JP3994647B2 - Hand dryer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hand-drying device used in a washroom, a toilet, a kitchen, or the like in order to dry hands wet with water.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, instead of wiping a wet hand with water or the like using a towel or handkerchief, a hand-drying device that dries the hand hygienically by holding the hand over the blown warm air has been put into practical use. Some of these hand dryers have a drying chamber in which a hand is inserted. As shown in FIG. 6, the hand drying device blows an air flow blown from a high pressure air flow generating device 61 through an upper blowing nozzle 62 and a lower blowing nozzle 63 simultaneously on both sides of the hand as a high-speed jet flow. The hand inserted from 3 is blown away and dried. In this type, the sensors are arranged in two rows, the upper and lower stages of the drying chamber, and the fan is not blown unless a hand is inserted to the back.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, a hand dryer that blows away moisture by a high-speed jet as in the above-described conventional example does not operate unless a hand is inserted up to the back sensor of the two rows of sensors. This is based on the idea that it will operate by detecting that the hand has been inserted all the way into the back, but the user actually wants it to operate when the hand is slightly inserted. If it doesn't work if you don't put it in, it might be broken, so it wasn't easy to use.
[0004]
Therefore, the present invention has an object to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to detect a hand that operates quickly and dry well.
[0005]
Another object is to prevent disturbance to the sensor.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention includes an electric blower that is arranged in a main body that forms an outline and blows an air flow, a drying chamber that dries a hand inserted from an open portion of the main body, and an electric blower that is arranged on the inner surface of the drying chamber. A jet hole for jetting the blown air flow, an air chamber communicating with the blower side of the electric blower and the jet hole, and hand detection means are provided above the jet hole.
[0007]
Also, a plurality of hand detecting means are provided so that each hand can be detected independently.
[0008]
In addition, an electric blower that is arranged in the main body forming the outer shell and blows an air flow, a drying chamber that dries the hand inserted from the opening of the main body, and an inner surface of the drying chamber that is blown from the electric blower A jet hole for jetting the air flow, an air chamber communicating with the blower side of the electric blower and the jet hole, and hand detecting means are provided above the jet hole, and the light emitting part of the hand detecting means is located above the back jet hole. The light receiving part is arranged so as to face the upper part of the front-side ejection hole.
[0009]
Then, an electric blower that is arranged in the main body forming the outer shell and blows an air flow, a drying chamber that dries the hand inserted from the opening of the main body, and an inner surface of the drying chamber that is blown from the electric blower A jet hole for jetting the air flow, an air chamber communicating with the blower side of the electric blower and the jet hole, and hand detecting means are provided above the jet hole, and the light emitting part of the hand detecting means is located above the back jet hole. The light receiving part is arranged to face the upper part of the front-side ejection hole via a light-transmitting resin.
[0010]
Further, full power is applied immediately after the hand is detected by the hand detection means, and then duty control is performed.
[0011]
In addition, the duty control is performed so as to start slowly after the hand is detected by the hand detection means.
[0012]
Then, it automatically stops after a certain time when the hand is detected by the hand detecting means.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of the hand drying apparatus of this example, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal front view thereof, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the slit nozzle.
[0014]
In the following description, the configuration of a hand drying device that circulates air to dry hands will be described.
[0015]
Reference numeral 1 denotes an electric blower that blows an air flow. 2 is a main body, 3 is a hand insertion part (open part) in which the upper surface of the drying chamber 4 for drying the hands is opened, and a jet for ejecting an air flow blown by the electric blower 1 to the inlet part (upper inner surface) 4a of the drying chamber The hole 5 has an intake port 6 for recovering the air flow ejected from the ejection hole 5 in the back part (below the inner surface) 4b.
