JP4931890B2 - Hand dryer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hand-drying apparatus that blows air on a wet hand after washing to dry hygienically.

  As a device for drying wet hands after washing, there is a hand drying device that blows off water droplets adhering to the hands by a high-speed air flow to dry them. The main installation location of hand dryers is often in the vicinity of humid places such as hand-washing facilities where many bacteria and viruses are likely to occur. There has been proposed a hand-drying device equipped with an odor-cleaning means. As such, “air cleaning means for removing, sterilizing and deodorizing microorganisms such as coarse dust, dust, dust, bacteria and viruses in the air, and compressing, drying, temperature adjusting and deodorizing the clean air. In addition, there is a hand dryer characterized in that an air compressing unit that continuously supplies and an ejecting unit that sprays the compressed air in a tornado shape are detachably provided (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-177409 (page 3, FIG. 1)

  According to the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, the high-pressure air flow injected into the hand is cleaned by the air cleaning means. However, the main installation location of the hand dryer is, for example, in the vicinity of hand-washing equipment such as a toilet, and is often closed and humid, and dust, bacteria, viruses, and the like are likely to be generated. A hand dryer generally inhales ambient air, processes it into a high-pressure air stream, and injects it. When used in places such as those mentioned above, it lifts up dust, viruses, bacteria, etc. present in the ground, walls, and air. There is a possibility that. When this happens, there is a possibility that dust, viruses, and bacteria may adhere to the user's clothes, or the user may inhale them.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and can clean the high-pressure air flow ejected from the hand dryer and clean the air at the place where the hand dryer is installed. A hand dryer is provided.

A hand drying device according to the present invention includes a first blower that generates an air flow, and a hand insertion portion in which an air flow generated by the first blower is ejected and at least a part of the side is opened. The main body portion, the first air inlet opening outside the side of the hand insertion portion and below the lower end of the open portion of the hand insertion portion , and the air sucked from the first air inlet port was closed and said first air passage leading to the upstream side of the blower, and air cleaning unit air sucked from said first inlet provided in the ventilation passage with an air cleaning function unit for cleaning The air purification function unit includes a filter unit that collects water droplets contained in the air sucked from the first intake port, and a dehydration function unit that dehydrates the filter unit .

  Since the hand drying apparatus of the present invention includes the air cleaning unit, it is possible to clean the high-pressure air flow ejected to the hand and to clean the air at the place where the hand drying apparatus is installed.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a hand dryer 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic front sectional view of the hand dryer 100. In the first embodiment, a hand drying device that is installed on a wall surface or the like and that is dried by inserting and removing hands in the vertical direction will be described as an example. In addition, in FIG. 2, the arrow shown by W1-W3 shows the air flow which is a flow of air. Moreover, since the hand dryer 100 is a left-right symmetric structure, in FIG.

  1 and 2, a hand drying apparatus 100 has a main body 1 that constitutes an outer shell of the apparatus and is provided with a concave hand insertion portion 2 having an opening on the upper surface side. The side of the manual insertion part 2 is open (does not have a side wall) or is covered with a side wall in which slits or holes for releasing air in the manual insertion part 2 to the side are formed. . The main body 1 is provided with a blower 3 which is a high-pressure airflow generating device that generates a high-pressure airflow, and the high-pressure airflow generated by the blower 3 from the nozzle 4 provided on the wall surface of the manual insertion portion 2 is provided. Erupts. The nozzle 4 is provided on both the front and back wall surfaces of the hand insertion portion 2 so that water drops attached to the front and back surfaces of the hand inserted into the hand insertion portion 2 can be efficiently removed. 1 and 2, the case where the nozzle 4 is a round hole nozzle will be described as an example. However, nozzles of other shapes such as a slit type may be used, and the number of nozzles 4 is arbitrary. Further, a pressure sensor 16 is provided on the upstream side of the blower 3, and a temperature sensor 8 for detecting the temperature of the blower 3 is provided in the vicinity of the blower 3. A drainage channel 7 that guides water droplets blown from the hand to the drain container 5 is provided below the manual insertion portion 2. The drain container 5 can be removed from the main body 1, and the user can remove the drain container 5 and discard the accumulated water. In addition, on the upper part of the main body 1, an informing means 19 for informing by light or voice is provided.

  Air cleaning units 200 are provided on both side surfaces of the main body 1. The air cleaning unit 200 is formed with a blowout air inlet 10 having a plurality of openings on the upper surface and a ventilation path 11 connected to the airflow inlet 10. In the ventilation path 11, a roll filter 12 and a deodorizing filter 14 are sequentially installed as an air cleaning function unit, and a cleaning device 13 that automatically cleans the roll filter 12 is provided in the vicinity of the roll filter 12. Moreover, the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 are installed so that it can be removed or mounted from the filter mounting opening 18 provided on the side surface of the ventilation path 11. A pressure sensor 15 is provided on the upstream side of the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14. On the downstream side of the ventilation path 11, a ventilation path opening 17 that is opened on the upstream side of the blower 3 is formed. In the air cleaning unit of the present invention, the side closer to the main body (the side in contact) is referred to as the inner side, and the side farther from the main body is referred to as the outer side.

