid valve is supplied. (Hereinafter, referred to as cooling water) is atomized by an injection nozzle, and is sprayed onto the humid air to lower the temperature of the humid air and condense the moisture in the air. Then, the condensed water is discharged out of the machine together with the cooling water,
On the other hand, the air having a temperature and an absolute humidity lowered from the condenser section is heated by a heater and sent to the drum again to dry the laundry.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the moist air containing moisture evaporated from the laundry and discharged from the drum is sent to the condenser portion, where the cooling water is sprayed in a mist state. The humid air is cooled to condense the moisture in the air, but this has the following problems.

. The supply flow rate of the cooling water supplied from the tap faucet via the water supply solenoid valve is 0.2 to 0.4 / min, so even if a spray nozzle is used, when the tap water pressure is low, the supply flow rate is insufficient and the cooling water Could not be atomized.

. The cooling water sprayed into the humid air in the form of a mist by the spray nozzle hits the pipe wall of the condenser part and immediately flows into the water, and the mist is in a very short time,
The efficiency of heat transfer from the humid air to the cooling water was poor, and the temperature of the cooling water was not sufficiently increased, so that the water was drained, and the amount of cooling water used was large.

. In order to efficiently transfer heat to the cooling water circulated in the condenser section, the cooling water must be brought into good contact with the humid air flowing in parallel with the cooling water. Had to be as small as possible. Therefore, the resistance of the circulation air passage increases, and a circulation fan (suction / discharge turbine) that rotates at high speed is required.
The noise during the drying operation was loud.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a clothes dryer that solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, reduces the amount of cooling water used for drying, and reduces noise during operation.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the configuration of the clothes dryer according to the present invention is such that the drum, which is a drying container, is held horizontally, and the moisture evaporated from the laundry put into the drum. The air is guided to a condensing section, and in the condensing section, cooling water is sprayed on the humid air to cool the humid air, to condense and remove the water contained therein, and to remove the dehumidified air from the heater accommodating section. In the clothes dryer in which the laundry is dried by heating by passing through a heater housed in the drum and sending it again into the drum and circulating the same, the condensing unit is disposed below the circulation fan from the discharge side. A duct including a first duct portion extending to the first duct portion and a second duct portion extending from a lower end of the first duct portion to the heater accommodating portion; a hydrophilic water absorbing body accommodated in the duct; Cooling water to water absorber A cooling water sprinkling port through which water can be sprinkled; and a drainage port located downstream of the water absorbing body and capable of discharging the cooling water and condensed water discharged from humid air to the outside of the duct. Things.

 The details are as follows.

Mix the cooling water (tap water) supplied through the water supply solenoid valve with a part of the water remaining in the drain port, which is pumped up by the water injection pump operated by the injection of the cooling water. Mixed water) and spray and spray it onto the duct and the hydrophilic water-absorbing body contained in it, lower the temperature and absolute temperature of the humid air discharged from the drum, and condense the water in the humid air It is configured so that it can be performed.

In addition, the water-absorbing body absorbs and disperses the mixed water into the plurality of water-absorbing plates, spreads the flow, and slowly guides the mixed water to the drain port to increase the contact area between the humid air and the mixed water. And the contact time is made longer.

[Operation] The moist air containing the moisture evaporated from the laundry is blown to the duct, and in this duct, the cooling water supplied to the duct (or the cooling water and the water pumped from the drain port portion) is mixed. Mixed water) is absorbed by a water absorbing body, the wet air is brought into contact with the water absorbing body to cool and cool the water, the temperature of the wet air is reduced to condense water, and the condensed water is cooled by the cooling water (or mixed water). With 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 way, the heat transfer from the humid air to the cooling water (or mixed water) is efficiently performed, so that the amount of the cooling water used is small.

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

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a clothes dryer according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of this clothes dryer, taken along a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the details of the water injection pump in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the details of the parallel plate type water absorbing body in FIG.

An outline of this clothes dryer will be described with reference to FIG. 1. This holds a drum 4 as a drying container horizontally,
The humid air containing the moisture evaporated from the laundry A in the drum 4 is discharged from the drum 4 by the circulation fan 20 and flows into a condensing section 23 (to be described in detail later). The cooling water is sprayed and cooled, the water contained therein is condensed and removed, and the air after dehumidification is heated by passing through the heater 27, and is sent again into the drum 4 and circulated, whereby the washing is performed. The condensing part 23 is provided with a fan casing 12 of the circulation fan 20.
A first duct portion 24 extending downward from the discharge side of the first duct portion, a second duct portion 25 extending from a lower end of the first duct portion 24 to the heater accommodating portion 8C, and a first duct portion.
24 contained, hydrophilic (that is, easy to absorb water,
The parallel plate type water absorber 44 according to the water absorber in which water absorbing plates having the property of being easily dispersed) are arranged at regular intervals with a gap provided therebetween.
A group of small holes related to a cooling water spout capable of spraying cooling water to the parallel plate type water absorber 44, and the parallel plate type water absorber
A drain port downstream of 44, which can discharge the cooling water and the condensed water discharged from the humid air outside the duct D.
26, a side surface of the first duct portion 24, which is provided between the small hole group and the discharge port portion 26, and is capable of pumping a part of water remaining in the discharge port portion 26 by spraying the cooling water. And a water injection pump 40 attached thereto.

