JP3815112B2 - Dryer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a dryer that dehumidifies air to dry clothes, or dries a bathroom, under the floor, or indoors.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, a conventional clothes dryer has a structure as shown in FIG. That is, for example, the air blowing means 5 circulates air through the adsorbent 2 and circulates air into the drying chamber 1 that houses clothes that can be assembled with vinyl or the like. As the air blowing means 5, for example, a sirocco fan is used. As the adsorbent 2, silica gel or zeolite is used. At this time, when the adsorbent 2 adsorbs moisture in the circulating air and loses its activity, the adsorbent 2 is adsorbed by energizing the heating means 6 disposed on the windward side of the adsorbent 2. It is activated by releasing moisture. In this activation step, the control means 9 opens the air path switching means 7 so that the regeneration air path 4 side is opened and the circulation air path 3 side is closed, and the humid air containing the moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent 2 is dried. Instead of circulating in the chamber 1, the air is discharged out of the drying chamber 1 through the regeneration air passage 4. The air path switching means 8 switches between the circulation air path 3 and the regeneration air path 4.
[0003]
With the above configuration, when the user operates an operation unit (not shown) and starts operation, the control means 9 opens the air path switching means 7 and the air path switching means 8 so that the circulation air path 3 opens. The blowing means 5 is operated in the operated state. By the operation of the blowing means 5, the air in the drying chamber 1 is circulated and blown to the drying chamber 1 again through the adsorbent 2. At this time, the air that has passed through the adsorbent 2 is dehumidified by adsorbing moisture by the adsorbent 2, and at the same time becomes high temperature and low humidity by the heat of adsorption generated by the adsorbent 2. This high-temperature, low-humidity dry air circulates in the drying chamber 1 in which clothes such as laundry are accommodated, whereby drying of the clothes such as laundry in progress proceeds. Further, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of drying, the control means 9 operates the air path switching means 7 and the air path switching means 8 to open the regenerating air path 4. At the same time, the heating means 6 is energized to heat the air outside the drying chamber 1 blown by the blowing means 5. This heated air is in contact with the adsorbent 2 to heat the adsorbent 2 and release the moisture adsorbed by the adsorbent 2. Since the regeneration air passage 4 is open, the released moisture is discharged from the regeneration air passage 4 to the outside of the drying chamber 1 by the air blowing by the air blowing means 5. Thus, the adsorbent 2 is regenerated and the moisture adsorption capacity is restored. The adsorption and regeneration as described above are repeatedly performed by the control means 9, and the drying of the clothes such as the laundry accommodated in the drying chamber 1 proceeds.
[0004]
In the above description, the drying chamber 1 has been described as containing clothes that can be assembled freely with vinyl or the like. However, if the drying chamber 1 is treated as a room in a house such as a bathroom, the bathroom has the same configuration. It becomes a dryer. Moreover, what is shown in FIG. 7 has shown the structure of the underfloor dryer which dries under the floor. Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 7 denotes a floor under the house, and a circulation air passage 3 is connected using a ventilation port of the floor 1. Reference numerals 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 denote adsorbent, air blowing means, heating means, air path switching means, and air path switching means, respectively. The configuration shown in FIG. 7 also operates in the same manner as described above.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The conventional clothes dryer, bathroom dryer, or underfloor dryer has a problem of low energy efficiency. That is, the air after regenerating the adsorbent by the heating means is exhausted to the outside from the regeneration air passage.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The dryer according to the present invention includes an air path switching unit that is disposed before and after the adsorbent and that switches the path of the air that is blown by the blowing unit to a circulation air path or a regeneration air path, A heat exchanger for exchanging heat with the air after regenerating the adsorbent, and the air blowing means is arranged leeward of the air path switching means between the heating means and the heat exchanger. Thus, the sensible heat and latent heat of the regenerated air exhausted can be used effectively, and the dryer has high energy efficiency.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The invention described in claim 1 includes an adsorbent that adsorbs moisture from the air in the drying chamber, a circulation air passage that guides the air in the drying chamber to the drying chamber again through the adsorbent, and air outside the drying chamber. A regenerative air passage that leads again to the outside of the drying chamber through the adsorbent; a blowing means that blows air to the circulation air passage and the regenerative air passage; a heating means that is disposed above the adsorbent; and the adsorbent The air path switching means for switching the path of the air sent by the air blowing means to the circulating air path or the regeneration air path, the air sucked from the outside of the drying chamber, and the adsorbent are regenerated. A heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the air after the air blowing, and the air blowing means is arranged leeward of the air path switching means between the heating means and the heat exchanger, Effective use of sensible heat and latent heat of the regenerated air exhausted Is obtained by a high energy efficiency dryer.