The blowout air inlets 10 are provided on both sides of the hand insertion portion 2 and open upward. A part of the high-pressure air flow ejected to the manual insertion portion 2 by the nozzle 4 flows out of the manual insertion portion 2, but in the vicinity of a position serving as an outlet for the high-pressure air flow including water droplets blown off from the hand at this time. The blowout air inlet 10 is located. Therefore, the blowout air inlet 10 can suck in a high-pressure air flow including water droplets that have flowed out of the manual insertion portion 2. The upper surface of the blowout air inlet 10 is formed obliquely so that the inner side is high and the outer side is low, and has a plurality of openings. Since the upper surface of the blowout air inlet 10 is formed at an angle, even if dust such as tissue paper or paper waste is placed on the airflow, it will fall to the floor surface and the blowout air intake 10 will be blocked by the dust. No, the opening is divided into a plurality of parts, so that large dust does not enter the blowout air inlet 10.
When the side of the manual insertion portion 2 is open (does not have a side wall), the blowout air inlet 10 can be provided at a position substantially the same as or lower than the bottom surface of the manual insertion portion 2. . Moreover, when the manual insertion part 2 has a side wall, it can be provided at a position substantially the same as or lower than that at the lowest position among slits or holes provided in the side wall. In this way, the blowout air inlet 10 does not block the side opening of the hand insertion portion 2 or the slit or hole in the side wall.

  The ventilation path 11 is provided on both sides of the main body 1 along the both side walls of the main body 1. The ventilation path 11 forms an air path connecting the blowout air inlet 10 and the upstream side of the blower 3, and is substantially straight from the upper part to the lower part. By doing in this way, the pressure loss of the airflow in the ventilation path 11 can be suppressed.

  Since the upstream side of the blower 3 and the blowout air inlet 10 are connected by the ventilation path 11, suction force is generated in the blowout air inlet 10 when the blower 3 is driven. And by this suction force, the air containing the water droplet which flowed out from the side of the manual insertion part 2 can be inhaled.

  The roll filter 12 collects water droplets and dust contained in the air supplied to the blower 3 through the ventilation path 11. The roll filter 12 is installed obliquely so that the outside of the ventilation path 11 is higher. A cleaning device 13 that automatically cleans the roll filter 12 is provided in the vicinity of the roll filter 12.

  3 shows the configuration of the roll filter 12 and the cleaning device 13, FIG. 3A is a schematic side view, and FIG. 3B is a top view. In FIG. 3, the roll filter 12 includes a filter portion 12a having a small pressure loss formed in a roll shape, and heating and dehydrating rotary shafts 12b provided above and below. The filter unit 12a is wound around the heating / dehydrating rotary shaft 12b and can rotate in a fixed direction around this shaft. The heating / dehydrating rotary shaft 12b can be heated by energization, and the water droplets adhering to the filter portion 12a can be evaporated by this heat. Therefore, it is possible to prevent mold from being generated by water droplets attached to the filter portion 12a. The heating by the heating and dehydrating rotating shaft 12b may be performed constantly, or may be performed at a predetermined time or every predetermined time. In addition, the roll filter 12 is installed obliquely so as to have an inclination angle θ, and relatively large dust or the like collected by the roll filter 12 can naturally fall into the drainage channel 7. It is possible to prevent dust from accumulating on 12.

  The cleaning device 13 rotates the brush portion 13b through the support frame 13a connected to the lower heating and dehydrating rotation shaft 12b, the brush portion 13b in which brush hairs are implanted in a cylindrical shape, and the brush portion 13b. A shaft portion 13c and a spatula portion 13d formed substantially parallel to the brush portion 13b are provided. The brush portion 13b is disposed at a position where the brush hair contacts the filter portion 12a. Further, the spatula portion 13d is provided with tooth portions 13e formed in a substantially triangular shape at a predetermined interval. The tooth portion 13e is formed in such a size and position as to penetrate deeper than half of the bristles of the brush portion 13b.

  In the roll filter 12 and the cleaning device 13 configured as described above, the filter portion 12a of the roll filter 12 always collects water droplets and dust contained in the air guided by the ventilation path 11 while rotating at a constant speed. The brush portion 13b of the cleaning device 13 also always rotates at a speed slower than the rotation speed of the filter portion 12a, and the brush bristles of the brush portion 13b are in contact with the filter portion 12a. Therefore, dust or the like adhering to the filter portion 12a is removed. The brush hair can be scraped off. Further, dust or the like adhering to the brush portion 13b is scraped off by brushing the brush hair by the tooth portion 13e formed so as to enter the brush portion 13b. And the dust scraped by the brush part 13b and the tooth | gear part 13e is collected to the drain container 5 through the drainage channel 7, and can be discarded with the water collected in the drain container 5. FIG.

  The deodorizing filter 14 is a filter for deodorizing the air that has passed through the roll filter 12, and is installed obliquely in the ventilation path 11 on the downstream side of the roll filter 12 in the same manner as the roll filter 12.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the deodorizing filter 14. The deodorizing filter 14 is configured by inserting a honeycomb-shaped core member 14b in the thickness direction between two upper and lower face plates 14a and bonding them together. The core member 14b is formed to be substantially vertical when the deodorizing filter 14 is tilted to a predetermined angle θ (hereinafter, the structure of the deodorizing filter 14 may be referred to as an oblique honeycomb structure). Therefore, when the deodorizing filter 14 is attached to the air passage 11, the air path in the deodorizing filter 14 can be made substantially straight, and pressure loss in the deodorizing filter 14 can be suppressed.

  The pressure sensor 15 and the pressure sensor 16 are sensors that can detect the degree of vacuum. The pressure sensor 15 is installed upstream of the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14, and the pressure sensor 16 is installed downstream of the roll filter 12 and deodorizing filter 14 and upstream of the blower 3. The control unit X (not shown) of the main body 1 acquires the output values of the pressure sensor 15 and the pressure sensor 16 to obtain a difference between them, and sets the difference as a value of pressure loss due to the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14. In addition, since the pressure sensor 16 is provided in the upstream of the air blower 3, it can detect a pressure, without being influenced by the drive of the air blower 3, and can calculate the pressure loss by the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 correctly. . When dust adheres to the roll filter 12 or the deodorizing filter 14, the filter is clogged and the pressure loss value also increases. Therefore, when the pressure loss value is large, it is determined that the roll filter 12 or the deodorizing filter 14 has deteriorated.

