JP4253285B2 - Lint remover - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lint removal device provided in a discharge flow path for dry air of a laundry dryer, and more particularly to an apparatus for removing lint in air flowing through a flow path using a filter. The present invention relates to the above apparatus characterized by means for removing lint accumulated on the surface from the filter surface.

  When the laundry is put into a dryer and dried by ventilation, lint that is fiber waste is generated. In a general dryer, a filter is provided in the exhaust passage of the dryer in order to remove lint from the dry air. If the dryer is operated with lint accumulated on the filter surface of this filter (hereinafter referred to as “filter surface”), the air resistance during exhaust increases, the air volume decreases, and the drying efficiency deteriorates. It takes time to dry. For this reason, it is necessary to remove the lint accumulated on the filter surface every time drying is performed several times. However, the lint removal operation must be performed manually, which is very troublesome.

In order to solve this problem, a dryer that automatically removes lint adhering to the filter surface has been developed. A general method of automatically removing dust accumulated on the filter surface is a method of flowing air in reverse or rubbing the filter surface with a brush. However, Patent Document 1 discloses lint attached to the filter surface. There has been proposed a laundry dryer having a structure in which air is blown from the upper and lateral directions at the boundary between the filter, the lint is peeled off and dropped from the filter surface, and the dropped lint is collected in a lint box by a suction fan.
JP 2002-113291 A

  In order to automatically remove lint accumulated on the filter surface, an apparatus and a driving source are required for this purpose. For example, if air is allowed to flow in the reverse direction on the filter surface, or if air is to be ejected from above and laterally as in Patent Document 1, the direction of the dry air passing through the filter surface and the air flow for lint removal Therefore, in addition to a blower for exhausting dry air, a blower for lint removal and its drive source are required. Moreover, what uses a brush requires the apparatus which moves a brush and a brush along a filter surface, and those drive devices.

  Further, the lint trapped on the filter surface is deposited in a layered form, but may be deposited in a state where the lint is entangled with the filter surface. For this reason, in a structure in which lint is peeled off by an air flow, a situation in which part of lint is not peeled off and remains on the filter surface often occurs. In this case, since the air flow for peeling escapes through the filter surface of the part where the lint has peeled off, the remaining lint cannot be removed. Therefore, if the lint on the entire surface of the filter is to be surely removed, it is necessary to inject a large amount or high speed of air, and the cost of the apparatus becomes very high.

  Furthermore, if the lint is peeled off with a brush or a high-speed air stream, the layered lint is again scattered in the air, and another filter device is required to capture the scattered lint. When such a device is not provided, a vicious cycle occurs in which the separated lint reattaches to the filter surface when dry air is flowed again.

  That is, the conventional lint removing device requires a brush or an additional blower for removing lint from the filter surface and its driving device, and in the case of using an air flow, lint that is not peeled off on the filter surface is partially In the case of using a brush or a high-speed air flow, there are problems that the apparatus cost is high, and that lint scattered at the time of peeling is reattached to the filter surface during the next operation of the apparatus.

  The present invention has a simple structure that does not require a new blower or brush device, can remove lint captured on the filter surface without remaining, and prevents reattachment of peeled lint to the filter surface. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a lint removal device that can be easily processed.

  The lint removing device of the present invention includes a filter surface 16 disposed so as to block an air flow path (exhaust flow path for dry air if in a laundry dryer) 8, an upstream side of the filter surface, It is provided with two dampers 13 and 20 that are arranged on the downstream side and are opened and closed to change the air flow on the filter surface.

  The rear damper 20 disposed on the downstream side allows air to pass through the entire filter surface 16 when opened, and allows air to pass while remaining part of the downstream side when closed when attached to the rear surface of the filter surface. Shut off. The closing operation of the back damper 20 is performed by moving in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the filter surface 16 and being attached to the back surface thereof.

  The inflow damper 13 arranged on the upstream side opens the air inlet channel 11 on the upstream side of the filter surface 16 when opened, and has a thin slit shape between the upstream end side of the front surface of the filter surface when closed. The air inflow path to the filter surface 16 is blocked with the gap 29 left.

  When the blower 5 is rotationally driven with the dampers 13 and 20 opened, the air flowing through the air flow path 8 flows through the filter surface 16, and the lint contained in the air is captured by the filter surface 16 and layered. accumulate.

  When the blower 5 is stopped with the lint accumulated on the filter surface 16 and the rear damper 20 is closed, the air behind the filter is pushed to the front side by the closing operation of the damper, so that the lint accumulated in layers is filtered. It will be in a state of floating from the surface. The air flow generated by the closing operation of the back damper 20 is generated over the entire surface at a position close to the back surface of the filter surface 16, and if a part of the lint tries to stay without peeling, the air pressure on the back surface of that part Therefore, it is possible to prevent a part of the lint from remaining attached to the filter surface 16.