 Hereinafter, this will be described in detail.

In FIG. 1, 1 is an outer frame which is an exterior part supported by rubber feet 1a, and 2 is provided at the center of the front surface of the outer frame 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, when the laundry A is closed, the opening and closing opening 3 of the laundry A are fitted with a butterfly so that the inner edge 3 a of the lid is in close contact with the opening 2. It is a lid that was set. 4
Is a drum that is horizontally supported in the outer frame 1 and functions as a drying container. The drum 4 is formed on a cylindrical portion 5 having a lifter 5a formed by protruding toward the center on the inner periphery and a drum support 8 described later so that the laundry A can be stirred during drying. Side plate 6 having a cylindrical body portion 6a supported by the bearing portion 8b, 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 the laundry A. And a side plate 7 in which a discharge hole 7b for discharging the water is discharged. 8 is the outer frame 1
The drum support 8 is fixed to the inside of the center of the front surface of the drum. The drum support 8 includes a cylindrical body 8a fitted into the intake port 2,
A bearing portion 8b that supports the cylindrical body portion 6a of the side plate 6 of the drum 4.
And a heater accommodating portion 8c accommodating a heater 27 (details described later) for guiding air after condensing moisture to a hot air blowing port (details described later). 9 is an annular shielding plate fitted and fixed in the opening surface 8d of the drum support 8;
Is a hot-air blowing port formed of a number of small holes formed in the shielding plate 9 so as to face the heater 27 and for blowing air heated by the heater 27 into the drum 4.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a support plate fastened and fixed to a rear portion of the outer frame 1. Reference numeral 12 denotes, at a central portion, a tube receiving portion 12 a in which a bearing tube 15 described later is fixedly provided. This is a fan casing for a circulation fan 20 described later, which is provided with a suction port 12b for sucking air. The fan casing 12 is fastened to the support plate 11. Reference numeral 13 denotes a drum hub fixed to the center of the projection 7a of the side plate 7 of the drum 4 (the axis of the drum 4). Reference numeral 14 denotes a drum shaft press-fitted into the drum hub 13 and fixed. The drum 4 is rotatably supported by a bearing 15a pressed into a bearing cylinder 15 fixed to the cylinder receiving portion 12a.

Reference numeral 16 designates a ventilation grid 16a formed by crossing a radial grid and a ring-shaped grid on the entire surface, and is detachably attached to an end of the drum hub 13 protruding into the drum 4 to protect laundry. The cover 17 is a net-like cloth waste filter that is attached to the back surface of the protective cover 16 and that captures cloth waste generated from the laundry A during the drying operation.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a lubricating airtight holding member which is integrally fixed to the fan casing 12 and whose outer peripheral end is pressed against the side plate 7 of the drum 4, and 19 denotes a retaining ring. Reference numeral 20 denotes a circulation fan which is rotatably supported by a drum shaft 14 and sucks in moist air containing moisture evaporated from the laundry A from the drum 4 and circulates the condensed portion 23 (described later in detail), the heater 27, 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.

The condensing section 23 is provided with a water injection pump 40 (which will be described later in detail) capable of injecting / spraying water for cooling the humid air.
A first duct portion 24 which extends downward from the fan casing 12 from the fan casing 12 and accommodates a parallel plate type water absorbing body 44 (details will be described later) on the side.
A drain port 26 (detailed later) for draining the water sprinkled into the first duct section 24 to the outside of the machine, and having one end connected to a lower end section of the first duct section 24; A second duct portion 25 having the other end connected to the heater storage portion 8c of the drum support 8
And a water storage portion 26a for storing a part of the water sprayed and sprayed in the first duct portion 24, and rising from the bottom surface of the water storage portion 26a, and opening the opening 26c to a water inlet 26d described later. And a drain pipe 26b formed so as to be positioned higher than the bottom of the water container 26a.
And a drain port 26d connected to the second duct 25, and a drain port 26 disposed on the bottom surface of the second duct 25.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a heater which is a drying heat source provided inside the heater accommodating portion 8c of the drum support 8 with electric insulation, and 28 is provided with a small flow rate for supplying cooling water sprinkled into the duct D. The constant flow type water supply solenoid valve, 29
And a tap water hose (not shown).