  The temperature sensor 8 is a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the blower 3, and its output is input to the control unit X (not shown). The control unit X detects an increase in the temperature of the blower 3 based on the output of the temperature sensor 8 and determines that an abnormality has occurred in the blower 3 when the output of the temperature sensor 8 reaches a predetermined temperature or higher.

Next, the operation of the hand dryer 100 will be described.
FIG. 5 is an operation flow of the hand dryer 100. In FIG. 5, description will be made on the assumption that the power is supplied to the hand dryer 100, and the pressure loss is expressed as pressure loss.

(S40)
When the user inserts a hand into the hand insertion unit 2 while the power is supplied to the hand dryer 100, a sensor (not shown) detects this, and the hand dryer 100 starts operation.
(S41)
The control part X calculates | requires the difference of the output of the pressure sensor 15 and the pressure sensor 16, and judges whether the value of the pressure loss obtained by this difference exceeds the threshold value A set beforehand. In FIG. 2, pressure sensors 15 are provided on both the left and right sides of the main body 1. If the pressure loss value exceeds the threshold A, the process proceeds to step S42. If not, the process proceeds to step S43.

(S42)
When the pressure loss exceeds the threshold A, it is determined that the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 have deteriorated due to dust or the like, and the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 are inspected. Notification is made by means 19. The notification method can be performed by any method such as visual notification using a lamp or the like, or auditory notification using a buzzer sound or a voice message. Also, visual notification and auditory notification can be used in combination. As described above, the roll filter 12 is automatically cleaned by the cleaning device 13, but the roll filter 12 is deteriorated by long-term use. Even in such a case, it is possible to prompt the user to clean or replace the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 by notifying the user to check the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14.

(S43)
When the pressure loss does not exceed the threshold A, the temperature of the blower 3 is detected based on the output of the temperature sensor 8. Then, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the blower 3 exceeds a preset threshold B. If it exceeds, the process proceeds to step S44, and if not, the process proceeds to step S45.

(S44)
When the temperature of the blower 3 exceeds the threshold value B, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the blower 3 and the notification means 19 notifies the blower 3 to check. As a notification method, visual notification, audible notification, or a combination thereof can be used in the same manner as the notification of the inspection of the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 described above. Moreover, when performing notification by using a lamp, the inspection notification of the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 and the inspection notification of the blower 3 may be performed using a single lamp, and the emission color of the lamp may be different depending on the notification content. By doing in this way, while being able to comprise an alerting | reporting part simply, an alerting | reporting content can be appropriately conveyed with respect to a user.

(S45)
When the temperature of the blower 3 does not exceed the threshold value B, it is determined whether or not the cumulative operation time of the blower 3 exceeds a preset threshold value C. Since the blower 3 gradually deteriorates as the operation time becomes longer, it can be determined whether or not the blower 3 is deteriorated by the accumulated operation time. If the cumulative operation time does not exceed the threshold C, the process proceeds to step S48, and if it exceeds, the process proceeds to step S46.

(S46)
When the cumulative operation time of the blower 3 exceeds the threshold value C, it is determined that the blower 3 has deteriorated, and the notification means 19 notifies that the blower 3 has deteriorated over time. As a notification method, visual notification, audible notification, or a combination thereof can be used in the same manner as the notification of the inspection of the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 described above. In addition, when notification is performed using a lamp, a single lamp is used for the inspection notification of the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14, the inspection notification of the blower 3, and the aging deterioration notification of the blower 3, and the emission color of the lamp is determined according to the notification content. It is good to make a mistake. By doing in this way, while being able to comprise an alerting | reporting part simply, an alerting | reporting content can be appropriately conveyed with respect to a user.

(S47)
After a predetermined time has passed since the aging deterioration of the blower 3 was notified, the blower 3 is stopped so as not to operate. By doing in this way, it does not continue driving | running in the state which aged deterioration produced in the air blower 3, and it can prevent that the malfunction accompanying aged deterioration arises.

(S48)
When the cumulative operation time of the blower 3 does not exceed the threshold C, the blower 3 is started to generate a high-pressure air flow, and a manual drying operation is performed. The rotational speed of the blower 3 at this time is determined based on the pressure loss value detected in step S41.

Here, the relationship between the pressure loss and the rotational speed of the blower 3 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the rotational speed of the blower 3 and the pressure loss necessary to ensure a constant air volume. The horizontal axis represents the pressure loss of the air supplied to the blower 3, and the vertical axis represents the rotational speed of the blower 3. The blower 3 needs to generate a high-pressure air flow having a constant air volume so that water droplets of the hand inserted into the hand insertion portion 2 can be blown off appropriately. Therefore, when the pressure loss is large, as shown in FIG. 6, the rotation speed of the blower 3 is increased.

  Therefore, in the manual drying operation in step S48, the rotational speed of the blower 3 is controlled according to the pressure loss value detected in step S41, and when the pressure loss is large, the rotational speed of the blower 3 is increased. By operating the blower 3 at a predetermined number of revolutions, it is possible to generate a high-pressure air flow with a constant air volume, and to appropriately blow off water droplets attached to the user's hand inserted into the manual insertion portion 2. .

