JP3257366B2 - 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, and more particularly to a clothes dryer for controlling dust such as lint to not accumulate in a frame of the clothes dryer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional rotary drum type clothes dryer, a material to be dried is put in a drum, hot air is supplied into the drum while rotating the drum, and the humidity of laundry is contained in the hot air. The clothes are dried by repeating the process of exhausting water from the drum, condensing water vapor contained in the exhausted warm air, converting the water into water, and discharging the water outside the machine. That is, warm air is circulated through the rotating drum, and in the process, moisture contained in the laundry is taken in as steam, and the taken-in steam is condensed and dried. In the process of drying, laundry removes lint, etc., and moves with the warm air.If the lint, etc., enters the circulation air passage, it blocks the air passage and prolongs the drying time. It will cause trouble. Therefore, in this type of clothes dryer, a lint collecting device formed of a mesh filter is provided in the circulation air passage after passing through the clothes so that the drying operation is not hindered.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional clothes dryer, if the lint remains on the filter and is continued to be used, not only the performance of the dryer cannot be exhibited because the flow of warm air is deteriorated. Thread lint leaks into the main body through the gaps in the bearings of the drum, and dust accumulates on the motor, causing a rise in motor temperature and leading to an unexpected serious accident such as a fire. A motor cover is attached to protect the motor from dust to prevent accumulation. When the motor cover is attached, the heat of the motor is trapped and the temperature rise increases. Therefore, the motor is cooled by attaching a cooling fan. Furthermore, extra parts that do not contribute to drying to protect the motor from dust, such as sandwiching vibration damping materials because the vibration of the motor is transmitted to the motor cover via the outer frame and generates chatter between the outer frame and the motor cover. It has become an expensive clothes dryer.

An object of the present invention is to provide a clothes dryer in which dust such as lint does not accumulate in the frame of the clothes dryer even if there is no component for preventing dust.

[0005]

[MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS] To achieve the above object
Further, the present invention provides a drum that stores and rotates an object to be dried in a drum, a motor that drives the drum to rotate, a hot air generated by a heater flowing into the drum, and moisture that is taken from the object to be dried. A blower also serving as a heat exchanger for condensing the air, a fan casing also serving as a casing of the blower, and a circulation duct for circulating the hot air,
In a clothes dryer having an outer frame for accommodating the above components, the motor is located below the rotation center position of the drum when the clothes dryer is viewed from the front, and the rotation of the drum is counterclockwise. The circulation duct is located on the lower right side in the direction and the lower left side in the clockwise direction, and the circulation duct is provided on the lower side opposite to the motor position with respect to the drum, and has a gap between the drum and the outer frame. The drum of the outer frame
Outer frame exhaust port on the upper side opposite to the motor position
The fan casing is provided with heat exchange of the blower.
Air passage groove for blowing the cooling air generated by the heat exchanger to the motor
Is provided, and the cooling air flow is provided above the motor.
It is arranged so that it flows, and the dust floating in the outer frame is
It characterized the this <br/> depositing fall into the gap by the rotation force and the whirling current of the ram.

[0006]

[0007]

According to the present invention, the motor of the clothes dryer, when viewed from the front, is located below the center of rotation of the drum and at the lower right when the rotation of the drum is counterclockwise. In the clockwise direction, it is located on the lower left side. The circulation duct is located on the lower side of the drum opposite to the motor position,
Further, a gap is provided between the outer frame and the outer frame. An outer frame exhaust port is provided on an upper side surface of the outer frame opposite to the motor with respect to the drum. Further, the fan casing is provided with an air passage groove for blowing the cooling air generated in the heat exchanger of the blower to the motor. In the air channel, cooling air flows over the motor.
So that