Reference numeral 30 denotes a water injection hose that connects the discharge side of the water supply electromagnetic valve 28 and the inlet 41a of the water injection pump 40, and 31 denotes a drain port 26.
A pumping pipe connecting the water supply port 26d of the water injection pump 40 and the water pumping port 42b of the water injection pump 40, 32 is a drainage hose connected to the drainage pipe 26b of the drainage port 26, and 33 is fastened to the rear surface of the outer frame 1. The back cover.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 34 denotes the drum 4 and the circulation fan 20.
A pulley 35 for driving the drum 4 and a pulley 3 for driving the circulation fan 20 are attached to both shaft ends of the motor 34.
6 are concluded respectively. 37 is a belt hung between the outer periphery of the drum 4 and the pulley 35, 38 is a circulation fan 20
Belt between the pulleys 21 and 36 of the fan, 39
Is a tensioner with a belt 37.

The details of the water injection pump 40 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line cc in FIG. Injection pump
Reference numeral 40 denotes an inlet 41a connected to the water injection hose 30, a nozzle portion 41 having a nozzle 41b for ejecting cooling water, and a built-in nozzle 41b, cooling water, and a drain port pumped up through a pumping port 42b described below. A throat section 42a for discharging mixed water obtained by mixing the water of the section 26, a pumping section 42 having a pumping port 42b to which the pumping pipe 31 is connected, and a velocity head of water flowing out of the throat section 42a of the pumping section 42 A diffuser portion 43a that converts the pressure head into a pressure head, and a lower half near the end of the diffuser portion 43a, a small hole group 43b perforated in a radially distributed manner and perforated with a cooling water spout, and a throat portion 42a portion And a watering tube 43 fitted into the watering device. Then, the tap water (cooling water) sent from the water injection hose 30 through the water supply solenoid valve 28 is jetted from the nozzle portion 41, and the water pumped from the drain port 26 through the pumping pipe 31 from the drain port 26 by the negative pressure generated by the jetting. The cooling water is mixed in the throat portion 42a, and the mixed water is sprayed and sprayed from the group of small holes 43b of the watering tube 43 to the parallel plate type water absorbing body 44.

The details of the parallel plate type water absorbing body 44 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a plan view of the water absorbing plate, and (c) is a plan view of the fixing plate. The parallel plate type water absorbing body 44 is made of a material that is easy to absorb (or wet) and disperses easily, that is, a material having a high hydrophilic property (for example, a nonwoven fabric of a fiber subjected to a hydrophilic treatment, and a pore space). The grooves 45a of the water absorption plate 45 are press-fitted into the grooves 46a formed at regular intervals in the fixing plate 46, and the water absorption plate 4 is formed.
5 are arranged with gaps provided at equal intervals.
The parallel plate type water absorbing body 44 is connected to the first duct portion.
24, the small hole group 43b of the water spray cylinder 43 of the water injection pump 40
The mixed water sprayed and sprayed from is contacted with the humid air while dispersing and descending on the water absorbing plate 45 to cool the humid air so that the heated mixed water drops to the drain port 26. Has become.

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 34 rotates, and the drum 4 rotates at 40 to 50 rpm. The circulation fan 20 also rotates,
At the same time, the water supply solenoid valve 28 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 into the duct D from the discharge side of the fan casing 12 of the circulation fan 20 is:
Along the arrow shown in FIG. 1, the heater 27 is energized and is heated to generate hot air (relative humidity of 2% or less). The hot air is blown into the drum 4 from the hot air blowing port 10 and the hot air is Contact and evaporate the water content. The moist air containing the evaporated water is discharged from the drum 4 and sent to the first duct 24. Here, the humid air is mixed water (cooling water,
(Water mixed with water pumped from the drain port 26), and then contacted with the mixed water dispersed and descending on the water absorbing plate 45 of the parallel plate type water absorbing body 44, and cooled, and The water condenses, the temperature and the absolute humidity decrease, and the water is heated by the heater 27 and supplied to the drum 4 again. By this circulation, the laundry A is dried. Then, the condensed water is dropped into the drain port 26 together with the mixed water whose temperature has risen due to the heat received from the humid air. Part of the dropped water is pumped up by the water injection pump 40, mixed with the newly supplied cooling water, sprayed and sprayed on the parallel plate type water absorbing body 44, and the rest is formed by the drain port 26. The air is discharged out of the machine through the drainage hose 32 from the opening 26c.