  The details of the operation of the hand drying operation of the hand drying apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described. When the user puts his / her hand into the hand insertion portion 2, a sensor (not shown) detects the hand and the blower 3 operates. When the blower 3 is operated, air is sucked from the blowout air inlet 10 into the ventilation path 11 as indicated by the airflow W1. The air flow W1 is smaller as it is closer to the main body 1 and larger as it is farther away. Then, dust and water droplets in the air are removed while passing through the roll filter 12 and deodorized by the deodorizing filter 14, and a clean air flow W <b> 2 is sucked into the blower 3 through the ventilation path opening 17 and is supplied with a high-pressure air flow. To be processed. The clean high-pressure air flow W3 is ejected into the hand insertion portion 2 by the nozzle 4, hits a wet hand, and blows off water droplets adhering to the hand to dry the hand. As described above, since the air cleaned by the air cleaning unit 200 can be injected into the hand, it is hygienic.

  Water droplets blown off from the hand adhere to the hand insertion portion 2 and flow downward to flow into the drain container 5 and partly flow out of the hand insertion portion 2 together with the high-pressure air flow. If it is of the type where the side of the manual insertion part 2 is open (does not have a side wall), water drops will flow out from this open part, and if it is of the type having a side wall, a slit formed on the side wall Or a water droplet flows out from a hole. At this time, since the blowout air inlet 10 is opened at a position where the air containing the water droplets blown off from the hand flows out, the water drops blown from the hand are sucked into the blowout air inlet 10 together with the high-pressure air flow. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent water droplets blown from the hand from being scattered around the hand drying device 100. In addition, air containing water droplets flows into the ventilation path 11, but as described above, dust is removed and dehumidified by the roll filter 12 and deodorized by the deodorizing filter 14, so that the air is supplied to the blower 3 as a clean air flow W 2. The Rukoto.

  Further, a part of the high-pressure air flow injected to the manual insertion unit 2 flows out of the hand drying device 100 from the upper part of the manual insertion unit 2 or the like. Therefore, the air in the environment in which the hand dryer 100 is installed can be cleaned by the clean high-pressure air flow that has flowed out.

  Moreover, it is good also as not operating the air blower 3 only when a user puts the hand in the hand insertion part 2, but operating the air blower 3 automatically at predetermined time or every predetermined time. By doing in this way, even when the user is not using the hand dryer 100, indoor air can be cleaned. At this time, the operation sound of the blower 3 can be reduced by operating the blower 3 at a lower rotational speed than when the hands are dried, and the noise in the indoor environment can be reduced.

  FIG. 7 is a graph showing the odor (ammonia) removal performance of the hand dryer 100 provided with the air cleaning unit 200. In FIG. 7, (A) shows the transition of ammonia concentration in a certain indoor environment, and (B) shows the ammonia concentration when the hand dryer 100 is installed in the same indoor environment as (A) and the blower 3 is operated continuously. Indicates. As shown in FIG. 7A, the ammonia concentration rises to about 1.25 ppm when a certain time elapses. However, when the blower 3 of the hand dryer 100 is continuously operated, the ammonia concentration remains about 0.25 ppm. It will not rise. Thus, indoor ammonia can be removed by using the hand dryer 100, and the indoor environment can be kept favorable.

  As described above, according to the hand drying apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, since the air cleaning unit 200 is provided, clean air that has been dedusted, dehumidified, and deodorized can be supplied to the blower 3, and this clean air can be supplied with high pressure. It can be injected into the hand as an air flow, and hygiene can be improved. In addition, the sprayed clean high-pressure air flow diffuses into the indoor air, so that the air in the indoor environment can be cleaned and hygiene can be improved. Further, since the blower 3 is used as a drive source for sucking air into the air cleaning unit 200, the hand drying device 100 can be configured easily.

  Moreover, since the blowout air inlet 10 opened near the hand insertion portion 2 is provided on the side surface of the main body 1, water droplets blown from the hand by the hand insertion portion 2 can be collected at the blowout air inlet 10. Therefore, it is possible to prevent water droplets from being scattered around the hand dryer 100. Moreover, since the ventilation path 11 which guides the air sucked from the blowout air inlet 10 to the upstream side of the blower 3 is provided, the suction force in the blowout air inlet 10 is generated through the ventilation path 11 by driving the blower 3 to generate air. Can inhale. Therefore, air including water droplets blown off from the manual insertion portion 2 can be reliably collected, and water droplets can be prevented from being scattered around.

  Moreover, since the ventilation path 11 is formed in the substantially straight air path which connects the blowing flow inlet 10 and the air blower 3, the pressure loss in the ventilation path 11 can be suppressed. Furthermore, since the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 are attached obliquely and the deodorizing filter 14 has an oblique honeycomb structure, pressure loss due to the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 can also be suppressed. In this way, air can be efficiently supplied to the blower 3 by suppressing the pressure loss in the air path from the blowout air inlet 10 to the blower 3. For this reason, while being able to operate the air blower 3 with high efficiency, deterioration of the air blower 3 can be suppressed.

  In addition, when the pressure loss due to the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 exceeds a predetermined value, a notification for urging the inspection is performed, so that the user can check, clean, or clean the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14. Can be exchanged. As described above, in the manual drying operation, the rotational speed of the blower 3 is controlled according to the pressure loss value. However, when the rotational speed of the blower 3 is increased, the power consumption is increased and the noise accompanying the operation of the blower 3 is also increased. It becomes large and uncomfortable for the user. Moreover, when the rotation speed of the air blower 3 exceeds a fixed rotation speed, deterioration of the air blower 3 is likely to occur. Therefore, by prompting the inspection of the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14 at an appropriate timing, it is possible to maintain a constant air volume and suppress the deterioration of the blower 3.

  Moreover, since the rotation speed of the air blower 3 was controlled according to the pressure loss situation by the roll filter 12 and the deodorizing filter 14, the air volume of the high-pressure airflow generated by the air blower 3 can be kept constant. Moreover, since abnormality of the air blower 3 is detected by the output of the temperature sensor 8 provided in the vicinity of the air blower 3 and an abnormality occurs, a notification for prompting inspection is performed. Can be checked properly.