[0008]
【Example】
Example 1
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of this embodiment.
[0009]
Reference numeral 10 denotes, for example, a dry drying room which is formed so as to be freely assembled with vinyl or the like for storing clothes such as laundry, or a room in a house such as a bathroom, or a floor under the house. (In the following description, it is assumed that the drying chamber 10 houses clothes such as laundry.) A circulation air passage 12 constituted by a duct or the like is connected to the upper and lower portions of the drying chamber 10. The air blowing means 14 circulates the air sucked from the drying chamber 10 through the circulation air passage 12 from the circulation air passage 12 again through the adsorbent 11 into the drying chamber 10. In the present embodiment, a sirocco fan is used as the air blowing means 14, but it is not particularly necessary to limit the sirocco fan. In this embodiment, the adsorbent 11 is a molded product of silica gel or zeolite. Further, on the windward side of the adsorbent 11, a heating means 15 constituted by a nichrome heater, a ceramic heater having a positive resistance temperature coefficient, or the like is disposed.
[0010]
Further, a regenerative air passage 13 constituted by a duct or the like is provided in the middle of the circulation air passage 12. The regeneration air passage 13 is formed by switching the air passage switching means 16 constituted by a damper or the like provided in the middle of the circulation air passage 12, and the air blown by the air blowing means 14 is adsorbent 12. Therefore, the air is exhausted to the outside of the drying chamber through the heat exchanger 19 without entering the drying chamber 10.
[0011]
An air path switching means 17 constituted by a damper or the like is provided between the heat exchanger 19 and the air blowing means 14 and the circulation air path 12. When this air path switching means 17 is operated so that the circulation air path 12 side is opened, that is, the regeneration air path 13 side is closed, the air blown by the air blowing means 14 causes the air in the drying chamber 10 to pass through the adsorbent 12. It becomes the circulation ventilation which uses the circulation air path 12. FIG. Further, the air passage switching means 17 is operated so that the regeneration air passage 13 side opens, that is, the circulation air passage 12 side closes, and at the same time, the air passage switching means 16 opens the regeneration air passage 13 as described above. Then, the air blowing means 14 sucks air outside the drying chamber 10 through the heat exchanger 19, while air passing from the adsorbent 12 through the regeneration air passage 13 passes from the heat exchanger 19 to the outside of the drying chamber 10. Exhaust. Reference numeral 18 denotes control means for controlling each part.
[0012]
The operation of this embodiment will be described below. When the user operates an operation section (not shown) and starts operation, the control means 18 operates the air path switching means 16 and the air path switching means 17 to open the circulation air path 12, and at the same time the air blowing means. 14 is activated. By the operation of the blowing means 14, the air in the drying chamber 10 circulates using the circulation air passage 12 provided in the upper portion of the drying chamber 10 and the lower portion of the drying chamber 10. When this circulating air passes through the adsorbent 11, moisture contained in the air is adsorbed by the adsorbent 11 and dehumidified, and at the same time, heat of adsorption generated by the adsorbent 10 is obtained to obtain high-temperature and low-humidity dry air. become. When clothing such as laundry is accommodated in the drying chamber 10 by the circulation of the dry air, drying of the clothing proceeds. Moreover, when the drying room 10 is a room of a house such as a bathroom, the drying of the bathroom proceeds. Or when it is under the floor of a house, under-floor drying advances.