  Then, when the blower 5 is operated again with the dampers 13 and 20 closed, the air flow passes from the slit formed at the upstream end of the inflow damper 13 and the front surface of the filter surface to the front surface of the rear damper 20, that is, the filter surface 16. And flows out from the downstream end which is not closed by the back damper 20. By the air flow flowing along the filter surface 16, the lint is peeled off from the filter surface while being entangled in a layered manner, and falls in the air flow path 8.

  Since the lint dropping position is on the back side of the inflow damper 13, the next time the inflow damper 13 is opened, the area where the lint 31 has fallen can be closed by the back surface of the inflow damper.

  The lint removing device according to claim 1 of the present application includes a filter surface 16 that captures lint in the air flowing upward through the air flow path 8, and a storage unit that stores the lint peeled off from the filter surface below the filter surface. 22, a back damper 20 that closes the back surface of the filter surface except for the vicinity of one side 32 when closed, and a side 15 that faces the one side of the front surface of the filter surface when closed. An inflow damper 13 is provided that closes the air flow path with the narrow gap 29 left therebetween, and moves so as to cover the storage portion when opened to open the air flow path.

  The invention of claim 2 is the lint removal apparatus comprising the means of claim 1, wherein the filter surface 16 is provided so as to obliquely block the air flow path 8 in the vertical direction, and the one side is the upper side, The opposite side is a lower side, and the back damper 20 and the inflow damper 13 are swingably opened and closed around the lower sides 12 and 15 thereof.

  The lint removal device of the present invention in a laundry dryer has a filter surface 16 provided so as to block the exhaust passage 8 containing lint, and a surface opposite to the lint attachment surface of the filter surface when closed. An openable and closable rear damper 20 that functions to block, and an openable and closable inflow damper 13 that functions to adjust the direction of the wind sent from the rotary drum 2 to the exhaust passage 8 by the exhaust blower 5 of dry air. Yes.

  The lint removing apparatus of the present invention removes lint accumulated on the filter surface 16 by using an existing blower (for example, an exhaust blower for drying air of a laundry dryer) 5 for generating an original air flow. Therefore, it is possible to remove lint with a simple and inexpensive structure without requiring expensive equipment such as a new blower or brush.

  Further, when the back damper 20 is closed, the air behind the filter is pushed to lift the lint entirely, and the closed back damper 20 guides the separation air flow along the filter surface 16. The lint deposited on the filter surface can be reliably removed without causing some lint to remain or re-scatter.

  In addition, the lint accumulated in layers can be peeled and removed without scattering, and the removed lint can be easily isolated, preventing reattachment of the lint to the filter surface, and removing the lint removed from the machine. Processing is also easy.

  1 and 2 are diagrams showing an example in which the lint removing apparatus of the present invention is adopted in a commercial laundry dryer equipped with a rotating drum. FIG. 1 shows a state in a drying process, and FIG. 2 shows a lint removing process. It is the figure which showed the state in in.

  In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a casing of the dryer, and 2 denotes a short cylindrical rotary drum that is driven to rotate around the axis in the direction perpendicular to the paper in the figure. On the front surface of the housing 1, an input port 35 for inputting laundry into the rotary drum 2 and an input door 36 for closing the input are provided. The peripheral surface of the rotating drum 2 is formed of a wire mesh or punching metal through which air can pass. The laundry to be dried is put into the rotating drum 2 and dried by the air flow 3 flowing in the drum in the diametrical direction.

  Reference numeral 4 denotes a heater provided at the inlet of the dry air into the casing 1, and reference numeral 5 denotes a dry air discharge blower, which are arranged in the upper part of the casing 1. In the housing 1, the partition walls 6 and 7 that partition the inflow side and the outflow side of the air into the rotary drum 2 and the exhaust are exhausted upward from the bottom of the housing so that a desired air flow is generated during the drying process. A partition wall 9 for partitioning the exhaust flow path 8 leading to the blower 5 is provided, and a lower portion of the partition wall 9 serves as an inlet 11 for guiding the dry air 10 to the exhaust flow path 8.

  The inlet 11 is provided with an inflow damper 13 pivotally attached to the lower side 12 so as to open and close it. A filter surface 16 is fixedly provided in the exhaust flow path 8 so as to obliquely block the exhaust flow path 8 in a positional relationship adjacent to the upper side 14 of the inflow damper 13 when the lower side 15 is closed. . The filter surface 16 is flatly mounted on the upstream surface (left side surface in the figure) of the rectangular filter frame 17, and the filter frame 17 is fixed to the housing wall 1 a and the partition wall 9 by brackets 18 and 19. Attached.