[0016]
7 is an air blower for supplying air to the electric blower 1 and the electric blower 1 below the drying chamber 4, and a flow path on the left side of the electric blower 1 is for circulating air from the intake port 6 to the electric blower 1. The circulation flow path 8 extends downward from the intake port 6 and includes a recovery part 8a including both air and water droplets, a circulation part 8b from the recovery part 8a to the electric blower 1, and an air flow path 7 In addition, a water droplet collection port 10 for collecting water droplets from the collection unit 8a to the drain tank 9 is provided.
[0017]
Reference numeral 11 denotes an electric blower case 11 that houses the electric blower 1. The interior is separated into a fan 14 in the high pressure part 13 and a motor 16 in the low pressure part 15 by a partition part 12. Air is sucked into the air and blown in a circumferential shape.
[0018]
A part of the air flow of the blast releases air from the inside of the fan 14 to the motor 16. Reference numeral 17 denotes a fan inlet sound absorbing material, 18 denotes a sound absorbing material provided inside the high pressure portion 13 of the electric blower case 11, 19 denotes an electric blower outlet, and 20 denotes a rib provided to the electric blower outlet 19 of the electric blower case 11. is there.
[0019]
Next, the configuration will be described along the flow of air after exiting the electric blower 1 with reference to the cross-sectional view of FIG. 21 is an air chamber having a front air chamber 21a and a rear air chamber 21b, which are in communication with each other. The air chamber 21 occupies almost the entire lateral width in the main body 2 and ensures a sufficiently wide cross-sectional area (about 10 times or more than the ejection hole 5). Air enters the air chamber inlet 22 through the electric blower outlet 19. The electric blower outlet 19 and the air chamber inlet 22 are configured not to leak by the seal member 23 and the rib 20. The air that has entered from the air chamber suction port 22 passes through the inside and goes to the nozzle unit 25 provided in the blower port 24. The nozzle unit 25 is inserted into a nozzle unit opening 26 provided above the drying chamber 4.
[0020]
A slit-shaped nozzle 27 corresponds to the front air chamber 21a, and a round hole nozzle 28 corresponds to the rear air chamber 21b. The slit nozzle 27 is located on the user side, corresponds to the palm of the hand, and the round hole nozzle 28 is configured to hit the back of the hand on the back side.
[0021]
FIG. 4 is an exploded schematic view of each main part, and the configuration will be described based on this figure.
[0022]
A flow path through which the circulating flow mounted on the drain tank 9 passes is constituted by an inner box 29 provided in the drain tank 9 (specific configuration of the circulating flow path).
[0023]
A filter 30 is provided at a portion of the inner box 29 that enters the electric blower 1 side. Reference numeral 31 denotes a drain opening for dropping water droplets into the drain tank 9. The drain tank 9 is detachable from the main body 2, and each of the inner box body 29 and the filter 30 is separable.
[0024]
Next, the drying chamber 4 is integrally formed to have a substantially U-shaped cross section, and two side plates 31 are provided at the side opening portion. The side plate 31 has a fixing flange 32 on the lower side, and is screwed to the back portion 4 b of the drying chamber 4 at the concave portion 33. Further, in the vicinity of the upper portion of the side plate, the floating prevention portion 34 catches the entrance angle portion 35 of the nozzle unit 26.
[0025]
Reference numeral 36 denotes a splattering prevention portion 36 provided on the upper side of the side plate 31, and a protrusion is provided on the inside. The side plate 31 is made of a light transmitting body (semi-transparent, including a skeleton) that can be daylighted, and the outer side is textured. The shape is gently rounded outward. These side plates 31 can be inserted / removed along grooves and the like provided on the front and rear surfaces of the drying chamber 4, and can also be attached / detached from the drying chamber 4.
[0026]
Reference numeral 37 denotes a sensor (hand detection means) provided on the upper side of the ejection hole, which is composed of a light emitting section 38, a light receiving section 39, and a signal line 41 going to the control means 40. The light emitting unit 38 is arranged above the round nozzle 28 that is the back side ejection hole, and the light receiving unit 39 is arranged to face the top of the slit nozzle 27 that is the front side ejection hole 5. Reference numeral 42 denotes a sensor cover, which is made of a light transmissive resin. Here, it is made of a light transmissive polypropylene resin.