Accordingly, when the dust floating in the outer frame falls, the dust falling on the upper surface of the rotating drum falls to the opposite side of the motor by the rotating airflow of the rotating drum and the rotating force, and goes to a portion other than the upper surface of the rotating drum. If the object falls, the cooling air of the heat exchanger is directly applied to the entire motor, so that a wind barrier is provided to the motor and dust can be prevented from being accumulated.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A clothes dryer according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a vertical section of a clothes dryer according to one embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes an outer frame. Inside the outer frame 1, a drum 6 as a drying chamber has a front side on a drum support 13 attached to the front inner surface of the outer frame 1, and a rear side with a blower (heat exchange fan). 8 is rotatably supported by a fan casing 12 also serving as a casing.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a door which covers the clothes input port 3 and is configured to be openable and closable. Reference numeral 4 denotes a driving operation unit. Reference numeral 5 denotes a control device including a microcomputer for driving and controlling the AC motor 11 and the heater 7.

The blower (heat exchange fan) 8 sends the hot air generated by the heater 7 into the drum 6 and also has a heat exchanger. The blower (heat exchange fan) 8 and the drum 6 Are connected to an AC motor 11 via a drum belt 9 and a fan belt 10 for rotationally driving the motor.

FIG. 2 shows the front of the clothes dryer of FIG.
FIG. 3 shows the back of the clothes dryer of FIG. The AC motor 11 is installed at the lower right rear part when viewed from the front, and rotates counterclockwise in the rotation direction. A point P shown in FIG. 3 is a rotation center position of the drum 6. Reference numeral 12 denotes a fan casing, which is connected to the drum support 13 via a circulation duct 17. The circulation duct 17 is provided at the lower left side when viewed from the front.

Next, the flow of the wind (air) in the outer frame 1 when the clothes dryer configured as described above is operated will be described.

First, the door 2 is opened, clothes to be dried are put into the drum 6 through the clothes inlet 3, the door 2 is closed, and the switch of the operation unit 4 is turned on.

When the switch is turned on, the AC motor 11
And the heater 7 are energized, and the blower (heat exchange fan) 8 having both the drum 6 and the heat exchanger starts to rotate counterclockwise as viewed from the front and rotates until the drying is completed.

Here, the moisture evaporated from the clothes passes through the lint collecting device 15 together with the circulating wind, passes through the drum exhaust port 6a on the rear wall of the drum, and flows into the circulation side of the fan casing 12. Outside air flows into the cooling side of the fan casing 12 from the back plate intake port 16a of the back plate 16, and heat is exchanged by a blower (heat exchange fan) 8, and then about 1% of the cooling air flows from the back plate exhaust port 16b.
/ 3 is exhausted, and the remaining ／ is blown to the AC motor 11 in the outer frame 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, half of the air is blown from the air passage groove 12b of the fan casing 12 onto the upper surface of the AC motor 11, so that the wind flows in the thrust direction on the surface of the motor 11. The other half is back plate 16
Of the AC motor 11 is sprayed from the shank recess 16c of the fan belt 10
The wind starts to flow in the thrust direction on the surface.

In this manner, the entire motor surface is covered with the wind from the rear to the front, and the wind, as shown in FIG.
The flow which moves upward from the bottom generated by the rotation of the drum 6
And the air is exhausted out of the machine through an outer frame exhaust port 1 a provided on the opposite side of the AC motor 11.

At the outer peripheral portion of the blower (heat exchange fan) 8, the circulating air and the cooling air are separated by a labyrinth seal portion with a partition plate without entering and exiting. On the front and back sides, heat is exchanged between the circulation side and the cooling side of the fan casing 12, and the moisture contained in the circulating wind is condensed into water and flows into the circulation duct 17 from the casing discharge port 12 a of the fan casing 12. ,
It is discharged out of the machine from the drain 17b. At this time, the circulation duct 17 is located at the lower part on the opposite side of the AC motor 11.

In this way, a series of drying operations as a dehumidifying drying method and the accompanying flow of air (air) in the outer frame 1 are continued.

Next, the movement of dust carried along with the flow of wind (air) inside the outer frame 1 will be described.

If the customer forgets to clean the lint of the lint collecting device 15 and continues to use the lint collected, the lint collecting device in the drum 6 during the drying operation. Dust such as lint waste from the outer frame 1
Light dust that has leaked inside floats in the outer frame 1, and the floating dust falls on the principle of nature.