  In addition, in this Embodiment 1, although the example in the case of operating the cleaning apparatus 13 always was demonstrated, the cleaning apparatus 13 does not need to operate always. For example, the cleaning device 13 may be operated only when the user ends the use of the hand dryer 100 (when the operation of the blower 3 is stopped) or every time the user ends the use. By doing in this way, the effort of the maintenance by a user can be saved, reducing the energy consumption required for the driving | operation of the cleaning apparatus 13. FIG.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 8 is a schematic front sectional view of the hand dryer 120 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 8, arrows indicated by W <b> 1 to W <b> 5 indicate an air flow that is an air flow. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. Further, since the hand dryer 120 has a bilaterally symmetric configuration, only one side is given a reference numeral in FIG. In the present invention, the first air inlet corresponds to the blowout air inlet 20, and the second air inlet corresponds to the air inlet 28.

  Air cleaning units 220 are provided on both side surfaces of the hand dryer 120 according to the second embodiment. The air cleaning unit 220 includes a blowout air inlet 20 having a plurality of openings on the upper surface and a ventilation path 21 connected to the airflow inlet 20. An air inlet 28 through which air can be sucked is formed above the outer side surface of the air passage 21. In addition, a pleat filter 22 and a deodorizing filter 14 are installed in this order in the ventilation path 21, a pressure sensor 26 is installed on the lower side (downstream side), and a silent fan 40 is installed on the lower side (downstream side). Yes.

  The blowout air inlet 20 is opened at a position where a high-pressure airflow including water droplets flowing out from the concave portion on the side surface of the hand insertion portion 2 can be sucked, and the opening is formed substantially horizontally. In addition, the upper surface of the blowout air inlet 20 is covered with a dustproof lid 29. The dust cover 29 is fixed to the inside and outside of the blowout air inlet 20 so as to be rotatable by hinges. The dust cover 29 covers the upper surface of the blowout air inlet 20 when the blower 3 is not operating, and automatically rises when the blower 3 starts operating and further rotates to contact the side surface of the ventilation path 21. The air inlet 28 is closed. Further, when the blower 3 stops operating, it automatically rotates and covers the upper surface of the outlet air inlet 20 again. That is, air can be sucked from the air inlet 28 when the blower 3 is stopped, but air cannot be sucked from the air inlet 28 when the fan 3 is operating.

  The ventilation path 21 forms an air path connecting the blowout air inlet 20 and the upstream side of the blower 3, and the upper part to the lower part thereof are almost straight.

  The intake port 28 opens on the outer side surface of the ventilation path 21. The intake port 28 is open when the blower 3 is stopped, but when the blower 3 is operating, the opening is closed by the dust cover 29 as described above.

  The pleated filter 22 is composed of a fiber filter such as a nonwoven fabric folded in a zigzag shape. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pleated filter 22. The surface of the pleated filter 22 is coated with fluorine to have water repellency. The pleated filter 22 is installed obliquely in the ventilation path 21 so that the outer side is the upper part and the inner side is the lower part. The pleated filter 22 collects water droplets contained in the air that is about to pass through on its surface, and the collected water droplets travel along the water-repellent surface and gradually move downward due to their own weight. The lower part of the pleat filter 22 is located immediately above the drainage channel 7, and water drops fall from the pleated filter 22 and enter the drainage channel 7, and are collected in the drain container 5.

  The pressure sensor 26 is a sensor that can detect the degree of vacuum, and is installed downstream of the deodorizing filter 14 and upstream of the silent fan 40. The pressure loss due to the pleated filter 22 and the deodorizing filter 14 sandwiched between the pressure sensor 15 and the pressure sensor 26 is calculated based on the difference between the outputs of the pressure sensor 15 and the pressure sensor 26.

  The silent fan 40 is a fan for generating a suction force at the blowout air inlet 20 or the air inlet 28 and for supplying the sucked air to the upstream side of the blower 3 and supplying it to the blower 3, and operates with low noise. can do. The second blower of the present invention corresponds to the silent fan 40.

In FIG. 8, an exhaust port 41 is provided in the lower part of the main body 1. The exhaust port 41 is located in the air path on the downstream side of the silent fan 40 and on the upstream side of the blower 3.
FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the exhaust port 41. The opening of the exhaust port 41 is covered by a door 41b supported by the hinge portion 41a. The door 41b is rotatable in the outer direction of the main body 1 with the hinge portion 41a as an axis. When the silent fan 40 starts operating and sucks air from the blowout air inlet 20 or the air inlet 28, the air pressure on the downstream side of the silent fan 40 (upstream side of the blower 3) becomes high. Due to the difference, the door 41b automatically rotates in the outer direction of the main body 1 and is exhausted from the inner side to the outer side of the main body 1.

  Operation | movement of the hand dryer 120 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated. The hand drying device 120 has two operation modes: a hand drying operation for drying hands and an air cleaning operation for purifying air in the indoor environment. The hand drying device 120 performs an air cleaning operation when the user does not put a hand in the hand insertion unit 2, and performs a hand drying operation when the user puts a hand in the hand insertion unit 2.

  In the hand drying operation, when a hand is put into the hand insertion portion 2, a sensor (not shown) detects the hand and the blower 3 is activated. At the same time, the dustproof cover 29 is opened, the blowout air inlet 20 is opened, and air is sucked into the ventilation path 21 as indicated by the airflow W1. At this time, since the air inlet 28 is blocked by the dust cover 29, the air can be efficiently sucked from the blowout air inlet 20. Then, dust and water droplets in the air are removed when passing through the pleat filter 22, and deodorized by the deodorizing filter 14, and a clean air flow W2 is sucked into the blower 3 and processed into a high-pressure air flow. The clean high-pressure air flow W3 is ejected into the hand insertion portion 2 by the nozzle 4, hits a wet hand, and blows off water droplets adhering to the hand to dry the hand. In this way, clean air that has been dedusted, dehumidified, and deodorized can be sprayed onto the hand, which is hygienic.