[0027]
Reference numeral 43 denotes a display unit, which is described here as a power lamp having an inverted triangle. The display unit 43 may display an operation state.
[0028]
A power switch 44 is covered with a waterproof cover 45 and is provided on a side portion 47 of the front case 46. The front case 46 has an upper part 48 and a side part 47, and a curved surface is formed between the front part 49 and the upper part 48 and the side part 47. Is invisible. A part of the upper portion 48 and the side portion 47 of the front case 46 is adapted to be fitted into the drying chamber 4 and is provided with a protruding portion 50 for fixing inside. Further, the front case 46 has a fixing portion 52 that is fixed to the bottom plate 51, and is fixed to the bottom plate 51 and the back surface with screws.
[0029]
Further, the front case 46, the drying chamber 4, the drain tank 9, the side plate 31, the sensor cover 42, the filter 30, and the inner box 29, which are configured as the appearance, are formed of polypropylene resin.
[0030]
Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When a hand is inserted into the drying chamber 4 from the hand insertion unit 3, the sensor 37 detects the hand. That is, the light emitting unit 38 always emits light, and sends a signal (here, infrared light) to the light receiving unit 39. In this state, it is determined that there is no hand, and the electric blower 1 is not driven. Next, when the hand is inserted, the signal from the light emitting unit 38 is cut off, and the signal does not reach the light receiving unit 39. When the signal does not reach the light receiving unit 39, the electric blower 1 is driven as if a hand has been inserted. The light emitting unit 38 and the light receiving unit 39 are covered with a sensor cover 42 formed of a light transmitting resin (here, polypropylene resin), and the signal is turned on / off through the sensor cover 42. .
[0031]
When the electric blower 1 is driven, the air flow sucked from the intake port 6 passes through the circulation flow path 8 and the blow flow path 7 and is sucked into the high pressure portion 13 of the electric blower 1 and passes through the fan splash from the center of the fan 14. Exhale air around. Since the suction portion of the fan 14 of the electric blower case 11 has a negative pressure, the electric blower case 11 is sucked to the electric blower case 11 via the fan inlet sound absorbing material 17, and the air flow does not leak from the high pressure portion 13. .
[0032]
On the other hand, a part of air flows from the fan 14 to the motor 16 to the motor 16 in the low-pressure part 15 to cool the motor 16. The air used for cooling is discharged to the lower side or rear side of the electric blower case 11 and goes out of the main body 2.
[0033]
The sound absorbing material 18 in the electric blower case 11 is stretched so as to face the fan on the inner periphery of the high pressure portion. Therefore, sound generated from the fan rotating at high speed in the electric blower case 11 is absorbed to a considerable extent here.
[0034]
The air discharged from the electric blower 1 is guided to the nozzle unit 26 having the ejection holes 5 through both the front air chambers 21a and the rear air chambers 21b of the air chamber 21. In the front air chamber 21a and the rear air chamber 21b, since the cross-sectional area is sufficiently wide as compared with the ejection hole 5 as described above, the air chamber 21a and the rear air chamber 21b are almost uniformly compressed and eject a stable high-speed jet from the ejection hole 5. be able to. The ejection holes 5 are provided facing each other so that jets of both the palm and the back of the hand are sprayed at the same time. The ejection direction is the back direction of the drying chamber 4, that is, the downward direction in the figure (the direction of the inserted finger of the hand: The hand is tilted slightly (5-10 °). The front air chamber 21a hits the palm and the back of the hand by the slit nozzle 27 and the rear air chamber 21b by the round hole nozzle 28, respectively.
[0035]
Since the palm of your hand is rubbed and washed with both hands when a drop of water is applied, a lot of water is attached. On the other hand, a lot of water does not adhere to the back of the hand, but water droplets adhere to the wrinkles of the hand.
[0036]
Accordingly, a large amount of air is ejected from the slit-like nozzle to the palm, and water droplets at the wrinkled portion of the hand are blown off spot-likely by the round hole nozzle on the back of the hand.