[0013]
When a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of drying, the control means 18 operates the air path switching means 16 and the air path switching means 17 to instruct to open the regeneration air path 13. At the same time, an instruction to energize the heating means 15 is given. Therefore, the blown air of the blowing unit 14 is heated by the heating unit 15, becomes high temperature, and comes into contact with the adsorbent 11. Due to the contact with the high-temperature air, the temperature of the adsorbent 11 is increased, and a large amount of moisture absorbed by the adsorbent 11 during the circulation is released from the adsorbent 11. The humid air containing the released moisture passes through the regeneration air passage 13 and is exhausted from the heat exchanger 19 to the outside of the drying chamber 10. On the other hand, the air blowing means 14 sucks in air necessary for regeneration of the adsorbent 11 from the outside of the drying chamber 10 through the heat exchanger 19. The air sucked from outside the drying chamber 10 receives a large amount of heat from the humid air passing through the heat exchanger 19 by passing through the heat exchanger 19.
[0014]
That is, the air that heated the adsorbent 11 consumes most of the heat energy by heating the adsorbent 11, but is still at a sufficiently high temperature for outdoor air. In the present embodiment, a large amount of heat is supplied from the humid air passing through the heat exchanger 19 to the air sucked from the outside of the drying chamber 10 to reduce the required power of the heating means 15 to a minimum. It is what you are trying.
[0015]
By performing the regeneration process of the adsorbent 11, the adsorbent 11 recovers its activity and again adsorbs a large amount of moisture in the circulation process, and at this time, it can give heat of adsorption to the circulating air.
[0016]
In this way, by repeating the circulation of the dry air and the regeneration process with the adsorbent 11, a dry drying chamber 10 or a house such as a bathroom formed so as to be freely assembleable with vinyl or the like for storing clothes such as laundry. The one room 10 or the floor 10 under the house is efficiently dried.
[0017]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the humid and relatively high-temperature regenerated air after passing through the adsorbent 11 is passed through the adsorbent 11 and the heating means 15 using the heat exchanger 19. By exchanging heat with the air outside the drying chamber 10 at a relatively low temperature, the sensible heat of the regenerated air can be recovered, and if it is cooled below the outdoor temperature, the regenerated air exhausted is condensed and recovered to latent heat. It is something that can be done. At this time, the air from which the sensible heat or latent heat has been recovered from the exhausted regeneration air becomes higher in temperature than the air outside the drying chamber 10 and is sent to the heating means 15. For this reason, the electric power consumed by the heating means 15 can be reduced to a minimum, and a dryer with high energy efficiency can be realized.
[0018]
(Example 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of this embodiment. An adsorbent 20 adsorbs moisture from the air in the drying chamber 10 and is disposed in the circulation air passage 21. The circulation air passage 21 is constituted by a duct or the like, is connected to the upper part and the lower part of the drying chamber 10, and includes the adsorbent 20 and the first air blowing means 23. That is, the first air blowing means 23 blows again the air sucked from the upper part of the drying chamber 10 through the adsorbent 20 to the circulation air passage 21 connected to the lower part of the drying chamber 10. Reference numeral 22 denotes a regenerative air passage that is provided close to or integrally with the circulation air passage 21, and includes a heat exchanger 27, a heating means 25, the adsorbent 20, and a second air blowing means 24. Have. That is, the air sucked from the air inlet 22a opened by the second air blowing means 24 to the outside air is blown to the regeneration air passage 22 via the heat exchanger 26, the heating means 25, and the adsorbent 20, and the heat exchanger 26 is obtained. The air is exhausted from an exhaust port 22b that is open to the outside air.