As a specific example, the temperature of water remaining in the drain port 26 is
The temperature of the humid air discharged from the drum 4 is 5 ° C. or more, and the amount of water pumped up from the water outlet 26 by the water injection pump 24 is equivalent to 20 to 30% of the amount of cooling water supplied through the water absorption solenoid valve 28. Amount.

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

I. A parallel plate type water absorbing body in which hydrophilic water absorbing plates are arranged at regular intervals with intervals is accommodated in a duct of a condensing section, and the mixed water supplied to this duct is dropped while being absorbed by the water absorbing body and dispersed. Since the contact area between the mixed water and the humid air discharged from the drum is increased, the contact time is prolonged, and the heat transfer from the humid air to the mixed water can be efficiently performed. Therefore, the amount of cooling water can be reduced.

B. By changing the size of the parallel plate type water absorber, the number of water absorption plates, and the arrangement interval, it is possible to reduce the air path resistance in the circulating air path of the humid air (such as the condensing section) without reducing the heat transfer efficiency. No need for high speed rotating circulation fan. Therefore, noise during the drying operation can be reduced.

C. The cooling water supplied through the water supply solenoid valve and the water pumped by the jetting of the cooling water are used to spray and spray the water pumped from the drain port to the parallel plate type water absorber,
Since the humid air discharged from the drum is cooled, the amount of the cooling water is larger than the amount of the supplied water, and the heat transfer from the humid air to the cooling water can be performed more efficiently. The temperature can be raised sufficiently to drain the water outside the machine. Therefore, the amount of cooling water can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the water injection pump is provided between the cooling water sprinkling port (that is, the small hole group) and the drain port. However, the water injection pump may be omitted.
However, the provision can further reduce the amount of cooling water.

Further, in the present embodiment, a parallel plate type water absorbing body was used as the water absorbing body. However, the water absorbing body is not limited to the water absorbing plate arranged at regular intervals, but has a property of easily absorbing water and being easily dispersed. Then, any shape having a shape that is rich in air permeability may be used.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the moist air containing the moisture evaporated from the laundry and discharged from the drum is cooled by the cooling water in the condensing section, and the contained moisture is removed. It can be condensed and removed. And the condensing part, a duct, a water absorbing body housed therein, a water jet pump for jetting / spraying cooling water and water pumped from a drain port, and a drain port for discharging water from the duct. , The contact area between the humid air discharged from the drum and the cooling water increases, the contact time increases, and the airflow resistance decreases, so that heat can be efficiently transferred from the humid air to the cooling water. Therefore, there is an effect that the supply amount of the cooling water can be reduced and noise such as circulation fan can be reduced.

In short, reduce the amount of cooling water used for drying,
Further, a clothes dryer with reduced noise during operation can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a clothes dryer according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of this clothes dryer, taken along a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing details of the water injection pump in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing details of the parallel plate type absorber in FIG. 4 ... drum, 8 c ... heater storage section, 20 ... circulation fan, 23 ... condensing section, 24 ... first duct section, 25 ... second
Duct section, 26 outlet section, 27 heater, 40 water injection pump, 43b small hole group, 44 parallel plate type water absorber,
D ... duct.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A drum, which is a drying container, is held horizontally, and the moist air evaporated from the laundry put into the drum is led to a condensing section. In the condensing section, cooling water is sprayed on the moist air. Cooling the humid air, condensing and removing the water contained therein, heating the dehumidified air by passing it through a heater housed in a heater accommodating section, and sending it again into the drum to circulate it. Thus, in the clothes dryer configured to dry the laundry, the condensing section includes: a first duct section extending downward from the discharge side of the circulation fan; and a lower end of the first duct section to the heater storage section. A duct including a second duct portion that reaches there; a water absorber having hydrophilicity housed in the duct; a cooling water spout capable of spraying cooling water to the absorber; and a downstream of the water absorber. On the side, said And a condensed water exiting 却水 and humid air, the clothes drier, characterized in that it comprises a drainage port portion can be discharged into the duct outside. 2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the water absorbing member is a parallel plate type water absorbing member in which a plurality of hydrophilic water absorbing plates are arranged at predetermined intervals. 3. A water injection pump with a water spray cylinder, which is capable of pumping a part of water remaining in the drain port by jetting the cooling water between the cooling water sprinkling port and the drain port. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the clothes dryer is provided. 4. The clothes dryer according to claim 3, wherein the cooling water sprinkling port is formed as a plurality of small holes formed in the lower half of the sprinkling tube in a radially distributed manner.