  Water droplets blown off from the hand adhere to the hand insertion portion 2 and flow downward to flow into the drain container 5 and partly flow out of the hand insertion portion 2 together with the high-pressure air flow. At this time, since the blowout air inlet 20 is opened at a position where the air containing the water droplets blown off from the hand flows out, the water drops blown from the hand are sucked into the blowout air inlet 20 together with the high-pressure airflow. . Therefore, water droplets blown from the hand can be prevented from scattering around the hand drying device 120. Further, air containing water droplets flows into the ventilation path 21, but as described above, dust is removed and dehumidified by the pleated filter 22 and deodorized by the deodorizing filter 14, so that the air is supplied to the blower 3 as a clean air flow W 2. The

  Next, the air cleaning operation when the hand insertion unit 2 is not put into hand, that is, when the blower 3 is not operating will be described. When performing the air cleaning operation, the silent fan 40 operates. At this time, the blowout air inlet 20 is closed by the dust-proof lid 29, and air is sucked from the air inlet 28 into the ventilation path 21 as indicated by the airflow W4. The clean air flow W2 dehumidified, dedusted and deodorized by the pleat filter 22 and the deodorizing filter 14 moves to the downstream side of the silent fan 40. Since the blower 3 is not operating, no suction force is generated by the blower 3, and the air flow W2 sent by the silent fan 40 flows out from the exhaust port 41 to the outside of the hand dryer 120 as the air flow W5 and diffuses. To do. Therefore, the air in the indoor environment in which the hand dryer 120 is installed can be cleaned by performing the air cleaning operation.

Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the pressure loss due to the pleat filter 22 and the deodorizing filter 14 is calculated based on the output values of the pressure sensor 15 and the pressure sensor 26, and necessary notification or the like is performed. .
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the deterioration detection process of the pleat filter 22 and the deodorizing filter 14 and the abnormality detection process of the silent fan 40 during the air cleaning operation. Hereinafter, the processing content will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 12, pressure loss is expressed as pressure loss.

(S50)
When the power is supplied to the hand dryer 120, the air cleaning operation is started.
(S51)
A difference in output between the pressure sensor 15 and the pressure sensor 26 is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the value of the pressure loss obtained by this difference exceeds a preset threshold A. If the pressure loss value exceeds the threshold value A, the process proceeds to step S52. If not, the process proceeds to step S53.

(S52)
If the pressure loss exceeds the threshold A, it is determined that the pleated filter 22 and the deodorizing filter 14 have deteriorated, and the pleated filter 22 and the deodorizing filter 14 are inspected in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The notification means 19 notifies the user so as to do so.

(S53)
When the pressure loss does not exceed the threshold A, the temperature of the silent fan 40 is detected based on the output of the temperature sensor 27. Then, it is determined whether or not the temperature of the silent fan 40 exceeds a preset threshold value D. If it exceeds, the process proceeds to step S54, and if not, the process proceeds to step S55.

(S54)
When the temperature of the silent fan 40 exceeds the threshold value D, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the silent fan 40 and the notification means 19 notifies that the silent fan 40 is inspected. The notification method is the same as that in the first embodiment.

(S55)
When the temperature of the silent fan 40 does not exceed the threshold value D, it is determined whether or not the cumulative operation time of the silent fan 40 exceeds a preset threshold value E. Since the silent fan 40 gradually deteriorates as the operation time becomes longer, it can be determined whether or not the noise reduction fan 40 is deteriorated by the accumulated operation time. If the cumulative operation time does not exceed the threshold E, the process proceeds to step S58, and if it exceeds, the process proceeds to step S56.

(S56)
When the cumulative operation time of the silent fan 40 exceeds the threshold value E, it is determined that the silent fan 40 has deteriorated, and the notification means 19 notifies that the silent fan 40 has deteriorated over time. . The notification method is the same as in the first embodiment.

(S57)
After a predetermined time has passed since the aging deterioration of the silent fan 40 was notified, the silent fan 40 is stopped so as not to operate. By doing in this way, it does not continue driving | running in the state which aged deterioration produced in the air blower 3, and it can prevent that the malfunction accompanying aged deterioration arises.

(S58)
When the cumulative operation time of the silent fan 40 does not exceed the threshold value E, the operation of the silent fan 40 is started and the air cleaning operation is performed. The rotational speed of the silent fan 40 at this time is determined based on the pressure loss value detected in step S41. As described in the first embodiment, when the pressure loss on the upstream side of the silent fan 40 is large, it is necessary to increase the rotational speed of the silent fan 40 in order to ensure a constant air volume on the downstream side. .

  Thus, during the air cleaning operation, the pressure loss generated by the pleat filter 22 and the deodorizing filter 14 is detected, and the abnormality of the silent fan 40 is also detected and notified, so that the hand dryer 120 is efficiently and safely operated. be able to. In addition, at the time of hand drying, the same processing as that in FIG. 5 of the first embodiment is performed.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, since the air cleaning operation is performed when the hand drying operation is not performed, the air in the indoor environment where the hand drying device 120 is installed can be purified. Further, since the air cleaning operation is performed by using the silent fan 40 provided in the air cleaning unit 200 as a drive source, the noise due to the operating sound of the fan is small and the indoor environment can be kept good. Moreover, the high-pressure air flow used for hand drying is cleaned by the air cleaning unit 200 and is hygienic.