[0019]
Moreover, the adsorbent 20 used in the present embodiment has a configuration as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the adsorbent 20. The adsorbent 20 has a structure in which silica gel or zeolite is molded into a cylindrical shape, and has a honeycomb structure in which a large number of through holes are opened so that air flows in the axial direction as illustrated. Further, the adsorbent 20 is configured to always rotate by the rotating means 34. The rotating means 34 is constituted by a rotor motor 28 and a belt 29. In other words, the adsorbent 20 rotates as a whole when the rotation of the rotor motor 28 is transmitted by the belt 29. Further, a partition plate 30 and a partition plate 31 are provided on the surface of the adsorbent 20 to partition the adsorption zone 32 and the regeneration zone 33. In the adsorption zone 32, the air sucked from the circulation air passage 21 from the upper part of the drying chamber 10 by the first air blowing means 23 passes, and the drying chamber 10 is connected to the lower part of the drying chamber 10. It is blown in. In the regeneration zone 33, the external air taken in by the second air blowing means 24 through the air inlet 22 a passes through the heating means 25 and is exhausted from the exhaust outlet 22 b through the heat exchanger 26. As described above, the adsorbent 20 of the present embodiment is rotated by the rotating means 34 so that the adsorption zone 22 and the regeneration zone 33 are alternately rotated. That is, the adsorbent 20 rotates to dehumidify the air in the adsorption zone 32, is then heated and regenerated in the regeneration zone 33, moves again to the adsorption zone 32, repeats the adsorption and regeneration, and continues in the drying chamber. 10 to dehumidify the air inside. Reference numeral 27 denotes a control means similar to that described in the first embodiment.
[0020]
The operation of this embodiment will be described below. When the user operates an operation unit (not shown) to start operation, the control unit 27 activates the first blowing unit 23, the second blowing unit 24, the heating unit 25, and the rotor motor 28. The air in the drying chamber 10 circulates between the adsorbent 20 through the circulation air passage 21 by the first blower 23. The air that has passed through the adsorbent 20 is adsorbed by the adsorbent 20 and dehumidified to obtain heat of adsorption to become high-temperature and low-humidity dry air. Drying proceeds in the drying chamber 10 by the circulation of the dry air. That is, when the drying chamber 10 is used as a clothes dryer, the drying of the housed clothes proceeds, and when the drying chamber 10 is used as a bathroom, the drying of the bathroom proceeds. When it is under the floor, the under-floor drying proceeds. At the same time, the air sucked from the air inlet 22 a opened to the outside of the drying chamber 10 by the second air blowing means 24 passes through the heat exchanger 26 and is sent to the heating means 25. The air heated to a high temperature by energization of the heating means 25 passes through the regeneration zone 33 of the adsorbent 20 and releases a large amount of moisture absorbed by the regeneration zone 33 as described in the first embodiment. . Therefore, the adsorbent 20 is automatically activated and regenerated by rotating through the regeneration zone 33. In addition, the regenerated air containing a large amount of moisture generated by this regeneration and having become high humidity passes through the regeneration air passage 22 by the second blower 24 and is exhausted from the exhaust port 22b through the heat exchanger 26. Is done. While passing through the heat exchanger 26, the second air blowing means 24 heats the air taken in from the air inlet 22a that is open to the outside air. That is, as described in the first embodiment, the heat energy of the regenerated air is supplied to the air sucked from the intake port 22a by heat exchange. Therefore, also in the present embodiment, the humid and relatively high-temperature regeneration air after passing through the regeneration zone 33 of the adsorbent 20 passes through the adsorbent 20 and the heating means 25 using the heat exchanger 20. By exchanging heat with the air outside the previous relatively low temperature drying chamber 10, the sensible heat of the regenerated air can be recovered, and if it is cooled below the outdoor temperature, the regenerated air exhausted is condensed and recovered to latent heat. Is something that can be done.
[0021]
According to this embodiment, since the adsorbent 20 is rotated by the rotating means 34 so that the adsorption zone 32 and the regeneration zone 33 are alternately passed, the adsorption and regeneration processes are automatically performed. It is possible to realize a dryer that can be executed and is easy to use. In this embodiment, the rotor motor 28 and the belt 29 are used as the rotating means 34. However, a configuration in which the central axis of the adsorbent 20 is directly rotated by the motor is also possible. That is, this embodiment does not particularly limit the rotation method of the adsorbent 20.