[0037]
Here, the area of the slit-shaped nozzle configured to be in the palm of the hand is set to be twice or more that of the round hole nozzle. Therefore, a lot of airflow hits the palm. However, if the area of the slit-shaped nozzle is not less than 10 times the area of the round hole nozzle, the air ejected from the round hole nozzle is too small to sufficiently dry the back of the hand.
[0038]
Further, the space between the longitudinal center positions of the slit-shaped nozzles of 10 mm to 50 mm is closed, and air is ejected only to the hand portion without ejecting useless air between both hands.
[0039]
As a result, since the place where the air volume at the center is the largest is not emitted, it is possible to prevent the buzzing sound caused by the collision of the airflows coming out from both nozzles.
[0040]
Thereafter, the air flow is sucked into the intake port 6. The air flow passes through the circulation flow path 8, passes through the electric blower 1, and is blown again as an air flow from the ejection side air passage 12. The blown air flow is heated by repeatedly passing through the electric blower 1 and repeatedly compressed in the air chamber 21, and warm air is supplied from the ejection holes 5 without providing any additional heating means. Can do.
[0041]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the water droplets sucked into the intake port 6 together with the air flow are accelerated downward along the air flow in the recovery portion 8a of the circulation flow path 8, and are bent at the bent portion to the circulation portion 8b. Then, it is dropped and separated at the position of the water droplet collection port 10 by inertia and collected in the drain tank 9. The filter 30 mainly prevents dust from flowing into the electric blower 1.
[0042]
At the time of maintenance, the power switch 44 is temporarily turned off and cleaning is performed. However, all or any of the side plate 31, the drain tank 9, the inner box 29, and the filter 30 is detached from the main body 2, separated, and exposed to running water to obtain physical force. Can be washed while giving. After completion of cleaning, the removed parts are mounted on the main body 2 again, and the power switch 44 is turned on.
[0043]
Next, since a plurality of hand detecting means 37 are provided, each hand is detected independently. Therefore, the detection of the hand is rubbed no matter where the hand is put in the drying chamber.
[0044]
In addition, since the light emitting part 38 of the hand detecting means 37 is located at the upper part of the rear-side ejection hole and the light-receiving part 39 is disposed at the upper part of the near-side ejection hole, it is affected even when sunlight is irradiated from the front side. There is nothing.
[0045]
Further, since the light emitting part 38 and the light receiving part 39 of the hand detecting means 37 are respectively provided with a light transmissive resin, the hand detecting means is not directly soiled, and if a material such as polypropylene resin is used, a chemical is used. Resistant to deterioration over time.
[0046]
Further, immediately after the hand is detected by the hand detection means 37, full power is applied and duty control is performed thereafter so as to prevent torque shortage at the time of startup. The full power control time is about 0.1 to 0.3 seconds.
[0047]
Next, detailed operation of the hand detection means 37 will be described.
[0048]
Immediately after the hand is detected by the hand detection means 37, full power is applied, and duty control is performed thereafter so as to prevent torque shortage at startup. The full power control time is about 0.1 to 0.3 seconds. It is necessary to start the motor, and is not necessary when there is a margin in torque.
[0049]
In addition, the duty control is performed so that after the hand is detected by the hand detection means 37, a slow start is performed. This slow start time is a time for inserting a hand of about 0.5 to 1.5 seconds. If there is no margin in torque, it is better to start slowly after full power.
[0050]
And it is made to stop automatically after the fixed time which detected the hand with the hand detection means 37, and it is trying to prevent the malfunction of continuing turning continuously.
[0051]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the air flow blown by the electric blower 1 ejects the air flow from the slit-like nozzle 27 and the round hole nozzle 28 according to the characteristics of the palm and the back of the hand. Can be dried.