  In the second embodiment, the example in which the air cleaning operation is always performed when the hand drying operation is not performed has been described. However, the air cleaning operation may be performed at a predetermined time or after a certain time. By doing in this way, the power consumption by air cleaning operation can be reduced, purifying the air of indoor environment. Or it is good also as providing the sensor which detects the quantity of the predetermined | prescribed substance which produces an odor in an indoor environment, or a humidity sensor, and performing an air cleaning operation according to the output value of this sensor. By doing in this way, the air cleaning operation according to the characteristic of indoor environment can be performed.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 12 shows a hand dryer 130 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention, FIG. 12 (A) is a schematic front sectional view, and FIG. 12 (B) is a view of the bottom surface of the main body 33 as viewed from below. In FIG. 12, arrows indicated by W1 to W3, W5, and W6 indicate an air flow that is an air flow. The same parts as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. Further, since the hand dryer 130 has a bilaterally symmetric configuration, only one side is given a reference numeral in FIG.

  A removable air cleaning unit 230 is provided on both side surfaces of the main body 33 of the hand dryer 130 according to the third embodiment. Although a general thing can be used as the main body 33, the main body 33 shown in this Embodiment 3 is provided with the same manual insertion part 2, the air blower 3, and the nozzle 4 as described in Embodiment 1 mentioned above. ing. A drain container 35 and a main body inlet 39 are installed on the bottom surface of the main body 33. A drainage channel 37 is provided below the manual insertion unit 2, and the drainage channel 37 guides water droplets blown from the hand in the manual insertion unit 2 to the drain container 35.

  In FIG. 12B, the bottom surface of the main body 33 is divided into two parts in the front and rear, and a drain container 35 is provided on the front side, and a main body inlet 39 is provided on the rear side. The main body inlet 39 sucks in air to be supplied to the blower 3, and sucks air into the upstream side of the blower 3 through the prefilter 38. The pre-filter 38 is a filter for preventing dust and foreign matter from entering when sucking air from the bottom surface of the main body 1 as an air inlet, and it is desirable to use a filter with a small pressure loss. The drain container 35 is a container for collecting water droplets blown off from the hand in the hand insertion portion 2. The drain container 35 can be removed from the main body 33, and when water accumulates, the user can remove the drain container 35 and discard it.

  The air cleaning unit 230 includes an air cleaning inlet 30 opened on a side surface, a ventilation path 31 that guides air taken in by the air cleaning inlet 30 downward, and an air cleaning exhaust opening 42 opened downstream of the ventilation path 31. Is formed. The air cleaning unit 230 is detachably attached to the main body 33 using screws or the like so that the air cleaning exhaust port 42 is positioned in the vicinity of the main body intake port 39, and exhaust air from the air cleaning exhaust port 42 is exhausted from the main body. Intake can be made from the intake port 39. The first intake port of the present invention corresponds to the air cleaning intake port 30. Further, the pleated filter 22 and the deodorizing filter 14 are detachably installed in the ventilation path 31 from the filter mounting opening 18, and a silent fan 40 is provided on the downstream side thereof.

  In the hand dryer 130 configured as described above, the air cleaning unit 230 always performs the air cleaning operation regardless of whether or not the hand drying device 130 is performing the hand drying operation. In the air cleaning operation, when the silent fan 40 is activated, a suction force is generated in the air cleaning inlet 30, and air is sucked into the ventilation path 31 as indicated by the air flow W1. The clean air dehumidified, dedusted and deodorized by the pleat filter 22 and the deodorizing filter 14 moves to the downstream side of the silent fan 40 and flows out from the air cleaning exhaust port 42 as an air flow W2. Since the air flow W2 is diffused into the indoor environment as the air flow W5, the air in the indoor environment in which the hand dryer 130 and the air cleaning unit 230 are installed can be purified.

  In the hand drying operation, when a hand is put into the hand insertion portion 2, a sensor (not shown) detects the hand and the blower 3 is activated. At this time, a suction force is generated by the operation of the blower 3, and air is sucked from the main body inlet 39 through the pre-filter 38 and is supplied to the blower 3 as indicated by the air flow W <b> 6. It can be said that most of the air flow W6 sucked here is the air flow W2 cleaned by the air cleaning unit 230. Therefore, clean air is supplied to the blower 3. The clean air supplied to the blower 3 is processed into a high-pressure air flow and ejected into the hand insertion portion 2 by the nozzle 4, hits the wet hand, blows off water droplets adhering to the hand, and dries the hand. The high-pressure air flow ejected to the hand is air cleaned by the air cleaning unit 230 and is very hygienic.

  As described above, in the hand dryer 130 according to the third embodiment, since the air cleaning unit 230 that can be attached to and detached from the main body 33 is provided, the air in the indoor environment can be cleaned. Further, since the hand drying operation is performed using the air cleaned by the air cleaning unit 230, it is very hygienic for the user. Moreover, since it was set as the structure which can attach or detach the air purifying unit 230, it can attach to the existing hand dryer 130, and an introduction burden can be reduced. In addition, since an appropriate distance is provided between the air cleaning inlet 30 that sucks in the air before cleaning and the air cleaning outlet 42 that discharges the air after cleaning, the air cleaning unit 230 supplies the cleaned air. The air in the room environment can be efficiently cleaned without being immediately sucked.

  In the third embodiment, the example in which the air cleaning unit 230 is always operated has been described. However, the air cleaning unit 230 may be operated at a predetermined time or every predetermined time. By doing in this way, the air of indoor environment can be purified, suppressing the power consumption of an air cleaning driving | operation.