When the dust floating on the drum 6 falls to the upper surface of the drum 6, as shown in FIG. 2, the dust is carried to the opposite side of the AC motor 11 by the rotating air current and the rotating force of the drum 6, and the dust is removed. Portion is discharged out of the machine through the outer frame exhaust port 1a, but most of the remaining portion is intentionally provided in the outer frame 1 and the circulation duct 17,
And fall into the gap 20 between the circulation duct 17 and accumulate.

The dust falling on the portion other than the upper surface of the drum 6 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the air on the cooling side of the blower (heat exchange fan) 8 is blown from the air passage groove 12b of the fan casing 12 to the upper part of the AC motor 11, and the upper surface of the AC motor 11 is moved from the rear to the front in the direction of the arrow. To the AC motor 1 through the recess 16c of the fan belt 10 of the back plate 16
1 is carried by the wind flowing on the lower surface of the AC motor 11 in the direction of the arrow from the rear of the AC motor 11 and further carried by the wind moving from bottom to top generated by the rotation of the drum 6, and is mostly provided on the opposite side of the AC motor 11 The air is exhausted to the outside through the existing outer frame exhaust port 1a. On the other hand, there are some which fall into the gap 20 between the outer frame 1 and the circulation duct 17.

[0026]

According to the present invention, since dust such as lint does not accumulate in the frame, unnecessary parts for protecting from dust are not required, and an inexpensive product can be manufactured.

Further, since no extra parts are required, the assembling is simplified, and the assembling efficiency can be improved.

Further, since dust accumulation on the motor and the like can be prevented, safety can be ensured and reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of a clothes dryer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the clothes dryer in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the clothes dryer in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detailed sectional view of a main part showing a flow of wind to an AC motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Outer frame 1a Outer frame exhaust port 6 Drum 6a Drum exhaust port 7 Heater 8 Blower (heat exchange fan) 10 Fan belt 11 AC motor 12 Fan Casing 12a… Fan case sink No. outlet 12b… Air passage groove 15… Lint collecting device 16… Back plate 16a… Back plate intake port 16b… Back plate exhaust port 16c… Shade recess 17… Circulation duct 17b …… Drainage port 20 …… Gap

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor: Etsio Niimi 1-1-1, Higashitaga-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Within the Electric Appliances Division, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor: Tamotsu Kamori Higashitaga-machi, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture 1-1-1, Hitachi, Ltd.Electrical Equipment Division (72) Inventor Keijiro Yagi 1-1-1, Higashitagacho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Hitachi, Ltd.Electrical Equipment Division (72) Inventor Kenichi Ogoshi 1-1-1, Higashitaga-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Hitachi, Ltd. Electrical Equipment Division (56) References JP-A-2-291899 (JP, A) JP-A-2-206499 (JP, A) JP Hei 6-292 (JP, A) JP-A Hei 2-302299 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) D06F 58/02

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A drum for storing and rotating an object to be dried in a drum, a motor for rotating and driving the drum, a hot air generated by a heater flowing into the drum, and removing moisture from the object to be dried. In a clothes dryer having a blower that also serves as a heat exchanger for condensing, a fan casing that also serves as a casing of the blower, a circulation duct that circulates the hot air, and an outer frame that stores the components, The motor is located below the rotation center position of the drum when viewed from the front of the clothes dryer, and at the lower right when the rotation of the drum is counterclockwise, and at the lower left when clockwise. , the circulation duct, the lower side opposite the motor position relative to the drum, and a gap is provided between the outer frame is arranged, prior to the drum of the outer frame
Provide an outer frame exhaust port on the upper side opposite to the motor position.
In the fan casing, generated by the heat exchanger of the blower
An air passage groove for blowing the cooling air blown to the motor is provided.
The air passage grooves allow the cooling air to flow over the motor.
Dust floating in the outer frame rotates the drum
A clothes dryer, wherein the clothes fall and accumulate in the gap by an air current and a rotational force .