[0052]
In addition, since the hand detection means 37 is provided in the upper part of the ejection hole 5 and the electric blower 1 starts immediately when a hand is inserted, it is easy to use. In addition, since the hand is not inserted all the way to the beginning, the air flow is slow start, and it is possible to prevent the airflow from blowing up on the hand depending on how to put the hand. Then, the hand is fully inserted in about 1 second of the slow start time, and a full-fledged drying operation is performed.
[0053]
After that, since the slit side nozzle is used on the palm side, the air volume is increased and continuous air is supplied so that the air can be dried quickly. These nozzle configurations are the effects obtained by combining round holes and slits. Therefore, the electric blower 1 is sufficiently small and compact, and the entire main body can be compact.
[0054]
In the above embodiment, the case where the air flow circulates while passing through the electric blower 1 has been described. However, air may be supplied from the outside without circulating the air flow.
[0055]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the hand inserted from the open portion of the main body is detected by the hand detecting means provided on the ejection hole, and the electric blower is activated to generate an air flow. The generated air flow passes through the air chamber and is ejected from the ejection holes arranged on the inner surface of the drying chamber. The hand inserted into the interior of the drying chamber is further inserted into the interior, and the air flow from the ejection hole is applied to the wrist. After that, the hand is gradually raised to dry the entire hand.
[0056]
A plurality of hand detecting means are provided, and each hand is detected independently. Therefore, the detection of the hand is rubbed no matter where the hand is put in the drying chamber.
[0057]
In addition, the light-emitting part of the hand detection means is located at the upper part of the rear-side ejection hole, and the light-receiving part is arranged at the upper part of the front-side ejection hole, so that it is not affected even when sunlight is irradiated from the front. .
[0058]
And, since the light emitting part and the light receiving part of the hand detecting means are each via a light-transmitting resin, the hand detecting means is not directly soiled, and when using a material such as polypropylene resin, it is resistant to chemicals, There is no detection deterioration even with aging.
[0059]
Moreover, since full power is applied immediately after the hand is detected by the hand detection means and duty control is performed thereafter, it is possible to prevent a shortage of torque at the time of startup.
[0060]
In addition, the duty control is performed so as to start slowly after the hand is detected by the hand detection means. When the hand is not inserted all the way down, it can be operated weakly.
[0061]
And it is made to stop automatically after the fixed time which detected the hand with the hand detection means, and it is trying to prevent the malfunction of continuing turning continuously.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a hand dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal front view showing the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing removable parts in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is an external view of a nozzle unit in the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a vertical side view showing the configuration of a conventional hand dryer.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric blower 4 Drying chamber 5 Ejection hole 21a Front air chamber (air chamber)
21b Rear air chamber (air chamber)
37 Hand detection means 38 Light emitting part 39 Light receiving part 42 Sensor cover (transparent resin)

Claims (6)

An electric blower that is arranged in a main body that forms an outer shell and blows an air flow, a drying chamber that dries a hand inserted from the upper surface opening portion of the main body, and an inner surface of the drying chamber that is arranged on the inner surface of the drying chamber. and injection holes for injecting the blowing air flow, an air chamber communicating with injection holes and blowing side of the electric blower, said ejection hole is one slit-like nozzle, and the other as a round hole nozzle, said slits The hand-drying apparatus which arrange | positioned the shape nozzle and the said round hole nozzle facing, and provided the hand detection means above the said ejection hole.   The hand drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of hand detecting means are provided, and each hand is detected independently.   The hand drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the light emitting part of the hand detecting means is arranged so as to face the upper part of the rear side ejection hole, and the light receiving part is opposed to the upper part of the front side ejection hole.   The light-emitting part of a hand detection means is arrange | positioned so that the light-receiving part may oppose the upper part of a near-side jet hole through the light-transmitting resin, respectively, respectively. The hand dryer according to claim 1. The hand drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein full power is applied immediately after the hand is detected by the hand detection means, and then duty control is performed . 6. The hand drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein duty control is performed so that a slow start is performed after the hand is detected by the hand detecting means .

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