  In the above description, a hand drying device that inserts and removes hands up and down has been described as an example. However, the shape of the body of the hand drying device is not limited to this, for example, a type that inserts and removes hands before and after. But you can. In addition, when either the left or right side of the hand dryer is installed in close contact with the wall, the air cleaning unit may be provided only on one side, not on both sides of the main body. Even if it does in this way, the same effect can be acquired.

It is an external appearance perspective view of the hand-drying apparatus which shows Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the hand-drying apparatus which shows Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a schematic diagram of the roll filter and cleaning device which show Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a side cross-sectional schematic diagram of the deodorizing filter which shows Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an aged deterioration detection flow of the hand-drying apparatus which shows Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a graph which shows the relationship between a pressure loss and the rotation speed of a motor. It is a graph which shows the odor removal performance by an air purifying unit. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the hand-drying apparatus which shows Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a perspective view of the pleated filter which shows Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the exhaust port which shows Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is an aged deterioration detection flow of the air purifying unit which shows Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the hand-drying apparatus which shows Embodiment 3 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body, 2 manual insertion part, 3 blower, 4 nozzle, 5 drain container, 7 drainage channel, 8 temperature sensor, 10 blowing flow inlet, 11 ventilation path, 12 roll filter, 12a filter part, 12b heating dehydration rotating shaft, 13 Cleaning device, 13a Support frame, 13b Brush part, 13c Shaft part, 13d Spatula part, 13e Tooth part, 14 Deodorizing filter, 14a Face plate, 14b Core material, 15 Pressure sensor, 16 Pressure sensor, 17 Ventilation path opening part, 18 Filter inlet, 19 Notifying means, 20 Air outlet, 21 Ventilation path, 22 Pleated filter, 26 Pressure sensor, 27 Temperature sensor, 28 Air inlet, 29 Dust-proof lid, 30 Air clean inlet, 31 Ventilation path, 33 Main body , 35 Drain container, 37 Drainage channel, 38 Pre-filter, 39 Body inlet, 40 Silent fan, 41 Drain Mouth, 41a hinges, 41b door 42 air purifier outlet, 100, 120, 130 hand drying apparatus, 200,220,230 air cleaning unit.

Claims (14)

A first air blower for generating an air flow, and a main body portion provided with a hand insertion portion in which an air flow generated by the first air blower is ejected and at least a part of the side is opened ;
A first air inlet opening laterally outside the hand insertion portion and at a height below the lower end of the open portion of the hand insertion portion , the air sucked from the first air inlet is the first air inlet air passage leading to the upstream side of the blower, and the air cleaning unit having an air cleaning function unit for cleaning the air sucked from the first intake port provided in the ventilation passage possess,
The air cleaning function unit includes a filter unit that collects water droplets contained in the air sucked from the first air inlet, and a dehydration function unit that dehydrates the filter unit. apparatus. While providing a first pressure sensor on the upstream side of the air purification function unit,
A second pressure sensor is provided on the downstream side of the air cleaning function unit and on the upstream side of the first blower,
The hand-drying device according to claim 1, wherein a deterioration state of the air cleaning function unit is detected based on a difference between output values of the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor. The hand dryer according to claim 2, wherein the number of rotations of the first blower is controlled in accordance with a deterioration state of the air cleaning function unit. A main body including a first blower for generating an air flow, and a manual insertion portion from which the air flow generated by the first blower is ejected;
A first air inlet opening in the vicinity of the manual insertion portion; an air passage that guides air sucked from the first air inlet to the upstream side of the first blower; and the first air intake provided in the air passage An air purifying function section for purifying the air sucked from the mouth, and a second air path provided on the downstream side of the air purifying function section for sending the air sucked from the first air inlet to the upstream side of the first blower An air cleaning unit provided with a blower. While providing a first pressure sensor on the upstream side of the air purification function unit,
A second pressure sensor is provided on the downstream side of the air cleaning function unit and on the upstream side of the second blower,
The hand-drying device according to claim 4, wherein a deterioration state of the air cleaning function unit is detected based on a difference between output values of the first pressure sensor and the second pressure sensor. The hand dryer according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the number of rotations of the first blower and the second blower is controlled according to a deterioration state of the air cleaning function unit. The hand drying device according to any one of claims 2, 3, 5, and 6, further comprising a notifying unit that notifies a deterioration state of the air cleaning function unit. The first air inlet is open toward the exit direction of the air passage when the air flow ejected to the hand insertion portion flows out of the body portion by inserting and removing the hand, and the body The hand-drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an air flow that has flowed out of the portion can be sucked. The air purification unit includes a second air inlet on the upstream side of the air purification function unit,
While the first blower is stopped, the first air inlet is closed and the second air inlet is opened,
The first air inlet is opened and the second air inlet is closed during the operation of the first blower. The claim 4 or the subordinate to the claim 4, wherein the second air inlet is closed. The hand dryer according to any one of 8. The air purifying function unit is:
The hand-drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: a dust collecting unit that collects dust; and a deodorizing unit provided on a downstream side of the dust collecting unit. The hand-drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the air cleaning unit is detachably provided on the main body. The said air purifying function part is attached so that attachment or detachment is possible so that it may cross | intersect with the air flow in the said ventilation path diagonally. The hand drying in any one of Claims 1-11 characterized by the above-mentioned. apparatus. An exhaust port for exhausting the air purified by the air purification unit provided downstream of the ventilation path and upstream of the first blower to the indoor environment;
During the operation of the first blower, the exhaust port is closed,
The exhaust port is opened while the first blower is stopped and the second blower is in operation. The claim 4 , or any one of claims 5 to 12 dependent on claim 4. The hand-drying apparatus of crab. The hand dryer according to claim 10, further comprising a cleaning unit that cleans the dust collecting unit.

Images