[0022]
Moreover, although the motor and the sirocco fan are used as the 1st ventilation means 23 and the 2nd ventilation means 24, a present Example does not limit the structure of the 1st ventilation means 23 and the 2nd ventilation means 24 similarly to the previous period. . Moreover, although the motor is used for each of the 1st ventilation means 23 and the 2nd ventilation means 24, it is also possible to set it as the structure which rotates 2 units | sets of fans by sharing one motor.
[0023]
Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the regeneration air passes through the adsorbent 20 after passing through the heating means 25. However, a configuration as shown in FIG. 4 is also possible. It is. That is, it is also conceivable that the air once passing through the adsorbent 20 is heated by the heating means 25 and the air that has been heated is allowed to pass through the adsorbent 20 again. That is, the present embodiment does not particularly limit the flow of the regeneration air that passes through the adsorbent 20.
[0024]
Also, the installation positions of the first blower means 23 and the second blower means 24 are particularly limited as long as the air in the drying chamber 10 or the air outside the drying chamber 10 can be blown in a predetermined direction in each air passage. Not what you want.
[0025]
Example 3
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of this embodiment. In the present embodiment, the second air blowing means 35 is disposed leeward of the heat exchanger 26 at the end of the regeneration air passage 22.
[0026]
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the air sucked by the second air blowing means 35 is the air after passing through the heat exchanger 26 and passes through the heat exchanger 26 described in the first or second embodiment. It is not the air immediately after. For this reason, the temperature rise of the motor used as the 2nd ventilation means 35 can be suppressed low, and the rating of the ventilation means to be used can be made low. That is, according to this embodiment, an inexpensive dryer can be realized.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
According to the invention described in claim 1, an adsorbent which adsorbs moisture from the drying chamber of air, and air circulation duct for guiding air in the drying chamber into the drying chamber again via the adsorbent, drying outdoor a reproduction air passage for guiding air to dried again outside through the adsorbent, and blowing means for blowing air into said air circulation path and the regeneration air passage, a heating means disposed on the windward of the adsorbent, the An air path switching means that is arranged before and after the adsorbent and that switches an air path that is blown by the air blowing means to the circulation air path or the regeneration air path, air that the air blowing means sucks from outside the drying chamber, and the adsorbent A heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the air after regenerating, and the air blowing means is disposed leeward of the air path switching means between the heating means and the heat exchanger, Effective use of sensible heat and latent heat of the regenerated air exhausted , It is possible to realize a highly energy efficient dryer.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a dryer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a dryer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing explaining the structure of an adsorbent [FIG. 4] Same explanatory drawing explaining another structure of an adsorbent [FIG. 5] Cross-sectional view showing the structure of the dryer which is the 3rd Example of this invention [FIG. 6] Cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional clothes dryer [Fig. 7] Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a conventional underfloor dryer [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Drying chamber 11 Adsorbent 12 Circulating air path 13 Regenerative air path 14 Blower means 15 Heating means 16 Air path switching means 17 Air path switching means 18 Control means 19 Heat exchanger 20 Adsorbent 21 Circulating air path 22 Regenerative air path 23 1st DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ventilation means 24 2nd ventilation means 25 Heating means 26 Heat exchanger 27 Control means 28 Rotor motor 29 Belt 30 Partition plate 31 Partition plate 32 Adsorption zone 33 Regeneration zone 34 Rotating means 35 2nd ventilation means

Claims (1)

An adsorbent which adsorbs moisture from the drying chamber of air, the drying chamber of the air again through the adsorbent leading to the drying chamber and the air circulation duct, dried again outside the dry outdoor air through the adsorbent a reproduction air duct leading to the blowing means for blowing air into said air circulation path and the regeneration air passage, a heating means disposed on the windward of the adsorbent, arranged to the blowing means before and after the adsorbent The air path switching means that switches the path of the air that is blown to the circulation air path or the regeneration air path, heat between the air sucked from outside the drying chamber by the air blowing means and the air after the adsorbent is regenerated A dryer having a heat exchanger for exchanging , wherein the air blowing means is arranged leeward of the air path switching means between the heating means and the heat exchanger .

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