  On the back side of the filter surface 16, a back damper 20 is provided in which the lower side 15 is pivotally attached to the lower end portion of the filter frame 17. When the rear damper 20 is opened, the rear damper 20 is attached to the partition wall 9. When the rear damper 20 is closed, the front damper 20 is attached to the rear surface of the filter surface 16. The vertical dimension of the rear damper 20 is slightly shorter than the vertical dimension of the filter surface 16, so that when the rear damper 20 is closed, the filter surface 16 has a gap between the upper edge 21 of the damper and the upper side 32 of the filter surface 16. The part remains unclosed.

  When the inflow damper 13 described above is opened, it swings so as to close the space 22 on the back side of the damper to open the inlet 11, and when closed, the upper side of the space 22 is opened. The inlet 11 is closed with a slit-like gap left between the upper side 14 and the lower front side 15 of the filter surface 16.

  The upper end portions of the inflow damper 13 and the rear damper 20 are connected to the housing 1 by two swing links 23, 24, 25, and 26 in which the tips are pivotally connected, and these links are driven to swing. Air cylinders 27 and 28 for opening and closing the dampers 13 and 20 are provided.

  In the laundry drying process, as shown in FIG. 1, the inflow damper 13 and the back damper 20 are opened to rotate the blower 5. The dry air 10 flows into the housing 1 from the inlet provided with the heater 4, crosses the rotary drum 2 in the radial direction, and flows into the exhaust passage 8 from the inlet 11 at the lower portion of the housing. It flows through the flow path from bottom to top and is discharged by the blower 5.

  By passing through the laundry, lint contained in the dry air is trapped on the front surface when the air passes through the filter surface 16. When the laundry drying process is performed several times, lint is deposited on the front surface of the filter surface 16 in a layered manner, thereby preventing the passage of dry air. Depending on the type of laundry to be dried, lint is removed from the filter surface 16 after a certain number of drying steps.

  With the blower 5 stopped, the inflow damper 13 is closed and the inlet 11 is closed. At this time, a slit 20 is formed between the upper side 14 of the inflow damper 13 and the lower front side of the filter surface 16 so that the wind can pass therethrough. Further, the back damper 20 is closed, and the back surface of the filter surface 16 (the surface opposite to the lint adhesion surface) is closed. At this time, a portion 30 not covered by the rear damper 20 remains on the upper surface of the filter surface 16 so that the wind passes through.

  In this state, when the laundry input door 36 is opened and the blower 5 is operated, the air that has flowed into the housing 1 from the input port 35 blows out from the slit 29 at the upper edge of the inflow damper 13 into a film shape. A laminar flow along the line 16 is generated, and the lint 31 deposited on the front surface is sequentially peeled from the upstream side (FIG. 2). The lint peeling air may be sucked through the heater 4, but by sucking from the laundry input port 35, wasteful heat consumption of the heater 4 can be avoided, the air resistance is reduced, and the air flow rate is reduced. The peel strength can be increased. When the blower 5 is operated for a set time and then stopped, the lint 31 peeled off from the filter surface 16 falls to the lower lint reservoir 22 by its own weight (FIG. 1).

  When the amount of lint deposited on the filter surface 16 is increased, the lint is in a tightly tightened state and is difficult to peel off. Therefore, the lint in the portion not covered by the back damper 20 on the upper side of the filter surface 16 is not peeled off The lint may remain hanging. In such a case, an opening and closing operation of the rear damper 20 may be repeated once or several times, and a step of dropping the lint 31 downward by wind pressure and vibration generated when the rear damper 20 is closed may be added.

  When the lint removal process is completed, the inflow damper 13 and the back damper 20 are opened, and the lint 31 stored in the lint reservoir 22 is separated from the exhaust flow path 8 by the back surface of the inflow damper 13 and the housing wall 1a. Therefore, the lint 31 that has been peeled off does not scatter during the drying process and adhere to the filter surface 16 again.

The schematic diagram which shows the state of the drying process of the laundry dryer provided with the lint removal apparatus of this invention Schematic diagram showing the state of the lint removal process of the apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

8 Exhaust flow path
12 Upper side
13 Inflow damper
15 Bottom
16 Filter surface
20 Rear damper
22 space
29 Slit
32 Upper side

Claims (2)

A filter surface (16) that captures lint in the air flowing upward through the air flow path (8), and a storage unit (22) that stores lint separated from the filter surface below the filter surface. In lint removal equipment,
A slit between the back damper (20) that closes the back of the filter surface while leaving the vicinity of one side (32) when closed, and a side (15) facing the one side of the front of the filter surface when closed The lint removal is provided with an inflow damper (13) that closes the air flow path in a state of leaving (29) and moves so as to cover the storage portion when opened to open the air flow path apparatus.   The filter surface (16) is provided so as to obliquely block the vertical air flow path (8), the one side is an upper side, the opposite side is a lower side, a back damper (20) and an inflow damper The lint removing device according to claim 1, wherein (13) is swingably opened and closed around its lower side (12, 15).

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